1857 Iron County Militia Project - User contributions [en]

Samuel Knight

2016-04-27T09:21:46Z

1857admin: /* Later Statements about the Massacre */

'''Samuel Knight, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:Samuel_knight_4b.jpg|left|125px]] 

 

'''Samuel Knight'''

'''1832-1910'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in Missouri and Illinois ===

Born in 1832 in Jackson County, Missouri, Samuel Knight was descended from New England Yankee stock. His grandfather, Joseph Knight, and his father, Newell Knight, had been early supporters of the Mormon founder Joseph Smith in upstate New York. They had been part of the "Colesville Branch" that moved in 1831 to Jackson County in western Missouri. In 1833, conflict with the original settlers in Jackson County drove the Mormon newcomers into northwestern Missouri.

While they squatted along the river bottoms, Knight's mother died shortly after childbirth. His father married Lydia Goldthwait and the family briefly settled in Ray County in northwest Missouri but in 1836 were pressured to leave. They homesteaded at Far West in nearby Caldwell County where in 1838 more armed conflict ensued between the original settlers and the Mormon newcomers. Knight's father participated in the militia actions around Far West. In early 1839, after their ouster from western Missouri, they moved to Commerce, Illinois, then upriver to Nauvoo on the Illinois frontier.

=== Migration to Utah ===

The Knight family departed Illinois in 1846 and were among the vanguard company that wintered on the traditional lands of the Ponca Indians in present-day Nebraska. There his father died in early 1847. To avoid possible legal claims to him from his mother's family, Knight's stepmother sent him ahead on the trail.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Thus, Knight, 14, joined the Abraham O. Smoot - George B. Wallace Company, which was recruiting at the outfitting post on the Elkhorn River west of Winter Quarters, Nebraska. They departed in mid-June on the overland trek. The Smoot-Wallace Company was one of several companies in the so-called Big Company that traveled behind Brigham Young's Pioneer Company that summer. They passed what would later become commonplace milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail, they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in late September.

He passed the difficult years of 1847-1850 in Great Salt Lake Valley. In 1850, his stepmother and his half-brothers and -sisters made the overland trek and he was reunited with them that fall.

=== Indian Interpreter in the Southern Indian Mission ===
[[Image:Fort Clara, sketch, 1855-1862.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''A Reconstruction of Fort Clara, 1855-1862'''</center>]]

In October 1853, at the age of twenty, Knight was called as an Indian missionary to southern Utah and arrived at Fort Harmony in spring 1854. Indian Mission leader Rufus Allen selected [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], Thales Haskell, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Samuel Knight, and Gus Hardy to leave Ft. Harmony and establish a new fort on the Santa Clara. Hamblin, Haskell and Hardy arrived in December 1854; Hatch and Knight arrived early in 1855. Hatch, 19, and Knight, 22, would accompany Hamblin on a number of missions in the future.

After building a diversion dam on the Santa Clara, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, Sam Knight and [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] began building a stone fort on the banks of the Santa Clara Creek and soon began planting cotton which proved successful. News of their success in raising cotton would soon lead to the founding of the Cotton Mission in nearby Washington and St. George.

In 1856, Knight married Danish emigrant Carolyn Beck (1836-1869) and immediately brought her to Fort Clara on Utah's southern frontier.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private Samuel Knight, Company H, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion, Fort Clara ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Southern Indian Mission were headquartered at Fort Clara on the lower Santa Clara River near modern-day St. George, Utah. It was part of the Iron Military District which consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

Samuel Knight, 24, was a private in company H in [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee's]] 4th Battalion. Other Indian interpreters in Lee's geographically sprawling battalion were [[Dudley_Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]], [[Oscar_Hamblin|Oscar Hamblin]], and [[Amos_G._Thornton|Amos Thornton]] (Fort Clara), [[Don_Carlos_Shirts|Carl Shirts]] (Fort Harmony), and [[David_W._Tullis|David Tullis]] (Pinto).

In mid-1857, to avoid the summer heat on the lower Santa Clara, Samuel Knight, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], [[David W. Tullis|David Tullis]] and others were homesteading a mountain ranch at the Mountain Meadows. In early August, Knight's wife Caroline gave birth to their first child. His wife was seriously ill and they remained there for several months while she recuperated from her difficult delivery.

Around Saturday, September 5, having received orders from Cedar City, Knight carried orders south to Fort Clara (and perhaps Washington) to incite Indians on the lower Santa Clara to gather at Mountain Meadows. A militia contingent from these southern communities was also to muster to Mountain Meadows. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

[[Image:Samuel knight 3.jpg|right|200px|Samuel knight 3.jpg]]
On Monday, September 7th in the evening, following the first attack on the Arkansas emigrants at Mountain Meadows, Knight and other southern militiamen met [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] south of the Meadows, joined him and moved up to the Meadows the following day.

They arrived at Mountain Meadows around noon on Tuesday, September 8. Knight went back to the northern end of the valley to [[Jacob_Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin's]] cabin where his wife was convalescing in their wagon box. The rest of the militiamen from the southern settlements camped in a separate encampment from the Cedar City detachment which had already arrived and set up their own encampment.

On Friday the 11th, [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] recruited Knight and Sergeant [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]] to drive their wagons to the emigrant wagon circle and carry away young children and wounded adults. As the emigrants filed out of their wagon circle, John D. Lee with McMurdie and Knight carrying the small children and several injured adults were in the lead. Some distance behind trailed the women and children. Bringing up the rear were the emigrant men, shadowed by a militia guard unit from Cedar City.

What occurred in the final massacre at the head of the line is contested. [[Samuel_McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]] and Samuel Knight testified in Lee's second trial in 1876 that Lee shot the injured adults in McMurdie's wagon. Knight said he was calming his fractious horses which were unnerved by the shooting. When McMurdie was questioned about his role, he invoked his right against self-incrimination. In Lee's later published statements he denied any killing, saying his gun had jammed and that McMurdie and Knight had shot the injured adults. But before his execution, Lee was more forthcoming; his gun had jammed after he had shot several of the adults.

After the final massacre these two wagons carried the seventeen surviving children to Hamblin's ranch where Rachel Hamblin tried to calm them as best she could.

=== Immediate Aftermath of the Massacre ===

Having induced local Indians to join them massacring the Arkansas company, the Iron County militia now found that they had lost control of them. Following behind the Arkansas train was the Dukes-Turner Company which fell under attack at Beaver. After arriving in Cedar City, Dukes and Turner hired [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[Oscar Hamblin|Oscar Hamblin]] and [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] to guide them through. Meanwhile, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] sent [[Dudley_Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] and Samuel Knight to conciliate the Paiutes in Nevada. When the Dukes-Turner Company arrived near the Muddy River in Nevada, Leavitt convinced Dukes and Turner to release stock to the Paiute Indians. Controversy still swirls around this episode. Had Leavitt and Knight used the Paiutes to rob the train of its livestock, or, by appeasing the Paiutes with cattle, did they save the lives of those in the Dukes-Turner train?

=== Scouting to Encounter the U.S. Army in 1858 ===
[[Image:Ives Steamboat.jpg|thumb|right|500px|<center>'''Lt. Joseph Ives steaming of the lower Colorado River in 1858 in the midst of the Utah War. Mormon Indian missionaries Jacob Hamblin, Thales Haskell, Ira Hatch, Sam Knight, and Dudley Leavitt surveilled them.'''</center>]]

In March 1858, Knight was in the patrol to southern Nevada with [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]] and others to scout for the approach of the U. S. Army from the West Coast.

Arriving on the lower Colorado River, they reconnoitered the progress of Lt. Joseph Ives’s historic steamboat voyage up the river. They encountered Paiutes and Mohaves and Thales Haskell made contact with the steamer. Occurring in the midst of the Utah War when distrust was high, each side spied on the other and harbored mutual suspicions.

 

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]

In fall 1858, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] decided to visit the Indians who intrigued him so much, the Hopi. Over the years he would make many trips to the Hopi Mesas and Navajo lands and Knight accompanied him in 1858, 1861 and 1873. Following the lead of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], many Indian interpreters would eventually move to Arizona to pursue their interest in the Hopi. Knight, however, remained in southern Utah and worked primarily among the "Piedes," or Southern Paiutes.

From October to December 1858, Hamblin undertook his first historic crossing of the Colorado River to travel though Navajo lands to the Hopi Mesas in northeastern Arizona. [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Samuel Knight and [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] were with Hamblin in a party of fourteen on this first journey. Arriving at the Colorado River, they scouted the area at the mouth of the Paria River (later Lee’s Ferry) but were unable to cross. Traveling some miles farther east, they forded at the Ute Ford, or Crossing of the Fathers.

Traveling up Navajo Canyon they emerged and crossed the plateaus and arrived at Old Oraibi on Third Mesa in Hopi land.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa. The Indian interpreters first visited there in 1858.'''</center>]]
Next, they visited Sichomovi and Walpi at First Mesa. Returning, they passed through Mishongnovi at Second Mesa. Trading for what supplies the Hopis could afford to part with, they set out on their return.

Retracing their steps they crossed the Colorado. Running short of supplies north of the river, they nearly starved to death. Feeling weak and ill, Sam Knight was left behind and nearly froze to death. In desperation, they killed and ate [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt’s]] horse to stay alive. They made it back to Ft. Clara on the Santa Clara stream without loss of life.

In fall 1860, Hamblin set out again for the Hopi Mesas. This was his third crossing of the Colorado. Among those who journeyed with him was George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith. After crossing the Colorado River at the Ute Ford, or Crossing of the Fathers, they proceeded as far as Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash. There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith, Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas.

In February 1861, Hamblin returned to Arizona to recover the remains of George Smith, Jr. Sam Knight, [[Amos G. Thornton|Amos Thornton]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]] and others accompanied him on this fourth crossing of the Colorado River. Following their previous route they arrived at the Ute Ford and crossed to the south of the river. Traveling generally southeast, they passed the Inscription House ruins. Fearing to go farther into Navajo lands, they sent their Paiute companions ahead to retrieve what they could of Smith’s remains. Then they returned to Utah via the Ute Ford without going to the Hopi Mesas.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

In the Black Hawk War (1865-68) raiding parties of Utes, Paiutes and Navajos drove off Mormon livestock throughout the region and led to some pitched battles between the allied tribes and Mormon militias. A peace treaty in 1868 brought most of the depredations in Utah to a close, except in southern Utah where Navajos continued raiding across the Colorado River into lands occupied by the Mormons.

There were a series of tenuous peace treaties with the Navajos in 1870, 1871 and 1872 but the McCarty affair (Grass Valley murders) brought further unrest in 1873-74 until a final peace treaty was achieved. Samuel Knight made at least one trip with Jacob Hamblin to eastern Arizona to pursue peace negotiations with the Navajos.

[[Image:Washington_County.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''Map of Washington County, Utah.'''</center>]]

=== Later Life in Santa Clara ===

In 1862, when Swiss emigrants moved to Santa Clara in southwest Utah, Knight and his family was among the few native-born Americans to remain.

In the mid-1860s, Knight, [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] and others moved their families to Clover Valley and Meadow Valley in modern Lincoln County, Nevada. There they remained for several years. However, the outbreak of the Black Hawk War in 1865 eventually caused Mormons to abandon many unprotected outposts. Knight and his family returned to Santa Clara in southwestern Utah where he resided for the remainder of his life.

By the time of the death of his wife Carolyn in 1869, she had borne him six children. Following her death, he married [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt's]] sister, Laura Melvina Leavitt (1851-1922), Utah born with Canadian and New England roots, who bore him ten children. Over the years, Laura Knight made a notable contribution to the community as a midwife and nurse.

[[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|right|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

=== Testifying in John D. Lee's Second Trial, 1876 ===

In September 1876 during the second trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], the prosecution called former Iron County militiamen [[Joel White|Joel White]], Samuel Knight, [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], Laban Morrill, and [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] to testify against Lee. Knight's testimony can be found [http://www.mtn-meadows-assoc.com/knight.htm here].

His only polygamous marriage was in 1888 to a Missouri-born widow, Susan Charlotte Nanney Hunt (1832?- ?), just two years before the Mormon Church's Manifesto that officially ended the practice.

=== Later Statements about the Massacre ===

In the 1890s and the early twentieth century, Knight gave several important interviews and statements concerning the massacre. With the exception of some statements contained in third-party journals, all of Samuel Knight's written statements and affidavits have now been published in Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: The Jenson and Morris Collections.'' His trial testimony in the 1876 trial of [[John_D._Lee|John D. Lee]] is available online.

=== Final Years ===

He lived on in Santa Clara, earning his livelihood as a farmer and rancher and continuing to work with the local Paiutes. He spent more than 50 years in Santa Clara. He died in 1910 and was buried there, survived by his second wife Laura and eleven children (see photo of his second family, below).

At the time of his death, his obituary noted that he was known for recounting his early years in Missouri and Illinois where he and his family had been driven from their homes on four occasions, an indication of the persistence and power of these early life experiences to shape Mormon memory and identity.

In Todd Compton's excellent new biography of Jacob Hamblin, he concluded that [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, Samuel Knight, Ammon Tenney, and [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] were Hamblin's "irreplaceable supports on these forays into unknown, unmapped, and often inhospitable places.” (Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 480.)

 

[[Image:Samuel & Melvina Leavitt Knight family 2 - Version 4.jpg|thumb|center|650px|<center>'''Samuel and Laura Melvina Leavitt Knight and family, c. 1890s'''</center>]]

 

= References =

Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 12, 34, 119, 126, 128, 146, 149, 153-54, 158, 170, 212, 304; Bigley and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 111, 259, 314, 347-48, 419-21 (statement), 457, 467; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 25, 30, 36, 62, 130, 146, 148, 150, following 152 (photo), 158, 172, 214; Brooks, ''The Mountain Meadows Massacre,'' 74, 83, 107, 121, 123, 197; Brooks, ed., ''Journal of the Southern Indian Mission,'' 2, 7, 67, 78, 118, 120; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trials of John D. Lee,'' 215-16, 218-19; Hartley, ''They Are My Friends,'' 6, 86, 117; Hartley, ''Stand by My Servant Joseph,'' 154, 195, 332-33, 355; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Latter-day Saints,'' 776 (Santa Clara Ward); Knight, ''Lydia Knight’s History,'' 35, 72, 90-91, 100; Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 38, 44, 52, 102, 159, 161, 541; Larson, ''Diary of Charles Lowell Walker,'' Vol. II, 835, 872; Larson, ''Erastus Snow,'' 315, 384; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 238, 241, 242, 243, 250, 252, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; Little, ''Jacob Hamblin,'' ; Moorman and Sessions, ''Camp Floyd and the Mormons,'' 133-34, 136; New.FamilySearch.org; Robinson, ed., ''History of Kane County,'' 3; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 1, 20, 23, 59, 78, 89, 95, 115; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 97, 115, 202, 220, 262-64 (biographical sketch), 265-66, 270, 296, 320-322 (affidavit); Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 6, 140-41, 150-51 (brief sketch), 152, 161-62, 193, 195-98, 204, 213, Appendix C, 254, 259, Appendix D, 265; Whittaker, ''History of Santa Clara, Utah,'' 24-25, 26, 32, 43, 46, 58, 85, 89, 120, 122, 133, 134-39 (biographical sketch), 211, 281, 370-71, 560.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on Samuel Knight, see:

* Samuel Knight's testimony in the 1876 trial of John D. Lee is at: http://www.mtn-meadows-assoc.com/knight.htm
* http://records.ancestry.com/Samuel_Knight_records.ashx?pid=17695609
* http://www.geni.com/people/Samuel-Knight/6000000000875614129
* http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=42044
* http://earlylds.com/getperson.php?personID=I17113&tree=Earlylds
* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://wchsutah.org/people/samuel-knight.php
* http://wchsutah.org/people/samuel-knight1.pdf
* http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~knight57/direct/knight/aqwg578.htm#11101
* For the early Southern Indian Mission, see http://wchsutah.org/miscellaneous/indian-mission.php

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

Samuel Knight

2016-04-27T09:19:34Z

1857admin: /* In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas */

'''Samuel Knight, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:Samuel_knight_4b.jpg|left|125px]] 

 

'''Samuel Knight'''

'''1832-1910'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in Missouri and Illinois ===

Born in 1832 in Jackson County, Missouri, Samuel Knight was descended from New England Yankee stock. His grandfather, Joseph Knight, and his father, Newell Knight, had been early supporters of the Mormon founder Joseph Smith in upstate New York. They had been part of the "Colesville Branch" that moved in 1831 to Jackson County in western Missouri. In 1833, conflict with the original settlers in Jackson County drove the Mormon newcomers into northwestern Missouri.

While they squatted along the river bottoms, Knight's mother died shortly after childbirth. His father married Lydia Goldthwait and the family briefly settled in Ray County in northwest Missouri but in 1836 were pressured to leave. They homesteaded at Far West in nearby Caldwell County where in 1838 more armed conflict ensued between the original settlers and the Mormon newcomers. Knight's father participated in the militia actions around Far West. In early 1839, after their ouster from western Missouri, they moved to Commerce, Illinois, then upriver to Nauvoo on the Illinois frontier.

=== Migration to Utah ===

The Knight family departed Illinois in 1846 and were among the vanguard company that wintered on the traditional lands of the Ponca Indians in present-day Nebraska. There his father died in early 1847. To avoid possible legal claims to him from his mother's family, Knight's stepmother sent him ahead on the trail.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Thus, Knight, 14, joined the Abraham O. Smoot - George B. Wallace Company, which was recruiting at the outfitting post on the Elkhorn River west of Winter Quarters, Nebraska. They departed in mid-June on the overland trek. The Smoot-Wallace Company was one of several companies in the so-called Big Company that traveled behind Brigham Young's Pioneer Company that summer. They passed what would later become commonplace milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail, they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in late September.

He passed the difficult years of 1847-1850 in Great Salt Lake Valley. In 1850, his stepmother and his half-brothers and -sisters made the overland trek and he was reunited with them that fall.

=== Indian Interpreter in the Southern Indian Mission ===
[[Image:Fort Clara, sketch, 1855-1862.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''A Reconstruction of Fort Clara, 1855-1862'''</center>]]

In October 1853, at the age of twenty, Knight was called as an Indian missionary to southern Utah and arrived at Fort Harmony in spring 1854. Indian Mission leader Rufus Allen selected [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], Thales Haskell, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Samuel Knight, and Gus Hardy to leave Ft. Harmony and establish a new fort on the Santa Clara. Hamblin, Haskell and Hardy arrived in December 1854; Hatch and Knight arrived early in 1855. Hatch, 19, and Knight, 22, would accompany Hamblin on a number of missions in the future.

After building a diversion dam on the Santa Clara, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, Sam Knight and [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] began building a stone fort on the banks of the Santa Clara Creek and soon began planting cotton which proved successful. News of their success in raising cotton would soon lead to the founding of the Cotton Mission in nearby Washington and St. George.

In 1856, Knight married Danish emigrant Carolyn Beck (1836-1869) and immediately brought her to Fort Clara on Utah's southern frontier.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private Samuel Knight, Company H, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion, Fort Clara ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Southern Indian Mission were headquartered at Fort Clara on the lower Santa Clara River near modern-day St. George, Utah. It was part of the Iron Military District which consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

Samuel Knight, 24, was a private in company H in [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee's]] 4th Battalion. Other Indian interpreters in Lee's geographically sprawling battalion were [[Dudley_Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]], [[Oscar_Hamblin|Oscar Hamblin]], and [[Amos_G._Thornton|Amos Thornton]] (Fort Clara), [[Don_Carlos_Shirts|Carl Shirts]] (Fort Harmony), and [[David_W._Tullis|David Tullis]] (Pinto).

In mid-1857, to avoid the summer heat on the lower Santa Clara, Samuel Knight, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], [[David W. Tullis|David Tullis]] and others were homesteading a mountain ranch at the Mountain Meadows. In early August, Knight's wife Caroline gave birth to their first child. His wife was seriously ill and they remained there for several months while she recuperated from her difficult delivery.

Around Saturday, September 5, having received orders from Cedar City, Knight carried orders south to Fort Clara (and perhaps Washington) to incite Indians on the lower Santa Clara to gather at Mountain Meadows. A militia contingent from these southern communities was also to muster to Mountain Meadows. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

[[Image:Samuel knight 3.jpg|right|200px|Samuel knight 3.jpg]]
On Monday, September 7th in the evening, following the first attack on the Arkansas emigrants at Mountain Meadows, Knight and other southern militiamen met [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] south of the Meadows, joined him and moved up to the Meadows the following day.

They arrived at Mountain Meadows around noon on Tuesday, September 8. Knight went back to the northern end of the valley to [[Jacob_Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin's]] cabin where his wife was convalescing in their wagon box. The rest of the militiamen from the southern settlements camped in a separate encampment from the Cedar City detachment which had already arrived and set up their own encampment.

On Friday the 11th, [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] recruited Knight and Sergeant [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]] to drive their wagons to the emigrant wagon circle and carry away young children and wounded adults. As the emigrants filed out of their wagon circle, John D. Lee with McMurdie and Knight carrying the small children and several injured adults were in the lead. Some distance behind trailed the women and children. Bringing up the rear were the emigrant men, shadowed by a militia guard unit from Cedar City.

What occurred in the final massacre at the head of the line is contested. [[Samuel_McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]] and Samuel Knight testified in Lee's second trial in 1876 that Lee shot the injured adults in McMurdie's wagon. Knight said he was calming his fractious horses which were unnerved by the shooting. When McMurdie was questioned about his role, he invoked his right against self-incrimination. In Lee's later published statements he denied any killing, saying his gun had jammed and that McMurdie and Knight had shot the injured adults. But before his execution, Lee was more forthcoming; his gun had jammed after he had shot several of the adults.

After the final massacre these two wagons carried the seventeen surviving children to Hamblin's ranch where Rachel Hamblin tried to calm them as best she could.

=== Immediate Aftermath of the Massacre ===

Having induced local Indians to join them massacring the Arkansas company, the Iron County militia now found that they had lost control of them. Following behind the Arkansas train was the Dukes-Turner Company which fell under attack at Beaver. After arriving in Cedar City, Dukes and Turner hired [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[Oscar Hamblin|Oscar Hamblin]] and [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] to guide them through. Meanwhile, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] sent [[Dudley_Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] and Samuel Knight to conciliate the Paiutes in Nevada. When the Dukes-Turner Company arrived near the Muddy River in Nevada, Leavitt convinced Dukes and Turner to release stock to the Paiute Indians. Controversy still swirls around this episode. Had Leavitt and Knight used the Paiutes to rob the train of its livestock, or, by appeasing the Paiutes with cattle, did they save the lives of those in the Dukes-Turner train?

=== Scouting to Encounter the U.S. Army in 1858 ===
[[Image:Ives Steamboat.jpg|thumb|right|500px|<center>'''Lt. Joseph Ives steaming of the lower Colorado River in 1858 in the midst of the Utah War. Mormon Indian missionaries Jacob Hamblin, Thales Haskell, Ira Hatch, Sam Knight, and Dudley Leavitt surveilled them.'''</center>]]

In March 1858, Knight was in the patrol to southern Nevada with [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]] and others to scout for the approach of the U. S. Army from the West Coast.

Arriving on the lower Colorado River, they reconnoitered the progress of Lt. Joseph Ives’s historic steamboat voyage up the river. They encountered Paiutes and Mohaves and Thales Haskell made contact with the steamer. Occurring in the midst of the Utah War when distrust was high, each side spied on the other and harbored mutual suspicions.

 

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]

In fall 1858, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] decided to visit the Indians who intrigued him so much, the Hopi. Over the years he would make many trips to the Hopi Mesas and Navajo lands and Knight accompanied him in 1858, 1861 and 1873. Following the lead of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], many Indian interpreters would eventually move to Arizona to pursue their interest in the Hopi. Knight, however, remained in southern Utah and worked primarily among the "Piedes," or Southern Paiutes.

From October to December 1858, Hamblin undertook his first historic crossing of the Colorado River to travel though Navajo lands to the Hopi Mesas in northeastern Arizona. [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Samuel Knight and [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] were with Hamblin in a party of fourteen on this first journey. Arriving at the Colorado River, they scouted the area at the mouth of the Paria River (later Lee’s Ferry) but were unable to cross. Traveling some miles farther east, they forded at the Ute Ford, or Crossing of the Fathers.

Traveling up Navajo Canyon they emerged and crossed the plateaus and arrived at Old Oraibi on Third Mesa in Hopi land.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa. The Indian interpreters first visited there in 1858.'''</center>]]
Next, they visited Sichomovi and Walpi at First Mesa. Returning, they passed through Mishongnovi at Second Mesa. Trading for what supplies the Hopis could afford to part with, they set out on their return.

Retracing their steps they crossed the Colorado. Running short of supplies north of the river, they nearly starved to death. Feeling weak and ill, Sam Knight was left behind and nearly froze to death. In desperation, they killed and ate [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt’s]] horse to stay alive. They made it back to Ft. Clara on the Santa Clara stream without loss of life.

In fall 1860, Hamblin set out again for the Hopi Mesas. This was his third crossing of the Colorado. Among those who journeyed with him was George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith. After crossing the Colorado River at the Ute Ford, or Crossing of the Fathers, they proceeded as far as Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash. There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith, Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas.

In February 1861, Hamblin returned to Arizona to recover the remains of George Smith, Jr. Sam Knight, [[Amos G. Thornton|Amos Thornton]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]] and others accompanied him on this fourth crossing of the Colorado River. Following their previous route they arrived at the Ute Ford and crossed to the south of the river. Traveling generally southeast, they passed the Inscription House ruins. Fearing to go farther into Navajo lands, they sent their Paiute companions ahead to retrieve what they could of Smith’s remains. Then they returned to Utah via the Ute Ford without going to the Hopi Mesas.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

In the Black Hawk War (1865-68) raiding parties of Utes, Paiutes and Navajos drove off Mormon livestock throughout the region and led to some pitched battles between the allied tribes and Mormon militias. A peace treaty in 1868 brought most of the depredations in Utah to a close, except in southern Utah where Navajos continued raiding across the Colorado River into lands occupied by the Mormons.

There were a series of tenuous peace treaties with the Navajos in 1870, 1871 and 1872 but the McCarty affair (Grass Valley murders) brought further unrest in 1873-74 until a final peace treaty was achieved. Samuel Knight made at least one trip with Jacob Hamblin to eastern Arizona to pursue peace negotiations with the Navajos.

[[Image:Washington_County.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''Map of Washington County, Utah.'''</center>]]

=== Later Life in Santa Clara ===

In 1862, when Swiss emigrants moved to Santa Clara in southwest Utah, Knight and his family was among the few native-born Americans to remain.

In the mid-1860s, Knight, [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] and others moved their families to Clover Valley and Meadow Valley in modern Lincoln County, Nevada. There they remained for several years. However, the outbreak of the Black Hawk War in 1865 eventually caused Mormons to abandon many unprotected outposts. Knight and his family returned to Santa Clara in southwestern Utah where he resided for the remainder of his life.

By the time of the death of his wife Carolyn in 1869, she had borne him six children. Following her death, he married [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt's]] sister, Laura Melvina Leavitt (1851-1922), Utah born with Canadian and New England roots, who bore him ten children. Over the years, Laura Knight made a notable contribution to the community as a midwife and nurse.

[[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|right|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

=== Testifying in John D. Lee's Second Trial, 1876 ===

In September 1876 during the second trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], the prosecution called former Iron County militiamen [[Joel White|Joel White]], Samuel Knight, [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], Laban Morrill, and [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] to testify against Lee. Knight's testimony can be found [http://www.mtn-meadows-assoc.com/knight.htm here].

His only polygamous marriage was in 1888 to a Missouri-born widow, Susan Charlotte Nanney Hunt (1832?- ?), just two years before the Mormon Church's Manifesto that officially ended the practice.

=== Later Statements about the Massacre ===

In the 1890s and the early twentieth century he gave several important interviews and statements concerning the massacre. With the exception of some statements contained in third-party journals, all of Samuel Knight's written statements and affidavits have now been published in Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: The Jenson and Morris Collections.'' His trial testimony in the 1876 trial of [[John_D._Lee|John D. Lee]] is available online.

=== Final Years ===

He lived on in Santa Clara, earning his livelihood as a farmer and rancher and continuing to work with the local Paiutes. He spent more than 50 years in Santa Clara. He died in 1910 and was buried there, survived by his second wife Laura and eleven children (see photo of his second family, below).

At the time of his death, his obituary noted that he was known for recounting his early years in Missouri and Illinois where he and his family had been driven from their homes on four occasions, an indication of the persistence and power of these early life experiences to shape Mormon memory and identity.

In Todd Compton's excellent new biography of Jacob Hamblin, he concluded that [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, Samuel Knight, Ammon Tenney, and [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] were Hamblin's "irreplaceable supports on these forays into unknown, unmapped, and often inhospitable places.” (Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 480.)

 

[[Image:Samuel & Melvina Leavitt Knight family 2 - Version 4.jpg|thumb|center|650px|<center>'''Samuel and Laura Melvina Leavitt Knight and family, c. 1890s'''</center>]]

 

= References =

Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 12, 34, 119, 126, 128, 146, 149, 153-54, 158, 170, 212, 304; Bigley and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 111, 259, 314, 347-48, 419-21 (statement), 457, 467; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 25, 30, 36, 62, 130, 146, 148, 150, following 152 (photo), 158, 172, 214; Brooks, ''The Mountain Meadows Massacre,'' 74, 83, 107, 121, 123, 197; Brooks, ed., ''Journal of the Southern Indian Mission,'' 2, 7, 67, 78, 118, 120; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trials of John D. Lee,'' 215-16, 218-19; Hartley, ''They Are My Friends,'' 6, 86, 117; Hartley, ''Stand by My Servant Joseph,'' 154, 195, 332-33, 355; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Latter-day Saints,'' 776 (Santa Clara Ward); Knight, ''Lydia Knight’s History,'' 35, 72, 90-91, 100; Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 38, 44, 52, 102, 159, 161, 541; Larson, ''Diary of Charles Lowell Walker,'' Vol. II, 835, 872; Larson, ''Erastus Snow,'' 315, 384; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 238, 241, 242, 243, 250, 252, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; Little, ''Jacob Hamblin,'' ; Moorman and Sessions, ''Camp Floyd and the Mormons,'' 133-34, 136; New.FamilySearch.org; Robinson, ed., ''History of Kane County,'' 3; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 1, 20, 23, 59, 78, 89, 95, 115; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 97, 115, 202, 220, 262-64 (biographical sketch), 265-66, 270, 296, 320-322 (affidavit); Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 6, 140-41, 150-51 (brief sketch), 152, 161-62, 193, 195-98, 204, 213, Appendix C, 254, 259, Appendix D, 265; Whittaker, ''History of Santa Clara, Utah,'' 24-25, 26, 32, 43, 46, 58, 85, 89, 120, 122, 133, 134-39 (biographical sketch), 211, 281, 370-71, 560.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on Samuel Knight, see:

* Samuel Knight's testimony in the 1876 trial of John D. Lee is at: http://www.mtn-meadows-assoc.com/knight.htm
* http://records.ancestry.com/Samuel_Knight_records.ashx?pid=17695609
* http://www.geni.com/people/Samuel-Knight/6000000000875614129
* http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=42044
* http://earlylds.com/getperson.php?personID=I17113&tree=Earlylds
* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://wchsutah.org/people/samuel-knight.php
* http://wchsutah.org/people/samuel-knight1.pdf
* http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~knight57/direct/knight/aqwg578.htm#11101
* For the early Southern Indian Mission, see http://wchsutah.org/miscellaneous/indian-mission.php

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

James Pearce

2016-04-27T08:50:46Z

1857admin: /* Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days Rain" of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in March 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they returned to the north bank and continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assigment to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud lasted from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, the Pearces moved to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

Arizona became a state in 1912. In 1921, the Arizona "Republican" sponsored the first statewide Pioneer Reunion and the honored guests were all of Arizona’s surviving pioneers. Because of James Pearce’s early journey to Arizona with Jacob Hamblin in 1859, he was honored for having lived in Arizona the longest. During the celebratory speeches, some old-timers began bragging about how many Indians they had killed during their days as “Indian fighters.” When it was his turn, James Pearce, then around 81, rose to address the crowd. “I have listened to all you old timers tell how many Indians you killed,” he began. “The only ones I killed, if any, were the ones who ran themselves to death chasing me. I was always ahead of them[!]” By all accounts, Jim Pearce’s wit “brought down the house.” Yet we can perceive in Pearce’s humorous remark a sly rebuke of the violence glorified by the old “Indian fighters.” In months of early travel through Arizona on several of Jacob Hamblin’s expeditions, Pearce had adopted the “Buckskin Apostle’s” pacific approach to conflict resolution. But one senses there might have been more to it than that; that perhaps as a teenage boy some sixty-five years earlier, he had witnessed more than enough bloody violence for one lifetime.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129, 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Tenney, ed., "Taylor’s Centennial Stories," 13; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

James Pearce

2016-04-27T08:49:21Z

1857admin: /* References */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days Rain" of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in March 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they returned to the north bank and continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assigment to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud lasted from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, the Pearces moved to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

Arizona became a state in 1912. In 1921, the Arizona Republican sponsored the first statewide Pioneer Reunion and the honored guests were all of Arizona’s surviving pioneers. Because of James Pearce’s early journey to Arizona with Jacob Hamblin in 1859, he was honored for having lived in Arizona the longest. During the celebratory speeches, some old-timers began bragging about how many Indians they had killed during their days as “Indian fighters.” When it was his turn, James Pearce, then around 81, rose to address the crowd. “I have listened to all you old timers tell how many Indians you killed,” he began. “The only ones I killed, if any, were the ones who ran themselves to death chasing me. I was always ahead of them[!]” By all accounts, Jim Pearce’s wit “brought down the house.” Yet we can perceive in Pearce’s humorous remark a sly rebuke of the violence glorified by the old “Indian fighters.” In months of early travel through Arizona on several of Jacob Hamblin’s expeditions, Pearce had adopted the “Buckskin Apostle’s” pacific approach to conflict resolution. But one senses there might have been more to it than that; that perhaps as a teenage boy some sixty-five years earlier, he had witnessed more than enough bloody violence for one lifetime.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129, 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Tenney, ed., "Taylor’s Centennial Stories," 13; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

James Pearce

2016-04-27T08:46:37Z

1857admin: /* Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days Rain" of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in March 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they returned to the north bank and continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assigment to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud lasted from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, the Pearces moved to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

Arizona became a state in 1912. In 1921, the Arizona Republican sponsored the first statewide Pioneer Reunion and the honored guests were all of Arizona’s surviving pioneers. Because of James Pearce’s early journey to Arizona with Jacob Hamblin in 1859, he was honored for having lived in Arizona the longest. During the celebratory speeches, some old-timers began bragging about how many Indians they had killed during their days as “Indian fighters.” When it was his turn, James Pearce, then around 81, rose to address the crowd. “I have listened to all you old timers tell how many Indians you killed,” he began. “The only ones I killed, if any, were the ones who ran themselves to death chasing me. I was always ahead of them[!]” By all accounts, Jim Pearce’s wit “brought down the house.” Yet we can perceive in Pearce’s humorous remark a sly rebuke of the violence glorified by the old “Indian fighters.” In months of early travel through Arizona on several of Jacob Hamblin’s expeditions, Pearce had adopted the “Buckskin Apostle’s” pacific approach to conflict resolution. But one senses there might have been more to it than that; that perhaps as a teenage boy some sixty-five years earlier, he had witnessed more than enough bloody violence for one lifetime.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129, 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

James Pearce

2016-04-27T08:38:36Z

1857admin: /* Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days Rain" of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in March 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they returned to the north bank and continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assigment to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud lasted from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, the Pearces moved to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129, 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

James Pearce

2016-04-27T08:36:55Z

1857admin: /* Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days Rain" of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in March 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they returned to the north bank and continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assignation to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud lasted from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, the Pearces moved to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129, 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

James Pearce

2016-04-27T08:36:26Z

1857admin: /* Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days Rain" of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in March 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they returned to the north bank and continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified[[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assignation to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud lasted from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, the Pearces moved to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129, 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

James Pearce

2016-04-27T08:34:15Z

1857admin: /* In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days Rain" of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in March 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they returned to the north bank and continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In the previous year of 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified[[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assignation to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud lasted from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, the Pearces moved to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129, 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

James Pearce

2016-04-27T08:27:49Z

1857admin: /* In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days Rain" of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in March 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, Hatch, Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent Nephi Johnson, Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In the previous year of 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified[[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assignation to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud lasted from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, the Pearces moved to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129, 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

James Pearce

2016-04-27T08:27:01Z

1857admin: /* In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days Rain" of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in March 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado with Hatch in his party. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, Hatch, Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent Nephi Johnson, Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In the previous year of 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified[[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assignation to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud lasted from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, the Pearces moved to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129, 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

James Pearce

2016-04-27T08:24:58Z

1857admin: /* Settling Near the Future Site of St. George */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days Rain" of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in Mar 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado with Hatch in his party. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, Hatch, Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent Nephi Johnson, Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In the previous year of 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified[[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assignation to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud lasted from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, the Pearces moved to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129, 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

Smelting at the Ironworks in 1857

2016-04-27T08:08:29Z

1857admin:

On April 8, the steam engine arrived from Great Salt Lake City and the next day they hauled it to the ironworks. On April 13, they commenced clearing an area 32’ x 18’ for the foundation of a two-story building to house the new engine, gearing and equipment. On the 21st, they hauled rock for the foundation. On the 27th they laid the foundation and pit of the engine house that would house the steam engine and flywheel. Next they laid the timbers to support the cylinders of the engine and the flywheel and counter-wheel.

According to the company ledger, they continued “fitting up” the steam engine and working on the new engine house. On May 26, they commenced on the adobe work of the engine house and completed it on June 3.

The Minutes contain no entries in June but from the company ledger it is clear that they continued working on the engine, flume, boiler, flues, flywheel, and gearing along with the furnace with its hearth, bose, tuyers, stack and its lining.

[[Image:Sketch_-_Iron_works.jpg|thumb|left|500px|The Early Ironworks in Cedar City]]On July 8, they started the engine and had a successful trial run but found that the boiler fire had insufficient draft. On July 13, they lined the boshes and installed the timp stone in the blast furnace to prepare for a run. After relining the stack they tried the steam engine. However, there was still insufficient draft for the fire. In addition, the engineer wanted to raise the furnace stack by 20 feet, which they worked on until July 23.

Continuing to work on the problem of insufficient draft, on July 27 they ran an inclined flue from the engine firebox to the furnace stack and shut down the old underground flue. They tested the engine again and found it considerably improved. Next, they installed a charge into the furnace through the top of the stack. The charge consisted of coke, charcoal, limestone and a mixture of “magnetic” and “lean” ore. On July 28, they put the blast to the furnace to initiate the smelting process. It worked well initially but late that evening, one of the boiler flues to the engine “sprung a leak,” causing a shutdown. While they repaired the leak, the blacksmith forged a new part for the force pump to replace the part that was found to be too small.

On July 30, they “put on the blast” again. However, a cloudburst caused a flashflood in the creek. Soon the flume delivered muddy creek water to the steam engine and deposited sand in the cylinders. They were forced to stop the engine in the predawn of August 1. Quickly, they determined to solve this new problem by constructing a reservoir. That would allow sediment in the creek water to settle to the bottom of the pond and allow “good clear water” to flow to the boiler of the steam engine. Immediately, they “made a call on the brethren” and a large gang of more than 40 men plus teams responded. By that afternoon, they had completed a pond measuring 75’ x 25,’ which they lined with “fire clay” and gravel and filled with water. Filling the engine boiler, they renewed the blast in the furnace. But soon Isaac Haight discovered that one of the valves on the steam engine had broken, jamming the receiving pipe. The blacksmith forged a new valve, which the engineers installed in the engine.

On the evening of August 1, they resumed the blast in the furnace. At dawn on August 2, they tapped the hole of the base of the furnace and “run a little iron.” Excitedly, the furnace keepers reported that it was “better than they ever noticed from so short a run in any country.” This judgment proved premature, however, as they would be dogged by repeated mechanical problems and technical challenges. The engine “worked pretty free all day” but by evening the charge within the furnace appeared “cool and stiffer.” They tapped the hole at the base of the furnace and found plenty of “cinder” but very little iron.

On August 3, the furnace was “in the same state” so they decided to alter the mixture of the raw materials in the charge – coke, charcoal, limestone and iron ore – by increasing the limestone, eliminating the charcoal, and increasing the percentage of lean ore to “magnetic” ore. The next day, the charge, or burden, in the furnace was still “very stiff.” They also had to dig out the “tweers” [sic, tuyers] at the base of the furnace several times during the day.

And so it continued. On August 13, the furnace was “about the same.” Continuing to experiment, they increased the limestone in the charge. Tapping the furnace that morning, they found “bogus” but little iron. The lining of the furnace was made of adobe brick rather than firebrick, making it less resistant to high furnace temperatures and requiring that it be replaced periodically. Now they found that the burden pressed “too heavily” and the lining “came down too quickly.” They tapped the hole several more times but also determined that they would have to “blow out” the furnace and “take down the lining.” They tapped again on the 14th but shut down the blast on the 15th and were “taking out the bear” (the residue of slag and iron). Unfortunately, they only found “some little iron in the bear.” On August 17 and 18, they rebuilt the interior of the furnace by replacing the lining and reinstalling the hearth and boshes.

On August 20, they “[p]ut fire in to warm [it] up.” Next day in the late afternoon, they began filling the furnace with wood and coke followed by limestone and ore, which continued all night. Continuing to experiment with the mix, they installed coke, limestone and ore in altered proportions.

On August 22, they put the blast to the furnace. For several days, they alternated between tapping the hole and refilling the furnace, always adjusting the mix in hopes of improving the results. By August 25, the furnace was “not working very well” and when they tapped the hole, it produced cinder but very little iron. Periodic tapping continued but produced the “same kind of stuff.” The furnace was working “very bad” but still they continued the run, always tinkering with the mix of raw materials in the charge.

There is a lacuna in the record from August 25 to September 5, perhaps because of other pressing concerns in that busy season. Evidently, they continued the run because the record resumes on September 5 with the notation that the furnace was “working very middling” but they continued to tap the hole. They saw some improvement but determined to “clean out the congealed stuff . . . and start afresh.” The next day they “got the bear out” and installed a new hearth and timp stones in the base of the furnace.

On the evening of September 6, they “put fire in” along with 20 charges of coke and pinewood down the stack. After that, they placed the limestone and ore, again adjusting the mix of the burden. By the evening of the 7th they had completed the charge and were ready to “[p]ut on the blast.” The furnace worked “very well” that night so that when they tapped the hole the next morning they netted 75 pounds of iron. By adjusting the limestone burden, their next tap produced even “more iron and less cinder.” This continued with the tap on the evening of the 8th and in the wee hours of the morning on the 9th. Continuing their experimentation, they changed the limestone burden to “Creek limestone.” They continued tapping and recharging with varying results until September 13 when the Minutes break off.

The record resumes on September 26 with no explanation for the lacuna. They began a run that continued through September 30 when they stopped the blast. The Minutes note that in November they held their annual company meeting, but there were no further runs that year.

This summary is based largely on the Deseret Iron Company Minute Book for 1857, supplemented by information from the company ledger book.

Smelting at the Ironworks in 1857

2016-04-27T08:00:49Z

1857admin:

On April 8, the steam engine arrived from Great Salt Lake City and the next day they hauled it to the ironworks. On April 13, they commenced clearing an area 32’ x 18’ for the foundation of a two-story building to house the new engine, gearing and equipment. On the 21st, they hauled rock for the foundation. On the 27th they laid the foundation and pit of the engine house that would house the steam engine and flywheel. Next they laid the timbers to support the cylinders of the engine and the flywheel and counter-wheel.

According to the company ledger, they continued “fitting up” the steam engine and working on the new engine house. On May 26, they commenced on the adobe work of the engine house and completed it on June 3.

The Minutes contain no entries in June but from the company ledger it is clear that they continued working on the engine, flume, boiler, flues, flywheel, and gearing along with the furnace with its hearth, bose, tuyers, stack and its lining.

[[Image:Sketch_-_Iron_works.jpg|thumb|left|500px|The Early Ironworks in Cedar City]]On July 8, they started the engine and had a successful trial run but found that the boiler fire had insufficient draft. On July 13, they lined the boshes and installed the timp stone in the blast furnace to prepare for a run. After relining the stack they tried the steam engine. However, there was still insufficient draft for the fire. In addition, the engineer wanted to raise the furnace stack by 20 feet, which they worked on until July 23.

Continuing to work on the problem of insufficient draft, on July 27 they ran an inclined flue from the engine firebox to the furnace stack and shut down the old underground flue. They tested the engine again and found it considerably improved. Next, they installed a charge into the furnace through the top of the stack. The charge consisted of coke, charcoal, limestone and a mixture of “magnetic” and “lean” ore. On July 28, they put the blast to the furnace to initiate the smelting process. It worked well initially but late that evening, one of the boiler flues to the engine “sprung a leak,” causing a shutdown. While they repaired the leak, the blacksmith forged a new part for the force pump to replace the part that was found to be too small.

On July 30, they “put on the blast” again. However, a cloudburst caused a flashflood in the creek. Soon the flume delivered muddy creek water to the steam engine and deposited sand in the cylinders. They were forced to stop the engine in the predawn of August 1. Quickly, they determined to solve this new problem by constructing a reservoir. That would allow sediment in the creek water to settle to the bottom of the pond and allow “good clear water” to flow to the boiler of the steam engine. Immediately, they “made a call on the brethren” and a large gang of more than 40 men plus teams responded. By that afternoon, they had completed a pond measuring 75’ x 25,’ which they lined with “fire clay” and gravel and filled with water. Filling the engine boiler, they renewed the blast in the furnace. But soon Isaac Haight discovered that one of the valves on the steam engine had broken, jamming the receiving pipe. The blacksmith forged a new valve, which the engineers installed in the engine.

On the evening of August 1, they resumed the blast in the furnace. At dawn on August 2, they tapped the hole of the base of the furnace and “run a little iron.” Excitedly, the furnace keepers reported that it was “better than they ever noticed from so short a run in any country.” This judgment proved premature, however, as they would be dogged by repeated mechanical problems and technical challenges. The engine “worked pretty free all day” but by evening the charge within the furnace appeared “cool and stiffer.” They tapped the hole at the base of the furnace and found plenty of “cinder” but very little iron.

On August 3, the furnace was “in the same state” so they decided to alter the mixture of the raw materials in the charge – coke, charcoal, limestone and iron ore – by increasing the limestone, eliminating the charcoal, and increasing the percentage of lean ore to “magnetic” ore. The next day, the charge, or burden, in the furnace was still “very stiff.” They also had to dig out the “tweers” [sic, tuyers] at the base of the furnace several times during the day.

And so it continued. On August 13, the furnace was “about the same.” Continuing to experiment, they increased the limestone in the charge. Tapping the furnace that morning, they found “bogus” but little iron. The lining of the furnace was made of adobe brick rather than firebrick, making it less resistant to high furnace temperatures and requiring that it be replaced periodically. Now they found that the burden pressed “too heavily” and the lining “came down too quickly.” They tapped the hole several more times but also determined that they would have to “blow out” the furnace and “take down the lining.” They tapped again on the 14th but shut down the blast on the 15th and were “taking out the bear” (the residue of slag and iron). Unfortunately, they only found “some little iron in the bear.” On August 17 and 18, they rebuilt the interior of the furnace by replacing the lining and reinstalling the hearth and boshes.

