Philip Klingensmith
Philip Klingensmith, his personal and family background, and his involvement in and statements about the Mountain Meadows Massacre
Philip Klingensmith
1815-1881 (or later ?)
Biographical Sketch
Early Days: Westward from Pennsylvania
On his father's side, Philip Klingensmith descended from German emigrants who settled in central Pennsylvania. But his grandfather moved to western Pennsylvania and established Fort Klingensmith. His parents settled in backcountry Westmoreland County, west of the Allegheny Mountains in southwestern Pennsylvania. When a young man, Klingensmith moved to Ohio, then Indiana.
In 1841 he married Hannah Henry Creemer in Tippecanoe County, Indiana and he also joined the Mormon Church. They briefly lived in Indiana, then again moved westward to the main center of the church, Nauvoo, Illinois.
Migration to Utah
They departed Illinois in 1846, suffering losses in common with others, and arrived in Utah in 1849.
Into Southern Utah
In 1851, they moved to southern Utah where Klingensmith became one of the first settlers in Iron County and lent his blacksmithing skills to the newly-formed Iron Mission. From 1852 to 1859, Klingensmith was the bishop of Cedar City. By the mid-1850s, he had embraced polygamy and had three wives. Eventually his wives, Hannah, Margaretha and Betsy, bore him fifteen, four and five children, respectively.
Although most of those involved in the ironworks hailed from the British Isles, Klingensmith the blacksmith was among a handful of Americans who contributed to it.
In the Iron Military District: Private (also Bishop) Philip Klingensmith, Company D, Isaac Haight's 2nd Battalion, Cedar City
In 1857, Klingensmith, 42, was the bishop of Cedar City and a private in one of the Cedar platoons in Captain Joel White's Company D. White's company was attached to Major Isaac C. Haight's 2nd Battalion. In September 1857, while the Fancher-Baker party traveled from Cedar City toward Mountain Meadows, Klingensmith and White carried a message to Pinto concerning the emigrant party, passing John D. Lee en route. In the days of September 7-11, during which the train was besieged, Klingensmith was among those who mustered to the Mountain Meadows. He attended the council meeting on the grounds on Thursday, September 10.
On the day of the massacre, Klingensmith was among the militia guard who accompanied the emigrant men from their wagon circle. When the signal was given, Klingensmith wheeled on the man beside him, then shot and killed him. He later played some role with the surviving children.
In Judge John Cradlebaugh's 1859 arrest warranty, neither Klingensmith nor his counselor Samuel McMurdie was named, a curious anomaly. This has led to conjecture that one of them may have been among the secret informants to Judge John Cradlebaugh in 1859. But whomever the militia informants may have been, Judge Cradlebaugh's inquiry led to the issuance of an arrest warrant for 38 militiamen, most of whom were from the area around Cedar City.
Klingensmith's Peripetic Life
From 1851 to the early 1860s, Klingensmith and his families would live in Parowan, Cedar City, Beaver, Toquerville, the upper Virgin River, and elsewhere.
Leaving Utah
In the early 1860s, Klingensmith moved to Nevada on the Muddy River and, except for a brief return to Parowan later that decade, he resided outside Utah Territory for the remainder of his life. Around 1870, he lived in Lincoln County, Nevada, where he pursued ranching and mining in several locales.
Klingensmith's 1871 Affidavit Regarding the Massacre
In 1871, Philip Klingensmith was interviewed by Charles Wandell about the massacre and cooperated in preparing a formal affidavit. His was the first statement for attribution of any of the massacre participants. Wandell, under the nom de plume of "Argus," immediately published details of the massacre in the Gentile-owned newspaper, the Corinne Reporter without disclosing Klingensmith's identity. But the following year, Klingensmith's affidavit was published in Utah were it created a sensation. It did much to fan interest in the massacre and spur efforts to prosecute its perpetrators. It is easily accessible today in Juanita Brooks's classic history, The Mountain Meadows Massacre, in Appendix IV, 238-242.
Indicted for Complicity in the Massacre
In 1874. the grand jury seated by Judge Jacob Boreman of the federal court in Beaver, Utah, returned an indictment against Klingensmith and eight other Iron County militiamen. Besides Klingensmith and Lee, the others indicted were important principals or active participants such as William Dame, Isaac Haight, John Higbee, and William Stewart, as well as, for obscure reasons, three privates, George W. Adair, Ezra Curtis, and Ellott Willden.
Turning State's Evidence and Testifying in John D. Lee's First Trial
In 1875, the prosecution proceeded to trial on the murder charges against John D. Lee. Klingensmith was brought to the courthouse in Beaver under subpoena. There he and the U.S. Attorney's office negotiated a plea bargain under which the murder charges against him were dropped in exchange for his cooperation.
Thereafter, Klingensmith became the state's star witness in the 1875 trial. Newspapers throughout the United States carried his sensational testimony. Publication of his riveting first-hand account did much to fan interest in the trial of John D. Lee.
Following the hung jury in the first trial, the U. S. Attorney retried Lee in 1876. Again, Klingensmith was called to Beaver for the trial. But for tactical reasons, the new U. S. attorney did not call him to testify.
Final Years
Following the 1876 Lee trial, Klingensmith's wandering life continued. Reportedly, he moved to Arizona and then to Sonora, Mexico. The sources disagree as to when and how Klingensmith died, some holding that he died violently in 1881; others, that he died of natural causes some time later.
References
Backus, Mountain Weadows Witness: The Life and Times of Bishop Philip Klingensmith; Bigler and Bagley, Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives, 295-98; Brooks, The Mountain Meadows Massacre, Appendix IV, 238-242; FamilySearch.org; Fielding, ed.,The Tribune Reports of the Trials of John D. Lee, ; Lee, Mormonism Unveiled, ; Lee Trial transcripts; Shirts and Shirts, A Trial Furnace, 124, 156, 210, 215-17, 223-25, 236, 239-40, 246, 261, 272, 285, 290-93, 326-28, 331, 344, 346-47, 375, 379, 390-91, 394-95, 397, 464, 486-88, 494; Walker, et al, Massacre at Mountain Meadows, Appendix C.
External Links
For further information on Philip Klingensmith, see:
- Philip Klingensmith's 1871 affidavit: http://www.mtn-meadows-assoc.com/klingensmithaffidavit.htm
Further information and confirmation needed. Please comment or contact editor@1857ironcountymilitia.com.
