Henry Thomas
We had already been assigned housing when we arrived in Nauvoo, it is a two-story red brick home with a basement on Hyde Street. The rough footprint of the foundation is 18’ x 25’ and the main floor consists of the kitchen and living room, the bathroom and bedroom are upstairs, the laundry and some storage is in the basement. It is an historic home, which means that it is of the typical red brick construction and that it is pretty ‘basic’ – not that I have any issue with that, we are, in fact, quite fond of the arrangement!
I have lived in mancamps, motels, and apartments through most of my career, so temporary housing in a small place seems…normal. What is different, is that this home is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, dedicated as a Church Historic Site by President Hinkley in 1982. So, what makes it special? I mean, everything in Nauvoo is special, right? Yes, but the sites, like the Pioneers themselves, have unique entities, characterized by the associated sacrifice of the residents. The little house we stay in is not ‘our’ home, it is the Henry Thomas Home, and it sits on the south side of town. We can stand on the front porch and see the Mansion House, Sidney Rigdon’s home, even the Nauvoo house and the Red Brick Store when there are no leaves on the trees.
So, who was Henry Thomas? He was a cotton farmer from North Carolina who had moved to Mississippi to raise cotton on a large scale. Henry and his children found the Gospel and were baptized in 1842, his wife, Esther, had died several years earlier. Her temple work was performed by her daughter, Catherine, in the Logan Temple. Henry never remarried and lived most of his life with his daughter Catherine.
According to Henry’s life history, written by his daughter, Catherine, he traded a 2000-acre plantation for the opportunity to be with the Saints in Nauvoo. She also states that “we then bought a home near the home of the Prophet and in it sheltered him many times from the angry mob.” According to this account, Henry, at his first introduction to the Prophet, placed a gold piece in Joseph’s hand. Joseph said, “God bless you Henry Thomas, you will never want for bread.”
Henry died in Cache County, Utah in 1867, having lived the Pioneer experience with the thousands of Saints that migrated to Utah during and after the exodus from Nauvoo. His name may be lost to time according to the world, but his vibrant example lives on in the hearts of his posterity, and anyone else that pauses to ponder his contribution to Zion and the world around him.
I am grateful for the shelter provided by the Henry Thomas Home (it is 10-Deg F. outside) and humbled when I look out of the window at the heart of historic Nauvoo and imagine the bustling home of the Saints…once upon a time.
(Oh, Kathleen and Henry Thomas are 8th cousins, three times removed! – Don’t you just love FamilySearch!)
