Person:Levi Jackman (3)

Jackman, Levi, 1797-1876 Autobiography (1797-1833) A Short Sketch of the Life of Levi Jackman by Levi Jackman, typescript, BYU-S

I was born in the state of Vermont, Orange County, town of Virshier, on the 28th day of July, 1797. My father's name was Moses French Jackman. My mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Carr. 

I know but little of my grandparents, only what I obtained from my mother when I was quite young. She informed me that my Grandfather Jackman and his two brothers came from England at an early date, and were all Baptist Deacons. My father was put to a shoemaker's trade when a boy in old Salisbury, state of Massachusetts, in which place my mother lived. My Grandfather Carr was a seafaring man and died in the city of New York, of a yellow fever at an early age. I have no knowledge of the death of either of the others of my grandparents. My mother was born about the year 1750 or 1760. I think my father was a little the youngest. Soon after they were married, my father moved to the state of Vermont. My mother had five boys as follows: Daniel, Moses French, James Rayerdon, William, and myself, Levi. They had no girls. My father was killed by the fall of a tree on July 7, 1797, three weeks before I was born. He was a man of almost unexampled piety, and his death was much lamented by all who knew him. I was born July 28, 1797. The next winter my Uncle Levi took my brother Moses and kept him till he was twenty years old. My mother had a hard time to provide for her family while they were young. In February, 1810, we moved to the state of New York; arrived at Batavia on the 26th of March and in the fore-part of April went on a piece of land that we had selected for our home. The country was entirely new, and game such as bear, deer, wolf, etc., was plentiful. At that season the earth was covered with herbage and blossoms of every variety. The scenery was truly delightful, but the flood of immigration soon changed the appearance of things. Soon after our arrival, my mother had a cancer in her breast which terminated her days about the 20th of September, 1819. She was one of the best mothers, and spared no pains to bring up her children in way they should go. On the 13th day of November, 1817, I married a wife by the name of Angeline Myers. This was in the town of Alexander, Genesee County, and the place where we first stopped when we came to the county. My wife, when I married her, had a son by the name of Albert Brady. He was then about four years old. We afterwards called him by my name. We had five children as follows: William was born October 6, 1818. Aurelia was born September 20, 1820. Parmenio was born August 6, 1822. Ammi was born February 6, 1825. The next was a boy, Levi Myers, born May 2, 1828, but he lived only about two hours. In the year 1830, we moved to the Ohio Portage County. The next winter Joseph Smith and others came to that country with the Book of Mormon, and bore testimony to its truth, etc. After a fair investigation I believed it, and embraced it. On the 4th day of May, 1831, my wife and her mother were baptized. On the 7th I was baptized. Harvey Whitlock baptized us and many more in that place. A few days after this I was ordained an elder by Oliver Cowdrey [Cowdery]. This season Joseph Smith with about twenty elders went to the west part of the state of Missouri to find location for the saints. They returned the next fall after having picked on Jackson County for the place. This season a few families moved to the place. The work spread with much power and signs followed the preaching of the work, and very many received it. In November, at a conference, I was ordained a high priest with many others. It was decided that as many as could (with few exceptions) should move west the next spring. Wishing to see some of my brothers who lived in Pennsylvania before I went west, I started in March, in company with Peter Whitmer, to see them. The first evening after we arrived at my brothers in Columbus, we attended a Methodist meeting and were invited to preach. It was new work to us, but we did the best we could. When we were through we were opposed, and abused by their leader. We were invited to preach the next evening in a school house in another part of town.