Pierce

by

Some Early Settlers from Lehi to Plain City, Utah

A Personal Note

This document found its way into my family history files for good reason. Settler no. 68 — William Sharp (1825–1900) — is my ancestor. William was born 10 December 1825 in Misson, Nottinghamshire, England. He married Mary Ann Padley and the couple crossed the plains in the Moses Clawson Company, arriving in Salt Lake City on 15 September 1853. They went first to Lehi, but as the Plain City History records, “the land was not too good and there was no good grazing for their cattle.” They consecrated their Lehi property to the Church on 8 January 1857 — the same day as William Clark himself — before joining the group that would found Plain City.

The Daughters of Utah Pioneers history of Plain City describes William Sharp simply as “the first stone mason in Plain City.” That understates it considerably. He built the Episcopal Church in 1877, the old Singleton home, and Robert Maw’s adobe house — that last detail connecting two Lehi consecrators (nos. 68 and 47) in the work of building their new community. He played the cornet in Plain City’s first band alongside Abraham Maw. He made adobe bricks with Joseph Skeen, Joseph Robinson, and Jeppe G. Folkman — all men who appear on Clark’s consecration list. He worked with Thomas Singleton constructing many of Plain City’s early houses. His daughter Victorine Mary Sharp married Robert Edward Maw, connecting the two founding families by marriage as well as by community. His son Milo Riley Sharp played first base on Plain City’s founding baseball team, and Milo’s wife Lillie Stoker Sharp performed in Plain City’s second dramatic association. Milo served as school trustee beginning in 1897. Across generations, W. Albert Sharp served as a founding trustee of both the town board and the cemetery district when Plain City incorporated in 1944.

The Sharps were not alone in making that journey north from Lehi. The consecration list reads almost like a founding roster for Plain City — and the primary sources confirm it. Robert Maw (no. 47) left his own first-person account: “I Robert Maw, say that I was one of the first pioneers who came to Plain City on March 17, 1859. We left Lehi on the 10th of March.” The fall 1858 scouting party that selected the Plain City site included Daniel Collett (no. 14), Joseph Skeen (no. 69), William Wallace Raymond (no. 64), Joseph Robinson (no. 67), Joseph Folkman and Jeppe Folkman (no. 28), and Thomas Ashton — men who had consecrated their Lehi properties just months before. When Plain City Branch was organized in May 1859, William Wallace Raymond was appointed the first Presiding Elder, with Daniel Collett and Jeppe G. Folkman as counselors. Joseph Skeen — who built Plain City’s first log cabin and is credited with introducing adobe making to Utah — was appointed the first water master. His wife Alice Booth Robinson was recorded as the first white woman to set foot on Plain City soil.

Jeppe Jorgen Folkman (no. 28) managed Plain City’s cooperative ZCMI store from its founding in 1869 and operated one of the settlement’s first stores from his home. The Folkman family remained central to Plain City’s commercial and civic life for generations. Robert Maw (no. 47) founded the Maw family line in Plain City — his descendants produced three generations of ward bishops, a commercial dynasty in the Maw store and canning operations, and civic leaders serving on the town board and irrigation company board well into the twentieth century. William Van Dyke (no. 78) operated one of Plain City’s earliest merchant stores, confirmed as a living pioneer at the 1909 50th anniversary celebration. The Raymond family (nos. 63–64) provided the first Presiding Elder, first Relief Society president, and LDS Sunday School assistant superintendent.

The Lehi fort of the 1850s was, in a very real sense, the nursery of Plain City. Clark’s consecration list and the Plain City founding history are two windows into the same group of people, two years apart.

The following is a transcription of Clark’s paper, with the three original images and footnotes collected at the end.

Wayne E. Clark, a Lehi native and retired Auburn University professor of entomology, spent years examining the consecration deeds signed by early Lehi settlers, comparing them against Utah County property records, the 1860 Federal Census, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, and family history sources. His 2017 paper, part of the Wayne E. Clark Collection at the Lehi Historical Society and Archives (lehihistory.com), has been cited by the University of Utah’s Century of Black Mormons project and published in the Lehi Free Press. The underlying deeds are held in the Utah County Office of Land Records and at the BYU L. Tom Perry Special Collections.

