Mayhew Hillman in the Joseph Smith papers

I received an email from FamilySearch saying that I had an ancestor who was mentioned in the Joseph Smith Papers. This is another product from the collaboration the LDS Church History department and FamilySearch. Other similar projects include Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, Early Relief Society Members, and Early Mormon Missionaries.

I have several ancestors listed in the Joseph Smith Papers but Mayhew Hillman is probably the most closely related and prominent relative in the database. The only exception being perhaps Eliza Roxcy Snow.

After clicking the link the link in the email you are taken to a page with summary information about your ancestor.

• A timeline of his life at the bottom of the page that coincide with events in Joseph Smith's life. 
• A link to his person page in FamilySearch.
• A link to show how you are related.
• A link to his Church History Biography.
• Links to documents in which he is mentioned.

The zoomed out view of this chart makes it hard to read the names and dates. However, it is easy to see that Mayhew Hillman is my 5th great-grandfather. He is linked to me through my father's side of the family. When on the page if you want to see the names better, the plus and minus in the top left corner allow you to zoom in and out.

As you look at the Joseph Smith papers you can see an image of the page on the left and a transcription on the right. If you look closely you can see my mouse pointer. It is pointed at Mayhew (Mahue) Hillman's name. The corresponding transcription is provided on the right. 

This document lists the names of the men who are allowed to pass and repass through Davies county. The Mormons had been push out of the county by mobs and an extermination order hand been given for those that resisted. Mayhew was a prominent member at the time but was allowed to help provide for the prisioner's including men, women, and children.

Included with the handwritten journals and minutes from Joseph Smith's life are newspapers and other documents that provide context as well as documentation of his life. Again, if you look closely my mouse pointer is pointing at Mayhue's name in the left column five or six lines above the paragraph break. The corresponding transcription is on the right. 

This shows Mayhew was on the High Council of the Adam-ondi-Ahman Stake when it was organized near Nauvoo, Illinois in 1838.

 This shows that Mayhew was among the men who constructed the temple in Kirtland, Ohio. There are thirteen total documents link to Mayhue in the Joseph Smith Papers.

There is also a biography of each person mentioned. This is a great place to find data with sources included. This lists Mayhew's birth, death, baptism, ordinations, and places he lived. Also included are his appointment to both the Kirkland and Nauvoo High Councils.

My wife also found relatives names who persecuted the Mormons. One of the accounts tells of her relative, a third cousin twice removed, slicing up Mormon with a sickle. Another of her distant relatives was a District Court Judge who would not hear the Mormon case to repeal the extermination order handed down by then governor of  Missouri, Lilburn W. Boggs.

I encourage you to see if you have relatives mentioned no matter how distantly related they may be.