Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-09-13
The Origin of MOrmOnism.

Remarkable local testimony has been
discovered by the Republican sustaining
the charge that the religion of Joe
Smith and Brigham Young had its orr
gin in a romance written by the Rev.
solomon Spaulding, of Ohio, half CEN
fury or more ago. The story is furnished
by Mr.. J. A. McKinstry, ofLongmeadow,
a son of the late DR.. McKinstry of Mon
son, and grandson of the Rev. Mr..
Spaulding. Mr. McKinstry is en-
ployed in the Main street store
of Newsdealer Brace The Rev
Mr.. Spaulding's widow, who after
wards became Mrs Dawson, came east
from Ohio to live with her daughter at
Monson many years ago, bringing his
manuscript of his romance with her.
She died some twenty-five years ago.
but before her death a plausible young
man from Boston came to Monson to
see and get the Spaulding writing 1t
was time of considerable excitement
concerning the Mormons and he claimed
to represent some Christian people who
wanted to expose Mormonism. He
therefore begged the loan of the manu-
script for publication. Much against
the wishes of Mrs. DR.. McKinstry, Mrs.
Dawson consented to let her husbands
unpublished romance 90. Nothing was
ever heard from it again, and the family
have always considered that the bland
young gentleman was an agent of Brig
ham Young to destroy this convicting
evidence that Joe Smiths Mormon
Bible was of very earthly origin.
The story of how the Rev Mr. Spauld-
ing came to prepare this romance, which
Mr.. McKinstry remembers as child to
have seen, is fresh and interesting. He
was out of the active ministry in Ohio
the name of the place Mr. McKinstry
does not recollect, bat it was near Pal
myra, we beieye,-running small iron
foundry, and, being a man of literary
tastes, employed his leisure moments in
weaving romance. TWAS time when
the work Of the mound builders was Gre
ating wide interest," the implements Of
cookery and war being unearthed show
ing the existence of forgotten race.
This furnished inspiration for the
chronicles of the story writer. He en-
titled his production 'Manuscript
Found, the idea being that the romance
woven by the eX-preacher was dug out
Of one Of the mounds in the region. 1t
was history of ancient America, not
all written at once, but as leisure spells
and the fancy fell to him, Mr..
Spaulding would add to it. His writing
was no secret in the neighborhood. In
that then frontier region, with few op-
portunities for literary enjoyment, the
Rev. Mr.. Spauldidg was prevailed upon
to read his production to his neighbors
as it progressed. 1t was written in Bible
phraseology, and made as quantity olden
as possible, so as to carry out the cOnceit
Of its alleged mound origin. Among the
attentive listeners at these readings were
Joe Smith and Sidney Rigdon, the same
who founded Mormonism. Not only
did Smith hear the manuscript read but
on one occasion, as Mrs. Dawson fire.
quently testified before her death, he
borrowed it for week or so, giving as a
reason that he wanted to read it to his
family, who had been unable to attend
on Mr.. Spaulding's readings. Net long
afterward, it will be remembered, Smith
claimed that an angel had revealed to
him the existence of buried history of
aboriginal America, the plates of which
it IS alleged were dug up, and the Book
of Mormon made as a translation of
their inscriptions. The widow of Mr..
Spaulding and her daughter, Mrs. DIR.
McKinstry, of Monson, compared the
Smith Bible with the parsons romance,
and they were essentially the same.
The similarity was so overwhelming as
as to leave no doubt that Smith had
copied in full the Rev Mr.. Spaulding's
writing, and made out of it bodily his
divine revelation"