Samuel Smith’s & Orson Hyde’s Missionary Journals

A collection of missionary journals from June- November 1832, helping to answer the question “where did LDS polygamy originate?” Proselyting to heavily populated Cochranite villages in Maine’s southern coasts, Orson Hyde and Samuel Smith’s journals are some of the most prominent early records of LDS/Mormon influence by polygamists and those teaching spiritual wifery.

Excerpts from Samuel Smith & Orson Hyde’s Missionary Journals

Jun 24↑	Samuel Smith – “In Boston. Held a meeting at Fanny Brewers.” (Boston, Massachusetts)
Jun 29↑	Orson Hyde – “Preached in the evening… two ladies confessed their faith in the work, and a Miss [Elizabeth] and Mrs. [Augusta Adams] Cobb.” Samuel Smith – “Baptized three: Augusta Cobb, Elizabeth Harendeen and [Ann] Porter.” (Boston, Massachusetts, sources for names, p.29)
Jul 1↑	Orson Hyde – “attended to sacrament, considerably disturbed by false spirits in a man and woman that believed in the Cochranite doctrine. We cried against them and after little got them considerably quelled… Not a very good time because of disturbance.” Samuel Smith – “Somewhat interrupted this day in the evening by a man and woman that taught the doctrine of the devil, such as… having spiritual wives… they came out to our meeting. The woman arose and began to preach and we requested her to stop and she would not, and we cried against her spirit, for we knew that it was an unclean spirit, and we cried against it that it was of the devil, and it made a considerable stir. The man that had the same spirit tempted us, saying: ‘Cast the Devil out,’ crying amen to the words of the woman. After considerable muttering and grumbling and shaking of her frame, she stopped and we proceeded with our meeting.” (Boston, Massachusetts)
Jul 29↑	Samuel Smith – “Held a meeting at Sister Brewer’s. Preaching in the forenoon and then baptized two, Fanny Brewer and Mary Voce.” (Boston, Massachusetts)
Sep 25↑	Samuel Smith – “A large congregation came together and Brother Orson preached to them… we’ve been were invited to go home with a younger man by the name of Ludgkins and stayed overnight with him. His stepmother we had seen before. We had seen her in Boston, the woman that came into our meeting and we had cried against her spirit.” (York, Maine)
Sep 28↑	Orson Hyde – “Attended a Cochranite meeting, and they said, ‘if any one had a message from God there was liberty to give it unto the people.’ And I commenced by prayer, but thought I would not tell them about the work then, but would get their confidence in the first place.” Samuel Smith – “We went to a meeting in the evening and the people were called Cockrinites because the man that first preached their faith, his name was Cockrin. They gave liberty for anyone to speak… Brother Orson spoke to them them and exhorted them to faithfulness to the Lord and to humility and to stand in the council of the Lord, that they might know the voice of the Good Shepherd, that they might when the voice came ‘behold the Bridegroom cometh’ go out to meet him. And they said ‘Amen.’ When meeting closed, we spake that we would like to preach to the people… They would not let us.“ (Kennebunkport, Maine)
Oct 10↑	Orson Hyde – “Visited three families but without much hope of doing anything to profit them because of the ‘Cochranite’s,’ a deluded sect of people, by whom many had been deceived, and the people were afraid of the truth, and for this cause the way of truth was evil spoken of…[B]ut few came out to meeting.” Samuel Smith – “a less number came together in the evening than before, but we declared unto them that they must repent and go up to Zion.” (Kennebunkport, Maine)
Oct 11↑	Orson Hyde – “Preached to a congregation of Cochranites who gave liberty; told them again to repent and go up to Zion, and we lifted our cry in the spirit, and I hope some of them will go; but they had a wonderful lustful spirit, because they believe in a ‘plurality of wives’ which they call spiritual wives, knowing them not after the flesh but after the spirit, but by the appearance they knew one another after the flesh.” Samuel Smith – “The people in these parts were under a delusion of such a spirit of confusion had seized them that it appeared to be impossible to teach them, to get them to hear and understand by the right Spirit.“ (Ogaquit, Maine – 3 miles from Kennebunkport)
Oct 15↑	Orson Hyde – “Called on Mr. Goodrich and Stimpson; tried to persuade them to go to Zion, and they seemed to have some little disposition to go, but could not bring them to repentance before God. Came up about two miles farther to Mr. [Timothy] Hams and tarried all night; found him an enthusiastic man,— a Cochranite— not much hopes of going to Zion or embracing.” (Newburyport, Maine)
Oct 16↑	Orson Hyde & Samuel Smith spent the day at Timothy Ham’s house, helping him harvest potatoes and do household chores, then held meetings with some Cochranites that evening. (Newburyport, Maine)