On August 20, they “[p]ut fire in to warm [it] up.” Next day in the late afternoon, they began filling the furnace with wood and coke followed by limestone and ore, which continued all night. Continuing to experiment with the mix, they installed coke, limestone and ore in altered proportions.

On August 22, they put the blast to the furnace. For several days, they alternated between tapping the hole and refilling the furnace, always adjusting the mix in hopes of improving the results. By August 25, the furnace was “not working very well” and when they tapped the hole, it produced cinder and but very little iron. Periodic tapping continued but produced the “same kind of stuff.” The furnace was working “very bad” but still they continued the run, always tinkering with the mix of raw materials in the charge.

There is a lacuna in the record from August 25 to September 5, perhaps because of other pressing concerns in that busy season. Evidently, they continued the run because the record resumes on September 5 with the notation that the furnace was “working very middling” but they continued to tap the hole. They saw some improvement but determined to “clean out the congealed stuff . . . and start afresh.” The next day they “got the bear out” and installed a new hearth and timp stones in the base of the furnace.

On the evening of September 6, they “put fire in” along with 20 charges of coke and pinewood down the stack. After that, they placed the limestone and ore, again adjusting the mix of the burden. By the evening of the 7th they had completed the charge and were ready to “[p]ut on the blast.” The furnace worked “very well” that night so that when they tapped the hole the next morning they netted 75 pounds of iron. By adjusting the limestone burden, their next tap produced even “more iron and less cinder.” This continued with the tap on the evening of the 8th and in the wee hours of the morning on the 9th. Continuing their experimentation, they changed the limestone burden to “Creek limestone.” They continued tapping and recharging with varying results until September 13 when the Minutes break off.

The record resumes on September 26 with no explanation for the lacuna. They began a run that continued through September 30 when they stopped the blast. The Minutes note that in November they held their annual company meeting, but there were no further runs that year.

This summary is based largely on the Deseret Iron Company Minute Book for 1857, supplemented by information from the company ledger book.

Samuel McMurdie

2016-04-27T07:51:32Z

1857admin:

'''Samuel McMurdie/McMurdy, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:Unknown.png|left|70px|Unknown.png]]

 

'''Samuel McMurdie/McMurdy '''

1830-1922

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life Around London, England ===

The McMurdie family name is of Scottish origin but Samuel McMurdie was born in 1830 in the London borough of Lambeth in England, not far from the River Thames. He was born to Robert McMurdie (1798-1890) and Mary Ann Bill McMurdie (1801-1861). He is among the relative handful of early southern Utah settlers born and raised in or adjacent to an urban area.

Samuel McMurdie was baptized into the LDS Church in late 1851. Little is known of his early life before then.

=== Immigration to America and onto Utah ===

Early in 1853, McMurdie and his parents embarked from England for the United States. Arriving in New Orleans, they steamed up the Mississippi River to St. Louis and beyond to the trailhead for the journey via wagon train across the Great Plains. They joined the Cyrus H. Wheelock Company. On the journey, Samuel, 22, accompanied his parents, Robert McMurdie, 55, and Mary Ann Bill McMurdie, 52. The company began the trek from the outfitting post at Keokuk, Iowa. They crossed the Missouri River on July 11.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail, they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in early October.

=== To Cedar City and the Ironworks ===
[[Image:Sketch - Iron works.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''The Early Ironworks in Cedar City'''</center>]]

Soon the McMurdie family moved to southern Utah. In the spring of 1857, the twenty-six-year-old McMurdie married fifteen-year-old Sarah Ann Kay of Lancashire, England. Theirs was one of many marriages in the era of the Mormon Reformation.

==== The Deseret Iron Company ====

In moving to Cedar City, Samuel McMurdie was settling in an area dominated by the Deseret Iron Company, known more familiarly as the Ironworks. See [[Summary of Deseret Iron Company]] for a brief summary of its early development.

==== The Ironworks in 1857 ====

In April 1857, the delivery of a new steam engine from Great Salt Lake City seemed to breathe new life for the Ironworks. Working from April to June they installed the steam engine and completed the new engine house. In the first week of July, they were ready to begin smelting. They “put on the blast” and had a modicum of success. But they continued to be plagued with problems ranging from poor quality raw materials to smelting equipment that lacked technical sophistication. When in late July the steam engine seized with sand from the dirty creek water, they speedily dug a reservoir to store a supply of clean water for the boiler. They continued making smelting runs through August. All the while crews at the ironworks manned all the necessary functions there, while other crews, mainly miners and teamsters, gathered the raw materials – iron ore, coal, limestone, and wood – necessary to sustain smelting.

The smelting continued until September 13. In other words, around September 3, when a dispute arose between some settlers and several men in the passing Arkansas company, the blast furnace was running nonstop. And when Cedar City militiamen, many of them ironworkers, mustered to Mountain Meadows where they were involved in the massacre on September 11, other ironworkers in Cedar City continued the smelting runs night and day. For additional details, see [[Smelting at the Ironworks in 1857]].

From late April to September, those working up the canyon in mining or hauling wood, coal, limestone, rock, sand or “adobies” to the ironworks were [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac C. Haight]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M. Macfarlane]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], Elias Morris, [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Robert Wiley|Robert Wiley]], and [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]]. Those working at the ironworks on the furnace, engine, coke ovens or blacksmith shop included Elias Morris, [[John S. Humphries|John Humphries]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[John M. Urie|John Urie]], [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Joseph Clews|Joseph Clews]], [[Richard Harrison|Richard Harrison]], [[William C. Stewart|William C. Stewart]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M Macfarlane]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[William S. Riggs|William S. Riggs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Eleazer Edwards|Eliezar Edwards]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], and [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]]. (The two lists overlap because some worked both in the canyon and at the Ironworks.) Other prominent figures at the ironworks who were not later involved at Mountain Meadows were Samuel Leigh, George Horton, James H. Haslem, Laban Morrell, John Chatterley, Thomas Gower, Thomas Crowther and others.

==== McMurdie's Role in the Ironworks in 1857 ====

During this period in 1857, Samuel McMurdie was an occasional teamster for the ironworks. In April, he was one of the teamsters who hauled the steam engine and associated machinery from Great Salt Lake City to Cedar City. His account was credited with the value of 512 hours for his part in transporting the engine. In late May, he spent a day hauling sand while others constructed the engine house. In mid-July, he hauled lumber while others worked on the engine. Late in July, he hauled more than five tons of coal and another ton the following week. In mid-August, he again hauled a ton and half of coal and another load at the end of the month.

On September 10, McMurdie's and many other accounts were debited a small amount to pay county taxes, a periodic charge. Then the records are silent until September 29, a lacunae of two and one-half weeks in the records. The ironworks and all activities associated with it had come to a complete halt. Since there is no other similar gap in the records of the Deseret Iron Company for this period, that is some indication, albeit indirect, of the disruption to the sense of normalcy in Cedar City caused by the massacre and its reverberations.

=== In the Iron Military District: Sergeant Samuel McMurdie, Company E, Isaac Haight's 2nd Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

During 1857, 26-year-old Samule McMurdie was a sergeant in a platoon in Company E in Cedar City. Anthony Stratton was 2nd Lt. of that platoon and Samuel Jewkes was a private in the same platoon. Captain Elias Morris was at the head of Company E which was attached to Major Isaac C. Haight's 2nd Battalion. John Macfarlane was Haight's adjutant. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

Sometime between the first attack on September 7th and final massacre on the 11th, Samuel McMurdie was among a contingent ordered from Cedar City to the Mountain Meadows.

On Thursday evening, September 10, according to [[John_D._Lee|John D. Lee]], McMurdie and many others from Cedar City attended the war council on the grounds of Mountain Meadows.

On the morning of the massacre, McMurdie and [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] drive their respective wagons to the emigrant wagon circle. Hours later, they transported young children and wounded away from the wagon circle. Leading their wagons was [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]].

Although many participants from Cedar City were named in the 1859 arrest warrant, neither [[Philip Klingensmith|Bishop Philip Klingensmith]] nor his counselor McMurdie were listed, leading some to conjecture that one of them may have been among Judge John Cradlebaugh's anonymous sources in his 1859 investigation.

=== Abandoning Cedar City for Northern Utah ===

In May and June 1858, McMurdie was again hauling coal to the foundry. At the time there was much activity at the ironworks as they made their last attempts to produce a reliable and profitable iron operation. The last mention of McMurdie in these records was on October 18, 1858.

In 1859, the McMurdie family and many others abandoned Cedar City. The principal reasons were the failure of the ironworks, the general pall cast over the community by the disastrous massacre, and Judge John Cradlebaugh's criminal investigation of the massacre resulting in an arrest warrant naming many Cedar City militiamen.

The McMurdies moved to Cache Valley in the far north of Utah Territory. Between 1859 and 1862, McMurdie briefly had a polygamous wife, Mary Jane Jenkins (1845-1919), but there were no children from this marriage and they later divorced.

=== Testifying in John D. Lee's Second Trial ===
[[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]][[Image:Sketch Massacre 5a, sketch.jpg|right|270px|Sketch Massacre 5a, sketch.jpg]]

In September 1876, during the second trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], the prosecution called former Iron County militiamen [[Joel White|Joel White]], [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]], Samuel McMurdie, [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], Laban Morrill and [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] to testify. McMurdie testified concerning the actions of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] during the events leading to the massacre. When cross-examined about whether he had shot any of the emigrants himself, McMurdie exercised his privilege against self-incrimination.

McMurdie's extant statements about the massacre are limited to those during the 1876 Lee trial.

In Lee's autobiography, ''Mormonism Unveiled: The Confessions of John D. Lee,'' Lee provided an alternate account of what happened at the two wagons containing the small children and wounded adults. Lee claims that McMurdie dismounted from his wagon with his shotgun and went to the second wagon. Raising his firearm to his shoulder, Lee claimed that McMurdie exclaimed, "O Lord, my God, receive their spirits, it is for thy Kingdom that I do this." Then, Lee said, McMurdie fired on the injured adults in the wagon. (See image, right.)

Based on Lee's account, William Bishop, Lee's principal attorney in the second trial, listed McMurdie as "[a]ssisted in killing wounded" in Bishop's "List of Assassins" appended to ''Mormonism Unveiled.''

=== Life in Cache Valley ===

McMurdie, his wife Sarah and their children spent five years in Wellsville before settling on twelve acres near Paradise. One source states that McMurdie brought wagons, tools and bolts of cloth he obtained at Mountain Meadows to Cache Valley. One acquaintance reported the McMurdie had his hired man burn the wagons because they still bore the holes from gunfire during the first attack and siege. He carried a lingering concern that he might be prosecuted for his role in the massacre.

However, McMurdie was also extremely ambitious. He expanded his land holdings and established a creamery and sawmill. Around 1885, he mortgaged his property to invest in imported purebred stock, a practice familiar to him from his British homeland. By the mid-1890s, his Diamond M Creamery was among the largest and most advanced in Cache Valley. For years McMurdie was prosperous.

But by 1905, McMurdie was seriously overextended during times of economic decline. He sold off most of the property and he and his wife were left with their home and original twelve acres.

=== Final Years ===

McMurdie's wife, Sarah, died in 1917 and McMurdie died five years later at the age of 93. They had spent nearly sixty years in Cache Valley. They had thirteen children, ten of whom survived to maturity.

=== The McMurdie-White Farmstead ===

Much of the McMurdie farm operation, now called the McMurdie-White Farmstead, still stands. In 2005, it was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

= References =

Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 146, 149, 151, 154, 173, 304; Bigler and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 347-48, 394, 396; Bitton, ed., ''Guide to Mormon Diaries,'' 236; Brooks, ed., ''Journal of the Southern Indian Mission,'' 106; Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 433; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports on the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 216, 219; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 232, 238, 241, 242, 243, 252, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; Moorman and Sessions, ''Camp Floyd and the Mormons,'' 136; New.FamilySearch.org; Novak, ''House of Mourning,'' 168; Ricks and Cooley, ed., ''The History of a Valley: Cache Valley, Utah-Idaho,'' 38n, 275; Shirts and Shirts, ''A Trial Furnace,'' 484, 495; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadow Massacre: The Jenson and Morris Collection,'' 97, 115, 202, 220, 223, 236, 248, 254, 265; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows'', 193, 195-98, 203-4, 214, Appendix C, 260; Willie, "History of Dairying in Cache Valley," in Alder, ed. ''Cache Valley: Essays on Her Past and People,'' 54.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on Samuel McMurdie, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* Deseret Iron Company Account Book, 1854-1867: http://www.footnote.com/document/241905844/
* http://www.leavesonatree.org/getperson.php?personID=I16446&tree=Tree1
* http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/05001106.pdf (application to list McMurdie-White Farmstead on National Registry of Historic Places, with description of historic grounds)

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Self-Confessed]]

The Self-Confessed

2016-04-27T07:50:11Z

1857admin:

Biographical sketches of fourteen militiamen at the massacre with brief descriptions of their roles and statements about it.

#[[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]]
#[[Joseph Clews|Joseph Clews]]
#[[James Pearce|James Pearce]]
#[[Joel White|Joel White]]
#[[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]]
#[[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]]
#[[Ellott Willden|Ellott Willden]]
#[[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]]
#[[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]]
#[[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]]
#[[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]]
#[[William Edwards|William Edwards]]
#[[William A. Young|William A. Young]]
#[[Daniel_Macfarlane|Daniel Sinclair Macfarlane]]

In many respects the fourteen militiamen who left written statements, accounts, or testimony of the Mountain Meadows Massacre were representative of the large group of militiamen who come together in the ad hoc detachments at Mountain Meadows. Generally, they were Northerners, Southerners and British Isles emigrants (Scots, Irish, North Britons and English.)

== Their Identity and Background ==

The fourteen militia informants/massacre participants are in many ways representative of the others. They include the oldest, [[William A. Young|William A. Young]]; youngest, [[William Edwards|William Edwards]]; men in their twenties, [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] and [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]]; thirties, [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]]; and forties, [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]] and [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]].

The rich patchwork of ethnicities among the larger group of participants is also well represented among the self-confessed participants. Among the northerners, two, [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]] and [[Joel White|Joel William White]], were from rural western Pennsylvania. Two others, [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], were from Ohio. [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] was born in Jackson County in frontier western Missouri and one might argue that he was a southerner. But his parents were New Englanders recently migrated to Missouri and Knight's early years were among the Colesville branch, New Englanders all, of the Mormon movement in Missouri.

Among the southerners, Mississippian [[James Pearce|James Pearce's]] forbears migrated across the northern portions of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, moving ever westward across southern Appalachia. Tennessean [[William A. Young|William A. Young]], too, was from southern Appalachia. [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] was born and reared in rural southern Illinois and was from Southern culture. Although Lee's father descended from the Lees of Virginia, they were not among the well-heeled plantation cavaliers of tidewater Virginia. Rather, Lee's father was from the backcountry of southwestern Virginia. His mother was a Scots-Irish Doyle from Nashville, Tennessee. When his mother died and his father sank into alcoholism, Lee was raised by his mother's sister, Charlotte Doyle Conner and her husband, James Conner. Conner was also Scots-Irish. Lee's cultural hearth was southern Scots-Irish.

From the British Isles, the patchwork of multiple ethnicities continues. The only Englishman from the political "center" of England was [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], from a borough outside London. Two Englishmen at some distance from the center were [[William Edwards|William Edwards]] and [[Joseph Clews|Joseph Thomas Clews/Clewes]] from the West Midlands. Moving farther from the center, [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Willden]] was descended from North Britons. The remaining two were Daniel Sinclair Macfarlane (1837-1914), originally from the Scottish Highlands, and [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]] (1824-1891), an Ulster Scot from North Ireland.

Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.
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The Self-Confessed

2016-04-27T07:49:08Z

1857admin:

Biographical sketches of fourteen militiamen at the massacre with brief descriptions of their roles and statements about it.

#[[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]]
#[[Joseph Clews|Joseph Clews]]
#[[James Pearce|James Pearce]]
#[[Joel White|Joel White]]
#[[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]]
#[[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]]
#[[Ellott Willden|Ellott Willden]]
#[[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]]
#[[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]]
#[[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]]
#[[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]]
#[[William Edwards|William Edwards]]
#[[William A. Young|William A. Young]]
#[[Daniel_Macfarlane|Daniel Sinclair Macfarlane]]

In many respects the fourteen militiamen who left written statements, accounts or testimony of the Mountain Meadows Massacre were representative of the large group of militiamen who come together in the ad hoc detachments at Mountain Meadows. Generally, they were Northerners, Southerners and British Isles emigrants (Scots, Irish, North Britons and English.)

== Their Identity and Background ==

The fourteen militia informants/massacre participants are in many ways representative of the others. They include the oldest, [[William A. Young|William A. Young]]; youngest, [[William Edwards|William Edwards]]; men in their twenties, [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] and [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]]; thirties, [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]]; and forties, [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]] and [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]].

The rich patchwork of ethnicities among the larger group of participants is also well represented among the self-confessed participants. Among the northerners, two, [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]] and [[Joel White|Joel William White]], were from rural western Pennsylvania. Two others, [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], were from Ohio. [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] was born in Jackson County in frontier western Missouri and one might argue that he was a southerner. But his parents were New Englanders recently migrated to Missouri and Knight's early years were among the Colesville branch, New Englanders all, of the Mormon movement in Missouri.

Among the southerners, Mississippian [[James Pearce|James Pearce's]] forbears migrated across the northern portions of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, moving ever westward across southern Appalachia. Tennessean [[William A. Young|William A. Young]], too, was from southern Appalachia. [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] was born and reared in rural southern Illinois and was from Southern culture. Although Lee's father descended from the Lees of Virginia, they were not among the well-heeled plantation cavaliers of tidewater Virginia. Rather, Lee's father was from the backcountry of southwestern Virginia. His mother was a Scots-Irish Doyle from Nashville, Tennessee. When his mother died and his father sank into alcoholism, Lee was raised by his mother's sister, Charlotte Doyle Conner and her husband, James Conner. Conner was also Scots-Irish. Lee's cultural hearth was southern Scots-Irish.

From the British Isles, the patchwork of multiple ethnicities continues. The only Englishman from the political "center" of England was [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], from a borough outside London. Two Englishmen at some distance from the center were [[William Edwards|William Edwards]] and [[Joseph Clews|Joseph Thomas Clews/Clewes]] from the West Midlands. Moving farther from the center, [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Willden]] was descended from North Britons. The remaining two were Daniel Sinclair Macfarlane (1837-1914), originally from the Scottish Highlands, and [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]] (1824-1891), an Ulster Scot from North Ireland.

Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.
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Introduction

2016-04-27T07:44:07Z

1857admin:

[[Image:1857 Utah map.jpg|right|450px|1857 Utah map.jpg]]In 1857, there were approximately 450 men in the Iron County militia. At the outbreak of the Utah War of 1857-58, rumors of invasion by the United States Army set the militia in motion. Militiamen were organizing, drilling, patrolling, scouting and carrying expresses. Infamously, upwards of one hundred men were involved in some fashion in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Who were the members of the 450-man militia? Who were those involved in the massacre?

This site explores the events in southern Utah at the outset of the Utah War. The Iron County militia was the Tenth Regiment of the territorial militia and was also known as the Iron Military District. It was the local militia unit in southern Utah. Here is a [[Basic Account|Basic Account]] of the massacre.

As word of the approach of the United States expeditionary army reached Utah, it touched off fears of invasion and dispossession. This was due to the experiences of many Mormons in the Midwest. Because of conflicts with the original settlers in these locales they were driven from their homes and lands, first in western Missouri, then in western Illinois. These fears of being driven from their homes was particularly strong in southern Utah because of its isolation and perceived exposure.

[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|Map southern utah 1.jpg]]
The misunderstanding over the intentions of the approaching army touched off the conflict known as the Utah War. By August 1857, the southern Utah militia had been reorganized and was on heightened alert. They undertook what seemed vital at the time: harvesting grain, caching foodstuffs, guarding the approaches to southern Utah, sending scouting parties in search of the approaching army and surveilling passing emigrant trains.

As this crisis broke, disaster befell the first passing train, the Fancher-Baker party, at Mountain Meadows. This site discusses the unfolding crisis and ensuing massacre. It also provides biographical sketches of the involved militiamen. Our desire is to provide the most accurate information possible. We solicit feedback and corrections from our visitors. We will update the site with corrected information. We appreciate your comments and feedback. Thank you for visiting!

'''Send comments or corrections to editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.'''

List of the Accused

2016-04-26T04:18:29Z

1857admin:

{| class="prettytable" border="1"
|-
| <center>'''Name and Rank of Accused Militiamen'''</center>
| <center>'''Sources Claiming They Were at the Massacre'''</center>
| <center>'''Additional Comments'''</center>
|-
| [[George Washington Adair|Adair, George Washington, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources. Presumably "John W. Adair" in the 1859 arrest warrant is George W. Adair.
|-
| [[Samuel Adair|Adair, Samuel, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4
| Or Samuel Newton Adair? Although named in the 1859 arrest warrant, Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[Ira Allen|Allen, Ira, 2nd Lt.]]
| 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Arthur, Benjamin Able, Sgt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources, among which is Ellott Willden's late statement.
|-
| [[William Bateman|Bateman, William, Sgt.]]
| 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Cartwright, Thomas Henry, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[John W. Clark|Clark, John Wesley, Pvt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Joseph Clews|Clews/Clewes, Joseph Thomas, Pvt.]]
| 7, 8. 9
| Self-confessed. However, Clews was not at the massacre, John Higbee having sent him back to Cedar City carrying an express to Isaac Haight.
|-
| [[Prime T. Coleman|Coleman, Prime Thornton, Pvt.]]
|
| Coleman admitted to Major Carleton that he and Ira Hatch followed the tracks of several escaping emigrants to the Muddy River in Nevada. Carleton believed that Hatch and he may have killed them.
|-
| [[Ezra H. Curtis|Curtis, Ezra Houghton, 2nd Lt.]]
| 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[William H. Dame|Dame, William Horne, Col.]]
| 4, 5, 6, 7
| Not at the massacre itself or involved in its early planning but implicated in the decision on the eve of the massacre to kill the emigrants.
|-
| [[Jabez Durfee|Durfee/Durfey, Jabez, Pvt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
| Lee identified him in "Mormonism Unveiled."
|-
| [[Eleazer Edwards|Edwards, Eleazer, Cpt.]]
| 7, 8
| Lee identified "____ Edwards" as possibly a messenger he sent from Mountain Meadows back to Cedar City. Walker, Turley and Leonard tentatively identify this as William Edwards. However, the more likely identification is Eleazer Edwards, who had been in Cedar City since the early 1850s, was a collier in the early ironworks, worked on the reservoir for the steam engine in August 1857, and was captain of Company G in John Higbee's 3rd Battalion. Conversely, the 1924 affidavit allegedly linking William Edwards to the massacre now appears to be a forgery.
|-
| [[Columbus R. Freeman|Freeman, Columbus Reed, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Isaac C. Haight|Haight, Isaac Chauncey, Maj.]]
| 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 9
| Not personally at Mountain Meadows during the siege or massacre, but directly involved in every step of the planning and implementation of the massacre.
|-
| [[Oscar Hamblin|Hamblin, Oscar, 2nd Lt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Richard Harrison|Harrison, Richard, 2nd Lt.]]
| 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources. Listed as "____ Harrison in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[Ira Hatch|Hatch, Ira, Pvt.]]
| 1, 4, 9
| Hatch may not have been at Mountain Meadows but he was involved in tracking several emigrants fleeing across Nevada. He allegedly had them killed.
|-
| Hawley, John Pierce, Sgt.
| 7, 8, 9
| In ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' John D. Lee made an equivocal identification of John Hawley but William Bishop listed him in his "List of Assassins."
|-
| [[William S. Hawley|Hawley, William Schroeder, Sgt.]]
| 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources. Listed as "William Halley" in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[John M. Higbee|Higbee, John Mount, Major]]
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Charles Hopkins|Hopkins, Charles, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[John S. Humphries|Humphries, John Samuel, Fifer]]
| 8, 9
| In ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' John D. Lee did not mention Humphries by name, but William Bishop listed him in his "List of Assassins."
|-
| [[George Hunter|Hunter, George, Sgt.]]
| 6, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Alexander G. Ingram|Ingram, Alexander G., Cpt.]]
| 3, 4
| "____ Ingram" was listed in the 1859 arrest warrant. Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[John Jacobs|Jacobs, John, Pvt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
| Identified by John D. Lee in "Mormonism Unveiled."
|-
| [[Swen Jacobs|Jacobs, Swen, 2nd Lt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources. In ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' John D. Lee mentioned "Irvin Jacobs" while William Bishop listed Swen Jacobs.
|-
| [[Samuel Jewkes|Jewkes/Jukes, Samuel, Pvt.]]
| 5, 7, 8, 9
|
|-
| [[Nephi_Johnson|Johnson, Nephi, 2nd Lt.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Philip_Klingensmith|Klingensmith, Philip, Pvt.]]
| 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources but curiously not listed in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[Samuel_Knight|Knight, Samuel, Pvt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Dudley_Leavitt|Leavitt, Dudley, Pvt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
| Besides Lee, Samuel Knight also identified Leavitt in Knight's 1892 statement.
|-
| [[John_D._Lee|Lee, John Doyle, Maj.]]
| 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Loveridge, Alexander Hamilton, Sgt.]]
| 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Daniel_Macfarlane|Macfarlane, Daniel Sinclair, Adj.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources. "Daniel McFarlan" in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[John_M._Macfarlane|Macfarlane, John Menzies, Adj.]]
| 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| "John McFarlan" was listed in 1859 arrest warrant. In "Mormonism Unveiled," John D. Lee made an equivocal identification of him. Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[Samuel_McMurdie|McMurdie, Samuel, Sgt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources but curiously not listed in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[James_M._Mangum|Mangum, James Mitchell, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[John_Mangum|Mangum, John, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| Walker, Turley and Leonard question whether John D. Lee confused John Mangum with his brother James, whose presence at the siege and massacre is confirmed by multiple sources. However, Lee made several specific references to John Mangum.
|-
| [[Sims_L._Matheny|Matheny, Sims Lafayette, Sgt.]]
| 3, 4
| "Sims Matheney" in the 1859 arrest warrant but not otherwise identified. Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[James_N._Mathews|Mathews, James Nicolas, 2nd Lt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
|
|-
| [[Elias Morris|Morris, Elias, Adj.]]
| 9
| Morris was not at Mountain Meadows during the siege or massacre and is not listed in the usual 19th-century sources. However, as Isaac C. Haight's adjutant, he was involved in planning and implementation.
|-
| [[Jabez_Nowlin|Nowlin/Nomlen, Jabez, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4
| "Jabes Nomlen" was listed in the 1859 arrest warrant but not otherwise identified, Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[Harrison_Pearce|Pearce, Harrison, Cpt.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources. Listed as "Harrison Pierce" in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[James_Pearce|Pearce, James, Pvt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources.. The 1859 arrest warrant lists "James Price." Does this refer to James Pearce or John Price?
|-
| [[Samuel_Pollock|Pollock, Samuel, Sgt.]]
| 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[John_Price|Price, John, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4
| The 1859 arrest warrant lists "James Price." Does this refer to James Pearce or John Price? Walker, Turley and Leonard question Price's involvement, assuming that "James Price" in the arrest warrant referred to James Pearce.
|-
| [[William_S._Riggs|Riggs, William Sears, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4
| William S. Riggs was listed in the 1859 arrest warrant but not otherwise identified. Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[Don_Carlos_Shirts|Shirts, Don Carlos, 2nd Lt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[William_R._Slade|Slade, William Rufus, Pvt.]]
| 3?, 4?, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources. The 1859 arrest warrant names William Slade. Is that the father or the son?
|-
| [[William_Slade|Slade, William, Sgt.]]
| 3?, 4?, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources. The 1859 arrest warrant names William Slade. Is that the father or the son?
|-
| [[Joseph_H._Smith|Smith, Joseph Hodgetts, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[George_Spencer|Spencer, George]]
| 9
| Spencer is not listed in the usual 19th-century sources, but he confessed in a letter to being in the "horrid Mountain Meadows affair." The 1857 muster rolls list him as an adjutant to Captain Harrison Pearce in John D. Lee's 4th Battalion.
|-
| [[William_C._Stewart|Stewart, William Cameron, 2nd Lt.]]
| 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Anthony_J._Stratton|Stratton, Anthony Johnson, 2nd Lt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
|
|-
| [[William_Tait|Tait, William, Cpt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
|
|-
| [[Amos_G._Thornton|Thornton, Amos Griswold, Sgt.]]
| 3, 4
| List as "____ Thornton" in 1859 arrest warrant. Albert Hamblin also saw him at Hamblin's ranch during the week. His role, if any, in the massacre is not verified.
|-
| [[David_W._Tullis|Tullis, David Wilson, Pvt.]]
| 1, 9
| Tullis was working for Jacob Hamblin at Mountain Meadows and Albert Hamblin confirmed that Tullis was at Hamblin's ranch. One of the surviving children reportedly claimed that Tullis killed her parents.
|-
| [[Oscar_Tyler|Tyler, Oscar, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4
| The 1859 arrest warrant listed one "____ Tyler." Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[John_Urie|Urie, John, Adj.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[John_Western|Weston, John, Sgt.]]
| 6, 8, 9
| Walker, Turley and Leonard doubt Weston's involvement. Their first argument -- that "John Weston" is not documented in southern Utah in 1857 -- is clearly mistaken since multiple contemporary and reminiscent sources confirm Weston's presence in Cedar City and later in Beaver and Millard counties. Their second argument is that Nephi Johnson may have confused John Weston with John Willis.
|-
| [[Joel_White|White, Joel William, Cpt.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed.
|-
| [[Robert_Wiley|Wiley, Robert, Sgt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Ellott_Willden|Wilden/Willden, Elliot, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources. Listed as "E. Welean" in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[John_Willden|Wilden/Willden, John, Pvt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
| In ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' Lee and Bishop refer to "Alexander Willden." Walker, Turley and Leonard doubt his involvement.
|-
| [[James_Williamson|Williamson, James, Pvt.]]
| 6, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[William_A._Young|Young, William Alma, Pvt.]]
| 6, 7, 8
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| '''Accused but Unidentifiable Individuals'''
|
|
|-
| Elang, Joseph
| 3
| Unknown individual.
|-
| McDulange, F. C.
| 3
| Unknown individual.
|-
| '''Accused but of Doubtful or Limited Involvement'''
|
|
|-
| [[Andrew A. Allen|Allen, Andrew Augustus, Sgt.]]
| 3, 4
| Listed as Ira Allen and "son." The only source linking Andrew Allen to the massacre is the equivocal reference in the 1859 arrest warrant. Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[William R. Davies|Davies, William Rees, Adj.]]
| 1
| Davies only appears on the Forney list. He and John D. Lee both lived at Fort Harmony, but Walker, Turley and Leonard find insufficient evidence of his involvement.
|-
| Dickson, Robert, Pvt.
| 9
| Not mentioned in any of the usual 19th-century sources. Albert Hamblin recalls that he was at Hamblin's ranch during the siege but his role, if any, in the massacre is unverified.
|-
| [[William Edwards|Edwards, William, Pvt.]]
| 9
| He is not mentioned in the usual 19th-century sources. A statement attributed to Edwards allegedly connects him to the massacre; however, the present consensus is that the document is a forgery.
|-
| Hawley, George, Sgt.
| 9
| Not listed in the usual 19th-century sources. Walker, Turley and Leonard found a little-known list attributed to John D. Lee. However, neither Lee nor William Bishop mention George Hawley in ''Mormonism Unveiled.''
|-
| Reeves, Josiah, Pvt.
| 9
| Not listed in usual 19th-century sources. However, Ellott Willden mentioned Reeves' role in scouting the emigrant party upon their arrival at Mountain Meadows. His role, if any, in the massacre is unverified.
|-
| Riddle, Isaac, Pvt.
| 9
| Not named in the usual 19th-century sources but was known to be in the vicinity. His role, if any, in the massacre is unverified.
|-
| Robinson, Richard Smith., 2nd Lt.
| 9
| Not named in the usual 19th-century sources but Albert Hamblin observed him at Mountain Meadows during the week. His role, if any, in the massacre is unverified.
|-
| Stoddard, David K., Musician
| 9
| A Cedar City neighbor recollected Stoddard gathering with others to muster to Mountain Meadows. However, he is not otherwise mentioned in the other 19th-century sources. Of doubtful involvement.
|-
| White, Samuel Dennis, Pvt.
| 8
| Listed by William Bishop but not by John D. Lee or any other source.
|-
| Willis, John Henry, 2d Lt.
| 3, 4, 6, 9
| John Willis testified in the 1875 trial of John D. Lee, insisting that he did not arrive at the Meadows until after the massacre and that his only role was in transporting the surviving children to Cedar City.
|-
| '''Accused but not Involved'''
|
|
|-
| Lewis, Samuel
| 3
| Multiple sources confirm that Lewis was on scouting party along the Sevier River during the massacre.
|-
|
|
| '''''Legend'' '''
'''1 – Militiamen listed by Indian Superintendent Jacob Forney in 1859.'''

'''2 – Those identified by Cedar City militiaman Henry Higgins in affidavit provided to Judge John Cradlebaugh in 1859.'''

'''3 – Those listed in the 1859 arrest warrant issued by Judge John Cradlebaugh after consultation with anonymous militia sources.'''

'''4 – Those listed in ''Rocky Mountain Saints'' by T. B. H. Stenhouse; with few exceptions it recapitulates the 1859 arrest warrant.'''

'''5 – Those named in the federal indictment issued in 1874 naming nine militiamen.'''

'''6 – Those identified by witnesses testifying during the 1875 and 1876 Lee trials.'''

'''7 – Those identified by John D. Lee in the text of ''Mormonism Unveiled or the Confessions of John D. Lee''.'''

'''8 – Those listed in "Names of Assassins" appended to ''Mormonism Unveiled'' by Lee’s attorney, William W. Bishop''.'''''

'''9 - Those identified by Walker, Leonard and Turley in ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows.'''''

|}

James Pearce

2014-05-10T22:05:35Z

1857admin: /* References */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days" rain of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in Mar 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado with Hatch in his party. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, Hatch, Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent Nephi Johnson, Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In the previous year of 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified[[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assignation to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud lasted from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, the Pearces moved to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129, 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

Bibliography

2014-04-22T23:38:17Z

1857admin: /* Periodicals */

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Youngberg, Florence C. ''Conquerors of the West: Stalwart Mormon Pioneers.'' 4 volumes. Salt Lake City, Ut.: National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers, 1999.

== Periodicals ==

Arrington, "Planning an Iron Industry for Utah, 1851-1858," ''Huntington Library Quarterly,'' 21.3 (May 1958): 237-260.

________. ''Mormon Manuscripts to 1846: Guide to Lee Library'';

Beller, "Negro Slaves in Utah," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 2.4 (October 1929): 124, 126.

Briggs, Robert H. "The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows – Toward a Consensus Account and Time Line.” 2002 Juanita Brooks Lecture. St. George, Utah: Tanner Foundation and Dixie State College, 2002.

Briggs, Robert H. "The Mountain Meadows Massacre: An Analytical Narrative Based on Participant Confessions," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 74.4 (Fall 2006): 313-333.

Briggs, Robert H. "A Seething Cauldron of Controversy: The First Trial of John D. Lee, 1875," ''Journal of Mormon History'' 39:1 (Winter 2013): 1-35.

Brooks, "Indian Sketches from . . . Brown and Hamblin," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29.4 (October 1961): 357

Brooks, "Indian Relations on the Mormon Frontier," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 12.1-2 (Jan.-Apr. 1944): 34;

Brooks, "The Land That God Forgot," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 26.3 (July 1958): 209;

Brooks, "The Cotton Mission, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29.3 (July 1961): 313;

Brooks, "Jest a Copyin’ – Word fr Word," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 37.4 (Fall 1969): 384;

Buchanan, "Scots Among the Mormons,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 36.4 (Fall 1968): 342.

_______. “Culture in Dixie," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29.3 (July 1961): 257.

Cheasebro, Margaret. "Journey into Anasazi Country," ''This People,'' 10:2 (Summer 1989): 37-38, 41.

Crampton, "Military Reconnaissance in Southern Utah, 1866," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 82.2 (Spring 1964): 160.

Crampton, "F. S. Dellenbaugh of the Colorado," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 37.2 (Spring 1869): 242-43.

"Reminiscences of John R. Young," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 3 (July 1930): 85;

"Diary of Almon Harris Thompson," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 7.1-3 (Jan., Apr., Jul., 1939): 59;

"Diary of Almon Harris Thompson," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 7.1-3 (Jan., Apr., Jul., 1939): 59, 69, 75-77, 88, 101,111-114;

"Capt. Francis Marion Bishop’s Journal, 1870-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 15.4 (Oct. 1947): 221, 223.

Ellsworth, "A Guide to the Manuscripts in the Bancroft Library," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 22.3 (July 1954): 224, 228.

Garner, "Book Review: "Mountain Meadows Witness: The Life and Times of Bishop Philip Klingensmith," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 64.3 (Summer 1996): 288.

Gibbs, "Black Hawk’s Last Raid – 1866," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 4.4 (October 1931): 106-107.

Goodman, “New Look at Old Treasures,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly'' 26:3 (July 1958): 283.

Gregory, "Journal of Stephen Vandiver Jones, 1871-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 17 (1949): .

Ivins, "Free Schools Come to Utah, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 22.4 (Oct. 1954): 338 .

Landeros, Rodrigo and David Littel. "Reminiscences of Ray Hunt," ''Blue Mountain Shadows,'' Vol. 21 (Summer 1999): 44-68.

Larson, ed., ''Journal of the Iron County Mission,'' ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 20.3 (Jul 1952): 260, 365.

Little, “Biography of Lorenzo Dow Young,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 14:1-4 (1946): 71.

Noall, "Mormon Midwives," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 10.1-4 (1942): .

Palmer, “The Early Sheep Industry in Southern Utah," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 42.2 (Spring 1974): 179.

Pendleton, “Memories of Silver Reef,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 3.4 (Oct. 1930): 116.

Peterson, “Life in a Village Society, 1877-1920,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 49.1 (Winter 1981): 81.

Reeve, "Cattle, Cotton, and Conflict: . . . Hebron, Utah," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 67:2 (Spring 1999): 168;

Smith, "Colorado River Exploration and the Mormon War," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 38/3 (Summer 1970): 212.

______. "Forces That Shaped Utah’s Dixie: Another Look," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 47/2 (Spring 1979): 118.

______. "Vignettes," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29/3 (July 1961): 295-96;

Woodbury, "A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 12.3-4 (Jul.-Oct. 1944): .

Young, "The Spirit of the Pioneers,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 14:1-4 (1946): 16.

== Manuscripts ==

Beckwith, Frank. "Shameful Friday: A Critical Study of the Mountain Meadows Massacre."

Dame, William H. Personal papers

Haight, Isaac C. Diaries

Lee Trial transcripts

== Internet Sources and Compact Disks ==

Ancestry.com.

Familysearch.org.

Infobases Library. Provo, Utah: Infobases, Inc., 1998.

LDS Church History at http://history.lds.org/?lang=eng.

LDS Collectors Library ‘97. Provo, Utah, Infobases, 1996.

Mormon Pioneer Overland Database, at http://history.lds.org/overlandtravels.

New.familysearch.org.

New Mormon Studies CD-ROM -- A Comprehensive Resource Library. Salt Lake City, Utah: Smith Research Associates, 1998.

Pioneer Heritage Library. Provo, Utah: Infobases, Inc., 1996.

Utah History Suite, 1999 Edition. Provo, Utah: Historical Views, 1999.

Utah State Archive and Records and Service, Commissioner of Indian War Records, Indian War Service Affidavits, accessed at http://archives.utah.gov/research/inventories/2217.html.

Ira Hatch

2014-04-22T23:37:47Z

1857admin: /* References */

'''Ira Hatch, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre''' 

[[Image:Ira hatch 1b.jpg|left|120px|Ira hatch 1b.jpg]]

 

 '''Ira Hatch'''

'''1835-1909'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

A native of rural Cattaraugus County in southwest New York, Ira Hatch and his parents' family moved to western Illinois, then frontier Utah, where Hatch pioneered and acted as Indian interpreter in southern Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. Hatch was an American frontiersman and Indian interpreter.

=== Early Life in New York ===

Hatch was born in Farmerville, Cattaraugus County, New York, the son of Ira Stearns Hatch and Welthea Bradford. Members of the Hatch family joined the Mormons as early as 1832. In the early 1840s, they joined the large Mormon settlement in Hancock County in western Illinois.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

In 1846, the Ira Stearns Hatch family joined the Mormon exodus from western Illinois and eventually migrated to the Great Basin. They sojourned in Iowa Territory for several years until they could gather the means to immigrate to Utah.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

By 1849, they had gathered the necessary outfit and provisions. That summer, they joined the Allen Taylor Company, a large company of more than 350 when it began the trek west in early July from the outfitting post at Kanesville (present day Council Bluffs), Iowa. In the Hatch family were Ira Stearns, 49, Mary Hazelton, 54, Meltiar, 24, Permelia Snyder, 21, Rhoana, 17, Ira, 13, Ephraim, 10, Ancel, 9, and Meltiar, 2.

The onrush of forty-niners to the California Gold Rush made for a very heavy travel season on the overland trail that year. Cholera was also epidemic and some members of the company died from it or other causes. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in mid-October.

Initially, the Hatches settled in northern Utah.

=== Indian Interpreter in the Southern Indian Mission ===
[[Image:Fort Clara, sketch, 1855-1862.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''A Reconstruction of Fort Clara, 1855-1862.'''</center>]]

In late 1853, Ira Hatch, 18, was called to serve in the Southern Indian Mission. Early in 1854, he departed for southern Utah. After arriving at Fort Harmony in spring 1854, he was in a small group that made a brief trip to the Indians living around Panguitch Lake.

Later that year, Indian Mission leader Rufus Allen selected [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], Gus Hardy, Thales Haskell, Ira Hatch, and [[Samuel Knight|Sam Knight]], to leave Fort Harmony to establish a new fort on the Santa Clara Creek. Hamblin, Hardy, and Haskell arrived in December of that year while Hatch and Knight arrived early in 1855. Hatch, 19, and Knight, 22, would accompany [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] on a number of missions in the future. Hatch helped found a small settlement on the Santa Clara in southwestern Utah. During these years they made occasional visits to Cedar City and Fort Harmony for supplies.

In spring 1856, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], Thales Haskell, Ira Hatch, [[Samuel Knight|Sam Knight]], and [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] began building a stone fort on the banks of the Santa Clara Creek and soon began planting cotton which proved successful. News of their success in raising cotton would soon lead to the founding of the Cotton Mission in nearby Washington and St. George.

In spring 1857 Hatch bought “a young squaw” and sent a request through Jacob Hamblin to Brigham Young to marry her. It gave him “much influence” with the Indians. However, Hamblin thought her too young. Hatch did not marry an Indian woman until Oct 1859. (Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 92-93.)

Hatch spent many years in service as an Indian missionary/interpreter under the leadership of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]]. Over the years, Hatch learned to speak many Native American languages and dialects.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private Ira Hatch, Company H, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In 1857, 22-year-old Ira Hatch was a private in one the militia platoons attached to Company H in [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee's]] 4th Battalion in the Iron Military District. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:Ira hatch 1b.jpg|right|220px|Ira hatch 1b.jpg]]

During the massacre at Mountain Meadows, it is not clear that Hatch was on the scene although he may have been. Rather, Hatch's alleged involvement was in leading a band of Indians to track down several emigrants who reportedly escaped the fusilade at the Meadows and were fleeing across the Nevada desert toward southern California. In ''Rocky Mountain Saints'', published by T.B.H. Stenhouse in 1873, Hatch is alleged to have tracked several escaping emigrants and in seeing to it that they were killed.

=== Immediate Aftermath of the Massacre ===

Having induced local Indians to join them in massacring the Arkansas company, the Iron County militia now found that they had lost control of them. Following behind the Arkansas train was the Dukes-Turner Company which was attacked by Pahvant Indians at Beaver. After arriving in Cedar City, Dukes and Turner hired Ira Hatch, [[Oscar Hamblin|Oscar Hamblin]] and [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] to guide them through. Meanwhile, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] sent [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] and [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] to conciliate the Paiutes in Nevada. When the Dukes-Turner Company arrived near the Muddy River in Nevada, the Paiutes drove off their cattle but otherwise did not molest them and the company made it safely through to southern California.

=== Explorations in Nevada ===

In October 1857, Hamblin sent Hatch and [[Dudley_Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] to the Iyats, or Mohaves near the Colorado River below Las Vegas. They received a friendly reception from the Chemehuevis they encountered, but they arrived at the Mohaves on the lower Colorado River at a very dangerous time. The Mohaves repeatedly threatened to kill them. In response, Hatch requested the privilege of praying to the Great Spirit to spare their lives. Somehow the Mojaves were impressed Hatch’s vocal prayer and he and Leavitt were released unharmed. Surviving on lizards, snakes, and chipmunks, they made it to Las Vegas where they met Jacob Hamblin and then returned to Ft. Clara.

Later that year and in early 1858, while helping Mormon settlers return from southern California to Utah, Hatch explored along the Muddy River in (modern-day) southern Nevada. Several years later, Mormon settlers moved into the region explored by Hatch, [[Dudley_Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] and others to found the settlements of St. Thomas, St. Joseph and Overton on the Muddy River.

[[Image:Ives Steamboat.jpg|thumb|right|500px|<center>'''Lt. Joseph Ives steaming of the lower Colorado River in 1858 in the midst of the Utah War. Mormon Indian missionaries Jacob Hamblin, Thales Haskell, Ira Hatch, Sam Knight, and Dudley Leavitt surveilled them.'''</center>]]
=== Scouting to Encounter the U.S. Army in 1858 ===

In March 1858, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], Ira Hatch, [[Samuel Knight|Sam Knight]], [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] and Thales Haskell journeyed to the lower Colorado River to reconnoiter the progress of Lt. Joseph Ives’s historic steamboat voyage up the river. They encountered Paiutes and Mohaves and Thales Haskell made contact with the steamer. Occurring at the height of the Utah War when distrust was high, each side spied on the other and harbored mutual suspicions.

While Hatch was still in Nevada, he encountered Thomas L. Kane, the negotiator bound for Utah with the intent of resolving the differences which had precipitated the Utah War the previous year. Hatch rendered some assistance to Kane in his passage. Later, Kane arrived safely in Great Salt Lake City and by summer of that year, he had successfully defused the armed confrontation between the federal government and the Mormons in Utah Territory.

=== A Frequent Member of Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|left|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]

In fall 1858, Jacob Hamblin decided to visit the Indians who intrigued him so much, the Hopi. He would make many trips over the years to the Hopi Mesas and Ira Hatch would accompany him on many of these expeditions or other diplomatic missions into Arizona.

