The beginning of the idigNauvoo archaeological project is quite remarkable. After the formation of the Samuel H. Smith Foundation in 2010, it was the desire, and subsequent goal, of the members to locate the burial site of Samuel Harrison Smith and his brother, Don Carlos Smith — both brothers of Joseph Smith, Jr. and Hyrum Smith. The purpose of the Samuel H. Smith Foundation is assist in historical preservation and education.
In doing research on the Smith Family cemetery, several accounts confirmed that the bodies of Samuel and Don Carlos were in the cemetery, but the graves were unmarked and in an unknown location.
Smith Family Cemetery, Nauvoo, Illinois, courtesy of findagrave.com
A newspaper article in the Deseret News, written on October 8, 1888, caught the attention of Mercy Fielding Thompson (1807-1893), the sister of Hyrum Smith’s second wife, Mary Fielding Smith. She wrote to her nephew, Joseph Fielding Smith, the son of Hyrum, to inform him that she had purchased a stone to mark these graves. She had the stone inscribed, placed it on the grave upside down and covered with dirt to protect the graves from desecration. She felt it was safer to not openly mark the graves due to fear of continued religious persecution. The grave site also included Mercy’s husband, Robert B. Thompson.
Her first hand knowledge of this burial site made her a reliable resource of information, adding to other family members traditional evidence.
Photo taken by George Edward Anderson of the Smith Family Cemetery in Nauvoo, Illinois, about 1907.
Based upon the image taken of the Smith Family cemetery by George Edward Anderson in 1907 (as shown above), we had an approximate idea where the bodies might have been laid. In the picture, he had four individuals standing by graveside markers for several burial sites. It is our theory, that the gentleman standing among the lilac bushes (as highlighted in the image below) is marking the location the gravestone Mercy Thompson’s purchased.
Photo taken by George Edward Anderson edited to show location of the man in the lilac bushes, as highlighted.
This photo is of Bob Smith and Bill Keach surveying the Joseph Smith, Sr. home site.
We requested the assistance of two geology experts ( John Henry McBride, PhD and Bill Keach, PhD) to help us in our search. Using ground penetrating radar (GPR), John, Bill, and their associate, Ben Pykles PhD, surveyed the historical section of this cemetery.
Bill Keech also used the GPR technology to identify the home sites of the Joseph Smith, Sr. and Samuel H. Smith. With the completion of the GPR surveys, appropriate archaeological procedures began. We’ll talk more about this technology in a future blog.
Later, Bill Keach made a 3D model of the area. He felt that there was only one possible location that indicated a mass burial site — the same spot marked by the man standing among the lilac bushes. This provided additional evidence of the grave site we hoped to find.
This was the beginning of our idigNauvoo archaeological journey — ten years of discovery, preservation, and sharing. It is conducted in collaboration with the Joseph Smith Historical Site and the Samuel H. Smith Foundation. We have accumulated a vast amount of information that we wish to share with you. We hope you will join us as we continue to uncover the history and legacy of the beautiful city, Nauvoo, Illinois.
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