I got into family history a few months ago. My great ++++ grandfather was killed as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints back in 1888 in the Tennessee Massacre. I found out I now live about 2 hours from the site. So I made the trip to see it. I took some photos.
Ironically, William Berry was born and died in Tennessee, but not before he moved to Nauvoo Illinois a few months after the prophet Joseph Smith was killed, and headed west with the pioneers and Brigham Young. After reaching the Salt Lake Valley, the Berrys were asked to settle in the St. George area. Finding their ambition was bigger than the area afforded, they moved just outside of town, and called their new home 'Berryville'. In those days, the town would give acreage to anyone willing to work on the canal that would provide Hurricane, Utah, with water. I think William got about 10 acres out of the deal. He planted pecan trees on his land, and there are still pecan trees on the Berry side of town to this day. After getting comfortable, William Berry was called on a mission to the Southern states by Brigham Young. He served in several areas in Tennessee before ending up in Hohenwald, TN.
Instead of retelling the rest of the story, here is a link to Bruce Crow's blog.
Sadly the sign has been vandalized and is now gone.
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