1.

 Tennesse State Marriages 1780-2002 

  a.  Tho H. Church to Nancy M Bryan, May 14, 1846

2.

1850 US Federal Census, Hickman, Tennessee

  a.  Thomas H Church, 26, M, Farmer, TN (Name, Age, Sex, Occupation)

    1)  Nancy, 21, F

    2)  Mary, 2, F

    3)  Samuel, 10/12, M

3.

1850 Slave Schedule, Hickman, Tennessee

  a. Thomas H Church

    1)  11, F, B (Age, Sex, Color, M=Mulatto)

    2)  7, F, M (Likely Harriet)

4.

1860 US Federal Census, Maury, Tennessee, Dist No. 17

  a.  T. H. Church, 36, M, Farmer, TN

    1)  N. M., 30, F (Nancy Marie's Death:  09 January 1861)

    2)  M. E., 12, F

    3)  S. T., 8, M

    4)  A., 6, M

5.

1860 Slave Schedule, Maury, Tennessee, Dist No. 17

  a.  T H Church

    1)  16, F, M  (Likely Harriet)

    2)  14, F, M

    2)  13, M, B

    2)  11 Months, F, M  (Likely Laura, Harriet's oldest daughter)

6.

1861-1866 Civil War Prisoner Record

  a.  Church Thomas H., Brit 2nd, 9 Tenn Cav Batt

During the Civil War, a Thomas H. Church served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 9th Battalion (Gantt’s Battalion) of the Tennessee Cavalry.  The 9th Battalion was organized in December 1861 in Nashville, and consisted of men from Maury, Hickman, and Wayne Counties.  The whole battalion was captured at Ft. Donelson, but were exchanged for Union prisoners in September 1862 and remounted in January 1863.  They skirmished in Mississippi and Louisiana, and were involved in the Atlanta Campaign to defend Savannah.  After various engagements in the Carolinas, it surrendered with the Army of Tennessee. Church mustered out as a Brevet 2nd Lieutenant.

7.

1870 US Federal Census, Maury, Tennessee, Dist No. 17, Page 32

  a.  Church H, 52, M, W, Farmer, TN (Thomas H Church)

    1)  T L, 20, M, W, Student, TN

8.

1870 US Federal Census, Maury, Tennessee, Dist No. 17, Page 31

  a.  Church H, 27, F, B, D servant, TN (Age, Sex, Color, Occupation, Birth)

    1)  L, 10, F, B (Laura)

    2)  R, 8, F, B

    3)  M, 5, F, B (Mary Ann)

    4)  W, 3, M, B (William F)

    5)  R, 1, M, B (Major R)
This census record ties Harriet and her children to the 1850 & 1860 Slave Schedules.

9.

1880 US Federal Census, Millard, Utah, Deseret Precinct

  a.  Church Thos. H., W, M, 56, Farming, TN, ?, NC

         (Color, Sex, Age, Occupation, Birth, Father's Birth, Mother's Birth)

    1)  Harriet, W, F, 36, Keeping house, TN, ?, GA

    2)  Mary Ann, W, F, 16, TN, TN, TN

    3)  William F, W, M, 14, TN, TN, TN

    4)  Major R, W, M, 11, TN, TN, TN

    5)  Violette M., W, F, 8, TN, TN, TN

    6)  Henry S B, W, M, 6, TN, TN, TN

    7)  Robert R, W, M, 4, TN, TN, TN

    8)  Arazona, W, F, 3, TN, TN, TN

    9)  John T, W, M, 1, UT, TN, TN

  b.  Oldfield, Laura, W, F, 20, TN, TN, TN

a.  

b.  

10.

