LDS Witness
Protection & Deliverance

Joseph Morrell — Mob Violence in Mississippi

Published October 30, 2026 at 2:11 AM

1880s · 1884
Neshoba County, Mississippi
Joseph Morrell·John William Gailey

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Joseph Morrell — Mob Violence in Mississippi — a documented protection & deliverance account from the 1880s in Neshoba County, Mississippi
Joseph Morrell.jpg via Wikimedia Commons

In July 1884, while serving as a missionary in the Southern States Mission, Joseph Morrell and his companion, John William Gailey, were kidnapped and severely beaten by a mob in Neshoba County, Mississippi. This event is documented in the historical records of the Southern States Mission.

Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in TheAncestorFiles: An Index to the History of the Southern States Mission, 1875-1888, Part 20):

July 1884. A mob kidnaps and severely beats Elders Joseph Morrell and John William Gailey in Neshoba County, Mississippi.

Sources & References

TheAncestorFiles: An Index to the History of the Southern States Mission, 1875-1888 (https://theancestorfiles.blogspot.com/2010/03/index-to-history-of-southern-states.html) (research confidence: high) Image: Joseph Morrell.jpg — via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_Morrell.jpg Complete account: TheAncestorFiles: An Index to the History of the Southern States Mission, 1875-1888, Part 20 https://theancestorfiles.blogspot.com/2009/07/history-of-southern-states-mission-part.html

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Filed under

Protection & Deliverance1880sUSA

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Joseph Morrell — witness in Healing of a Paralyzed Girl by President Joseph Morrell and CompanionHealing of a Paralyzed Girl by President Joseph Morrell and Companion(1904)
Joseph Morrell — witness in President Joseph Morrell's Deliverance from a MobPresident Joseph Morrell's Deliverance from a Mob(1904)
Baptism of Chief Judge Folau and his son in Samoa(1895)
William Atkin — Green River Crossing(1859)
James H. Moyle, Joseph Standing, Matthew Cowley — witness in James H. Moyle — Witnessing the Aftermath of Elder Joseph Standing's MartyrdomJames H. Moyle — Witnessing the Aftermath of Elder Joseph Standing's Martyrdom(1879)
Elias Morris — Preservation from a Thirty-Foot Fall(1850s)

Questions about this account

Who was involved in this account?
The account involves Joseph Morrell, John William Gailey. Each person named here also has a witness page collecting the other accounts involving them.
When did this account take place?
The account is set in 1884, in the 1880s.
Where did this account take place?
It took place in Neshoba County, Mississippi.
What kind of miracle is this?
It is filed as a Protection & Deliverance account reported in USA.
Where does this account come from?
TheAncestorFiles: An Index to the History of the Southern States Mission, 1875-1888 ( (research confidence: high) Image: Joseph Morrell. The full source citation appears in the Sources section below, with links to the original where available.

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