Son of Benjamin Hanks and Martha Knowlton

Married Mary Ann Cook, 1 Jun 1862, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

Children - Lydia Cook Hanks; Mary Ann Hanks; Knowlton Hanks

History - Sidney Alvarus Hanks came to Utah, July 12, 1847, Brigham Young's Company, a missionary to Society Island. Sidney Alvarus Hanks, one of the original pioneers of Utah. After his arrival in the Great Salt Lake Valley with the pioneers, he did his part in establishing homes for the companies of Saints who were to follow. In 1852 he responded to a call to fill a mission; he returned in 1860.

His family located at Syderville, near Parley's Canyon, in 1870, having lost a cow went to look for her and froze to death. His body was not recovered until months later.

DEATH: Salt Lake City Cemetery records 04-23-1870. And has also been recorded as 10 Mar 1870 in other records.

EMIGRATION: Brigham Young Company, age 26. Departure: 14 April 1847. Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 21-24 July 1847. The original pioneer company consisted of 142 men, 3 women, and 2 children, and 72 wagons when they left the outfitting post of Winter Quarters, Nebraska. They covered the 1031 miles of the trail in 111 days.

Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, Brigham Young Pioneer Company (1847); Age at Departure: 26; Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, Brigham Young Company (1848); Age at Departure: 27.

Lecture of the life and Mission of Sidney Alvarus Hanks by William Wallace Cluff

Alva Hanks was a brother of Eph Hanks, a pioneer, noted frontiersman, and express carrier on the Great Overland Route from the Missouri River to Salt Lake City.

In the early fifties Elder Alva Hanks was called, in connection with other Elders by President Brigham Young to go on a mission to the Society Island in the South Pacific ocean. After laboring there two or three years the associates of Elder Hanks concluded to return to the homes in Utah. Elder Hanks, being on another island, they did not consult with him, but instead wrote him a letter, informing him of their departure. It was some weeks after before the letter reached Elder Hanks. He was greatly surprised and disappointed, but without murmuring or giving away to despondency at being left alone on those far off isles in the great Pacific Ocean, he made up his mind to remain and fill his mission to the best of his ability, putting his trust in the Lord.

As soon as he had, somewhat, recovered from his great disappointment, he started out on a regular tour of the several islands. He visited the branches, organized and holding meetings where opportunity offered. He lived among the people, eating such food as they lived on and accepted such hospitality as they could bestow. His clothes, by degrees, wore out and he found himself almost destitute. But being in a warm climate he did not suffer or feel discouraged. He had been without shoes for months and finally had nothing but a shirt to cover his nakedness, a shirt which came down a little below his knees. In this unpleasant condition, he continued his labors traveling among the natives and preaching the Gospel to the people. In a more civilized country, he could have been greatly mortified in this condition, but the natives of those islands or the masses of them went mostly naked, having only a birch cloth around their hips. So however mortifying it would be to a white man to live among such a people with proper clothing, Elder Hanks, with his tenacious and persevering character determined to fulfill his mission to that people. His endurance and perseverance were strong characteristics of his nature.

Besides these trials of his faith, he was exposed to many hardships and dangers in his travels, from one island to another in the native’s canoes. In that country, tidal waves are quite frequent as many of the islands being low, and many little above the surface of the ocean. A tidal wave often flows right over them destroying much property and many of the people. Only a few years after Elder Hanks left that country, a great tidal wave swept over the islands where he spent much of his time. Nearly the entire population with all their property perished in that great flood. Two Mormon Elders, who happened to be on that island, miraculously escaped death by climbing a coconut tree.

Personally, Elder Hanks was not persecuted, but frequently had the meeting he as holding broken up by fanatical native Catholics, incited, it was supposed, by the Priests.
The native saints and many of their friends he had among the Tahitian people always spoke of him to the Elders who labored in that mission after him, with great reverence and love on account of his faithful labors among them.

In the year 1857 a number of white men on the Sandwich Island chartered a small schooner to go to the islands in the South Pacific to gather the beautiful shells, corals and pearls that are found among these islands. Among those white men was one Robert Brown, who resided on the Island of Kauai. Mr. Brown had been baptized a member in the Mormon Church.