1900 US Federal Census, Millard, Utah, Oasis Precinct

  a.  Church Thomas, W, M, Jan 1825, 76, M, 43, TN, NC, NC

         (Color, Sex, Birth Date, Age, Married, Birth, Father, Mother)

    1)  Harriet, W, F, Feb 1841, 59, M, 43, TN, VA

    2)  Henry, W, M, May 1874, 26, S, TN, TN, TN

    3)  Major, R, W, M, Feb 1879, 21, S, UT, TN, TN

    4)  Violette, W, F, 18, S, UT, TN TN

    5)  Della, W, F, July 1889, 15, S, UT, TN, TN

John Taylor Church received his L.D.S. Patriarchal Blessing in Oasis, Millard, Utah on February 12, 1900, under the hands of Patriarch John Ashman (“John Taylor Church,” February 12, 1900, Patriarchal Blessings, vol. 484, p. 187, LDS Archives; cited in Patriarchal Blessing Index, LDS Archives).  He was told that he was of the lineage of Ephraim and would receive the priesthood and fulfill a mission.  Since his mother was a known mulatto, the case was brought before President Lorenzo Snow, and the Quorum of the Twelve on March 1, 1900 to decide whether to allow John to recieve the priesthood and serve a mission.  John Taylor did not serve a mission at this time, however in1952, he was allowed to enter the Salt Lake Temple and receive his endowments.

DISCLAIMER:  Below are the minutes from the March 1, 1900 First Presidency meeting.  I have added these minutes for the purpose of documenting family history. The opinions expressed in these minutes are not church doctrine.  Rather they are the unfortunate, flawed, and racist folklore of 19th century America.  Please visit the following links for a greater historical perspective.
http://mormonstories.org/podcast/MormonStories-026-BlacksPriesthood-DariusGray.mp3
http://mormonstories.org/podcast/MormonStories-004-GregoryPrinc.mp3
The Colorful LDS Future, by Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray

First Presidency Minutes, Thursday, March 1, 1900

Presidents [Lorenzo] Snow, [George Q.] Cannon and [Joseph F.] Smith were at the office. At 11 o'clock the Twelve Apostles met with the Presidency at the office. There were present: Presidents Snow, Cannon and Smith, Elders Francis M. Lyman, John Henry Smith, John W. Taylor, Anthon H. Lund and Abraham O[wen]. Woodruff….

A communication from President Ira Hinckley setting forth that a man in Oasis named Church, had received his patriarchal blessing in which he was told that he was of the lineage of Ephraim and that he should have the priesthood and go on a mission. But it is believed and so understood that he inherits some negro blood in him through his mother, and many questions were being asked about the right of this party to hold the Priesthood, some holding that he might do so provided the white blood predominates.

President Snow, commenting on this subject, said that he asked President Brigham Young on one occasion, why it was that millions and millions of people were cursed with a black skin, and when, if ever, this curse would be removed? President Young explained it in this way--but whether he had it revealed to him or not, President Snow did not know. -- When Cain slew Abel he fully understood the effects of the killing of his brother, but that it extended to the spirits in eternity. He said that in the spirit world people were organized as they were here. There were Patriarchs standing at the head of certain classes of spirits, and there were certain relationships existing which affected their coming into the world to take tabernacles. For instance, when Abel came into the world it was understood by Cain that the class of people which he presided over as a prince, if they ever came into the world in the regular way, they would have to come through him. So with Cain, he was a prince presiding over a vast number of a certain class of spirits, and it was natural that they should come through him, if at all, and therefore when Cain slew Abel he understood that the taking of his brother's life was going to deprive the spirits over whom he (Abel) presided from coming into the world, perhaps for thousands and thousands of years; hence the sin was immense because the effects were immense. Then there was this understanding when the Lord executed judgment upon Cain: The spirits under his leadership still looked up to him, and rather than forsake him they were willing to bear his burdens and share the penalty imposed upon him. This was understood when the curse was pronounced upon him, and it was understood that this curse would remain upon his posterity until the class of spirits presided over by Abel should have the privilege of coming into the world and taking tabernacles, and then the curse would be removed.
***Special Thanks to Connell O'Donovan for researching Harriet and her family.  He may be contacted at odonovan@uscs.edu.

12.

1910 US Federal Census, Millard, Utah, Oasis Precinct

  a.  Church Thomas, M, W, 86, M, 46, TN, TN, TN

    1)  Harriet, F, W, 66, M, 46, TN, TN, TN

    2)  Violette, F, W, 38, S, TN, TN, TN

    3)  Henry, M, W, S TN, TN, TN

    4)  Della, F, 26, Widowed, UT, TN, TN

13.

