Yanceys recorded on early LDS Church Records

Adaline Yancey [ daughter of Hiram John Yancey Sr]
Had married Gilbert Cox 15 Nov 1843 in Williamson County, Illinois
Unknown exact baptism date (possibly 1844 - was born 1827 in Illinois)
Gilbert Cox received Patriarchal Blessing 13 July 1854 by Isaac Morely East Weber - recorded as son of Lewis & Polly Cox
a Gilbert Cox is to have been a member of the 1853 Miller and Cooley Wagon trains. If this is the same Gilbert Cox - one wonders if ALL the Yanceys also came in this wagon train - or if some - such as Hiram and William Yancey came earlier in 1851.

Adam Yancey - [ son of Hiram John Yancey ]
1867 - Baptized 31 May 1867 (Bountiful, Utah?)
1879 - Endowed and Sealed to Alice Tolman 2 October 1879, Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Utah

Benjamin Franklin Kelley & Nancy Yancey - and possibly many of their seven children.
Unknown exact baptism date (possibly 1844) - later joined RLDS

Charlotte Yancey
Deseret News: married 8 Jan 1854 to Lemuel A.Davis - - Davis County by J. S.Hatch - North Kanyon Ward
Lemuel Davis - born 4 Jul 1832 (Vermont?) son of Calen & Tryphena Davis
Lemuel ordained into 37th Quorum 9 Oct 1853

Elizabeth (Pratt) Yancey [wife of Hiram John Yancey Sr]
Unknown exact baptism date - quite possibly 1844.
Said to have died in Missouri as the family was traveling between Williamson County, Illinois and St Joseph Missouri ( a jumping off point for wagon trains going West)
Some records (in error) record her Father as Asahel Pratt.
note a son by name Jesse Pratt Yancey - wouldn't it make sense if Elizabeth's father was a Jesse Pratt?
Note that Hiram John Jr had a son named Parley Pratt Yancey.

Elizabeth (Nelson) Yancey [wife of William Riley Yancey]
Unknown exact baptism date
1854 - Patriarchal Blessing given by Isaac Morley 13 July 1854 at East Weber, Utah. Elizabeth recorded as daughter of Basel Nelson and Elizabeth - born 22 May 1823 at Montgomery County, Tenn.

Emeline Yancey [daughter of Hiram J Yancey sr and wife of Thomas Yancey]
Unknown exact baptism date (possibly 1844 - was born 1831 in Illinois)
1854 - Patriarchal Blessing given by Isaac Morley 15 July 1854 at East Weber, Utah. Emeline recorded as daughter of Hyrum Yancey and Elizabeth - born 1 January 1831, Williamson County, Illinois - Vol. 15, page 112, no.138

George Washington Yancey
Patriarchal Blessing 24 Apr 1904 - Shelley, Idaho. Born 24 June 1869
Son of Thomas Yancey and Melvina Price.
[RLBG-302]

Hiram John Yancey Sr - [ son of Austin Yancey ]
1844 - Baptized in Illinois
1852 - Endowed 6 August 1852 - Salt Lake City, Utah** It seems this date(year) may be in error. Yanceys are thoght to have come to Utah in 1853.
1854 - Patriarchal Blessing given by Isaac Morley 15 July 1854 at East Weber, Utah. Hiram - recorded as son of Austin and Maria Yancey - born 3 Aug 1804 in Casey Cty, Kentucky - Vol. 15, page 139, no.170
[DJY - Many have interpreted this as Cary City, Bell Co., KY - it now seems certain that this was Casey County, Kentucky. For a full transcript of the Patriarchal Blessing contact Dennis Yancey - dyancey@miami.edu ]

Hiram John Yancey Jr.
1853 - Some records give baptism as Sep 1853, Utah (but seems no one can produce a record to back this up)
1853 - Sealed 22 Nov 1853, Salt Lake City, Utah to Harriet Wood - performed by Heber C. Kimball. Records shows
An endowment is recorded 10 Nov 1855 (yet he was sealed in 1853??? Some family records seem to indicate the sealing by Heber C KImball was not really a temple sealing but simply a marriage).
1859 - Hirams' son Adam Yancey was born 6 April 1859 (after his Father had left the Utah Valley) - one would expect then that Hiram's last year in the valley was late 1858 or early 1859. (keep in mind though long distance travel usually didn't happen in the winter).
Newspaper Articles about Hiram Yancey
Also of note is that Harriet Wood was supposedly endowed 7 Feb 1852 in Salt Lake - - -at which time she would have been single and possibly not even have known her future husband Hiram Yancey.
Also of significance is that some records report Harriet Wood as having married James Brown 17 Sep 1859 - - and sealed to him 19 Sep 1861 in the endowment house (though in 2014 - Familysearch does not record any sealing between this couple - could it have been annulled?).

