Cornelius Jasper
Stover,
Union Army Veteran of
the Civil War
by Donald L. Haynie, a great-grandson
"Verily,
thus
saith
the
Lord
concerning
the
wars
that
will
shortly
come
to
pass, beginning
at
the rebellion of South Carolina, which will
eventually terminate in the death and misery
of
many
souls….
For
behold,
the
Southern
States
shall be divided against the
Northern
States...
.
Doctrine
&
Covenants
87:1,3
Cornelius
Jasper
Stover
is
my
great-grandfather,
and
he
is the great-great-great-grandfather of my grandchildren.
I understand that he was a kind and generous man.
Following is an
account
written
by
his
daughter,
Martha
E.
Stover
Shupe:
He
was
born
18
February
1847
at
Sharp
Mountain,
Pickens County, Georgia.
At
the
age
of
sixteen,
he
joined
the
Union
Army, although he
had
two
brothers
then
in
the
Confederate
Army.
His
leg
was
injured
while
in
the
Army
and
never
fully
healed,
and
caused
him
some
pain
all
his
life.
He
served
in
the
Army until the end of
the
War
Between
the
States.
He
was
married
8 May
1870
to
Palestine
P.
McDaniel,
and
to
this
union
were
born
six
children.
He
was a
kind
and
considerate
father
and
labored
faithfully for his family.
He followed farming most of his
life,
although
he
was a
section
foreman
for
a
short
time
at
Palmia
Station,
New
Mexico,
for
the
Denver
and
Rio
Grande
Western Railroad.
Elder
John
Morgan,
who
was
President
of
the
Southern
States
Mission,
was
the
first
Mormon
missionary
he
came
in
contact
with.
Later,
other
elders
called
on
his
family
and,
in
1879,
he
was
baptized
by
Elder
Joseph
Standing.
He
was
also
ordained
an
Elder
in
the
Church
of
Jesus
Christ
of
Latter-day
Saints and set
apart
to
preside
over
the
members
of
the
Church
in
that
vicinity.
Later, he was President of the Elders Quorum of the San Luis Stake
for
several
years,
after
which
he
was
ordained
a High Priest.
In
the
fall
of
1879,
he
moved,
with
his
wife
and
children, to Colorado where he continued to follow his trade
and
to
be
active
in
Church
work.
He
died
at
the
age
of
81,
on 17
May
1928
in
Duncan,
Arizona,
and
was
buried
at
Manassa.
DLH/2-6-89
(1-15-49)
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My
grandmother,
Lydia
Belinda
Stover Haynie,
also
wrote
a
life
story
of
her
father, and
it
follows
below:
Cornelius
Jasper
Stover
was
born
in
Pickens
County,
Georgia, 18 February 1847.
At
the
age
of
sixteen
he
joined
the
Union
Army,
serving
until
the
end
of
the
Civil
War.
Following
the
War,
he
went
to
Gilmer
County,
Georgia,
where
he
met
and
married
Palestine
P.
Mc
Daniel.
Six
children
were
born
to
the
couple
–
four sons and
two
daughters.
Four
of
these
children
were
born before the
Latter-day
Saint
missionaries
came
to
the
community
where
they
lived.
Elder
John
Morgan
was
the
first
Mormon
missionary
to
contact
this family.
He was followed
by Elders Joseph Standing and
Rudger Clawson,
who
taught
the
Restored
Gospel
to
them.
They accepted the
teachings
of
the
Elders and on 4
May
1879
they
were
baptized
and
confirmed
members
of
The
Church
of
Jesus
Christ
of
Latter-day
Saints
by
Elders
Standing
and
Clawson.
Father
was
ordained
an
Elder
and
set
apart
to
preside
over
the
members
of
the
Church
in
that
vicinity.
Shortly
after
the family was
baptized,
a baby
boy
was
born
to
them.
Because
of
the
great
love
they
had
for
the
Elders
who
had
brought
the
message
of
the
Restored
Gospel
to
them,
they
named
the
baby
Joseph
Rud
ger.
These
events
took
place
shortly
before
the
Elders
left
for a place called
Varnell
Station
to
visit
the
members
of
the
Church
who
resided
there.
While
there,
Elder
Standing
was shot and killed by
a
cruel
mob.
This
greatly
grieved
the
family
because
they
loved
the
elders
so
much.
The
body
of
Elder
Standing
was
prepared
for
burial
and
shipped
to
his
home
in
Salt
Lake
City.
My
father
and
Uncle
William McDaniel
went
to
Varnell
Station
and
collected
the
Elders'
belongings
and shipped them
to
Salt
Lake
City.
At
this
time
it
was
announced
that
a stake
of
Zion
was
to
be
organized
in
the
State
of
Colorado
and
the
Saints
in
the
southern states were being encouraged to migrate to Colorado
and
build
up
this
stake.
My
father's
family
heeded
this
call
and
moved
to
Colorado
and
settled
in
the
Manassa
Ward
of
the
San
Luis
Stake.
Here,
Father
was
ordained
a
Seventy
and
later a High
Priest.
My
parents
made
the
trip
to
Salt
Lake
City where
they
received
their
endowments
and
were
sealed
for
time
and
for
all
eternity.
From
the
time
he
arrived
in
Colorado,
Father
never
saw
his parents or any member of his family again.
Yet, he felt this was a small price to pay for the Gospel of Christ when
it had cost the life of a man, a servant of God, to bring it to him.
His
greatest desire was to
live where his children and grandchildren and those who were to come after could
live and be reared
under the
influence of the Gospel of Christ -- where children
could
be
taught
from
babyhood
in
the
organizations
of
the
Church the lessons and stories that would keep their minds,
words
and
actions
pure
and
clean.
Mother
died
in
Colorado
6 June
1915,
lacking
just
one
month
of
being
sixty-one
years
of
age.
On
28
November
1917,
Father went to Arizona
to stay
with
his
youngest
son.
Here
he
lived
until
his
death
17
May
1928
at
the
age
of
81
years.
DLH/2-6-89
(12-23-39)