From October to December 1858, Hamblin undertook his first historic crossing of the Colorado River to travel though Navajo lands to the Hopi Mesas in northeastern Arizona. Ira Hatch, [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] and [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] were with Hamblin in a party of 14 on this first journey. Arriving at the Colorado River, they scouted the area at the mouth of the Paria River (later Lee’s Ferry) but were unable to cross. Traveling some miles farther east, they forded at the Ute Ford, or Crossing of the Fathers.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa. The Indian interpreters first visited there in 1858.'''</center>]]
Traveling up Navajo Canyon they emerged and crossed the plateaus and arrived at Old Oraibi on Third Mesa in Hopiland. Next, they visited Sichomovi and Walpi at First Mesa. Returning, they passed through Mishongnovi at Second Mesa. Trading for what supplies the Hopis could afford to part with, they retraced their steps and crossed the Colorado. Running short of supplies north of the river, they nearly starved to death. Feeling so weak and ill, Sam Knight was left behind and nearly froze to death. In desperation, they killed and ate Dudley Leavitt’s horse to stay alive. They made it back to Ft. Clara on the Santa Clara stream without loss of life.

By 1859, Hatch had married Amanda (Mandy) Melvina Pace (1842-1861). She died before reaching the age of 20 and there were no children from this marriage.

Sometime before that Hatch and the Navajo headman Spaneshanks had formed a friendship and Spaneshanks presented Hatch with his young daughter, Asun Natoni, to marry. Hatch gave her to Andrew Gibbons, a fellow Indian interpreter, to raise for several years. In 1859, Asun was renamed Sarah and Hatch married her.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado with Hatch in his party. Hatch, his Indian wife Sarah, Amos Thornton and James Pearce, and others with Hamblin on 3rd crossing of Colorado to visit the Hopis. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash.'''</center>]]
In November 1862, Ira Hatch, [[James Pearce|James Pearce]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they build raft instead and cross the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, Hatch, Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent Nephi Johnson, Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers), completing a historic circling of the Grand Canyon.

The next spring, Hamblin made his sixth crossing of the Colorado. Again they traveled south from St. George to Grand Wash where they crossed the Colorado River and headed east. They passed among the Hualapais and entered Havasu or Cataract Canyon. They took the dangerous Hualapai Trail, crossed the Little Colorado River and arrived at Old Oraibi where they found that Hatch, Haskell and McConnell had safely passed six months among the Hopi. On their return they discovered Beale's wagon route near modern Interstate 40 and followed it west. They recrossed the Colorado at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon and returned to southern Utah.

=== Family Life ===

Hatch returned to family life with his wife, Sarah Marahboots Dyson (1843-1873), as some documents record her name. The places of birth of their children reflect their frequent moves during the 1860s and 1870s, back and forth several times between southern Utan and southern Nevada and finally to Kanab in Kane County, Utah. Their children were:

# Ira Stearn, May 8, 1862, St. George, Washington, Utah;
# James Henry, August 18, 1864, Meadow Valley, Lincoln, Nevada;
# Amanda Mariah, June 25, 1867, St. George, Washington, Utah;
# Joseph Wilford, January 9, 1870, Panaca, Lincoln, Nevada; and
# Sarah Rhoana, August 16, 1872, Kanab, Kane, Utah.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

In 1865, hostilities and depredations by Ute raiders under the leadership of Ute headman Black Hawk led to the largest of the Mormon-Indian wars, the Black Hawk War. It was probably in this period that the Paiute headman Minerro led raids on livestock in Santa Clara and Gunlock in southern Utah. Hatch was part of an ad hoc company from these settlements who rode through the Paiute encampment several miles north of Gunlock and killed Minerro to stop the depredations.

In 1866, at the behest of Mormon leader Erastus Snow, Hatch led a group who visited the Shivwits and Kaibab bands of Paiutes to maintain peaceful relations. In spring 1867, Jacob Hamblin, Hatch, Jesse W. Crosby and James Andrus led Erastus Snow on an exploration of a 45-mile stretch of the Colorado River above its confluence with the Virgin River. They headed south from St. George across the Arizona Strip and descended Grand Wash to the Colorado. There Snow and Hatch headed northwest to the Mormon settlement of St. Thomas on the Muddy River. Hamblin and his companions pitched into the Colorado in a small skiff and ran a previously unrun stretch of the river to its confluence with the Virgin. Then heading upstream on the Virgin, they rejoined Snow and Hatch. After visiting Mormon settlers on the Muddy, they returned to St. George.

By 1868, hostilities between Utes and Mormons had largely ended. However, Navajos continued crossing the Colorado River to raid Mormon settlements in southern Utah.

That fall, Hatch, Thales Haskell, Bill Maxwell and others formed a large expedition to accompany Hamblin on his 8th crossing of the Colorado to visit the Hopis. The purpose was to strengthen ties with the Hopis since relations with the Navajos were at a low. At Pipe Springs, Haskell was accidentally shot but he recovered. John Mangum was with them but he stayed at Kanab. Crossing the Kaibab Plateau and passing the Vermillion Cliffs, they arrived at the mouth of the Paria. They floated the river on a raft. Heading south, they passed Navajo Springs, Mineral Springs/Bitter Springs, and Moenkopi Wash. At Oraibi on Third Mesa, they witnessed the Hopi Ring Dance and other ceremonials. They returned to Utah via the Paria Crossing.

In 1870, Jacob Hamblin rode to Fort Defiance, New Mexico, where he negotiated a peace treaty with Barboneito, one of the leading headmen of the Navajos.

The following year, Erastus Snow, with Ira Hatch as his interpreter, continued these negotiations in Kanab with a group of Navajos led by Ketchene. However, there continued to be unrest and depredations until a final settlement was reached in succeeding years.

=== Among the Original Mormon Colonists in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In the winter of 1872-73, Hatch and other were with Hamblin again in a new type of exploration. They joined the Arizona Exploring Company led by Lorenzo Roundy to reconnoiter the Little Colorado River, Rio Verde and the San Francisco Mountains. They made the river crossing at Lee’s Ferry with three baggage wagons. At Moenkopi Wash, Hamblin and Hatch separated from the party to visit the Hopi Mesas. They returned with a Hopi guide and met the company at Black Falls on the Little Colorado River. Continuing upstream, they searched for promising locations that would support settlement. Hatch stayed with the Roundy party which turned toward San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Colorado River and returned to Utah.

In April 1873, after a brief respite, Hatch joined the Horton Haight exploratory party as its Indian interpreter. The purpose of this mission was to scout for habitable locations in Arizona south of the Colorado. They crossed the Colorado at Lee’s Ferry with wagons, which then made a historic ascent of Lee’s Backbone. Passing Moenave, they proceeded down Moenkopi Wash to the Little Colorado River. From there they turned downstream to present Winslow and then returned to Moenave where Hamblin plants crops. Thus, Moenave became the first Mormon colony in Arizona south of the Colorado. However, Horton Haight was unimpressed with the lower Little Colorado and gave an unfavorable report of it.

In December 1873 in Grass Valley near Circleville, Utah, four Navajos passed near the lands of Alexander McCarty and his sons. The McCartys attacked the Indians, killing three of them and appropriating their goods. They wounded the fourth who managed to escape across the Colorado to Navajo land. Two of the dead were sons of Navajo headman Ketchene. This was known as the Grass Valley murders. Although McCarty and his sons weren't Mormons the Navajos believed they were and the Grass Valley murders broke the fragile peace and reignited hostilities.

Early in 1874 Hatch was in the Blythe company who journeyed to Arizona to calm the Navajos after the McCarty affair/Grass Valley murders. With Jacob Hamblin they met with Ketchene. In April, Hatch and Sam Knight were among twenty Mormons in Arizona who signed a letter to Indian Agent Arny denying Mormon involvement in the Grass Valley murders and refusing to pay reparations. This conflict continued until Mormons were able to convince a delegation of Navajos to visit Grass Valley in Utah to ascertain that Mormon claims were true. In the midst of this, Mormons evacuated their new colonies at Moenkopi and Moenave and retreated north of the Colorado. Hatch played an important role in the diplomacy that led to settlement of this new Mormon-Navajo conflict.

In fall 1875, Hatch, Andrew Gibbons and Thales Haskell acted as guides for the Brown Company on another exploring expedition to found Mormon settlements in Arizona.

In January 1878, Hatch was called as an Indian missionary in Arizona along with Jacob Hamblin, Andrew Gibbons, and other experienced Indian interpreters. Hatch accompanied Mormon colonizers as they moved from Utah into Arizona, moving upstream on the Little Colorado River in search of suitable locations to settle. Hatch later worked with Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, and other tribes in Arizona and New Mexico.

=== Marriage to Nancy Julia Pipkin Kirk ===

In 1882, he married Nancy Julia Pipkin Kirk (1842-1922) of Hardin County, Tennessee, the daughter of Aser Pipkin and Margaret Foster. Twice widowed, Nancy and her children had accompanied her family west to Sunset, Arizona where she met Ira Hatch. The marriage ceremony was in St. George, Utah. Hatch became a father figure to Nancy's young children and she would bear Hatch two more children.

=== Final Move to New Mexico ===
[[Image:Ira hatch.jpg|thumb|right|240px]]

In later years, Hatch and his family pushed eastward into northwest New Mexico and settled in Ramah at the southern tip of modern McKinley County. There Hatch was near the Zuni Pueblo and the Ramah Navajo reservation. In April 1883, Jesse N. Smith noted that Hatch was made a counselor to the bishop in Navajo (later Ramah) in western New Mexico. In May 1886, Hatch was one of fifteen assigned as Indian missionaries in the region encompassing eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. When Smith and other church officials visited Ramah in September of that year, they enjoyed the hospitality of Ira Hatch and others during their stay.

Eventually, Hatch and his family moved farther north to San Juan County at the extreme northwest corner of New Mexico where it intersects Arizona, Utah and Colorado in the Four Corners area. This locale was near the eastern edge of the Navajo Reservation and the southern border of the Ute Mountain Reservation. He remained there for the rest of his life.

=== Final Years ===

Ira Hatch died in 1909 at Fruitland, San Juan County, New Mexico and was buried there.

Juanita Brooks offered a summation of Ira Hatch's life work: "Always he lived on the frontier, moving as he was called to places where tact in Indian relations was needed." (Brooks, ''Journal of the Southern Indian Mission,'' 21-22, fn. 22.)

In Todd Compton's excellent new biography of Jacob Hamblin, he concluded that Ira Hatch, Thales Haskell, [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]], Ammon Tenney, and [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] were Hamblin's "irreplaceable supports on these forays into unknown, unmapped, and often inhospitable places.” (Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 480.)

 

[[Image:Ira hatch 1a family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''Ira Hatch with his third wife, Nancy Julia Pipkin Kirk Hatch, and their children. The older children are Hatch's with his second wife, Sarah Marahboots Dyson (1843-1873); the younger children are those of his third wife, Nancy Julia. This photograph may have been taken around the time of Hatch's marriage to Nancy Julia in June 1882. If so, Hatch was a youngish-looking 46 years old.'''</center>]]

 

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 132; Aird, Bagley and Nichols, ''Playing With Shadows,'' 268; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 34, 142, 160-69,183-84, 219; Bigler and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 36, 39, 111, 147, 149-50, 155, 240, 242, 258, 468; Bradley, ''A History of Kane County,'' 67; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun: A History of Washington County,'' 25, 30, 36, 62, 130, 132, 146, 214, 220; Brooks, ''The Mountain Meadows Massacre,'' 98-99, 117, 130-32, 136, 142, 231; Brooks, ''On the Ragged Edge: The Life and Times of Dudley Leavitt,'' 79-80; Brooks, ed., ''Journal of the Southern Indian Mission,'' 2, 6, 21, 21 fn. 22 (biographical sketch), 22, 28, 38, 67, 76, 78, 82, 83, 86, 93; Campbell, ''Establishing Zion,'' Carter, ''Heart Throbs of the West,'' 10:456; Daughters of Utah Pioneers, ''Enduring Legacy,'' 12:389-90; Cheasebro, "Journey into Anasazi Country," ''This People,'' 10:2 (Summer 1989): 37-38, 41; Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 61, 65, 68-69, 81, 92-93, 103-104, 107, 111-14, 119-22, 133-47, 163, 171-72, 173, 181-82, 208, 216-17, 225, 230, 237, 241-46, 274-76, 284-85, 287, 337-39, 368-69, 375, 378, 396, 399, 403, 404-406, 412, 413, 419, 423, 450, 463, 480, 507 fn. 3; Esshom, ''Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah,'' 924; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trails of John D. Lee,'' 32; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Latter-day Saints,'' 554 (Muddy Mission), 572 (Nevada), 776 (Santa Clara Ward); Knack, ''Boundaries Between: The Southern Paiutes,'' 70; Krenkel, ed., ''Life and Times of Joseph Fish,'' 62; Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 10, 23, 38, 44, 161; Larson, ''Diary of Charles Lowell Walker,'' 268; Larson, ''Erastus Snow,'' 315, 396, 442; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 270; Lee Trial transcripts; Moorman and Sessions, ''Camp Floyd and the Mormons,'' 34, 140; New.FamilySearch.org; Novak, ''House of Mourning,'' 144; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 6-7, 202; Reeve, ''Making Space on the Western Frontier,'' 38, 50, 67, 88, 108; Robinson, ed., ''History of Kane County,'' 3, 14, 17, 32, 39, 59, 60, 67, 72, 224; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 271, 326, 329; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 89, 100, 104, 128; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 14; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 223-25, Appendix C, 258; Whitaker, ''History of Santa Clara, Utah,'' 81-115; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. Johns Stake,'' 2, 10, 12, 14.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on Ira Hatch, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Hatch
* http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=17832459
* Nancy Julia Pipkin Hatch: http://www.pipkinusa.org/nancyjulia.txt
* For the early Southern Indian Mission, see http://wchsutah.org/miscellaneous/indian-mission.php

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

Bibliography

2014-04-22T23:29:16Z

1857admin: /* Periodicals */

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== Periodicals ==

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________. ''Mormon Manuscripts to 1846: Guide to Lee Library'';

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Brooks, "The Land That God Forgot," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 26.3 (July 1958): 209;

Brooks, "The Cotton Mission, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29.3 (July 1961): 313;

Brooks, "Jest a Copyin’ – Word fr Word," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 37.4 (Fall 1969): 384;

Buchanan, "Scots Among the Mormons,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 36.4 (Fall 1968): 342.

_______. “Culture in Dixie," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29.3 (July 1961): 257.

Crampton, "Military Reconnaissance in Southern Utah, 1866," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 82.2 (Spring 1964): 160.

Crampton, "F. S. Dellenbaugh of the Colorado," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 37.2 (Spring 1869): 242-43.

"Reminiscences of John R. Young," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 3 (July 1930): 85;

"Diary of Almon Harris Thompson," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 7.1-3 (Jan., Apr., Jul., 1939): 59;

"Diary of Almon Harris Thompson," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 7.1-3 (Jan., Apr., Jul., 1939): 59, 69, 75-77, 88, 101,111-114;

"Capt. Francis Marion Bishop’s Journal, 1870-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 15.4 (Oct. 1947): 221, 223.

Ellsworth, "A Guide to the Manuscripts in the Bancroft Library," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 22.3 (July 1954): 224, 228.

Garner, "Book Review: "Mountain Meadows Witness: The Life and Times of Bishop Philip Klingensmith," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 64.3 (Summer 1996): 288.

Gibbs, "Black Hawk’s Last Raid – 1866," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 4.4 (October 1931): 106-107.

Goodman, “New Look at Old Treasures,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly'' 26:3 (July 1958): 283.

Gregory, "Journal of Stephen Vandiver Jones, 1871-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 17 (1949): .

Ivins, "Free Schools Come to Utah, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 22.4 (Oct. 1954): 338 .

Landeros, Rodrigo and David Littel. "Reminiscences of Ray Hunt," ''Blue Mountain Shadows,'' Vol. 21 (Summer 1999): 44-68.

Larson, ed., ''Journal of the Iron County Mission,'' ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 20.3 (Jul 1952): 260, 365.

Little, “Biography of Lorenzo Dow Young,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 14:1-4 (1946): 71.

Noall, "Mormon Midwives," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 10.1-4 (1942): .

Palmer, “The Early Sheep Industry in Southern Utah," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 42.2 (Spring 1974): 179.

Pendleton, “Memories of Silver Reef,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 3.4 (Oct. 1930): 116.

Peterson, “Life in a Village Society, 1877-1920,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 49.1 (Winter 1981): 81.

Reeve, "Cattle, Cotton, and Conflict: . . . Hebron, Utah," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 67:2 (Spring 1999): 168;

Smith, "Colorado River Exploration and the Mormon War," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 38/3 (Summer 1970): 212.

______. "Forces That Shaped Utah’s Dixie: Another Look," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 47/2 (Spring 1979): 118.

______. "Vignettes," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29/3 (July 1961): 295-96;

Woodbury, "A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 12.3-4 (Jul.-Oct. 1944): .

Young, "The Spirit of the Pioneers,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 14:1-4 (1946): 16.

== Manuscripts ==

Beckwith, Frank. "Shameful Friday: A Critical Study of the Mountain Meadows Massacre."

Dame, William H. Personal papers

Haight, Isaac C. Diaries

Lee Trial transcripts

== Internet Sources and Compact Disks ==

Ancestry.com.

Familysearch.org.

Infobases Library. Provo, Utah: Infobases, Inc., 1998.

LDS Church History at http://history.lds.org/?lang=eng.

LDS Collectors Library ‘97. Provo, Utah, Infobases, 1996.

Mormon Pioneer Overland Database, at http://history.lds.org/overlandtravels.

New.familysearch.org.

New Mormon Studies CD-ROM -- A Comprehensive Resource Library. Salt Lake City, Utah: Smith Research Associates, 1998.

Pioneer Heritage Library. Provo, Utah: Infobases, Inc., 1996.

Utah History Suite, 1999 Edition. Provo, Utah: Historical Views, 1999.

Utah State Archive and Records and Service, Commissioner of Indian War Records, Indian War Service Affidavits, accessed at http://archives.utah.gov/research/inventories/2217.html.

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2014-04-22T23:26:51Z

1857admin: /* Periodicals */

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Allphin, Jolene S., ed. ''Tell My Story, Too: A Collection of Biographical Sketches of Pioneers and Rescuers of the Willie, Martin, Hodgett, and Hunt Companies of 1856,'' 4th ed. Ogden, Ut.: Jolene Spendlove Allphin, 2005.

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Backus, Anna Jean. ''Mountain Meadows Witness: The Life and Times of Bishop Philip Klingensmith.'' Spokane, Wash.: Arthur H. Clark Co., 1996.

Bailey, Lynn R. ''A Tale of the "Unkilled": The Life, Times, and Writings of Wells W. Spicer, The Man Who Defended John D. Lee, and Exonerated the Earps and Doc Holliday.'' Vol. 3 in Mining Camp Chronicles Series. Tucson, Ariz.: Westernlore Press, 1999.

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Brooks, Juanita. ''John D. Lee: Zealot - Pioneer Builder - Scapegoat.'' Western Frontiersmen Series IX. Glendale, Cal.: Arthur H. Clark Co. 1961.

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____________. ''A Memory Bank for Paragonah, 1851-1990.'' Provo, Ut.: Betsy Topham Camp Daughter of Utah Pioneers, 1990.

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Clayton, Roberta Flake, ed. "Pioneer Men of Arizona.'' N.p.: Roberta Flake Clayton, 1974.

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Compton, Todd M. ''A Frontier Life: Jacob Hamblin, Explorer and Indian Missionary.'' Salt Lake City, Ut.: University of Utah Press, 2013.

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Day, Stella H. and Subrina C. Ekins. ''Milestones of Millard: A Century of History of Millard County, 1851-1951.'' Springvillle, Ut.: Daughter of Utah Pioneers of Millard Co., 1951.

Day, Stella H. ''Builders of Early Millard: Biographies of Pioneers of Millard County, 1850 to 1875.'' Springville, Ut.: East MIllard Co. of Daughter of Utah Pioneers, 1979.

Dellenbaugh, Frederick S. ''The Romance of the Colorado River.'' Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 1902.

Dellenbaugh, Frederick S. ''A Canyon Voyage: The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition.'' Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press, 1962.

Denton, Sally. ''American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows, September 1857.'' New York City: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003.

Dixon, Madoline C. ''Peteetneet Town: A History of Payson, Utah.'' Provo, Ut.: Madoline C. Dixon, 1974.

Ellis, Fern D. ''Come Back to my Valley: An Early History of the Mancos Valley.'' Mancos, Colo.: Darrel Ellis, 1976.

Fancher, Burr. ''Westward With the Sun.'' Bend, Ore.: Fancher Associates, 1999.

Farley, Steven E. ''The Mormon Mountain Meadows Massacre: From the Diary of John I. Ginn.'' Bloomington, Ind.: Steven E. Farley, 2003.

Fielding, Robert Kent and Dorothy S., ed. ''The Tribune Reports of the Trials of John D. Lee.'' Higganum, Conn.: Kent's Books, 2000.

Fish, Joseph; edited by Seymour P. Fish. ''Mormon Migrations and Related Issues.'' Vol. 5 in ''The Pioneers of the Southwest and Rocky Mountain Regions.'' N.p.: J. Fish Smith and Seymour P. Fish, 1972.

Fleek, Sherman L. ''History May Be Searched in Vain: A Military History of the Mormon Battalion.'' Spokane, Wash.: Arthur H. Clark Co., 2006.

Forsgren, Lydia Walker, compiler. ''History of Box Elder County, 1851-1937.'' N.p.: Daughters of Utah Pioneers of Box Elder Co., 1937.

Furniss, Norman F. ''The Mormon Conflict: 1850-1859.'' New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1960.

Gardner, Hamilton. ''History of Lehi Including a Biographical Section.'' Salt Lake City, Ut.: Lehi Pioneer Committee, 1913.

Geary, Edward A. ''A History of Emery County.'' Utah Centennial County History Series. Salt Lake City, Ut.: Utah State Historical Society, 1996.

Gibbons, "Frontier Arms of the Mormons," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 42.1 (Winter 1974): 24.

Godrey, Donald G. and Rebecca S. Martineau-McCarty, ed. ''An Uncommon Common Pioneer: The Journals of James Henry Martineau, 1828-1918.'' Provo, Ut.: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2008.

Grow, Matthew J. ''"Liberty to the Downtrodden": Thomas L. Kane, Romantic Reformer.'' New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2009.

Hafen, A. K. ''Devoted Empire Builders: Pioneers of St. George.'' St. George, Ut.: A. K. Hafen, 1969.

Hafen, Leroy R. and Ann W Hafen, ed. ''The Utah Expedition: 1857-1858: A Documentary Account of the United States Military Movement under Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston [etc.].'' Vol. VIII in Far West and the Rockies Series. Glendale, Cal.: Arthur H. Clark Co., 1982.

Hammond, Otis G. ed. ''The Utah Expedition, 1857-1858, Letters of Capt. Jesse A. Gove [etc.].'' Vol. 12 in New Hampshire Historical Society Collections Series. Concord, N.H.: New Hampshire Historical Society, 1928.

Henrie, Samuel Nyal, ed. ''Writings of John D. Lee.'' Tucson, Ariz.: Hats Off Books, 2001.

Huff, Emma F., ed. ''Memories That Live: Utah County Centennial History.'' Springville, Ut.: Daughters of Utah Pioneers of Utah Co., 1947.

Jackson, Richard H., ed. ''The Mormon Role in the Settlement of the West.'' Vol. 9 in Charles Redd Monographs in Western History. Provo, Ut.: Brigham Young University Press, 1978.

James, Harry C. ''Pages From Hopi History.'' Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press, 1974.

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Jenson, Andrew, ed.; revised by J.R.C. Nebeker. ''LDS Church Chronology, 1805-1914: A Record of Important Events Pertaining to the History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.'' Orem, Ut.: Quick and Easy Publishing, 2002.

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Larson, Andrew Karl. ''I was Called to Dixie: The Virgin River Basin; Unique Experiences in Momon Pioneering.'' St. George, Ut.: Andrew Karl Larson, 1961.

Larson, Andrew Karl. ''Erastus Snow: The Life of a Missionary and Pioneer of the Early Mormon Church.'' Salt Lake City, Ut.: University of Utah Press, 1971.

Larson, A. Karl and Katharine Miles Larson. ''Diary of Charles Lowell Walker.'' 2 vols. Logan, Ut.: Utah Sate University Press, 1980.

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Lee, John D. ''Mormonism Unveiled: Including the Remarkable Life and Confessions of the Late Mormon Bishop John D. Lee; (written by himself) and Complete Life of Brigham Young . . . also the True History of the Horrible Butchery Known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre.'' 1877; reprint Albuquerque, N.M.: Fierra Blanca Publications, 2001.

Lever, W. H. 4n. ''A History of Sanpete and Emery Counties, Utah: with Sketches of Cities, Towns and Villages, Chronology of Important Events, Records of Indian Wars, Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens.'' Ogden, Ut.: W. H. Lever, n.d., reprint 2010 by Nebu Press.

Levine, Albert J. ''From Indian Trails to Jet Trails: Snowflake's Centennial History.'' Snowflake, Ariz.: Snowflake Historical Society, 1977.

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McElprang, Stella, ed. ''Castle Valley: A History of Emery County.'' N.p.: Emery County Company of Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1949.

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No Author. ''Portrait, Genealogical and Biographical Record of the State of Utah Containing Biographies of Many Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present.'' Chicago: National Historical Record Co., 1902.

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== Periodicals ==

Arrington, "Planning an Iron Industry for Utah, 1851-1858," ''Huntington Library Quarterly,'' 21.3 (May 1958): 237-260.

''Mormon Manuscripts to 1846: Guide to Lee Library'';

Beller, "Negro Slaves in Utah," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 2.4 (October 1929): 124, 126.

Briggs, Robert H. "The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows – Toward a Consensus Account and Time Line.” 2002 Juanita Brooks Lecture. St. George, Utah: Tanner Foundation and Dixie State College, 2002.

Briggs, Robert H. "The Mountain Meadows Massacre: An Analytical Narrative Based on Participant Confessions," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 74.4 (Fall 2006): 313-333.

Briggs, Robert H. "A Seething Cauldron of Controversy: The First Trial of John D. Lee, 1875," ''Journal of Mormon History'' 39:1 (Winter 2013): 1-35.

Brooks, "Indian Sketches from . . . Brown and Hamblin," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29.4 (October 1961): 357

Brooks, "Indian Relations on the Mormon Frontier," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 12.1-2 (Jan.-Apr. 1944): 34;

Brooks, "The Land That God Forgot," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 26.3 (July 1958): 209;

Brooks, "The Cotton Mission, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29.3 (July 1961): 313;

Brooks, "Jest a Copyin’ – Word fr Word," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 37.4 (Fall 1969): 384;

Buchanan, "Scots Among the Mormons,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 36.4 (Fall 1968): 342.

“Culture in Dixie," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29.3 (July 1961): 257.

Crampton, "Military Reconnaissance in Southern Utah, 1866," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 82.2 (Spring 1964): 160.

Crampton, "F. S. Dellenbaugh of the Colorado," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 37.2 (Spring 1869): 242-43.

"Reminiscences of John R. Young," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 3 (July 1930): 85;

"Diary of Almon Harris Thompson," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 7.1-3 (Jan., Apr., Jul., 1939): 59;

"Diary of Almon Harris Thompson," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 7.1-3 (Jan., Apr., Jul., 1939): 59, 69, 75-77, 88, 101,111-114;

"Capt. Francis Marion Bishop’s Journal, 1870-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 15.4 (Oct. 1947): 221, 223.

Ellsworth, "A Guide to the Manuscripts in the Bancroft Library," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 22.3 (July 1954): 224, 228.

Garner, "Book Review: "Mountain Meadows Witness: The Life and Times of Bishop Philip Klingensmith," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 64.3 (Summer 1996): 288.

Gibbs, "Black Hawk’s Last Raid – 1866," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 4.4 (October 1931): 106-107.

Goodman, “New Look at Old Treasures,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly'' 26:3 (July 1958): 283.

Gregory, "Journal of Stephen Vandiver Jones, 1871-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 17 (1949): .

Ivins, "Free Schools Come to Utah, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 22.4 (Oct. 1954): 338 .

Landeros, Rodrigo and David Littel. "Reminiscences of Ray Hunt," ''Blue Mountain Shadows,'' Vol. 21 (Summer 1999): 44-68.

Larson, ed., ''Journal of the Iron County Mission,'' ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 20.3 (Jul 1952): 260, 365.

Little, “Biography of Lorenzo Dow Young,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 14:1-4 (1946): 71.

Noall, "Mormon Midwives," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 10.1-4 (1942): .

Palmer, “The Early Sheep Industry in Southern Utah," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 42.2 (Spring 1974): 179.

Pendleton, “Memories of Silver Reef,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 3.4 (Oct. 1930): 116.

Peterson, “Life in a Village Society, 1877-1920,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 49.1 (Winter 1981): 81.

Reeve, "Cattle, Cotton, and Conflict: . . . Hebron, Utah," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 67:2 (Spring 1999): 168;

Smith, "Colorado River Exploration and the Mormon War," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 38/3 (Summer 1970): 212.

"Forces That Shaped Utah’s Dixie: Another Look," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 47/2 (Spring 1979): 118.

"Vignettes," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29/3 (July 1961): 295-96;

Woodbury, "A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 12.3-4 (Jul.-Oct. 1944): .

Young, "The Spirit of the Pioneers,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 14:1-4 (1946): 16.

== Manuscripts ==

Beckwith, Frank. "Shameful Friday: A Critical Study of the Mountain Meadows Massacre."

Dame, William H. Personal papers

Haight, Isaac C. Diaries

Lee Trial transcripts

== Internet Sources and Compact Disks ==

Ancestry.com.

Familysearch.org.

Infobases Library. Provo, Utah: Infobases, Inc., 1998.

LDS Church History at http://history.lds.org/?lang=eng.

LDS Collectors Library ‘97. Provo, Utah, Infobases, 1996.

Mormon Pioneer Overland Database, at http://history.lds.org/overlandtravels.

New.familysearch.org.

New Mormon Studies CD-ROM -- A Comprehensive Resource Library. Salt Lake City, Utah: Smith Research Associates, 1998.

Pioneer Heritage Library. Provo, Utah: Infobases, Inc., 1996.

Utah History Suite, 1999 Edition. Provo, Utah: Historical Views, 1999.

Utah State Archive and Records and Service, Commissioner of Indian War Records, Indian War Service Affidavits, accessed at http://archives.utah.gov/research/inventories/2217.html.

Bibliography

2014-04-22T23:23:19Z

1857admin: /* Books */

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Bailey, Lynn R. ''A Tale of the "Unkilled": The Life, Times, and Writings of Wells W. Spicer, The Man Who Defended John D. Lee, and Exonerated the Earps and Doc Holliday.'' Vol. 3 in Mining Camp Chronicles Series. Tucson, Ariz.: Westernlore Press, 1999.

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Compton, Todd M. ''A Frontier Life: Jacob Hamblin, Explorer and Indian Missionary.'' Salt Lake City, Ut.: University of Utah Press, 2013.

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Day, Stella H. and Subrina C. Ekins. ''Milestones of Millard: A Century of History of Millard County, 1851-1951.'' Springvillle, Ut.: Daughter of Utah Pioneers of Millard Co., 1951.

Day, Stella H. ''Builders of Early Millard: Biographies of Pioneers of Millard County, 1850 to 1875.'' Springville, Ut.: East MIllard Co. of Daughter of Utah Pioneers, 1979.

Dellenbaugh, Frederick S. ''The Romance of the Colorado River.'' Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 1902.

Dellenbaugh, Frederick S. ''A Canyon Voyage: The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition.'' Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press, 1962.

Denton, Sally. ''American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows, September 1857.'' New York City: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003.

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Fancher, Burr. ''Westward With the Sun.'' Bend, Ore.: Fancher Associates, 1999.

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Fish, Joseph; edited by Seymour P. Fish. ''Mormon Migrations and Related Issues.'' Vol. 5 in ''The Pioneers of the Southwest and Rocky Mountain Regions.'' N.p.: J. Fish Smith and Seymour P. Fish, 1972.

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Gardner, Hamilton. ''History of Lehi Including a Biographical Section.'' Salt Lake City, Ut.: Lehi Pioneer Committee, 1913.

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Godrey, Donald G. and Rebecca S. Martineau-McCarty, ed. ''An Uncommon Common Pioneer: The Journals of James Henry Martineau, 1828-1918.'' Provo, Ut.: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2008.

Grow, Matthew J. ''"Liberty to the Downtrodden": Thomas L. Kane, Romantic Reformer.'' New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2009.

Hafen, A. K. ''Devoted Empire Builders: Pioneers of St. George.'' St. George, Ut.: A. K. Hafen, 1969.

Hafen, Leroy R. and Ann W Hafen, ed. ''The Utah Expedition: 1857-1858: A Documentary Account of the United States Military Movement under Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston [etc.].'' Vol. VIII in Far West and the Rockies Series. Glendale, Cal.: Arthur H. Clark Co., 1982.

Hammond, Otis G. ed. ''The Utah Expedition, 1857-1858, Letters of Capt. Jesse A. Gove [etc.].'' Vol. 12 in New Hampshire Historical Society Collections Series. Concord, N.H.: New Hampshire Historical Society, 1928.

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Jenson, Andrew, ed.; revised by J.R.C. Nebeker. ''LDS Church Chronology, 1805-1914: A Record of Important Events Pertaining to the History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.'' Orem, Ut.: Quick and Easy Publishing, 2002.

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Lee, John D. ''Mormonism Unveiled: Including the Remarkable Life and Confessions of the Late Mormon Bishop John D. Lee; (written by himself) and Complete Life of Brigham Young . . . also the True History of the Horrible Butchery Known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre.'' 1877; reprint Albuquerque, N.M.: Fierra Blanca Publications, 2001.

Lever, W. H. 4n. ''A History of Sanpete and Emery Counties, Utah: with Sketches of Cities, Towns and Villages, Chronology of Important Events, Records of Indian Wars, Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens.'' Ogden, Ut.: W. H. Lever, n.d., reprint 2010 by Nebu Press.

Levine, Albert J. ''From Indian Trails to Jet Trails: Snowflake's Centennial History.'' Snowflake, Ariz.: Snowflake Historical Society, 1977.

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McElprang, Stella, ed. ''Castle Valley: A History of Emery County.'' N.p.: Emery County Company of Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1949.

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Rosenvall, Lynn A. "Defunct Mormon Settlements: 1830-1930," 51-74, in Richard H. Jackson, ed., ''The Mormon Role in the Settlement of the West.'' (Provo, Ut.: Brigham Young University Press, 1978).

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Warnock, Irvin L., and Lexia Dastrup Warnock, ed. ''Memories of Sevier Stake: Diamond Jubilee Memorial Volume, 1874-1949.'' Springville, Ut.: Sevier Stake Presidency, 1949.

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Woolley, Caroline Keturah Parry; Blanche, Cox Clegg and Janet Burton Seegmiller, ed. ''"I Would to God": A Personal History of Isaac Haight.'' Vol. 2 in ''Mountain Meadows Massacre Series.'' Cedar City, Ut.: Southern Utah University Press, 2009.

Woolsey, Nethella Griffin. ''The Escalante Story: A History of the Town of Escalante, and Description of the Surrounding Territory, Garfield County, Utah, 1875-1964.'' Springville, Ut: Nethella Griffin Woolsey, 1964.

Worster, Donald. ''A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Wright, Thomas E. ''Our Town: Mesa, Arizona, 1878-1978.'' Centennial Edition. Mesa, Ariz.: Mesa Publich Schools, 1978.

Young, Ann Eliza. ''Wife No. 19, or The Story of A Life of Bondage, Being a Complete Expose of Mormonism, and Revealing the Sorrows, Sacrifices and Sufferings of Women in Polygamy.'' Hartford, Conn.: Dustin, Gilman Co., 1875.

Youngberg, Florence C. ''Conquerors of the West: Stalwart Mormon Pioneers.'' 4 volumes. Salt Lake City, Ut.: National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers, 1999.

== Periodicals ==

Arrington, "Planning an Iron Industry for Utah, 1851-1858," ''Huntington Library Quarterly,'' 21.3 (May 1958): 237-260.

''Mormon Manuscripts to 1846: Guide to Lee Library'';

Beller, "Negro Slaves in Utah," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 2.4 (October 1929): 124, 126.

Briggs, Robert H. "The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows – Toward a Consensus Account and Time Line.” 2002 Juanita Brooks Lecture. St. George, Utah: Tanner Foundation and Dixie State College, 2002.

Briggs, Robert H. "The Mountain Meadows Massacre: An Analytical Narrative Based on Participant Confessions," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 74.4 (Fall 2006): 313-333.

Briggs, Robert H. "A Seething Cauldron of Controversy: The First Trial of John D. Lee, 1875," ''Journal of Mormon History'' 39:1 (Winter 2013): 1-35.

Brooks, "Indian Sketches from . . . Brown and Hamblin," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29.4 (October 1961): 357

Brooks, "Indian Relations on the Mormon Frontier," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 12.1-2 (Jan.-Apr. 1944): 34;

Brooks, "The Land That God Forgot," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 26.3 (July 1958): 209;

Brooks, "The Cotton Mission, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29.3 (July 1961): 313;

Brooks, "Jest a Copyin’ – Word fr Word," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 37.4 (Fall 1969): 384;

Buchanan, "Scots Among the Mormons,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 36.4 (Fall 1968): 342.

“Culture in Dixie," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29.3 (July 1961): 257.

Crampton, "Military Reconnaissance in Southern Utah, 1866," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 82.2 (Spring 1964): 160.

Crampton, "F. S. Dellenbaugh of the Colorado," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 37.2 (Spring 1869): 242-43.

"Reminiscences of John R. Young," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 3 (July 1930): 85;

"Diary of Almon Harris Thompson," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 7.1-3 (Jan., Apr., Jul., 1939): 59;

"Diary of Almon Harris Thompson," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 7.1-3 (Jan., Apr., Jul., 1939): 59, 69, 75-77, 88, 101,111-114;

"Capt. Francis Marion Bishop’s Journal, 1870-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 15.4 (Oct. 1947): 221, 223.

Ellsworth, "A Guide to the Manuscripts in the Bancroft Library," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 22.3 (July 1954): 224, 228.

Garner, "Book Review: "Mountain Meadows Witness: The Life and Times of Bishop Philip Klingensmith," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 64.3 (Summer 1996): 288.

Gibbs, "Black Hawk’s Last Raid – 1866," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 4.4 (October 1931): 106-107.

Goodman, “New Look at Old Treasures,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly'' 26:3 (July 1958): 283.

Gregory, "Journal of Stephen Vandiver Jones, 1871-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 17 (1949): .

Ivins, "Free Schools Come to Utah, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 22.4 (Oct. 1954): 338 .

Larson, ed., ''Journal of the Iron County Mission,'' ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 20.3 (Jul 1952): 260, 365.

Little, “Biography of Lorenzo Dow Young,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 14:1-4 (1946): 71.

Noall, "Mormon Midwives," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 10.1-4 (1942): .

Palmer, “The Early Sheep Industry in Southern Utah," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 42.2 (Spring 1974): 179.

Pendleton, “Memories of Silver Reef,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 3.4 (Oct. 1930): 116.

Peterson, “Life in a Village Society, 1877-1920,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 49.1 (Winter 1981): 81.

Reeve, "Cattle, Cotton, and Conflict: . . . Hebron, Utah," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 67:2 (Spring 1999): 168;

Smith, "Colorado River Exploration and the Mormon War," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 38/3 (Summer 1970): 212.

"Forces That Shaped Utah’s Dixie: Another Look," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 47/2 (Spring 1979): 118.

"Vignettes," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29/3 (July 1961): 295-96;

Woodbury, "A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 12.3-4 (Jul.-Oct. 1944): .

Young, "The Spirit of the Pioneers,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 14:1-4 (1946): 16.

== Manuscripts ==

Beckwith, Frank. "Shameful Friday: A Critical Study of the Mountain Meadows Massacre."

Dame, William H. Personal papers

Haight, Isaac C. Diaries

Lee Trial transcripts

== Internet Sources and Compact Disks ==

Ancestry.com.

Familysearch.org.

Infobases Library. Provo, Utah: Infobases, Inc., 1998.

LDS Church History at http://history.lds.org/?lang=eng.

LDS Collectors Library ‘97. Provo, Utah, Infobases, 1996.

Mormon Pioneer Overland Database, at http://history.lds.org/overlandtravels.

New.familysearch.org.

New Mormon Studies CD-ROM -- A Comprehensive Resource Library. Salt Lake City, Utah: Smith Research Associates, 1998.

Pioneer Heritage Library. Provo, Utah: Infobases, Inc., 1996.

Utah History Suite, 1999 Edition. Provo, Utah: Historical Views, 1999.

Utah State Archive and Records and Service, Commissioner of Indian War Records, Indian War Service Affidavits, accessed at http://archives.utah.gov/research/inventories/2217.html.

Joseph H. Smith

2014-04-22T23:20:25Z

1857admin: /* References */

'''Joseph H. Smith, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:Joseph_H._Smith_1.jpg|left|125px]] 

'''Joseph Hodgetts Smith'''

1819-1890

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Years in the West Midlands of England ===

Joseph Hodgetts Smith was born in Dudley, Worchestershire, in the West Midlands region of England, the last of three sons born to John Smith (1785-1854) and Elizabeth Hodgetts (1769-1852). Little is known of his early life.

In 1843, Smith married Eleanor Marie Stanford (1809-1896), in Staffordshire, near his homeland in Worchestershire in the West Midlands. She was ten years his senior. Together they had six children, three of whom survived to adulthood.

=== Immigration to America and onto Utah ===

After their conversion to Mormonism, they followed the familiar pattern of many Latter-day Saints in the British Isles: In 1855, with assistance from the Perpetual Emigration Fund, they sailed to American and eventually arrived in Mormon Grove (near modern Atchison), Kansas. Smith with his wife and three children joined the Milo Andrus Company which started across the plains in August.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in late October.

=== To Cedar City and the Ironworks ===
[[Image:Sketch - Iron works.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''The Early Ironworks in Cedar City'''</center>]]

==== The Deseret Iron Company ====

By 1856, Smith was in Cedar City where the Deseret Iron Company was located. Smith lent his assistance to the efforts to create an efficient blast furnace that would convert iron ore to produce high grade iron. The Deseret Iron Company, known more familiarly as the Ironworks, dominated activities in Cedar City. See [[Summary of Deseret Iron Company]] for a brief summary of its early development.

==== The Ironworks in 1857 ====

In April 1857, the delivery of a new steam engine from Great Salt Lake City seemed to breathe new life for the Ironworks. Working from April to June they installed the steam engine and completed the new engine house. In the first week of July, they were ready to begin smelting. They “put on the blast” and had a modicum of success. But they continued to be plagued with problems ranging from poor quality raw materials to smelting equipment that lacked technical sophistication. When in late July the steam engine seized with sand from the dirty creek water, they speedily dug a reservoir to store a supply of clean water for the boiler. They continued making smelting runs through August. All the while crews at the ironworks manned all the necessary functions there, while other crews, mainly miners and teamsters, gathered the raw materials – iron ore, coal, limestone, and wood – necessary to sustain smelting.

The smelting continued until September 13. In other words, around September 3, when a dispute arose between some settlers and several men in the passing Arkansas company, the blast furnace was running nonstop. And when Cedar City militiamen, many of them ironworkers, mustered to Mountain Meadows where they were involved in the massacre on September 11, other ironworkers in Cedar City continued the smelting runs night and day. For additional details, see [[Smelting at the Ironworks in 1857]].

From late April to September, those working up the canyon in mining or hauling wood, coal, limestone, rock, sand or “adobies” to the ironworks were [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac C. Haight]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M. Macfarlane]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], Elias Morris, [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[Robert Wiley|Robert Wiley]], and [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]]. Those working at the ironworks on the furnace, engine, coke ovens or blacksmith shop included Elias Morris, [[John S. Humphries|John Humphries]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[John M. Urie|John Urie]], [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Joseph Clews|Joseph Clews]], [[Richard Harrison|Richard Harrison]], [[William C. Stewart|William C. Stewart]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M Macfarlane]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[William S. Riggs|William S. Riggs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Eleazer Edwards|Eliezar Edwards]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], and [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]]. (The two lists overlap because some worked both in the canyon and at the Ironworks.) Other prominent figures at the ironworks who were not later involved at Mountain Meadows were Samuel Leigh, George Horton, James H. Haslem, Laban Morrell, John Chatterley, Thomas Gower, Thomas Crowther and others.

==== Smith's Extensive Role in the Ironworks in 1857 ====

During this period of 1857, Joseph H. Smith played various roles at the ironworks. In early May, he labored for 10 days on the canyon road to the coal mine. Returning to the site of the ironworks, he tended the masons as they worked on the new engine house for the steam engine. The following week he spent three more days with the masons. Toward the end of May, he spent another five days assisting the masons. Building the engine house continued in early June with Smith working another five days for the masons. He did no further work until early July when he spent a day cleaning the iron house. Around the beginning of August, Smith spent a day and a half as a keeper's helper. They were preparing for or making a run on the blast furnace. In mid-August, he spent three days as a keeper's helper on the furnace. The next week he hauled wood. Around the latter part of August, he spent a day and a half cleaning around the furnace. Around the beginning of September, the coal crews dig and hauled many tons of coal to the ironworks. Smith was credited with coking more than 103 tons of coal in the coke ovens adjoining the blast furnace. This was to sustain the current iron run. Following that he spent three days as a keeper's helper on the blast furnace while the run was in progress.

The majority of the southern Utah militiamen at Mountain Meadows were from Cedar City. Of these, nearly all of them had worked at the Ironworks or supplied raw materials to it. Indeed, in the weeks before the Mountain Meadows Massacre, they had worked intensely together, hauling materials, building a new water reservoir, and making the latest run of the blast furnace. One perennial mystery of the massacre has been why the militiamen mustered to Mountain Meadows in “broken” militia units; that is, from different platoons and companies, none of which had a full compliment of its members. Perhaps the reason lies with the Ironworks. Those in the Ironworks knew each other and had worked alongside one another. Not only did Joseph H. Smith know those who mustered from Cedar City to Mountain Meadows, he had worked with them at the Ironworks as recently as the week before. Perhaps the answer is that the men of the Ironworks were on hand and available and Isaac Haight, who himself had worked closely with them, assigned them to muster to Mountain Meadows.

There was little work at the ironworks after the massacre. However, Smith was among a small group who continued working. Around the end of September, Smith spent two days tending the masons working on the cupola. Then he spent another two days in "Melting down [the] Furnace." This was to clean up the iron run that failed at the beginning of September. In the first part of October, Smith spent five and a half days with others in melting iron in the cupola. Persumably, this involved removing iron in the blast furance and melting it down in the smaller cupula.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private Joseph H. Smith, Company F, John Higbee's Battalion, Cedar City ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

By the time of the outbreak of the Utah War in September 1857, Smith, 38, was a private in Company F, First Platoon, lead by First Lieutenant [[William_C._Stewart|William C. Stewart]] and Sergeant [[John_Western|John Weston]]. [[Joseph_Clews|Joseph Clews]] and several others were also privates in the same platoon. Company F was lead by Captain [[William_Tait|William Tait]] and it was attached to [[John_M._Higbee|Major John M. Higbee's]] 3rd Battalion. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

Concerning the massacre, it seems probable that Smith marched from Cedar City to Mountain Meadows in one of several detachments sent there during the week of September 7-11, under the operational command of [[John_M._Higbee|Major John M. Higbee]]. Smith could have arrived as early as Tuesday the 8th or as late as Thursday the 10th.

