Mormon Convert, Mormon Defector: A Scottish Immigrant in the American West, 1848-1861

By Polly Aird

Reviewed by Bryan Buchanan
On 7/24/2010

Arthur H. Clark Company, 2009 Hardcover:
320 pages
ISBN-10: 0-87062-369-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-87062-369-1 Price: $39.95

Reviewed by Bryan Buchanan for the Association for Mormon Letters

As I was in the middle of reading David Bigler’s Forgotten Kingdom (part of the Kingdom in the West series), this fit nicely. It was a seamless segue from the forest view provided by the KITW volume to the tree view afforded by Polly Aird (and a very interesting tree at that!). Peter McAuslan (Aird’s great-great-uncle) was a figure not unlike Hosea Stout or Charles L. Walker (though perhaps not quite as well-known) in that he had his field-worn fingers in many territorial-era pies. As Bill Mackinnon points out in the introduction, the story of Peter McAuslan is important in the larger field of American history, particularly in telling the story of the Scottish diaspora. In this regard, Aird does an admirable job of providing helpful but not overbearing context.

Apart from the Godbeites, little attention has been paid historiographically to 19th Century “apostates.” Aird helps readers to see the other side of the fence, always (as notes Mackinnon) with a “judicious approach worthy of Peter McAuslan’s own unembittered post-Utah attitude.” The tale of McAuslan and his fellow caravaneers of 1859 provide a foreshadowing of the larger, more entrenched opposition seen among the Godbeites a decade later.

Aird provides a telling detail in the introduction that sheds light on the book’s balanced approach. She recounts how her father maintained that McAuslan was simply partaking in the grand experimental move westward; sincere faith in the visionary worldview of Mormonism was simply not there. In allowing Peter McAuslan’s deep-seated belief in visions (including a personal experience) to speak for itself, Aird manages to walk the fine line of respecting a subject’s convictions while maintaining a thoroughly historical approach.

In writing this book, Aird benefitted from detailed record-keeping practices among 19th Century Mormons, having access to a trunk full of McAuslan’s personal writings in addition to numerous types of ecclesiastical and institutional records kept in territorial Utah. This heavy dependence on primary, holographic sources results in two distinct advantages: the narrative remains authentic while avoiding the “been there, done that” feel of so many biographies that open with several chapters outlining early Mormon history. McAuslan remains at the forefront instead of disappearing into the mists of the “more important” doings of leaders and church authorities. Aird frequently teases out conclusions based on details scattered throughout McAuslan’s correspondence and other extant writings.

In a concise 30 pages, Aird tells the story of Peter’s early life, situating the McAuslan family squarely amid the chaos of industrializing Scotland. An example of the painstakingly succint detail used to paint the picture: Aird shares the pithy motto of the dyers during the push for a reform bill--“We live to dye and we dye to live. Reform forever.” Aird charts the course that these reforms efforts created for Peter--rather than following his father, Peter Jr. opted for a more skilled position in the calico trade. This, in turn, led him to the temperance movement aimed to reverse the trend toward alcohol-based socializing among lower-class workers. In addition, these workers began to collectively realize that government figures were indifferent to their lot; only a personal, loving God could help them.

Having set the historical stage, Aird then describes the religious environment, still smoldering from the flames of the Ten Years’ Conflict. Though he remained a member of the Church of Scotland, Peter held a “belief that each person has the right to evaluate religious teachings for himself,” as Aird points out. At this critical point in the narrative on the cusp of McAuslan’s conversion, Aird (despite having stated in the introduction that she had debunked the “family legend” that their conversion was motivated solely by economic concerns) leans toward an explanation based in social and class upheaval.

Admittedly, she does include the appeal of present-day revelation and a modern Moses as a factor leading to conversion. However, by discussing the theological elements second, she (perhaps unintentionally) downgrades their importance.

With the benefit of hindsight, it is fitting that Orson Pratt should have provided the immediate catalyst for McAuslan’s conversion, given his well-documented argumentative relationship with Brigham Young. An aside: Aird correctly points to Micah 4 (rather than Isaiah 2) as the source for Pratt’s “tops of the mountains” imagery so common in discourse of that era. Without any hint of scholarly disdain for such an otherworldly event, Aird next describes McAuslan’s two-part vision confirming his decision to join the Mormons. These visionary experiences comingle naturally with the mundane details of work and family life.

The period following Peter’s baptism provides several important windows into British Mormonism. Aird turns to sermons and items in the Millennial Star to show the fervor British converts felt for far-off Zion--Peter had himself copied lines from “O Ye Mountains High” into his Book of Mormon. Also, Aird documents the bombshell that the proclamation of polygamy in the Jan 1853 Millennial Star provided, some five months after a less-shocking proclamation in Utah, half a world away.

The firsthand account of the process of emigration, reduced to a science by the trial and error efforts of the British Mission office, is similarly enlightening. Aird quickly dispels the romantic myth of the crossing, sharing McAuslan’s candid commentary on the sandy sugar and sour molasses they received and relating comments from other passengers on the “four days of hell” below decks during stormy weather. The voyage westward was a mixture of positive experiences such as teaching English to French and Italian converts (and vice versa) and sobering ceremonies of dropping bodies of those (frequently children) who succumbed to disease. Among details applicable to virtually any transatlantic crossing are particularly Mormon vignettes, such as a skit about Joseph Smith and the devil (based on Parley P. Pratt’s earlier dialogue) and speaking in tongues. Aird contrasts the general feeling of cohesion among the cosmopolitan company with the anger expressed by those poorer Saints relegated to deck passage compared to cabin life for the officers on the trip north from New Orleans.

