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Sims Lafayette Matheny, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre | Sims Lafayette Matheny, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre | ||
Sims L. Matheny | |||
1833-1881 | |||
== Biographical Sketch == | |||
=== Early Years in the American South === | |||
Sims Lafayette Matheny was a native of Tennessee with forebears in Virginia and South Carolina. Over his lifetime he moved from Tennessee to Arkansas and then Texas before settling in frontier Utah. He was an American frontiersman and pioneer in southern Utah. | |||
Matheny’s parents were in Monroe, Mississippi before moving to Tennessee where Matheny was born. In the late 1830s they moved to Green County, Arkansas and by the early 1840s they had moved to Montgomery County in Texas territory, later the Republic of Texas. | |||
=== Migration to Utah === | |||
In the 1850s the Mathenys immigrated to Utah territory, some of them settling in Fillmore, Millard County in central Utah. In 1855, Matheny married Ellen Barton Ray, (1839-1920) a native of Mississippi. | |||
By 1857, Matheny and his wife had joined the colony of Southerners in the new settlement of Washington, Washington County in the southwestern corner of Utah. | |||
=== In the Iron Military District: Sergeant Sims Matheny, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion === | |||
In September 1857, 24-year-old Sims Matheny was a sergeant of the first Washington platoon in Company I of John D. Lee’s 4th Battalion. He was listed in the 1859 federal arrest warrant issued by Judge John Cradlebaugh but there is little other information about his role in the massacre. | |||
=== Later Life === | |||
In 1859, Matheny married Ellen’s sister, Martha Jane Ray (1842-1890), also of Mississippi. Eventually they returned to Fillmore in central Utah. During the Black Hawk War, "Sims L. Mathens" was listed in the Millard County militia muster rolls and saw action in a ten-day campaign against Black Hawk’s raiders that included the engagement at Gravelly Ford in Sevier County, 1866. | |||
The 1880 census lists, Matheny, age 46, in Fillmore with his wives Ellen (listed as suffering from a nervous debility ) and Martha Jane and a servant. His wives were keeping house while Matheny and the servant were working on the railroad. Josiah Gibbs recollected that Sims and Martha raised an Indian boy named Manassa who reportedly assimilated into white society. | |||
In 1881, Matheny died and was buried in Fillmore, survived by his two wives and children. | |||
== References == | |||
Alder and Brooks, The History of Washington County, 29, fn. 11; Day and Ekins, ''Milestones of Millard: A Century of History of Millard County, 1851-1951,'' 189; FamilySearch.org; Gibbs, "Black Hawk’s Last Raid – 1866," Utah Historical Quarterly, 4/4 (October 1931), 106-107; Lee, ''Mormonism Unveiled,'' ; Lee trial transcripts; Walker, et al, Massacre at Mountain Meadows, Appendix C. | |||
Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment below or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com. | |||
Revision as of 09:00, 17 June 2011
Sims Lafayette Matheny, his personal and family background, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre
Sims L. Matheny
1833-1881
Biographical Sketch
Early Years in the American South
Sims Lafayette Matheny was a native of Tennessee with forebears in Virginia and South Carolina. Over his lifetime he moved from Tennessee to Arkansas and then Texas before settling in frontier Utah. He was an American frontiersman and pioneer in southern Utah.
Matheny’s parents were in Monroe, Mississippi before moving to Tennessee where Matheny was born. In the late 1830s they moved to Green County, Arkansas and by the early 1840s they had moved to Montgomery County in Texas territory, later the Republic of Texas.
Migration to Utah
In the 1850s the Mathenys immigrated to Utah territory, some of them settling in Fillmore, Millard County in central Utah. In 1855, Matheny married Ellen Barton Ray, (1839-1920) a native of Mississippi.
By 1857, Matheny and his wife had joined the colony of Southerners in the new settlement of Washington, Washington County in the southwestern corner of Utah.
In the Iron Military District: Sergeant Sims Matheny, Company I, John D. Lee's 4th Battalion
In September 1857, 24-year-old Sims Matheny was a sergeant of the first Washington platoon in Company I of John D. Lee’s 4th Battalion. He was listed in the 1859 federal arrest warrant issued by Judge John Cradlebaugh but there is little other information about his role in the massacre.
Later Life
In 1859, Matheny married Ellen’s sister, Martha Jane Ray (1842-1890), also of Mississippi. Eventually they returned to Fillmore in central Utah. During the Black Hawk War, "Sims L. Mathens" was listed in the Millard County militia muster rolls and saw action in a ten-day campaign against Black Hawk’s raiders that included the engagement at Gravelly Ford in Sevier County, 1866.
The 1880 census lists, Matheny, age 46, in Fillmore with his wives Ellen (listed as suffering from a nervous debility ) and Martha Jane and a servant. His wives were keeping house while Matheny and the servant were working on the railroad. Josiah Gibbs recollected that Sims and Martha raised an Indian boy named Manassa who reportedly assimilated into white society.
In 1881, Matheny died and was buried in Fillmore, survived by his two wives and children.
References
Alder and Brooks, The History of Washington County, 29, fn. 11; Day and Ekins, Milestones of Millard: A Century of History of Millard County, 1851-1951, 189; FamilySearch.org; Gibbs, "Black Hawk’s Last Raid – 1866," Utah Historical Quarterly, 4/4 (October 1931), 106-107; Lee, Mormonism Unveiled, ; Lee trial transcripts; Walker, et al, Massacre at Mountain Meadows, Appendix C.
Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment below or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.
