Hello, Having performed an in-depth property title tracking, including deeds and other official instruments dating to early 1849, I would have to say that Debi's article is merely a combination of previously published sources. She did not do original research for the article, or attempt to verify any of the previously published "facts." The information that a Mr. Morgan* originated the place just simply cannot be verified. To the contrary, the earliest owner of the Mormon Tavern identified in our research was that of Asahel Lathrop and his wife in late 1849 and early 1850. Early death notes found in a published diary or journal speaks about the Mormon Tavern and two men who died during the Cholera Epidemic of the Fall of 1850. * We may have a lead to identifying a Mr. Morgan, but have not gotten around to researching that further. If we can at least provide a given name and history to this so-far fictitious person, we will be most pleased! According to all other published accounts regarding the Clarksville area, the town of Clarksville was purportedly named after two brothers named Clark. We believe we may have identified at least one of them, Luther Brown Clark, as his obituary notice states the town was named after him. Why that would be when we find no record of his ever having owned any real property there, is a total mystery to us! Nonetheless, another man, Harry Clark, may have been Luther Clark's brother. We believe that fills in some gaps, but it does not act as a final verification. The best previously published source we have found, in terms of in-depth identification of the Mormons living in this county, is J. Kenneth Davies' Mormon Gold. Norma Rickett's book on the Mormon Battalion also attempted to identify which of the Battalion boys spent time in El Dorado County. Through our research we have tracked some of the Battalion men that the LDS church had been unable to locate any further information on. This research was done to prove the connection between the earliest "communities" (i.e., the roadhouses with their "hotels", taverns, stables, blacksmith shops, and stores) and the county's oldest cemeteries. The majority of the roadhouses became agricultural ranch properties, but the cemeteries are still there. We hope to publish our research in the not too distant future. Sue Silver El Dorado County Pioneer Cemeteries Commission ssilver1951@jps.net P.S. Other counties should also review their early roadhouse properties as we believe the same theory that you have a cemetery associated with their establishment will prove out throughout California. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Linda Emerson" <lindae@mlode.com> To: <CASANFRA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2002 8:35 AM Subject: [CASANFRA] Re: CASANFRA-D Digest V02 #93 (Mormon Tavern) > For a good history of Mormon Tavern (which was originally started by a Mr. Morgan) and other Mormons in the area, this website may be of assistance: > http://www.sierrafoothillmagazine.com/eldohist.html > > Linda > > >