After being lost to the family for more than a century and a half, the grave of Mary "Molly" Knight Slade was found and marked by grateful descendants.
At a ceremony held at the Salt Lake Cemetery Aug. 4, 2007, descendants of the Knight-Slade families, along with authors of early Church history Larry C. Porter and William G. Hartley, dedicated a marker in her memory. The two authors were honored as adoptees into the Knight clan for all their research, said Darrell Knight, a descendant and head of the family organization, www.josephknightfamily.org.
"Many of the family present mentioned to me what a sweet spirit was present at the celebration and that they hoped Molly was present to witness the love family members had for her because of her great example," said Carl Davis, a third great-grandson.
Molly Knight Slade was among a handful of members who lived on the frontiers of the Church in Colesville, N.Y., in 1830 and survived to reach Salt Lake City in 1852.
She was born in 1774, in Oakam, Mass., to Benjamin Knight and Sarah Crouch Knight. Her eldest brother was Joseph Knight Sr., known to be a good friend and great help to Joseph Smith Jr. in bringing forth the Book of Mormon. Sections 12 and 23 of the Doctrine and Covenants mention him specifically. His son Newell is mentioned in five sections.
The Knights left personal histories that give priceless insight into the beginnings of the Church. Molly left no personal history, but she was very close to her family in many ways, including geographically. She lived only two miles north of the Knights in South Bainbridge (now Afton), N.Y. She was a frequent visitor and became friends with the Prophet, his brother, Hyrum, and other Church leaders.
Molly joined the new and then-controversial religion in November of 1830 at age 56, about the same time as many of the extended Knight family. In the spring of 1831 the entire Colesville Branch was called by the Prophet to go to "The Ohio." Molly's husband, Aaron Slade Jr., traveled with them as far as Buffalo, N.Y., and then left Molly with four of their nine children, Benjamin, Ann, Clarke, and George Washington Slade, who traveled west. The rest of the family remained in New York.
This small group of saints stayed together for many years through many trials in places well-known to Church history.
During the years between 1830 and 1852, Molly was compelled to leave her home over and over and over, usually taking little or nothing with her.
Upon arriving in Ohio, the branch lived on the Lehman Copley farm in Thompson, Ohio, for two months until Copley asked them to leave. They then were directed by Joseph Smith to Jackson County, Mo., where, after establishing themselves again, they were compelled to leave under terrible weather conditions. They set up camp on the muddy banks of the Missouri River at Randolph Bluffs, then moved to Clay County until forced out. They then moved to Far West, Mo. After the Haun's Mill Massacre, they evacuated to Pittsfield Ill., in a site called "Mormon Town." There they remained until the swamps of Nauvoo had been dried out and the saints could enter en masse.
They remained in Nauvoo, where the Colesville Branch disbanded, until the Prophet was martyred and they were again driven from their homes. This time they stayed a short time at Winter Quarters, Neb. They were uprooted once more from this temporary city to move across the river from Indian land, and settled in the Kanesville, Iowa, area. From there, in 1852, Molly, then 78 years old and answering the call of a different prophet, Brigham Young, climbed into a wagon for the trek west.
Her son, Clarke, had died in Pittsfield, Ill. Her brother Joseph Sr. died in Mount Pisgah, Iowa. Her nephew Newell Knight died in Nebraska.
Molly arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in early October of 1852. She was now so poor that when she died six months later on April 6, 1853, her family could not afford a lasting marker for her grave. She was buried as a pauper.
But poor as she was, she left her family and the entire Church something money couldn't buy: her testimony.
