In 1837, and for several years thereafter, a gray sandstone obelisk was installed next to a one-story frame residence at the northwest corner of Sixth and Eagle streets.
Etched on its surface was a coat of arms encompassing a shield, a sheaf of arrows and a flag on a boat. According to lore, it was designed by George Dewees to be used as his tombstone.
Long after Dewees’ death, the monument was anchored to the sidewalk at Seventh and Chestnuts streets. Its current whereabouts are unknown, but pioneer Terre Haute citizens could quickly identify the stone as being from “The Old Silkworm House.”
Between 1832 and 1837, the dwelling on Eagle Street was occupied by George Washington Harris, his second wife, Lucinda, and at least one of Harris’ sons. Lucinda had two children – Lucinda and Thomas – by her first husband, William Morgan, but it is unclear whether the teenage Morgan children lived there.
William Morgan, who wed Lucinda Pendleton in October 1819, was known nationwide by anyone who could read a newspaper.
He was the probable homicide victim in a notorious and controversial case. When his membership application in the Masonic lodge in Batavia, N.Y., was rejected, Morgan threatened to publish a book revealing secrets of masonry. Local newspaper publisher David Cade Miller, who also had difficulty with local Masons, agreed to print it.
In September of 1826, Morgan disappeared after being arrested in Canandaigua, N.Y., and allegedly was kidnaped from the Canandaigua jail by a gang of Masons.
Several Masons eventually were charged with Morgan’s murder but all were acquitted. The incident gave rise to the founding of the Anti-Masonic Party, a national political force for two decades, and Lucinda Morgan’s name also became a household word.
Lucinda, a petite blue-eyed blonde who was “pleasing to the eye,” supported the anti-Masonic movement, declaring that her husband would not have left her voluntarily without telling her. In October 1827, a male corpse washed ashore on Lake Ontario. Lucinda identified the body as Morgan though none of the clothing was his.
A Canadian woman later asserted that the dead man was her son. The mystery surrounding Morgan’s disappearance was never solved. For the next two years, Lucinda Morgan attended Anti-Masonic functions in upstate New York, usually in the company of her landlord, George Washington Harris.
On Nov. 23, 1830, she married Harris, a Batavia silversmith who was 21 years her senior. Shortly thereafter, the couple disappeared. In 1832, Harris was listed among “the leading business men” in Terre Haute by Samuel B. Gookins and one of only two silversmiths.
Before 1834, silkworms in the U.S. were raised on common white mulberry leaves. During that year, morus multicaulis — a unique Chinese mulberry tree — was introduced to this country.
Either Harris or his son built a long shed in the back of the Eagle Street residence. It was the only silkworm cocoonery in town and a huge challenge. An ounce of eggs usually produced 10,000 worms. Each worm grew and grew during its first month of life. And neighbors complained about the noise the worms created at night.
Meanwhile, George and Lucinda became enamored by Mormonism. In the fall of 1834, Mormon Apostle Orson Pratt stopped at Terre Haute where, according to his journal, he “preached a few times and baptized George W. Harris and his wife. …”
By late 1837, the Harris family had abandoned the Terre Haute home and silkworm farm and relocated to a Mormon settlement in Caldwell County, Mo.
George and Lucinda endeared themselves to Prophet Joseph Smith after Oliver Cowdery, one of three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, revealed that Emma Smith, Joseph’s wife, caught her husband in a “dirty, nasty, filthy affair” with 16-year old Fanny Alger.
When Cowdery refused to retract his claim, Harris and Apostle Thomas B. Marsh testified that, contrary to rumor, Joseph had never confessed his affair with Alger to Oliver during discussions which took place at the Harris residence.
By Feb. 24, 1838, Harris was a High Priest and a member of the Far West High Council. Whenever Prophet Smith went to Missouri, he was received “under the hospitable roof of George W. Harris, who treated us with all kindness possible.” On Sept. 2, 1838, Patriarch Joseph Smith, Sr., the Prophet’s father, “blessed” George, Lucinda and her two children and declared George to be “of the lineage of Ephraim.”