1920 US Federal Census, Millard, Utah, Oasis Precinct

  a.  Church, Harriett, F, W, Widowed, TN, TN, TN

    1)  Vilet, F, W, 48, S, TN, TN, TN

14.

Memories of her Grandparents
 Thomas Holiday and Harriet Church
 by Ella Lorraine Petty

I need to write some of the things that I remember of my grandparents; Thomas Holiday and Harriet Church. I being the oldest in our family and about the only one that remembers very much about them.

Grandfather was a handsome man, had a long beard and thick hair that was snow white. Grammother Church was a sweet little person, about 5 feet 2 inches and the kindest person I have ever known.  I spent many hours at her home and it was a home of hospitality and love and with a definite Southern dialect. When I was young, really small, Mom and Dad used to go to all the social affairs of our small town and we children were all sent to Grandma’s to stay all night.  Early the next morning we all walked home cutting through a field called the Old English Place where one lone apple tree grew and then on through Sam and Annie Rutherfords’ place.

In those days, Grandfather used to talk of his home in Tennessee, of the great plantation he and his brothers owned with his father.  He talked of the Civil War that destroyed most of their stables where thoroughbred horses were kept.  He told me (at the time I was studying American History) that the South was mistreated in every way.  Their barns burned by Sherman’s army. As they marched one could hear horses screaming for miles away.  At this time Grandfather would grow very sad and I know very homesick for his old home in Tennessee.

He often told me to marry someone with loads of money and take him back to see his old home.  I asked him once if he was sorry that he left Tennessee and his answer was “No, I couldn’t live there and belong to the Mormon Church, and that was more important.”

They came to Utah in a covered wagon.  (I think they had two wagons, but I am not sure.  If only I had known then what I know now I could have written their life history which was amazing.)

He and Grandmother must have had a strong testimony. They sacrificed so much, had courage beyond belief.  With two missionaries, two servants and five children (Mother only 6 months old). They left at a time when the South was so very prejudiced against the Mormons.  (The time when two Mormon missionaries were killed.  They must have left in the night.)

Their own family disowned them and had their names taken from all records as if they had never been born, and since the South in those days had no cities, only counties, and they were converted to Mormonism.

I know not how long a time they traveled, but were on their way to Arizona arriving in Utah, they decided to stay.  The journey had been rough and hard and they were too tired to go on and they first settled in Deseret. The home they lived in, I know so little about.  I know not if it was rented or if they built it, but I do know it was what they called the corner across the street from Gram and Grandfather Cahoon, Uncle Hyde’s people.  I do know that they cooked only over a fireplace--how long they lived there or when they moved to Oasis I do not know, but Grandfather must have had some money as they built the home they were living in.  They owned 40 acres of land and here raised a family of 11 children.  Uncle Will, Major, Robert, John, Henry, Aunt Laura, Mary, Mother (Zona), Hattie, Violetta, Della.

When I think there were eleven children in a 4 room house.  One part built of logs--but there was a small brick or adobe (I can’t quite remember) shanty.  Gram used to call it the shanty.  There was a wood stove in there and two beds, so I guess part of the family slept there.

The boys went to work during summer and went to school up to 8th grade in winter.  The school house was back of the old Huff Store in a field.  As a child I remember those fallen bricks were in heaps, but as I grew older I don’t remember seeing them.  My mother told me that was where the old school house had been.

Mom had very little formal education, but her grades did so much for her.  She could out spell anyone of us and constantly corrected our English.

The Church family was all good looking.  Uncle John and Uncle Rob were handsome, big men.  I am so sorry that the pictures of my mother when she was beautiful young were lost.  At the time she was married (much not such over 16) she was beautiful.  Aunt Hattie was so pretty, also.  I went, to her wedding.  I was only 7 years old, but I remember her wedding gown of white satin (I think).  Anyway, the yoke covered with beads and lace.  Aunt Pearl Hawley Brown made it for her.  The wedding was held at Uncle Hyde’s parent’s home.

