"The maternal grandfather of George W. Standley was Daniel Bowen, who was born in Vermont, June 25, 1800, and died in New Canton, Illinois, June 29, 1880. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Strate, was born in Pennsylvania and gave her hand in marriage to Daniel Bowen in the Keystone state near Detroit. Daniel Bowen was a minister of the gospel and for many years engaged in preaching. Accompanied by his wife and ten children, he emigrated westward to Pike county, Illinois, with a company of six hundred others under the leadership of James Smith, the Mormon leader. They started from Clayton, Ohio, in 1843, and reached Pike county in the fall of the same year. After a short time they went to Nauvoo in Hancock county, where they had trouble on account of being identified with Brigham Young. Consequently most of the company of six hundred fled to Ardine, Missouri, and stopped at a gristmill called the "old well," where they were overtaken by a party of forty masked men who fell upon them during the night and massacred over forty men, women and children, throwing their dead bodies into the well. The remainder of the ill-fated party fled from Ardine to Diamond, Missouri, but were hotly pursued. Five days after reaching Diamond they built a big platform, intending to hold a meeting for the purpose of considering the course of reaching Salt Lake City. There the company divided, about half agreeing to go with Brigham Young, after which they were known as the Brighamites, while the other half was known as the Smithites. The latter branch had formerly been known as the Latter Day Saints. The Brighamites got away from Diamond but the Smithites were overtaken, Daniel Bowen, one of the prophets, together with nineteen other prophets or officers of the sect, were blindfolded and placed on the platform to be shot but Governor Boggs rode up and demanded that "not a gun be fired." He then took the bandage from the eyes of Daniel Bowen and said, "You look like an honest man. Now I will give you and your people twenty-four hours to get out of this community and ten days to get out of the state. If you don't you will be killed." They all agreed. Daniel Bowen had loaded up his wagons as had the others but the same night their wagon was burned and the horses and cattle were taken away by unknown parties. Daniel Bowen and his family of ten children, together with thirty-four other families, were compelled to march single file through the snow and after many hardships and much suffering they reached Quincy, Illinois. There the party broke up and the different families scattered over the country. Daniel Bowen and his family finally reached New Canton, where he began working at his trade of shoemaking, which he followed until his death in 1880. His wife died two years before and they were buried in the Morey graveyard near New Canton. It was a daughter of this couple who became the wife of Charles Standley. "
