Andrew Jackson Shupe and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Creager, joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Virginia in 1841, as did his parents. Andrew Jackson was about 26 and his wife was about 21 years old when they joined the Church. They were part of the "Little Nauvoo" Branch of the Church. They moved to Nauvoo, Illinois to be with the Latter-day Saints who were gathering there. They operated a family blacksmith shop there to help build the many covered wagons needed for the Mormon trek west. When they got near Council Bluffs, Iowa, Andrew Jackson joined the Mormon Battalion, leaving his family to live in a covered wagon while he was gone. He was escorted a military sick detachment to Pueblo, Colorado and later caught up with Brigham Young and the first pioneers along the Mormon Trail on July 4, 1847. He continued with Brigham Young and was among the first to enter the Salt Lake Valley. His name is on the "This is the Place" monument. After helping get things organized there, he returned to his family in Iowa and later brought them to Utah.

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