Margaret MacNeil Ballard Autobiography (Ms 126)

University of Utah Marriott Library, Manuscripts Division

The Margaret MacNeil Ballard Autobiography relates the story of convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ballard (1846-1918) was born in Tranent, Heddingtonshire, Scotland, the daughter of Thomas McNeil and Jeannette Reid McNeil. The autobiography describes her baptism in 1854 and her family's voyage from Liverpool to America. In addition, it recounts the family's travels and residency in Genoa, Woodriver, Fort Laramire, Ogden, and Logan, where she married Henry Ballard in 1861. The narrative describes confrontations with Native Americans and nature, the birth of children, domestic activities, sheepherding, family sickness and deaths, and her polygamous marriage. A register is available.