Early Mormon Settlers in Lehi, Utah Territory, Consecrated Their Properties to Their Church

Wayne E. Clark
Lehi, Utah, 2017

The Lehi Pioneer Monument was erected in 1908 on the Northeast corner of First North and First West Streets in Lehi, Utah. A photographer pointing his lens toward the Southeast captured a portion of a small adobe home in an early photograph of the monument. That home stood on First North Street on the block on which the Lehi Memorial Building would come to stand in a few years. In pioneer times the block on which it stood was the northeastern-most of sixteen city blocks that were enclosed within a twelve-foot-high mud wall erected as protection against the fear of hostile Indians. The monument was constructed on the site of the last crumbling remnants of the old wall.

Things have changed in Lehi since the little adobe home stood across the street from the monument. The wall is gone and forgotten. The old Lehi High School/Junior High School athletic field that came to occupy the site on which the monument and the adobe house in the background is gone, if not entirely forgotten. Instead of the athletic field, chairs and umbrellas surround a small wading pool on a deck that extends south of the swimming pool that’s part of the large Lehi Legacy Center complex on the ground on which the monument stood, and a large parking lot covers the ground on which the house once stood. Today, if one stands on the spot where the photographer stood in 1908, or some time not long afterward, automobiles that carry people to and from the Lehi Legacy Center occupy a prominent portion of the scene. The Memorial Building can be seen along the photographer’s line of site in the background.

The owner of the home was my second great grandfather, English Mormon immigrant William Clark (1825–1910). He and at least 84 other heads of families in Lehi did what he did between 11 April 1856 and 30 January 1858. A little more than three years later he consecrated his little adobe house to the church.

Feramorz Young Fox provides an explanation of the “Consecration Movement” of the 1850s.2 He writes that the movement was church-wide. Hundreds of documents he calls “deeds of consecration” were generated in the Utah Territory between 1855 and 1862.3 The first public announcement of the Consecration Movement was given at general conference in April 1854, but the implementation was delayed until a proper form compliant with the laws of the Territory could be developed and printed. He writes that Brigham Young’s consecration deed4 is dated 11 April 1855, but notes the existence of an earlier deed recorded in Millard County on 1 January 1855.

Fox presents a table5 in which the numbers of deeds by county are listed, along with the population of each county between the years 1855 and 1857. The total for the fourteen counties in the table is given as 2,747. This must be the figure used by Leonard Arrington to calculate that about forty percent of the 7,000 heads of families in the Utah Territory deeded all their property to the church during the period in which the program was in effect.6 Fox gives the following numbers for Utah County: 69 (1855), 147 (1856), and 92 (1857) for a total of 922.

William Clark’s consecration deed is representative.

Be it known by these presents that I, William Clark, of Lehi City, in the county of Utah, and Territory of Utah, for and in consideration of the good will which I have for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, give and convey unto Brigham Young, Trustee in Trust for said Church, his successors in office, and assigns, all my claim to and ownership of the following described property, to wit:

One lot in the City of Lehi with buildings thereon and improvements: Lot no. 6 in Block 16 containing 50/160 of an improvement.

Also Lot 9 in Block 7 of Plat B in the American Creek Survey of Farm Land containing 5 acres … $25.00
Also Lots 12 & 13 in Block 5 Containing 2 acres in the Lehi Garden Lot Survey … $20.00
Also Lot 15 in Block 10 Containing 10 acres in Plat B, American Creek Survey of Farm Land … $30.00
Also outstanding account in land … $200.00
1 yoke of oxen, 1 horse … $140.00
1 wagon, $45, 1 rifle, $10 … $55.00
2 cows @ $30.00 each, 1 two year old, $25 … $55.00
1 yearling heifer, $15, 1 hog, $17 … $32.00
Farming tools, $10. Mechanics tool, $2.50 … $12.50
Household furniture … $50.00
35 Bu. of Wheat @ $2 per Bushel … $70.00
10 Bu. of Corn @ $1.5 per Bushel … $15.00
30 Bu. of Oats @ $1 per Bushel … $30.00
30 Bu. of Potatoes @ $1 per Bushel … $30.00
Garden Vegetable $6, Hay $24 … $30.00
120 lbs of Pork at 20¢ per lb … $24.00

