Nauvoo in the 19th Century

We don't know much about this. It was a ghost town, with few people in it. The Temple had been destroyed and only a few brick houses remained.

Emma Smith, the wife of the founder, Joseph Smith, had married another man, Major Bidaman who had no interest in Religion.

He rebuilt the Nauvoo House, that only had two walls standing, into a fine three-story building. Emma lived there until she died in 1879. She tried to operate it as a hotel but failed at this.

There were poor roads to Nauvoo, and most people arrived by Steamboat. Emma's sons had moved, with their wives and children, to Plano, Illinois, and then Lamoni, Iowa to be with the RLDS Church.

This church developed an interest in Nauvoo early in the 20th Century (I need some dates here) and they dug up the bones of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, placed them on display, then covered them with Cement.

The Laytons (relatives of ours) were hired to restore the Mansion House but had to tear most of it down.

Our family moved to Nauvoo in 1922, then the depression made Ourths move to Kirtland, Ohio, where our Uncle Jack found them a job managing a Millionaire's Farm. After WWII, they returned to Nauvoo and bought a farm. Arnold Ourth died trying to make it work.