Harris’ prestige and land holdings rapidly increased. George was given considerable real estate in Caldwell and Daviess counties, Mo. When the Harrises moved to Nauvoo, Ill., in 1839, Smith gave George a lot across the street from his residence.
On Aug. 12, 1843, the day the Nauvoo High Council read Joseph Smith’s “Revelation” embracing polygamy, it was old news to George and Lucinda. In 1842, Smith sought Sarah, the wife of Orson Pratt, to be his “plural wife.”
“When Joseph made his dastardly attempt on me,” Sarah told author Wilhelm Wyl, “I went to Mrs. Harris to unbosom my grief upon her. To my utter astonishment, she said, laughing heartily, ‘How foolish you are! Why I am his mistress for four years.’”
On June 10, 1844, Alderman George W. Harris, president pro-tempore of the Nauvoo City Council, signed a bill directing the removal of the printing press from the Nauvoo Expositor offices. Nauvoo Mayor Joseph Smith carried out the order. Joseph and his brother Hyrum Smith were incarcerated in the jail at Carthage, Ill., for alleged debts. On June 27, 1844, a mob broke into the jail and killed the Smith brothers.
In a ceremony on Jan. 22, 1846, Lucinda was “sealed to” Joseph Smith for eternity. Whether she was one of his more than 40 “plural wives” is subject to little debate. Most academics assert that she was.
After Smith’s death, George and Lucinda Harris lived separately. While living in Iowa, George sued her for divorce. George was excommunicated from the Mormon church in October 1860 and died a few months later. Lucinda returned to Terre Haute and was housekeeper for Dr. Charles Modesitt. She later was matron of a hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
History
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: The Legacy of ‘The Old Silkworm House’
- History
-
-
BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSON: Emperor Constantine changes the world
The Emperor Constantine, the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire and the man who ended that empire’s persecution of Christianity, died this week (May 22) in 337 AD, having lived a life that would change the world.
-
GENEALOGY: Library archives contain tons of information
Inside the archives room of the Vigo County Public Library, row after row of fragile documents, rare out-of-print books, and historic photographs are kept on shelves in a humidity and temperature-controlled room.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Historic efforts to open Center Street from Cherry to Swan
Efforts to open Center Street, from Cherry to Swan, spanned a half century or more.
-
LOOKING BACK: 2002 — Valley drenched in wettest spring in 107 years
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star. -
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Some history wreathed in hair
From the unfortunate occurrence of Prince Albert’s death in 1861 came the social mores of proper mourning practices and accoutrements witnessed and endorsed by the admirers of Queen Victoria in her reign-long state of grieving.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1987: League of Women Voters reorganizes
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Here comes the bride
The newest major exhibit at the Historical Museum, which opens Tuesday, showcases wedding gowns worn by Vigo County residents.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Downtown changes featured in early 1927
During March and April of 1927 – about 85 years ago – the owners of interests in four major downtown Terre Haute theaters were negotiating to transfer their interests to representatives of Paramount Studios.
-
GENEALOGY: Genealogy isn’t for the easily embarrassed
The saying goes, if you’re easily embarrassed or afraid of what you’ll find, don’t start doing genealogy.
-
BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: The long, lost, last — the 27th —Amendment
Our very last constitutional amendment — the 27th Amendment — was ratified this week (May 7) in 1992 when Michigan became the 38th state to approve it.
-
BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: The Haymarket Square Massacre
One unhappy byproduct of the Industrial Age was the growing discontent of its industrial workers, who constantly agitated for better pay and more humane working conditions.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1962: Stands packed as Wiley takes county track title
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and the Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Death of Terre Haute jeweler gains national headlines
Terre Haute sought national publicity in 1910 through “Boosterism,” lauding the city’s significant advancements during the decade ending Dec. 31, 1909.
-
GENEALOGY: Cemetery Committee to conduct restoration workshop
The Wabash Valley Genealogy Society’s Cemetery Committee will conduct an all-day cemetery restoration workshop on Saturday at the Smith Cemetery near Youngstown, Honey Creek Township, Vigo County, Ind.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Harmonious history
In 1923, a group of singers calling themselves the Harmony Four entertained regularly over the radio and at civic and various club events.
