John Loveless (1807 - 1880) Profile

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John Loveless

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High Priests of Nauvoo and early Salt Lake City

High Priests of Nauvoo and early Salt Lake City, Page 79.

High Priests of Nauvoo and early Salt Lake City.

Historical Department journal history of the Church, 1830-2008

Historical Department journal history of the Church, 1830-2008, April 15, 1844, Page 2.

“[Elders] will present before the people “General Smith’s views of the powers and policy of the General Government,” and seek diligently to get up electors who will go for him for the presidency.  All Elders will be faithful in preaching the gospel.”

Transcript for Historical Department journal history of the Church, 1830-2008, April 15, 1844

Historical Department journal history of the Church, 1830-2008.

Missionary Department missionary registers, 1860-1959

Missionary Department missionary registers, 1860-1959, October 15, 1869, Vol. 1, Page 16, Line 685.

Missionary Department missionary registers, 1860-1959, October 15, 1869, Vol. 2, Page 18, Line 685.

Missionary Department missionary registers, 1860-1959.

Missionary Journal

Missionary Journal.

Temple Records Index Bureau, comp., Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 977.343/N1 K29c

Temple Records Index Bureau, comp., Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 977.343/N1 K29c, Page 62.

Temple Records Index Bureau, comp., Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 977.343/N1 K29c.

Deseret News

Local and Other Matters: Gone to Rest

"Local and Other Matters: Gone to Rest", Deseret News, December 15, 1880, Page 9.

Deseret News.

John Loveless autobiographical sketch, 1859

John Loveless autobiographical sketch, 1859.

. . . and in company with the Saints of God, seek a new home in the unknown regions of a new desert country.



The night before crossing the [Missouri] river we experienced the most severe hail-storm I had ever witnessed; the suffering from cold and exposure tongue or pen cannot describe. But what can not the Saints of God endure while in the discharge of their duties.



On the 24th. I was taken sick with inflamation of the lungs and was near unto death; the brethren, notwithstanding they had administered to me thought that my labors were over and while collected a number of them in a body around my tent conversed about my being consumed by the wolves. I heard them and made up my mind that I would be buried six feet deep in order to cheat the ravenous wolves of their prey. I called to Brother Norton to make known to him my wishes, but could not make him hear. My wife came in and I told her what I wanted. She began crying and said that she could not get along without me and that I must not die. I studied a moment and then told her that I would not. I immediately began to recover and four days later was driving my team. How plain was the power and mercy of God manifested unto me.



On arriving near the Elk Horn River we found a perfect sea of water. This year, 1851, almost the entire country was flooded with water; consequently, we had to go around the Elk Horn River and explore an entirely new route, traveling North so far that we got into the Bluffs and hills of deep sand, Sage Brush, Greasewood.



But our most serious difficulties were in encountering enormous herds of wild Buffalo. It seemed sometimes as if the whole face of the country was, covered with them. We had to send men ahead to disperse them in order that we might drive through with our teams. We succeeded in doing so without serious accident and after traveling as near as we could judge about three hundred miles, we again struck the road about one hundred eighty miles from where we had left it about two months after having done so, we continued our journey for Great Salt Lake City, blessed in every undertaking and good spirit prevailing all of the time. All enjoyed good health, met with no losses of consequence and on the fifteenth day of September, 1851, we arrived in Salt Lake City.

Transcript for John Loveless autobiographical sketch, 1859

Wilson, Rachel Priscilla Loveless, "Biography of Priscilla Wilson, 1923," 2-7

Wilson, Rachel Priscilla Loveless, "Biography of Priscilla Wilson, 1923," 2-7.