Oct 17↑	Orson Hyde – “Visited three families and talk to good deal; some hopes of their going to Zion some time.” Samuel Smith – “Brother Orson preached to them… Spake upon the covenant. Declared unto them that they must repent, all of them and be baptized and go to Zion. But they were hard an[d] unbelieving and we had not much hope for them.”
Oct 18↑	Samuel Smith – “stayed at home of Captain Andrews, who had showed some interest and was a subscriber to ‘The Evening and the Morning Star’ visited some of the neighborhood and found some that we thought would go to Zion.”
Oct 20-21↑	Orson Hyde – “Tarried all night at Mr. McKinney’s, who lived with what he called a ‘spiritual wife.’“ (note: shared entry labeled October 20 & 21)
Oct 24↑	Orson Hyde – “One man arose in said the people would not be likely to receive it [the gospel] if it were true because of Cochran’s description. He did mention the names of two Cochranites and said if we had any fellowship for them he wished us to depart out of their coast. I then told them that our message was from God, and it was as much to Cochranites as Free Will Baptist, and that I should rejoice as much to see a Cochranite redeemed from his errors as a Free Will Baptist. But I told them I had no fellowship with error nor iniquity. They did not request us to hold another meeting; but a man 3 miles from the place was there, a Cochranite, and he invited us to go there; and we gave out an appointment for the next meet evening.” Samuel Smith – “One man arose and said that there had been a deceiver through that country and had deceived the people and the people were afraid and… if we had fellowship with that people that had been deceived (Kockranites) he should desire us to depart out of their coast, that the people would not desire to hear us any more. We told him our mission is unto all people and we did not believe in the doctrine of the Kockranites… Hill was some believing, but rather stupid… yet we had hopes that he and his family would go to Zion.”
Oct 25-26↑	Orson Hyde & Samuel Smith stay the night at the Simeon Weymouth (Cochranite) house doing service projects (husking corn and laundry, for example) and they preached in the evenings. (Limon, Maine)
Oct 27↑	Orson Hyde & Samuel Smith on record visiting with Timothy Ham (Cochranite) and the Dennet family all day.
Oct 28↑	Orson Hyde – “Samuel preached in the spirit; people paid good attention, and some, I think will go to Zion.”
Oct 30↑	Orson Hyde & Samuel Smith stayed at George Dennett’s home, harvested potatoes during the daytime then preached at night. (note: It’s unknown as to whether George Dennett was involved in the Cochranite faith, but Jacob Cochran [founder of Cochranite movement] was buried in North Saco, Maine at the farm of George’s brother, John Dennett shortly after his death on March 5, 1836. Many believe George Dennett was a Cochranite also, based on this link. source)
Nov 1↑	Orson Hyde & Samuel Smith visited Simeon Weymouth and slept at his home that night. (Limon, Maine)
Nov 2↑	Orson Hyde & Samuel Smith stay with George Dennett and preached at Dennett’s daughter’s funeral.
Nov 4↑	Orson Hyde – “Went to Methodist meeting in the forenoon, hoping to give out an appointment for evening, but the Minister gave out an appointment before me, and we arose disappointed, but I spoke to them about 15 minutes, and we bore strong testimony upon the ‘gathering.’ Held a meeting in the evening at Mr. Dennit’s; cried against one unclean spirit, and had a very good time and meeting.” Samuel Smith – “Went to a meeting expecting to give out an appointment for the evening, but the preacher gave one out for himself. We returned to Dennet’s and Timothy Ham and others that were in the doctrine called Cochranites and some of them desired us to come into their quarter and preach. Ham began to pray as he called it and went into a wonderful spirit of distraction and confusion, yea, it was an evil spirit and we bore testimony against this spirit. Stayed overnight at Dennet’s. Held a meeting in the evening.”
Nov 9↑	Orson Hyde – “Went up three miles to S. [Simeon] Waymouth’s and baptized him [George Dennett] and in the evening had prayer, and a very good time; and the Lord was with us; and Satan also came in- a crazy sort of a female; we cried against her, and after a short time got her still. Tarried [stayed the night] at the same place.”

Big thanks to Restoration Bookstore for providing key dates and places, as well as additional analysis of these journals. Please read volume 1, chapter 3 of Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy for additional information and consider making a donation to help offset the cost of publishing this book series (which is available for free).

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