Total Amount of William Clark’s property … $1048.508

Together with all the rights privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging or pertaining. I also covenant and agree that I am the lawful claimant and owner of said property and will warrant and forever defend the same unto the said Trustee in Trust, his successors in office and assigns, against the claims of our heirs and assigns, against the claims of any heirs, assigns, or any person whosoever.

[signed] William Clark his x mark

Witnesses:
Thomas Taylor
George A. Leslie
Thomas Ashton

Territory of Utah, County of Utah. I Lucius N. Scovill, Recorder of the aforesaid County, certify that the signer of the above transfer, personal known to me, appeared this 8th day of January AD 1857, and acknowledged that he of his own choice executed the foregoing transfer.

Lucius N. Scovill
Recorder of Utah Co. UT.

The property William Clark and his neighbors in Lehi consecrated to the church included title to land. This falls into three categories for Clark and for the others: farm land, garden plots and lots on city blocks. The farm land is defined in what the deeds refer to as the “American Creek Survey of Farm Land.” This survey has not been located.9 Likewise, the survey for the Garden Plots referred to on the consecration deeds has not been located.10 The third category of property in land recorded on the consecration deeds refers to a “Lehi Survey of Building Lots.” The survey was evidently done in 1853 by Bishop Evans, as described in the consecration deeds.

The sixteen blocks inside the fort were numbered beginning with the block on the Southeast corner as Block 1 and continuing east to west with Blocks 2 through 4, then switching to east on the second tier of blocks and so forth to Block 16 on the Northeast corner of the fort.

Although the blocks inside the fort had to be re-numbered, this numbering system is consistent with one in use today. The current system apparently dates from 1861. According to Gardner,13 on April 27, 1861, the council received a numerously signed petition asking that the city be enlarged. This unmistakable sign of growth occasioned much discussion. For one, Bishop Evans seriously objected to any such extension of the city, giving as his reason the lack of water in Dry Creek to supply any considerable addition to the population of Lehi. Finally, however, all objections were satisfactorily adjusted, and the City Council ordered that a tier of blocks be surveyed around the wall. These did not supply the unexpected demand for building lots, so a tier each on the North and South was subsequently surveyed and sold to home builders.

Gardner included a diagrammatic depiction of the fort, surrounded by the wall, in his history,14 with four gates for ingress and egress, four guard towers, and the locations and layouts of each of the blocks, as well as the layout of the building lots on the blocks, are depicted. The numbers of blocks 1–16 are shown, with the corresponding numbers of the same blocks in the later surveys and continuing to this date, in parentheses. The lot and block numbers are listed on 71 of the 85 1856/1858 Lehi consecration deeds.15 The building lots on the diagram as assigned to the individual settlers are identified by the following numbers. Some of the homes listed on the consecration deeds are still standing. The house nearest current addresses of these are listed. The apparent location of houses no longer standing are also given below.
The Settler Lists

Note: Seventy-two of the 85 examined consecration deeds list the block number and the lot number of property in the city. All of the blocks listed are inside the fort. A few deeds list portions of additional lots, and some list two or more complete building lots. Thirteen deeds list no city lots. Presumably those individuals did not own their own homes. Thirty-two deeds list an adobe house and one lists a “mud house.” These are valued from $150.00 to $1,100.00. Two individuals, Abram Hatch and John Riggs Murdock, specified that their adobe houses had four rooms and one cellar. Joseph Skeen listed a 6-room adobe house. Eight log houses (on 7 lots), with values ranging from $60.00 to $200.00, are listed on the deeds. Eighteen deeds list a lot number and a block number but specify only that the property was “with improvements,” without describing the type of house. Fourteen of the 85 deeds have no lot or block numbers or houses. Presumably these individuals did not own their own homes. Lehi settler’s consecrations ranged from $127.75 to $3,075.00, for a total of $93,128.70.