Jesse Pratt Yancey [son of Hiram John Yancey]
Unknown exact baptism date
1854 - Patriarchal Blessing given by Isaac Morley 18 July 1856 at East Weber, Utah. Jesse recorded as son of Hyrum Yancey and Elizabeth - born 10 Nov 1836, Williamson Cty, Illinois - Vol. 16, page 186, no.169

Joseph Smith & Mahala Yancey and possibly some of their children
Unknown exact baptism date (possibly 1844??) - later joined RLDS

Matilda Yancey [daughter of Austin Yancey]
1844 - (Jan?) 1844 Baptized, Illinois
1848 - traveled to Council Bluff
1850 - Arrived in in 1850 with Stevens Family as part of the William Snow / Joseph Young Company
1852 - Endowed & Sealed to William Stevens 6 August 1852, Utah (was he civilly married to her before this???)
1870 - Received Patriarchal Blessing 25 Aug 1870 - in Holden Utah by Patriarch Perkinse
1875 - Grave Marker in Holden Utah, records dates 26 Jan 1803 - 5 Feb 1875 and daughter of Austin & Myran [Mariah?] YanceyObituary: The Deseret News, Vol. XXI, No. 3, Wednesday, 21 Feb 1872:
Died: At Holden, Millard County, Feb. 4th, MATILDA, wife of Wm. Stevens, sen., and daughter of Austin Yancy and Myrum Gibbs.
Deceased was born in Kentucky, Jan. 26th, 1803, joined the Church in the southern part of Illinois, came to Council Bluffs in 1848, emigrated to Utah in 1850.--Com.

Richard K. Yancey & wife and children [son of Austin Yancey]
Uncertainty whether they were 1844 LDS converts or not.
There are no extant membership records for him or his wife (though they could have been members)
Temple Baptism was done for him December 1925.
However of note is the fact hat his grandson James William Yancey was baptized in 1887 (in Utah??) and Richard's son Richard Jr was baptized in 1896. and ended up living and dying in Bonneville Co., Idaho and is buried in the Ucon Cemetery.

Susannah Catherine Yancey [wife of Jesse P. Yancey]
No extant baptism/membership record has been found. Her parents were of Union Couny, Illinois.
Her mother died in 1836 - most probably from the effects of childbirth - leaving Susannah motherless.
Her Father remarried - but died in Illinois in 1863.
One wonders if Susannah was raised by her maternal Penrod grandparents - and came West with the Penrods. She is recorded as coming to Utah in 1852.
She was married in 1854 in Utah.
1854 - Patriarchal Blessing given by Isaac Morley 18 July 1856 at East Weber, Utah. Susannah recorded as daughter of Edmund and Hannah Hagler - born 17 March 1836, Union County, Illinois - Vol. 16, page 186, no.169

Thomas Yancey [ son of Richard Kelley Yancey and husband of Emeline Yancey]
Unknown exact baptism date (possibly 1844)
1854 - Patriarchal Blessing given by Isaac Morley 15 July 1854 at East Weber, Utah. Thomas recorded as son of Elizabeth Yancey - Thomas born 15 March 1827, Warren County, Tennessee - Vol. 15, page 112, no.137

William Riley Yancey [ son of Hiram John Yancey ]
1844 - Baptized (Jan?) 1844, Illinois, by Levi Stewart
1852 - various records show son William Henry being born in Oct 1852 in Illinois
1854 - Patriarchal Blessing given by Isaac Morley 13 July 1854 at East Weber, Utah. William recorded as son of John Hiram and Elizabeth - born 3 June 1825 Vol. 15, page 112, no.134 (some records give birth date as 30 June 1825.
1854 - Ordained a Seventy 1 Jan 1854 by Joseph Young. - Record No 1 C 38th Quorum, page 235
1856 - Endowed & Sealed 10 June 1856, Salt Lake City, Utah

William Riley Yancey [ son of Austin Yancey ] & Rachel Duncan
Uncertainty whether they were 1844 LDS converts or not.

James Duncan (1794-1874) son of John P Dunkin and Lydia Spiller
possibly baptized in 1844 - later went west and died in Bountiful Utah
Endowed Dec 1845 in Nauvoo Temple.
(James was brother of Rachel Duncan who married William R. Yancey)

Research would seem to indicate that the first Yanceys were baptized into the LDS faith as result of the preaching of Levi Stewart in 1844 in Illinois.

Oct 1843-April 1844 Levi Stewart writes a letter to the Times & Season, Nauvoo, Illinois, dated 13 April 1844. “I have traveled near six months since July last, most of which time I labored in Franklin, Williamson, and Johnson counties, in the south part of this state, Illinois. There had been but few discourses delivered by any of the elders in these parts, therefore, prejudice was great. After hearing the Gospel for themselves, the honest in heart began to discover the many falsehoods that have over ‑run the country, and began to investigate the doctrines of Christ. The result was, many believed, and I had more calls for preaching than I could attend to, and through the assistance of God, I was enabled to baptize 24 souls. I left many more believing; whom I hope will obey the Gospel. There is a great door open for preaching. My prayer to God is for the rolling forth of His Kingdom, Until the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdoms of our God.” Your brother in the Everlasting Covenant, Levi Stewart

The exact details of the Yanceys conversion is not known - but among those that converted were probably: Hiram Yancey and wife Elizabeth, William Riley & wife Elizabeth, Matilda Yancey, Thomas Yancey, Benjamin Kelly & wife Nancy Yancey, Joseph Smith & wife Mahala Yancey, James Duncan

A few interesting letters in relation to LDS records - note the signature of Joseph Fielding Smith

I am sure I should be calling you a cousin. How far removed I don't know. I am very new at this genealogy work having spent almost forty two years (August 30th) teaching in the different organizations of the church.

