August 4, 1999
In the winter of 1839 12,000 Mormons were expelled from the state of Missouri. And the town of Quincy, Illinois, took in more than 5,000 of them for several months.
Religion Specialist Carole Mikita reports on what the pioneers called their "city of hope," and the reenactment which took place this July 24th.
Quincy, Illinois, in the winter of 1839 was a small riverfront town with a population of just 1,600.
The number grew suddenly when more than 5,000 Mormons, fleeing Missouri, asked the residents for sanctuary.
Phil Germann/Quincy Historian: "THE WELCOME WHICH THE MORMONS RECEIVED IN QUINCY AND THE RECEPTION AND THE HELP WHICH THEY RECEIVED, I THINK PROBABLY WOULD BE ONE OF THE GREATEST HUMANITARIAN GESTURES IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES."
The Mormons were forcibly driven from western Missouri, first attacked by mobs, then running for their lives when Governor Lilburn Boggs issued an extermination order: Leave the state or be killed.
The journals of those early pioneers tell the stories of two communities... the one which they left because of suspicion and hatred, the other full of welcome and friendship.
Lynn Dunn/Direct Descendant: "AND WHEN YOU RECOGNIZE THAT THESE PEOPLE INDEED SACRIFICED AND GAVE UP MUCH BECAUSE THERE WERE MORE MORMONS THAN THERE WERE QUINCY RESIDENTS, AND WHEN THEY SAW THESE PEOPLE ARRIVING AND OPENED THEIR HOMES AND THEIR HEARTS TO THEM... IT DOES TOUCH ME."
Lamoyne Bunting/Direct Descendant: "AND I'LL GLADLY THROW MY ARMS AROUND THESE PEOPLE FOR WHAT THEY DID FOR MY ANCESTORS."
And on July 24th, 1,400 descendants of those early Mormon pioneers did express their thanks in a parade across Memorial Bridge into Qunicy, Illinois. It was the same trek, without the bridge, that was made during the winter months 160 years ago.
Cornelia Butterfield/92 Year Old Marcher: "IN THE FIRST PLACE, ALL MY PEOPLE WERE PIONEERS AND WENT OUT TO UTAH. THEY TOOK THE HARD TIME TO MAKE IT TO HOME OUT THERE AND I WAS GLAD TO COME BACK, GRATEFUL FOR QUINCY, FOR ALL THE HELP THAT YOU GAVE US."
The two mile route from Missouri into downtown Quincy was filled with visitors from Utah, reliving the past and filled with emotion.
Annette Burton/Parade Organizer: "THIS HAS BEEN SUCH A JOYOUS CELEBRATION THAT I AM SPEECHLESS FOR THE WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE EMOTIONS OF MY HEART."
The key to the city went to Elder Hugh W. Pinnock, and in return a statue of Brigham Young to Mayor Chuck Scholz, who marked the event with an annoucement. The city of Quincy will build a monument, so that visitors can see where their ancestors were sheltered in that difficult winter of 1839.
There are also plans for a marker naming the Mormons who died that winter in Quincy. Their unmarked graves are on the grounds of the county courthouse... among them, Brigham Young's father.
