James Williamson

James Williamson, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

James Williamson

1811-1869

Biographical Sketch

James Williamson was a Scottish Lowlander who immigrated to America and pioneered in southern Utah.

Early Years in Scotland

Williamson was born in 1811 in Barony, Lanackshire in the Scottish Lowlands toJames Williamson and Margaret Cummings. He was the fourth of five children. In 1838, he married Mary Rea/Ray (1813-1889) who was from neighboring Stirlingshire. Eventually, they had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood. In 1843, he received baptism to become a member of the Mormon Church in Scotland.

Immigration to America and onto Utah

In 1851, following the common practice of European Latter-day Saints of that era, Williamson and his wife and family immigrated to America. There they crossed the plains to Utah Territory as part of the Scotch Independent Company.

The company continued on to southern Utah and was among the original settlers of Cedar City in 1851. Williamson was a private in original company F (foot) of 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

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 funds 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. 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.    

In the Iron Military District: Private James Williamson, Company D, Isaac Haight's 2nd Battalion

In September 1857, Williamson, 44, was a private in one of the Cedar City platoons in Captain Joel White’s company in Major Isaac Haight’s 2nd Battalion. Joel White later identified "Jimmy" Williamson as among those at Mountain Meadows. His exact role is unknown.

Later Life

In 1869, James Williamson died in Wellsville, Cache Valley, Utah, at the age of 58.

Note: A Case of Mistaken Identity

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An Englishman named James Williamson immigrated to Utah in the 1850s and established himself in Parowan, twenty miles north of Cedar City. He was a polygamist, married to three women, who remained there until his death. He is listed in Esshom's, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, which also contains his photograph.

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, did not work at the Cedar City ironworks and was not involved in the massacre. After James Williamson, the Scot who provided to coal to the ironworks, left Cedar City, he moved to Wellsville in Cache Valley in northern Utah.

We would appreciate a photograph of the Scot James Williamson who lived in Cedar City and later moved to Cache Valley.  

References

Deseret Iron Company Account Book, 1854-1867 (accessed at footnote.com/document/241907093/); Lee, Mormonism Unveiled, ; Lee Trial transcripts; FamilySearch.org; Seegmiller, The 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; Walker, et al, Massacre at Mountain Meadows, Appendix C.

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