John Jacobs

John Jacobs, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre

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John Jacobs

1825-1919    

Biographical Sketch

Early Years in Norway

John Jacobs was born in 1825, in Byglandsfjord, Berjnisley, Norway, the son of Sven Jacobsen and Johanna Johnsen. In the 1840s, he accepted the message of the Mormon missionaries and converted to Mormonism.

Immigration to America and onto Utah

Like many mid-19th century Europeans Mormons, Jacobs decided to immigrate to American to Utah Territory. He and his mother traveled to Utah in 1849. One account states that Jacobs was among the first to pass through the future site of Lehi on his way to California. In 1852, Jacobs had returned to Evansville (now Lehi), purchased a lot there and took of residence.

To Cedar City and the Iron Mission

The early ironworks in Cedar City.

Two years later, he moved to the new settlement of Cedar City in southern Utah. He married Elizabeth Coleman, the daughter of Prime Coleman and Sarah Thornton. Between 1856 and 1869, they had ten children, six of whom survived to marriageable age.

In the Iron Military District: Private John Jacobs, Company E, Isaac Haight's 2nd Battalion, Cedar City

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In 1857, Jacobs, 31, was a private in one of the militia platoons in Cedar City. He was one of those in the ad hoc detachments formed in Cedar City that rode to the Mountain Meadows during the week of September 7. According to John D. Lee, Jacobs was at the fateful militia council on Thursday evening, September 10, at the Meadows.

He was not listed in Judge Cradlebaugh's arrest warrant, perhaps because he had already left southern Utah.

Abandoning Cedar City for Central Utah

In 1858, the Jacobs family moved back to Lehi and resettled there. In 1856, following the municipal elections in Lehi, John Jacobs was appointed a city policeman in Lehi. At different times, he and his brother Swen were on the police force. In the mid-1860s, John Jacobs was also in the militia that patrolled and scouted during the Black Hawk War. In 1867, Jacob married Harriet Austin, the daughter of John Austin and Emma Grace. They had eleven children but many of them did not survive to adulthood. His last child of his second marriage was born when he was 63. 

Final Years

John Jacobs spent the remainder of his life in Lehi, Utah where he passed away in 1919 at the age of 93. His was survived by his many children from his two marriages. There were only a few militiamen at Mountain Meadows who lived longer than did Jacobs.  

References

Carter, ed., Heart Throbs of the West, 10:458; 11:423; FamilySearch.org; Fieldings, ed., The Tribune Reports of the Trials of John D. Lee, ; Esshom, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, 956-957; Gardner, History of Lehi, 8 (photo), 52, 161, 165; Lee, Mormonism Unveiled, 232, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; Walker, et al, Massacre at Mountain Meadows, Appendix C.

For full bibliographic information see Bibliography.

External Links

For additional information on John Jacobs, 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.