At the war council on Thursday evening, September 10, many from the Cedar City detachment attended the council. However, [[John_D._Lee|John D. Lee]] did not list Smith among the participants.

On Friday, September 11, many members of the militia contingent from Cedar City acted as guards alongside the emigrant men as they left the wagon circle and marched, unknowingly, to the north toward their ill-fated destiny. As the massacre commenced, the duty of the guards was to wheel and fire on the emigrant men, quickly dispatching them. Yet during the actual massacre, reactions varied among the guards. Some shrank from their duty, others fired over the heads of their victims, while others still undertook their bloody duty with zeal. Within minutes, members of the Cedar City unit had killed all but three of the emigrant men. However, whether Joseph H. Smith was in this guard unit and if so, how he acted during the massacre will probably never be known with any certainty.

In spring 1859, Judge Cradlebaugh arrived to southern Utah to investigate the massacre at Mountain Meadows. Joseph H. Smith was among those listed in Judge Cradlebaugh's arrest warrant as were many other Cedar City militiamen who had been involved in the massacre. Smith was likewise listed among those complicit in the massacre in T.B.H. Stenhouse's ''Rocky Mountain Saints,'' published in 1873, which follows Judge Cradlebaugh's list. William Bishop listed "Joseph Smith of Cedar City" in his list of "assassins" appended to [[John_D._Lee|John D. Lee's]] ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' published posthumously in 1877. Lee, however, does not mention Smith in any of his statements.

[[Image:Iron_County.jpg|right|thumb|450px|<center>'''Map of Iron County, Utah.'''</center>]]
=== Aftermath in Cedar City ===

Because of the perceived threat posed by the advancing U.S. Army expeditionary force bound for Utah, Mormon leader Brigham Young order Isaac Haight to close the iron works. About a month after the massacre, Smith was among those melted down the furnace.

In January 1858, iron operations were restarted on a limited scale and in the coming months they slowly refurbished the furnace and steam engine. In June, they made another test run of the blast furnace but the results were again disappointing. During this trial, Smith worked as a furnace keeper. They made some later trial runs in September and October 1858, but again without success. By then, Brigham Young had determined to shut down the iron works and all related operations. In his letter directing its discontinuance, Young noted that the project had been fraught with frustrations and was exhausting the "patient," "vital energies" and "power" of the community. (Shirts, ''Trial Furnace,'' 396).

=== At the 1858 Proceeding Involving William H. Dame ===

Meanwhile, back in August 1858, [[William H. Dame|William H. Dame]] was brought up on charges before a church tribunal in Parowan and Smith was among those who attended the council. Considering those known to be in attendance, including [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac Haight]] and [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], it seems likely that the massacre was among the issues discussed during the three-day tribunal. In the end, Dame retained his church and militia positions, but the next year, Isaac C. Haight was released from his ecclesiastical, civic and militia positions and went into hiding to avoid being arrested by Judge John Cradlebaugh.

=== Marriage and Continued Life in Cedar City ===

Late in 1858, Smith married Mary Dutton (1823-1867). There were no children from this union. After the death of Mary in 1867, the following year Smith married a Swiss emigrant, Barbara Elizabethe Lattmann Elliker (1841-1919), who had four children from a prior marriage. Together they had five additional children, all of whom survived to adulthood.

It appears that after Smith arrived in Cedar City in the 1850s, he and his family remained there for the next three decades. In 1875, the city paid Smith for some of his land to convert it to streets. In 1878, he served for a time as a member of the town police force.

[[Image:San_Juan_County.jpg|right|thumb|450px|<center>'''Map of San Juan County, New Mexico.'''</center>]]

=== Final Years: Moving to New Mexico and Colorado ===

In the 1880s, he and his wives and children moved to San Juan County in the northwestern corner of New Mexico. Sometime between 1886 and 1888, Smith and his family moved upriver where they eventually settled in Mancos, Colorado. The Mancos Valley was drained by the Mancos River, a tributary on the upper San Juan River. He died there in 1890 at the age of 70, survived by two of his wives and many children and grandchildren.

= References =

Ellis, ''Come Back to My Valley: An Early History of the Mancos Valley,'' 20; Deseret Iron Company Account Book (accessed at footnote.com/image/#241903584); Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 380; Lee Trial transcripts; New.FamilySearch.org; Shirts and Shirts, ''A Trial Furnace,'' 391, 394, 496; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Appendix C; York, ed., ''Mayors of Cedar City and the Histories of Cedar City, Utah,'' 42, 45-46.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on Joseph H. Smith, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* Deseret Iron Company Account Book, 1854-1867: http://www.footnote.com/document/241905844/

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

Joseph H. Smith

2014-04-22T23:17:15Z

1857admin: /* Final Years: Moving to New Mexico */

'''Joseph H. Smith, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:Joseph_H._Smith_1.jpg|left|125px]] 

'''Joseph Hodgetts Smith'''

1819-1890

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Years in the West Midlands of England ===

Joseph Hodgetts Smith was born in Dudley, Worchestershire, in the West Midlands region of England, the last of three sons born to John Smith (1785-1854) and Elizabeth Hodgetts (1769-1852). Little is known of his early life.

In 1843, Smith married Eleanor Marie Stanford (1809-1896), in Staffordshire, near his homeland in Worchestershire in the West Midlands. She was ten years his senior. Together they had six children, three of whom survived to adulthood.

=== Immigration to America and onto Utah ===

After their conversion to Mormonism, they followed the familiar pattern of many Latter-day Saints in the British Isles: In 1855, with assistance from the Perpetual Emigration Fund, they sailed to American and eventually arrived in Mormon Grove (near modern Atchison), Kansas. Smith with his wife and three children joined the Milo Andrus Company which started across the plains in August.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in late October.

=== To Cedar City and the Ironworks ===
[[Image:Sketch - Iron works.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''The Early Ironworks in Cedar City'''</center>]]

==== The Deseret Iron Company ====

By 1856, Smith was in Cedar City where the Deseret Iron Company was located. Smith lent his assistance to the efforts to create an efficient blast furnace that would convert iron ore to produce high grade iron. The Deseret Iron Company, known more familiarly as the Ironworks, dominated activities in Cedar City. See [[Summary of Deseret Iron Company]] for a brief summary of its early development.

==== The Ironworks in 1857 ====

In April 1857, the delivery of a new steam engine from Great Salt Lake City seemed to breathe new life for the Ironworks. Working from April to June they installed the steam engine and completed the new engine house. In the first week of July, they were ready to begin smelting. They “put on the blast” and had a modicum of success. But they continued to be plagued with problems ranging from poor quality raw materials to smelting equipment that lacked technical sophistication. When in late July the steam engine seized with sand from the dirty creek water, they speedily dug a reservoir to store a supply of clean water for the boiler. They continued making smelting runs through August. All the while crews at the ironworks manned all the necessary functions there, while other crews, mainly miners and teamsters, gathered the raw materials – iron ore, coal, limestone, and wood – necessary to sustain smelting.

The smelting continued until September 13. In other words, around September 3, when a dispute arose between some settlers and several men in the passing Arkansas company, the blast furnace was running nonstop. And when Cedar City militiamen, many of them ironworkers, mustered to Mountain Meadows where they were involved in the massacre on September 11, other ironworkers in Cedar City continued the smelting runs night and day. For additional details, see [[Smelting at the Ironworks in 1857]].

From late April to September, those working up the canyon in mining or hauling wood, coal, limestone, rock, sand or “adobies” to the ironworks were [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac C. Haight]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M. Macfarlane]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], Elias Morris, [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[Robert Wiley|Robert Wiley]], and [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]]. Those working at the ironworks on the furnace, engine, coke ovens or blacksmith shop included Elias Morris, [[John S. Humphries|John Humphries]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[John M. Urie|John Urie]], [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Joseph Clews|Joseph Clews]], [[Richard Harrison|Richard Harrison]], [[William C. Stewart|William C. Stewart]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M Macfarlane]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[William S. Riggs|William S. Riggs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Eleazer Edwards|Eliezar Edwards]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], and [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]]. (The two lists overlap because some worked both in the canyon and at the Ironworks.) Other prominent figures at the ironworks who were not later involved at Mountain Meadows were Samuel Leigh, George Horton, James H. Haslem, Laban Morrell, John Chatterley, Thomas Gower, Thomas Crowther and others.

==== Smith's Extensive Role in the Ironworks in 1857 ====

During this period of 1857, Joseph H. Smith played various roles at the ironworks. In early May, he labored for 10 days on the canyon road to the coal mine. Returning to the site of the ironworks, he tended the masons as they worked on the new engine house for the steam engine. The following week he spent three more days with the masons. Toward the end of May, he spent another five days assisting the masons. Building the engine house continued in early June with Smith working another five days for the masons. He did no further work until early July when he spent a day cleaning the iron house. Around the beginning of August, Smith spent a day and a half as a keeper's helper. They were preparing for or making a run on the blast furnace. In mid-August, he spent three days as a keeper's helper on the furnace. The next week he hauled wood. Around the latter part of August, he spent a day and a half cleaning around the furnace. Around the beginning of September, the coal crews dig and hauled many tons of coal to the ironworks. Smith was credited with coking more than 103 tons of coal in the coke ovens adjoining the blast furnace. This was to sustain the current iron run. Following that he spent three days as a keeper's helper on the blast furnace while the run was in progress.

The majority of the southern Utah militiamen at Mountain Meadows were from Cedar City. Of these, nearly all of them had worked at the Ironworks or supplied raw materials to it. Indeed, in the weeks before the Mountain Meadows Massacre, they had worked intensely together, hauling materials, building a new water reservoir, and making the latest run of the blast furnace. One perennial mystery of the massacre has been why the militiamen mustered to Mountain Meadows in “broken” militia units; that is, from different platoons and companies, none of which had a full compliment of its members. Perhaps the reason lies with the Ironworks. Those in the Ironworks knew each other and had worked alongside one another. Not only did Joseph H. Smith know those who mustered from Cedar City to Mountain Meadows, he had worked with them at the Ironworks as recently as the week before. Perhaps the answer is that the men of the Ironworks were on hand and available and Isaac Haight, who himself had worked closely with them, assigned them to muster to Mountain Meadows.

There was little work at the ironworks after the massacre. However, Smith was among a small group who continued working. Around the end of September, Smith spent two days tending the masons working on the cupola. Then he spent another two days in "Melting down [the] Furnace." This was to clean up the iron run that failed at the beginning of September. In the first part of October, Smith spent five and a half days with others in melting iron in the cupola. Persumably, this involved removing iron in the blast furance and melting it down in the smaller cupula.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private Joseph H. Smith, Company F, John Higbee's Battalion, Cedar City ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

By the time of the outbreak of the Utah War in September 1857, Smith, 38, was a private in Company F, First Platoon, lead by First Lieutenant [[William_C._Stewart|William C. Stewart]] and Sergeant [[John_Western|John Weston]]. [[Joseph_Clews|Joseph Clews]] and several others were also privates in the same platoon. Company F was lead by Captain [[William_Tait|William Tait]] and it was attached to [[John_M._Higbee|Major John M. Higbee's]] 3rd Battalion. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

Concerning the massacre, it seems probable that Smith marched from Cedar City to Mountain Meadows in one of several detachments sent there during the week of September 7-11, under the operational command of [[John_M._Higbee|Major John M. Higbee]]. Smith could have arrived as early as Tuesday the 8th or as late as Thursday the 10th.

At the war council on Thursday evening, September 10, many from the Cedar City detachment attended the council. However, [[John_D._Lee|John D. Lee]] did not list Smith among the participants.

On Friday, September 11, many members of the militia contingent from Cedar City acted as guards alongside the emigrant men as they left the wagon circle and marched, unknowingly, to the north toward their ill-fated destiny. As the massacre commenced, the duty of the guards was to wheel and fire on the emigrant men, quickly dispatching them. Yet during the actual massacre, reactions varied among the guards. Some shrank from their duty, others fired over the heads of their victims, while others still undertook their bloody duty with zeal. Within minutes, members of the Cedar City unit had killed all but three of the emigrant men. However, whether Joseph H. Smith was in this guard unit and if so, how he acted during the massacre will probably never be known with any certainty.

In spring 1859, Judge Cradlebaugh arrived to southern Utah to investigate the massacre at Mountain Meadows. Joseph H. Smith was among those listed in Judge Cradlebaugh's arrest warrant as were many other Cedar City militiamen who had been involved in the massacre. Smith was likewise listed among those complicit in the massacre in T.B.H. Stenhouse's ''Rocky Mountain Saints,'' published in 1873, which follows Judge Cradlebaugh's list. William Bishop listed "Joseph Smith of Cedar City" in his list of "assassins" appended to [[John_D._Lee|John D. Lee's]] ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' published posthumously in 1877. Lee, however, does not mention Smith in any of his statements.

[[Image:Iron_County.jpg|right|thumb|450px|<center>'''Map of Iron County, Utah.'''</center>]]
=== Aftermath in Cedar City ===

Because of the perceived threat posed by the advancing U.S. Army expeditionary force bound for Utah, Mormon leader Brigham Young order Isaac Haight to close the iron works. About a month after the massacre, Smith was among those melted down the furnace.

In January 1858, iron operations were restarted on a limited scale and in the coming months they slowly refurbished the furnace and steam engine. In June, they made another test run of the blast furnace but the results were again disappointing. During this trial, Smith worked as a furnace keeper. They made some later trial runs in September and October 1858, but again without success. By then, Brigham Young had determined to shut down the iron works and all related operations. In his letter directing its discontinuance, Young noted that the project had been fraught with frustrations and was exhausting the "patient," "vital energies" and "power" of the community. (Shirts, ''Trial Furnace,'' 396).

=== At the 1858 Proceeding Involving William H. Dame ===

Meanwhile, back in August 1858, [[William H. Dame|William H. Dame]] was brought up on charges before a church tribunal in Parowan and Smith was among those who attended the council. Considering those known to be in attendance, including [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac Haight]] and [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], it seems likely that the massacre was among the issues discussed during the three-day tribunal. In the end, Dame retained his church and militia positions, but the next year, Isaac C. Haight was released from his ecclesiastical, civic and militia positions and went into hiding to avoid being arrested by Judge John Cradlebaugh.

=== Marriage and Continued Life in Cedar City ===

Late in 1858, Smith married Mary Dutton (1823-1867). There were no children from this union. After the death of Mary in 1867, the following year Smith married a Swiss emigrant, Barbara Elizabethe Lattmann Elliker (1841-1919), who had four children from a prior marriage. Together they had five additional children, all of whom survived to adulthood.

It appears that after Smith arrived in Cedar City in the 1850s, he and his family remained there for the next three decades. In 1875, the city paid Smith for some of his land to convert it to streets. In 1878, he served for a time as a member of the town police force.

[[Image:San_Juan_County.jpg|right|thumb|450px|<center>'''Map of San Juan County, New Mexico.'''</center>]]

=== Final Years: Moving to New Mexico and Colorado ===

In the 1880s, he and his wives and children moved to San Juan County in the northwestern corner of New Mexico. Sometime between 1886 and 1888, Smith and his family moved upriver where they eventually settled in Mancos, Colorado. The Mancos Valley was drained by the Mancos River, a tributary on the upper San Juan River. He died there in 1890 at the age of 70, survived by two of his wives and many children and grandchildren.

= References =

Deseret Iron Company Account Book (accessed at footnote.com/image/#241903584); Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 380; Lee Trial transcripts; New.FamilySearch.org; Shirts and Shirts, ''A Trial Furnace,'' 391, 394, 496; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Appendix C; York, ed., ''Mayors of Cedar City and the Histories of Cedar City, Utah,'' 42, 45-46.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on Joseph H. Smith, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* Deseret Iron Company Account Book, 1854-1867: http://www.footnote.com/document/241905844/

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

John Mangum

2014-04-18T23:23:29Z

1857admin: /* Return to Kane County as Part of Jacob Hamblin's Kanab Mission */

'''John Mangum, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:Mangum, John.jpg|left|125px|Mangum, John.jpg]]

 

 

'''John Mangum'''

1817-1885

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Years: Westward From Alabama ===

John Mangum was born in Albemarle, Surry County, Virginia. His earliest American forebears were from Boydton, Mecklenburg County in south-central Virginia, close to the border with North Carolina. His parents moved from Mecklenburg County to Warren County in southwest Ohio before moving south to St. Clair County, Alabama where Mangum was born.

Around 1844, the Mangums had relocated to Mississippi where Mangum married Mary Ann Adair (1822-1892), a native of Pickens County, Alabama. She was part of the large Adair clan which had converted to Mormonism. Mangum and Mary Ann would eventually have twelve children and Mary Ann would serve as a nurse and midwife.

By the mid-1840s they had settled in Chickasaw County, Mississippi. In 1845, proselytizing Mormon missionaries converted them and they relocated to Nauvoo, Illinois where John and Mary Ann were baptized.

=== Departing Illinois and Crossing Iowa Territory ===

In 1845, intense conflict raged between Mormons and the original settlers of Hancock County. In 1846, the Mangums joined the Mormons departing western Illinois for Iowa Territory. They moved across the territory to settle in Pottawattamie County.

By 1851, they had moved forty miles north of Kanesville (Council Bluffs), Iowa to Lanesborough, a small settlement under the leadership of William W. Lane.

=== Migrating to Utah ===

In spring 1852, Lane organized a small company to travel the overland trail to Utah Territory. John Mangum, his wife, his mother and many of his siblings joined the William Lane Company to immigrate to Utah.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

In late June 1852, they crossed the Missouri River to start their overland journey. Almost immediately, an outbreak of cholera struck the company and soon they experienced several deaths. Cholera was endemic on the overland trail that travel season and among the dead were William Lane, the bishop and company captain, and his wife. This small company suffered another twelve deaths on the trail. One company member, young Davis Clark, left an exciting account of Indians driving off their livestock and their efforts to recover the stock, hunting for buffalo, being captured by the Arapahoe Indians, bartering whisky and brandy for his release, and increasing the night guard while crossing their hunting grounds. Presumably John Mangum was involved in some of these adventures. Without further undue trouble they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in September 1852.

Initially, they settled in Nephi, Juab County, where Mangum served as marshal. In 1853, Mangum entered polygamy by marrying Ellen Bardsley (1819-1864), an emigrant from Lancashire, England.

=== Joining the Southerners in Washington County and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many of the Mangums were part of a migration of southerners to Washington County. These southerners founded the Cotton Mission in what came to be known as Utah's Dixie. John Mangum and his brother [[James M. Mangum|James]] and their families were among the pioneers in Washington County and founders of the new settlement of Washington.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

The Mangums had familial connections with the large Adair clan who settled there. One of the community founders, [[Samuel Adair|Samuel Jefferson Adair]], had married a Mangum, John Mangum had married Mary Ann Adair, and other Adairs and Mangums would later intermarry. The Mangum brothers would have a life-long association with their cousin, [[George Washington Adair|George Washington Adair]], and others in the Adair clan.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private John Mangum, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion, Washington ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, John Mangum, 40, like his younger brother [[James M. Mangum|James Mangum]], was a private in the fourth Washington platoon in [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce’s]] Company I in [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee’s]] 4th Battalion. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

Mangum and his brother James was among the southerners recruited from Washington, probably on Sunday, September 6. On Monday, they joined with the recruits from Fort Clara on the Santa Clara and traveled toward Mountain Meadows. Late that night, they met their battalion commander, John D. Lee, some miles south of the Meadows and camped for the night. They moved up to Mountain Meadows the next day, arriving around mid-day.

According to [[John D. Lee|Lee]], one evening in the middle of the week, the Indians became restive and again attacked the beseiged Arkansas company. Lee, with the help of John Mangum and [[William A. Young|William Young]], tried to quiet the Indians. Lee credits [[Oscar Hamblin|Oscar Hamblin]] with aiding him in pacifying the Indians while further word was received from Isaac Haight in Cedar City.

[[Image:Mangum, John.jpg|right|210px|Mangum, John.jpg]]
The next day, Lee conversed with John Mangum before he (Lee) set out to reconnoiter the position and defenses of the emigrant train from a prominence at the far (western) side of the valley.

John Mangum's role in the massacre on Friday, September 11, is unknown. He was listed in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant and in Stenhouse's ''Rocky Mountain Saints,'' (which follows Judge Cradlebaugh's arrest warrant).

Two decades later, John D. Lee mentions the above episodes with John Mangum in Lee's autobiography, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' which was published after his execution. Lee's counsel also mentioned John Mangum in his list of participants at the end of Lee's book.

In ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Walker, Turley and Leonard question whether John D. Lee confused John Mangum with his brother James, whose presence at the siege and massacre is confirmed by multiple sources.

=== Family Life ===

The Mangums remained in Washington County for many years where he worked as a farmer and rancher. According to ''Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah,'' Mangum married Mary Ann Adair (1822-1892), the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Adair and Rebecca Brown Adair. He also married Mary Hamblin (~1853-1871), the adopted Indian daughter of Jacob Hamblin.

=== Move to Kane County ===

In the 1860s, Mangum was a founder of the settlements in Long Valley, Kane County. At the beginning of the Black Hawk War, Kanab and the other Long Valley settlements were abandoned and the Mangums and other families returned to Washington County.

=== Return to Kane County as Part of Jacob Hamblin's Kanab Mission ===
[[Image:Kane_County.jpg|right|thumb|500px|<center>'''Map of Kane County, Utah.'''</center>]]

A fort had been established at Kanab in the early 1860s but it had been abandoned during the Black Hawk War (1865-68). By 1869 the Black Hawk War had been settled, but the Mormon-Navajo War was still raging, with Navajo raiders crossing the Colorado River to appropriate Mormon livestock in southern Utah. Kanab was the closest settlement to where the Navajos crossed the Colorado River to enter Mormon lands. Because of Kanab's relatively close proximity to the river crossings on the Colorado River, Jacob Hamblin had his own reasons for liking the location: His expeditions to the Hopi would be much easier to mount from Kanab than from Santa Clara.

In mid-1869, Mormon leader Brigham Young instructed Hamblin to establish a "Kanab Mission," beginning with an Indian farm at Pipe Springs. This would serve as an early warning outpost to protect other southern Utah settlements. Immediately, Hamblin set out to establish an Indian farms at Pipe Springs. John Mangum accompanied Hamblin to Pipe Springs and planted the first crops of turnips and corn. John was also in the work crew sent from St. George to rebuild the old Kanab fort. After completing the work, he returned to Washington. However, John liked what he saw at Kanab. He convinced his wife, his brother James and their families to relocate to Kanab.

Hamblin immediately began using Kanab as the staging area for his expeditions across the Colorado to Hopiland. That fall, he mounted his eighth crossing of the Colorado to visit the Hopi. John Mangum assisted in the preparations for the journey but he remained at Kanab. After his return, Hamblin, John Mangum and others were assigned to guard the frontiers against Navajo raiders in the winter of 1869-70. They crossed the Kaibab Plateau several times and suffered many privations.

In 1870, John and his younger brother [[James M. Mangum|James]] and their respective families were living in the fort at Kanab. One early settler recalls that the early fort had two rooms on the west and two on the north. John and James Mangum and others occupied the rooms on the west while [[George Washington Adair|George Adair]], Jacob Hamblin and others were living in tents inside the east wall.

In January 1871, a outbreak of measles spread through Kanab resulting in two deaths among whom was a seventeen-year old Indian girl, Mary Hamblin, the adopted daughter of Jacob Hamblin and the wife of John Mangum. The other death was one of [[James M. Mangum|James Mangum's]] sons.

Sometime in the early 1870s, John Mangum and family were beginning to pioneer a new settlement, Pahreah, on the Paria River some miles east of Kanab.

=== With Jacob Hamblin on His Tenth Crossing of the Colorado River ===

In fall 1871, John Mangum was accompanying Jacob Hamblin on another of Hamblin's historic journeys across the Colorado River into northeastern Arizona. Also on this expedition were [[George Washington Adair|George Adair]], [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac Haight]], and others. Traveling south from Kanab, they arrived at the Colorado River and moved upstream to the Crossing of the Fathers where they left a man with provisions for the 1871 Powell expedition. After crossing they continued southeast to Hopi land. After visiting the Hopi Mesas they continued to Ft. Defiance. Hamblin's peace negotiations the previous years had yielded an uneasy truce in the Mormon-Navajo War of 1868-70. The specific purpose of this journey was to gain indemnity from the federal Indian agent for the hard bargains the Navajos had insisted on in their recent trades with Mormons at Kanab. They did not receive any indemnities but they did further cement the uneasy peace. On the return trip several Navajos accompanied them. On the Colorado at the mouth of the Paria River they encountered the second Colorado River expedition of [[John Wesley Powell|John Wesley Powell]]. After ferrying men and animals across, they spent the evening with the Powell party, dancing a “war dance” with the Navajos and singing Navajo “war songs” and Mormon hymns.

=== Providing Support to Powell Survey Team ===

Through this contact, John Mangum, [[George Washington Adair|George Adair]], and [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac Haight]] became acquainted with the Powell party and impressed them with their hardiness in that forbidding wilderness. Over time, they provided guide and freighting services and other logistical support to Powell's exploratory party. For instance, in November 1872, Jacob Hamblin instructed John Mangum and non-Mormon George Riley to resupply Frederick Dellenbaugh and the Powell survey team. They started from Kanab with supplies for the party but became lost on the Paria Plateau. Meanwhile, when it was noticed that the Mangum-Riley party were delayed, Hamblin then sent [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac Haight]] and [[William S. Riggs|William Riggs]] to restock the Powell team in Paria Canyon. Finally, Mangum was able to find the old Escalante trail and follow it down the face of the 2,000-foot cliffs into Paria Canyon to Dellenbaugh and the expedition. The following day the Haight-Riggs party arrived with additional supplies.

Nearly 60 years later, Dellenbaugh praised Powell's Mormon crews as "faithful, agreeable and competent" and recalled Mangum's risky route down the cliffs into Paria Canyon to resupply them. (Dellenbaugh letter to Rose Hicks Hamblin, August 25, 1934, cited in ''History of Kane County,'' 51, 52.)

In March 1872, John Mangum was called as a counselor to Bishop Allen Smithson in Pahreah, the small settlement east of Kanab on the Paria River. In April, Mangum accompanied [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] to Jacob's Pools, a key waterhole en route to Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River. They fenced the springs and commenced building the walls of a cabin to serve notice on passing miners of their prior claim to the springs.

In the fall of the same year, Jacob Hamblin took word to John D. Lee to go to Lonely Dell and operate the ferry there. Lee had a herd of cattle he intended to take and Hamblin instructed him to travel from Pahreah via the Paria River. Lee started down through Paria Canyon but had difficulty driving the cattle. John Mangum and Thomas Adair helped Lee in this historic effort and they successfully brought the cattle through to the mouth of the Paria on the Colorado. Later, Lee moved a portion of his family to Lonely Dell.

In the mid-1870s, when the United Order, a community-wide cooperative, was established in Kanab, John Mangum and his son Joseph were appointed the herders of the community herd.

=== Final Years: Move to Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|450px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

Later, like his brother [[James M. Mangum|James]], Mangum and his family were among those called to Arizona. They joined the stream of Mormon colonizers who pioneered a series of new settlements beginning on the lower Little Colorado River. Gradually they moved upriver in search of more hospitable surroundings.

By the 1880s, Mangum, his brother [[John Mangum|John]], and his brother-in-law, [[George Washington Adair|George W. Adair]], were in Nutrioso in the pine forests on the flank of the White Mountains in southern Apache County.

The usual hardships of pioneering in southern Utah -- building dams, constructing irrigation ditches, planting, harvesting, heat, drought, crop failure, and dam washouts -- all existed in the Mormon settlements in eastern Arizona, plus several additional hardships: the notorious Hashknife outfit of the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, marauding Apache Indians, the Pleasant Valley War, and the uncertainty of Mormon land titles and claims.

Mangum died in Alpine, Apache County, Arizona in May 1885. He was survived by his second wife and nine children. Their children later settled in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 29 fn. 11; Bradley, ''A History of Kane County,'' 52, 66-67, 69; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235; Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 280-87, 290-91, 315, 339-41, 343, 345-46, 347, 357, 562, fn. 95; Dellenbaugh, ''A Canyon Voyage,'' 155-57, 223; Esshom, ''Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah,'' 1022; Gregory, "Journal of Jones, 1871-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 16,17 (1948-1949), 106, 108, 112, 250; "Journal of ... Powell, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 16-17 (1948-1949), 358 fn. 78; Kelly, "Captain . . . Bishop’s Journal, 1870-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 15, 1-4 (1947), 232, 233; Larson, ed., ''Diary of Charles Lowell Walker,'' Vol. I, 295-97; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 229, 231, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; New.FamilySearch.org; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 74 fn. 21; Robinson, ed. ''History of Kane County,'' 6, 14, 18, 38, 44, 45, 52, 68, 223, 524; Woodbury, "A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 12/3-4 (Jul.-Oct. 1944), 179; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Appendix C, 261.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on John Mangum, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10357026
* http://myfamilysearch.net/getperson.php?personID=I3436&tree=2005217a

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact 1857_militia@roadrunner.com.

John Mangum

2014-04-18T23:21:58Z

1857admin: /* Family Life */

'''John Mangum, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:Mangum, John.jpg|left|125px|Mangum, John.jpg]]

 

 

'''John Mangum'''

1817-1885

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Years: Westward From Alabama ===

John Mangum was born in Albemarle, Surry County, Virginia. His earliest American forebears were from Boydton, Mecklenburg County in south-central Virginia, close to the border with North Carolina. His parents moved from Mecklenburg County to Warren County in southwest Ohio before moving south to St. Clair County, Alabama where Mangum was born.

Around 1844, the Mangums had relocated to Mississippi where Mangum married Mary Ann Adair (1822-1892), a native of Pickens County, Alabama. She was part of the large Adair clan which had converted to Mormonism. Mangum and Mary Ann would eventually have twelve children and Mary Ann would serve as a nurse and midwife.

By the mid-1840s they had settled in Chickasaw County, Mississippi. In 1845, proselytizing Mormon missionaries converted them and they relocated to Nauvoo, Illinois where John and Mary Ann were baptized.

=== Departing Illinois and Crossing Iowa Territory ===

In 1845, intense conflict raged between Mormons and the original settlers of Hancock County. In 1846, the Mangums joined the Mormons departing western Illinois for Iowa Territory. They moved across the territory to settle in Pottawattamie County.

By 1851, they had moved forty miles north of Kanesville (Council Bluffs), Iowa to Lanesborough, a small settlement under the leadership of William W. Lane.

=== Migrating to Utah ===

In spring 1852, Lane organized a small company to travel the overland trail to Utah Territory. John Mangum, his wife, his mother and many of his siblings joined the William Lane Company to immigrate to Utah.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

In late June 1852, they crossed the Missouri River to start their overland journey. Almost immediately, an outbreak of cholera struck the company and soon they experienced several deaths. Cholera was endemic on the overland trail that travel season and among the dead were William Lane, the bishop and company captain, and his wife. This small company suffered another twelve deaths on the trail. One company member, young Davis Clark, left an exciting account of Indians driving off their livestock and their efforts to recover the stock, hunting for buffalo, being captured by the Arapahoe Indians, bartering whisky and brandy for his release, and increasing the night guard while crossing their hunting grounds. Presumably John Mangum was involved in some of these adventures. Without further undue trouble they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in September 1852.

Initially, they settled in Nephi, Juab County, where Mangum served as marshal. In 1853, Mangum entered polygamy by marrying Ellen Bardsley (1819-1864), an emigrant from Lancashire, England.

=== Joining the Southerners in Washington County and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many of the Mangums were part of a migration of southerners to Washington County. These southerners founded the Cotton Mission in what came to be known as Utah's Dixie. John Mangum and his brother [[James M. Mangum|James]] and their families were among the pioneers in Washington County and founders of the new settlement of Washington.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

The Mangums had familial connections with the large Adair clan who settled there. One of the community founders, [[Samuel Adair|Samuel Jefferson Adair]], had married a Mangum, John Mangum had married Mary Ann Adair, and other Adairs and Mangums would later intermarry. The Mangum brothers would have a life-long association with their cousin, [[George Washington Adair|George Washington Adair]], and others in the Adair clan.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private John Mangum, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion, Washington ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, John Mangum, 40, like his younger brother [[James M. Mangum|James Mangum]], was a private in the fourth Washington platoon in [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce’s]] Company I in [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee’s]] 4th Battalion. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

Mangum and his brother James was among the southerners recruited from Washington, probably on Sunday, September 6. On Monday, they joined with the recruits from Fort Clara on the Santa Clara and traveled toward Mountain Meadows. Late that night, they met their battalion commander, John D. Lee, some miles south of the Meadows and camped for the night. They moved up to Mountain Meadows the next day, arriving around mid-day.

According to [[John D. Lee|Lee]], one evening in the middle of the week, the Indians became restive and again attacked the beseiged Arkansas company. Lee, with the help of John Mangum and [[William A. Young|William Young]], tried to quiet the Indians. Lee credits [[Oscar Hamblin|Oscar Hamblin]] with aiding him in pacifying the Indians while further word was received from Isaac Haight in Cedar City.

[[Image:Mangum, John.jpg|right|210px|Mangum, John.jpg]]
The next day, Lee conversed with John Mangum before he (Lee) set out to reconnoiter the position and defenses of the emigrant train from a prominence at the far (western) side of the valley.

John Mangum's role in the massacre on Friday, September 11, is unknown. He was listed in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant and in Stenhouse's ''Rocky Mountain Saints,'' (which follows Judge Cradlebaugh's arrest warrant).

Two decades later, John D. Lee mentions the above episodes with John Mangum in Lee's autobiography, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' which was published after his execution. Lee's counsel also mentioned John Mangum in his list of participants at the end of Lee's book.

In ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Walker, Turley and Leonard question whether John D. Lee confused John Mangum with his brother James, whose presence at the siege and massacre is confirmed by multiple sources.

=== Family Life ===

The Mangums remained in Washington County for many years where he worked as a farmer and rancher. According to ''Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah,'' Mangum married Mary Ann Adair (1822-1892), the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Adair and Rebecca Brown Adair. He also married Mary Hamblin (~1853-1871), the adopted Indian daughter of Jacob Hamblin.

=== Move to Kane County ===

In the 1860s, Mangum was a founder of the settlements in Long Valley, Kane County. At the beginning of the Black Hawk War, Kanab and the other Long Valley settlements were abandoned and the Mangums and other families returned to Washington County.

=== Return to Kane County as Part of Jacob Hamblin's Kanab Mission ===
[[Image:Kane_County.jpg|right|thumb|500px|<center>'''Map of Kane County, Utah.'''</center>]]

A fort had been established at Kanab in the early 1860s but it had been abandoned during the Black Hawk War (1865-68). By 1869 the Black Hawk War had been settled, but the Mormon-Navajo War was still raging, with Navajo raiders crossing the Colorado River to appropriate Mormon livestock in southern Utah. Kanab was the closest settlement to where the Navajos crossed the Colorado River to enter Mormon lands. Because of Kanab's relatively close proximity to the river crossings on the Colorado River, Jacob Hamblin had his own reasons for liking the location: His expeditions to the Hopi would be much easier to mount from Kanab than from Santa Clara.

In mid-1869, Mormon leader Brigham Young instructed Hamblin to establish a "Kanab Mission," beginning with an Indian farm at Pipe Springs. This would serve as an early warning outpost to protect other southern Utah settlements. Immediately, Hamblin set out to establish an Indian farms at Pipe Springs. John Mangum accompanied Hamblin to Pipe Springs and planted the first crops of turnips and corn. John was also in the work crew sent from St. George to rebuild the old Kanab fort. After completing the work, he returned to Washington. However, John liked what he saw at Kanab. He convinced his wife, his brother James and their families to relocate to Kanab.

Hamblin immediately began using Kanab as the staging area for his expeditions across the Colorado to Hopiland. That fall, he mounted his eighth crossing of the Colorado to visit the Hopi. John Mangum assisted in the preparations for the journey but he remained at Kanab. After his return, Hamblin, John Mangum and others were assigned to guard the frontiers against Navajo raiders in the winter of 1869-70. They crossed the Kaibab Plateau several times and suffered many privations.

In 1870, John and his younger brother [[James M. Mangum|James]] and their respective families were living in the fort at Kanab. One early settler recalls that the early fort had two rooms on the west and two on the north. John and James Mangum and others occupied the rooms on the west while [[George Washington Adair|George Adair]], Jacob Hamblin and others were living in tents inside the east wall.

In 1871, a outbreak of measles spread through Kanab resulting in two deaths among whom was a seventeen-year old Indian girl, the adopted daughter of Jacob Hamblin and the wife of John Mangum. The other death was one of [[James M. Mangum|James Mangum's]] sons.

Sometime in the early 1870s, John Mangum and family were beginning to pioneer a new settlement, Pahreah, on the Paria River some miles east of Kanab.

=== With Jacob Hamblin on His Tenth Crossing of the Colorado River ===

In fall 1871, John Mangum was accompanying Jacob Hamblin on another of Hamblin's historic journeys across the Colorado River into northeastern Arizona. Also on this expedition were [[George Washington Adair|George Adair]], [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac Haight]], and others. Traveling south from Kanab, they arrived at the Colorado River and moved upstream to the Crossing of the Fathers where they left a man with provisions for the 1871 Powell expedition. After crossing they continued southeast to Hopi land. After visiting the Hopi Mesas they continued to Ft. Defiance. Hamblin's peace negotiations the previous years had yielded an uneasy truce in the Mormon-Navajo War of 1868-70. The specific purpose of this journey was to gain indemnity from the federal Indian agent for the hard bargains the Navajos had insisted on in their recent trades with Mormons at Kanab. They did not receive any indemnities but they did further cement the uneasy peace. On the return trip several Navajos accompanied them. On the Colorado at the mouth of the Paria River they encountered the second Colorado River expedition of [[John Wesley Powell|John Wesley Powell]]. After ferrying men and animals across, they spent the evening with the Powell party, dancing a “war dance” with the Navajos and singing Navajo “war songs” and Mormon hymns.

=== Providing Support to Powell Survey Team ===

Through this contact, John Mangum, [[George Washington Adair|George Adair]], and [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac Haight]] became acquainted with the Powell party and impressed them with their hardiness in that forbidding wilderness. Over time, they provided guide and freighting services and other logistical support to Powell's exploratory party. For instance, in November 1872, Jacob Hamblin instructed John Mangum and non-Mormon George Riley to resupply Frederick Dellenbaugh and the Powell survey team. They started from Kanab with supplies for the party but became lost on the Paria Plateau. Meanwhile, when it was noticed that the Mangum-Riley party were delayed, Hamblin then sent [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac Haight]] and [[William S. Riggs|William Riggs]] to restock the Powell team in Paria Canyon. Finally, Mangum was able to find the old Escalante trail and follow it down the face of the 2,000-foot cliffs into Paria Canyon to Dellenbaugh and the expedition. The following day the Haight-Riggs party arrived with additional supplies.

Nearly 60 years later, Dellenbaugh praised Powell's Mormon crews as "faithful, agreeable and competent" and recalled Mangum's risky route down the cliffs into Paria Canyon to resupply them. (Dellenbaugh letter to Rose Hicks Hamblin, August 25, 1934, cited in ''History of Kane County,'' 51, 52.)

In March 1872, John Mangum was called as a counselor to Bishop Allen Smithson in Pahreah, the small settlement east of Kanab on the Paria River. In April, Mangum accompanied [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] to Jacob's Pools, a key waterhole en route to Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River. They fenced the springs and commenced building the walls of a cabin to serve notice on passing miners of their prior claim to the springs.

In the fall of the same year, Jacob Hamblin took word to John D. Lee to go to Lonely Dell and operate the ferry there. Lee had a herd of cattle he intended to take and Hamblin instructed him to travel from Pahreah via the Paria River. Lee started down through Paria Canyon but had difficulty driving the cattle. John Mangum and Thomas Adair helped Lee in this historic effort and they successfully brought the cattle through to the mouth of the Paria on the Colorado. Later, Lee moved a portion of his family to Lonely Dell.

In the mid-1870s, when the United Order, a community-wide cooperative, was established in Kanab, John Mangum and his son Joseph were appointed the herders of the community herd.

=== Final Years: Move to Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|450px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

Later, like his brother [[James M. Mangum|James]], Mangum and his family were among those called to Arizona. They joined the stream of Mormon colonizers who pioneered a series of new settlements beginning on the lower Little Colorado River. Gradually they moved upriver in search of more hospitable surroundings.

By the 1880s, Mangum, his brother [[John Mangum|John]], and his brother-in-law, [[George Washington Adair|George W. Adair]], were in Nutrioso in the pine forests on the flank of the White Mountains in southern Apache County.

The usual hardships of pioneering in southern Utah -- building dams, constructing irrigation ditches, planting, harvesting, heat, drought, crop failure, and dam washouts -- all existed in the Mormon settlements in eastern Arizona, plus several additional hardships: the notorious Hashknife outfit of the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, marauding Apache Indians, the Pleasant Valley War, and the uncertainty of Mormon land titles and claims.

Mangum died in Alpine, Apache County, Arizona in May 1885. He was survived by his second wife and nine children. Their children later settled in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 29 fn. 11; Bradley, ''A History of Kane County,'' 52, 66-67, 69; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235; Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 280-87, 290-91, 315, 339-41, 343, 345-46, 347, 357, 562, fn. 95; Dellenbaugh, ''A Canyon Voyage,'' 155-57, 223; Esshom, ''Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah,'' 1022; Gregory, "Journal of Jones, 1871-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 16,17 (1948-1949), 106, 108, 112, 250; "Journal of ... Powell, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 16-17 (1948-1949), 358 fn. 78; Kelly, "Captain . . . Bishop’s Journal, 1870-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 15, 1-4 (1947), 232, 233; Larson, ed., ''Diary of Charles Lowell Walker,'' Vol. I, 295-97; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 229, 231, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; New.FamilySearch.org; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 74 fn. 21; Robinson, ed. ''History of Kane County,'' 6, 14, 18, 38, 44, 45, 52, 68, 223, 524; Woodbury, "A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 12/3-4 (Jul.-Oct. 1944), 179; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Appendix C, 261.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on John Mangum, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10357026
* http://myfamilysearch.net/getperson.php?personID=I3436&tree=2005217a

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact 1857_militia@roadrunner.com.

John Mangum

2014-04-18T23:17:09Z

1857admin: /* External Links */

'''John Mangum, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:Mangum, John.jpg|left|125px|Mangum, John.jpg]]

 

 

'''John Mangum'''

1817-1885

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Years: Westward From Alabama ===

John Mangum was born in Albemarle, Surry County, Virginia. His earliest American forebears were from Boydton, Mecklenburg County in south-central Virginia, close to the border with North Carolina. His parents moved from Mecklenburg County to Warren County in southwest Ohio before moving south to St. Clair County, Alabama where Mangum was born.

Around 1844, the Mangums had relocated to Mississippi where Mangum married Mary Ann Adair (1822-1892), a native of Pickens County, Alabama. She was part of the large Adair clan which had converted to Mormonism. Mangum and Mary Ann would eventually have twelve children and Mary Ann would serve as a nurse and midwife.

By the mid-1840s they had settled in Chickasaw County, Mississippi. In 1845, proselytizing Mormon missionaries converted them and they relocated to Nauvoo, Illinois where John and Mary Ann were baptized.

=== Departing Illinois and Crossing Iowa Territory ===

In 1845, intense conflict raged between Mormons and the original settlers of Hancock County. In 1846, the Mangums joined the Mormons departing western Illinois for Iowa Territory. They moved across the territory to settle in Pottawattamie County.

By 1851, they had moved forty miles north of Kanesville (Council Bluffs), Iowa to Lanesborough, a small settlement under the leadership of William W. Lane.

=== Migrating to Utah ===

In spring 1852, Lane organized a small company to travel the overland trail to Utah Territory. John Mangum, his wife, his mother and many of his siblings joined the William Lane Company to immigrate to Utah.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

In late June 1852, they crossed the Missouri River to start their overland journey. Almost immediately, an outbreak of cholera struck the company and soon they experienced several deaths. Cholera was endemic on the overland trail that travel season and among the dead were William Lane, the bishop and company captain, and his wife. This small company suffered another twelve deaths on the trail. One company member, young Davis Clark, left an exciting account of Indians driving off their livestock and their efforts to recover the stock, hunting for buffalo, being captured by the Arapahoe Indians, bartering whisky and brandy for his release, and increasing the night guard while crossing their hunting grounds. Presumably John Mangum was involved in some of these adventures. Without further undue trouble they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in September 1852.

Initially, they settled in Nephi, Juab County, where Mangum served as marshal. In 1853, Mangum entered polygamy by marrying Ellen Bardsley (1819-1864), an emigrant from Lancashire, England.

=== Joining the Southerners in Washington County and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many of the Mangums were part of a migration of southerners to Washington County. These southerners founded the Cotton Mission in what came to be known as Utah's Dixie. John Mangum and his brother [[James M. Mangum|James]] and their families were among the pioneers in Washington County and founders of the new settlement of Washington.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

The Mangums had familial connections with the large Adair clan who settled there. One of the community founders, [[Samuel Adair|Samuel Jefferson Adair]], had married a Mangum, John Mangum had married Mary Ann Adair, and other Adairs and Mangums would later intermarry. The Mangum brothers would have a life-long association with their cousin, [[George Washington Adair|George Washington Adair]], and others in the Adair clan.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private John Mangum, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion, Washington ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, John Mangum, 40, like his younger brother [[James M. Mangum|James Mangum]], was a private in the fourth Washington platoon in [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce’s]] Company I in [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee’s]] 4th Battalion. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

Mangum and his brother James was among the southerners recruited from Washington, probably on Sunday, September 6. On Monday, they joined with the recruits from Fort Clara on the Santa Clara and traveled toward Mountain Meadows. Late that night, they met their battalion commander, John D. Lee, some miles south of the Meadows and camped for the night. They moved up to Mountain Meadows the next day, arriving around mid-day.

According to [[John D. Lee|Lee]], one evening in the middle of the week, the Indians became restive and again attacked the beseiged Arkansas company. Lee, with the help of John Mangum and [[William A. Young|William Young]], tried to quiet the Indians. Lee credits [[Oscar Hamblin|Oscar Hamblin]] with aiding him in pacifying the Indians while further word was received from Isaac Haight in Cedar City.

[[Image:Mangum, John.jpg|right|210px|Mangum, John.jpg]]
The next day, Lee conversed with John Mangum before he (Lee) set out to reconnoiter the position and defenses of the emigrant train from a prominence at the far (western) side of the valley.

John Mangum's role in the massacre on Friday, September 11, is unknown. He was listed in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant and in Stenhouse's ''Rocky Mountain Saints,'' (which follows Judge Cradlebaugh's arrest warrant).

Two decades later, John D. Lee mentions the above episodes with John Mangum in Lee's autobiography, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' which was published after his execution. Lee's counsel also mentioned John Mangum in his list of participants at the end of Lee's book.

In ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Walker, Turley and Leonard question whether John D. Lee confused John Mangum with his brother James, whose presence at the siege and massacre is confirmed by multiple sources.

=== Family Life ===

The Mangums remained in Washington County for many years where he worked as a farmer and rancher. According to ''Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah,'' Mangum married Mary Ann Adair (1822-1892), the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Adair and Rebecca Brown Adair. He also married Mary Hamblin, the daughter of Jacob and Priscilla Hamblin.

=== Move to Kane County ===

In the 1860s, Mangum was a founder of the settlements in Long Valley, Kane County. At the beginning of the Black Hawk War, Kanab and the other Long Valley settlements were abandoned and the Mangums and other families returned to Washington County.

=== Return to Kane County as Part of Jacob Hamblin's Kanab Mission ===
[[Image:Kane_County.jpg|right|thumb|500px|<center>'''Map of Kane County, Utah.'''</center>]]

A fort had been established at Kanab in the early 1860s but it had been abandoned during the Black Hawk War (1865-68). By 1869 the Black Hawk War had been settled, but the Mormon-Navajo War was still raging, with Navajo raiders crossing the Colorado River to appropriate Mormon livestock in southern Utah. Kanab was the closest settlement to where the Navajos crossed the Colorado River to enter Mormon lands. Because of Kanab's relatively close proximity to the river crossings on the Colorado River, Jacob Hamblin had his own reasons for liking the location: His expeditions to the Hopi would be much easier to mount from Kanab than from Santa Clara.

In mid-1869, Mormon leader Brigham Young instructed Hamblin to establish a "Kanab Mission," beginning with an Indian farm at Pipe Springs. This would serve as an early warning outpost to protect other southern Utah settlements. Immediately, Hamblin set out to establish an Indian farms at Pipe Springs. John Mangum accompanied Hamblin to Pipe Springs and planted the first crops of turnips and corn. John was also in the work crew sent from St. George to rebuild the old Kanab fort. After completing the work, he returned to Washington. However, John liked what he saw at Kanab. He convinced his wife, his brother James and their families to relocate to Kanab.

Hamblin immediately began using Kanab as the staging area for his expeditions across the Colorado to Hopiland. That fall, he mounted his eighth crossing of the Colorado to visit the Hopi. John Mangum assisted in the preparations for the journey but he remained at Kanab. After his return, Hamblin, John Mangum and others were assigned to guard the frontiers against Navajo raiders in the winter of 1869-70. They crossed the Kaibab Plateau several times and suffered many privations.

In 1870, John and his younger brother [[James M. Mangum|James]] and their respective families were living in the fort at Kanab. One early settler recalls that the early fort had two rooms on the west and two on the north. John and James Mangum and others occupied the rooms on the west while [[George Washington Adair|George Adair]], Jacob Hamblin and others were living in tents inside the east wall.

In 1871, a outbreak of measles spread through Kanab resulting in two deaths among whom was a seventeen-year old Indian girl, the adopted daughter of Jacob Hamblin and the wife of John Mangum. The other death was one of [[James M. Mangum|James Mangum's]] sons.

Sometime in the early 1870s, John Mangum and family were beginning to pioneer a new settlement, Pahreah, on the Paria River some miles east of Kanab.

=== With Jacob Hamblin on His Tenth Crossing of the Colorado River ===

In fall 1871, John Mangum was accompanying Jacob Hamblin on another of Hamblin's historic journeys across the Colorado River into northeastern Arizona. Also on this expedition were [[George Washington Adair|George Adair]], [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac Haight]], and others. Traveling south from Kanab, they arrived at the Colorado River and moved upstream to the Crossing of the Fathers where they left a man with provisions for the 1871 Powell expedition. After crossing they continued southeast to Hopi land. After visiting the Hopi Mesas they continued to Ft. Defiance. Hamblin's peace negotiations the previous years had yielded an uneasy truce in the Mormon-Navajo War of 1868-70. The specific purpose of this journey was to gain indemnity from the federal Indian agent for the hard bargains the Navajos had insisted on in their recent trades with Mormons at Kanab. They did not receive any indemnities but they did further cement the uneasy peace. On the return trip several Navajos accompanied them. On the Colorado at the mouth of the Paria River they encountered the second Colorado River expedition of [[John Wesley Powell|John Wesley Powell]]. After ferrying men and animals across, they spent the evening with the Powell party, dancing a “war dance” with the Navajos and singing Navajo “war songs” and Mormon hymns.

=== Providing Support to Powell Survey Team ===

Through this contact, John Mangum, [[George Washington Adair|George Adair]], and [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac Haight]] became acquainted with the Powell party and impressed them with their hardiness in that forbidding wilderness. Over time, they provided guide and freighting services and other logistical support to Powell's exploratory party. For instance, in November 1872, Jacob Hamblin instructed John Mangum and non-Mormon George Riley to resupply Frederick Dellenbaugh and the Powell survey team. They started from Kanab with supplies for the party but became lost on the Paria Plateau. Meanwhile, when it was noticed that the Mangum-Riley party were delayed, Hamblin then sent [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac Haight]] and [[William S. Riggs|William Riggs]] to restock the Powell team in Paria Canyon. Finally, Mangum was able to find the old Escalante trail and follow it down the face of the 2,000-foot cliffs into Paria Canyon to Dellenbaugh and the expedition. The following day the Haight-Riggs party arrived with additional supplies.

Nearly 60 years later, Dellenbaugh praised Powell's Mormon crews as "faithful, agreeable and competent" and recalled Mangum's risky route down the cliffs into Paria Canyon to resupply them. (Dellenbaugh letter to Rose Hicks Hamblin, August 25, 1934, cited in ''History of Kane County,'' 51, 52.)

In March 1872, John Mangum was called as a counselor to Bishop Allen Smithson in Pahreah, the small settlement east of Kanab on the Paria River. In April, Mangum accompanied [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] to Jacob's Pools, a key waterhole en route to Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River. They fenced the springs and commenced building the walls of a cabin to serve notice on passing miners of their prior claim to the springs.

In the fall of the same year, Jacob Hamblin took word to John D. Lee to go to Lonely Dell and operate the ferry there. Lee had a herd of cattle he intended to take and Hamblin instructed him to travel from Pahreah via the Paria River. Lee started down through Paria Canyon but had difficulty driving the cattle. John Mangum and Thomas Adair helped Lee in this historic effort and they successfully brought the cattle through to the mouth of the Paria on the Colorado. Later, Lee moved a portion of his family to Lonely Dell.

In the mid-1870s, when the United Order, a community-wide cooperative, was established in Kanab, John Mangum and his son Joseph were appointed the herders of the community herd.

=== Final Years: Move to Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|450px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

Later, like his brother [[James M. Mangum|James]], Mangum and his family were among those called to Arizona. They joined the stream of Mormon colonizers who pioneered a series of new settlements beginning on the lower Little Colorado River. Gradually they moved upriver in search of more hospitable surroundings.

By the 1880s, Mangum, his brother [[John Mangum|John]], and his brother-in-law, [[George Washington Adair|George W. Adair]], were in Nutrioso in the pine forests on the flank of the White Mountains in southern Apache County.

The usual hardships of pioneering in southern Utah -- building dams, constructing irrigation ditches, planting, harvesting, heat, drought, crop failure, and dam washouts -- all existed in the Mormon settlements in eastern Arizona, plus several additional hardships: the notorious Hashknife outfit of the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, marauding Apache Indians, the Pleasant Valley War, and the uncertainty of Mormon land titles and claims.

Mangum died in Alpine, Apache County, Arizona in May 1885. He was survived by his second wife and nine children. Their children later settled in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 29 fn. 11; Bradley, ''A History of Kane County,'' 52, 66-67, 69; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235; Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 280-87, 290-91, 315, 339-41, 343, 345-46, 347, 357, 562, fn. 95; Dellenbaugh, ''A Canyon Voyage,'' 155-57, 223; Esshom, ''Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah,'' 1022; Gregory, "Journal of Jones, 1871-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 16,17 (1948-1949), 106, 108, 112, 250; "Journal of ... Powell, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 16-17 (1948-1949), 358 fn. 78; Kelly, "Captain . . . Bishop’s Journal, 1870-1872," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 15, 1-4 (1947), 232, 233; Larson, ed., ''Diary of Charles Lowell Walker,'' Vol. I, 295-97; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 229, 231, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; New.FamilySearch.org; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 74 fn. 21; Robinson, ed. ''History of Kane County,'' 6, 14, 18, 38, 44, 45, 52, 68, 223, 524; Woodbury, "A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 12/3-4 (Jul.-Oct. 1944), 179; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Appendix C, 261.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on John Mangum, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10357026
* http://myfamilysearch.net/getperson.php?personID=I3436&tree=2005217a

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact 1857_militia@roadrunner.com.

James Pearce

2014-03-27T02:21:04Z

1857admin: /* Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days" rain of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in Mar 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado with Hatch in his party. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, Hatch, Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent Nephi Johnson, Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In the previous year of 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified[[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assignation to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud lasted from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, the Pearces moved to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

James Pearce

2014-03-27T02:17:17Z

1857admin: /* Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona */

'''James Pearce, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. '''

'''[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|left|125px|James Pearce 4.jpg]]'''

 

 

'''James Pearce'''

'''1839-1922'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Pearce (1839-1922) was born in Itawamba County, Mississippi, the son of [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] and Henrietta Cremeans. For two generations his Scots-Irish forebears had followed a westerly migration arc from coastal South Carolina to the hill country of north-central Georgia to west-central Alabama, then to northeastern Mississippi where Pearce was born.

Late in 1845, Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Mississippi converted Pearce's parents to the new faith. Early the following year the Pearces disposed of the holdings, pulled up stakes and set out for the main place of Mormon gathering in western Illinois. They arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois in late March to find that the Mormons were evacuating western Illinois because of escalating conflicts with old-time settlers in the surrounding area. After remaining in Nauvoo only briefly, the Pearces crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa Territory. From 1846 to 1849 the Pearces lived in several small settlements along the Des Moines and Fox rivers. By late 1849 they had moved to Mt. Pisgah in west central Iowa and spent the next three years there.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

By summer 1852, the Pearces had accumulated enough means to purchase and equip an outfit for the trek west. They joined the James C. Snow wagon train of 250 persons in 55 wagons, which departed in early July from Kanesville (present Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Their family consisted of Harrison, 34, Henrietta, 37, John David Lafayette, 15, James, 13, Amelia, 11, Nancy, 9, Thomas Jefferson, 7, Harrison, Jr., 3, and Henrietta, less than one month. Pearce's younger sister Nancy succumbed after less than three weeks and they buried her along the trail. In early October they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.

Soon they had moved south to settle in Payson at the southern end of Utah Valley. After their arrival the security of Payson and other Mormon settlements in Utah Valley was shattered in mid-1853 with the outbreak of the so-called Walker War. Chief Walkara led the Utes in raids against Mormon settlements in central Utah, especially in Utah Valley where Mormons had occupied traditional Ute lands around Utah Lake. This was a time of "forting up," militia musters, and skirmishes throughout Utah Valley. The fort at Payson was enlarged and its picket fence enclosure was replaced with a tall, thick adobe wall. Pearce's older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.) Pearce, was in the militia and involved in some skirmishes, but it is not known whether James, then in his early teens, played any role in these war preparations.

The Walker War concluded in 1854 with a peace treaty, resulting in some return to normalcy in Utah Valley. However, in 1855 widespread drought and insect infestations decimated crops making foodstuffs very scarce throughout the Territory.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many southerners throughout the territory were recruited to devote their energies to founding the Cotton Mission in southern Utah. The leaders of the new mission were Samuel J. Adair and Robert D. Covington. In March 1857, Adair led a group to settle near Adair Spring in what is now Washington City. Soon the Pearces joined a group led by Robert Covington which arrived at Adair Springs in early May. They set about founding a colony and establishing cotton culture in Utah's "Dixie." Initially, they lived in their wagon boxes, dugouts, or other crude structures.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Pearce, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, eighteen-year-old James Pearce was a private in one of the platoons in his father's company, Company I. Company I was attached to the 4th Battalion under [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]]. [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]], his father, and others from Washington were recruited, probably on Sunday the 6th, to join an ad hoc detachment from the southern settlements of Washington and Fort Clara to muster to Mountain Meadows. James Pearce joined his father in the detachment that also included [[William A. Young|William Young]], [[William R. Slade|William Slade]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]] and others. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.
[[Image:James Pearce 3.jpg|right|175px|James Pearce 3.jpg]]

While en route to Mountain Meadows on Monday, September 7, they discussed the rumors that the emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California to drive the Mormons and take their means. On the eve of the massacre, Pearce overheard the quarreling among the leaders, some favored killing and others opposed. He observed that the Indians appeared angry because of their killed and wounded.

On the day of the massacre, Pearce remained in the militia encampment due to illness, from where he heard the volley of guns during the massacre. There is folklore that [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] became angry at his son, evidently for lacking fighting spirit, and fired at him, grazing his face. This cannot be corroborated.

Pearce is not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.

=== Settling Near the Future Site of St. George ===

Around 1859, James Pearce and others moved downstream on the Virgin River to its confluence with the Santa Clara Creek where they founded Tonaquint and Pearce acted as president of the branch there. When St. George was founded In 1861, Tonaquint became part of St. George. However, they were forced to abandon Tonaquint in early 1862 when unusually heavy flooding during the "Forty Days" rain of that year caused severe damage.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]
Meanwhile, Pearce had joined several of the winter expeditions of [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] in Hamblin's continuing explorations of the Hopi and Navajo in northeastern Arizona. These were the first Mormon explorations in Arizona.

In late 1859, Jacob Hamblin set out on his second crossing of the Colorado River to the Hopi mesas. Accompanying him were James Pearce, Thales Haskell, Marion Sheldon, and others. From Washington they journeyed to Pipe Springs, passed over the Kaibab Plateau, descended to House Rock Valley, passed beneath the Vermillion Cliffs where they found “Jacob’s Springs.” Finally, they arrived at the mouth of Paria River on the Colorado, Continuing generally eastward they came to the Crossing of the Fathers. Making the river crossing there, they continued through Navajo Canyon, by Flat Rock until they reached Quichintoweep near the Moenkopi Wash.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa.'''</center>]]
Finally they arrived at Oraibi on First Mesa of Hopiland. From there they made side trips to the villages on Second and First mesas. They departed to return to Utah, leaving Thales Haskell and Marion Sheldon among the Hopi. On their returned they were visited by the Navajo Spaneshanks and Ute Arapeen. They befriended Tuvi (Tuuvi, Tuba, real name Qotswayma or Woo Pah) and his wife Talasnimki. During their stay, Haskell and Sheldon visited Moenkopi where they noted that water was plentiful. They departed in Mar 1860 and return without undue incident to Fort Clara.

In fall 1860, Hamblin made his third crossing of the Colorado with Hatch in his party. Pearce, [[Amos Thornton|Amos Thornton, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and others accompanied Hamblin. George Smith, Jr., the son of Mormon leader George A. Smith was along on the journey. They hauled a boat in a wagon as far as the Vermillion Cliffs but failed to find a passable route to the river. Leaving the wagon and boat to use on another occasion, they proceeded to the river’s edge where they made a raft and crossed to the other side. Unfortunately, they were unable to ford their animals so they continued on to the Ute Ford. Crossing to the south of the river, they journeyed to Quichintoweep near Moenkopi Wash, There hostile Navajos fatally wounded George Smith Jr. and he died within hours. The party was forced to abandon his body and retreat without reaching the Hopi Mesas. After crossing the Colorado they returned to southern Utah.

[[Image:Pearce's Ferry.jpg|thumb|right|435px|<center>'''Pearce's Ferry near Grand Wash on the Colorado River. In the 1862 expedition, they crossed the Colorado at Grand Wash. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father, Harrison Pearce, in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.'''</center>]]

In November 1862, James Pearce, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[William C. Stewart|William Stewart]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and others accompanied Jacob Hamblin on his fifth crossing of the Colorado, the historic journey in which they circled the Grand Canyon. Heading south from St. George, they brought a boat in a wagon but could not find a passable route to reach the Colorado River. Abandoning the boat they built a raft instead and crossed the river at Grand Wash below the Grand Canyon. En route to the Hopi Mesas they visited the Hualapais and then discovered the magical canyon world of the Havasupais in Havasu Canyon. They passed the San Francisco Peaks, crossed the Little Colorado River and later arrived at the Hopi Mesas. There they joined in the ceremonials at Old Oraibi. When the explorers departed, Hatch, Thales Haskell, and Jehiel McConnell were selected to stay at the Mesas to become better acquainted with Hopi ways. Meanwhile, Hamblin, running low on food, sent Nephi Johnson, Steele, Fuller Andrus and Hancock ahead to find Indians with whom they can trade for provisions. They returned to Utah with four Hopis via the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). In this historic circling of the Grand Canyon they had made a new crossing of the Colorado River at Grand Wash south of St. George and returned via their previous route at the Ute Ford (Crossing of the Fathers). Years later, Pearce would return to Grand Wash on the Colorado to build a ferry boat.

The Pearces lived in the St. George area from the early 1860s to the late-1870s. During this time, Pearce and several others acted as road contractors to improve the stretch of road from Washington to the California Road west of St. George. A "James H. Pearce" is credited with bringing 300 Shevwit Indians from the Arizona Strip to St. George where David H. Cannon performed the rite of baptism. This episode is variously dated to 1862 or the mid-1870s.

=== The Black Hawk War (1865-68) and the Mormon-Navajo War (1868-1870) ===

During the Black Hawk War of the mid-1860s, James Pearce and his older brother, John David Lafayette (J. D. L.), and father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] were among those involved in policing and punitive actions against marauding Indians. In fact, J. D. L. Pearce was a colonel in the militia and gained a reputation as a notable Indian fighter during the Black Hawk War. The war extended from 1865 to 1868 in most parts of Utah, but Navajo depredations in southern Utah continued until a separate peace treaty was reached in 1870.

In 1867, twenty-eight-year-old Pearce married fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Meeks (1851-1941). She was born in Pottawattomie County, Iowa, as her parents immigrated to Utah. Several preceding generations of her forebears lived in Appalachia. Over the course of their marriage, she bore Pearce eleven children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

=== Among the First Colonizers at Moenkopi, Arizona ===

In 1874, Pearce was among the Indian interpreters colonizing a new outpost at Moencopi, Arizona, south of the Colorado River. However, the threat of a Navajo uprising caused them to abandon temporarily the outpost and return to safety north of the river.

=== Witness in the First Trial of John D. Lee in 1875 ===
[[Image:James Pearce 4.jpg|right|230px|James Pearce 4.jpg]][[Image:Lee_at_trial.jpg|thumb|left|155px|<center>'''John D. Lee at trial.'''</center>]]

In the previous year of 1875 during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Pearce was among several dozen witnesses who testified. Pearce described being a lad of eighteen who joined a detachment bound for Mountain Meadows.

Contrary to the assertion that militia witnesses never identified other militiamen, Pearce identified[[William A. Young|William Young]], [[John W. Clark|John W. Clark]], and [[William R. Slade|William Slade]]. He recounted how they discussed the rumors that had originated in Cedar City that the Arkansas emigrants had "killed Joe Smith" and would bring soldiers from California who would drive the Mormons from their homes.

Pearce was not in the Thursday evening council meeting at the Meadows but he heard the bickering among the militia leaders as they sought consensus on a plan of action. He also described being ill on the morning of September 11, 1857, of remaining in camp where he heard the barrage of gunfire as the killing began. Like several others who testified in the Lee trials, James Pearce's trial testimony contains his only extant statements about the massacre.

 

=== Helping Establish the River Crossing at Pearce's Ferry ===

In the mid-1870s as Mormons sought to establish a wagon road into Arizona, there was renewed interest in the Grand Wash crossing south of St. George. In 1876-77, James Pearce assisted his father [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce]] in building and operating a ferry boat at the Grand Wash. This is still known as Pearce's Ferry.

=== Pioneering on the Little Colorado River in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

In 1876, Mormon colonization in Arizona began in earnest. In 1877, Pearce accepted the assignation to relocate to the new Mormon colonies in Arizona along the Little Colorado River watershed. By the end of the year, Pearce was en route to the new colonies, making the Colorado River crossing at Lee's Ferry in Marble Canyon as he had several times before. They moved successively upstream on the Little Colorado from Sunset to Woodruff but neither of these seemed satisfactory. By January, 1878, Pearce had arrived at Stinson Ranch on Silver Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River at the southern extreme of Navajo County. James Stinson offered to sell Pearce his holdings but Pearce declined. He moved farther upstream and encamped at the future site of Taylor. He became the first Mormon settler on Silver Creek. He and fellow pioneer, John Standifird, obtained land in the Taylor-Shumway area. Later, the Mormons established a string of settlements up this tributary of the Little Colorado. Beginning with Snowflake and moving upstream, they established Taylor, Shumway and finally Show Low, as well as smaller settlements along the way. Pearce lived for a while in Shumway where he served as postmaster before moving south to Snowflake where they remained for a time.

In the late 1880s, Pearce and other Mormon settlers came into conflict with the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which claimed a monopoly on thousands of acres of eastern Arizona rangeland. Its cowboys were known as the Hashknife outfit. John Payne, a rough cowboy or notorious outlaw depending on your point of view, threatened Pearce at gun point to abandon his ranch while he threatened and whipped fellow Mormon, Neils Petersen. This was in the midst of the Pleasant Valley War, also known as the Tonto Basin War, which was an extended feud between the Grahams, cattle ranchers, and the Tewksburys, sheepherders. The feud last from the early 1880s to around 1892 with the most violence concentrated in 1886-87. Pearce and Petersen approached local Mormon leader, Jessie N. Smith, to inquire "if it would be right to kill him [Payne]." Smith, however, urged restraint. It wasn't long before Payne and several of his associates died in a skirmish in the Pleasant Valley War. When the war finally ended it had decimated the Graham and Tewksbury families as very few of the men were left alive. Eventually, the conflict between Mormons and the Aztec company shifted more in favor of the Mormons when the local land agent resisted the tactics of the company. However, Pearce and other Mormons would remain embroiled in securing legal recognition of their land claims in Arizona for decades to come.

[[Image:James Pearce & family.jpg|thumb|center|600px|<center>'''The family of James and Mary Jane Meeks Pearce, c. 1890s, while living in settlements along Silver Creek in eastern Arizona.'''</center>]]

[[Image:James Pearce 5.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''<center>James Pearce in early 20th century.'''</center>]]
The Pearces resided at different times in the new settlements of Taylor, Shumway and Snowflake. While pioneering in Arizona, Pearce was a cattleman, sheepman, farmer, orchardist, storekeeper and hotelier. In addition to all her other household skills Pearce's wife, Mary Jane, was an expert weaver.

At the turn of the twentieth century, crime and violence from well-organized outlaws was so widespread that individual counties could not effectively contain them. Cattle rustling was rampant and desperados controlled the more remote regions of the territory. In 1901, the territorial legislature empowered the governor to create the Arizona Rangers. Joseph H. Pearce and Duane Hamblin, the sons of James Pearce and Jacob Hamblin, respectively, became members of this select group. Years later, Joe Pearce was one of a few surviving Rangers. His exploits and those of his fellow Rangers served as the basis of the film, "Twenty-six Men."

Meanwhile in Snowflake, five of James and Mary Jane Pearce's grandchildren died of diptheria. Around the turn of the century, they decided to move to the San Juan Valley in New Mexico Territory where they settled in Jewett. By 1909 Pearce was seventy years old. They decided to sell their interests in the San Juan Valley and return to Taylor in eastern Arizona. There James Pearce remained for the remainder of his life.

[[Image:Pearce, James 2.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center>'''James Pearce in old age.'''</center>]]
In 1922, Pearce died at the age of eight-two and was buried in Taylor. There were only a handful of the Iron County militiamen at Mountain Meadows who outlived James Pearce.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 25-27, 28-29, 41-49, 50 fn 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 120, 128, 205, 292, 326; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 235 (Harrison Pearce); Clayton, ''Pioneer Women of Arizona,'' 463-65 (Mary Jane Pearce); Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 157, 161-62, 173-75, 208, 226 (photo of Pearce's Ferry), 435-36; Fielding, ed., ''The Tribune Reports of the Trial of John D. Lee,'' 125; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 863 (Taylor Ward), 878 (Tonaquint); Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 24, 516; Larson, ''The Red Hills of November,'' 125; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; McClintock, ''Mormon Settlement in Arizona,'' 84 (photo), 289; New.Familysearch.org; Palmer, ''History of Taylor and Shumway [Arizona],'' 27, 37-49, 55, 65, 67-69, 73, 76, 100-101, 121, 129 153; Peterson, ''Take Up Your Mission,'' 170-71; Smith, ed., ''Journal of Jesse N. Smith,'' 286, 406; Solomon, ''Joseph Knight,'' 100; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 109, 127, 154, 173, 191, 193, 198, Appendix C, 261; Wilhelm, ''History of the St. John's Stake,'' 48, 243, 279.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on James Pearce, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=suppionbind&h=443&new=1

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

[[Category:Self-Confessed]] [[Category:Needs_More_Info]] [[Category:Militiamen]] [[Category:Confirmation_Needed]]

James M. Mangum

2014-03-27T00:13:12Z

1857admin: /* Move to Kanab in Kane County */

'''James Mangum, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:James Mangum 2.jpg|left|125px|James Mangum 2.jpg]]

 

 

'''James Mitchell Mangum'''

'''1820-1888''' 

 

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

James M. Mangum was a native of rural Alabama with American forebears in Virginia. During his lifetime he moved west to frontier Utah and later to Arizona. He was an American frontiersman who pioneered in Utah and Arizona.

=== Early Life in the American South ===

James Mitchell Mangum was born in St. Clair County, Alabama. His earliest American forebears were from Boydton, Mecklenburg County in south-central Virginia, close to the border with North Carolina. His parents moved from Mecklenburg County to Warren County in southwest Ohio before moving south to St. Clair County, Alabama where Mangum was born.

In either 1842 or 1844, Mangum married Eliza Jane Clark (1827-1862), a native of Green County, Alabama. Mangum and his wife as well as his mother and many of his siblings joined the Mormons.

=== Migration to Utah ===

Mitchell, his wife, and some members of the Adair family joined the Charles C. Rich Company. There 126 individuals in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post on the Elkhorn River about 27 miles west of Winter Quarters, Nebraska Territory. At time of departure, Mangum was 27, and his wife, Eliza Jane Clark Mangum, 19.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Brigham Young's Pioneer Company had set out in spring 1847 for the Rocky Mountains. Following it was the Big Company which consisted five companies. Besides the Rich Compnay, there were companies led by Abraham Smoot, Edward Hunter, Daniel Spencer, and Jedediah Grant. Contemporary diarists recorded that they passed Sioux and Cheyenne Indians as well as large herds of buffalo. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. While on the Sweetwater River, they encountered Brigham Young's party which was returning to Winter Quarters in Nebraska Territory. Young advised that they had established a settlement in the basin of the Great Salt Lake. This news greatly cheered the company. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in early October 1847.

=== From Great Salt Lake Valley to Utah Valley ===

In the early years in Utah Territory, Mangum plied his trade as a millwright, operating saw and grist mills on Mill Creek in Great Salt Lake City. The first few years were extremely difficult for lack of provisions and inadequate harvests. Later the Mangums moved to Provo.

By the early 1850s, he and his family had settled in Payson, directly east of the southern tip of Utah Lake. A number of southerners had settled there including Adairs, Mangums, Pearces, and others.

=== Joining the Southerners in Washington County and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, many of the Mangums were part of a migration of southerners to Washington County. These southerners founded the Cotton Mission in what came to be known as Utah's Dixie. James Mangum and his brother [[John Mangum|John]] and their families were among the pioneers in Washington County and founders of the new settlement of Washington.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

The Mangums had familial connections with the large Adair clan who settled there. One of the community founders, [[Samuel Adair|Samuel Jefferson Adair]], had married a Mangum, John Mangum had married Mary Ann Adair, and other Adairs and Mangums would later intermarry. The Mangum brothers would have a life-long association with their cousin, [[George Washington Adair|George Washington Adair]], and others in the Adair clan.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, the Cotton Mission did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== Private James Mangum, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion, Washington ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.
[[Image:James Mangum 2.jpg|right|210px|James Mangum 2.jpg]]

In September 1857, Mangum, 37, was a private in the fourth Washington platoon in [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce’s]] Company I in [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee’s]] 4th Battalion. Mangum and his older brother [[John Mangum|John Mangum]] were among those recruited from Washington to muster to Mountain Meadows. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

James Mangum was listed in the Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant and in Stenhouse's ''Rocky Mountain Saints,'' (which follows Judge Cradlebaugh's arrest warrant). [[William A. Young|William Young]] testified in the 1875 Lee trial that Mangum was present at Mountain Meadows. However, his exact role in the massacre is unknown.

Although John D. Lee's mentioned [[John Mangum|John Mangum]] in his autobiography, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' he makes no mention of John's brother, James. Nor does William Bishop mention James Mangum in his list of massacre participants at the end of Lee's book.

=== Marriage and Family Life ===

In 1859, he married his niece, Rebecca Frances Mangum (1843-1928), a Mississippi native and the daughter of his brother John Mangum. His wife Eliza, having borne six children, died in either 1859 or 1862. In 1861, Mangum married Mary Ann Smith (1844-1912), who was born in Hancock County, Illinois but whose forebears were from Tennessee and Georgia. They remained in Washington through the 1860s.

=== Move to Kanab in Kane County ===
[[Image:Kane_County.jpg|right|thumb|500px|<center>'''Map of Kane County, Utah.'''</center>]]

A fort had been established at Kanab in the early 1860s but it had been abandoned during the Black Hawk War (1865-68). By 1869 the Black Hawk War had been settled, but the Mormon-Navajo War was still raging, with Navajo raiders crossing the Colorado River to appropriate Mormon livestock in southern Utah. Kanab was the closest settlement to where the Navajos made the river crossing on the Colorado River to enter Mormon lands. Because of Kanab's relatively close proximity to the river crossings on the Colorado River, Jacob Hamblin had his own reasons for liking the location: his expeditions to the Hopi would be much easier to mount from Kanab.

In mid-1869, Mormon leader Brigham Young instructed Hamblin to establish a "Kanab Mission," beginning with an Indian farm at Pipe Springs. This would serve as an early warning outpost to protect other southern Utah settlements. Immediately, Hamblin set out to establish an Indian farm at Pipe Springs. [[John Mangum|John Mangum]], James' brother, accompanied Hamblin to Pipe Springs and planted the first crops of turnips and corn. John was also in the work detail sent from St. George to rebuild the old Kanab fort. After completing the work, he returned to Washington. However, John liked what he saw at Kanab. He convinced his wife, his brother James and their families to relocate to Kanab. In 1870, James and his older brother [[John Mangum|John]] and their respective families were living in the fort at Kanab. One early settler recalls that the early fort had two rooms on the west and two on the north. [[John Mangum|John]] and James Mangum and others occupied the rooms on the west, while [[George Washington Adair|George Adair]], Jacob Hamblin and others were living in tents against the east wall.

Hamblin immediately began using Kanab as the staging area for his expeditions across the Colorado to Hopiland. That fall, he mounted his eighth crossing of the Colorado to visit the Hopi. [[John Mangum|John Mangum]] remained at Kanab. Presumably his brother James and their respective families were there. After his return, Hamblin, [[John Mangum|John Mangum]] and others were assigned to guard the frontiers against Navajo raiders. They crossed the Kaibab Plateau several times and suffered many privations. It is not know whether James joined in this guard duty.

In 1871, a outbreak of measles spread through Kanab resulting in two deaths among whom was a seventeen-year old Indian girl, the adopted daughter of Jacob Hamblin and the wife of John Mangum. The other death was one of James Mangum's sons.

Sometime in the early 1870s, [[John Mangum|John Mangum]] and family were beginning to pioneer a new settlement, Pahreah, on the Paria River some miles east of Kanab. I have not been able to determine whether James and his family remained in Kanab or also moved to Pahreah.

=== Final Move to the Mormon Settlements in Arizona ===
[[Image:Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg|right|400px|Mormon Settlements in Arizona.jpg]]

Later, Mangum and his family moved to Arizona, joining the stream of Mormon colonizers who pioneered a series of new settlements beginning on the lower Little Colorado River. Gradually they moved upriver in search of more hospitable surroundings. By the 1880s Mangum, his brother [[John Mangum|John]], and his brother-in-law, George W. Adair, were in Nutrioso in the pine forests on the flank of the White Mountains in southern Apache County. In the early to mid-1880s, Apache unrest caused considerable insecurity in the mountain towns of Nutrioso and Alpine. Mangum's wife Rebecca had a handloom that she used to weave rugs and carpets.

The usual hardships of pioneering in southern Utah -- building dams, constructing irrigation ditches, planting, harvesting, heat, drought, crop failure, and dam washouts -- all existed in the Mormon settlements on the Little Colorado of Arizona, plus several additional hardships: the notorious Hashknife outfit of the Aztec Land & Cattle Company, marauding Apache Indians, the Pleasant Valley War, and the uncertainty of Mormon land titles and claims.

Mangum remained in Apache County where he died in 1888. His obituary noted that he had been an invalid for several years. He was survived by his second and third wives and ten of his seventeen children.

 

= References =

Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 280-83, 286; Esshom, ''Pioneer and Prominent Men of Utah,'' 1-21; Fish, ''Mormon Migrations,'' 487; Kelly and Lee, ''Nutrioso and Her Neighbors,'' 37-39, 51-52; Lee Trial transcripts; New.FamilySearch.org; Robinson, ed., ''History of Kane County,'' 223; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 170-71, Appendix C, 260; Woodbury, "A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 12/3-4 (Jul.-Oct. 1944), 179.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For more information on James Mitchell Mangum, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://www.llggenealogysite.com/getperson.php?personID=I1321&tree=lovegrover

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment below or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

Ezra H. Curtis

2014-03-26T22:41:44Z

1857admin: /* Rumors and Lore */

'''Ezra Curtis, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:Ezra houghton curtis 2a.jpg|left|125px|Ezra houghton curtis 2a.jpg]]

 

 

'''Ezra Houghton Curtis'''

1823-1915 

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in Pennsylvania, Missouri and Illinois ===

Ezra Houghton Curtis was born in 1823 in western Pennsylvania to Enos Curtis and Ruth Franklin. He was the tenth of fourteen children. His father was an early convert to Mormonism and one of its earliest missionaries. In 1831, Enos Curtis had a role in the eventual conversion of future Mormon leaders Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball.

In 1835, 12-year-old Ezra Houghton was baptized a member of the Mormon Church. During the mid-1830s, the Curtis family lived in the Mormon settlements in western Missouri. In the difficulties known in Missouri history as the “Mormon Wars,” they and their fellow Mormons were expelled during the winter of 1838-39 and eventually relocated in the newly-founded Mormon settlements in western Illinois.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

Following the assassination of Mormon founder Joseph Smith in 1844 and the continuing unrest between the original settlers of western Illinois and the Mormons, the Curtis family joined the Mormon hegira from western Illinois beyond the Mississippi River into the Iowa and Nebraska territories. In the early winter of 1846, 22-year-old Ezra Curtis married Lucinda Carter (1831-1904), who was nearly 16. A native of Maine, Lucinda was the daughter of Dominicus Carter and Lydia Smith. Their first two children were born in the Mormon settlements in western Iowa, near modern-day Council Bluffs. She would eventually bear him twelve children.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

In 1851, after accumulating sufficient means, the extended Curtis family joined a Mormon wagon company and immigrated to Utah Territory. The company they joined is not known. However, the typical travel season was from late spring to early fall. That year there was a flood of travelers on the overland trails intent on joining the California Gold Rush and outbreaks of cholera were frequent. The Curtises would have passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they would have arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake sometime in the late summer or early fall.

=== To Cedar City and the Ironworks ===
[[Image:Sketch - Iron works.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''The Early Ironworks in Cedar City'''</center>]]

By the mid-1850s, Curtis and his wife and children had moved to southern Utah and settled in Cedar City. His sister, Celestia Curtis Durfee, and his brother-in-law, [[Jabez Durfee|Jabez Durfee]], were also pioneering members of the new settlement.

==== The Deseret Iron Company ====

In moving to Cedar City, Ezra Curtis was settling in an area dominated by the Deseret Iron Company, known more familiarly as the Ironworks. See [[Summary of Deseret Iron Company]] for a brief summary of its early development. In June 1855, Curtis and Wesley Willis drove wagons to the Muddy River in modern southern Nevada to retrieve discarded iron parts. Back in Cedar City, the blacksmiths would reforge the iron into useable implements.

==== The Ironworks in 1857 ====

In April 1857, the delivery of a new steam engine from Great Salt Lake City seemed to breathe new life into the ironworks. Working from April to June they installed the steam engine and completed the new engine house. In the first week of July, they were ready to begin smelting. They “put on the blast” and had a modicum of success. But they continued to be plagued with problems ranging from poor quality raw materials to smelting equipment that lacked technical sophistication. When in late July the steam engine seized with sand from the dirty creek water, they speedily dug a reservoir to store a supply of clean water for the boiler. They continued making smelting runs through August. All the while crews at the ironworks manned all the necessary functions there, while other crews, mainly miners and teamsters, gathered the raw materials – iron ore, coal, limestone, and wood – necessary to sustain smelting.

The smelting continued until September 13. In other words, around September 3, when a dispute arose between some settlers and several men in the passing Arkansas company, the blast furnace was running nonstop. And when Cedar City militiamen, many of them ironworkers, mustered to Mountain Meadows where they were involved in the massacre on September 11, other ironworkers in Cedar City continued the smelting runs night and day. For additional details, see [[Smelting at the Ironworks in 1857]].

From late April to September, those working up the canyon in mining or hauling wood, coal, limestone, rock, sand or “adobies” to the ironworks were [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac C. Haight]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M. Macfarlane]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], Elias Morris, [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Robert Wiley|Robert Wiley]], and [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]]. Those working at the ironworks on the furnace, engine, coke ovens or blacksmith shop included Elias Morris, [[John S. Humphries|John Humphries]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[John M. Urie|John Urie]], [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Joseph Clews|Joseph Clews]], [[Richard Harrison|Richard Harrison]], [[William C. Stewart|William C. Stewart]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M Macfarlane]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[William S. Riggs|William S. Riggs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Eleazer Edwards|Eliezar Edwards]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], and [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]]. (The two lists overlap because some worked both in the canyon and at the Ironworks.) Other prominent figures at the ironworks who were not later involved at Mountain Meadows were Samuel Leigh, George Horton, James H. Haslem, Laban Morrell, John Chatterley, Thomas Gower, Thomas Crowther and others.

==== Curtis's Role at the Ironworks in 1857 ====

During this period in 1857, Curtis was a teamster who provided a team and wagon to haul a variety of materials including charcoal, "adobies," coal, fire clay, and rock to the Ironworks. During the iron run in August 1857, Curtis hauled several tons of coal to maintain the blast in the furnace.

The majority of the southern Utah militiamen at Mountain Meadows were from Cedar City. Of these, nearly all of them had worked at the Ironworks or supplied raw materials to it. Indeed, in the weeks before the Mountain Meadows Massacre, they had worked intensely together, hauling materials, building a new water reservoir, and making the latest run of the blast furnace. One perennial mystery of the massacre has been why the militiamen mustered to Mountain Meadows in “broken” militia units; that is, from different platoons and companies, none of which had a full compliment of its members. Perhaps the reason lies with the Ironworks. Those in the Ironworks knew each other and had worked alongside one another. Not only did Ezra Curtis knew those who mustered from Cedar City to Mountain Meadows, he had worked with them at the Ironworks as recently as the week before. Perhaps the answer is that the men of the Ironworks were on hand and available and Isaac Haight, who himself had worked closely with them, assigned them to muster to Mountain Meadows.

=== In the Iron Military District: 2nd Lieutenant Ezra Curtis, Company E, Isaac Haight's 2nd Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

For 1857, Curtis, 35, was listed in Iron County militia records as a 2nd Lieutenant in one of the militia platoons in Company E. Irishman [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollack]] was sergeant in the same platoon while Curtis's brother-in-law, [[Jabez Durfee|Jabez Durfee]], was a private in the platoon. The platoons in Company E were led by [[Elias Morris|Captain Elias Morris]], a Welch emigrant, and that company was attached to the 2nd Battalion under the leadership of Major Isaac C. Haight. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

[[Image:Curtis ezra houghton 1.jpg|right|200px|Curtis ezra houghton 1.jpg]]
Multiple sources attest to Ezra Curtis’s presence at Mountain Meadows during the week of the massacre. Mormon herdsman [[Henry Higgins|Henry Higgins]] observed Curtis among the militia detachment departing Cedar City for the Meadows on the evening of Monday, September 7.

In ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] mentioned Curtis as among those in the area on Thursday evening when the final militia council was held, the one that led to the deceptive ploy to trick the Arkansas company into abandoning their defensive wagon circle.

Curtis’s exact role in the final massacre on Friday, September 11 is not known with certainty but it seems probable that he was among the Cedar City militiamen who accompanied the emigrant men away from the wagon circle in their northward line of march. As the massacre commenced, the duty of these guards was to wheel and fire on the emigrant men, quickly dispatching them. Yet during the actual massacre, reactions varied among the guards. Some shrank from their duty, others fired over the heads of their victims, while others still undertook their bloody duty with zeal. Within minutes, members of the Cedar City unit had killed all but three of the emigrant men. However, whether Curtis was in this guard unit and if so, how he acted during the massacre will probably never be known with any certainty.

Curtis’s name is included in the 1859 arrest warrant issued by Judge John Cradlebaugh. In 1875, during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]] identified Curtis as among those who mustered to Mountain Meadows early in the week.

=== Abandoning Cedar City for Northern Utah ===

After the dual disasters of the massacre and the failure of the ironworks in Cedar City, Curtis and his family joined the exodus from that troubled settlement. They moved north to Provo where he pursued farming.

During the late 1860s, Curtis was in the militia and played some role in the Mormon-Native American conflict known as the Black Hawk War. In the ''Centennial History of Sevier County,'' published in 1947, Ezra Curtis was remembered as a noted veteran of that conflict.

=== Settling in the Sevier Valley ===
[[Image:Sevier_County_Map.jpg|right|thumb|500px|<center>'''Map of Sevier County, Utah.'''</center>]]

In 1875, they moved back to southern Utah to pioneer at Willow Bend, now Aurora, in the high broad valley drained by the lower Sevier River. His brother-in-law and sister, [[Jabez Durfee|Jabez Durfee]] and Celestia Curtis Durfee, also pioneered this new region. It is not known whether this move from Provo to the more remote mountainous region in southern Utah was prompted by the indictment and prosecution of former Iron County militiamen for their complicity in the massacre or by other considerations. However, their move to the Sevier Valley coincided with an intense expansion of Mormon settlements in the higher-elevation mountain valleys. Participation in the migration to these new and promising valleys seems just as likely as a motive.

From 1877 to 1879, Curtis was the bishop in Salina in the Sevier Valley. Eventually, Curtis took a plural wife, Juliaette Everett, who bore him seven more children.

[[Image:Curtis ezra houghton 2.jpg|right|200px|Curtis ezra houghton 2.jpg]]

=== Final Years ===

His first wife, Lucinda, died in 1904.

In 1915, Curtis died in Aurora, Sevier, Utah where he had lived for four decades. He was survived by his second wife and his many children.

=== Rumors and Lore ===

Included under this heading are uncorroborated rumors, legends, or lore about some of the militiamen. In John D. Lee's posthumously published autobiography, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' Lee related that "old man Braffett" of Parowan was caught in adultery and fined $1,000. Lee claimed that Ezra Curtis was the marshal in Parowan who levied on Braffett's assets to pay the fine. However, at the auction, his goods only brought a small price and Braffett was taken to Salt Lake City and imprisoned for failure to pay the fine.

There are several problems with the story, not the least of which is identifying Curtis as the marshal in Parowan. Contemporary records reflect that Curtis was in Cedar City, that he occasionally worked at the ironworks, and that he was a 2nd Lieutenant in a platoon in Company E of Isaac Haight's 2nd Battalion. Elias Morris was captain of the company and in the same platoon as Curtis were Sam Pollock and Jabez Durfee, all of whom lived in Cedar City. Also, the fine of $1,000 seems exorbitant, especially in a barter economy in which cash did not circulate and men worked at the ironworks for a $2-a-day credit on the ironworks books. Lee (or his editor, Bishop) was probably wrong in identifying Curtis as the marshal in Parowan and the other details of this story cannot be verified.

 

'''''Our thanks to John Warnke for further background on Ezra Curtis.''''' 

 

'''Note:''' The histories of Emery County refer to an Ezra Curtis, or E. Curtis, Sr., who was an early settler in Emery County in 1878. This Ezra Curtis was a militiaman in Sanpete County who first ventured into what would later become Emery County in pursuit of marauding Ute Indians during the Black Hawk War in the mid-1860s. In 1905, his wife Mary Ann filed for divorce against him claiming that he was "an habitual drunkard" who swore at her and the children, according to a story in the local newspaper. This does not appear to be the same individual as Ezra Houghton Curtis (1823-1915).

= References =

Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 12; Bigler and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 235; Bishop, ''A History of Sevier County,'' 85; Brooks, ''Journal of the Southern Indian Mission,'' 129 fn. 70, citing the diary of George Washington Bean, one of the Las vegas missionaries. Esshom, ''Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah,'' 832; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 738 (Salina); Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 232, 276, 379; Lee Trial transcripts; Familysearch.org; Shirts and Shirts, ''A Trial Furnace,'' 495; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Appendix C, 257; Warnke, "Biographical sketch of Ezra Houghton Curtis, 1823-1915"; Warnock, ''Through the Years: A Centennial History of Sevier County,'' 107, 108 (photo), 110, 122; Warnock & Warnock, ''Sevier Stake Memories,'' 416.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For more information on Ezra Houghton Curtis see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9055559
* Deseret Iron Company Account Book, 1854-1867: http://www.footnote.com/document/241905844/

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

George Spencer

2014-03-25T18:57:50Z

1857admin: /* External Links */

'''George Spencer, his personal and family background, and his alleged involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

 

 

'''George Spencer'''

'''1828-1872'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in Connecticut ===

George Spencer was born in Hartford County, Connecticut, to Moses Roswell Spencer (1789-1860) and Alma Flagg (1789-1854).

=== Migration to Illinois and Iowa ===

By the late 1840s, Spencer was in the Mormons' temporary settlements in western Iowa and he passed several years there. In 1851, he married Emily Brown Bush (1834-1906) in Burlington, Des Moines County, Iowa.

=== Journey to Utah ===

By 1852, they had gathered sufficient means to equip and provision an outfit for the trek west. George made the trek with his new bride, Emily Spencer.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

The name of the company they joined is unknown. But they crossed the plains during the 1852 travel season, probably leaving in the late spring and traveling the plains for most of the summer. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in late summer or early fall.

