Ann Scott: "Protector of the Manuscript of the Inspired Version"
by William Shepard
I was aware that Ann Scott had a special place in Mormon history as the "protector of the manuscript of the Inspired Translation of the Bible." However, I only recently learned that she was briefly a Strangite, died a member of the Reorganized Church, and is buried in a small cemetery three miles from my home at Burlington, Wisconsin.
Ann was born in Armagh, Ireland, on 28 February 1805 and was the eldest of eight children born to Jacob and Mary Scott. The Scotts settled near Ontario, Canada in 1819. They were baptized in the spring of 1837 as the result of the missionary labors of Isaac Russell and John P. Green, with the probable exception of Jacob Scott, Jr., who may have been a member of the church and an elder as early as 1831. Ann later recounted miraculous spiritual events which accompanied their conversion.
The family arrived at Far West in September 1838. Her sister Sarah was married to James Mulholland who became a scribe of Joseph Smith. In turn, Mulholland had possession of important Church records while Smith was in the custody of the Missourians. Ann protected the manuscript of the Inspired Translation, the revelation on the civil war and other unnamed documents by hiding them beneath her clothing.
Ann left Far West in May 1840 and settled five miles above Nauvoo. In the Nauvoo area, Mulholland died in 1839, her mother died in 1841, her brother Jacob died in 1842, and her father died in 1845. Ann married Charles Davis, a Mormon who was born in Canada in 1819, in Nauvoo in October 1845.
They left Nauvoo for Voree or Burlington, Wisconsin in May 1846. Charles was ordained a Teacher by James J. Strang on 26 July 1846 and was excommunicated for apostasy in September 1847. This was the beginning of "dark and cloudy days," as they could not discern light in any of the Mormon factions.
After receiving spiritual manifestations, the Scotts united with the Reorganized church in September 1871. They settled at nearby Lyons on a one-hundred-twenty-two acre farm and remained there until their deaths. Ann was eighty-six when she died in March 1891. Charles died in 1907. They had no children. They are buried in unmarked graves in Hudson Cemetery.
Shortly before her death, Ann requested RLDS Elder F. M. Cooper to record her experiences in Mormonism. The following quote from these reminiscences emphasize her unique and important place in Mormon history:
"We landed in Far West, Missouri, September 2nd, 1838. Persecution by the mob began that very winter, and they frequently searched my father's house and were very insulting in their deportment. They also searched other houses of the Saints, including that of President Joseph Smith, who at the time was confined in Liberty Jail. Joseph's confinement in prison, coupled with the ruthless invasions of the mob, caused his scribe, Elder John Mulholland, to seek a place of safety for important papers in his possession.
Emma Smith, ca. 1845
Among the papers in Mulholland's keeping was the manuscript of the Inspired Translation of the Bible. Bro. Mulholland requested me to take charge of these papers, as he thought they would be more secure with me, because I was a woman, and the mob would not be likely to search my person. Immediately on taking possession of the papers, I made two cotton bags of sufficient size to contain them, sewing a band around the top ends of sufficient length to button around my waist; and I carried those papers on my person in the day-time, when the mob was round, and slept with them under my pillow at night. I cannot remember now the exact length of time I had those papers in my possession; but I gave them to sister Emma Smith, the prophet's wife, on the evening of her departure for Commerce. It seems fitting for me to say, with regard to the revelation given December 27th, 1832, on the late war, beginning with the succession of South Carolina in 1861, that it was in my possession, among the other papers, in the latter part of the year 1839 [1838]. I had ample opportunity of knowing this fact, as I read the said revelation time after time, and it read then just as it does now, in the published copies now read."
[F. M. Cooper, "Spiritual Reminiscences in the Life of Sister Ann Davis, of Lyons, Wisconsin," Autumn Leaves, (1890) 3:566-570 and (1891): 4:18].
See also: Alma Brookover, Wisconsin - The Birthplace of the Reorganization, typescript, 1: 838-846, Community of Christ Library Archives; Emma M. Phillips, 33 Women of the Restoration, (Independence, Mo: Herald House, 1960): 28-32. Robert J. Matthews, A Plainer Translation, Joseph Smith's Translation of the Bible, (Provo, UT.: Brigham Young University Press, 1975): 99-100.
Cotton Bags to Carry Manuscripts
Ann Scott Davis wrote:
. … It was immediately after the incidents before narrated had occurred that Captain Bogart made his celebrated threat that the decree had gone forth from his [page 19] mouth and should not return void, that if every Mormon was not out of the country by the fifth of the following April he would drive them out. As the Lord had opened a way of escape to Illinois, I had but little fear of Bogart's threat being executed. Shortly after publishing his boasted threat, he became involved in a political quarrel, on an election day with a man by the name of Beatty, and Bogart drew a pistol and shot Beatty, who soon after died. The murderer made his escape from immediate arrest, but one thousand dollars reward was offered for his apprehension. I do not know what became of Bogart, but I am certain he never again made his advent into that country to disturb the Saints.
We left Far West May 19th, 1840, and located near the Mississippi River, five miles above Nauvoo…. [Ann Scott Davis, Autumn Leaves, 4:18.]
Joseph Smith Translation Manuscript, John 1-1
The New Translation manuscript is really several manuscripts covering the Old and New Testaments, as well as Joseph's and Oliver Cowdery's marked Bible.
Holy Scriptures, Plano, Illinios, 1867 After Joseph Smith's death, his son Joseph Smith III, president of the RLDS Church, published his father's revision of the scriptures. The work was called the Holy Scriptures, published in 1867 at Plano, Illinois.
Holy Scriptures, Plano, Illinios, 1867
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