South, 400 West
1. Andrew Anderson (1833–1909). Lehi, Lot 4, Block 12, with adobe house, $400.00, $1,203.00 total consecration. 17 November 1856. BK C, 1855, p. 83. 37 South, 400 West

South, 200 West
2. Thomas Ashton (1813–1903). Lehi, Lot 8, Block 11, with log house, $200.00, $1,543.00 total consecration. 9 January 1857. BK F, p. 109. 36 South, 200 West

140 South, 200 West
3. Charles Barnes Jr. (1827–1911). Lehi, Lot 2, Block 7, with adobe house, $300.00, $1,008.00 total consecration. 10 January 1857. BK F, p. 129.

69 South, 300 West
4. Alfred Bell (1794–1874). Lehi, Lot 4, Block 11, with adobe house, $400.00, $1,201.00 total consecration. 10 January 1857. BK F, p. 123.

5. Jens Peter Ipsen Benson [Peter Benson] (1831–1898). Lehi, no city lot, $135.00 total consecration. 16 January 1857. BK F, p. 177.

6. Yeppa Benson [Jeppe Bendtsen] (1795–1872). Lehi, no city lot, $168.00 total consecration. 16 January 1857. BK F, p. 177.

West, 300 South
7. Samuel Briggs (1826–1898). Lehi, Lot 3, Block 4, with adobe house, $150.00, $997.00 total consecration. 10 January 1857. BK F, p. 131. 382

West Main Street
8. George Brough (1823–1914). Lehi, Lot 7, Block 16, with adobe home, $150.00, $421.00 total consecration. 16 January 1857. BK F, p. 180. 55 North Center Street

North Center Street
9. Abram Brown [Abraham Brown] (1808–1891). Lehi, Lot 9, Block 12, with adobe house, $250.00, $608.00 total consecration. 26 January 1857. BK F, p. 208. 333 West Main Street

West Main Street
10. John Brown (1820–1896). Lehi, Lot 7, Block 9, with improvements, $150.00, $3,083.00 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p. 81. 45 West Main Street

15 West, 100 South
11. Martin Bushman (1802–1870). Lehi, Lot 6, Block 8, with improvements, $300.00, $1,032.00 total consecration. 16 January 1857. BK F, p. 167.

284 West, 200 South
12. David Clark (1816–1889). Lehi, Lot 2, Block 6, with adobe house, $600.00, $1,520.00 total consecration. 5 February 1857. BK G, p. 71.

100 West, 100 North
13. William Clark (1825–1910). Lehi, Lot 6, Block 16, with adobe house, $200.00, $1,048.50 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p. 91. 45 West, 100 North

West Main Street
14. Daniel Collett (1807–1894). Lehi, Lot 4, Block 15, with improvements, $200.00, $1,313 total consecration. 10 January 1857. BK F, p. 126. 188 West Main Street

West Main Street
15. Sylvanus Collett (1835–1901). Lehi, Lot 6, Block 10, with adobe house, $150.00, $360.00 total consecration. 9 January 1857. BK F, p.

104, 115 West Main Street
16. Sarah Couzens [Sarah Jaque] (widow of Joseph Couzens [Joseph William Cousins (1809–1856)], deceased). Lehi, Lot 4, Block 13, with improvements, $150.00, $927.20 total consecration. 9 March 1857. BK H, p. 40.

206, 389 West, 100 South
17. Daniel William Cox (1801–1858). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 5, with adobe house, $450.00, $2,225.50 total consecration. 20 January 1857. BK F, p.

West Main Street
18. William Taylor Dennis (1810–1894). Lehi, no city lot, $4,115.50 total consecration. 9 January 1857. BK F, p. 111.

