Some Latter-day Saints have pioneer ancestors going back almost 200 years. Other Church members are themselves the pioneers in their families. In the weeks surrounding Pioneer Day July 24 — the annual celebration of the first wagon company entering the Salt Lake Valley — Church News staff members and others share stories of pioneers in their families, some from the 1800s and some from the 1900s. This is the 16th in the series.
After my ancestor Daniel Allen Jr. and his wife, Mary Ann, were baptized in 1834, they sold their 40-acre farm in Ohio, donated the entire proceeds to the Church, and ended up in Nauvoo, Illinois. Daniel was one of the men assigned to guard and protect the Prophet Joseph Smith, whom he valued as a friend.
One day, Daniel felt a premonition of danger. “Mary Ann, I have a feeling the mob will be after me tonight,” he said. “Many who stood guard [at Carthage Jail] are already dead. I must find a way to outwit them if I can.”
While tucking his children into bed, he noticed his wife’s sleeping cap on the dresser. Inspiration struck. Could this be the answer to his prayers for safety? Mary Ann tied the strings of the frilly white cap firmly on his head, and Daniel climbed into bed.
Soon, the mob was at their door demanding to see Daniel. Mary Ann calmly stated that he wasn’t home. After searching the entire house, the mob left, disappointed to only find what they believed to be an old woman huddled in bed with the children.
In the quiet aftermath, Daniel and Mary Ann knelt in prayerful thanksgiving for God’s deliverance.
Later, returning from a mission, Daniel found most of Nauvoo evacuated. Mary Ann had just given birth to a son and was ill, but the uncaring mob threatened the family with death if they didn’t immediately flee in their hastily loaded wagon.
Mary Ann died from pneumonia, and the grieving family buried her along the Iowa trail. The baby survived on cow’s milk until Daniel and his young children arrived at Winter Quarters, where the infant son also died. Daniel eventually remarried and left Kanesville, Iowa, with other pioneers, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley with his family in September 1849.
As a child, I loved hearing how Daniel’s clever disguise fooled the mob, and his sacrifices and unwavering faith throughout his 87 years have continued to inspire me and my family.
