John L. Traughber (1854-1908) was born 23 November 1854 in Carroll County, Missouri, to John Logan Traughber Sr. and Ellen Keziah Ross. Traughber was a school teacher and farmer. He was self-educated and an avid reader. He is most well-known for having received some William E. McLellin papers from McLellin's widow in 1884. After obtaining the McLellin collection, Traughber began writing a book about the LDS Church and Mormonism. Traughber married Mattie Elmira Felkins on the 1st of January 1888 in Taney County, Missouri. They had nine children: Earl Augustine, Lucilla Ellen, Albert Ross, Louis Edgar, Charles Orville, Beulah Elenor, Grace Eulah, John Ernest, and Harmon Otis. In 1901, Traughber became ill and offered to sell the William E. McLellin Collection to a Salt Lake City minister, Theodore Schroeder. Schroeder declined the offer. Then in 1908 Traughber sold McLellin's missionary diaries from 1831 to 1836, as well as four notebooks and a copy of the 1833 Book of Commandments for fifty dollars to the LDS Church. Traughber's illness progressed and on the 8th of December 1908 he passed away in Doucette, Tyler County, Texas. When Traughber passed away he left his children and widow penniless. However, Traughber had left his family with his research on Mormonism and the William E. McLellin Collection. Traughber never completed his book on Mormonism. He had spent over twenty years researching the Mormon religion, and had a manuscript over three hundred pages. Traughber's widow did not want her late husband's work to go to waste. She tried to have his work published in the Salt Lake Tribune in 1910, but was unsuccessful. After her death in 1954, the William E. McLellin Collection and Traughber's own documents fell into the possession of Traughber's youngest son, Otis. H. Otis Traughber sold the collection to the University of Utah in 1995.

The John L. Traughber Papers (1854-1910) contain letters, notebooks, memos, journals, notes, and news clippings concerning Mormonism, its history, and its members. Traughber (1854-1908) was a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now the Community of Christ) who researched the history and other aspects of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (The LDS Church or the Mormon Church).

The first box in the collection contains three notebooks written by William E. McLellin, one of the first twelve apostles of the LDS Church. Much of the information contained in this box provides reminiscent details about the LDS Church in its infancy, including insight into the origins of the priesthood. The original McLellin notebooks were placed in the Manuscripts Division Safe. Notes and essays written by John L. Traughber on Mormon subjects, as well as news articles and writings he collected, are located in boxes 2-3. Correspondence between Traughber and others can also be found in box 2. Boxes 4-5 contains newspaper photocopies and books.

Restrictions : Materials must be used on-site; advance notice suggested. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Related Material : Photograph was transferred to the Multimedia Division (P0743). Orson Pratt's Series of Pamphlets by Orson Pratt (1851), and Charles Bancroft's, Footprints of Time and a Complete Anaylsis of Our American System of Government (1880) were removed to the library's Rare Books Division. Researchers interested in William E. McLellin should also see the William E. McLellin Collection, Accn 1827.
Donor Information :
Acq Method: purchased from
Acq Name: H. Otis Traughber
Acq Date: 1995
Acq Method: donated by
Acq Name: Michael and Nela Brown
Acq Date: 1997
Processing Information : This collection was processed by Kate Kimball on July 2001.

These records are indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the J.Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah. Researchers wishing to find related materials should search the catalog under these index terms.
Organizations:

Subjects:
Traughber, John L. - Archives
McLellin, William E., ca. 1806-1883 - Archives
Traughber family - Photographs
Mormon Church - History - 19th century - Sources
Melchizedek Priesthood (Mormon Church)
Aaronic Priesthood (Mormon Church)

Genres:

Materials must be used on-site; advance notice suggested. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.