West Main Street
19. Joseph Dobson (1804–1872). Lehi, Lot 2, Block 15, with mud house, $200.00, $721.00 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p. 83. 130

86 North, 400 West
20. James Downs (1815–1882). Lehi, Lot 6 and W1/2 of Lot 7, Block 13, with adobe house, $250.00, $1,813.00 total consecration. 9 March 1857. BK H, p. 46.16

North, 100 West
21. Robert Dunn (1818–1885). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 16, with improvements, $250.00, $1,085 total consecration. 20 January 1857. BK F, p. 272.17 86 North, 100 West

North, 100 West
22. Shadrack Empy (1822–1892). Lehi, Lot 7, Block 14, with adobe house, $200.00, $820.00 total consecration. 10 January 1857. BK F, p. 130. 229

West, 100 North
23. Abel Evans (1812–1866). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 14, except NE Quarter of lot, with house, $150.00, $528.00 total consecration. 31 December 1856. BK F, p. 40.18 90 North, 300 West

Main Street
24. David Evans (1804–1883). Lehi, Lots 2 and 6, Block 14, $1,100.00, $3,075.00 total consecration. 10 May 1856. BK C, p. 39.19 288 West Main Street

Main Street
25. Henry Beck Evans (1830–1911). Lehi, no city lot, $180.00 total consecration. 28 January 1857. BK F, p. 284.

200 West
26. Joseph Field (1831–1911). Lehi, Lot 4, Block 10, with improvements, $200.00, $489.00 total consecration. 16 January 1857. BK F, p. 178. 49

200 West, South
27. John Folker (1814–1884). Lehi, Lot 8, Block 6, with adobe house, $200.00, $984.00 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p. 94. 166

South, 200 West
28. Jeppe George Folkmann [Jeppe Jorgen Folkman] (1824–1916).20 Lehi, Lot 6, Block 1, with improvements, $65.00, $394.00 total consecration. 28 January 1857. BK F, p. 285. 65 West, 200 South

200 West, South
29. William Fotheringham (1826–1913). Lehi, Lot 3, Block 1, with two log houses, $100.00, $1,845 total consecration. 4 November 1856. BK C, p.

73, 66 West, 300 South
30. Charles Wesley Gallup. Lehi, no city lot, $438.50 total consecration. 16 January 1857. BK F, p. 170.

31. John Henry Glines (1831–1897). Lehi, no city lot, $387.00 total consecration. 31 March 1857. BK H p. 90.

Block 6, Lot 6, 6 North
32. Abram Hatch [Abraham Chase Hatch] (1830–1911). Lehi, Lot 6, Block 4, with adobe house, $750.00, $2,891.00 total consecration. 10 January 1857. BK F, np. 132.21

100 South
33. Lorenzo Hill Hatch (1826–1910), and Sylvia S. Hatch. Lehi, Lot 2, Block 13, with buildings and improvements, $800.00, $1,608.00 total consecration. 11 April 1856. BK C 1855, p. 41.22 212 South, 300 West

125 West
34. John Joseph Hayes (1825–1899). Lehi, E1/2 Lot 7, Block 7, $100.00, $311.00 total consecration. 9 January 1857. BK F, p. 105. 125 West, 100 South

96 North, 200 West
35. William Brown Hill (1836–1883). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 15, with improvements, $150.00, $931.75 total consecration. 29 December 1856. BK F, p. 30. 96 North, 200 West

93 North, 100 West
36. William Hyde (1818–1874). Lehi, Lot 8, Block 15, $150.00, $1,040.00 total consecration. 23 December 1857. BK H, p. 106.