=== Settling in Nephi, Juab County ===

Soon they had moved south and settled in Nephi, Juab County, south of Utah County.
Their firstborn, Emily, was born in 1854 in Nephi. In 1855, he married into polygamy by taking a second wife, Mary Ann Payne (1841-1934), in Nephi. Mary Ann Payne was born in Nauvoo, Illinois.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, George Spencer and his wives, Emily and Mary Ann and at least one child joined a migration of southerners to southern Utah. The reason for Spencer joining with the southerners is unclear since he was a New Englander while neither of his wives was a southerner. Nevertheless, they made the difficult wagon journey to Washington County.
They encamped at Adair Springs near what would become Washington in Washington County. These southerners founded the Cotton Mission in what came to be known as Utah's Dixie.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, it did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== The Iron Military District: Adjutant George Spencer, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion, Washington, Washington County ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px|Map southern utah 1.jpg]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William H. Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac C. Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John M. Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In the summer of 1857, 28-year-old George Spencer was appointed adjutant to Captain Harrison Pearce of Company I, attached to [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee's]] 4th Battalion of the Iron County militia.

On Monday, September 7, 1857, after the Arkansas emigrant company was attacked at Mountain Meadows, [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] left the Meadows to find the militiamen he was expecting to join him. He met those from Washington and Fort Clara, some miles to the south that evening. Although George Spencer was not specifically named in this party, he may have been there as the adjutant to Captain Harrison Pearce. They arrived at the Meadows around midday on Tuesday, the 8th. During the week while the wagon train was besieged, what Spencer did from Tuesday through Thursday is not known, nor is his role during the massacre known with any certainty. However, as one of the Washington militiamen he may have been in the militia guard alongside emigrant men with other militiamen from Cedar City and Washington.

=== Spencer Confesses Involvement in the Massacre ===

Spencer was not named in the 1859 arrest warranty issued by Judge John Cradlebaugh, nor in any of the usual nineteenth century sources for massacre participants. His apparent involvement is based on a letter he wrote in 1867.

On March 26, 1867, Spencer wrote a letter to Erastus Snow, Mormon apostle in charge of southern Utah. Spencer recited a tale of woe. Initially, he felt confidence when he had joined the church nearly fifteen years earlier; however, a string of misfortunes and tragedies had befallen him. In summer 1867, his son had died prematurely, and Spencer was still in deep mourning. Further, he blamed himself for his “lack of watchfulness!”

But something else disturbed him deeply. “Oh! what a life I have led. I was in that horrid “Mountain Meadow affair” (which was the grand cause of my moving back north)." “I feel that I shall break down if I should not undertake to talk. I feel like I was slowly waking from a hideous lethargic dream.” He berated himself for his lack of faithfulness and his constant preoccupation with making a living. He requested that his leaders direct his life for a good purpose, but, invoking blood atonement imagery, he queried: “If it is necessary that my blood must be shed, and that will secure to me life eternal, let it run freely every drop of it. Without the hope of immortality and eternal lives: existenace itself would be a burthen. I feel like a little child lost in the woods that needs a father to show me the path that leads to open ground.”

Whether Spencer got any relief from his torment is not known.

=== Married and Family Life ===

As we have seen, Spencer's first marriage was to Emily Brown Bush in 1851 on the plains of western Iowa.They had nine children, five of whom survived to adulthood. His second marriage was to Mary Ann Payne in Nephi, Utah. She bore him eight children, all of whom survived into the twentieth century,

His last marriage was in 1858 to Sarah Marinda Thompson (1841-1914) in Washington, Washington County, Utah. They had six children, four of whom survived into the twentieth century.

Among other things, he worked as a school teacher during his life.

He died in 1872 in Glendale, Kane County, Utah, at the age of 43. He was survived by his three wives and many children. Emily Bush Spencer lived to 1906; Sarah Marinda Thompson Spencer, to 1914; and Mary Ann Payne Spencer, who died in 1934, outlived him by more than sixty years.

Further information on George Spencer (1828-1872) would be greatly appreciated.

 

= References =

UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For additional information on George Spencer and family see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

Ezra H. Curtis

2014-02-27T01:01:49Z

1857admin: /* Rumors and Lore */

'''Ezra Curtis, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:Ezra houghton curtis 2a.jpg|left|125px|Ezra houghton curtis 2a.jpg]]

 

 

'''Ezra Houghton Curtis'''

1823-1915 

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in Pennsylvania, Missouri and Illinois ===

Ezra Houghton Curtis was born in 1823 in western Pennsylvania to Enos Curtis and Ruth Franklin. He was the tenth of fourteen children. His father was an early convert to Mormonism and one of its earliest missionaries. In 1831, Enos Curtis had a role in the eventual conversion of future Mormon leaders Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball.

In 1835, 12-year-old Ezra Houghton was baptized a member of the Mormon Church. During the mid-1830s, the Curtis family lived in the Mormon settlements in western Missouri. In the difficulties known in Missouri history as the “Mormon Wars,” they and their fellow Mormons were expelled during the winter of 1838-39 and eventually relocated in the newly-founded Mormon settlements in western Illinois.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

Following the assassination of Mormon founder Joseph Smith in 1844 and the continuing unrest between the original settlers of western Illinois and the Mormons, the Curtis family joined the Mormon hegira from western Illinois beyond the Mississippi River into the Iowa and Nebraska territories. In the early winter of 1846, 22-year-old Ezra Curtis married Lucinda Carter (1831-1904), who was nearly 16. A native of Maine, Lucinda was the daughter of Dominicus Carter and Lydia Smith. Their first two children were born in the Mormon settlements in western Iowa, near modern-day Council Bluffs. She would eventually bear him twelve children.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

In 1851, after accumulating sufficient means, the extended Curtis family joined a Mormon wagon company and immigrated to Utah Territory. The company they joined is not known. However, the typical travel season was from late spring to early fall. That year there was a flood of travelers on the overland trails intent on joining the California Gold Rush and outbreaks of cholera were frequent. The Curtises would have passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they would have arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake sometime in the late summer or early fall.

=== To Cedar City and the Ironworks ===
[[Image:Sketch - Iron works.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''The Early Ironworks in Cedar City'''</center>]]

By the mid-1850s, Curtis and his wife and children had moved to southern Utah and settled in Cedar City. His sister, Celestia Curtis Durfee, and his brother-in-law, [[Jabez Durfee|Jabez Durfee]], were also pioneering members of the new settlement.

==== The Deseret Iron Company ====

In moving to Cedar City, Ezra Curtis was settling in an area dominated by the Deseret Iron Company, known more familiarly as the Ironworks. See [[Summary of Deseret Iron Company]] for a brief summary of its early development. In June 1855, Curtis and Wesley Willis drove wagons to the Muddy River in modern southern Nevada to retrieve discarded iron parts. Back in Cedar City, the blacksmiths would reforge the iron into useable implements.

==== The Ironworks in 1857 ====

In April 1857, the delivery of a new steam engine from Great Salt Lake City seemed to breathe new life into the ironworks. Working from April to June they installed the steam engine and completed the new engine house. In the first week of July, they were ready to begin smelting. They “put on the blast” and had a modicum of success. But they continued to be plagued with problems ranging from poor quality raw materials to smelting equipment that lacked technical sophistication. When in late July the steam engine seized with sand from the dirty creek water, they speedily dug a reservoir to store a supply of clean water for the boiler. They continued making smelting runs through August. All the while crews at the ironworks manned all the necessary functions there, while other crews, mainly miners and teamsters, gathered the raw materials – iron ore, coal, limestone, and wood – necessary to sustain smelting.

The smelting continued until September 13. In other words, around September 3, when a dispute arose between some settlers and several men in the passing Arkansas company, the blast furnace was running nonstop. And when Cedar City militiamen, many of them ironworkers, mustered to Mountain Meadows where they were involved in the massacre on September 11, other ironworkers in Cedar City continued the smelting runs night and day. For additional details, see [[Smelting at the Ironworks in 1857]].

From late April to September, those working up the canyon in mining or hauling wood, coal, limestone, rock, sand or “adobies” to the ironworks were [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac C. Haight]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M. Macfarlane]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], Elias Morris, [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Robert Wiley|Robert Wiley]], and [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]]. Those working at the ironworks on the furnace, engine, coke ovens or blacksmith shop included Elias Morris, [[John S. Humphries|John Humphries]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[John M. Urie|John Urie]], [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Joseph Clews|Joseph Clews]], [[Richard Harrison|Richard Harrison]], [[William C. Stewart|William C. Stewart]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M Macfarlane]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[William S. Riggs|William S. Riggs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Eleazer Edwards|Eliezar Edwards]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], and [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]]. (The two lists overlap because some worked both in the canyon and at the Ironworks.) Other prominent figures at the ironworks who were not later involved at Mountain Meadows were Samuel Leigh, George Horton, James H. Haslem, Laban Morrell, John Chatterley, Thomas Gower, Thomas Crowther and others.

==== Curtis's Role at the Ironworks in 1857 ====

During this period in 1857, Curtis was a teamster who provided a team and wagon to haul a variety of materials including charcoal, "adobies," coal, fire clay, and rock to the Ironworks. During the iron run in August 1857, Curtis hauled several tons of coal to maintain the blast in the furnace.

The majority of the southern Utah militiamen at Mountain Meadows were from Cedar City. Of these, nearly all of them had worked at the Ironworks or supplied raw materials to it. Indeed, in the weeks before the Mountain Meadows Massacre, they had worked intensely together, hauling materials, building a new water reservoir, and making the latest run of the blast furnace. One perennial mystery of the massacre has been why the militiamen mustered to Mountain Meadows in “broken” militia units; that is, from different platoons and companies, none of which had a full compliment of its members. Perhaps the reason lies with the Ironworks. Those in the Ironworks knew each other and had worked alongside one another. Not only did Ezra Curtis knew those who mustered from Cedar City to Mountain Meadows, he had worked with them at the Ironworks as recently as the week before. Perhaps the answer is that the men of the Ironworks were on hand and available and Isaac Haight, who himself had worked closely with them, assigned them to muster to Mountain Meadows.

=== In the Iron Military District: 2nd Lieutenant Ezra Curtis, Company E, Isaac Haight's 2nd Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

For 1857, Curtis, 35, was listed in Iron County militia records as a 2nd Lieutenant in one of the militia platoons in Company E. Irishman [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollack]] was sergeant in the same platoon while Curtis's brother-in-law, [[Jabez Durfee|Jabez Durfee]], was a private in the platoon. The platoons in Company E were led by [[Elias Morris|Captain Elias Morris]], a Welch emigrant, and that company was attached to the 2nd Battalion under the leadership of Major Isaac C. Haight. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

[[Image:Curtis ezra houghton 1.jpg|right|200px|Curtis ezra houghton 1.jpg]]
Multiple sources attest to Ezra Curtis’s presence at Mountain Meadows during the week of the massacre. Mormon herdsman [[Henry Higgins|Henry Higgins]] observed Curtis among the militia detachment departing Cedar City for the Meadows on the evening of Monday, September 7.

In ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] mentioned Curtis as among those in the area on Thursday evening when the final militia council was held, the one that led to the deceptive ploy to trick the Arkansas company into abandoning their defensive wagon circle.

Curtis’s exact role in the final massacre on Friday, September 11 is not known with certainty but it seems probable that he was among the Cedar City militiamen who accompanied the emigrant men away from the wagon circle in their northward line of march. As the massacre commenced, the duty of these guards was to wheel and fire on the emigrant men, quickly dispatching them. Yet during the actual massacre, reactions varied among the guards. Some shrank from their duty, others fired over the heads of their victims, while others still undertook their bloody duty with zeal. Within minutes, members of the Cedar City unit had killed all but three of the emigrant men. However, whether Curtis was in this guard unit and if so, how he acted during the massacre will probably never be known with any certainty.

Curtis’s name is included in the 1859 arrest warrant issued by Judge John Cradlebaugh. In 1875, during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]] identified Curtis as among those who mustered to Mountain Meadows early in the week.

=== Abandoning Cedar City for Northern Utah ===

After the dual disasters of the massacre and the failure of the ironworks in Cedar City, Curtis and his family joined the exodus from that troubled settlement. They moved north to Provo where he pursued farming.

During the late 1860s, Curtis was in the militia and played some role in the Mormon-Native American conflict known as the Black Hawk War. In the ''Centennial History of Sevier County,'' published in 1947, Ezra Curtis was remembered as a noted veteran of that conflict.

=== Settling in the Sevier Valley ===
[[Image:Sevier_County_Map.jpg|right|thumb|500px|<center>'''Map of Sevier County, Utah.'''</center>]]

In 1875, they moved back to southern Utah to pioneer at Willow Bend, now Aurora, in the high broad valley drained by the lower Sevier River. His brother-in-law and sister, [[Jabez Durfee|Jabez Durfee]] and Celestia Curtis Durfee, also pioneered this new region. It is not known whether this move from Provo to the more remote mountainous region in southern Utah was prompted by the indictment and prosecution of former Iron County militiamen for their complicity in the massacre or by other considerations. However, their move to the Sevier Valley coincided with an intense expansion of Mormon settlements in the higher-elevation mountain valleys. Participation in the migration to these new and promising valleys seems just as likely as a motive.

From 1877 to 1879, Curtis was the bishop in Salina in the Sevier Valley. Eventually, Curtis took a plural wife, Juliaette Everett, who bore him seven more children.

[[Image:Curtis ezra houghton 2.jpg|right|200px|Curtis ezra houghton 2.jpg]]

=== Final Years ===

His first wife, Lucinda, died in 1904.

In 1915, Curtis died in Aurora, Sevier, Utah where he had lived for four decades. He was survived by his second wife and his many children.

=== Rumors and Lore ===

Included under this heading are uncorroborated rumors, legends, or lore about some of the militiamen. In John D. Lee's posthumously published autobiography, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' Lee related that "old man Braffett" of Parowan was caught in adultery and fined $1,000. Lee claimed that Ezra Curtis was the marshal in Parowan who levied on Braffett's assets to pay the fine. However, at the auction, his goods only brought a small price and Braffett was taken to Salt Lake City and imprisoned for failure to pay the fine.

There are several problems with the story, not the least of which is identifying Curtis as the marshal in Parowan. Contemporary records reflect that Curtis was in Cedar City, that he occasionally worked at the ironworks, and that he was a 2nd Lieutenant in a platoon in Company E of Isaac Haight's 2nd Battalion. Elias Morris was captain of the company and in the same platoon as Curtis were Sam Pollock and Jabez Durfee, all of whom lived in Cedar City. Also, the fine of $1,000 seems exorbitant, especially in a barter economy in which cash did not circulate and men worked at the ironworks for a $2-a-day credit on the ironworks books. Lee (or his editor, Bishop) was probably wrong in identifying Curtis as the marshal in Parowan as he was about other details of this story.

 

'''''Our thanks to John Warnke for further background on Ezra Curtis.''''' 

 

'''Note:''' The histories of Emery County refer to an Ezra Curtis, or E. Curtis, Sr., who was an early settler in Emery County in 1878. This Ezra Curtis was a militiaman in Sanpete County who first ventured into what would later become Emery County in pursuit of marauding Ute Indians during the Black Hawk War in the mid-1860s. In 1905, his wife Mary Ann filed for divorce against him claiming that he was "an habitual drunkard" who swore at her and the children, according to a story in the local newspaper. This does not appear to be the same individual as Ezra Houghton Curtis (1823-1915).

= References =

Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 12; Bigler and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 235; Bishop, ''A History of Sevier County,'' 85; Brooks, ''Journal of the Southern Indian Mission,'' 129 fn. 70, citing the diary of George Washington Bean, one of the Las vegas missionaries. Esshom, ''Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah,'' 832; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 738 (Salina); Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 232, 276, 379; Lee Trial transcripts; Familysearch.org; Shirts and Shirts, ''A Trial Furnace,'' 495; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Appendix C, 257; Warnke, "Biographical sketch of Ezra Houghton Curtis, 1823-1915"; Warnock, ''Through the Years: A Centennial History of Sevier County,'' 107, 108 (photo), 110, 122; Warnock & Warnock, ''Sevier Stake Memories,'' 416.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For more information on Ezra Houghton Curtis see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9055559
* Deseret Iron Company Account Book, 1854-1867: http://www.footnote.com/document/241905844/

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

Ezra H. Curtis

2014-02-27T01:00:18Z

1857admin: /* Settling in the Sevier Valley */

'''Ezra Curtis, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:Ezra houghton curtis 2a.jpg|left|125px|Ezra houghton curtis 2a.jpg]]

 

 

'''Ezra Houghton Curtis'''

1823-1915 

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in Pennsylvania, Missouri and Illinois ===

Ezra Houghton Curtis was born in 1823 in western Pennsylvania to Enos Curtis and Ruth Franklin. He was the tenth of fourteen children. His father was an early convert to Mormonism and one of its earliest missionaries. In 1831, Enos Curtis had a role in the eventual conversion of future Mormon leaders Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball.

In 1835, 12-year-old Ezra Houghton was baptized a member of the Mormon Church. During the mid-1830s, the Curtis family lived in the Mormon settlements in western Missouri. In the difficulties known in Missouri history as the “Mormon Wars,” they and their fellow Mormons were expelled during the winter of 1838-39 and eventually relocated in the newly-founded Mormon settlements in western Illinois.

=== Immigration to Utah ===

Following the assassination of Mormon founder Joseph Smith in 1844 and the continuing unrest between the original settlers of western Illinois and the Mormons, the Curtis family joined the Mormon hegira from western Illinois beyond the Mississippi River into the Iowa and Nebraska territories. In the early winter of 1846, 22-year-old Ezra Curtis married Lucinda Carter (1831-1904), who was nearly 16. A native of Maine, Lucinda was the daughter of Dominicus Carter and Lydia Smith. Their first two children were born in the Mormon settlements in western Iowa, near modern-day Council Bluffs. She would eventually bear him twelve children.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

In 1851, after accumulating sufficient means, the extended Curtis family joined a Mormon wagon company and immigrated to Utah Territory. The company they joined is not known. However, the typical travel season was from late spring to early fall. That year there was a flood of travelers on the overland trails intent on joining the California Gold Rush and outbreaks of cholera were frequent. The Curtises would have passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they would have arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake sometime in the late summer or early fall.

=== To Cedar City and the Ironworks ===
[[Image:Sketch - Iron works.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''The Early Ironworks in Cedar City'''</center>]]

By the mid-1850s, Curtis and his wife and children had moved to southern Utah and settled in Cedar City. His sister, Celestia Curtis Durfee, and his brother-in-law, [[Jabez Durfee|Jabez Durfee]], were also pioneering members of the new settlement.

==== The Deseret Iron Company ====

In moving to Cedar City, Ezra Curtis was settling in an area dominated by the Deseret Iron Company, known more familiarly as the Ironworks. See [[Summary of Deseret Iron Company]] for a brief summary of its early development. In June 1855, Curtis and Wesley Willis drove wagons to the Muddy River in modern southern Nevada to retrieve discarded iron parts. Back in Cedar City, the blacksmiths would reforge the iron into useable implements.

==== The Ironworks in 1857 ====

In April 1857, the delivery of a new steam engine from Great Salt Lake City seemed to breathe new life into the ironworks. Working from April to June they installed the steam engine and completed the new engine house. In the first week of July, they were ready to begin smelting. They “put on the blast” and had a modicum of success. But they continued to be plagued with problems ranging from poor quality raw materials to smelting equipment that lacked technical sophistication. When in late July the steam engine seized with sand from the dirty creek water, they speedily dug a reservoir to store a supply of clean water for the boiler. They continued making smelting runs through August. All the while crews at the ironworks manned all the necessary functions there, while other crews, mainly miners and teamsters, gathered the raw materials – iron ore, coal, limestone, and wood – necessary to sustain smelting.

The smelting continued until September 13. In other words, around September 3, when a dispute arose between some settlers and several men in the passing Arkansas company, the blast furnace was running nonstop. And when Cedar City militiamen, many of them ironworkers, mustered to Mountain Meadows where they were involved in the massacre on September 11, other ironworkers in Cedar City continued the smelting runs night and day. For additional details, see [[Smelting at the Ironworks in 1857]].

From late April to September, those working up the canyon in mining or hauling wood, coal, limestone, rock, sand or “adobies” to the ironworks were [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac C. Haight]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M. Macfarlane]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], Elias Morris, [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Robert Wiley|Robert Wiley]], and [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]]. Those working at the ironworks on the furnace, engine, coke ovens or blacksmith shop included Elias Morris, [[John S. Humphries|John Humphries]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[John M. Urie|John Urie]], [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Joseph Clews|Joseph Clews]], [[Richard Harrison|Richard Harrison]], [[William C. Stewart|William C. Stewart]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M Macfarlane]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[William S. Riggs|William S. Riggs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Eleazer Edwards|Eliezar Edwards]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], and [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]]. (The two lists overlap because some worked both in the canyon and at the Ironworks.) Other prominent figures at the ironworks who were not later involved at Mountain Meadows were Samuel Leigh, George Horton, James H. Haslem, Laban Morrell, John Chatterley, Thomas Gower, Thomas Crowther and others.

==== Curtis's Role at the Ironworks in 1857 ====

During this period in 1857, Curtis was a teamster who provided a team and wagon to haul a variety of materials including charcoal, "adobies," coal, fire clay, and rock to the Ironworks. During the iron run in August 1857, Curtis hauled several tons of coal to maintain the blast in the furnace.

The majority of the southern Utah militiamen at Mountain Meadows were from Cedar City. Of these, nearly all of them had worked at the Ironworks or supplied raw materials to it. Indeed, in the weeks before the Mountain Meadows Massacre, they had worked intensely together, hauling materials, building a new water reservoir, and making the latest run of the blast furnace. One perennial mystery of the massacre has been why the militiamen mustered to Mountain Meadows in “broken” militia units; that is, from different platoons and companies, none of which had a full compliment of its members. Perhaps the reason lies with the Ironworks. Those in the Ironworks knew each other and had worked alongside one another. Not only did Ezra Curtis knew those who mustered from Cedar City to Mountain Meadows, he had worked with them at the Ironworks as recently as the week before. Perhaps the answer is that the men of the Ironworks were on hand and available and Isaac Haight, who himself had worked closely with them, assigned them to muster to Mountain Meadows.

=== In the Iron Military District: 2nd Lieutenant Ezra Curtis, Company E, Isaac Haight's 2nd Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

For 1857, Curtis, 35, was listed in Iron County militia records as a 2nd Lieutenant in one of the militia platoons in Company E. Irishman [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollack]] was sergeant in the same platoon while Curtis's brother-in-law, [[Jabez Durfee|Jabez Durfee]], was a private in the platoon. The platoons in Company E were led by [[Elias Morris|Captain Elias Morris]], a Welch emigrant, and that company was attached to the 2nd Battalion under the leadership of Major Isaac C. Haight. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

[[Image:Curtis ezra houghton 1.jpg|right|200px|Curtis ezra houghton 1.jpg]]
Multiple sources attest to Ezra Curtis’s presence at Mountain Meadows during the week of the massacre. Mormon herdsman [[Henry Higgins|Henry Higgins]] observed Curtis among the militia detachment departing Cedar City for the Meadows on the evening of Monday, September 7.

In ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] mentioned Curtis as among those in the area on Thursday evening when the final militia council was held, the one that led to the deceptive ploy to trick the Arkansas company into abandoning their defensive wagon circle.

Curtis’s exact role in the final massacre on Friday, September 11 is not known with certainty but it seems probable that he was among the Cedar City militiamen who accompanied the emigrant men away from the wagon circle in their northward line of march. As the massacre commenced, the duty of these guards was to wheel and fire on the emigrant men, quickly dispatching them. Yet during the actual massacre, reactions varied among the guards. Some shrank from their duty, others fired over the heads of their victims, while others still undertook their bloody duty with zeal. Within minutes, members of the Cedar City unit had killed all but three of the emigrant men. However, whether Curtis was in this guard unit and if so, how he acted during the massacre will probably never be known with any certainty.

Curtis’s name is included in the 1859 arrest warrant issued by Judge John Cradlebaugh. In 1875, during the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]] identified Curtis as among those who mustered to Mountain Meadows early in the week.

=== Abandoning Cedar City for Northern Utah ===

After the dual disasters of the massacre and the failure of the ironworks in Cedar City, Curtis and his family joined the exodus from that troubled settlement. They moved north to Provo where he pursued farming.

During the late 1860s, Curtis was in the militia and played some role in the Mormon-Native American conflict known as the Black Hawk War. In the ''Centennial History of Sevier County,'' published in 1947, Ezra Curtis was remembered as a noted veteran of that conflict.

=== Settling in the Sevier Valley ===
[[Image:Sevier_County_Map.jpg|right|thumb|500px|<center>'''Map of Sevier County, Utah.'''</center>]]

In 1875, they moved back to southern Utah to pioneer at Willow Bend, now Aurora, in the high broad valley drained by the lower Sevier River. His brother-in-law and sister, [[Jabez Durfee|Jabez Durfee]] and Celestia Curtis Durfee, also pioneered this new region. It is not known whether this move from Provo to the more remote mountainous region in southern Utah was prompted by the indictment and prosecution of former Iron County militiamen for their complicity in the massacre or by other considerations. However, their move to the Sevier Valley coincided with an intense expansion of Mormon settlements in the higher-elevation mountain valleys. Participation in the migration to these new and promising valleys seems just as likely as a motive.

From 1877 to 1879, Curtis was the bishop in Salina in the Sevier Valley. Eventually, Curtis took a plural wife, Juliaette Everett, who bore him seven more children.

[[Image:Curtis ezra houghton 2.jpg|right|200px|Curtis ezra houghton 2.jpg]]

=== Final Years ===

His first wife, Lucinda, died in 1904.

In 1915, Curtis died in Aurora, Sevier, Utah where he had lived for four decades. He was survived by his second wife and his many children.

=== Rumors and Lore ===

Included under this heading are uncorroborated rumors, legends, or lore about some of the militiamen. In John D. Lee's posthumously published autobiography, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' Lee related that "old man Braffett" of Parowan was caught in adultery and fined $1,000. Lee claimed that Ezra Curtis was the marshal in Parowan who levied on Braffett's assets to pay the fine. However, at the auction, his goods only brought a small price and Braffett was taken to Salt Lake City and imprisoned for failure to pay the fine.

There are several problems with the story, not the least of which is identifying Curtis as the marshal in Parowan. Contemporary records reflect that Curtis was in Cedar City, that he occasionally worked at the ironworks, and that he was a 2nd Lieutenant in a platoon in Company E of Isaac Haight's 2nd Battalion. Elias Morris was captain of the company and in the same platoon as Curtis were Sam Pollock and Jabez Durfee, all of whom lived in Cedar City. Also, the fine of $1,000 seems exorbitantly, especially in a barter economy in which cash did not circulate and men worked at the ironworks for a $2-a-day credit on the ironworks books. Lee (or his editor, Bishop) was probably wrong in identifying Curtis as the marshal in Parowan as he was about other details of this story.

 

'''''Our thanks to John Warnke for further background on Ezra Curtis.''''' 

 

'''Note:''' The histories of Emery County refer to an Ezra Curtis, or E. Curtis, Sr., who was an early settler in Emery County in 1878. This Ezra Curtis was a militiaman in Sanpete County who first ventured into what would later become Emery County in pursuit of marauding Ute Indians during the Black Hawk War in the mid-1860s. In 1905, his wife Mary Ann filed for divorce against him claiming that he was "an habitual drunkard" who swore at her and the children, according to a story in the local newspaper. This does not appear to be the same individual as Ezra Houghton Curtis (1823-1915).

= References =

Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 12; Bigler and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 235; Bishop, ''A History of Sevier County,'' 85; Brooks, ''Journal of the Southern Indian Mission,'' 129 fn. 70, citing the diary of George Washington Bean, one of the Las vegas missionaries. Esshom, ''Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah,'' 832; Jenson, ''Encyclopedic History of the Church,'' 738 (Salina); Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 232, 276, 379; Lee Trial transcripts; Familysearch.org; Shirts and Shirts, ''A Trial Furnace,'' 495; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Appendix C, 257; Warnke, "Biographical sketch of Ezra Houghton Curtis, 1823-1915"; Warnock, ''Through the Years: A Centennial History of Sevier County,'' 107, 108 (photo), 110, 122; Warnock & Warnock, ''Sevier Stake Memories,'' 416.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For more information on Ezra Houghton Curtis see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9055559
* Deseret Iron Company Account Book, 1854-1867: http://www.footnote.com/document/241905844/

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

William Bateman

2014-02-14T19:13:40Z

1857admin:

'''William Bateman, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

 '''William Bateman'''

1824-1867

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

A native of Lancashire in the Northwest of England, William Bateman was a British emigrant to the United States and a pioneer in southern Utah who later settled in Cache Valley in northern Utah.

=== Early Years in the North of England ===

Bateman was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England to Joseph Bateman and Margaret Turner. In 1843, he married Sarah Lavender (1824-1898) from Bedfordshire, East Anglia, England. Joseph and Margaret Bateman and many of their children converted to Mormonism in the 1840s. 

=== Immigration to America and onto Utah ===

Like many British converts to Mormonism in the mid-19th century, the Batemans saved their money to immigrate to America. Joseph Bateman and his wife were among the earliest British converts to Mormonism to immigrant to the United States, sailing to America in the early 1840s. When the Mormons departed western Illinois in 1846 and moved westward, so, too, did the Batemans. They crossed through the Iowa mud in 1846 and spent several years in the temporary Mormon settlements near the Missouri River in western Iowa-eastern Nebraska Territory.

By 1849, William and Sarah Bateman had gathered sufficient means to equip and provision an outfit to cross the plains. (His parents Joseph and Margaret Bateman, had immigrated the previous year in the Brigham Young Company.) They joined the Allen Taylor Company, which departed in early July. By then their family consisted of William, 25, Sarah Lavender, 25, Emma Lewis, 7, and William Henry, 4.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

As this was the first year of the Gold Rush to California, travel on the overland trails was intense that season and cholera was epidemic. It killed some of their company including Captain Samuel Gully, who expired on the 4th of July. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in early October.

=== Joining Other British Emigrants in the Iron Mission in Cedar City ===
[[Image:Sketch - Iron works.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''The Early Ironworks in Cedar City'''</center>]]

==== The Deseret Iron Company ====

By 1853, William Bateman, his wife and their family were in Cedar City in southern Utah where many British Mormons with iron mining or smelting experience worked at founding the "Iron Mission." In moving to Cedar City, Bateman was settling in an area dominated by the Deseret Iron Company, known more familiarly as the Ironworks. See [[Summary of Deseret Iron Company]] for a brief summary of its early development.

==== The Ironworks in 1857 ====

In April 1857, the delivery of a new steam engine from Great Salt Lake City seemed to breathe new life for the Ironworks. Working from April to June they installed the steam engine and completed the new engine house. In the first week of July, they were ready to begin smelting. They “put on the blast” and had a modicum of success. But they continued to be plagued with problems ranging from poor quality raw materials to smelting equipment that lacked technical sophistication. When in late July the steam engine seized with sand from the dirty creek water, they speedily dug a reservoir to store a supply of clean water for the boiler. They continued making smelting runs through August. All the while crews at the ironworks manned all the necessary functions there, while other crews, mainly miners and teamsters, gathered the raw materials – iron ore, coal, limestone, and wood – necessary to sustain smelting.

The smelting continued until September 13. In other words, around September 3, when a dispute arose between some settlers and several men in the passing Arkansas company, the blast furnace was running nonstop. And when Cedar City militiamen, many of them ironworkers, mustered to Mountain Meadows where they were involved in the massacre on September 11, other ironworkers in Cedar City continued the smelting runs night and day. For additional details, see [[Smelting at the Ironworks in 1857]].

From late April to September, those working up the canyon in mining or hauling wood, coal, limestone, rock, sand or “adobies” to the ironworks were [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac C. Haight]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M. Macfarlane]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], Elias Morris, [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Robert Wiley|Robert Wiley]], and [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]]. Those working at the ironworks on the furnace, engine, coke ovens or blacksmith shop included Elias Morris, [[John S. Humphries|John Humphries]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[John M. Urie|John Urie]], [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Joseph Clews|Joseph Clews]], [[Richard Harrison|Richard Harrison]], [[William C. Stewart|William C. Stewart]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M Macfarlane]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[William S. Riggs|William S. Riggs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Eleazer Edwards|Eliezar Edwards]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], and [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]]. (The two lists overlap because some worked both in the canyon and at the Ironworks.) Other prominent figures at the ironworks who were not later involved at Mountain Meadows were Samuel Leigh, George Horton, James H. Haslem, Laban Morrell, John Chatterley, Thomas Gower, Thomas Crowther and others.

==== Bateman's Role in the Ironworks in 1857 ====

At some point, Bateman’s faith had slackened and he had “gone off to California” for a time. Eventually, he returned and in late July, he hauled nearly two tons of coal to the ironworks. The following week, he hauled another ton of coal. He did the same the following week and at mid-August, another two tons. During the intense week at the end of the month, when the iron run was in progress, he hauled another ton of coal.

By Sunday, August 30, Bateman was ready to publicly recommit to the community and church. At the Sunday afternoon church meeting, he stood before the congregation and made a short acknowledgement of the error of his ways, saying, “you all know what I want and what I have done in going off to California. I have come back and desire again to become a member of the Church and I will endeavor to do better.” After an affirmative vote of those present, he was accepted back into the church. He continued occasional work at the ironworks. On October 12, he was credited with ten days of work building the new engine house. (This work may have been done previous to his taking leave for California.)

The majority of the southern Utah militiamen at Mountain Meadows were from Cedar City. Of these, nearly all of them had worked at the Ironworks or supplied raw materials to it. Indeed, in the weeks before the Mountain Meadows Massacre, they had worked intensely together, hauling materials, building a new water reservoir, and making the latest run of the blast furnace. One perennial mystery of the massacre has been why the militiamen mustered to Mountain Meadows in “broken” militia units; that is, from different platoons and companies, none of which had a full compliment of its members. Perhaps the reason lies with the Ironworks. Those in the Ironworks knew each other and had worked alongside one another. Not only did William Bateman know those who mustered from Cedar City to Mountain Meadows, he had worked with them at the Ironworks as recently as the week before. Perhaps the answer is that the men of the Ironworks were on hand and available and Isaac Haight, who himself had worked closely with them, assigned them to muster to Mountain Meadows.

=== In the Iron Military District: Sergeant William Bateman, Company G, John Higbee's 3rd Battalion, Cedar City ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In 1857, William Bateman, 33, was listed as a sergeant of a platoon under Captain [[Eleazer Edwards|Eliezar Edwards]] in Company G in Major [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee's]] 3rd Battalion. (A William H. Bateman was a private in Company E under Captain Elias Morris in Major Isaac C. Haight's 2nd Battalion.) See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

According to [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[William A. Young|William "Billy" Young]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] and [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Bateman was at Mountain Meadows at the time of the massacre. According to Lee, Bateman attended the fateful military council on Thursday evening, September 10.

Also according to Lee and others, on Friday, September 11, Bateman carried a flag of truce to the emigrant camp to gain admittance to their wagon circle where Lee delivered deceptive terms of surrender to them. Later in the day, Bateman may have been among the militia guard from Cedar City who were alongside the emigrant men as they walked north from the emigrant wagon circle. As the massacre commenced, the duty of the guards was to wheel and fire on the emigrant men, quickly dispatching them. Yet during the actual massacre, reactions varied among the guards. Some shrank from their duty, others fired over the heads of their victims, while others still undertook their bloody duty with zeal. Within minutes, members of the Cedar City unit had killed all but three of the emigrant men. However, whether William Bateman was in this guard unit and if so, how he acted during the massacre will probably never be known with any certainty.

Like many of the massacre participants from the Cedar City area, he was listed in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warranty.

[[Image:Cache_Valley_Map.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''Map of Cache Valley in northeastern Utah.'''</center>]]
=== Abandoning Cedar City for Cache Valley ===

By 1859, the Batemans had moved to West Jordan in Salt Lake County. In the 1860s, they moved to Richmond in Cache Valley where he died in 1867.

= References =

Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 144, 145, 325; Bigley and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 70n, 122, 123, 235, 347, 394; Brooks, ''The Mountain Meadows Massacre,'' 73; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 232, 236, 238, 379; Lee Trial transcripts; Moorman and Sessions, ''Camp Floyd and the Mormons,'' 135; New.Familysearch.org; Novak, ''House of Mourning,'' 158; Powell, ed., ''Utah History Encyclopedia,'' 321; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: The Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 95, 114; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 187, 194, Appendix C, 256.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on William Bateman, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* Deseret Iron Company Account Book, 1854-1867: http://www.footnote.com/document/241905844/
* http://famroots.org/getperson.php?personID=I31779&tree=Complete
* http://www.geni.com/people/William-Bateman/6000000000688936448
* http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=67581440

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment below or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

List of the Accused

2014-02-05T08:26:22Z

1857admin:

{| class="prettytable" border="1"
|-
| <center>'''Name and Rank of Accused Militiamen'''</center>
| <center>'''Sources Claiming They Were at the Massacre'''</center>
| <center>'''Additional Comments'''</center>
|-
| [[George Washington Adair|Adair, George Washington, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources. Presumably "John W. Adair" in the 1859 arrest warrant is George W. Adair.
|-
| [[Samuel Adair|Adair, Samuel, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4
| Or Samuel Newton Adair? Although named in the 1859 arrest warrant, Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[Ira Allen|Allen, Ira, 2nd Lt.]]
| 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Arthur, Benjamin Able, Sgt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources, among which is Ellott Willden's late statement.
|-
| [[William Bateman|Bateman, William, Sgt.]]
| 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Cartwright, Thomas Henry, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[John W. Clark|Clark, John Wesley, Pvt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Joseph Clews|Clews/Clewes, Joseph Thomas, Pvt.]]
| 7, 8. 9
| Self-confessed. However, Clews was not at the massacre, John Higbee having sent him back to Cedar City carrying an express to Isaac Haight.
|-
| [[Prime T. Coleman|Coleman, Prime Thornton, Pvt.]]
|
| Coleman admitted to Major Carleton that he and Ira Hatch followed the tracks of several escaping emigrants to the Muddy River in Nevada. Carleton believed that Hatch and he may have killed them.
|-
| [[Ezra H. Curtis|Curtis, Ezra Houghton, 2nd Lt.]]
| 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[William H. Dame|Dame, William Horne, Col.]]
| 4, 5, 6, 7
| Not at the massacre itself or involved in its early planning but implicated in the decision on the eve of the massacre to kill the emigrants.
|-
| [[Jabez Durfee|Durfee/Durfey, Jabez, Pvt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
| Lee identified him in "Mormonism Unveiled."
|-
| [[Eleazer Edwards|Edwards, Eleazer, Cpt.]]
| 7, 8
| Lee identified "____ Edwards" as possibly a messenger he sent from Mountain Meadows back to Cedar City. Walker, Turley and Leonard tentatively identify this as William Edwards. However, the more likely identification is Eleazer Edwards, who had been in Cedar City since the early 1850s, was a collier in the early ironworks, worked on the reservoir for the steam engine in August 1857, and was captain of Company G in John Higbee's 3rd Battalion. Conversely, the 1924 affidavit allegedly linking William Edwards to the massacre now appears to be a forgery.
|-
| [[Columbus R. Freeman|Freeman, Columbus Reed, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Isaac C. Haight|Haight, Isaac Chauncey, Maj.]]
| 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 9
| Not personally at Mountain Meadows during the siege or massacre, but directly involved in every step of the planning and implementation of the massacre.
|-
| [[Oscar Hamblin|Hamblin, Oscar, 2nd Lt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Richard Harrison|Harrison, Richard, 2nd Lt.]]
| 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources. Listed as "____ Harrison in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[Ira Hatch|Hatch, Ira, Pvt.]]
| 1, 4, 9
| Hatch may not have been at Mountain Meadows but he was involved in tracking several emigrants fleeing across Nevada. He allegedly had them killed.
|-
| Hawley, John Pierce, Sgt.
| 7, 8, 9
| In ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' John D. Lee made an equivocal identification of John Hawley but William Bishop listed him in his "List of Assassins."
|-
| [[William S. Hawley|Hawley, William Schroeder, Sgt.]]
| 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources. Listed as "William Halley" in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[John M. Higbee|Higbee, John Mount, Major]]
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Charles Hopkins|Hopkins, Charles, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[John S. Humphries|Humphries, John Samuel, Fifer]]
| 8, 9
| In ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' John D. Lee did not mention Humphries by name, but William Bishop listed him in his "List of Assassins."
|-
| [[George Hunter|Hunter, George, Sgt.]]
| 6, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Alexander G. Ingram|Ingram, Alexander G., Cpt.]]
| 3, 4
| "____ Ingram" was listed in the 1859 arrest warrant. Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[John Jacobs|Jacobs, John, Pvt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
| Identified by John D. Lee in "Mormonism Unveiled."
|-
| [[Swen Jacobs|Jacobs, Swen, 2nd Lt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources. In ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' John D. Lee mentioned "Irvin Jacobs" while William Bishop listed Swen Jacobs.
|-
| [[Samuel Jewkes|Jewkes/Jukes, Samuel, Pvt.]]
| 5, 7, 8, 9
|
|-
| [[Nephi_Johnson|Johnson, Nephi, 2nd Lt.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Philip_Klingensmith|Klingensmith, Philip, Pvt.]]
| 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources but curiously not listed in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[Samuel_Knight|Knight, Samuel, Pvt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Dudley_Leavitt|Leavitt, Dudley, Pvt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
| Besides Lee, Samuel Knight also identified Leavitt in Knight's 1892 statement.
|-
| [[John_D._Lee|Lee, John Doyle, Maj.]]
| 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Loveridge, Alexander Hamilton, Sgt.]]
| 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Daniel_Macfarlane|Macfarlane, Daniel Sinclair, Adj.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources. "Daniel McFarlan" in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[John_M._Macfarlane|Macfarlane, John Menzies, Adj.]]
| 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| "John McFarlan" was listed in 1859 arrest warrant. In "Mormonism Unveiled," John D. Lee made an equivocal identification of him. Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[Samuel_McMurdie|McMurdie, Samuel, Sgt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources but curiously not listed in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[James_M._Mangum|Mangum, James Mitchell, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[John_Mangum|Mangum, John, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
| Walker, Turley and Leonard question whether John D. Lee confused John Mangum with his brother James, whose presence at the siege and massacre is confirmed by multiple sources. However, Lee made several specific references to John Mangum.
|-
| [[Sims_L._Matheny|Matheny, Sims Lafayette, Sgt.]]
| 3, 4
| "Sims Matheney" in the 1859 arrest warrant but not otherwise identified. Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[James_N._Mathews|Mathews, James Nicolas, 2nd Lt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
|
|-
| [[Elias Morris|Morris, Elias, Adj.]]
| 9
| Morris was not at Mountain Meadows during the siege or massacre and is not listed in the usual 19th-century sources. However, as Isaac C. Haight's adjutant, he was involved in planning and implementation.
|-
| [[Jabez_Nowlin|Nowlin/Nomlen, Jabez, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4
| "Jabes Nomlen" was listed in the 1859 arrest warrant but not otherwise identified, Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[Harrison_Pearce|Pearce, Harrison, Cpt.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources. Listed as "Harrison Pierce" in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[James_Pearce|Pearce, James, Pvt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources.. The 1859 arrest warrant lists "James Price." Does this refer to James Pearce or John Price?
|-
| [[Samuel_Pollock|Pollock, Samuel, Sgt.]]
| 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[John_Price|Price, John, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4
| The 1859 arrest warrant lists "James Price." Does this refer to James Pearce or John Price? Walker, Turley and Leonard question Price's involvement, assuming that "James Price" in the arrest warrant referred to James Pearce.
|-
| [[William_S._Riggs|Riggs, William Sears, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4
| William S. Riggs was listed in the 1859 arrest warrant but not otherwise identified. Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[Don_Carlos_Shirts|Shirts, Don Carlos, 2nd Lt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[William_R._Slade|Slade, William Rufus, Pvt.]]
| 3?, 4?, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources. The 1859 arrest warrant names William Slade. Is that the father or the son?
|-
| [[William_Slade|Slade, William, Sgt.]]
| 3?, 4?, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources. The 1859 arrest warrant names William Slade. Is that the father or the son?
|-
| [[Joseph_H._Smith|Smith, Joseph Hodgetts, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[George_Spencer|Spencer, George]]
| 9
| Spencer is not listed in the usual 19th-century sources, but he confessed in a letter to being in the "horrid Mountain Meadows affair." The 1857 muster rolls list him as an adjutant to Captain Harrison Pearce in John D. Lee's 4th Battalion.
|-
| [[William_C._Stewart|Stewart, William Cameron, 2nd Lt.]]
| 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Anthony_J._Stratton|Stratton, Anthony Johnson, 2nd Lt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
|
|-
| [[William_Tait|Tait, William, Cpt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
|
|-
| [[Amos_G._Thornton|Thornton, Amos Griswold, Sgt.]]
| 3, 4
| List as "____ Thornton" in 1859 arrest warrant. Albert Hamblin also saw him at Hamblin's ranch during the week. His role, if any, in the massacre is not verified.
|-
| [[David_W._Tullis|Tullis, David Wilson, Pvt.]]
| 1, 9
| Tullis was working for Jacob Hamblin at Mountain Meadows and Albert Hamblin confirmed that Tullis was at Hamblin's ranch. One of the surviving children reportedly claimed that Tullis killed her parents.
|-
| [[Oscar_Tyler|Tyler, Oscar, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4
| The 1859 arrest warrant listed one "____ Tyler." Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[John_Urie|Urie, John, Adj.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[John_Western|Weston, John, Sgt.]]
| 6, 8, 9
| Walker, Turley and Leonard doubt Weston's involvement. Their first argument -- that "John Weston" is not documented in southern Utah in 1857 -- is clearly mistaken since multiple contemporary and reminiscent sources confirm Weston's presence in Cedar City and later in Beaver and Millard counties. Their second argument is that Nephi Johnson may have confused John Weston with John Willis.
|-
| [[Joel_White|White, Joel William, Cpt.]]
| 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed.
|-
| [[Robert_Wiley|Wiley, Robert, Sgt.]]
| 6, 7, 8, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[Ellott_Willden|Wilden/Willden, Elliot, Pvt.]]
| 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources. Listed as "E. Welean" in 1859 arrest warrant.
|-
| [[John_Willden|Wilden/Willden, John, Pvt.]]
| 7, 8, 9
| In ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' Lee and Bishop refer to "Alexander Willden." Walker, Turley and Leonard doubt his involvement.
|-
| [[James_Williamson|Williamson, James, Pvt.]]
| 6, 9
| Confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| [[William_A._Young|Young, William Alma, Pvt.]]
| 6, 7, 8
| Self-confessed and confirmed by multiple sources.
|-
| '''Accused but Unidentifiable Individuals'''
|
|
|-
| Elang, Joseph
| 3
| Unknown individual.
|-
| McDulange, F. C.
| 3
| Unknown individual.
|-
| '''Accused but of Doubtful or Limited Involvement'''
|
|
|-
| [[Andrew A. Allen|Allen, Andrew Augustus, Sgt.]]
| 3, 4
| Listed as Ira Allen and "son." The only source linking Andrew Allen to the massacre is the equivocal reference in the 1859 arrest warrant. Walker, Turley and Leonard question his involvement.
|-
| [[William R. Davies|Davies, William Rees, Adj.]]
| 1
| Davies only appears on the Forney list. He and John D. Lee both lived at Fort Harmony, but Walker, Turley and Leonard find insufficient evidence of his involvement.
|-
| Dickson, Robert, Pvt.
| 9
| Not mentioned in any of the usual 19th-century sources. Albert Hamblin recalls that he was at Hamblin's ranch during the siege but his role, if any, in the massacre is unverified.
|-
| [[William Edwards|Edwards, William, Pvt.]]
| 9
| He is not mentioned in the usual 19th-century sources. A statement attributed to Edwards allegedly connects him to the massacre; however, the present consensus is that the document is a forgery.
|-
| Hawley, George, Sgt.
| 9
| Not listed in the usual 19th-century sources. Walker, Turley and Leonard found a little-known list attributed to John D. Lee. However, neither Lee nor William Bishop mention George Hawley in ''Mormonism Unveiled.''
|-
| Reeves, Josiah, Pvt.
| 9
| Not listed in usual 19th-century sources. However, Ellott Willden mentioned Reeves' role in scouting the emigrant party upon their arrival at Mountain Meadows. His role, if any, in the massacre is unverified.
|-
| Riddle, Isaac, Pvt.
| 9
| Not named in the usual 19th-century sources but was known to be in the vicinity. His role, if any, in the massacre is unverified.
|-
| Robinson, Richard Smith., 2nd Lt.
| 9
| Not named in the usual 19th-century sources but Albert Hamblin observed him at Mountain Meadows during the week. His role, if any, in the massacre is unverified.
|-
| Stoddard, David K., Musician
| 9
| A Cedar City neighbor recollected Stoddard gathering with others to muster to Mountain Meadows. However, he is not otherwise mentioned in the other 19th-century sources. Of doubtful involvement.
|-
| White, Samuel Dennis, Pvt.
| 8
| Listed by William Bishop but not by John D. Lee or any other source.
|-
| Willis, John Henry, 2d Lt.
| 3, 4, 6, 9
| John Willis testified in the 1875 trial of John D. Lee, insisting that he did not arrive at the Meadows until after the massacre and that his only role was in transporting the surviving children to Cedar City.
|-
| '''Accused but not Involved'''
|
|
|-
| Lewis, Samuel
| 3
| Multiple sources confirm that Lewis was on scouting party along the Sevier River during the massacre.
|-
| '''''Legend'' '''
'''1 – Militiamen listed by Indian Superintendent Jacob Forney in 1859.'''

