“Nearing his 24th birthday, he was a thorough frontiersman, forester, lumberman, a splendid blacksmith, a natural born engineer; in short a genius and an all around good fellow. He was six feet in his socks and heavy proportionately.”

These are the words that describe Orville Southerland Cox, the subject of Adelia B. Cox Sidwell’s “Biographical Sketch of Orville Southerland Cox, Pioneer of 1847.” This pamphlet, written for the “Daughters of the Pioneers” and interspersed with poetry from poets of the time, is now available free on Project Gutenberg. In it, Sidwell fondly recalls experiences from Cox’s life, detailing both the joys and challenges of life as a pioneer on the American frontier.

Though he experienced abusive treatment as a child, Cox overcame such challenges to go on and become a successful tradesman, self-disciplined and hard-working. He would later marry Elvira P. Mills upon moving to Missouri. It was also here that he would meet “the Mormons” and soon became a baptized member of the Church. Readers will also learn of the skills he gained that would aid him in becoming such a successful individual in many arenas of his life.

Read the adventurous anecdotes from Cox’s life that demonstrate his faith, devotion, and love for God and his family.

Margaret Willden, one of our past BYU interns, proofread and produced this pamphlet, and contributed to this blog post. Our thanks to her!