Nina and I rode to Deseret with Gram Church in her buggy and old Babe.  When we arrived home we had a new baby brother, Paul Legrand had arrived Jan. 8, 1902, and were we happy!

Uncle Will was the oldest boy, then Major, Uncle Robert, Uncle Henry & Uncle John.  Five boys and six girls.  Aunt Laura, Mary, Mother, Violetta, Hattie, and Della.  Violett was injured when a very small baby.  I never knew who was at fault, but someone threw her up and failed to catch her.  She became partly paralyzed.  One side was badly crippled.  Gramma said that she sent her to school when she was 6, but the children made so much fun of her crippled hand that they had to take her out.  She came home crying every night, so she had no formal education other than what the family gave her.  She could read a little and write her names.

When I was about twelve years old, Grandfather built one more room on and after the floor was laid we were allowed to have a dancing party.  Aunt Della played the piano and Uncle Henry played the cornet.  I remember only that there was a crowd and Gram baked cookies and made lemonade.

Uncle Henry and Aunt Della could play very well. One piece they played, Aunt Della composed.  She called it her dream tune. She told me she dreamed it one night and got out of bed and wrote the notes down. They both played by music.  I know not who taught them.  Aunt Della played the harmonica.  She had a metal frame that fit over the shoulders and held the harmonica in place while she played both piano and harmonica.

15.

The Colorful LDS Future
 August 09, 2010
By Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray
(http://www.patheos.com/Topics/Future-of-World-Religions/Mormonism.html)

We believe that there must and will be a significant future for those of African descent in the Church, and far greater prominence in the leadership than we see today. But it won't come without full acknowledgment of the complexities that always attend race issues, and some bold approaches to the challenges before us.

The history of the LDS Church can't really be told without including the history of African Americans within the faith. There has been a continuous Black presence from 1832 to the present. The fact that most Mormons don't know the history must lead us to some introspection.

We teach what we value. We have valued the stories of the white pioneers, the Martin Handcart Company, etc. Because the stories of the Black pioneers include different kinds of tribulations -- for example being met with "rebuff" in Nauvoo, as Jane James says when describing her family's first day there -- these stories are less comfortable than the familiar ones, in which we Mormons are almost always the "good guys." We might tell portions of these other stories (stories of "the other"), but they're the comfortable portions -- the ways "we" treated Blacks with compassion (as in Joseph Smith's providing a horse for former slave Anthony Stebbins to sell in order to purchase the freedom of a slave child).

The church film about Joseph Smith, which shows daily in the Joseph Smith Memorial building, does include a chapter about Jane James, but with a significant revision of Jane's own written account. Jane says, "We traveled a distance of over eight hundred miles. We walked until the soles of our shoes wore out and you could see the whole print of our feet in blood on the ground. We knelt in prayer. We asked God the Eternal Father to heal our feet, and our prayers were answered and our feet were healed forthwith."

Jane's journey is alluded to in the film, but it shows her arriving in Nauvoo with bloody feet, which Joseph Smith attends to lovingly. Though the scene is touching, it is not true to Jane's story and presents a version that puts the emphasis on Joseph rather than on Jane and her remarkable faith. In other words, her story becomes his story as it is altered for an LDS audience. And the most painful fact of Jane's life -- that she petitioned repeatedly for temple blessings but was denied because of her African lineage -- is, predictably, not addressed in any official LDS publication or film; it is simply uncomfortable, and forces our memory to the years when missionaries did not generally teach any of African descent, and when Mormons commonly viewed Blacks as cursed.

When we Mormons view our past, we tend to see ourselves as victims of mob violence, weeping over the dead at Haun's Mill, or running from Boggs' Extermination Order in Missouri, and from persecutors in Illinois. We dislike seeing ourselves as the ones doing the persecuting. Though Jane James never characterized the pioneers with whom she associated as "persecutors," she did endure prejudice, as did every Black pioneer of her time. At some point, that part of our shared history will need to be acknowledged and fully told. Ultimately, it will edify and inspire all who hear it...

