Introduction

The contents of this journal are compiled from several different journals or handwritten documents of David Moore.  The first section is entitled simply, “Journal of David Moore”, followed by the "Abridged History of the Salmon River Mission.”  The last section is a compilation of three separate documents written by David Moore, and is called “Items of History.”  

            The original hand written documents were transcribed into typewritten form by May B. Watkins on January 28, 1921.  In May of 2013, Ryan Spanos transcribed the type written version into digital form, using optimal character recognition (OCR) software.  Slight variations in punctuation, paragraph structure, and spelling were edited for ease of reading.  Several historical pictures were also added.  The typewritten edition of the journal may be viewed at the Harold B. Lee Library on Brigham Young University Campus in the "Special Collections" section.  

            Each section of the journal, except for the Salmon River Mission section, were further divided into several chapters in the table of contents for ease of access.  

The "Journal of David Moore" can be divided into three parts.  David begins the journal with some genealogical information and establishes his immediate family and their children. 

In the second part, David Moore gives a short autobiography, largely skipping over his childhood and begins with the Patriot war of Canada in which he took up arms.  He gives an account of his marriage to Susan Mariah Vorce and their conversion to Mormonism after hearing two missionaries preaching in his neighborhood.  David then describes leaving his home, family, and inheritance in Eardley City, Ottawa, Canada at the age of 23, to meet up with the body of the Saints in Nauvoo Illinois. 

He describes his difficulties establishing himself in Nauvoo, suffering from much illness and difficulty finding work.  David covers much of the interesting history surrounding the early church in Nauvoo, including the erection of the temple, the controversy of "celestial marriage", mob violence, and the martyrdom of the prophet, which he describes in great detail.  He was called as a member of the second quorum of the seventies while in Nauvoo.  He describes the affairs of the church after the prophet’s martyrdom, and the saint’s decision between Sydney Rigdon or Brigham Young and the twelve apostles as successors to the prophet.

In the face of the ever-increasing mob violence, David was obliged to leave behind his property and land, which he had labored so hard in to establish a home for his family.  He moved to South Bentonsport for a period of around three years, renting a room for his family until they began their trek West to the Salt Lake Valley.

The third part of the Journal are actual Journal entries beginning in the summer of 1848, on July 23, and ending with their arrival in Salt Lake City Utah on Saturday, October 20, 1849.  He arrived in Utah at the age of thirty years. 

The "Abridged History of the Salmon River Mission" includes extracts and paraphrase of journal kept by David Moore; original in the L.D.S. Church Historian's Office, Salt Lake City.  A few entries, June-October, 1857, are by Jacob Miller, clerk pro tem.  It includes names of the colonizing missionaries, observations on the Bannock and Shoshoni Indians, the founding of Fort Limhi in present Idaho, and eventual abandonment of the mission.

"Items of History" - The following introduction was included in the typed version explaining this section:  “The following article is a copy of some pencil writings of David Moore, pioneer to Utah in 1849, first Bishop of Mound Fort Ward, Ogden City, Weber County, Utah.  It is valuable as showing some of the beginnings of Weber County history.  It was found among his old papers in the possession of his son Joseph B. Moore, l2th Street, Ogden, Utah.”

It includes three separate articles, including” “First Settlement of Mound Fort”, “First Settlement of Weber County”, and “Memories of Weber County.”  It describes, in part, the growth and development of the settlements, but mostly addresses the Indian affairs of the time with the Utes and Shoshones. 

A "Name Index" has been included which gives a comprehensive list of all individuals mentioned in these Journals.  Each individual may be mentioned in one or several sections of the Journal.  To search for a name listed in the index, open a section of the journal and perform a search function by pressing command of control F, and enter the individuals name in the search box, the individual will be highlighted if he/she is mentioned in that section of the journal.  This was included as a resource for other families who are performing family history.