Three Houses in Nauvoo

 
          I was not the only one signed up to tour Nauvoo yesterday.  I thought we would see more of the city, but it was raining and thus we did not see much of the outside.  The tour covered only three houses. There was a set of missionaries for each house we saw.

Those residing at the homes had names I was not even familiar with – nor did I have the correct spelling on the first and so had to look it up – though I still did not find many references for those residing in the first house. This first house belonged to William and Ester Gheens (here)

The final pic shows the outside view.  

They did not take us outside but did show a picture

inside - just behind the yellow door (from above)

standing in the kitchen of the Gheens home

Behind the tree is the Nauvoo Temple.

The second house we saw was that of William and Caroline Weeks (here). 

The ceilings are quite low and everything
looked so small - like we were in a playhouse.

First they showed us where the house was in relation to their neighbors and to the temple. 

I think this is the Hunter house from a distance

I think the house in the background
is Gheens where we had come from

We were shown some architect samples and tools. 

The waste basket represents some original designs that had been discarded after a conversation with Joseph Smith. (See here for more information)

This next pic shows a parlor bench with two hats which represent the Relief Society sisters who would have made their visits.

We were shown the bedroom  and were told that though there were eleven children born to the couple, only three lived.

The last set of missionaries showed us the house of Edward Hunter who was the third bishop to reside in the Church (here)

The pineapple paper is not authentic to the house but the missionaries explained the symbolic welcome message and imagined it could have been part of the characterization of the house as it seemed to represent the Hunters.

The temple can be seen out this window and up the stairs (we did not view beyond the stairs) was a “hideout” room where we were told the Prophet would sometimes use to escape his persecutors. 

My understanding was during one of these moments is when Joseph had recorded the revelation of baptisms for the dead

The sisters had also taken us to the “pantry” which was known as the bishop’s storehouse as the members of Nauvoo were able to build up supply for those in need.

Members back then did not pay tithing in money as many members
do today; they filled baskets with trade items (such as produce or livestock)

a collection of blankets and other items

The final picture was a view outside the window of the Hunter house

notice how there’s no snow in this pic

 Back to the Gheen’s house. 

Wm Gheens died June 15, 1845.  Chairs set up
for those who had come to pay their respects