-
BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: Cleveland observes Lincoln’s funeral
The death of America’s greatest president, Abraham Lincoln, resulted in an outpouring of national mourning, the apex of which came in late April of 1865 when a specially outfitted train carried his body on a thirteen-day, 1,700-mile, eleven-city funeral procession from Washington, D.C., to his home and final resting place in Springfield, Ill.
-
GENEALOGY: Many people can trace ancestry to Titanic
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, which occurred on April 14-15, 1912.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1987: ISU bowling team at nationals again
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Sullivan County mine explosion kills 8 in 1878
Shortly after 4 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 21, 1878, an enormous explosion rocked the Handford Brothers mine about one-half mile north of the Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad depot in Sullivan County.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: A common feature, but memorable
As an absolute architecture nerd, I tend to look at buildings noticing the odd ball things such as door hinges and door locks in addition to admiring the overall building.
-
BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSONS: MLK’s letter written from a jail cell in Birmingham
This week (April 16) in 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. sat in a jail cell in Birmingham, Ala., having been arrested for violating a trumped-up court order that prohibited him and his followers from conducting various protest activities, most of which you can read about in the First Amendment.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1962: Swope celebrates 20th anniversary
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: 1955 Babe Ruth League championship team to be feted
Currently in his 25th year as a college baseball coach, Rick Heller is in the midst of his third winning season at Indiana State and has embraced the university and the community.
-
GENEALOGY: Long-awaited 1940 census is now available for the public
The long-awaited release of the 1940 census took place on April 2.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Memories baked from scratch
On my Historical Treasure hunt, I was drawn to a pasteboard barrel 28 inches high and 18.5 inches across with the words “Calumet Baking Powder Bakes Best, Received Highest Award” on one side and “Calumet Baking Powder Always Pleases, Try It” on the other.
-
BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Thomas Jefferson's flights of fancy
Thomas Jefferson, born this week (April 13) in 1743, is — deservedly so — in the pantheon of American heroes.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: J.K. Emmet’s first appearance at the Terre Haute Opera House
The first season of the magnificent Terre Haute Opera House, which featured many of the world’s premier celebrities, was a resounding success.
-
GENEALOGY: Black Death had a monumental effect on world
One event in the past had a monumental effect on our ancestors, indeed determining who they would be. This was the advent and spread of bubonic plague, the Black Death. The plague originated in China in 1333. It was caused by a bacterium in fleas, which were carried by rats. The plague spread out of China via trading routes with the West (the Silk Road) and especially on ships, which carried flea-infested rats and provided a closed environment for people to infect each other.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1987: 'Banana king' opens Farmer's Market
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Hunting for sugary Easter treats
Among the many varieties of the Easter egg, none is more charming than the panoramic Sugar Egg. Three were recently given to the Vigo County Historical Museum by Judy Lowe and are shown in an Easter-themed display case in the entry hall.
- More History Headlines
-
BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSON: Emperor Constantine changes the world
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Police: Gunman Has Hostages in Realty Office
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Dragon Arrives at Space Station in Historic 1st
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Beer Here!: An Historic Exhibit
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
Raw Video: SpaceX Capsule's Docking Delayed
Passenger Restrained on Flight to Miami Arrested
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Sudden Storm Topples Wisconsin Trees
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Toddler Trapped in Washing Machine
Raw Video: Wildfire Burns 110 Square Miles
Vegas Grocer Deported to Face War Crimes Charges
Kristen Stewart Is Red Hot
Shark Attacks Australian Fishing Boat
Bradley out for playoffs
Kayaker Survives Trip Over Washington Waterfall
Alison Brie Likes To Jog Naked
Heidi Klum Goes Sheer
Alton's Best Burger Ever
Ellie Kemper's Stripper Surprise on 'Ellen'
Maddie the Balancing Dog On Cross-Country Trip
Crawford's Sexy Leather Look
Boys eyes 'removed with spoon'
"Twilight" Stars Caught Kissing
Etan Patz Case: Suspect Arrested
Britney's Hot Pink Mini-Dress
Wrongfully accused rapist exonerated after 5 years in jail
Actress to Play Casey Anthony
Hurricane Forecast: 15 Named Storms Expected
Prince William on The Queen: 'Woman in Man's World'
