There is a great deal of LDS history in that part of Wisconsin. Burlington, Wisconsin, was the center of a large group of LDS as early as 1835. Jacob Hamblin, a prominent leader in Salt Lake and St. George, was converted to the Church a few miles west of Burlington in Spring Prarie, Wisconsin, before he joined the Saints in Nauvoo. After Joseph Smith was martyred in June 1844, a large group followed a man named Strang back to Burlington where they published a newspaper and practiced polygamy. A handful of descendants of that group reside in the Burlington area today. But there were others in the area who were members of the Church who were not affiliated with the Strangites. Oliver Cowdery, for example, practiced law in the nearby town of Elkhorn. Palmyra is a small town not too far north of the towns already mentioned. I do not know the exact history of Palmyra (I have been there), but I do know that all of these towns are encompassed in the ward boundaries of the Elkhorn Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I lived in this ward up until six months ago. May I suggest that you contact Lorraine Blink, 1452 Meadow Lane, Burlington, WI 53105. She is very interested in LDS History in the area belonging to the Burlington Historical Society, and if she is not able to help you, she will know someone who will. They have a large group in the Elkhorn Ward who run a Family History Library and would be helpful. Please mention my name if you'd like. Also there is a chance that if your people were LDS that you'd be able to find them on the IGI at your local Family History Library. > -----Original Message----- > From: LMCrannell@aol.com [SMTP:LMCrannell@aol.com] > Sent: Sunday, August 09, 1998 8:46 AM > To: HANDCART-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [HANDCART-L] Palmyra, WISC > > Could someone tell me if Palmyra, Wisconsin was a Mormon community? > It's in > the southeast part of the state. A family in my line migrated to > Wisconsin and > lived in two small communities near Palmyra. I am not sure whether or > not they > were Mormon, but several other close relatives were. These folks who > moved > from NY have been hard to track down! Thanks. Linda