187 West Main Street
37. Ezekiel Hopkins (1801–1872), or his son, Ezekiel Hopkins (1839–1911). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 10, with log house, $200.00, $610.00 total consecration. 10 January 1857. BK F, p. 120.23 187 West Main Street

87 North, 300 West
38. Daniel James (1807–1880). Lehi, E1/2 Lot 7, and N1/2 Lot 8, Block 13, with adobe house, $200.00, $871.00 total consecration. 28 February 1857. BK H, p. 21. 87 North, 300 West

South, 300 West
39. Samuel James (1825–1893). Lehi, Lot 7, Block 12, with adobe house, $150.00, $490.00 total consecration. 28 January 1857. BK F, p. 278. 24

West Main Street
40. John Karren (1834–1905). Lehi, Lot 7, Block 11, with adobe house, $150.00, $441.00 total consecration. 28 January 1857. BK F, p. 181. 231

West Main Street
41. Thomas Karren (1810–1876). Lehi, Lot 2 & the E1/2 of Lot 3, in Block 12, with log house, $150.00, $1,766.00 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p. 92. 390 West, 100 South

217 South, 100 West
42. Henry Kearns (1778–1859). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 1, with improvements, $350.00, $1,049.00 total consecration. 10 January 1857. BK F, p. 128.

West Main Street
43. Suel Lamb (1833–1913). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 9, with adobe house, $150.00, $652.00 total consecration. 10 January 1857. BK F, p. 127. 95 West Main Street

261 South, 200 West
44. John Irvin Lawson [John Lawson] (1805–1884). Lehi, N1/2 Lot 3, Block 3, with improvements, $50.00, $145.00 total consecration. 10 January 1857. BK F, p. 117.

290 South, 200 West
45. Abraham Losee (1814–1887). Lehi, Lot 1, Block 3, with improvements, $150.00, $1,153.00 total consecration. 9 January 1857. BK F, p. 115.

290 South, 200 West
46. John Smiley Lott (1826–1894) and Permelia Darrow Lott (widow of Cornelius P. Lott, deceased) and Peter Lott (1805–1882). Lehi, Lot 1, Block 3, $150.00, $1,153.00 total consecration. 9 January 1857. BK F, p. 115.

[Peter] Lyman Lott (1842–1906). Lehi, Lots 6 and 7, Block 3, with improvements, $600.00, $2,226.00 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p. 100. 241 West, 200 South

47. Robert Maw (1834–1920). Lehi, no city lot, $285.00 total consecration. 19 January 1857. BK F, p. 182. PC

45 West, 100 North
48. James McGaw (1824–1872) & Elias Bassett.24 Lehi, Lot 6, Block 16, with adobe house, $400.00, $2,255.00 total consecration. 23 December 1857. BK H, p. 108.

100 North
49. Ephraim Mecham (1808–1891). Lehi, no city lot, $392.50 total consecration. 28 January 1857. BK F, p. 280.

50. John Miller (1846–1939). Lehi, no city lot, $127.75 total consecration. 28 January 1857. BK F, p. 280.

300 West
51. John Murdock (1792–1871). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 3, with house, $100.00, $295.00 total consecration. 31 December 1856. BK F, p. 38. 209 South

300 West
52. John Riggs Murdock (1826–1913). Lehi, Lot 4, Block 3, also 3/8 of Lot 3, Block 4, Lehi, with 4-room adobe house with cellar, $800.00, $5,097.00 total consecration. 9 January 1857. BK F, p. 114. 269 South, 300 West

238 West, 300 South
53. Orrice Clapp Murdock (1824–1915). Lehi, Lot 2 and 2 rods of the E side of Lot 3, Block 3, with house, $500.00, $1,665.50 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p. 95. 238 West, 300 South

South Center Street
54. Jens Nelson [Jens Nielsen] (1796–1875). Lehi, N1/2 of Lot 7, Block 8, $50.00, $306.00 total consecration. 16 January 1857. BK F, p. 171. 140

South Center Street
55. Henry Elliot Norton (1826–1913). Lehi, no city lot, $460.00 total consecration. 7 May 1856. BK C, p. 42.

74 West, 100 South
56. Peter Madsen Peel [Peder Madsen Pihl] (1820–1900). Lehi, Lot 3, Block 9, with log house, $100.00, $537.00 total consecration. 28 January 1857. BK F, p. 279. 74 West, 100 South

140 South Center Street
57. Hans Peterson [Hans Pederson] (1823–1881). Lehi, S1/2 of Lot 7, Block 8, with log house, $60.00, $537.00 total consecration. 28 January 1857. BK F, p. 286. 140 South Center Street

88 South, 300 West
58. Canute Peterson (1824–1902). Lehi, Lot 1, Block 12, with improvements, $150.00, $1,957.00 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p. 85.