In cruising around among the Society Islands, they had anchored one Sunday morning near a small island, and to pass the time they concluded to go on shore. In a native village near the landing, they learned that a Mormon missionary, a white man, was holding a meeting in that town. Brother Brown proposed that they go and hear the Mormon missionary preach. Accordingly, Brother Brown and some of the party went to the meeting. On entering the house they were greatly surprised to see a white man standing and preaching the Tahitians in their own language with no clothing on except a long shirt and no shoes on his feet.

At the close of the meeting, Brother Brown went up and introduced himself as a member of the Mormon Church from the Sandwich Islands. In their conversation Brother Brown learned that the missionary’s name was Alva Hanks from Salt Lake, Utah; that he had been on those Islands a little over seven years; that he was alone; that his companions, who came with him from Utah, had all returned to their homes in Utah; that he had been on one of the other Islands at the time and did not learn of their departure for several weeks after they left; and as he had never been released he was still there.

“You must have had a very lonely time being here all these years alone. There are over twenty of your Elders from Utah laboring on the Sandwich Islands. If you would like to go there we will give you a free passage with us to those Islands. They will be glad to have you join them. You may know personally some of those Elders. Among them is Elder Joseph F. Smith, a nephew of the Prophet Joseph Smith; John R. and Franklin W. Young, nephews of President Brigham Young, and several others whom Brother Brown named.”

Yes, I know most of them you have named. Well, thanking you gentlemen for your kind offer, I will say “I was called to this mission by Brigham Young, and until he releases me, I shall remain here, though it be another seven years or even longer.” Soon after their meeting and interview with Elder Hanks, the shell and coral gatherers sailed for the Hawaiian Islands.

On arriving at this home Brother Brown made some of the Elders there acquainted with his chance meeting and interview with Elder Alva Hanks on one of the Society Islands; explaining his destitute conditions, the length of time he had been on that mission; that they tendered him a free passage with them to the Sandwich Island; that he declined to leave that mission until he should be properly released by President Brigham Young, who had sent him to that mission, etc.

As soon as the Hawaiian Elders learned of Elder Hanks’ condition, they communicated all the facts to President Young in Salt Lake City. President Young at once wrote to Elder Hanks through the American Council at Tahiti enclosing his formal release with a draft on a San Francisco Bank to pay his passage home and buy him a complete suit of good clothes, etc.

In the fall of that year Elder Hanks arrived in Salt Lake City, after an absence from his home of eight years; and to his friends he was like one just risen from the dead, having performed one of the most unique and remarkable missions in the history of the Church.

Alva Hanks was quite a wit in some respects a very eccentric man, as the following anecdote will show:

In the Spring of 1847 as the pioneer company was about to leave Winter Quarters on the Missouri River on their long journey westbound to find a new home for the Saints somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, the teams were all hitched onto the wagons and strung out in a line of march. Alva Hanks was to drive the lead team, the baggage wagon with four fine mules, while the pioneers were taking leave of their loved ones. Alva was sitting on his seat holding the lines over Polk and Dallas his stalwart wheelers, and Prince and Princess his sparkling leaders. President Young and several of the leading men were standing near the lead team, waiting to give the order to move on.

Alva Hanks, sitting on his high seat swinging his whip high over his head saying “Now I am right where the Lord wants me.” President Heber C. Kimball, with one of his customary snickering laughs, said, “Where is that Alva?” Hanks, cracking his whip over his lead mules, replied “Leading Israel” while the bystanders were indulging in a good laugh. The crack of the whip over the leaders caused them to frisk about. Alva said, “Polk and Dallas hold them steady boys. Princess, old gal, quiet down. We will soon be off and there is a long journey before us.” Just at this time, President Brigham Young stepped forward and gave the order to forward march.

That noble company of Pioneers started on that long journey of over one thousand miles across plains and over rugged mountains arriving in the Great Salt Lake Valley on the 24th of July 1847 where they founded what is now the beautiful city of Salt Lake.

