©2003 Brigham Young University. All rights reserved.
This collection was acquired by BYU Library in March, 1989, from Frank Robison, a grandson of Willis Robison.
Collection is open to public use.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Willis E. Robison Collection must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Willis Eugene Robison was born to Benjamin Hancock Robison and Lillis A. Andree on March 1, 1834 in Crete County, Illinois, where the family had settled soon after the martyrdom of the prophet Joseph Smith. In April of 1854, Benjamin and Lillis sold their home and headed for Utah, arriving in Salt Lake City in August of that same year. The family stayed a short time in Salt Lake, then continued on to Fillmore, Millard County.
It was in Fillmore that Willis grew up and received the rudiments of his education. He attended school in the winter and worked on the farm the remainder of the year. At the age of twenty Willis married Sarah A. Ellet and soon thereafter they moved to Scipio, Millard County. Willis remained in Scipio until he was called in 1882 to serve as a missionary in the Southern States Mission.
While serving in Tennessee Elder Robison witnessed and was a victim of the growing animosity towards the members of the Church within the boundaries of the Southern States Mission. Hatred towards the missionaries was so strong in this area that two of his companions were slain.
Upon hearing the conflicting rumors surrounding the deaths of his comrades, Elder Robison thought it appropriate that he go to Cane Creek, Tennessee, the sight of the massacre, and obtain the true facts of the killings for himself. Because he feared that he might fall into the hands of the mob, he disguised himself as a migrant cotton worker looking for a job. When he arrived at the James Condor home, the sight of the attack, he was told that Elder John Gibbs, Elder William Berry, and the two sons of Brother Condor had been murdered. The same night Elder Robison arrived in Cane Creek he was encouraged to leave. If the mob had found him in the Condor home it would have meant death to all present. His departure from Cane Creek was aided by a thick fog fell, enabling him to travel undetected.
The bodies of the martyred Elders were recovered by the acting Mission President of the Southern States Mission, B.H. Roberts, who also traveled in disguise. Elder Robison was assigned to escort the caskets to Utah. During the trip home Elder Robison faced a variety of problems including constant ridicule and nearly having to leave the caskets behind because a conductor threatened to not to let them on the train.
After Robison returned from his mission he led an active life in the Church and the community. In 1889 he was called to be a Bishop in Loa, Utah, and was elected to represent Beaver and Paiute Counties in the Utah House of Representatives. In 1892, he was responsible for splitting the large Paiute County in half, and naming the new county Wayne, after one of his sons. In 1893 the Wayne Stake of the L.D.S. Church was organized and Willis Robison was called as its first president.
While living in Wayne County Robison's service to the community continued. He was elected Superintendent of Schools three terms in a row and he was also chosen as a member of the Constitutional Convention which framed the Utah State constitution. Willis Robison died on July 17, 1937 at the age of eighty three.
The collection consists of five journals dating from October 15, 1882
to July 31, 1884. While the journals cover the period indicated, volume 4 and 5
cover gaps within volume 3. The original journals end just previous to the
Tennessee Massacre. A typescript of the journals is also included. There is
also a typescript from a missing journal covering August 10, 1884 through
August 20, 1884 (the period just after the massacre). In November 1898, Robison
published an account of these events and their aftermath in
Arrangement is primarily chronological with miscellaneous items placed at the end. The photographs were photocopied and the originals were transferred to the Photoarchives.
Further information on the history of the Southern States Mission of the L.D.S. Church can be found in the following works:
Lamar C. Berrett, "A History of The Southern States Mission, 1830-1860" (Master's Thesis, Brigham Young University, 1960).
William Hatch,
Leonard J. Arrington, "Mormon Beginnings in The American South,"
15 October 1882-24 June 1883, 190 pages.
Missionary Journal #2: 25 June 1883-25 November 1883, 193 pages.
26 November 1883-2 March 1884 and 7 May 1884-31 May 1884 (labeled as Journal #5) 157 pages.
Missionary Journal #4 3 March 1884-6 May 1884. This journal covers the missing period in journal #3 92 pages.
Missionary Journal #5 7 May 1883-31 May 1884 beginning on page 71 of journal #3.
Missionary Journal #6 1 June 1884-31 July 1884 64 pages.