John Mangum: Difference between revisions
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In 1871, a outbreak of measles spread through Kanab resulting in two deaths among whom was a seventeen-year old Indian girl who was reported to be John Mangum's wife. | In 1871, a outbreak of measles spread through Kanab resulting in two deaths among whom was a seventeen-year old Indian girl who was reported to be John Mangum's wife. | ||
Between 1869 and 1876, John Wesley Powell conducted | Between 1869 and 1876, John Wesley Powell conducted expeditions down the Colorado River, followed by extensive surveys of its unexplored regions. On Powell's second voyage down the Colorado in 1871, he was accompanied by artist and topographer Frederick Dellenbaugh, who later memorialized many of Powell's exploits in the Southwest. For the surveys that followed the 1871 voyage, Powell hired Mormons from Kanab to assist him. In 1872, Mangum was hired to guide a pack-train laden with supplies to Powell's surveyors, including Dellenbaugh, at the mouth of the Paria River. However, Mangum and the supply team became lost for days on the Paria Plateau. 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 surveyors. The supplies were eventually delivered to them. 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 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. | 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. | ||
Revision as of 06:10, 8 February 2012
John Mangum, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre
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 eventually had twelve children.
Migration to Utah
Mangum, his wife, his mother and many of his siblings joined the Mormons and immigrated to Utah in 1852. Initially, they settled in Nephi, Juab County, where Mangum served as marshal. In 1853, Mangum married Ellen Bardsley (1819-1864), an emigrant from Lancashire, England.
Joining the Southerners in Washington County and the Cotton Mission
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 and their families were pioneers in Washington County and founders of the new settlement of Washington.
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.
In the Iron Military District: Private John Mangum, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion, Washington
In September 1857, John Mangum, 40, like his brother James, was a private in the fourth Washington platoon in Harrison Pearce’s Company I in John D. Lee’s 4th Battalion. Mangum was among those recruited from Washington. See A Basic Account for a full description of the massacre.
According to Lee, John Mangum helped quiet Indians about midway through the four day siege. His role in the massacre on Friday, September 11, is unknown. He was listed in Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warrant.
Later Years
The Mangums remained in Washington County for many years where he worked as a farmer and stockraiser. According to Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, Mangum 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
In 1869, Mangum and others reestablished the Kane County settlements. They were troubled by Navajo raiders for a time and Mangum helped establish a fort at Kanab. Mangum was among the guards at the temporary frontier settlement in Kanab who endured many hardships during the winter of 1869-1870.
In 1871, a outbreak of measles spread through Kanab resulting in two deaths among whom was a seventeen-year old Indian girl who was reported to be John Mangum's wife.
Between 1869 and 1876, John Wesley Powell conducted expeditions down the Colorado River, followed by extensive surveys of its unexplored regions. On Powell's second voyage down the Colorado in 1871, he was accompanied by artist and topographer Frederick Dellenbaugh, who later memorialized many of Powell's exploits in the Southwest. For the surveys that followed the 1871 voyage, Powell hired Mormons from Kanab to assist him. In 1872, Mangum was hired to guide a pack-train laden with supplies to Powell's surveyors, including Dellenbaugh, at the mouth of the Paria River. However, Mangum and the supply team became lost for days on the Paria Plateau. 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 surveyors. The supplies were eventually delivered to them. 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 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
Later, like his brother James, Mangum and his family moved to Apache County, Arizona where he died in either 1881 or 1885. He was survived by his first 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; Dellenbaugh, A Canyon Voyage, 155-57, 223, 523; 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; Lee, Mormonism Unveiled, 229, 231, 380; Lee Trial transcripts; New.FamilySearch.org; Robinson, ed. History of Kane County, 6, 14, 18, 38, 44, 45, 52, 68, 223; 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.
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
Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact 1857_militia@roadrunner.com.
