Strang felt his defeat very keenly and withdrew with a few of his
followers who had entire belief in his revelations. He now went to
Kirtland, Ohio, where a Mormon temple had been built as a place of
worship for the Latter Day Saints, as they are now commonly known.
Strang soon became restless. Brigham Young had already gone with a large
number of Smith's followers to Salt Lake City, Utah. Strang wanted more
territory, more privileges, which he knew he could not have in Kirtland,
so he began to look about for a place where he could establish a kingdom
over which he could rule with undisputed sway. Being a lawyer and
understanding the law so perfectly he knew he could not carry out his
plans unless he found some secluded place where the law of the land
could not easily reach him, and where could he find a place better
suited to carry out his plans than Beaver Island? In 1846, two years
prior to Strang's coming to Beaver Island to establish his kingdom he
was on his way west to Wisconsin. The steamer he took passage on was
driven into Beaver Harbor to seek shelter from a storm. When Strang was
telling all this to my father he said, "When my eyes first rested on
Beaver Island I thought it the most beautiful place on earth."
At the time Strang was there, a Mr. Alva Cable from Fairport, Ohio, had
located at the Point and was establishing a business. He had built a
dock, a store and a fine large dwelling and was already buying fish from
the fishermen and shipping them to outside markets.