A key reputed to be from the original Nauvoo Temple in Illinois has been presented by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers chapter in Mona, Utah, to the chapter in Salt Lake City.
The presentation was made May 7 at the organization's museum near the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City.
Linda Brewer of Holladay, Utah, said her ancestors, Henry I. and Temperance Jolley Young were in the final "Battle of Nauvoo," in which the Latter-day Saints were driven from the city prior to coming west to the Salt Lake Valley under the leadership of President Brigham Young.
"It is recorded that Brigham Young gave the keys to Henry I. Young to give to the Quincy Committee," she said, referring to the body in nearby Quincy, Ill., that spearheaded the expulsion of the Church members from Illinois.
She said her ancestor retained one of the keys and brought it with him when he came to Utah with the Saints.
"It is recorded in our family history that Temperance hid the American flag under her skirt as they fled Nauvoo," she said, adding that the Young and Jolley families had donated their wealth to build the Nauvoo Temple and helped establish farms in Iowa to prepare the Saints to cross the plains.
"Henry Ichabod Young was an educator that established schools throughout Utah," she said.