...When Mormons talk about Blacks, they tend (in our experience) to go back to June 8th, 1978, when they heard that the priesthood restriction had been overturned. They will almost always describe what a joyful day it was, or how they pulled off the road to weep with happiness at the news. Certainly, it was joyful for Black Latter-day Saints as well, but many who had joined the church during the restrictive years were not able to hold onto their children in the faith. They tried, but the clear message to Blacks that they were in a separate and even cursed position -- "a caste apart," as Bruce R. McConkie said in Mormon Doctrine -- was simply too much for many young people to accept. The Black pioneers had children and grandchildren who stayed strong in the faith until the third generation. Now, in 2010, we are aware of only one descendant of a Black pioneer who is still actively LDS. Though June 8, 1978 was joyful because of the doors it opened, the price of what came before was severe for Black converts. Their pain is part of the whole story, which is yet to be fully told and resolved.

Nonetheless, there are clear signs that we are making strides toward a glorious future. The clearest to date was the talk given by Gordon B. Hinckley in April 2006 during the Priesthood session of General Conference. In it, he rhetorically asked, "How can any man holding the Melchizedek priesthood arrogantly assume that he is eligible for that priesthood, whereas another, who lives a righteous life but whose skin is of a different color, is ineligible?" That question has reverberations that should go far forward into the future, urging us to tell all of the stories of all of the Latter-day Saints, and to do better now than we did in the past.

We not only hope for a great future, we have complete faith that it will unfold. We believe that those African Americans who are serving in their regions will, before too long, serve the entire church, that the African American stories of faith will be equally valued with the Danish or German stories, that the leadership will reflect the global nature of the church, and that we will be able to talk not only about the lifting of the priesthood restriction, but about the faith and pain of those who for years lived on the Black side of that restriction.

Darius Gray was a counselor in the presidency of the LDS Church's Genesis Group when it was formed in 1971 and served as its president from 1997 to 2003. Gray was also the director of the Freedmens Bank Records project for the church's Family History Department. He is a speaker on African-American genealogy, blacks in the Bible and blacks in the LDS Church.

Margaret Young is an author, filmmaker, and writing instructor affiliated with Brigham Young University.

Young and Gray have previously collaborated on a trilogy of award-winning books about African American Latter-day Saints called Standing on the Promises, and the documentary Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons.

Below is my Letter to Margaret & Darius:

Margaret & Darius,

Just a few weeks ago I found and listened to your interview on “Mormon Stories Podcast”.  The information you shared was extraordinary and has strengthened my faith.  I am grateful for you, your research and your testimony.

Yesterday, I came across your “Future of Mormonism” essay and was again uplifted by your testimony.  In the essay you remarked that, “in 2010, we are aware of only one descendant of a Black pioneer who is still actively LDS”.  I thought you might be interested in the story of my ancestor, Harriet Elnora Burchard Church?

Harriet’s story begins with her future husband, Thomas Holiday Church, born in 1829 in Franklin, Tennessee.   Thomas was first married to Nancy M. Bryan in 1846.  Thomas and Nancy had at least nine children between 1841 & 1857.

In 1847 Thomas was baptized into the L.D.S. church by missionaries traveling through TN.

On the 1850 Slave Schedule of Hickman, TN, Thomas is listed as owning 2 slaves, an 11 year old black female & a 7 year old mulatto female.  I believe that this 7 year old girl is Harriet Elnora Burchard.

10 years later on the 1860 Slave Schedule, Thomas is listed again owning 4 slaves.  This includes 16 year old Harriet and an 11 month old mulatto female.  I believe that this 11 month old is Laura, Harriet & Thomas’ child.

Nancy, Thomas’ first wife, died in 1861.   During the 1860s, Thomas served during the Civil War in the 9th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion.

The 1870 US Federal Census in Maury, TN lists 2 households, Thomas in the first, & Harriet in the second.  Harriet has now taken the last name “Church” and is listed as a 27 year old black female servant.  Her age fits perfectly with the age of the slave girl from the 1850 & 1860 Slave Schedule.  Harriet now has 5 children, including Laura who is now 10 and Mary Ann who is 5 (both born before the Emancipation Proclamation).  All children are listed as black.

