Alexander H. Loveridge

Alexander Loveridge, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre

Alexander H. Loveridge

1828-1905

Biographical Sketch

Alexander Hamilton Loveridge was an American frontiersman and pioneer to southern Utah. A native of rural Ontario County in western New York, over his lifetime he moved west, first to Michigan, then to western Illinois, and finally to frontier Utah.

Loveridge was born in Bristol Hollow, Ontario County that then adjoined Lake Ontario in western New York. Loveridge came from old New England stock. All of his known ancestors through his 3rd-great grandparents were born in Massachusetts or Connecticut.

By 1841, the family had moved to Pleasant Valley, Michigan. In 1844, Loveridge and his mother joined the Mormon Church. In 1846, the Loveridge family departed Illinois.

In 1849, Loveridge married Malinda Stillwell Thomas (1832-1870) in Pantamant, Nebraska and in 1850 they immigrated to Utah. In 1851, they moved to Lehi and in 1853, to Cedar City. While establishing themselves in Cedar City, they shared a dugout with another family, that of John Jacobs and his wife. In 1854 or 1855, Loveridge was sealed to his first wife.

Sergeant Alexander Loveridge, Company F, John M. Higbee's 3rd Battalion

In September 1857, Loveridge, 29, was elected sergeant of his platoon in Company F of Major John M. Higbee's 3rd Battalion. It was probably Monday, September 7, when Cedar City herdsman Henry Higgins observed Loveridge among a militia detachment leaving Cedar City for Mountain Meadows. John D. Lee maintained that Loveridge was present at military council at the Meadows on Thursday the 10th and for the massacre on Friday the 11th. In 1859, Loveridge was named in Judge John Cradlebaugh's arrest warrant.

Subsequent Life

Late in 1857, Loveridge, his wife and their family returned to Lehi where they remained for the rest of their lives. Loveridge helped build the first meetinghouse in Lehi and he worked on the Salt Lake Temple. In late 1870, his wife Malinda died from complications of childbirth. In 1874, he married Mary Finn Reynolds; she died in 1877.

The 1880 census lists Loveridge (age 52) living with his wife, Caroline, age 60. He seems to have married his deceased wife’s mother who cared for his children. He may have married a Mrs. Harvey in later life. Loveridge died in Lehi in 1905, survived by seven children.

Many thanks to Craig Dalley for his generosity in providing biographical information on Alexander Graham Loveridge.

References

Family history research in the possession of Craig Dalley; FamilySearch.org; Lee, Mormonism Unveiled; and Lee Trial transcripts.

External Links

Excerpts from the history of Alexander Hamilton Loveridge at www.xmission.com/~cyberman/loveridge/Alexander_Hamilton_Loveridge.txt

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