Pop fitted our four wagons one with four yoke of cattle, and two with three yoke including the cows and one with one very large yoke of oxen for my mother. There were two small children and although I was then ten years old I was not permitted to ride with mother except on rare occasions. One day I got in with mother and as I got out over the end of the tongue, I caught my dress and hung for a little way, then fell down and the team ran over me, but I was not hurt in the least although my mother was very scared.
Pop did not have money enough to leave. but he went down to a merchant by the name of Kinkaid in the capital and got a load of goods for freighting and they were paid for hauling this load in provisions for the trip, which consisted of cornmeal, matches, ham[,] some wheat flour, so that we were left well provided for in foodstuff.
One of our troubles on the trip was for wood to cook with. Although we had a small stove, we very often had to burn buffalo chips for fuel and sometimes put some in the wagon for fear of a scarcity of even that kind of fuel.
I remember the day we started. We were near the banks of the Missouri. I have always had a picture of that great muddy river as we crossed in a ferry boat. Everything was ferried across. The great number of cattle, wagons, etc. I was nearly frightened to death. 
Before we crossed the river a great band of Pottawatomie Indians came to see us off. They shook hands and said goodby as we left the east bank.
After we had reached this side we were ordered to wait for others who were coming. While waiting here, in April, it rained for five or six days. The cattle were kept in a big correl [corral] and fed. The mud in the correl became knee deep. It was always referred to as the muddy correl.
In about six days the others also came up and we were organized and ready for the journey. Pop was put in as captain over ten wagons. Our captain was named [Roswell] Stevens. The one man was captain over fifty wagons[.] the pilot of the company was named Cooley. He had been to Utah before. He rode a horse, the only horse I can remember in the company. He must have had lots of red cotton handkerchiefs as he always left one tied to a brush to guide us.
We traveled until we came to the Big Horn Creek. Rain had been coming down about every day and the Big Horn was so swollen that we could not cross, so we followed him up the stream to head it. We followed that stream for weeks, we lost the stream but traveled on for days and weeks. We got up into the sandhills where the buffalo had been driven. They were so thick we could hardly travel. One night a stampede of buffalo frightened our cattle and they broke out and all ran away. The men were for two days hunting them. One of our cows we could not find at all. 
 One night we stopped on the bank of a beautiful stream of pure cold water. The captain told us however that we did not need to fill our churns and kegs with this water, as we could camp that night by a big stream. We went on, traveled all day and after dark we came to a perfectly dry creek bed. The men dug and dug, but not a drop of water could be found. Our cattle had not a drop. My little brother cried nearly all night for water. The next morning all teams and available wagons and vessels were taken back to our camp of the night before for water. The cattle had to be herded to keep them from jumping in the stream.
The next night we camped in a pretty place. We stopped two hours before sunset. One wagon pulled out a half mile from the others and the men came for my mother but she could not go. Two or three women went out to the wagon and the next morning I heard a baby cry in that wagon when it came back and I knew there was none the night before. I thought they had found one in the brush.
We traveled and traveled this unknown road until after a time we came back to the main road. One Sat. morning as meat was getting scarce, the captain told the company to stay where we were all day. The best hunters were ordered to go out and kill one or two buffalo[.] they had no trouble in getting two very large ones. The men came back with a lot of meat. All day Sunday we jerked this buffalo meat and by putting it out in the sun whenever possible, we kept it from spoiling and had jerky all the rest of the trip and some when we reached the valley.
Fortunately very few Indians were seen while we were lost in the sandhills. There was no sickness, no cholera or trouble on this trip. Those who came along on the old road suffered very much with sickness, especially cholera. When we reached the old road, there was the greatest jubilee I have ever seen. Men swung their hat and shouted. Women cried and I couldn’t understand for years why they cried. When we found ourselves we were just a short distant the other side of Old Fort Laramie about half way and we had been more than three months on the road. It was here where we came into the Indian country. There were some Sioux Indians, these were big fine looking men. The Snake Indians and the Cheyennes were at war.
One night as we were camped by a small stream I was across the creek with my sister milking when the bullets began to fly all around us. I thought we were going to be killed. Mother called to us but sister said, “We were not through milking yet.” We hurried back to the camp. While we were milking a grown Indian and a boy ran past. We then ran to the Indian and hid. The Indian and the boy got in one of the wagons of the company. They were ordered out by the Camptain [Captain] and the owner of the wagon pushed them out. We were afraid of being accused of aiding one band to escape: These two ran to the side of a hill to where a projecting rock made a hole where they crawled in. Just then five big warriors were seen coming on horses. They were tracking these two. The five were armed with shields, and spears and rifles. They rode up to the rock and by spearing the two hunted ones, finally brought them out. They scalped the man and boy and came down to our camp showing the bleeding scalps. Some of the men of our company went up to where the two were and found them still moving. They died immediately however, no one slept that night. We could see the smoke and hear Indians.
The next morning a company of our men went ahead to find the Snake Tribe to explain the death of their tribesmen. They found a large tribe of Snakes with a white man with them who could talk English. The Interpreter told our men that he would do all he could to save them but that it looked suspicious and pretty bad for our company and we might all have to pay for this deed as they thought we had killed their tribesmen. The Snake leaders came to our camp and laid their blanket across the road and ordered that no man move past them until they were convinced of our innocence. Our men took them out and they finally located the tracks of the enemy Cheyennes and we were allowed to depart. No other special troubles were encountered between there and our destination, Salt Lake City, where we arrived in September having been five months on the road.

Transcript for Wilson, Rachel Priscilla Loveless, "Biography of Priscilla Wilson, 1923," 2-7

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Colerain Township, Ross, Ohio, United States

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Called on a special mission to preach the gospel and assist with Joseph Smith's presidential campaign in Ohio (Journal History, April 15, 1844, p. 2) 


He served with Milo Andrus in Southern Ohio. When he heard that Joseph and Hyrum had been murdered (June 27, 18440 they aborted the mission and returned to Nauvoo.

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William Duncan Loveless

Hyrum Smith Loveless

Rachel Mahala Anderson

Rhoda Sanford

John Oscar Loveless

Sarah Jane Lawrence

Maria Katherine Lawrence

Mary Elizabeth Loveless

Emma Smith Lawrence

Mary Ellen Lawrence

Parley Pratt Loveless

Rachel Priscilla Loveless

Charlotte Lucretia Loveless

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Payson, Utah, Utah Territory, United States

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John Loveless

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