Western History/Mormon Studies
On the Way to Somewhere Else European Sojourners in the Mormon West, 1834–1930
Mormon Studies
The Autobiography of Hosea Stout
Edited by Michael W. Homer
Edited by Reed A. Stout Revised by Stephen L. Prince
on the way to somewhere else European Sojourners in the Mormon West, 1834–1930
Most travelers to Utah during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, especially those from Europe, were curious about the Latterday Saint community, with its “seventeen-strong families with only one man!” This collection of the writings of some of those European travelers broke new ground by ignoring the English gentlemen’s tradition of incorporating only the predictably benign views. It includes such colorful perspectives towards the Mormons as those of an outraged Catholic priest, an intrigued German prince, a liberated Frenchwoman, and a devout French convert, many of who had visits with the man they called the “Pope of Mormonism,” Brigham Young. But European visitors encountered not only devout Mormons, they also met other lively characters of the American West, from fur traders to Indians to soldiers. Originally published in the series Kingdom in the West: The Mormons and the American Frontier, this new edition of On the Way to Somewhere Else captures almost one hundred years of varied perceptions, revealing an unexpected glimpse into the physical development of Utah and the political evolution of Mormonism. EDITED BY MICHAEL W. HOMER
Michael W. Homer is a Salt Lake City attorney. He is the chair of the board of Utah State History and the co-editor of James Bertoch: Missionary Journal and Letters to his Family.
Born in Kentucky in 1810, Hosea Stout converted to Mormonism in his twenties. He eventually rose to great rank within the religion. His The Autobiography of diary, published under the title On the Mormon Frontier, was described by historian Dale L. Morgan as “one of the most magnificent windows upon Mormon history ever opened.” Stout’s two-part autobiography was originally published in the Utah Historical Quarterly in 1962.
Hosea Stout Edited by Reed A. Stout • Revised by Stephen L. Prince
“The re-publication of Hosea Stout’s autobiography is long overdue and makes an essential companion volume to his diary. It fills in what the diary misses, the events from his birth in 1810 to the start of the diary in 1844. It chronicles his early life in Kentucky, his participation in the Black Hawk War, his conversion to Mormonism, and his subsequent rise in the ranks of the new religious movement to positions of influence. Stout served as a Danite in Missouri and later as a body guard to Joseph Smith Jr. He was chief of police at Nauvoo, a member of the Nauvoo Legion, and of the Quorum of Seventy and Council of Fifty. These pre-diary aspects of Stout’s life are available for the first time in over forty years. Combined with the diary, the autobiography is an indispensable resource in Mormon history.” —W. Paul Reeve, University of Utah
“There’s a sense of joyous adventure as the editor strolled the bookstalls, shops, and archives wherever he found himself as he prospected for materials. The result is a work full of surprises and meticulous documentation. The research has been prodigious.” —William Mulder, University of Utah
October 2009 32 figures 6 x 9, 420 pp. Paper $19.95 978-0-87480-994-7 10
Reed A. Stout, a great-grandson of Hosea Stout, was an attorney in Los Angeles. Stephen L. Prince is the author of Gathering in Harmony, winner of the Evans Handcart Award and the Thomas Rice King Award. October 2009 6 x 9, 80 pp. Paper $12.95 978-0-87480-957-2
University of Utah Press