Addison Pratt (1802-1872) was raised in New Hampshire, but in 1821 he left his family to work on a whaling ship. He spent the next ten years as a sailor before marrying Louisa Pratt (1802-1880) in 1831. Louisa was a successful seamstress and school teacher in Winchester, Massachusetts when the two met in 1827. The couple moved to northern New York and raised four daughters (Ellen, Frances, Lois, and Ann). In 1838 they converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Pleasant Grove, Indiana in 1839, and to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1841. Addison was called to serve a mission in the Sandwich Islands and left Nauvoo in 1843. In 1847 Louisa and her daughters made the overland trek to Salt Lake City from Nauvoo and Addison rejoined them in September, 1848. He was, however, called to another mission in the Pacific Islands and he left in late 1849. In early 1851 Louisa and the four daughters joined him in Tahiti. They returned to California and settled in San Bernardino in December, 1852. Addison left for yet another mission to Tahiti in 1856, but conditions were not favorable for missionary work and he returned that same year. When the call was issued for all Latter Day Saints to return to the Salt Lake Valley in October, 1857, Louisa returned to Utah. Addison remained in San Bernardino in part due to his dislike for cold weather and in part due to disagreements with LDS doctrines. Louisa settled with two daughters in Beaver, Utah. Addison would eventually move to Utah in 1863, but he returned to California due to failing health in December, 1864. He spent his remaining years in San Bernardino living with his daughter Frances and her husband James Dyer. Louisa continued to live in Beaver until her death in 1880. Further information about Addison and Louisa Barnes Pratt are available in the Addison Pratt Family Papers MS 228b, Addison Pratt Research Collection MS 228e, and Louisa Barnes Pratt Research Collection MS 228f.
Caroline Barnes Crosby was the sister of Louisa Barnes Pratt. Jonathan and Alma Crosby were her husband and son, respectively. The Crosby family also served a mission in the Sandwich Islands with the Pratt family, and lived in San Bernardino, California, and Beaver, Utah. Further information about Crosby Family is available in the Caroline Barnes Crosby Papers Collection MS 229a.
Benjamin Grouard was a close friend and fellow missionary of Addison Pratt. James S. Brown, Philip B. Lewis, and Jane Amanda Stevens Lewis were also missionaries in the Sandwich Island Mission.
From the guide to the Pratt family photograph collection, 1799-1990, 1850-1865, (Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives)
