New Sign in Quincy Commemorates Kindness of Residents to Latter-day Saints

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In connection with the 200th anniversary of Adams County, Illinois, a rendering of a new history marker from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was unveiled at Clat Adams Bicentennial Park on May 10, 2025. More than 100 people gathered to remember the story of mercy on the Mississippi River, when destitute Latter-day Saints found food, shelter and kindness in Quincy, Illinois.

During the winter of 1838–39, Quincy’s 1,600 residents sheltered more than 5,000 Latter-day Saints who had been expelled from Missouri by Gov. Lilburn W. Boggs’ extermination order. 

The interpretive panel to be installed at the park includes a brief description of the winter rescue, with quotes from both Quincy residents and Latter-day Saints. A background image by Julie Rogers depicts Latter-day Saints huddled on the shore waiting to cross the icy river.

The Nauvoo Performing Missionaries and a youth choir provided music at the rendering’s unveiling. Short remarks came from Larissa McShane, Nauvoo Illinois Stake Relief Society president, and Charles Scholz, chair of the Adams County Bicentennial Commission.

Scholz, former mayor of Quincy, recalled other times when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expressed gratitude to the citizens of Quincy, such as when Gordon B. Hinckley, then president of the Church, visited Quincy in 2002 in conjunction with the rebuilding of the Nauvoo Temple. The Tabernacle Choir performed a benefit concert that raised $75,000 to help the city start a community foundation.

“It was a wonderful evening,” Scholz recalled. “At the conclusion, [President Hinckley] turned to the choir … and he said, ‘I’d like to have everyone in the choir who had ancestors that were sheltered in Quincy stand up.’ And they all stood up, and an audible gasp went throughout the crowd. That’s what brought it home to us of how significant this is.”

Larissa McShane shared that her ancestors, James Bean and Elizabeth Lewis, had lived in Quincy for several years by 1838. Their son, George, wrote in his journal, “My father, having added to his lands and improvements for some time, was possessed of several houses and cabins, which were then filled with these people.” McShane proclaimed, “Their mercy changed the trajectory of the lives of countless people for generations to come.” The Bean family later joined the Church and headed west in 1846.

Quincy earned the moniker “City of Refuge” for having a role in the Underground Railroad, sheltering the Latter-day Saints, welcoming displaced Indigenous individuals from the Potawatomi people and other acts. An evening musical celebration at Quincy’s historic Morrison Theater honored that heritage with the premiere of a new symphonic work composed by Nathan Seaman, a member of the Nauvoo stake presidency who worked with the Church History Department to arrange for the interpretive panel.

Additional performances by the Quincy Symphony Orchestra, the Nauvoo Performing Missionaries and the Quincy All Faiths Choir emphasized the power and joy of caring for others, regardless of their background. 

Orella Coleman, a 19-year-old resident of Nauvoo, summed up the day’s celebrations, which also included a morning religious freedom symposium: “It didn’t matter what religion you were; the stories and experiences related to everyone.”