James Woolf, Pioneer of 1847

I'm grateful to be able to say that I come from pretty good "stock." My great grandfather was James Woolf. His father converted to Mormonism, sold his farm in New York and moved the family to Nauvoo, Illinois when James was seven years old. Their new farm was kitty-corner from the Prophet Joseph Smith's farm. On two different occasions, James' father had the privilege of lending money to the Prophet. Just prior to his martyrdom, the Prophet came to the Woolf home and asked for money. James' father loaned him five hundred dollars. When the Prophet asked him what security he wanted, he answered, "None, your word is all I ask." The Prophet then turned to Willard Richards, who had accompanied him there, and said, "Brother Richards, if I do not live to pay Brother Woolf back, I want you to see he gets his money." The Prophet was martyred soon after that incident. The Woolfs forgave the Prophet's debt. After the Prophet was martyred, James and his family were driven from Nauvoo. They crossed the plains, arriving in Salt Lake on October 6, 1847. As I was looking at some pictures on my computer, I saw these pictures which I took a few years ago of some medals that were given to James Woolf. They were handed down to my father and are now in the possession of my sister.

This small gold medal was given out at the Pioneer Jubilee, which took place in Salt Lake City on July 20-25, 1897. It was given to every person still living who had crossed the plains in 1847. James was eleven years old when his family made the trek, so he would have received the medal when he was 61 years old. On the back it says, "Presented by the State of Utah to James Woolf, Pioneer of 1847." It came in the little box, which reads, "Utah Semi-Centennial Pioneer Jubilee, Salt Lake City, July 20th to 25th, 1897." There is a picture of all those who received one of these medals. To the best of my ability to count, there were only 298 individuals still living.

This other medal was given to James for his participation in the Blackhawk war. It's kind of a special feeling to know that you descended from people who were a part of a history and heritage that we honor. It's really fun to take a peek into his life. I can only wonder how he would feel about a "peek" into my life. Would he be amazed to find a picture of himself and his medals (which are not even in my possession) on a blog that people would look at all across the world? I think so.