PIONEER WOMEN WERE HEROES

Kathleen Leppert
Aug 9, 2017 · 4 min read

Religion, to me, feels like breathing through a hot, wet blanket in the middle of a Houston Summer. Suffocating. This doesn’t mean that I’m against religions or that I don’t, in fact, know scripture and various religious and theological teachings. I do. Quite well.

That said, if I were to describe how I view the world through the goggles of my own birth “culture,” it would be the culture of Mormonism. Many know that I was born and raised a Mormon. Matter of fact, my Mormon heritage goes back to the founding of the church and my mother’s father’s entire family line is defined by the history of the church. This paternal line of my mother’s traveled by boat and foot, wagon and horseback, across the oceans and the seas, the lakes, mountains, plains and deserts, trying to escape mobs, prison, lynchings, and beatings to practice their religion and to just live in peace.

This family of mine left behind many journals and letters of their experiences because above all, they believed in spreading knowledge. However, they didn’t just leave behind letters and journals, but also experiences that were written into court decisions and history books.

Many non-Mormons profess to know the history of Mormonism. They’ll point to articles and stories that were written about Joseph Smith or they’ll point to a story that was in a newspaper of the times written about Mormons. Most of all, people will point to polygamy and shape the entire history around the history of polygamy.

Let me share something with you. I’ll tell you the stories that my ancestors wrote. In their own words rather than the words someone else told you about them.

Did you know that in 1838, the Governor of Missouri issued an Extermination Order against Mormons? You see, Mormons were many things and one of the main things about them is that they believed in independence. They were very vocal abolitionists. This didn’t sit well with the people of Missouri and they were hated as insurrectionists. So the extinction of all followers of a religion was legally sanctioned on United States soil. Missouri Executive Order 44. It wasn’t officially repealed until 1976.

In 1838, my several times great-aunt Jemima and her husband James were walking home from her parents’ place where they’d left their young daughter Betsie to stay over with the grandparents. Jemima came from a long line of prominent family in New York, the Wimmers and the Laboyteauxs, and she believed in her rights as an American citizen.

That fateful evening though Jemima and James ran into a mob who were out looking for Mormons. (The names of the members of the mob are known and are part of court records. I will leave them out as I don’t wish to cast blame on their descendants.) They stopped Jemima and James and demanded to know if they were Mormons. Fearing for their lives, they responded “NO” and tried to go on their way. The mob, empowered by the Governor’s Executive Order, demanded that James join them as they went to the next farm (which was Jemima’s parents) to get rid of the “known Mormons.”

James refused. He told them, “If you have no Federal Authority to molest them, you must let them go.” The mob refused and threatened to kill them if they followed. Jemima, with rage shaking in her voice, told them “I’m an American citizen and I know my rights.”

James and Jemima tried to overtake them before they could get to the house and warn their family and rescue their daughter. They were caught. One member of the mob shot at James. Another bashed James’ head in.

Jemima ran for help. When she got back, she found James conscious but his head busted in and frankly, his brain was showing. She and her sister carried him to a local doctor. The doctor refused to care for James till they swore they weren’t Mormons. Jemima swore to whatever would get her husband help. The doctor performed brain surgery. In 1838, this consisted of opening up his scalp and pulling it all down around his face and picking the fragments of bone out of his brain mass. James was awake and talking the entire time.

A week later, when James was more stable, Jemima knew she had to take James and her child out of Missouri. She packed him up and with her daughter in tow, went to find the nearest wagon train heading out of Missouri. Her parents and remaining family had already left on a Mormon wagon train the day after the beating. They asked all around. No one she spoke with would take Mormons. She swore they weren’t. She found a wagon that would take James and Betsie, but as she was in good health and the wagon train was full, they refused to take her. So, she packed them on board and waved farewell to her family.

That night in the pouring rain as the wagon train passed through a culvert, Jemima leapt on board the top of the wagon carrying her family. She rode on the top of that wagon, evading discovery, till they were too far out to turn her out.

As I read the stories of my ancestors, I am awed at the strength of both the men and the women who came before me.

The aftermath? James and Jemima had another 20 years of living and loving in their life, through unbelievable struggle. Jemima picked fragments of bone out of a hole in James’ head for the next 18 months. James suffered permanent paralysis on one side of his body and suffered from lifelong seizures. Seizures in fact that led to his death when he was crossing a river by horseback 20 years later, alone. They believe he had a seizure and fell off his horse into the river, as he was found floating further down the river when his horse returned without him.

Kathleen Leppert

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Baker. Foodie. Scribbler. Researcher. Thinker. Storyteller. Biker. Dog Walker. Genealogist. Library Card Holder. College Student. Shaper of Worlds.