Born 24 May 1817 in Willington, Tolland County, Connecticut.[1] Son of Dan Atwood and Polly Sawyer.[2] Baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, August 1841.[3] Served a mission to the eastern United States, 1842–1845.[4] Assisted in the construction of the Nauvoo Temple, April–August 1845.[5] Ordained a seventy, 20 April 1845.[6] Migrated to the Salt Lake Valley with the Brigham Young pioneer company, arriving 22 July 1847.[7] Returned to Winter Quarters, unorganized United States territory (later in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska), and Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, 1847–1848.[8] Married Relief Cram, 20 April 1848, in Winter Quarters.[9] Returned to the Salt Lake Valley with the Brigham Young pioneer company, arriving 19 September 1848.[10] Served as a teamster during the Utah Indian wars, 5–19 February 1850.[11] Served a mission in the British Mission, 1852–1856.[12] Accompanied the Willie handcart company to Utah Territory, July–November 1856.[13] Participated in plural marriage, 1857.[14] Served a mission to the United States, beginning 1869.[15] Served on the Salt Lake Stake high council, 1873–1881.[16] Gave blessings to Emmeline B. Wells and her daughter, 1875, 1876.[17] Bishop of the Salt Lake City Thirteenth Ward, 1881–1890.[18] Visited by Emmeline B. Wells, 20 Nov. 1887.[19] Received a book from Emmeline B. Wells, May 1889.[20] Died 17 December 1890 in Salt Lake City.[21]
[1] Willington, CT, Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1720–1853, microfilm 1376042, vol. C, p. 78 (misspelled last name as Alwood), FamilySearch Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City (FamilySearch Library hereafter cited as FSL); Seventies Quorum Records, Quorum 14, vol. 1, part 1, pp. 15, 25; part 2, p. 1, Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City (Church History Library hereafter cited as CHL); “Death of Bishop Atwood,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 17 Dec. 1890, [2].
[2] Willington, CT, Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1720–1853, microfilm 1376042, vol. C, p. 78, FSL; Seventies Quorum Records, Quorum 14, vol. 1, part 1, pp. 15, 25; part 2, p. 1; “Death of Bishop Atwood,” [2].
[3] Seventies Quorum Records, Quorum 14, vol. 1, part 1, p. 15; part 2, p. 2; “Atwood, Millen,” in Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 1 (Andrew Jenson Historical, 1901), 633.
[4] Seventies Quorum Records, Quorum 14, vol. 1, part 2, p. 2; “Atwood, Millen,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:633.
[5] Seventies Quorum Records, Quorum 14, vol. 1, part 2, p. 2; “Atwood, Millen,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:633.
[6] Seventies Quorum Records, Quorum 14, vol. 1, part 2, p. 2.
[7] Millen Atwood, Journal, Apr.–July 1847, CHL; Emmeline B. Wells, Diary, 24 July 1888, Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells, Church Historian’s Press, churchhistorianspress.org/emmeline-b-wells.
[8] Seventies Quorum Records, Quorum 14, vol. 1, part 2, p. 3; “Atwood, Millen,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:634.
[9] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sealings and Adoptions of the Living, 1846–1857, microfilm 183374, vol. A, p. 691, 20 Apr. 1848, FSL; “Death of Bishop Atwood,” [2].
[10] Seventies Quorum Records, Quorum 14, vol. 1, part 2, p. 4; Historical Department, Journal History of the Church, 20–24 Sept. 1848, CHL; R. C. Atwood, “Biographical Sketch: Relief Cram Atwood,” Woman’s Exponent (Salt Lake City), Mar. 1905, 65.
[11] Utah Territory, Militia Records, 1849–1877, DGS 4332881, Map drawer 5, folder 3, nos. 4307–4308, 5–19 Feb. 1850, familysearch.org; Seventies Quorum Records, Quorum 14, vol. 1, part 2, p. 4; “Atwood, Millen,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:634.
[12] Seventies Quorum Records, Quorum 14, vol. 1, part 2, pp. 4–5; “Arrivals,” Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star, 22 Jan. 1853, 15:58–59; “Account of His Mission,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 26 Nov. 1856, 300–301; “Atwood, Millen,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:634.
[13] Levi Savage, Journal, 12–16 Aug. 1856, CHL; “Immigration to Utah,” Deseret News, 15 Oct. 1856, 254; “Account of His Mission,” 300–301; “Death of Bishop Atwood,” [2]; Candy Moulton, The Mormon Handcart Migration: “Tongue nor Pen Can Never Tell the Sorrow” (University of Oklahoma Press, 2019), 62–63.
[14] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889, microfilm 1149514, vol. C, p. 68, 19 Feb. 1857; microfilm 183402, vol. L, p. 13, 9 Oct. 1878, FSL.
[15] Millen Atwood entry, no. 579, Missionary Department, Missionary Registers, 1860–1959, book A, 14, CHL; Thirteenth Ward, Ensign Stake, Manuscript History and Historical Reports, 1849–1960, 1869, CHL.
[16] Salt Lake Stake, Manuscript History and Historical Reports, 1847–1949, vol. 2, 9 May 1873 and 25 Dec. 1881, CHL; Seventies Quorum Records, Quorum 14, vol. 1, part 2, p. 5; “Atwood, Millen,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:634.
[17] Wells, Diary, 24 Oct. 1875 and 23 Apr. 1876.
[18] Thirteenth Ward, Manuscript History and Historical Reports, 1881, ; 1890; Wells, Diary, 25 Dec. 1881.
[19] Wells, Diary, 20 Nov. 1887.
[20] Wells, Diary, 24 May 1889.
[21] Salt Lake Co., UT, Management and Archives, Salt Lake County Death Records, 1849–1966, DGS 4139830, nos. 0001–4430, 1890–1894, p. 12, 17 Dec. 1890, familysearch.org; “Death of Bishop Atwood,” [2]; Thirteenth Ward, Manuscript History and Historical Reports, 1890, .