As the Company started to move on, Alva sitting erect on this high seat holding tight line over his fine team, waving to the bystanders on the right and left and in his pride said, “Am I not leading Israel.”

A short time after Elder Hanks returned from the Islands, he wanted to visit his relatives living in Heber City, Wasatch County. The winter in the meantime had fully set in, but he decided to go. He started off one morning on foot and alone. That night he reached William H. Kimball’s place in Parley’s Park, where he was made welcomed by his old friends. Next morning, although it looked stormy, he said he would go on.

Mr. Kimball said to him he had better stay over until the next day at least; that the road was drifted full with snow and nearly obliterated; and should the winds blow as it often does in this high altitude, he could not see his way for drifting snow and might get lost in the hills. “I have lived up here in these high mountains for twenty years,” said Mr. Kimball. “No man is safe in a severe windstorm when the snow is deep. You are perfectly welcomed to remain here with us until the storm is over.”

“I thank you, but I think I will go on,” said Brother Hanks.

Seeing he was determined to go, Mrs. Kimball fixed him up a lunch and he started off.

He had not been long gone when the wind blew a gale filling the air with blind drifting snow. Still, Alva pressed on as best he could, wallowing through deep snowdrifts, unable to see or follow the road. Sometime in the afternoon, he reached Silver Creek, wearied and chilled through with the keen piercing wind. Seeing not far off a clump of scrubby willows and thinking perhaps he could rest and be protected from the keen blast for a little while. He had his way to that clump of willows. Making his way to the center of the clump he trod the snow and tried to kindle a fire but failed. He broke off some willow bows and sat down on them to rest. From that seat he never again arose. That entrapped, brave, and independent man, who had braved so many dangers, and who had spent nine years as a faithful mission on the Islands in the Pacific Ocean where his constitution, no doubt, was greatly impaired during the nine years spent in that tropical climate. After a day spent in wallowing through deep snowdrifts and in that arctic wind, he went in that clump of willows at the head of Silver Creek in Summit County and there froze to death.

Failing to reach Heber City as expected, his friends became alarmed and sent out a searching party. After a long time they finally discovered some faint tracks leading toward the willows. They went to the nearest clump and there found the body frozen solid like a chunk of ice. The lunch which Mrs. Kimball had put up or him, he had only eaten a small portion of. It was evidently frozen so hard he could not eat it.

What a sad ending of such a courageous, persevering and faithful man as Alva Hanks had proved himself to be. -- W.W. Cluff

In November 1975, while clearing out the family home of Lydia Hanks Parry, 333 J Street, after the death of H. Eula Parry (the last of the children to live there) is a trunk having once belonged to Mary Ann Cook Hanks, was found the old Bible published in 1847, which was used by Sidney Alvarus Hanks while on his mission to the Society Islands from May 1850 to 1861. In this Bible was found a clipping from a paper which reads as follows:

From the Society Island – a letter from Elder Alvarus Hanks dated January 12 has reached this office via Sydney, from which we learn that he has been laboring chiefly on the Island of Mangarongaro, and with success – seventy have been baptized. Three native (Christian) missionaries have been there for three years without baptizing any. One of them lately visited Brother Hanks, and after hearing him state the principles of the Gospel was, with his wife and four of his brethren, baptized. Brother Hanks ordained him an Elder and sent him back to preach the fullness of the Gospel. Elder Hanks says:

“I am building a substantial chapel in Mangarongaro. The walls are up and half of the roof finished, that we have been at it but six weeks. I have the Raratonga Bible and can preach to them out of it so that they understand me. Their language differs from the Tahitian.” He adds, “I have baptized a crazy set here – there is no law, nor chief except myself. They say they will obey my counsel. I have laid my hands upon a few of their sick and healed them.”

He heard of the shipwreck of the Julia Ann, and hastened to the relief of the suffering, but they had been rescued, and he did not see them. The same was true of Brother Pratt. As soon as the intelligence of his arrive reached Brother Hanks he went to meet him but did not succeed in finding him. He concludes, “I do not know that I can do better by going away from this place, but I want to see Salt Lake before I turn native entirely.” -- West Standard.

A. H. Parry