In the absence of any writings from McAuslan himself, Aird fills in the gaps with diary accounts from others in the company. A moving picture of cooperation and sacrifice emerges: other companies donate precious oxen to McAuslan’s group resulting in them in turn having to “burn many good things” to lighten their load. After a series of typical obstacles, McAuslan’s company finally reach their long-awaited Zion. The concise but powerful words of one woman in the train give voice to the ecstasy felt by all. Aird does a fine job of showing that the seeds of discontent in Zion were quickly apparent, relating the tense public theological sparring of Brigham and Orson--she contextualizes their dueling sermons quickly and capably without getting off track.

For the historian, there are two other valuable aspects of their arrival: first, Peter as exemplar of the working class European convert forced to adapt to the raw, agrarian society of early territorial Utah. Second, the looming twin specters of drought and locusts provide a necessary point in understanding the climate in which the Reformation, Utah War and Mountain Meadows Massacre would develop. One example of the emotional roller coaster that was this period: Aird notes that, on the heels of the end of the famine, the McAuslans lost their nineteenth month-old baby (she poignantly notes that Peter apparently preserved one of his shoes among his personal effects).

Unfortunately, Peter temporarily steps out of the picture during the Reformation--knowing what path he would later take, it would be fascinating to have a glimpse into his feelings at this critical juncture. We get only a terse report of a sermon preached as the Reformation was functionally spent and a family account of a bishop appropriating their barn to house immigrants (Aird responsibly places this in a footnote and states that she could not verify it, though the details are probable).

Having previously written on the grisly subject of the Parrish-Potter murder, Aird writes about this milestone in Peter’s journey with deft insight. She quotes a letter written by McAuslan to a friend who he had baptized back in Scotland which holds up the fiasco as one of the most horrific consequences of the “reformation excitement.” Another effect of the Reformation was the wholesale promotion of plural marriage. Aird quotes a fascinating tidbit from this same letter from McAuslan to Salmon: church leaders did so in preparation for the coming showdown with the government, feeling that “if a man will fight for anything it will be for his wives and children.” Shortly thereafter, the watershed crisis of faith occurred for Peter in the context of a church trial in Spanish Fork. Aird balances contemporary records and a reminiscent letter to Peter’s sister to document the sting that Peter felt in being required to submit as the clay in the potter’s hands. This episode provides a fine example of the course taken by many during these decades who chafed under the yoke of church authorities who often preached the necessity of unquestioning obedience. This, combined with the atrocities at Mountain Meadows shortly thereafter, would prove to be too much for the Scottish convert.

Once again, Peter’s voice quiets during a decisive period--Aird notes that he left no writings for 1858. As with the events of the previous year, it would be very interesting to gauge his sentiments as the chaos of preparing a scorched earth campaign mixed with fire and brimstone directed toward Uncle Sam swirled around Peter. Aird does a good job of using the words of Aaron Johnson to represent the confusion of transitioning from a “fully armed, belligerent state to a noncombative, acquiescent one ready to move elsewhere.”

The story following the cooling of tensions is engrossing enough that McAuslan’s excommunication in November 1858 comes with surprising speed. Perhaps this is appropriate since, as Aird points out, “Peter never referred to his excommunication.” Along with some 250 others unchurched at the same conference, Peter felt that he “could not be consistently a Mormon.” In the wake of this “pruning,” Aird points out the fractured spirit of community that paralleled the split in McAuslan’s family--some desiring to leave with Peter and some not quite ready to leave their earned faith. The traditional depiction of a unified block of Mormons defying the distasteful government presence in Utah is corrected in a restrained manner by Aird who cites several petitions by the citizenry to keep the army in their midst. Aird highlights the ever present threat of personal harm to anyone suspected of aiding the “gentiles” with the account of Peter meeting with Garland Hurt and telling him of men leaving at night as part of a mountain force ready to prevent any supposed moves by the army.

As avowed “apostates,” Peter’s group now looked to the army for protection as they made their way out of the territory and their former society. Aird admirably details their preparations and attempts to draw up a roster of the families thought to have accompanied the McAuslans. She follows the army escort’s route until they reached present day Winnemucca where the escort turned back and the group “no longer branded ‘Mormon apostates’...became simply emigrants eager to reach California.”

The rest of Peter’s life was lived as a quiet citizen of California. One interesting relationship was that of Peter and still-believing family members. For example, Aird notes that Peter wrote several letters (including one 76-page handwritten missive) to his sister in Utah, attempting in vain to dissuade her. A telling point into Peter’s thinking comes from a similar letter to his nephew, in which he denies that his change of heart was due to disobedience, “the Mormon reply to all such in my situation.” Another fascinating aspect of his post-Mormon life was his vision in 1861--therein he was shown (among many other things) that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet but that Brigham and his associates were “imposters to their own destruction,” a view that he would hold the rest of his life. Peter gradually became involved in Spiritualism which became his guiding framework--as Aird aptly notes, Peter’s arc of faith serves as a nearly contemporary parallel to the course of the Godbeites in Utah.

The eighteen years of research that Aird spent in crafting this concise narrative are obvious throughout. Every important historical context is fleshed out without becoming overbearing. She relies on primary sources, only occasionally referring to important secondary works such as Bill Mackinnon’s indispensable work on the Utah War period. Only a few minor quibbles: a chart showing family relationships might have been helpful at the front of the book, especially given the common predilection of the times to use favorite family names in different generations. Finally, a very few slips of the keyboard are present: 1956 instead of 1856 (p 160), Nielson alternating with Neilson (p 223). Aird has done a masterful job of honestly and responsibly telling her great-great uncle’s story--Peter would no doubt approve in his Scottish brogue.


Copyright 2010