So, HOW Mormon AM I?

A: Speaking about my ancestry, if the dial goes up to 11, I’m an 11.

Several weeks ago, I made a social media post coming out as Mormon (a fact I had kept mostly secret after leaving Utah) so I could be openly post-Mormon for my own healing and growth. When I wrote about my ancestry, I knew my knowledge of the details was hazy. At that time, I knew of three prominent Mormon pioneer ancestors but wondered if there are more. This curiosity led me to familysearch.org to learn more.

There are more—many, many more. I had no idea just how utterly, completely, and thoroughly Mormon my family is. We are at the center of the stronghold. Here is a brief sketch of my deep dive into my family’s Mormon-ness. (Forgive me for a post that is slightly longer than I’d like to keep on average, but the info is what it is… I’ll attempt to keep it brief!)

Knowing that I was born into an orthodox family in Provo, the question I wanted answered was: how far back do I need to go to find a convert? To find someone who was NOT? I found other interesting things along the way. Assuming I count as a “generation,” I am a seventh generation Mormon.

The first converts to Mormonism in my family are my GGGG-grandparents (seventh gen), who go back to the earliest years of the church. Of the 64 ancestors in this generation, 13 of them relocated to Utah or Nauvoo, IL in the course of their life (and are buried there). Five of those ancestors emigrated from Europe (England and Switzerland), making the epic “whole enchilada” trek across the Atlantic and across the plains by human and/or animal power to the Salt Lake Valley (pre-transcontinental rail). Some of these ancestors were quite old during this trek, Johannes Gerber (Sr., b:1769) was 84 when he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. He died in Salt Lake City only days after his arrival in Zion.

Of my sixth-generation Mormon ancestors, I knew of three before doing any research. In this generation (GGG-grands), 15 of 32 lived in the Mormon realm. Eight of these ancestors emigrated from Europe (England, Switzerland, Denmark, and Scotland). Of these 15, at least 10 migrated before the railroad was an option (pre-1869, based on birth dates of their children known to be born in Utah and Nauvoo). One was born in Nauvoo (Susan Holman). In this generation I found some Mormon fame. There are five ancestors in this generation who I have found are noteworthy, four are from my mother’s paternal side… so all four of my GGG-grandfathers on the Jacob side of my mother’s family are included here:

 – Norton Jacob migrated in the Brigham Young Vanguard company, arriving in Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Norton was also an electioneer in Joseph Smith’s 1844 presidential campaign (yes, presidential campaign…). Norton’s dad Udney Hay Jacob was one of the 13 mentioned in the generation above.

– John Gerber, born in Bern, Switzerland, was a founder of Midway, UT. The Gerber family is part of the Swiss heritage of that area. Many of us are familiar with the Midway Swiss Days festival. I didn’t know I had a connection to that heritage until yesterday. His father, also Johannes, was part of the generation above and is buried in Salt Lake City.

– Benjamin Franklin Johnson was a private secretary to Joseph Smith and a member of the church’s Council of Fifty. In Utah, he served 14 terms in the State Legislature. Somewhat scandalously, his sister Delcena was a plural wife of Joseph Smith’s before polygamy was doctrinal in the Mormon church. His father Ezekiel, part of the generation above, died in Nauvoo.

– Charles Crismon was a founding settler of Mesa, AZ, gaining a foothold for roughly 250,000 church members living in Maricopa County Arizona today.

– Ephraim Knowlton Hanks is a folk hero of the Mormon migration. He led the rescue of the Martin and Willy handcart companies from the blizzard that trapped them on the trail, freezing and starving to death in Wyoming in October 1856. Ephraim’s Rescue is a movie based around this event. He is the only ancestor I mention from my dad’s side.

Enough kidding around folks, in my fifth generation (GG-grands) things get serious. One hundred percent of my ancestors in this generation (16/16) were in the Mormon realm! Birth years in this generation range from 1823 to 1867. By the end of 1891, every one of my great-great-grandparents were Mormon and living within the cultural footprint. This generation brings the last of my emigrant ancestors from Sweden, Scotland, England, and Denmark to the territory.

As of 1900, all eight of my fourth-generation ancestors were alive in Utah, Maricopa County AZ, and southeastern Idaho. These are my great-grandparents.

My four grandparents were born between 1908 and 1915 in Holladay & Murray, Utah; Shelley, Idaho; and Phoenix, Arizona.

The Mormon story of my family continues to this day. My wife is also a descendant of Mormon pioneers, among them is John D. Lee. Her ancestors settled southern Utah. Our children are eighth generation Mormons. Although my wife and I are no longer part of the church, we are very much a product of the culture of Utah Mormonism. The influence of the church during our youth continues to today. We are raising our children outside the church, but it’s part of who we are, and undeniably part of who our kids are, and will become.

How culturally Mormon am I? Very, extremely, utterly, completely, and totally… Mormon. As much as I have done to live apart from the church, this is why it follows me, and fascinates me.

(A brief note about my method: I don’t know all of the ancestral stories about each person’s conversion, if someone was born or died in Utah, southeastern Idaho, or Maricopa County Arizona, and their progeny include relatives I know were/are Mormon, I included them as church members.)