This collection contains photostats of letters by and about pioneer Mormon Jacob Hamblin (1819-1886) and the Mormon Church's Indian missions as well as photostats of two Hamblin diaries (1862-1863 and 1868-1885) and copy prints of photographs of Hamblin's family and of locations associated with Hamblin's career.

Jacob Hamblin was born on April 2, 1819, in Salem, Ohio. In 1850, after his conversion to Mormonism, he travelled west to Salt Lake City, Utah to join fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in establishing the Mormon community. At this time, the Mormons were under the leadership of Brigham Young (1801-1877), who encouraged the settlement of the Intermountain West. Jacob Hamblin was called upon by Young to aid in the colonization of southern Utah and the exploration of the Southwest. Today, Hamblin is best known as a peacemaker and a missionary, especially to the Hopi and Navajo tribes. His years of work not only helped to establish Young's policy of coexistence between the Mormons and Indians, but also earned Hamblin a place in Mormon history as the apostle to the Lamanites. After a long and productive life, he died in Pleasanton, New Mexico, on August 31, 1886.

43 pieces in 1 box

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