AKA: Salt River Settlement / Monroe County, Missouri
Branch Origins[]
Salt River Branch was a settlement of the Allred Family founded in about 1830 Missouri. At the time it was part of Ralls County, Missouri, which was later subdivided into Monroe County, Missouri. The Allred Family moved here from Bedford County, Tennessee.
In 1830 James and Elizabeth Allred, all their children, at least three of James’ siblings (Sarah, Isaac Allred (1788-1870), and John) and their families moved 500 miles northwest from Bedford Co., Tennessee, to settle near the Salt River in Ralls County, Missouri. They called their community the “Allred Settlement”. It was located 15 miles east of present day Paris, Missouri and only a few miles southeast of Florida, Missouri.
Mormon Missionaries[]
Hyrum Smith (1800-1844) and John Murdock (1760-1858) were called on a mission for a new church called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and arrived at the Allred Settlement in Monroe co., Missouri on August 4, 1831. Just shortly afterwards these missionaries had their reunion with the Prophet Joseph Smith documented in Doctrine & Covenants 62 and their assignment previously designated in Doctrine & Covenants 52:8.
They stayed one week and taught the gospel to the Allreds, but they were not baptized until a year later and were probably baptized by George M. Hinkle. The settlement here would be called the Salt River Branch. James and Elizabeth Allred and most of their family, including uncles, aunts, and cousins were baptized on 10 Sep 1832.
James Allred was forty-eight years old at the time of his baptism. Most of his prime years had passed and yet James would dedicate the next forty-four years of his life to building up his new found religion and accomplish the greatest acts of his life. The branch where they were living was known as the Salt River Branch.
Zions Camp Participant[]
This Judith Mehr rendition depicts struggles endured by members of Zion's Camp, an expeditionary force to help Church members in Jackson County redeem their brethren.
One of the most interesting episodes in the early history of LDS Church was the march of Zion's Camp (1834). The members of the Church in Missouri were being persecuted, and the Prophet Joseph made it a matter of prayer and received a revelation on February 24, 1834. The Lord instructed the Prophet to assemble at least one hundred young and middle-aged men and to go to the land of Zion, or Missouri. (See D&C 130:19–34.)
Zion’s Camp, a group of approximately one hundred and fifty men, gathered at Kirtland, Ohio, in the spring of 1834 and marched to Jackson County, Missouri. By the time they reached Missouri, the camp had increased to approximately two hundred men.
In the spring of 1834 in Kirtland, Ohio, the Prophet Joseph Smith organized a group of two hundred volunteers to march to the aid of members of the Church that remained in Missouri; this organization became known as Zions Camp. On June 8, 1834, this band arrived at James Allred’s home on the Salt River, where Joseph’s camp was joined by a group established by his brother Hyrum Smith (1800-1844). Combined, they involved two hundred and five men, who were on their journey to the upper part of Missouri in order to re-establish the Saints in Jackson County. James Allred and nine of his relatives were called by the Prophet to be members of Zion’s Camp.
Allred Relatives that joined Zions Camp on June 8, 1834:
- James Allred (1784-1876) - homeowner at Salt River.
- Isaac Allred (1813-1859) - son of James
- Martin C Allred (1806-1840) - son of James
- Andrew Hiram Whitlock (1805-1865) - married to James daughter,
- Robert McCord (1811-1834) - living at Salt River, he died of Cholera on Zions Camp March. His sister later married the widower of James daughter, Sarah Allred (1811-1834).
James was a captain in Zion's Camp (1834), a group that traveled with the Prophet Joseph Smith, his brother Isaac, his son Martin in June of 1834 to redeem Zion.
Missouri Persecutions[]
In September 1835, James and Elizabeth took their eleven children and followed the Mormon Saints to Clay County, Missouri where they were well received. In the spring of 1837, having been appointed by the Prophet Joseph Smith, James and Elizabeth and their family left their new home and moved to Caldwell County, Missouri where a group of Saints were gathered. In 1837 he was elected a Judge in Caldwell County.
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