James Flake instructed Green to take the mules and carriage, cross the plains with the first company of Saints, send the carriage and mules back with some of those who would return to Nebraska, and remain out west himself to build a house for the Flake family in preparation for their arrival.īrigham Young's advance company for the westward trek of the Saints began on 17 April 1847. Flake, who had put his all upon the altar, sent his best slave, Green, with a pair of white Mississippi mules and white-topped mountain carriage, to help the pioneer company to their destination.” One Latter-day Saint remembered that Brigham Young “requested the very best teams and outfits the Latter-day Saints could provide. He was a part of the first group of Latter-day Saints to leave Nauvoo for the West and participated in the initial establishment of Winter Quarters, Nebraska. Nevertheless, Green played a part in several key events in the Church’s history. However, scholars have since agreed that it is unlikely that he ever met Joseph Smith. Popular legend states that Green Flake lived with Joseph Smith and acted as his bodyguard for a time. At the time, Green’s labor was accepted as the Flake family’s tithing. William Jordan Flake, James’ oldest son, recalled, “being taken to the top of the Nauvoo Temple by our Negro servant, Green, and viewing the surrounding country for miles in every direction.” Green helped the Flakes build a new brick home, and he also worked on various church projects. Green became very active in the Church while in Nauvoo. The Flake family, Green, and two other slaves, Hark Lay (later Wales) and Oscar Crosby (later Smith) moved from Mississippi to Nauvoo in 1844. James allowed him to stay but kept his status as a slave. Green, however, refused to leave the family. ![]() Before leaving, James freed all his slaves. ![]() Shortly after Green was baptized, James and Agnes Flake decided to leave their plantation and migrate North to Nauvoo, Illinois, to be closer to the main body of Latter-day Saints. Green believed the testimony of his master, and on 7 April 1844, at the age of sixteen, he was baptized in the Mississippi River by Elder John Brown, a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. James began sharing the Good News of the Restored Gospel with his friends, acquaintances, and his slaves. Their baptism brought about immediate changes to the James Flake Plantation. Although uncertain at first, James and Agnes were baptized a few weeks later. Clapp, a missionary from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knocked on the door of the Flake home. In the winter of 1843-1844, Elder Benjamin L. 5 A Free Man – A Family, House, and Land.
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