'''2 – Those identified by Cedar City militiaman Henry Higgins in affidavit provided to Judge John Cradlebaugh in 1859.'''

'''3 – Those listed in the 1859 arrest warrant issued by Judge John Cradlebaugh after consultation with anonymous militia sources.'''

'''4 – Those listed in ''Rocky Mountain Saints'' by T. B. H. Stenhouse; with few exceptions it recapitulates the 1859 arrest warrant.'''

'''5 – Those named in the federal indictment issued in 1874 naming nine militiamen.'''

'''6 – Those identified by witnesses testifying during the 1875 and 1876 Lee trials.'''

'''7 – Those identified by John D. Lee in the text of ''Mormonism Unveiled or the Confessions of John D. Lee''.'''

'''8 – Those listed in "Names of Assassins" appended to ''Mormonism Unveiled'' by Lee’s attorney, William W. Bishop''.'''''

'''9 - Those identified by Walker, Leonard and Turley in ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows.'''''

|
|
|}

William S. Hawley

2014-01-29T23:37:38Z

1857admin:

'''William Schroeder Hawley, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre '''

 '''William S. Hawley'''

'''1829-1893'''

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

William Schroeder Hawley was a native of Peoria County in west-central Illinois with American forebears from Vermont and Tennessee. Moving from there to central, then western, Illinois, and finally to frontier Utah, Hawley was an American frontiersman and pioneer of southern Utah.

=== Early Life in Illinois ===

Hawley was born in Peoria, Peoria County in west-central Illinois. Hawley’s father and paternal grandfather were from Addison County near Lake Champlain in west-central Vermont; his maternal forebears, from Tennessee. In the early 1820s Hawley’s parents were married in Lawrence County in southeast Illinois. The family passed through Dupage County in north-east Illinois, then moved to the west to Lasalle County in central Illinois, then further west to Peoria County where William S. Hawley was born.

By the late 1830s they were in Shelby County in central Illinois. They heard the Mormon message and converted to Mormonism.

=== Migration to Utah ===

In 1855, Hawley married Nancy Sebrina Matheny (1837-1914) who was born in Green County, Arkansas. She was a younger sister of [[Sims L. Matheny|Sims Lafayette Matheny]]. In the 1850s, the Hawleys traveled to the temporary Mormon settlements in western Iowa. In 1856, they joined the Jacob Croft Company, which departed on the trek west in late June. Traveling with William Hawley were his older brothers, George and John, and their families.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in early October.

[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County.'''</center>]]

=== To Washington County and the Cotton Mission ===

In 1857, William Hawley with his brothers George and John Hawley along with his wife and his brother-in-law [[Sims_L._Matheny|Sims Matheny]] were original settlers in Washington, Washington County, in southern Utah. Washington was settled by several interconnected families of southerners. Although the Hawleys were not from the South, evidently they joined the southerners because John Hawley had married into the Matheny family. Arriving in the future site of Washington in the spring, they encamped at Adair Springs. The Adairs, Mathenys, Pearces, Prices, Slades, and others were some of the principal families in the new settlement. These southerners founded the Cotton Mission in what came to be known as Utah's Dixie.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, it did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== Iron MIlitary District: 2nd Lieutenant William Hawley, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, William S. Hawley, 27, was sergeant under 2nd Lt. [[James N. Mathews|James Mathews']] platoon, in [[Harrison Pearce|Harrison Pearce’s]] Company I in [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee’s]] 4th Battalion. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

In the arrest warrant issued by Judge John Cradlebaugh in 1859, Hawley was listed as "William Halley." According to John D. Lee, Hawley was among the party from Washington who moved up to Mountain Meadows on Tuesday the 8th. Hawley’s exact role in the main massacre on Friday the 11th is uncertain.

[[Image:Millard_County.jpg|right|thumb|500px|<center>'''Map of Millard County, Utah.'''</center>]]

=== Later LIfe ===

According to [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Hawley moved to Fillmore in central Utah and in fact Hawley and his family left southern Utah in 1858, settling in Fillmore, Millard County. In the mid-1860s, a William S. Hawley was a deputy sheriff in Millard County. Between April 1865 and November 1867, Hawley was in the militia, or home guard, charged with protecting settlements and livestock and pursuing Indian raiders.

Hawley remained there until his death in 1893. He was survived by his wife and seven children. 

=== Rumors or Lore ===

Included under this heading are uncorroborated rumors, legends, or lore about some of the militiamen, which freely circulated after the massacre. Millard County newspaper editor Frank Beckwith collected information on William S. Hawley including Mountain Meadows lore to the effect that Hawley was chained to a wagon wheel as punishment for opposing the attack on the emigrants. But this is unconfirmed quadruple hearsay, allegedly passing from Hawley to Nate Dodge to Josiah F. Gibbs to Charles Kelly. Gibbs held that Hawley died "insane" while Beckwith reported that some thought Hawley was "a bit off." (''A History of Washington County,'' 29, fn. 11; ''A History of Millard County,'' 138.)

Years after his death, his widow applied for Indian War veterans benefits for his service during the Black Hawk War during the late 1860s.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 29, fn. 11; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 143; Beckwith, "Shameful Friday," 23-25; Bigler and Bagley, ed., ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 405; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 379; Lee Trial transcripts; Lyman and Newell, ''A History of Millard County,'' 138; New.FamilySearch.org; Turley and Walker, ed., ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Utah State Archive and Records and Service, Commissioner of Indian War Records, Indian War Service Affidavits, affidavit of Nancy Hawley re service of William S. Hawley, accessed at [http://archives.utah.gov/research/inventories/2217.html http://archives.utah.gov/research/inventories/2217.html]; Walker, et al, Massacre at Mountain Meadows, Appendix C, 258.

For full bibliographic information, see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on William S. Hawley, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

John M. Macfarlane

2014-01-29T23:10:08Z

1857admin:

'''John Menzies Macfarlane, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:John m. macfarlane 1b.jpg|left|125px|John m. macfarlane 1b.jpg]] 

 '''John Menzies Macfarlane'''

'''1833-1892'''

 

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Years in Scotland ===

John Menzies Macfarlane was born in October 1833 in Stirling, Stiflingshire, Scotland, the son of John Macfarlane and Annabella Sinclair. His brother [[Daniel_Macfarlane|Daniel Macfarlane]] was born in 1837. In 1842, his mother was impressed with the message of the newly arrived missionaries of Mormonism and joined the new church. He was baptized in 1845. His father died in 1846 when John was about thirteen.

During the 1840s, several other members of the Macfarlane family joined the Mormons and attended the Glasgow conference. They were unable to immigrate, however, until the church established its Perpetual Emigration Fund to assist indigent European converts to immigrate to Utah Territory in the American West. He was baptized into the Mormon Church in 1845.

=== Immigration to America and then to Utah ===

With that assistance, John Macfarlane, his mother, Annabella Macfarlane, and his younger brother, [[Daniel Macfarlane|Daniel]], began their journey in early 1852 to the Mormon "Zion" in Utah. In Liverpool, they met Mormon elder [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac C. Haight]] and traveled under his direction in their voyage. Arriving in the United States, they steamed up the Mississippi River to St. Louis and then Kansas City.

[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

After disembarking in Kansas City, Annabella Sinclair Macfarlane, 40, and her three children, John, 18, Ann, 17, and Daniel, 14, joined the Abraham O. Smoot Company which consisted of 250 individuals and 33 wagons when it began its journey. On the overland trail, there were at least ten deaths in the company from cholera, measles, or other causes. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of the overland trail they arrived in Great Salt Lake Valley in September.

They were the first company whose journey to Mormon Utah had been funded by the church's Perpetual Emigration Fund. After their arrival in the valley of the Great Salt Lake, they moved north and settled in Bountiful.

=== To the Ironworks in Cedar City ===
[[Image:Sketch - Iron works.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''The Early Ironworks in Cedar City'''</center>]]

In October 1853, the Macfarlanes arrived in Cedar City, the headquarters of the Iron Mission where many Mormon converts from the British Isles had settled. Shortly before their move, his mother had become a plural wife of [[Isaac_C._Haight|Isaac C. Haight]]. Her sons, John and Daniel, became his stepsons. Soon after their arrival, Macfarlane began teaching school which he continued for several years. Late in 1854, Macfarlane married Ann Chatterley (1837-1926), the daughter ofJoseph Chatterley and Nancy Morton, and the brother of John Chatterley. In the coming years, they had ten children together.

==== The Deseret Iron Company ====

By settling in Cedar City, John Macfarlane was in an area dominated by the Deseret Iron Company, known more familiarly as the Ironworks. See [[Summary of Deseret Iron Company]] for a brief summary of its early development.

==== The Ironworks in 1857 ====

In April 1857, the delivery of a new steam engine from Great Salt Lake City seemed to breathe new life for the Ironworks. Working from April to June they installed the steam engine and completed the new engine house. In the first week of July, they were ready to begin smelting. They “put on the blast” and had a modicum of success. But they continued to be plagued with problems ranging from poor quality raw materials to smelting equipment that lacked technical sophistication. When in late July the steam engine seized with sand from the dirty creek water, they speedily dug a reservoir to store a supply of clean water for the boiler. They continued making smelting runs through August. All the while crews at the ironworks manned all the necessary functions there, while other crews, mainly miners and teamsters, gathered the raw materials – iron ore, coal, limestone, and wood – necessary to sustain smelting.

The smelting continued until September 13. In other words, around September 3, when a dispute arose between some settlers and several men in the passing Arkansas company, the blast furnace was running nonstop. And when Cedar City militiamen, many of them ironworkers, mustered to Mountain Meadows where they were involved in the massacre on September 11, other ironworkers in Cedar City continued the smelting runs night and day. For additional details, see [[Smelting at the Ironworks in 1857]].

From late April to September, those working up the canyon in mining or hauling wood, coal, limestone, rock, sand or “adobies” to the ironworks were [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac C. Haight]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M. Macfarlane]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], Elias Morris, [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Robert Wiley|Robert Wiley]], and [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]]. Those working at the ironworks on the furnace, engine, coke ovens or blacksmith shop included Elias Morris, [[John S. Humphries|John Humphries]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[John M. Urie|John Urie]], [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Joseph Clews|Joseph Clews]], [[Richard Harrison|Richard Harrison]], [[William C. Stewart|William C. Stewart]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M Macfarlane]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[William S. Riggs|William S. Riggs]], [[Alexander_H._Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Eleazer Edwards|Eliezar Edwards]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], and [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]]. (The two lists overlap because some worked both in the canyon and at the Ironworks.) Other prominent figures at the ironworks who were not later involved at Mountain Meadows were Samuel Leigh, George Horton, James H. Haslem, Laban Morrell, John Chatterley, Thomas Gower, Thomas Crowther and others.

==== John Macfarlane's Limited Role at the Ironworks in 1857 ====

During this period in 1857, John Macfarlane’s occasional role was as a teamster hauling lumber. When it became imperative to have a reservoir for clean water for the steam engine, Macfarlane was in the crew of more than 40 who built the reservoir. That was the extent of his involvement in the ironworks that year.

=== In the Iron Military District: John Macfarlane, Adjutant to Major Isaac Haight, 2nd Battalion, Cedar City ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In June 1857, 23-year-old Macfarlane was listed as an adjutant to [[John M. Higbee|Captain John M. Higbee]] in one of the companies of the Iron County militia. However, over the summer the militia was reorganized. By September 1857, at the outbreak of the Utah War, Higbee had advanced to major of the 3rd Battalion, and Macfarlane became adjutant to Major [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac Haight]] in the 2nd Battalion. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

lf John Macfarlane was at Mountain Meadows, he would have rode from Cedar City and arrived sometime between Tuesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 10. In [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee's]] autobiography posthumously published in 1877, Lee named many Cedar City militiamen in attendance at the Thursday night militia council at Mountain Meadows that decided the fate of the Fancher-Baker company. Lee is categorical in naming most of these men. But as to Macfarlane, he was less certain. "I honestly believe that John Macfarland . . . was there -- I am not positive that he was, but my best impression is that he was there. . . ." There is considerable evidence that his brother, [[Daniel Macfarlane|Daniel Macfarlane]], was present at the massacre on September 11, and played a significant role in it. However, we have no information on the role, if any, that John Macfarlane played. In ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Walker, Turley and Leonard express uncertainty about whether John Macfarlane was present at Mountain Meadows.

In 1859, Judge John Cradlebaugh interviewed anonymous militiamen and citizens of Cedar City and based on this information, found probable cause to issue an arrest warrant against 38 militiamen, most of them from Cedar City. "John McFarlan" was named. ''Rocky Mountain Saints,'' published in 1873, also listed him. He had a role in the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] in 1875, discussed below.

[[Image:Washington_County.jpg|right|thumb|350px|<center>'''Map of Washington County, Utah.'''</center>]]
=== Move to Washington County ===

In 1859, Macfarlane moved to the new settlement of Toquerville in Washington County where he became the postmaster. He also worked as surveyor, surveying towns, fields and canals. By 1862, Macfarlane was one of those who mediated a dispute over water rights between the settlers in St. George and Santa Clara. [[Samuel_Knight|Samuel Knight]] was among those who represented Santa Clara. In 1866, Macfarlane became the superintendent of schools in Iron County. In October of the same year, he took a second wife, marrying Agnes Eliza Heyborn (1846-1932) in Salt Lake City, the daughter of John and Sarah Ann Heyborn. Over the years, they had nine children together.

=== Musical Career ===

In Mormon communities, choir director was an important assignment. When [[John_Western|John Weston/Western]] moved from Cedar City to Beaver, Beaver County in 1859 to build the choir there, Macfarlane was requested to return to Cedar City in Iron County to head the community choir. Then in 1868, Mormon leader Erastus Snow requested that Macfarlane move to St. George to take over the choir. Macfarlane turned over the reins of the Cedar City choir to his brother-in-law, John Chatterley. In St. George, he assumed the leadership of the community choir and held the position for nearly 20 years. 

[[Image:John m. macfarlane 2.jpg|right|300px|John m. macfarlane 2.jpg]]
While Macfarlane worked variously as teacher, surveyor, postmaster, lawyer, and justice of the peace, what garnered him the most renown in his community was his ability as a musician, chorister and song writer. His most famous composition was the Christmas carol "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains," composed in 1869. More than 140 years later, it remains a Yuletide favorite in the English-speaking world. In addition, Macfarlane's St. George choir performed at important occasions and community ceremonies. In the 1870s, a spirit of cooperation among Catholics in the mining town of Silver Reef and Mormons in St. George led the Mormons to offer Father Lawrence Scanlan the use of the recently completed St. George Tabernacle to celebrate mass. MacFarlane's choir provided music for the mass.

=== The Black Hawk War and Mormon-Navajo War, 1865-1870 ===

Nearly two decades after his death in 1892, John Macfarlane’s widow applied for Indian Wars veterans benefits for Macfarlane's service during Utah's Black Hawk War. According to the application, beginning December 1868, he served under Col. C. C. McArthur for fourteen months. Macfarlane “took charge of [the] home guard, mustered troops and secured supplies for the different expeditions.” In addition, he commanded an expedition to Canaan and took part in a skirmish south of St. George.

=== Macfarlane's Role in John D. Lee's First Trial, 1875 ===

In 1875, after [[John_D._Lee|John D. Lee]] was arrested and charged with complicity in the massacre, five attorneys represented him in his first trial. Church leaders offered him the services of Jabez G. Sutherland. Lee also used Judge E.D. Hoge; Wells Spicer (who later conducted an inquest into the infamous shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona); and William Bishop, who later edited and published [[John_D._Lee|John D. Lee's]] autobiography, ''Mormonism Unveiled.'' John Macfarlane also provided Lee with legal assistance. Because of his Mormon contacts and familiarity with massacre participants, his main role seems to have been to aid Lee's defense team in providing background on the massacre and contacting witnesses. Macfarlane testified briefly in the 1875 trial on collateral matters such as the whereabouts of certain witnesses.

Evidently, he did not work for Lee in 1876 although he was present in Beaver for Lee's second trial. After Lee's conviction, Macfarlane and Joseph Fish interviewed U.S. Marshal William Nelson about the Lee proceedings.

In January 1879, Macfarlane took a third plural wife, marrying Elizabeth Jane Adams (1858-1948) in St. George, the daughter of Samuel Lorenzo Adams and Emma Jackson. They had seven children.

=== Final Years ===

In 1888, Macfarlane helped in establishing the first academy for advanced schooling in Washington County. During the anti-polygamy raid of the late 1880s, Macfarlane fled to the Mormon colony in Mexico to escape the warrants of federal marshals. He returned to St. George where he died in 1892 at the age of 58, survived by his three wives and many children.
 
Charles Lowell Walker attended Macfarlane's funeral, after which he recorded this sketch of John M. Macfarlane in his diary:

"Br John Macfarlane came from Scotland when a Boy; lived at Cedar City and was married there. He was called to this country [St. George] by the late apostle Erastus Snow on account of his Musical talent. He led the choir for many years, with much satisfaction to the saints. He was a good surveyor, and attorney at Law, a kind father and a husband to three wives. He was a jolly, good natured fellow, full of fun and pleasantry, fond of good living and merry company. When in robust health he weighed 235 lbs. Good bye, John; rest in peace and slumber sweetly but for a little while. . . . There was a large congregation at the funeral services and a large train of vehicles followed his Body to the Burying place." (Larson, ed. ''Diary of Charles Lowell Walker,'' Vol II, 740.)

 

[[Image:John m. macfarlane 3 director st. george stake chorus 1880s.jpg|thumb|center|650px|The St. George Stake Chorus, 1880s, with its director John M. Macfarlane, back row, center. Annie Macfarlane is front row, second from right.]]

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 115-16, 143, 170, 171, 194; Book Review, “Yours Sincerely, John M. Macfarlane," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 49/1 (Winter 1981), 100; Brooks, ed., ''Journal of the Southern Indian Mission,'' 106; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 51, 256, 264, following 296 (photo of choir), 321, 325, 330; Buchanan, "Scots Among the Mormons,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 36/4 (Fall 1968), 342; “Culture in Dixie," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29/3 (July 1961), 257; Esshom, ed., ''Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah,'' 1018; Krenkel, ed., ''Life and Times of Joseph Fish,'' 59, 91, 165; Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 30, 52, 326, 344, 383, 481-85, 487-489, 497, 506, 579, 608; Larson, ed., ''Diary of Charles Lowell Walker,'' 330, 428, 440, 466,, 485, 493, 502, 512, 515, 579-80, 670, 740; Larson, ''Erastus Snow,'' 382, 458, 551-52, 567, 578, 595-96, 607, 720; Lee trial transcripts; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 232, 380 (uncertain identification); Macfarlane, ''Yours Sincerely, John M. Macfarlane''; Papanikolas, ''The Peoples of Utah,'' 77, 97; Pendleton, “Memories of Silver Reef,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 3/4 (Oct. 1930), 116; Peterson, “Life in a Village Society, 1877-1920,” ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 49/1 (Winter 1981), 81; Powell, ed., ''Utah History Encyclopedia,'' 561; Seegmiller, ''A History of Iron County,'' 191, 192, 239-40; Shirts and Shirts, ''A Trial Furnace,'' 484, 492; Utah State Archive and Records and Service, Commissioner of Indian War Records, Indian War Service Affidavits, affidavit re service of John M. Macfarlane, accessed at http://archives.utah.gov/research/inventories/2217.html; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Appendix C, 260.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on John Menzies Macfarland see:

* http://macfarlane-sinclair.org/index.php?page=5
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Menzies_Macfarlane
* http://www.stgeorgelive.org/stop4.html
* http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/xmas/farfarawayonjudeasplains.shtml
* Deseret Iron Company Account Book, 1854-1867: http://www.footnote.com/document/241905844/
* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* http://images.archives.utah.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/2217/id/15133/rec/3

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment below or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

Dudley Leavitt

2014-01-29T22:03:34Z

1857admin: /* Later LIfe */

'''Dudley Leavitt, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre '''

[[Image:Dudley leavitt 1.jpg|left|125px|Dudley leavitt 1.jpg]]

 

 '''Dudley Leavitt

1830-1908'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in Canada and Eastern U.S. ===

Dudley Leavitt was born in 1830 to Jeremiah Leavitt (1796-1846) and Sarah Sturdevant (1797-1878) in Harley, Lower Quebec, Canada. His father’s family was from Rockingham, New Hampshire; his mother, from Plymouth, Massachusetts. They had long been New Englanders before their foray into Canada. In the 1830s, the family heard of Joseph Smith's message of a restored gospel. Dudley and several other family members were baptized in 1838. In the 1840s, they settled in Nauvoo, the central Mormon gathering place in western Illinois.

=== Journeying to Utah ===

The Mormon prophet was murdered in 1844 and the Leavitts were among those who departed Illinois in 1846 bound for parts west. Leavitt's father died that summer while crossing the Iowa prairie, leaving his mother, Sarah Sturdevant Leavitt (1798-1878), to fend for her six children.

They remained for several years around Council Bluffs, Iowa, gathering the means to immigrate to Utah Territory. In spring 1850, having acquired the necessary outfit and provisions, the Leavitt family joined the Milo Andrus Company. Besides Sarah Sturdevant Leavitt, 51, there were Nathaniel, 26, his wife, Nancy, and their infant son, Dudley, 20, Mary, 18, Thomas, 16, Betsy, 12, and Sarah, 9. In the same company were [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Henry Cartwright]], Joseph Fish, and [[Robert Wiley|Robert Wiley]], each of whom would eventually settle in southern Utah.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

They departed in early June from the outfitting post at Kanesville, Iowa (modern Council Bluffs). The Andrus Company had about 200 in more than 50 wagons. It was a very heavy season on the overland trail that year. More than 50,000 bound for the California Gold Rush or Oregon had already departed, leaving the trails heavily overgrazed. Cholera was epidemic that season and Horace Fish (Joseph Fish's father) counted more than a thousand graves before he gave up counting. However, the Andrus Company only sustained one death. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake at the end of August.

===Settling in Tooele Valley ===

Immediately upon arriving, Leavitt and his brothers Lemuel and Thomas settled in Tooele Valley, Tooele County, on the western edge of Great Salt Lake Valley where they became acquainted with Jacob Hamblin.

Conflict with local Native Americans caused the settlers around Tooele to form a militia. Jacob Hamblin, his brother, [[Oscar Hamblin|Oscar]], their friend Dudley Leavitt, and the other adult males of the community were members of the militia. March 13, 1852 was the notable day in which Jacob Hamblin led a party that included Oscar Hamblin, Dudley Leavitt and others against the Goshute Indians. Confronting a Goshute, Hamblin fired at him while his adversary shot arrows at Hamblin. However, Hamblin's weapon misfired while the arrows of the Goshute went astray. Thus, despite their most strenuous efforts, neither was able to harm the others.

Later, as Jacob Hamblin reflected on this experience he came to see it as providential and interpreted it as a sign from God that he should abandon militaristic solutions against Native Americans and instead use pacific means in dealing with them. Jacob Hamblin was later the leader of the Southern Indian Mission and he had a powerful influence on his fellow Indian missionaries, including his brother [[Oscar Hamblin|Oscar]], Dudley Leavitt, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] and many others. For example, during the Indian unrest around Tooele, Dudley Leavitt captured an Indian prisoner but refused to allow him to be shot. Later, Brigham Young said the Indian should be fed and let go.

Jacob Hamblin journeyed to southern Utah in 1854 as an Indian missionary and helped found a settlement along the Santa Clara Creek among the Southern Paiutes. In 1855 he returned north for his family. In September, Jacob Hamblin with his father and brothers including Oscar Hamblin, their friend Dudley Leavitt and their respective families departed Tooele for Harmony in southern Utah.

=== Indian Interpreter in the Southern Indian Mission ===
[[Image:Fort Clara, sketch, 1855-1862.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''A Reconstruction of Fort Clara, 1855-1862.'''</center>]]

In March 1856, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, [[Samuel Knight|Sam Knight]] and Dudley Leavitt began building a stone fort on the banks of the Santa Clara Creek and soon began planting cotton which proved successful. Soon they brought their families from Harmony to join them at Fort Clara. News of their success in raising cotton would soon lead to the founding of the Cotton Mission in nearby Washington and St. George.

At Fort Clara, Leavitt became an Indian missionary/interpreter in the Southern Indian Mission encompassing southern Utah and, later, Arizona and Nevada. From the mid-1850s to the late 1860s, the Indian interpreters were headquartered at Fort Clara (modern Santa Clara) in southwestern Utah.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private Dudley Leavitt, Company H, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac_C._Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John_M._Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John_D._Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In summer 1857, Leavitt, 27, was a private in one of the two militia platoons located in Fort Clara. They were attached to Company H headed by Captain Alex Ingram in Fort Harmony. This and another company were in [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee's]] 4th Battalion of the 10th Regiment, or Iron Military District. In August 1857, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], the newly appointed president of the Southern Indian Mission selected Leavitt and [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] as his counselors.

In early September -- probably Sunday, September 6 -- [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]], who had passed the summer with his pregnant wife at Mountain Meadows to avoid the torrid heat of Fort Clara, brought orders to the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara and the Southerners at nearby Washington to muster the militia to Mountain Meadows. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

On Monday, September 7 (the day of the first ambush on the wagon company at Mountain Meadows), Leavitt, [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]], [[Don Carlos Shirts|Carl Shirts]], and other Indian interpreters from Fort Clara and a contingent of Southerners from Washington traveled northward toward Mountain Meadows, meeting [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] that evening some miles below the Meadows.

The next day they moved up to the Meadows and encamped in the "southern" camp, separate from the Cedar City detachment. Leavitt's exact role on the day of the final massacre is not known.

=== Immediate Aftermath of the Massacre ===

Having induced local Indians to join them in massacring the Arkansas company, the Iron County militia now found that they had lost control of them. Following behind the Arkansas train was the Dukes-Turner Company which fell under attack at Beaver. After arriving in Cedar City, Dukes and Turner hired [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[Oscar Hamblin|Oscar Hamblin]] and [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] to guide them through. Meanwhile, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] sent Dudley Leavitt and [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] to conciliate the Paiutes in Nevada. When the Dukes-Turner Company arrived near the Muddy River in Nevada, Leavitt convinced Dukes and Turner to release stock to the Paiute Indians. Controversy still swirls around this episode. Had Leavitt and Knight used the Paiutes to rob the train of its livestock, or, by appeasing the Paiutes with cattle, did they save the lives of those in the Dukes-Turner train?

=== Explorations in Nevada ===
[[Image:Dudley leavitt 2b.jpg|right|175px|Dudley leavitt 2b.jpg]]

In October 1857, Hamblin sent Dudley Leavitt and [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]] to the Iyats, or Mohaves near the Colorado River below Las Vegas. They received a friendly reception from the Chemehuevis they encountered, but they arrived at the Mohaves on the lower Colorado River at a very dangerous time. The Mohaves repeatedly threatened to kill them. In response, Hatch requested the privilege of praying to the Great Spirit to spare their lives. Somehow the Mojaves were impressed Hatch’s vocal prayer and he and Leavitt were released unharmed. Surviving on lizards, snakes, and chipmunks, they made it to Las Vegas where they met Jacob Hamblin and then returned to Ft. Clara.

Later that year and in early 1858, while helping Mormon settlers return from southern California to Utah, Leavitt and Ira Hatch explored along the Muddy River in (modern-day) southern Nevada. Several years later, Mormon settlers moved into the region explored by Dudley Leavitt, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]] and others to found the settlements of St. Thomas, St. Joseph and Overton on the Muddy River.

=== Scouting to Encounter the U.S. Army in 1858 ===
[[Image:Ives Steamboat.jpg|thumb|left|500px|<center>'''Lt. Joseph Ives steaming of the lower Colorado River in 1858 in the midst of the Utah War. Mormon Indian missionaries Jacob Hamblin, Thales Haskell, Ira Hatch, Sam Knight, and Dudley Leavitt surveilled them.'''</center>]]

In March 1858, Dudley Leavitt was in the patrol to southern Nevada with [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]], [[Samuel Knight|Sam Knight]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]] and Thales Haskell to scout for the approach of the U. S. Army from the West Coast.

Arriving on the lower Colorado River, they reconnoitered the progress of Lt. Joseph Ives’s historic steamboat voyage up the river. They encountered Paiutes and Mohaves and Thales Haskell made contact with the steamer. Occurring at the height of the Utah War when distrust was high, each side spied on the other and harbored mutual suspicions.

=== In Jacob Hamblin's Expeditions to the Hopi Mesas ===
[[Image:Hopi_Mesas_Map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>'''Map of the Hopi Mesas.'''</center>]]

In fall 1858, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] decided to visit the Indians who intrigued him so much, the Hopi. Departing in October, Hamblin undertook his first historic crossing of the Colorado River to travel though Navajo lands to the Hopi Mesas in northeastern Arizona. Dudley Leavitt, [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], and [[Samuel Knight|Sam Knight]] were with Hamblin in a party of fourteen on this first journey. Arriving at the Colorado River, they scouted the area at the mouth of the Paria River (later Lee’s Ferry) but were unable to cross. Traveling some miles farther east, they forded at the Ute Ford, or Crossing of the Fathers.

[[Image:Walpi.jpg|thumb|left|435px|<center>'''Walpi on First Mesa. The Indian interpreters first visited there in 1858.'''</center>]]
Traveling up Navajo Canyon they emerged and crossed the plateaus and arrived at Old Oraibi on Third Mesa in Hopi land. Next, they visited Sichomovi and Walpi at First Mesa. Returning, they passed through Mishongnovi at Second Mesa. Trading for what supplies the Hopis could afford to part with, they retraced their steps and crossed the Colorado. Running short of supplies north of the river, they nearly starved to death. Feeling weak and ill, [[Samuel Knight|Sam Knight]] was left behind and nearly froze to death. In desperation, they killed and ate Dudley Leavitt’s horse to stay alive. They made it back to Ft. Clara on the Santa Clara stream without loss of life.
 

=== Later LIfe ===
[[Image:Washington_County.jpg|right|thumb|350px|<center>'''Map of Washington County, Utah.'''</center>]]

After the Great Flood of 1862, Leavitt and others Indian interpreters assisted the new Swiss emigrants in Santa Clara. In 1853, Leavitt had married Mary Huntsman (1836-1922) and in 1855, he married her sister Mariah (1841-1922). In 1859, he married Thirza Hale Riding (1843-1927). The next year, at the urging of [[George A. Smith|George A. Smith]], Leavitt married an Indian girl named Janet (Jeanette) Smith (1845-1911) who later bore him eleven children. (Dudley Leavitt was the only man she could be convinced to marry, she is reported to have said.) Leavitt's final marriage was to a widow, Martha Hughes Pulsipher (1843-1907) in 1872. All together his wives bore him more than forty-five children. [[Image:Clark_County.jpg|right|thumb|300px|<center>'''Map of Clark County, Nevada.'''</center>]]

In the mid-1860s, Leavitt, [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] and others moved their families to Clover Valley and Meadow Valley in modern Lincoln County, Nevada. There they remained for several years. However, the outbreak of the Black Hawk War in 1865 eventually caused Mormons to abandon many unprotected outposts. Leavitt, Knight and their famiies returned to Santa Clara in southwestern Utah.

Leavitt became presiding elder at Hebron in 1868 or 1869. While in Gunlock, for lack of money, Leavitt was forced to withdraw his eighteen children from school. In the late 1880s, Leavitt like most polygamists hid from federal marshals during the period of the Raid.

=== Final Years ===

In his final years, Leavitt and his families lived in Bunkerville in the northeastern corner of Clark County in southern Nevada. He died in 1908, survived by four of his wives and his many descendants.

 

In Todd Compton's excellent new biography of Jacob Hamblin, he concluded that [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], Thales Haskell, [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]], Ammon Tenney, and Dudley Leavitt were Hamblin's "irreplaceable supports on these forays into unknown, unmapped, and often inhospitable places.” (Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 480.)

[[Image:Dudley Leavitt & wives.jpg|center|thumb|250px|<center>'''Dudley Leavitt flanked by his wives, c. 1900.'''</center>]]

[[Image:Brooks, Juanita.jpg|right|135px|Brooks, Juanita.jpg]]

=== His Granddaughter, Juanita Brooks, as Historian of the Massacre ===

In 1919, [[Juanita Brooks|Juanita Brooks]], Leavitt's granddaughter, witnessed the tortured scene at the deathbed of Leavitt's longtime acquaintance, [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]]. Like Dudley Leavitt, Johnson had been involved as a young man in the 1857 massacre. Its memory still haunted him more than a half century later.

Piqued by this experience, Juanita Brooks eventually revealed the story of the massacre in her monumental work, ''The Mountain Meadows Massacre,'' published in 1950. It had never been out of print. Later historians may have uncovered new source material, but Brooks's history is still a valuable contribution to our understanding of the massacre.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 22 fn. 7, 31, 161; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 34, 119, 126, 128, 142, 167, 183, 212, 247, 250, 255, 369; Bigley and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 147, 148, 259, 399, 411, 461; Blanthorn, ''A History of Tooele County,'' 360; Bradshaw, ed., ''Under Dixie Sun,'' 31, 123, 150, following 152 (photo), 153, 220, 222, 225; Brooks, "Indian Relations on the Mormon Frontier," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 12/1-2 (Jan.-Apr. 1944), 38-39, 44; "The Land That God Forgot," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 26/3 (July 1958), 209; "The Cotton Mission, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29/3 (July 1961), 313; "Indian Sketches from . . . Brown & Hamblin," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29/4 (Oct. 1961), 360; "Jest a Copyin’ – Word fr Word," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 37/4 (Fall 1969), 384; Brooks, ''The Mountain Meadows Massacre,'' 42, 121-25, 130, 179; Brooks, ''On the Ragged Edge: The Life and Times of Dudley Leavitt''; Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' xv, 36-37, 77-78, 79, 81, 102-104, 107, 111-13, 119-22, 133-47, 237, 480, 502 fn. 84; Ivins, "Free Schools Come to Utah, ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 22/4 (Oct. 1954), 338; history.lds.org/overlandtravels/; Krenkel, ed., ''Life and Times of Joseph Fish,'' 25-30, 91; Larson, ''Erastus Snow,'' 384, 391; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; Moorman and Sessions, ''Camp Floyd and the Mormons,'' 133-34; New.familysearch.org; Papanikolas, ''The Peoples of Utah,'' 286; Reeve, "Cattle, Cotton, and Conflict: . . . Hebron, Utah," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 67/2 (Spring 1999), 168; Reeve, ''Making Space on the Western Frontier,'' 105, 108, 148; Robinson, ed., ''History of Kane County,'' 3; Smith, "Colorado River Exploration and the Mormon War," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 38/3 (Summer 1970), 212; "Forces That Shaped Utah’s Dixie: Another Look," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 47/2 (Spring 1979), 118; "Vignettes," ''Utah Historical Quarterly,'' 29/3 (July 1961), 295-96; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 234, 236, 275; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 161-62, Appendix C, 259-60.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For more on Dudley Leavitt, see:

* Wikepedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_Leavitt
* Juanita Brooks's ''Dudley Leavitt, Pioneer of Southern Utah: ''http://www.archive.org/stream/dudleyleavittpio00broo
* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* For the Milo Andrus pioneer company of 1850, see http://history.lds.org/overlandtravels/companyDetail?lang=eng&companyId=51
* For the early Southern Indian Mission, see http://wchsutah.org/miscellaneous/indian-mission.php
* See also ''On the Ragged Edge: The Life and Times of Dudley Leavitt'' by Juanita Brooks.

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

James Williamson

2014-01-28T10:05:08Z

1857admin: /* Early Years in Scotland */

'''James Williamson, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre.''' '''[[Image:James_Williamson.jpg|thumb|left|120px]] '''

'''James Williamson'''

'''1813-1869'''

 

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

James Williamson was a Scottish Lowlander who immigrated to America and initially pioneered in southern Utah and later in Cache Valley in northern Utah. 

=== Early Years in Scotland ===

James Williamson was born in 1813 in Ballochney in the Scottish Lowlands to James and Margaret Cummings Williamson. He was the fourth of five children. Little is known of his childhood. In 1838, he married Mary Rae (1818-1889), from Skillhill, Scotland. She was the daughter of Thomas and Mary Thompson Rae. Eventually, they had six children, four of whom survived to adulthood. In the 1840s, they lived in Whiflet, Lanackshire, Scotland, near Glasgow, which was the most populous city in Scotland located in the west central lowlands. In 1843, he received baptism to become a member of the Mormon Church in Scotland.

=== Immigration to America and onto Utah ===

Following the common practice of European Latter-day Saints of that era, Williamson and his wife and family embarked from Liverpool, England in early 1848, bound for America. They arrived at New Orleans and steamed up the Mississippi River where they disembarked in St. Louis, Missouri.

They stayed there until spring 1851 where, having gathered sufficient means to continue their journey, they joined the James W. Cummings Company, which departed from the outfitting post at Kanesville (present day Council Bluffs), Iowa in early July. However, by the second week of July, the Williamsons and other Scots had separated from the company to form the James Easton Company, sometimes known informally as the Scotch Independent Company. They were dissatisfied with the pace of the company and were concerned that they would not have enough provisions for the entire distance.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

It was a very heavy travel season on the overland trail that year due to the California Gold Rush. Cholera was also epidemic and there were deaths due to cholera. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. They reached the valley of the Great Salt Lake in mid-September, several weeks ahead of the Cummings Company.

=== To the Ironworks at Cedar City ===

The company continued on to southern Utah where Williamson and his family were among the original settlers in Cedar City in 1851. Williamson was a private in original company F (foot) of the 2nd Battalion, Iron Regiment. He was listed among the original iron workers in 1851-52. However, in 1852, Williamson and another Scot, Alexander Keir, opposed Henry Lunt’s efforts to press company F into building fences.

==== Mining and Processing Coal for the Iron Works ====
[[Image:Sketch - Iron works.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''The Early Ironworks in Cedar City'''</center>]]

Williamson was involved from the beginning in the Iron Mission. He was among those who searched for iron ore near Iron Springs. He received credit for work on the ironworks and held shares in the Deseret Iron Company. However, in late 1853, he was among six who asked permission to withdraw as shareholders, evidently for lack of capital to fund their investment.

In 1854, he was one of the miners who mined coal and quarried rock for the new so-called "Nobel" furnace. The account book of the Deseret Iron Company consistently refers to Williamson's role in connection with coal: exploring for coal, starting a new coal mine, digging coal, and converting coal to coke. In the coal crews, his name is frequently listed first. Williamson was effectively the foreman of the coalminers. While the common laborer typically received $2 per day, Williamson's daily pay rate was frequently higher than the base rate. In other words, when it came to coal for the Ironworks, the Cedar City ironworkers recognized Williamson for his skill and expertise. See [[Summary of Deseret Iron Company]] for a brief summary of the early development fo the Ironworks.

==== The Ironworks in 1857 ====

In April 1857, the delivery of a new steam engine from Great Salt Lake City seemed to breathe new life for the Ironworks. Working from April to June they installed the steam engine and completed the new engine house. In the first week of July, they were ready to begin smelting. They “put on the blast” and had a modicum of success. But they continued to be plagued with problems ranging from poor quality raw materials to smelting equipment that lacked technical sophistication. When in late July the steam engine seized with sand from the dirty creek water, they speedily dug a reservoir to store a supply of clean water for the boiler. They continued making smelting runs through August. All the while crews at the ironworks manned all the necessary functions there, while other crews, mainly miners and teamsters, gathered the raw materials – iron ore, coal, limestone, and wood – necessary to sustain smelting.

The smelting continued until September 13. In other words, around September 3, when a dispute arose between some settlers and several men in the passing Arkansas company, the blast furnace was running nonstop. And when Cedar City militiamen, many of them ironworkers, mustered to Mountain Meadows where they were involved in the massacre on September 11, other ironworkers in Cedar City continued the smelting runs night and day. For additional details, see [[Smelting at the Ironworks in 1857]].

From late April to September, those working up the canyon in mining or hauling wood, coal, limestone, rock, sand or “adobies” to the ironworks were [[Isaac C. Haight|Isaac C. Haight]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Alexander H. Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Samuel McMurdie|Samuel McMurdie]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M. Macfarlane]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]], [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], Elias Morris, [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Robert Wiley|Robert Wiley]], and [[Philip Klingensmith|Philip Klingensmith]]. Those working at the ironworks on the furnace, engine, coke ovens or blacksmith shop included Elias Morris, [[John S. Humphries|John Humphries]], [[Ira Allen|Ira Allen]], [[John M. Urie|John Urie]], [[Benjamin A. Arthur|Benjamin Arthur]], [[James Williamson|James Williamson]], [[Joseph H. Smith|Joseph H. Smith]], [[Samuel Jewkes|Samuel Jewkes]], [[Joseph Clews|Joseph Clews]], [[Richard Harrison|Richard Harrison]], [[William C. Stewart|William C. Stewart]], [[William Bateman|William Bateman]], [[John M. Macfarlane|John M Macfarlane]], [[John M. Higbee|John M. Higbee]], [[John Jacobs|John Jacobs]], [[George Hunter|George Hunter]], [[Samuel Pollock|Samuel Pollock]], [[William S. Riggs|William S. Riggs]], [[Alexander H. Loveridge|Alex Loveridge]], [[Ellott Willden|Ellott Wilden]], [[Ezra H. Curtis|Ezra Curtis]], [[Eleazer Edwards|Eliezar Edwards]], [[Swen Jacobs|Swen Jacobs]], [[Joel White|Joel White]], and [[Thomas H. Cartwright|Thomas Cartwright]]. (The two lists overlap because some worked both in the canyon and at the Ironworks.) Other prominent figures at the ironworks who were not later involved at Mountain Meadows were Samuel Leigh, George Horton, James H. Haslem, Laban Morrell, John Chatterley, Thomas Gower, Thomas Crowther and others.

==== Williamson's Role in the Ironworks ====

During this period in 1857, few ironworkers performed more work than Williamson and he proved to have both strength and versatility. In the late winter, he traveled up canyon in search of better routes to the coal mines. After the new steam engine arrived in April, he worked on the site of the new engine house. In May, he improved the road up canyon to the coal mines. As the mechanics "fitted up" the steam engine and the masons built its foundation, Williamson acted as a mason's helper and later helped them build the new engine house. In June, Williamson moved back to the canyon to mine more coal which would be converted to coke. Later that month when mechanics worked on the flywheel and counterwheel for the engine, he again worked as a mason's helper in the engine room. He helped dig a line to the cistern. When they worked on adjusting the height and configuration of the furnace stack, Williamson hauled lumber and shingles. In July, when the masons built up the hearth in the furnace, he helped the masons. Next, when they worked more on the blast pipes, furnace and raceway, he hauled necessary materials. Late that month and extending into August, he returned to the canyon to dig coal to support the iron run. When it proved necessary to build a reservoir for water for the steam engine, Williamson helped build it. Then he returned up canyon to dig more coal to convert to coke for the furnace.

The majority of the southern Utah militiamen at Mountain Meadows were from Cedar City. Of these, nearly all of them had worked at the Ironworks or supplied raw materials to it. Indeed, in the weeks before the Mountain Meadows Massacre, they had worked intensely together, hauling materials, building a new water reservoir, and making the latest run of the blast furnace. One perennial mystery of the massacre has been why the militiamen mustered to Mountain Meadows in “broken” militia units; that is, from different platoons and companies, none of which had a full compliment of its members. Perhaps the reason lies with the Ironworks. Those in the Ironworks knew each other and had worked alongside one another. Not only did James Williamson knew those who mustered from Cedar City to Mountain Meadows, he had worked with them at the Ironworks as recently as the week before. Perhaps the answer is that the men of the Ironworks were on hand and available and Isaac Haight, who himself had worked closely with them, assigned them to muster to Mountain Meadows.

=== In the Iron Military District: Private James Williamson, Company D, Isaac Haight's 2nd Battalion ===

[[Image:Map_southern_utah_1.jpg|left|300px]]In September 1857, Williamson, 44, was a private in one of the Cedar City platoons in [[Joel White|Captain Joel White’s]] company in [[Isaac C. Haight|Major Isaac Haight’s]] 2nd Battalion. See [[A Basic Account]] for a full description of the massacre.

Williamson was among those from Cedar City who mustered to Mountain Meadows sometime between Tuesday the 8th and Thursday the 10th. However, at the war council on Thursday evening, September 10, which many of the Cedar City men attended, John D. Lee did not list Williamson among the participants.

[[Image:James_Williamson.jpg|thumb|right|200px|James Williamson]]On Friday, September 11, many members of the militia contingent from Cedar City acted as guards alongside the emigrant men as they marched northward from their fortified position inside the wagon circle. As the massacre commenced, the duty of the guards was to wheel and fire on the emigrant men, quickly dispatching them. Yet during the actual massacre, reactions varied among the guards. Some shrank from their duty, others fired over the heads of their victims, while others still undertook their bloody duty with zeal. Within minutes, members of the Cedar City unit had killed all but three of the emigrant men. However, whether James Williamson was in this guard unit and if so, how he acted during the massacre will probably never be known with any certainty.

James Williamson was not identified in Judge Cradlebaught's 1859 arrest warrant, in T.B.H. Stenhouse's ''Rocky Mountain Saints,'' in Lee's autobiography, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' nor in his counsel, William Bishop's, list of massacre participants. However, during the first trial of John D. Lee in 1875, Iron County militiaman [[Joel White|Joel White]] identified "Jimmy" Williamson several times as among those at Mountain Meadows with the Cedar City militia contingent.

