Alexander G. Ingram

Alexander G. Ingram, his personal and family background, and his alleged involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre

Alexander G. Ingram

1802 or 1822-?

[There is uncertainty whether Alexander Ingram participated in the Mountain Meadows Massacre or was on the ground when the Arkansas company was attacked or besieged.]

Biographical Sketch

Early Life in Scotland

Alexander G. Ingram was born in Scotland. His middle name may have been either Gordon or Graham. The 1860 census lists Alexander Ingram's age as 58, suggesting he was born around 1802. However, genealogical records list his date of birth as 1822. If the genealogical records are correct, he married Agnes Rankin, also a Scot, in 1847 and converted to Mormonism in 1851.

Immigration to America

It is uncertain when the Ingrams immigrated to America or arrived in Utah. However, by the mid-1850s, they were in southern Utah in the small settlement of New Harmony where John D. Lee was a prominent figure.

In the Iron Military District: Captain Alex Ingram, Company H, Major Lee's 4th Battalion

The Iron County militia muster rolls for June 1857 list "Alex. G. Ingram" and "Alex J. Ingram" but they are probably the same man. Ingram is listed as a 2nd Lt. in one of the Iron County militia platoons. During the militia reorganization during summer 1857, Ingram was promoted to Captain of Company H headquartered in Harmony, one of two companies in Major John D. Lee's 4th Battalion. As Captain of Company H, he was over two platoons from Fort Harmony, two from Fort Clara, and one from Painter Creek (Pinto). Some of the men in his company included Oscar Hamblin, Ira Hatch, Samuel Knight, Dudley Leavitt, Carl Shirts, Amos Thornton, and David Tullis. Most of these were from Fort Clara. 

Whether he was a Mountain Meadows and, if so, what his role was is not known with certainty.

"_____ Ingram" was listed in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant and also in T.B.H. Stenhouse's 1873 Rocky Mountain Saints (which followed the arrest warrant). However, he was not mentioned in the trials of John D. Lee, 1875-76, in Lee's Mormonism Unveiled, or in the list of the accused prepared by Lee's attorney, William Bishop.

In Massacre at Mountain Meadows, Walker, Turley and Leonard do not mention Ingram in their list of men associated with the massacre. In a footnote they state: "Alexander Ingram was another man who had one of the surviving children in 1859 and shortly thereafter Judge John Cradlebaugh issued an arrest warrant for him. . . . Ingram, a Harmony resident, was recorded speaking in a Church meeting after John D. Lee had left Harmony and was not identified by any of the witnesses at Mountain Meadows." (p. 401, fn. 54.)

Later Life

The 1860 federal census for Virgin City, Washington County, Utah, lists Alex'r Ingram and his wife, Agnes R., both 58 and natives of Scotland. In 1863, Ingram was listed as one of seven presidents of Seventy, a church quorum, in Cedar City. John M. Macfarlane and Christopher J. Arthur were also members of this same quorum. However, the Ingrams apparently left a short time later.

Moving to Panguitch, Sevier County

In 1864, "Alex G. Ingraham" was among the founders of the new settlement of Panguitch in the upper Sevier River Valley. In 1866, "Alex G. Ingram" was captain of the guard in Panguitch and among the "Minutemen" organized to provide security during the Black Hawk War. Another account refers to him as the drill sergeant. Panguitch was abandoned in May 1866 during this period of unrest. Its settlers relocated to more secure and defensible communities. This is the likely reason that the Ingrams relocated to Beaver County

To Beaver County

In 1869, after the formation of the Beaver Stake, Ingram's wife was noted to be an officer in the church women's organization, the Relief Society, in the Beaver Third Ward which comprised Adamsville and Greenville. In 1873, an Alexander Ingram was listed as a postmaster in Adamsville, Beaver County.

Mission to Great Britain

In 1874, an Alexander Ingram was called to serve a church mission in Great Britain. He departed Utah in November and is said to have visited his relatives in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. He departed for England early in February 1875 and he arrived in Liverpool two weeks later. His arrival was noted in the Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star.

The date of his death is unknown.

References

Chidester, Golden Nuggets of Pioneer Days: A History of Garfield County, 13, 14; Jenson, Church Chronology, 62; Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, 37 (1875), 122; Lee, Mormonism Unveiled; Lee Trial transcripts; Merkley, ed., Monuments to Courage: A History of Beaver County, 33, 34; Newell and Talbot, A History of Garfield County, 64; 1860 federal census; Official Register of the United States, 1873, 932;  Walker, et al, Massacre at Mountain Meadows, Appendix C; Webster, Diary of Francis Webster, April 17, 1863.

External Links

For further information on Alexander Ingram, see:

•  http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militiamen (especially footnotes 2 and 54.)

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