59. Peter Peterson (1821–1901). Lehi, no city lot, $307.50 total consecration. 28 January 1857. BK F, p. 283.

290 South, 100 West
60. Stephen Howard Pierce (1816–Deceased). Lehi, Lot 1, Block 2, with improvements, $466.00, $761.00 total consecration. 28 January 1857. BK F, p. 275.

290 South, 100 West
61. Charles Price (1800–1873). Lehi, no city lot, $680.00 total consecration. 27 November 1856. BK C, p. 104.

South Center Street
62. Tunis Rappley (1808–1883). Lehi, Lot 8, Block 1, with adobe house, $200.00, $772.00 total consecration. 28 January 1857. BK F, p. 282. 220 South Center Street

260 South, 100 West
63. Alonzo Pearls Raymond (1821–1904). Lehi, Lot 8,25 Block 2, with adobe house, $300.00, $2,305.00 total consecration. 9 January 1857. BK F, p. 108. 260 South, 100 West

215 South, 100 West
64. William Wallace Raymond (1824–1881). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 2, with log house, $200.00, $2,020.00 total consecration. 31 March 1857. BK H, p.

88 West, 215 South
65. William Reid (1805–1858). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 13, with improvements, $23.00, $450.50 total consecration. 16 January 1857. BK F, p. 179.

86 North, 400 West
66. Alonzo Donnell Rhodes (1824–1893). Lehi, E1/2 of Lot 1, Block 10, with house, $200.00, $1,164.00 total consecration. 9 January 1857. BK F, p. 102. 90 South, 100 West

125 West, 100 South
67. Joseph Robinson (1814–1891). Lehi, W1/2 Lot 7, Block 7, with improvements, $100.00, $521.00 total consecration. 28 January 1857.26 BK F, p. 281. 125 West, 100 South

100 South
68. William Sharp (1825–1900). Lehi, no city lot, $235.00 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p. 86.

86 West, 125 South
69. Joseph Skeen (1816–1882). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 4, with 6-room adobe house, $1,000.00, $2,764.00 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p. 99. 377 West, 200 South

205, 390 West Main Street
70. Joseph Johnson Smith (1821–1902). Lehi, Lot 3, Block 13, with adobe house, $500.00, $1,804.00 total consecration. 20 January 1857. BK F, p.

89, 267 South, 400 West
71. Samuel Thomas Smith (1823–1890). Lehi, Lot 4, Block 4, with adobe house, $150.00, $507.50 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p.

West Main Street
72. James Taylor [James Whitehead Taylor] (1819–1891) and Ann Taylor. Lehi, Lot 8, Block 7, $700.00, $1,300.00 total consecration. no date, no month,27 1856. BK C 1855, p. 40. 110 South, 100 West

382 West, 300 South
73. Thomas Taylor (1826–1900). Lehi, Lot 2, Block 2, with adobe house, $300.00, $932.00 total consecration. 9 January 1857. BK F, p. 106–107.

65 South, 100 West
74. William Taylor [William Whitehead Taylor] (1828–1907). Lehi, Lot 3, Block 10, adobe house, $200.00, total consecration $625.00. [no date]. BK C 1855, p. 81. April 1856. 65 South, 100 West

186 South, 300 West
75. Daniel Stillwell Thomas (1803–1878). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 12, with adobe house, $300.00, $842.50 total consecration. 26 February 1857. BK G, p. 204. 405 West Main Street

West Main Street
76. Preston Thomas (1814–1877). Lehi, Lot 5, Block 11, with log houses, $200.00, $2,207.00 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p. 97. 281 West Main Street

186 South, 300 West
77. John Titcomb (1800–1858). Lehi, Lot 1, Block 5, with adobe house, $300.00, $1,150.00 total consecration. 10 January 1857. BK F, p. 122.

