Memoirs of John R. Young, Utah Pioneer, 1847

John R. YoungProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.4
Word count
461K words
Chapters
47

Tags

English Originals World HistoryGeneral Biography Historical TestimonyMigrationWestward ExpansionPioneersMormon CommunityFaith JourneyPersonal Memoir19th CenturyAmerican WestHard Times

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Memoirs of John R. Young, Utah Pioneer, 1847 by John R. YoungAuthor: Young, John R., 1837-,Language: English, Class: BX: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: Churches, Church movements, Release Date: Jul 24, 2014

Editor's review

This is John R. Young's first-person pioneer memoir, focused on his personal experiences during the Utah pioneer period around 1847. Its value lies not in grand historical narrative but in an ordinary participant's detailed recollections: daily arrangements on the journey, mutual help and friction among companions, and the concrete experience of settling in an unfamiliar environment. For readers studying the history of the American West, Mormon migration, or nineteenth-century American religious community life, such firsthand material often has more texture than general histories. The style is plain and direct, with the loose quality of oral recollection; reading it feels like listening to an old man tell stories at leisure. It suits supplementary reading for history courses and casual browsing by general readers interested in pioneer literature and frontier life. Note that this is the English original, that the narrative follows personal memory, and that it lacks systematic annotation; readers will do best to read it alongside relevant historical background in order to follow its places, people, and events.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Learn the basic background of the Utah pioneer period around 1847 before starting, so that people and places are easier to follow.
  2. Read through once in chronological order, then return to key passages to note the migration route and relationships among companions.
  3. Read alongside other pioneer memoirs or related historical studies to distinguish personal memory from historical narration.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or the English original? This is the English original e-book released by Project Gutenberg; the text is in English with no Chinese translation. Readers with good English can read it directly; those who find it difficult should first consult related Chinese historical material for background and then read selected passages against the original.
Can I understand it without any American history background? You can read it, but you will encounter many obstacles. The book involves numerous place names, people, and religious community backgrounds of the period, and without basic knowledge the threads are easily lost. It is advisable to acquire some brief historical knowledge of the Utah pioneer period and Mormon migration before reading the text, which will make it much smoother.
Is this book suitable for academic citation? As a firsthand memoir it can provide detail from a participant's perspective for research, but its narrative relies on personal memory and lacks editorial annotation, so facts need verification against other sources. It is suitable as supplementary material for citation, not as a sole basis.

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About the author

John R. Young Author · 1837

John R. Young (born 1837) is a nineteenth-century figure whose life is documented only to a limited extent in publicly available sources. Judging from the works preserved in the collection, he left behind a single memoir titled Memoirs of John R. Young, Utah Pioneer, 1847, written in the first person and presenting himself explicitly as a Utah pioneer of 1847. This identity, together with the title, indicates that his writing belongs to the genre of pioneer autobiography or memoir, centering on early pioneer life in Utah and his personal experiences and observations, and possessing historical value as source material. Apart from this memoir, only one work by him is held in the collection, with no other writings recorded, and public information is insufficient to supplement details of his nationality, education, or career. Knowledge of the man and his writing therefore rests mainly on the clues provided by this autobiographical work.