You will see how terribly "green" I am when you see my records that I am sending you. I fully intended having them corrected first but I did want you to know that the George Washington Yancey family were alive and wanting to find out more information about father and his family. When I was a child I remember father speaking of a cousin (first cousin as I remember correctly) Adam Yancey who lived in Groveland used to come up to Shelley to attend conference and have dinner with us, as we lived in Shelley all of my life. My second sister Sophia Hannah Yancey Casper said that Hyrum Yancey was often spoken of by father and mother and by “Aunt Sis" (Telitha Yancey - wife of Richard Kelley Yancey ( as we always called father's half-sister (Telitha was father's half-sister - different father but same mother).

My sister, the one mentioned, Sophia, also claims that Thomas Yancey and Richard Kelley Yancey are brothers and she didn’t know which one was the oldest. Also she thought that Margaret Melvina Price, father's mother was Dutch as father always said that he was a "Dutchman" . We always assumed that until reading in the Yancey book that they descended from the Welsh. I bought one from your mother about two or three years ago and was really sorry that my father's genealogy wasn’t there in it. I didn’t even know of the book at all until I met Judson's wife Marion after we started doing janitorial work in the Firth Elementary School where she teaches. I got your address from Marion and also went to Gerald's testimonial hoping that I would meet many Yanceys - but being of the shy retiring nature I didn't make an issue of it - so didn’t meet many of them. I did meet Judson and another of your brothers. Saw and talked to your Mother. I sincerely appreciated her selling me of the Yancey books even if my father’s family weren’t mentioned there.

According to my sister's understanding, Margaret Melvina evidently married a Smith as she had one daughter Telitha Smith who married Richard Kelley Yancey. Later Margaret Melvina married Thomas Yancey and her daughter Telitha married Thomas's brother Richard Kelley Yancey.

Smith could have been Margaret Melvina's maiden name, we don't know. Seems like we can't get much information on father's family.

We do now this for surety, Father had a brother Alexander Yancey (if he had a second name we never did know it). He spent his reclining years with his half-sister Telitha Yancey (this was after my father died as he didn't even come to father's funeral). - we didn't know where he was. and lamented the fact that he wished that he had married and raised a good family like his brother George had done. I’m not sure whether he was a member of the church or not. Father was a convert and if I remember correctly joined in Illinois, so perhaps Uncle Alex was a member also. He suffered much dropsy so badly that his legs would swell up and break open and the water or fluid would run from his legs. I remember of visiting at Aunt Sis Telitha's and seeing him sit with his legs bandished [bandaged?] in strips of cloth each foot in a pan where the fluid would rain into. We really liked him as he always had a good sense of humor in spite of his afflictions. I know he had an LDS funeral and was buried in Ucon as my sister's Sophia’s husband helped dig his grave - but there isn’t any marker and no knowledge of his being buried there in the Ucon Cemetery books. But we know he was buried there and it was in the lot belonging to Richard Kelley Yancey and his wife Telitha Smith Yancey. My brother in law Earl Casper helped dig the grave but there isn’t any record of it recorded in the cemetery books. None at all! Now Sister Jensen - how does one get around that? I surely would appreciate any help you can give me or help me with my father's family and his parents and grandparents.

My father was given a patriarchal Blessing "given by A. C. Jensen. April 24th 19?? at Shelley, Idaho - upon the head of George Washington Yancey, son of Thomas Yancey and Melvina Price. born June 24 1869, Williamson Co., Illinois. This is the first part of that blessing and I thought maybe this information might help you as perhaps A. C. Jensen might be your husband's relative. Any way it may give you some leads in helping me find records of my father. As days go by I seem to be getting really anxious to get this work done in spite of my many other jobs in and out of the church. When one is in the ward ad stake one keeps busy but I still want to get this work done very much.

Can you tell me where I can write in Illinois or other places to find out about Father's family? Am sending an envelope along hoping you can assist me. I understand the [ ? ? ] back there have changed and I don't know where to write.

Please don't judge my records too harshly as when I get them fixed to send in I'll send you them only it will probably be reversed. You will be sending me the completed information so I can get them recorded correctly. If you can help me I'll gladly help reimburse you for your trouble. We don’t have much but I don’t expect you to help me without some money.

Thank You Sister Jensen. I sincerely hope I have given you something of value to you. Hope to be hearing from you real soon.