=== Later Life ===
[[Image:Cache_Valley_Map.jpg|right|thumb|400px|<center>'''Map of Cache Valley, Utah.'''</center>]]

After the twin disasters of the failure of the ironworks and the Mountain Meadows Massacre, Williamson and his family departed Cedar City in spring 1859 for Cache Valley in northern Utah. By late spring the same year, Williamson, the Scot emigrant, was in the future site of Wellsville, the "Scotch Town" of this northern county. However, the inhabitants were still occupying Maughan's Fort, which had been founded in 1857. The Williamsons lived in their wagon until they could build a crude cabin. As soon as he arrived in the settlement, he was assigned as a road supervisor to open a road through the nearby canyon, connecting it with the road to Box Elder County. He would have used the same roadbuilding skills he used several years before in the canyons above Cedar City in Iron County. In 1860, another contingent of Scot emigrants swelled the ranks of the pioneers at Maughan's Fort.

In 1861, Mormon leaders discontinued the handcart experiment in immigrating poor European church members to Utah Territory. The new method of transport was the "down and back" companies. These companies left Utah in the late winter, traveled to the Missouri River, retreived poor European emigrants and their few belongings, and transported them to Utah where they arrived in the summer or early fall. In 1863, Williamson joined one of these wagon companies, traveling though high waters for a portion of the trip. Traveling 2200 miles round trip, they brought about 250 members of the Willaim B. Preston train to Utah that summer.

In 1865, when the Cache Militiary District was reorganized, James Williamson was a private in Company E of the 3rd Battalion of the Cache Brigade. The brigade consisted of 177 officers and nearly 1400 men and its major duty was to protect the settlements from Indian attacks. Soon, the Black Hawk War erupted in central Utah and spread to the south. However, there were few problems with Indians in Cache Valley during those years.
[[Image:Mary Rae Williamson.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Mary Rae Williamson]]

In 1868, his son James Rae Williamson married Esther Ann Nowlin, the daughter of Jabez and Amanda Nowlin. [[Jabez Nowlin|Jabez Nowlin]] was a fellow Iron County militiamen allegedly involved in the 1857 massacre at Mountain Meadows. The Nowlins had moved to Wellsville in Cache Valley in 1867.

=== Final Years ===

James Williamson died in 1869 in Cache Valley at the age of 51, survived by his wife, Mary, and children. Mary died in 1889 at the age of 70.

The headstones of James Williamson and his namesake son each proudly note that they were pioneers to Utah in 1851 and to Cache County in 1859.

 

=== Note: A Case of Mistaken Identity: Scot James Williamson (1815-1891) vs. Englishman James Williamson (1804-1882) ===
[[Image:James williamson 1.jpg|thumb|right|150px|James Williamson (1804-1882), settler in Paragonah]]

An Englishman named James Williamson (1804-1882) was born in Lancashire and immigrated to Utah in the 1850s. He established himself in Paragonah, more than twenty miles north of Cedar City. He was a polygamist who married two women. He and his wives lived and died in Paragonah. Williamson and several generations of his descendants remained there. He is listed in Esshom's, ''Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah,'' which also contains his photograph, right. A brief biographical sketch is in ''A Memory Bank of Paragonah,'' 428, which provides some of the details noted here.

For some time, I thought he was the James Williamson who mined and hauled coal in Cedar City for the ironworks and was at the Mountain Meadows Massacre. However, he was not in Cedar City and did not work at the Cedar City ironworks. Furthermore, no one from Paragonah was involved in the massacre.

After James Williamson (1813-1869), the Scot who mined coal for the ironworks, left Cedar City, he moved to Wellsville in Cache Valley in northern Utah. He did not live in Paragonah.

We would appreciate further information about the Scot James Williamson who lived in Cedar City and later moved to Cache Valley.

= References =

Christensen, et al, ''Windows of Wellsville,'' 82, 229, 341, 519, 698 (biographical sketch and photos of James and Mary Williamson), 699, 701; Deseret Iron Company Account Book, 1854-1867 (accessed at footnote.com/document/241907093/); Lee Trial transcripts; New.FamilySearch.org; Papanikolas, ''The Peoples of Utah,'' 66; Seegmiller, ''A History of Iron County,'' 45-55, 57-60, 320-326; Shirts and Shirts, ''A Trial Furnace,'' 142, 145, 210, 212, 226, 243, 268; 283 fn. 54, 348, 353, 365 fn. 14, 453, 465, 485, 493-94; Turley and Walker, ''Mountain Meadows Massacre: Jenson and Morris Collections,'' 236; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Appendix C, 264.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For additional information on James Williamson, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen
* Deseret Iron Company Account Book, 1854-1867: http://www.footnote.com/document/241905844/

Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment below or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

George Spencer

2014-01-27T21:38:01Z

1857admin: /* To Washington and the Cotton Mission */

'''George Spencer, his personal and family background, and his alleged involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

 

 

'''George Spencer'''

'''1828-1872'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

=== Early Life in Connecticut ===

George Spencer was born in Hartford County, Connecticut, to Moses Roswell Spencer (1789-1860) and Alma Flagg (1789-1854).

=== Migration to Illinois and Iowa ===

By the late 1840s, Spencer was in the Mormons' temporary settlements in western Iowa and he passed several years there. In 1851, he married Emily Brown Bush (1834-1906) in Burlington, Des Moines County, Iowa.

=== Journey to Utah ===

By 1852, they had gathered sufficient means to equip and provision an outfit for the trek west. George made the trek with his new bride, Emily Spencer.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

The name of the company they joined is unknown. But they crossed the plains during the 1852 travel season, probably leaving in the late spring and traveling the plains for most of the summer. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in late summer or early fall.

=== Settling in Nephi, Juab County ===

Soon they had moved south and settled in Nephi, Juab County, south of Utah County.
Their firstborn, Emily, was born in 1854 in Nephi. In 1855, he married into polygamy by taking a second wife, Mary Ann Payne (1841-1934), in Nephi. Mary Ann Payne was born in Nauvoo, Illinois.

=== To Washington and the Cotton Mission ===
[[Image:Cotton Mill 02.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''The Cotton Mill in Washington County'''</center>]]

In spring 1857, George Spencer and his wives, Emily and Mary Ann and at least one child joined a migration of southerners to southern Utah. The reason for Spencer joining with the southerners is unclear since he was a New Englander while neither of his wives was a southerner. Nevertheless, they made the difficult wagon journey to Washington County.
They encamped at Adair Springs near what would become Washington in Washington County. These southerners founded the Cotton Mission in what came to be known as Utah's Dixie.

Washington appeared to have many advantages over other nearby locales. It was located near several fine springs and the Washington fields seemed to provide a lush expanse of farmland. However, appearances proved to be deceiving and soon "Dixie" was considered one of the most difficult areas to colonize. The broad fields were actually floodplains so if their dams washed out, as they did with discouraging frequency, their crops were jeopardized. Meanwhile the springs, so inviting in an arid, hot country, created marshes, the perfect habitat for mosquitos. Many of them suffered from bouts of malaria (the "fever and ague" or "chills") for many years.

Although it eventually proved commercially unsuccessful, it did succeed in producing cotton goods for local use and export at an important stage in Utah Territory's economic development.

=== The Iron Military District: Adjutant George Spencer, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion, Washington, Washington County ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px|Map southern utah 1.jpg]]

In 1857, the Iron Military District consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William H. Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac C. Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John M. Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In the summer of 1857, 28-year-old George Spencer was appointed adjutant to Captain Harrison Pearce of Company I, attached to [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee's]] 4th Battalion of the Iron County militia.

On Monday, September 7, 1857, after the Arkansas emigrant company was attacked at Mountain Meadows, [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] left the Meadows to find the militiamen he was expecting to join him. He met those from Washington and Fort Clara, some miles to the south that evening. Although George Spencer was not specifically named in this party, he may have been there as the adjutant to Captain Harrison Pearce. They arrived at the Meadows around midday on Tuesday, the 8th. During the week while the wagon train was besieged, what Spencer did from Tuesday through Thursday is not known, nor is his role during the massacre known with any certainty. However, as one of the Washington militiamen he may have been in the militia guard alongside emigrant men with other militiamen from Cedar City and Washington.

=== Spencer Confesses Involvement in the Massacre ===

Spencer was not named in the 1859 arrest warranty issued by Judge John Cradlebaugh, nor in any of the usual nineteenth century sources for massacre participants. His apparent involvement is based on a letter he wrote in 1867.

On March 26, 1867, Spencer wrote a letter to Erastus Snow, Mormon apostle in charge of southern Utah. Spencer recited a tale of woe. Initially, he felt confidence when he had joined the church nearly fifteen years earlier; however, a string of misfortunes and tragedies had befallen him. In summer 1867, his son had died prematurely, and Spencer was still in deep mourning. Further, he blamed himself for his “lack of watchfulness!”

But something else disturbed him deeply. “Oh! what a life I have led. I was in that horrid “Mountain Meadow affair” (which was the grand cause of my moving back north)." “I feel that I shall break down if I should not undertake to talk. I feel like I was slowly waking from a hideous lethargic dream.” He berated himself for his lack of faithfulness and his constant preoccupation with making a living. He requested that his leaders direct his life for a good purpose, but, invoking blood atonement imagery, he queried: “If it is necessary that my blood must be shed, and that will secure to me life eternal, let it run freely every drop of it. Without the hope of immortality and eternal lives: existenace itself would be a burthen. I feel like a little child lost in the woods that needs a father to show me the path that leads to open ground.”

Whether Spencer got any relief from his torment is not known.

=== Married and Family Life ===

As we have seen, Spencer's first marriage was to Emily Brown Bush in 1851 on the plains of western Iowa.They had nine children, five of whom survived to adulthood. His second marriage was to Mary Ann Payne in Nephi, Utah. She bore him eight children, all of whom survived into the twentieth century,

His last marriage was in 1858 to Sarah Marinda Thompson (1841-1914) in Washington, Washington County, Utah. They had six children, four of whom survived into the twentieth century.

Among other things, he worked as a school teacher during his life.

He died in 1872 in Glendale, Kane County, Utah, at the age of 43. He was survived by his three wives and many children. Emily Bush Spencer lived to 1906; Sarah Marinda Thompson Spencer, to 1914; and Mary Ann Payne Spencer, who died in 1934, outlived him by more than sixty years.

Further information on George Spencer (1828-1872) would be greatly appreciated.

 

= References =

UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For additional information on Harrison Pearce and family see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

Oscar Hamblin

2014-01-27T20:51:40Z

1857admin: /* Biographical Sketch */

'''Oscar Hamblin, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

 '''Oscar Hamblin

1833-1862'''

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

A native of rural Geauga County in northeastern Ohio, Oscar Hamblin was a westering New Englander whose family had pioneered in Ohio and Wisconsin before moving to western Illinois and then to frontier Utah where he pioneered in southern Utah. He was an American frontiersman and Indian interpreter.

=== Early Years: From Ohio Westward ===

Hamblin was born in Bainbridge in rural Geauga County in northeast Ohio, the eighth of eleven children born to Isaiah Hamblin (1790-1856) and Daphne Haynes (1797-1847). His Puritan forebears settled in Massachusetts, then later in Connecticut before moving to Grand Isle County in Lake Champlain in northwestern Vermont.

In the 1820s, the Hamblin family moved to Ashtabula County, then Geauga County in northeastern Ohio. They were in Ohio until the mid-1830s when they moved to Spring Prairie, Wisconsin.

Jacob Hamblin (1819-1886), Oscar's older brother, was converted to Mormonism and visited Nauvoo, Illinois, the main center of Mormonism in the early 1840s. In 1843, Jacob Hamblin returned to Wisconsin and convinced many in his family to resettle in western Illinois among the Mormons. In 1844, the Mormon leader Joseph Smith was assassinated and in 1845, unrest continued between Mormons and the original settlers in western Illinois.

=== Migration to Utah ===

In 1846, under the leadership of Brigham Young, the Mormons began abandoning their city on the Mississippi River and rolling across the prairies of Iowa Territory. The Hamblins were part of that exodus. For several years, they remained in the area of what would later become Council Bluffs, Iowa.

In 1850, they joined the Aaron Johnson company to immigrate to the valley of the Great Salt Lake. Also in the company was Joel White who with his wife and his brothers would later settle in southern Utah.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Outbreaks of cholera caused numerous deaths on the overland trail that season but the Hamblin family arrived safely in the fall. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in mid-September.

Following their arrival, they moved to the southwest to settle in Tooele.

=== Life in Tooele ===

Conflict with local Native Americans caused the settlers around Tooele to form a militia. Oscar Hamblin, his older brother, Jacob Hamblin, their friend Dudley Leavitt, and the other adult males of the community were members of the militia. March 13, 1852 was the notable day in which Jacob Hamblin led a party that included Oscar Hamblin, Dudley Leavitt and others against the Goshute Indians. Confronting a Goshute, Hamblin fired at him while his adversary shot arrows at Hamblin. However, Hamblin's weapon misfired while the arrows of the Goshute likewise went astray. Thus, despite their most strenuous efforts, neither was able to harm the others.

Later, as Jacob Hamblin reflected on this experience he came to see it as providential and interpreted it as a sign from God that he should abandon militaristic solutions against Native Americans and instead use pacific means in dealing with them. Jacob Hamblin was later the leader of the Southern Indian Mission and he had a powerful influence on his fellow Indian missionaries, including his brother Oscar, [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] and many others.

In February, 1854, 21-year-old Oscar Hamblin married 18-year-old Mary Ann Corbridge (1836-1916), the daughter of James and Elizabeth Walmsley Corbridge. She and her family were natives of Lancashire, England. Following their conversion to the Mormon Church in the 1840s, they had immigrated to America to join the Mormons.

[[Image:Fort Clara, sketch, 1855-1862.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''A Reconstruction of Fort Clara, 1855-1862.'''</center>]]

=== Indian Interpreter in the Southern Indian Mission ===

In fall 1855, the Hamblin and Corbridge families followed Jacob Hamblin to Fort Clara on the Santa Clara River in southwestern Utah. Shortly after arriving, Isaiah Hamblin, father to Oscar and Jacob, died. Soon, Jacob Hamblin became a leader of the Indian interpreters sent by Brigham Young to found the Southern Indian Mission and Oscar Hamblin served as one of the Indian interpreter.

=== To Fort Las Vegas ===

Later that year, Oscar Hamblin was among those sent to the Las Vegas valley in modern Nevada to found Las Vegas Fort there. In June 1857, back at Fort Clara in southern Utah, Oscar Hamblin and his wife attended Thales Haskell’s dying wife, Maria Woodbury Haskell, who had been shot accidentally by an Indian boy inside the fort.

=== In the Iron Military District: 2nd Lieutenant Oscar Hamblin, Company H, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Southern Indian Mission were headquartered at Fort Clara on the lower Santa Clara River near modern-day St. George, Utah. It was part of the Iron Military District which consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac C. Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John M. Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, 24-year-old Oscar Hamblin was a 2nd Lieutenant in one of the two platoons at Fort Clara attached to Company H in [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee's]] 4th Battalion. Other Indian interpreters in Lee's geographically sprawling battalion were [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]], [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]], and [[Amos G. Thornton|Amos Thornton]] (Fort Clara), [[Don Carlos Shirts|Carl Shirts]] (Fort Harmony), and [[David W. Tullis|David Tullis]] (Pinto).

On the evening of Monday, September 7, according to [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Oscar Hamblin was among those from the southern settlements who Lee met some miles south of Mountain Meadows. They moved up to Mountain Meadows the following day. Militiaman [[William A. Young|William "Billy" Young]] from the southern settlement of Washington, also mentioned Hamblin among those he saw at Mountain Meadows. Following their arrival at the Meadows, Lee praised Hamblin for his skill in handling the Indians.

Hamblin is not mentioned among those attending the war council on the evening of Thursday, the 10th, but presumably he was present at the massacre on Friday, the 11th. However, Oscar's brother Jacob maintained that Oscar recruited Paiutes along the Santa Clara river, brought them to Mountain Meadows on Tuesday, the 8th, and then left. If he was present on the day of the final massacre, it seems likely that he acted as an interpreter in dealing with the Indians.

Oscar Hamblin was not among those listed in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant. However, in the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] in 1875, witness [[William A. Young|William Young]] identified Hamblin as among those present at Mountain Meadows during the time of the siege. [[John D. Lee|Lee]] and his attorney William Bishop also refer to him in Lee's posthumously-published autobiography, ''Mormonism Unveiled.''

=== Immediate Aftermath of the Massacre ===

Having induced local Indians to join them in massacring the Arkansas company, the Iron County militia now found that they had lost control of them. Following behind the Arkansas train was the Dukes-Turner Company which fell under attack at Beaver. After arriving in Cedar City, Dukes and Turner hired [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[Oscar Hamblin|Oscar Hamblin]] and [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] to guide them through. Meanwhile, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] sent [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] and [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] to conciliate the Paiutes in Nevada. When the Dukes-Turner Company arrived near the Muddy River in Nevada, the Paiutes drove off their cattle but otherwise did not molest them and the company made it safely through to southern California.

=== Later Years ===

Oscar Hamblin, his wife and their children remained in Santa Clara until 1862. In February 1862, the Great Flood on the Santa Clara River severely damaged Fort Clara and Oscar Hamblin and his family lost much of their property in the flood. Evidently, he was also suffering from "consumption," probably tuberculosis.

They moved to Minersville, Beaver County, for his health. However, Oscar Hamblin soon succumbed to his disease. Sometime in 1862, he died at the age of 29 and was buried there, survived by his wife and children. His wife survived him by more than 50 years.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 22; Bradshaw, ''Under Dixie Sun: A History of Washington County,'' 31, 150; Carter, ''Our Pioneer Heritage,'' 3:459; Carter, ''Heart Throbs of the West,'' 6:430; Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 2, 20-24, 25, 28, 36-37, 77-78, 79, 103; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 229, 379; Lee Trial transcripts; Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 40; New.FamilySearch.org.; Robinson, ''They Answered the Call: A History of Minersville, Utah,'' 13, 232, Appendix 38-39 (Elizabeth Wamsley Corbridge (mother-in-law)) 39-40 (Mary Ann Corbridge (wife)), 40-42 (William Corbridge (father-in-law); Thrapp, ''Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography,'' 2:609; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Appendix C; Whittaker, ed., ''History of Santa Clara, Utah,'' 32, 89.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on Oscar Hamblin, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

Oscar Hamblin

2014-01-27T20:50:08Z

1857admin: /* Early Years: From Ohio Westward */

'''Oscar Hamblin, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

 '''Oscar Hamblin

1833-1862'''

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

A native of rural Geauga County in northeastern Ohio, Oscar Hamblin was a westering New Englander whose family had pioneered in Ohio and Wisconsin before moving to western Illinois, then to frontier Utah where he pioneered in southern Utah. He was an American frontiersman and Indian interpreter.

=== Early Years: From Ohio Westward ===

Hamblin was born in Bainbridge in rural Geauga County in northeast Ohio, the eighth of eleven children born to Isaiah Hamblin (1790-1856) and Daphne Haynes (1797-1847). His Puritan forebears settled in Massachusetts, then later in Connecticut before moving to Grand Isle County in Lake Champlain in northwestern Vermont.

In the 1820s, the Hamblin family moved to Ashtabula County, then Geauga County in northeastern Ohio. They were in Ohio until the mid-1830s when they moved to Spring Prairie, Wisconsin.

Jacob Hamblin (1819-1886), Oscar's older brother, was converted to Mormonism and visited Nauvoo, Illinois, the main center of Mormonism in the early 1840s. In 1843, Jacob Hamblin returned to Wisconsin and convinced many in his family to resettle in western Illinois among the Mormons. In 1844, the Mormon leader Joseph Smith was assassinated and in 1845, unrest continued between Mormons and the original settlers in western Illinois.

=== Migration to Utah ===

In 1846, under the leadership of Brigham Young, the Mormons began abandoning their city on the Mississippi River and rolling across the prairies of Iowa Territory. The Hamblins were part of that exodus. For several years, they remained in the area of what would later become Council Bluffs, Iowa.

In 1850, they joined the Aaron Johnson company to immigrate to the valley of the Great Salt Lake. Also in the company was Joel White who with his wife and his brothers would later settle in southern Utah.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Outbreaks of cholera caused numerous deaths on the overland trail that season but the Hamblin family arrived safely in the fall. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in mid-September.

Following their arrival, they moved to the southwest to settle in Tooele.

=== Life in Tooele ===

Conflict with local Native Americans caused the settlers around Tooele to form a militia. Oscar Hamblin, his older brother, Jacob Hamblin, their friend Dudley Leavitt, and the other adult males of the community were members of the militia. March 13, 1852 was the notable day in which Jacob Hamblin led a party that included Oscar Hamblin, Dudley Leavitt and others against the Goshute Indians. Confronting a Goshute, Hamblin fired at him while his adversary shot arrows at Hamblin. However, Hamblin's weapon misfired while the arrows of the Goshute likewise went astray. Thus, despite their most strenuous efforts, neither was able to harm the others.

Later, as Jacob Hamblin reflected on this experience he came to see it as providential and interpreted it as a sign from God that he should abandon militaristic solutions against Native Americans and instead use pacific means in dealing with them. Jacob Hamblin was later the leader of the Southern Indian Mission and he had a powerful influence on his fellow Indian missionaries, including his brother Oscar, [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]], [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] and many others.

In February, 1854, 21-year-old Oscar Hamblin married 18-year-old Mary Ann Corbridge (1836-1916), the daughter of James and Elizabeth Walmsley Corbridge. She and her family were natives of Lancashire, England. Following their conversion to the Mormon Church in the 1840s, they had immigrated to America to join the Mormons.

[[Image:Fort Clara, sketch, 1855-1862.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>'''A Reconstruction of Fort Clara, 1855-1862.'''</center>]]

=== Indian Interpreter in the Southern Indian Mission ===

In fall 1855, the Hamblin and Corbridge families followed Jacob Hamblin to Fort Clara on the Santa Clara River in southwestern Utah. Shortly after arriving, Isaiah Hamblin, father to Oscar and Jacob, died. Soon, Jacob Hamblin became a leader of the Indian interpreters sent by Brigham Young to found the Southern Indian Mission and Oscar Hamblin served as one of the Indian interpreter.

=== To Fort Las Vegas ===

Later that year, Oscar Hamblin was among those sent to the Las Vegas valley in modern Nevada to found Las Vegas Fort there. In June 1857, back at Fort Clara in southern Utah, Oscar Hamblin and his wife attended Thales Haskell’s dying wife, Maria Woodbury Haskell, who had been shot accidentally by an Indian boy inside the fort.

=== In the Iron Military District: 2nd Lieutenant Oscar Hamblin, Company H, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

In 1857, the Southern Indian Mission were headquartered at Fort Clara on the lower Santa Clara River near modern-day St. George, Utah. It was part of the Iron Military District which consisted of four battalions led by regimental commander [[William_H._Dame|Col. William H. Dame.]] The platoons and companies in the first battalion drew on men in and around Parowan. (It had no involvement at Mountain Meadows.) [[Isaac C. Haight|Major Isaac Haight]] commanded the 2nd Battalion whose personnel in its many platoons and two companies came from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the north such as Fort Johnson. [[John M. Higbee|Major John Higbee]] headed the 3rd Battalion whose many platoons and two companies were drawn from Cedar City and outer-lying communities to the southwest such as Fort Hamilton. [[John D. Lee|Major John D. Lee]] of Fort Harmony headed the 4th Battalion whose platoons and companies drew on its militia personnel from Fort Harmony, the Southerners at the newly-founded settlement in Washington, the Indian interpreters at Fort Clara, and the new settlers at Pinto.

In September 1857, 24-year-old Oscar Hamblin was a 2nd Lieutenant in one of the two platoons at Fort Clara attached to Company H in [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee's]] 4th Battalion. Other Indian interpreters in Lee's geographically sprawling battalion were [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]], [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]], and [[Amos G. Thornton|Amos Thornton]] (Fort Clara), [[Don Carlos Shirts|Carl Shirts]] (Fort Harmony), and [[David W. Tullis|David Tullis]] (Pinto).

On the evening of Monday, September 7, according to [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]], Oscar Hamblin was among those from the southern settlements who Lee met some miles south of Mountain Meadows. They moved up to Mountain Meadows the following day. Militiaman [[William A. Young|William "Billy" Young]] from the southern settlement of Washington, also mentioned Hamblin among those he saw at Mountain Meadows. Following their arrival at the Meadows, Lee praised Hamblin for his skill in handling the Indians.

Hamblin is not mentioned among those attending the war council on the evening of Thursday, the 10th, but presumably he was present at the massacre on Friday, the 11th. However, Oscar's brother Jacob maintained that Oscar recruited Paiutes along the Santa Clara river, brought them to Mountain Meadows on Tuesday, the 8th, and then left. If he was present on the day of the final massacre, it seems likely that he acted as an interpreter in dealing with the Indians.

Oscar Hamblin was not among those listed in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant. However, in the first trial of [[John D. Lee|John D. Lee]] in 1875, witness [[William A. Young|William Young]] identified Hamblin as among those present at Mountain Meadows during the time of the siege. [[John D. Lee|Lee]] and his attorney William Bishop also refer to him in Lee's posthumously-published autobiography, ''Mormonism Unveiled.''

=== Immediate Aftermath of the Massacre ===

Having induced local Indians to join them in massacring the Arkansas company, the Iron County militia now found that they had lost control of them. Following behind the Arkansas train was the Dukes-Turner Company which fell under attack at Beaver. After arriving in Cedar City, Dukes and Turner hired [[Ira Hatch|Ira Hatch]], [[Oscar Hamblin|Oscar Hamblin]] and [[Nephi Johnson|Nephi Johnson]] to guide them through. Meanwhile, [[Jacob Hamblin|Jacob Hamblin]] sent [[Dudley Leavitt|Dudley Leavitt]] and [[Samuel Knight|Samuel Knight]] to conciliate the Paiutes in Nevada. When the Dukes-Turner Company arrived near the Muddy River in Nevada, the Paiutes drove off their cattle but otherwise did not molest them and the company made it safely through to southern California.

=== Later Years ===

Oscar Hamblin, his wife and their children remained in Santa Clara until 1862. In February 1862, the Great Flood on the Santa Clara River severely damaged Fort Clara and Oscar Hamblin and his family lost much of their property in the flood. Evidently, he was also suffering from "consumption," probably tuberculosis.

They moved to Minersville, Beaver County, for his health. However, Oscar Hamblin soon succumbed to his disease. Sometime in 1862, he died at the age of 29 and was buried there, survived by his wife and children. His wife survived him by more than 50 years.

= References =

Alder and Brooks, ''A History of Washington County,'' 22; Bradshaw, ''Under Dixie Sun: A History of Washington County,'' 31, 150; Carter, ''Our Pioneer Heritage,'' 3:459; Carter, ''Heart Throbs of the West,'' 6:430; Compton, ''A Frontier Life,'' 2, 20-24, 25, 28, 36-37, 77-78, 79, 103; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' 228, 229, 379; Lee Trial transcripts; Larson, ''I Was Called to Dixie,'' 40; New.FamilySearch.org.; Robinson, ''They Answered the Call: A History of Minersville, Utah,'' 13, 232, Appendix 38-39 (Elizabeth Wamsley Corbridge (mother-in-law)) 39-40 (Mary Ann Corbridge (wife)), 40-42 (William Corbridge (father-in-law); Thrapp, ''Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography,'' 2:609; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' Appendix C; Whittaker, ed., ''History of Santa Clara, Utah,'' 32, 89.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on Oscar Hamblin, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

William Edwards

2014-01-27T20:46:06Z

1857admin: /* Biographical Sketch */

'''William Edwards, his personal and family background, and his alleged involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:William Edwards 1c.jpg|left|125px|William Edwards 1c.jpg]] 

 

'''William Edwards'''

'''1841-1925'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

'''[Current evidence now suggests that William Edwards was not in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The first reason for skepticism about his involvement is that neither he nor his father are listed in either of the 1857 militia rolls for the Iron Military District. The second reason concerns the affidavit purportedly prepared by William Edwards in 1924. It states that he was present at the Mountain Meadows Massacre. However, because the provenance of the document reflects that it was acquired through the notorious forger, Mark Hoffman, there is now considerable skepticism about the affidavit. On present evidence, then, it is unlikely that William Edwards was at the massacre.]'''

William Edwards was a native of Worchestershire in the West Midlands of England who immigrated to America and pioneered in southern Utah.

=== Early Years in the West Midlands of England ===

In 1841, William Edwards was born in Worchestershire, England, the son of Samuel James Edwards (1805-1890) and Ann Robinson (1806-1877). While he was very young, his parents converted to the Mormon Church.

=== Immigration to America ===

He immigrated to America with his parents in 1851, settling in St. Louis where they stayed for a year and a half. He was baptized in 1852.

=== On the Mormon Trail to Utah Territory ===

In 1853, his family had acquired sufficient means to outfit a wagon with provisions and supplies and the joined the Moses Clawson Company, which departed from the outfitting post at Keokuk, Iowa. They paused at Kanesville (modern Council Bluffs), Iowa to organize the company. The Edwards family consisted of Samuel James, 47, Ann Robinson, 47, Sarah, 26, James Thomas, 23, William, 11, and George, 4.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Years later, William wrote a brief reminiscent account of the crossing, observing how he walked and helped with the cows, the long tedious journey, occasionally punctuated with excitement such as when a large buffalo stampeded their loose stock. Fortunately, they were able to recover the livestock. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in mid-September.

=== Moving to Iron County ===

In 1857, the Edwards family moved to Parowan in Iron County. Neither Edwards nor his father were listed in the Iron County muster rolls for 1857, perhaps because of their recent arrival in southern Utah.

=== William Edwards (not listed in 1857 militia rolls) ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

Neither Edwards nor his father were listed in the Iron County muster rolls for 1857, perhaps because of their recent arrival in southern Utah.

Edwards was not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant. None of the witnesses in the Lee trials identified him as a participant in the massacre or even present at the Meadows. Lee did not mention him in his posthumously-published ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' nor was he interviewed regarding or make statements about the massacre during the 1880s or 1890s as some other participants did.

=== Move to Beaver County ===

Since at least 1857, settlers in Parowan and Cedar City had been visiting what would later be known as Beaver County to cut the tall grass that grew abundantly along the Beaver River. In 1859, Cedar City had fallen on hard times because of the collapse the ironworks and the pall cast over the community by the Mountain Meadows Massacre. In spring 1859, the Edwards family joined others departing Iron County. Samuel Edwards and family including his son William were part of a small group who moved north to the future site of Beaver County where they initially pioneered a settlement along lower Beaver Creek which they named Lower Beaver. However, by summer 1860, they had determined that the water supply on the lower Beaver Creek was inadequate to sustain their crops through the summer.

The colony split up with families moving to nearby Minersville, Adamsville, or Greenville. The Edwards relocated to Greenville, five miles southwest of the town of Beaver. That year, 18-year-old William Edwards married 15-1/2-year-old Scottish emigrant Helen (or Ellen) McCulloch Miller (1844-1908). It was the first marriage ceremony celebrated in Greenville.

They remained in Greenville for the rest of their lives and Helen bore Edwards twelve children, only four of whom survived to adulthood. Edwards' principal occupation was farming but he also served as constable and postmaster in Beaver for many years. From 1897 to 1913, Edwards served as a bishop of the Greenville ward in Beaver County.

=== Purported Statement Relative to the Massacre ===

In 1924, less than a year before his death and more than sixty-five years after the massacre, William Edwards purportedly made a short affidavit concerning his presence at the massacre as a fifteen-year-old youth.

As mentioned above, there is considerable reason to be skeptical of this affidavit. Neither of the 1857 muster rolls for the Iron Military District lists William Edwards. Further, the provenance of the document indicates that it was acquired by Mark Hoffman, the notorious forger of nineteenth century Mormon documents. Based on present evidence, William Edwards was not likely present at the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

=== Final Year ===

Edwards died in 1925, survived by his children and grandchildren.

= References =

Affidavit of William Edwards; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 140, 143, 346; Bigler and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 422-23; Merkley, ed., ''Monuments to Courage,'' 156, 157, 159; New.familysearch.org; Robinson, ''They Answered the Call: A History of Minersville, Utah,'' 5-7; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 191, 257, 354, fn. 37.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on William Edwards, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

William Edwards

2014-01-27T20:43:49Z

1857admin: /* Biographical Sketch */

'''William Edwards, his personal and family background, and his alleged involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:William Edwards 1c.jpg|left|125px|William Edwards 1c.jpg]] 

 

'''William Edwards'''

'''1841-1925'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

'''[Current evidence now suggests that William Edwards was not in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The first reason for skepticism about his involvement is that neither he nor his father are listed in either of the 1857 militia rolls for the Iron Military District. A second reason has recently been discovered. An affidavit purportedly prepared by William Edwards in 1924 states that he was present at the Mountain Meadows Massacre. However, because the provenance of the document reflects that it was acquired through the notorious forger, Mark Hoffman, there is now considerable skepticism about the affidavit. On present evidence, then, it is unlikely that William Edwards was at the massacre.]'''

William Edwards was a native of Worchestershire in the West Midlands of England who immigrated to America and pioneered in southern Utah.

=== Early Years in the West Midlands of England ===

In 1841, William Edwards was born in Worchestershire, England, the son of Samuel James Edwards (1805-1890) and Ann Robinson (1806-1877). While he was very young, his parents converted to the Mormon Church.

=== Immigration to America ===

He immigrated to America with his parents in 1851, settling in St. Louis where they stayed for a year and a half. He was baptized in 1852.

=== On the Mormon Trail to Utah Territory ===

In 1853, his family had acquired sufficient means to outfit a wagon with provisions and supplies and the joined the Moses Clawson Company, which departed from the outfitting post at Keokuk, Iowa. They paused at Kanesville (modern Council Bluffs), Iowa to organize the company. The Edwards family consisted of Samuel James, 47, Ann Robinson, 47, Sarah, 26, James Thomas, 23, William, 11, and George, 4.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Years later, William wrote a brief reminiscent account of the crossing, observing how he walked and helped with the cows, the long tedious journey, occasionally punctuated with excitement such as when a large buffalo stampeded their loose stock. Fortunately, they were able to recover the livestock. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in mid-September.

=== Moving to Iron County ===

In 1857, the Edwards family moved to Parowan in Iron County. Neither Edwards nor his father were listed in the Iron County muster rolls for 1857, perhaps because of their recent arrival in southern Utah.

=== William Edwards (not listed in 1857 militia rolls) ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

Neither Edwards nor his father were listed in the Iron County muster rolls for 1857, perhaps because of their recent arrival in southern Utah.

Edwards was not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant. None of the witnesses in the Lee trials identified him as a participant in the massacre or even present at the Meadows. Lee did not mention him in his posthumously-published ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' nor was he interviewed regarding or make statements about the massacre during the 1880s or 1890s as some other participants did.

=== Move to Beaver County ===

Since at least 1857, settlers in Parowan and Cedar City had been visiting what would later be known as Beaver County to cut the tall grass that grew abundantly along the Beaver River. In 1859, Cedar City had fallen on hard times because of the collapse the ironworks and the pall cast over the community by the Mountain Meadows Massacre. In spring 1859, the Edwards family joined others departing Iron County. Samuel Edwards and family including his son William were part of a small group who moved north to the future site of Beaver County where they initially pioneered a settlement along lower Beaver Creek which they named Lower Beaver. However, by summer 1860, they had determined that the water supply on the lower Beaver Creek was inadequate to sustain their crops through the summer.

The colony split up with families moving to nearby Minersville, Adamsville, or Greenville. The Edwards relocated to Greenville, five miles southwest of the town of Beaver. That year, 18-year-old William Edwards married 15-1/2-year-old Scottish emigrant Helen (or Ellen) McCulloch Miller (1844-1908). It was the first marriage ceremony celebrated in Greenville.

They remained in Greenville for the rest of their lives and Helen bore Edwards twelve children, only four of whom survived to adulthood. Edwards' principal occupation was farming but he also served as constable and postmaster in Beaver for many years. From 1897 to 1913, Edwards served as a bishop of the Greenville ward in Beaver County.

=== Purported Statement Relative to the Massacre ===

In 1924, less than a year before his death and more than sixty-five years after the massacre, William Edwards purportedly made a short affidavit concerning his presence at the massacre as a fifteen-year-old youth.

As mentioned above, there is considerable reason to be skeptical of this affidavit. Neither of the 1857 muster rolls for the Iron Military District lists William Edwards. Further, the provenance of the document indicates that it was acquired by Mark Hoffman, the notorious forger of nineteenth century Mormon documents. Based on present evidence, William Edwards was not likely present at the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

=== Final Year ===

Edwards died in 1925, survived by his children and grandchildren.

= References =

Affidavit of William Edwards; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 140, 143, 346; Bigler and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 422-23; Merkley, ed., ''Monuments to Courage,'' 156, 157, 159; New.familysearch.org; Robinson, ''They Answered the Call: A History of Minersville, Utah,'' 5-7; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 191, 257, 354, fn. 37.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on William Edwards, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

William Edwards

2014-01-27T20:42:28Z

1857admin: /* Biographical Sketch */

'''William Edwards, his personal and family background, and his alleged involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:William Edwards 1c.jpg|left|125px|William Edwards 1c.jpg]] 

 

'''William Edwards'''

'''1841-1925'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

'''[Current evidence now suggests that William Edwards was not in the Mountain Meadows massacre. The first reason for skepticism about his involvement is that neither he nor his father are listed in either of the 1857 militia rolls for the Iron Military District. A second reason has recently been discovered. An affidavit purportedly prepared by William Edwards in 1924 states that he was present at the Mountain Meadows Massacre. However, because the provenance of the document reflects that it was acquired through the notorious forger, Mark Hoffman, there is now considerable skepticism about the affidavit. On present evidence, then, it is unlikely that William Edwards was at the massacre.]'''

William Edwards was a native of Worchestershire in the West Midlands of England who immigrated to America and pioneered in southern Utah.

=== Early Years in the West Midlands of England ===

In 1841, William Edwards was born in Worchestershire, England, the son of Samuel James Edwards (1805-1890) and Ann Robinson (1806-1877). While he was very young, his parents converted to the Mormon Church.

=== Immigration to America ===

He immigrated to America with his parents in 1851, settling in St. Louis where they stayed for a year and a half. He was baptized in 1852.

=== On the Mormon Trail to Utah Territory ===

In 1853, his family had acquired sufficient means to outfit a wagon with provisions and supplies and the joined the Moses Clawson Company, which departed from the outfitting post at Keokuk, Iowa. They paused at Kanesville (modern Council Bluffs), Iowa to organize the company. The Edwards family consisted of Samuel James, 47, Ann Robinson, 47, Sarah, 26, James Thomas, 23, William, 11, and George, 4.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Years later, William wrote a brief reminiscent account of the crossing, observing how he walked and helped with the cows, the long tedious journey, occasionally punctuated with excitement such as when a large buffalo stampeded their loose stock. Fortunately, they were able to recover the livestock. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in mid-September.

=== Moving to Iron County ===

In 1857, the Edwards family moved to Parowan in Iron County. Neither Edwards nor his father were listed in the Iron County muster rolls for 1857, perhaps because of their recent arrival in southern Utah.

=== William Edwards (not listed in 1857 militia rolls) ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

Neither Edwards nor his father were listed in the Iron County muster rolls for 1857, perhaps because of their recent arrival in southern Utah.

Edwards was not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant. None of the witnesses in the Lee trials identified him as a participant in the massacre or even present at the Meadows. Lee did not mention him in his posthumously-published ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' nor was he interviewed regarding or make statements about the massacre during the 1880s or 1890s as some other participants did.

=== Move to Beaver County ===

Since at least 1857, settlers in Parowan and Cedar City had been visiting what would later be known as Beaver County to cut the tall grass that grew abundantly along the Beaver River. In 1859, Cedar City had fallen on hard times because of the collapse the ironworks and the pall cast over the community by the Mountain Meadows Massacre. In spring 1859, the Edwards family joined others departing Iron County. Samuel Edwards and family including his son William were part of a small group who moved north to the future site of Beaver County where they initially pioneered a settlement along lower Beaver Creek which they named Lower Beaver. However, by summer 1860, they had determined that the water supply on the lower Beaver Creek was inadequate to sustain their crops through the summer.

The colony split up with families moving to nearby Minersville, Adamsville, or Greenville. The Edwards relocated to Greenville, five miles southwest of the town of Beaver. That year, 18-year-old William Edwards married 15-1/2-year-old Scottish emigrant Helen (or Ellen) McCulloch Miller (1844-1908). It was the first marriage ceremony celebrated in Greenville.

They remained in Greenville for the rest of their lives and Helen bore Edwards twelve children, only four of whom survived to adulthood. Edwards' principal occupation was farming but he also served as constable and postmaster in Beaver for many years. From 1897 to 1913, Edwards served as a bishop of the Greenville ward in Beaver County.

=== Purported Statement Relative to the Massacre ===

In 1924, less than a year before his death and more than sixty-five years after the massacre, William Edwards purportedly made a short affidavit concerning his presence at the massacre as a fifteen-year-old youth.

As mentioned above, there is considerable reason to be skeptical of this affidavit. Neither of the 1857 muster rolls for the Iron Military District lists William Edwards. Further, the provenance of the document indicates that it was acquired by Mark Hoffman, the notorious forger of nineteenth century Mormon documents. Based on present evidence, William Edwards was not likely present at the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

=== Final Year ===

Edwards died in 1925, survived by his children and grandchildren.

= References =

Affidavit of William Edwards; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 140, 143, 346; Bigler and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 422-23; Merkley, ed., ''Monuments to Courage,'' 156, 157, 159; New.familysearch.org; Robinson, ''They Answered the Call: A History of Minersville, Utah,'' 5-7; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 191, 257, 354, fn. 37.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on William Edwards, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.

William Edwards

2014-01-27T20:32:53Z

1857admin:

'''William Edwards, his personal and family background, and his alleged involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre'''

[[Image:William Edwards 1c.jpg|left|125px|William Edwards 1c.jpg]] 

 

'''William Edwards'''

'''1841-1925'''

 

 

 

= Biographical Sketch =

'''[An affidavit purportedly prepared by William Edwards in 1924 states that he was present at the Mountain Meadows Massacre. However, because the provenance of the documents reflects that it was acquired through the notorious forger, Mark Hoffman, there is now considerable skepticism about the affidavit. Another reason to doubt his involvement is that neither he nor his father are listed in either of the 1857 militia rolls for the Iron Military District. It is unlikely that William Edwards was at the massacre.]'''

William Edwards was a native of Worchestershire in the West Midlands of England who immigrated to America and pioneered in southern Utah.

=== Early Years in the West Midlands of England ===

In 1841, William Edwards was born in Worchestershire, England, the son of Samuel James Edwards (1805-1890) and Ann Robinson (1806-1877). While he was very young, his parents converted to the Mormon Church.

=== Immigration to America and onto Utah ===

He immigrated to America with his parents in 1851, settling in St. Louis where they stayed for a year and a half. He was baptized in 1852. In 1853, his family had acquired sufficient means to outfit a wagon with provisions and supplies and the joined the Moses Clawson Company, which departed from the outfitting post at Keokuk, Iowa. They paused at Kanesville (modern Council Bluffs), Iowa to organize the company. The Edwards family consisted of Samuel James, 47, Ann Robinson, 47, Sarah, 26, James Thomas, 23, William, 11, and George, 4.
[[Image:Mormon Trail.jpg|thumb|center|700px|<center>'''The Mormon Trail'''</center>]]

Years later, William wrote a brief reminiscent account of the crossing, observing how he walked and helped with the cows, the long tedious journey, occasionally punctuated with excitement such as when a large buffalo stampeded their loose stock. Fortunately, they were able to recover their livestock. They passed the usual milestones on the trail: Fort Kearney, the South Fork of the Platte River, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, the Sweetwater River, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, Green River, Fort Bridger, Bear River, and Weber River. After suffering the usual hardships of overland trail they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in mid-September.

=== Moving to Iron County ===

In 1857, the Edwards family moved to Parowan in Iron County. Neither Edwards nor his father were listed in the Iron County muster rolls for 1857, perhaps because of their recent arrival in southern Utah.

=== William Edwards (not listed in 1857 militia rolls) ===
[[Image:Map southern utah 1.jpg|left|300px]]

Neither Edwards nor his father were listed in the Iron County muster rolls for 1857, perhaps because of their recent arrival in southern Utah.

Edwards was not mentioned in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant. None of the witnesses in the Lee trials identified him as a participant in the massacre or even present at the Meadows. Lee did not mention him in his posthumously-published ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' nor was he interviewed regarding or make statements about the massacre during the 1880s or 1890s as some other participants did.

=== Move to Beaver County ===

Since at least 1857, settlers in Parowan and Cedar City had been visiting what would later be known as Beaver County to cut the tall grass that grew abundantly along the Beaver River. In 1859, Cedar City had fallen on hard times because of the collapse the ironworks and the pall cast over the community by the Mountain Meadows Massacre. In spring 1859, the Edwards family joined others departing Iron County. Samuel Edwards and family including his son William were part of a small group who moved north to the future site of Beaver County where they initially pioneered a settlement along lower Beaver Creek which they named Lower Beaver. However, by summer 1860, they had determined that the water supply on the lower Beaver Creek was inadequate to sustain their crops through the summer.

The colony split up with families moving to nearby Minersville, Adamsville, or Greenville. The Edwards relocated to Greenville, five miles southwest of the town of Beaver. That year, 18-year-old William Edwards married 15-1/2-year-old Scottish emigrant Helen (or Ellen) McCulloch Miller (1844-1908). It was the first marriage ceremony celebrated in Greenville.

They remained in Greenville for the rest of their lives and Helen bore Edwards twelve children, only four of whom survived to adulthood. Edwards' principal occupation was farming but he also served as constable and postmaster in Beaver for many years. From 1897 to 1913, Edwards served as a bishop of the Greenville ward in Beaver County.

=== Purported Statement Relative to the Massacre ===

In 1924, less than a year before his death and more than sixty-five years after the massacre, William Edwards purportedly made a short affidavit concerning his presence at the massacre as a fifteen-year-old youth.

As mentioned above, there are considerable reasons to be skeptical of this affidavit. Neither of the 1857 muster rolls for the Iron Military District lists William Edwards. Further, the provenance of the document indicates that it was acquired by Mark Hoffman, the notorious forger of nineteenth century Mormon documents. Based on present evidence, William Edwards was not likely present at the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

=== Final Year ===

Edwards died in 1925, survived by his children and grandchildren.

= References =

Affidavit of William Edwards; Bagley, ''Blood of the Prophets,'' 140, 143, 346; Bigler and Bagley, ''Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives,'' 422-23; Merkley, ed., ''Monuments to Courage,'' 156, 157, 159; New.familysearch.org; Robinson, ''They Answered the Call: A History of Minersville, Utah,'' 5-7; Walker, et al, ''Massacre at Mountain Meadows,'' 191, 257, 354, fn. 37.

For full bibliographic information see [[Bibliography]].

= External Links =

For further information on William Edwards, see:

* http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen

Further information and confirmation needed. Please contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.