the Revolutionary War, and who was rearing a splendid family of eight American sons and daughters. Jacob Smith, the youngest son of John Jacob and Ann Marie, was born in 1765. When he grew to manhood, he married Catherine Long, and they, too, reared a fine family of eight children. Conrad, their fifth child and second son was born in 1802. It is he and his family with whom we are most concerned in our story. For it was through him that Mary Catherine Smith could claim her enviable heritage. When Conrad Smith was twenty-four years of age, he married Ann Elizabeth Geeseman, daughter of William Geeseman and Mary Catherine Miley. The young couple soon .settled down to carry on the Pennsylvania-Dutch tradition of rearing a large family of future citizens. Twenty years later in 1846 when the eleventh child was only two weeks old, the family suffered a severe loss with the death of their mother. The burden of caring for the younger children then fell upon the capable shoulders of the eldest daughter, Harriet, a lovely young girl of eighteen. Harriet's home-making ability and charm soon won the heart of Valentine Rock, one of the most outstanding young men of the community. Valentine and Harriet were married in January 1848, and scarcely more that a month later, another blow fell. Conrad Smith died, and his large family were left orphans! Charles, the eldest son, was older that Harriet, but it was soon evident that he could not be depended upon as the family guardian. It was then that Valentine Rock came to the rescue, and applied in court for the guardianship of the children. Fortunately for them his application was approved, so the children went to live with Valentine and Harriet. It was a tremendous responsibility for a young couple to assume during the early years of their own home-building career, but they did not hesitate. Since the Rock family was well- to-do, Valentine was financially able to assume this extra burden, so he soon became a beloved second father to his wife's younger brother and sisters. Little Mary Catherine, the youngest daughter, was born March 22, 1842, so when the family was orphaned, she was not quite six years of age. How fortunate that she was safeguarded from a lonely, unhappy childhood by the love of a dear older sister and a generous brother-in-law. THE GREAT ADVENTURE This chapter of our story began soon after the death of Conrad Smith, when the family was visited by some Mormon Missionaries. It was then that they heard the incomparable story of the Prophet Joseph Morgan Pioneer History Binds Us Together Smith for the first time, and—in spite of the unfavorable rumors they had heard concerning the Mormons—they were greatly impressed. It was an inspiring story—one which told of modern visions and revelations, of a new scripture called the Book of Mormon, and of the restoration of the true Church of Jesus Christ to the earth. The family had been taught to read the Bible, and they now recalled that ancient prophets had born testimonies concerning divine manifestations, for which many of them had been greatly persecuted; so the story which the missionaries told struck a responsive chord in their hearts. Had God actually spoken again through a modern prophet? Had a new dispensation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ really been established among men? If they accepted the story as true, what then? The followers of Joseph Smith had been despised and persecuted from the beginning. Time after time, they had been driven from their homes by mobs. Now they had fled far from the bounds of civilization to a lonely refuge in the mountains of the West. Could they exchange their well-established way of life to cast their lot with such a people? No one knows just how they finally reached a decision to join the new Church. We only know that Harriet Smith Rock and her young sister, Mary Catherine Smith were the first of the family to be baptized. That was in December 1852. Mary, who was only ten years old at the time evidently felt very safe in following the lead of her beloved elder sister. Harriet's husband was baptized the next year, and from then on, no one was more faithful in the Church of their adoption than Valentine and Harriet Rock. Their hospitable home in Quincy soon became a gathering place for the missionaries and their friends and it continued to be a center for missionary activities, even when there were no elders of the Church in the vicinity. Perhaps that is why Angus M. Cannon, a young missionary who came to Franklin County in 1855, was able to baptize twenty-one converts within the first month after his arrival. It was at this time that other members of the Smith family (including Daniel and Benjamin) were baptized. Elder Cannon remained in the county for thirteen months, making his home with the Rocks during the entire time. Perhaps it was his stories of his peaceful western home which first inspired the family with the spirit of gathering—for they had already become unpopular with some of their neighbors by joining the Mormons. Now they were faced with another difficult decision. Could they match the courage of their immigrant ancestors who had once left their homes