In the 1870’s Thomas, Harriet & their children moved to Deseret, Utah.  They are listed as one household on the 1880, 1900, 1910 censuses.  It is family legend that Thomas was disowned by his family and forced out of Tennessee for converting to Mormonism.  I speculate that there could have been other issues motivating his move from Tennessee, including his relationship with his former slave.  None of Thomas’ children from his previous marriage came with him to Utah.

There is another major change on the 1880 and succeeding censuses, Harriet is listed as a white female.

To be able to claim herself as white once they moved to Utah, I speculate that Harriet must have had a fair complexion.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a picture of Harriet.  I also wonder if Thomas, a former southern slave owner, must have been very liberally minded for his time.

The next event happened in 1900.  Thomas & Harriet’s son, John Taylor Church received his Patriarchal Blessing in Oasis, Millard, Utah on February 12, 1900, under the hands of Patriarch John Ashman.  He was told that he was of the lineage of Ephraim and would receive the priesthood and fulfill a mission.  Since his mother was a known mulatto, the case was brought, via their Stake President Ira Hinckley, before President Lorenzo Snow, and the Quorum of the Twelve on March 1, 1900 to decide whether to allow John to receive the priesthood and serve a mission.

The following are from the First Presidency Minutes of Thursday, March 1, 1900:

Presidents [Lorenzo] Snow, [George Q.] Cannon and [Joseph F.] Smith were at the office. At 11 o'clock the Twelve Apostles met with the Presidency at the office. There were present: Presidents Snow, Cannon and Smith, Elders Francis M. Lyman, John Henry Smith, John W. Taylor, Anthon H. Lund and Abraham O[wen]. Woodruff….

A communication from President Ira Hinckley setting forth that a man in Oasis named Church, had received his patriarchal blessing in which he was told that he was of the lineage of Ephraim and that he should have the priesthood and go on a mission. But it is believed and so understood that he inherits some negro blood in him through his mother, and many questions were being asked about the right of this party to hold the Priesthood, some holding that he might do so provided the white blood predominates.

I do not know if John received the Priesthood at this time.  The minutes do not give any final conclusions.  However, Harriet was endowed & sealed to Thomas on 08 April 1903 in the Salt Lake Temple.   Mary Ann Church, was endowed in 1879, Robert Robins Church in 1901, Harriet Gertrude Church in 1904, Arizona Church (my Great-Great Grandmother) in 1909, & John Taylor Church in 1952.

Your research states that Elijah Abel’s son, Enoch, was ordained an Elder in 27 Nov 1900.  Could the priesthood ban have experienced a temporary lifting between the First Presidency Meeting of March 1900 and 1909?

What of the Church family after Harriet?  I believe that Harriet’s heritage was hidden.  Harriet’s final grandchild, Manon Hawley Robison, passed away this past April in St. George.  She was asked prior to her death if she knew of Harriet’s history as a former black Tennessee slave, and she did not.  No one in my family knew of this heritage until recently.  Connell O’Donovan of UC Santa Cruz just recently discovered Harriet ancestry while studying census documents.  He contacted me with this information approximately 2 years ago.

Even though it is unfortunate that this heritage had been covered up, there are hundreds of active Mormon descendents of Harriet Elnora Burchard Church, a former Tennessee slave and black pioneer.  In addition, Harriet and her daughter Mary Ann are possibly the only former southern slaves that participated in live temple ordinances.

Many of Harriet’s descendants also participated in the temple prior to 1978, including my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great grandparents.  How different would my family have been if our ancestry was known prior to 1978?  What if one of these marriages was discouraged or prevented?

This is what I have discovered thus far, and my family and I are anxious to learn more.

I am a lifelong member of the church. I grew up in Colorado, served a mission in Alabama and Mississippi, and have now been in the US Navy for 11 years.  I am married with 5 children.  My college degree is in engineering.  I state my degree because I lack a background in history.  If you have any further information or if I have drawn any incorrect conclusions, I would appreciate your assistance.

I am eager to hear back from you, and again, thank you for your work.  I have shared your podcast from “Mormon Stories” throughout my family.

Donald Mayne