REDDIN OR REDIN ALEXANDER ALLRED

by

Marlin Park Allred, twin to Milford Park and son of Reddin Redick who was the son of Redin Alexander.

 

Information was obtained from the diary of Reddick Newton Allred as recorded in Treasures of Pioneer History pages 298 to 310, Information also obtained from the Allred Family in America vol. 1 by R. C. Allred and the LDS Vital Records Library in the LDS Family History Suite.  There is a journal from Mar 1855 - 1863 of Reddin A. Allred at DAUGHTER OF UTAH PIONEERS MUSEUM, 300 North Main Street Salt Lake City, Utah.  Access to Originals is restricted to descendants only through personal visit on Tuesdays or Thursdays.  No mail or telephone requests accepted.

 

My great, great, great grandfather was born on 21 Feb. 1822 in Nashville, Tenn. To Isaac Allred and Mary Calvert.  He was the first born of twins, weighing in at 9 ½ pounds.  He was bold and his twin Reddick Newton was bashful.  We are grateful that he kept a diary so we could learn about Reddin’s life.  These boys were identical and their mother, Mary Calvert kept them dressed differently so she could tell them a part.  When they could speak their own names, they started to dress alike, becoming a puzzle to everyone. 

They learned the alphabet in an old log school house and at the age of seven they moved to Salt River (Monroe), Missouri.  Their home was on the great highway from east to west.  They were taught to reverence God in the Presbyterian church.  When they heard the gospel from Hyrum Smith and John Murdock, they listened with suspicion.  However their hearts were softened and their father Isaac, opened his home for meetings to other elders who were passing by on their way from Kirtland to gather in Jackson County. After a few months, several of the Allred (Isaac & James) families in the area and others decided to get baptized, organizing the large Salt River branch in 1832.

Reddin and his twin brother were baptized in the spring of 1833 by John Ivie, local elder and president of their branch.  In the spring of 1834, when Joseph Smith passed by their home with Zion’s camp, Reddin’s Uncle James raised 10 men and joined them.  They went to reinstate the saints to their lands in Jackson County.  When the Prophet returned to Salt River he informed the saints of their failure and advised all to gather in Clay County so Isaac moved his family there in 1835.  However, the people in that county became alarmed at the influx of Mormons and our people were again forced to move, this time to Caldwell County.  Isaac preempted land on Long Creek, eight miles from Far West.  As more saints came from Kirtland, two stakes were formed and the foundation of a temple was started.  False reports of the Mormons being a lawless people were spread and an attempt was made to prevent them from voting.  A fight was ensued which alarmed the Missouri people and they began to raid outside settlements.  As violence increased, Isaac moved his family into Far West on 25 Oct. 1838.  Five days later Governor Boggs army of 4000 made their first appearance against Far West.  Since two companies were out, there were only 150 men and boys to line up with Joseph Smith and protect Far West.  As Governor Boggs was about to attack, the Two Mormon companies returned from the east and the west.  This caused fear in Governor Boggs army and they fled in confusion, much like Gideon’s experience as recorded in Judges 7.  To protect the saints, the prophet and several others were taken prisoners and were to be executed on the morning of Nov. 1^st.  However General Doniphan protested and the prophet was sent to Liberty Jail.  Governor Boggs then expelled the saints who had been compelled to lay down their weapons of war, in the dead of winter.  They were welcomed in Illinois and Isaac rented a farm in Adams County, 20 miles south of Quincy.

At the age of 17, on October 5, 1839 Reddin was ordained an Elder.  In Nov. 1840, he went with his twin to visit their uncle John N. Calvert in Marian, Williamson County, Illinois.  Reddick got sick and they stopped to visit a distant relative, Thomas for a month to allow for him to recuperate.  This gave them an unexpected opportunity to be an example of the gospel.  When they reached their Marian, they stayed a month and preached the gospel by fireside, leaving a favorable impression upon Uncle John.  He decided to remain Presbyterian though.  The twins journey back home took three months.

In Apr. 1843 he was involved in establishing the program for young women and men called the Mutual Improvement Association.   

Reddin and his twin worked as masons on the Navoo Temple.  Often they worked on bread and water because of the poverty of the saints after the expulsion from Missouri.  On Jan. 3, 1846 Reddin took out his endowments in the Navoo Temple.  On Jan 22 of the same year he was sealed to Julia Ann Bates in that temple.  His twin chose to be sealed to his wife on the same date.  Reddin had married Julia in Navoo, Hancock, Ill.  On Dec. 21 1843, one month after his twin brother had married Lucy Hoyt.

In 1850 he had $100.00 in real wealth and $250.00 in property wealth.

Reddin A. was called on a relief expedition to rescue the Prophet Joseph Smith.  They were to watch the steamboats on the Illinois River, for it had been reported that Joseph was to be tried in Ottawa.  Rumor had it that armed men were waiting in St. Louis to seize Joseph and kidnap him to Missouri.

In Navoo, he became a member of the fourth quorum of Seventy with his twin brother in the presidency of that group.

As the people of Illinois began to see the Prophet Joseph Smith’s great achievements and the rapid gathering of the saints, their united efforts and leadership qualities, they began to fear and mobs once again were formed.  Governor Boggs tried to kidnap the prophet but was unsuccessful.  As the mob spirit prevailed, Joseph gave command of the Navoo Legion to protect their City and crossed the river with the intention of going to the Rocky Mountains to find a place of safety for the saints to dwell.  Some half- hearted Saints followed him and accused him of cowardliness and he returned to be imprisoned in Carthage Jail, where he was murdered.

The Saints were expelled from Navoo and Reddin’s father, twin brother’s wife and several other Allred’s settled near Little Pigeon, (Allred’s Settlement, Potmie, Iowa) on the Missouri River, about eight miles from Council Bluffs (Kanesville) across the river from Winter Quarters.  They waited there until their relatives , Redick Newton, his brother James Riley Allred, cousin James Tilman Sanford Allred, his wife, Eliza Bridget Manwaring and James T. S. Allred’s nephew, Reuben Warren Allred and his wife Elzadie Emaline Ford, returned from the Mormon Battalion.  Some, due to sickness, had “wintered” in Pueblo.  Isaac was the branch President at Allred’s settlement.  On Dec. 19 1847, Reddick Newton Allred finally returned to his family, having suffered much with the march from California.