37 West, 200 South
78. William Van Dyke (1830–1901). Lehi, Lot 7, Block 1, with adobe house, $200.00, $523.75 total consecration. 30 January 1858. Not found in Utah County book.28

11 West, 200 South
79. Andrew Vince [Moses Andrews Vince] (1809–1859). Lehi, Lot 8, Block 8, $450.00 total consecration. 8 January 1857. BK F, p. 88. 11 West Main Street

216 South, 200 West
80. William Sidney Smith Willes (1819–1871). Lehi, Lot 8, Block 3, with improvements, $700.00, $2,020.00 total consecration. 9 January 1857. BK F, p. 112–113.

168 West, 200 South
81. Thomas Griffin Winn (1829–1904). Lehi, Lot 3, Block 7, with adobe house, $200.00, $666.50 total consecration. 7 January 1857. BK F, p.

80 West, 168 South
82. William Henry Winn (1833–1884). Lehi, no lot or block, $148.00 total consecration. 9 April 1857. BK H, p. 84.

240 South, 100 West
83. Solomon Wixom (1809–1879).29 Lehi, Lot 7 and N1/2 of Lot 8, Block 2, with adobe house, $400.00, $1,308.50 total consecration. 28 January 1857. BK H, p.

36 West, 100 South
84. Georg Gottlieb Zimmermann (1781–1866). Lehi, Lot 2, Block 9, with improvements, $125.00, $443.00 total consecration. 16 January 1857. BK F, p. 169.

88 South, Center Street
85. John Zimmerman (1820–1908). Lehi, Lot 1, Block 9, $125.00, $1,873.00 total consecration. 16 January 1857. BK F, p. 176.
Fort Cabin Occupants

The cabins were arranged end-to-end to form a hollow square in the first of two phases of the fort. Van Wagoner says nearly three hundred settlers occupied sixty cabins, but he names only fifty-three individuals31 on the list corresponding to the numbers (1–85) of the diagram.

East Side (7)North Side (12)West Side (18)South Side (16)
William Goates2. Thomas AshtonJohn AndreasonOrrace Murdock
81. George Zimmerman4. Alfred Bell17. Daniel Cox51. John R. Murdock Sen.
John Zimmerman22. Abel EvansSamuel James50. John Murdock
John Spires23. David Evans38. Samuel James31. Abram Hatch
61. Tunis Rappley14. William Dobson75. Luke Titcomb45. Mrs. Pamelia Lott
Martin BushmanPhilip OlmsteadCharles Partridge45. John S. Lott
John BrownPrime Coleman7. Samuel BriggsIra J. Willes
William ColemanWilliam Goates77. W. S. S. Willes
George Coleman70. Samuel T. Smith44. Abraham Losee
William Burgess12. David ClarkMrs. Lydia Losee
Jehial McConnell57. Canute Peterson68. Joseph Skeens
Joel W. White9. Abraham Brown40. Thomas Skeens
Israel EvansJohn MercerAlonzo D. Rhodes
David Evans69. Joseph J. SmithThomas Karren
Riley Judd84. Daniel S. ThomasJohn Winn
David JuddSamuel HarwoodSilas P. Barnes
John W. NortonDaniel Cox61. Tunis Rappley
Henry NortonOley Ellingson
J. Wiley Norton
David Norton

Closing Notes

Some of the settlers remained in Lehi after their 1856/1857 consecrations were accepted and recorded. The locations of the homes of several of them in later years have been located in other studies.32 Some moved from Lehi. Some moved from the fort in Lehi to other property in Lehi. For example, William Clark moved from the Lot 6 property on Block 16(40) to a home on Lot 4 of the same block some time before he received title to both lots in 1871.

Some of the names absent from the cabins list are absent from the consecration deeds. This could reflect the fact that the individuals left Lehi before the consecration movement began, or that the individuals did not consecrate their property, or that their consecration deeds have not yet been located.

Sixty-eight of the 128 building lots on the sixteen blocks in the fort are represented on the consecration deeds. If 40% of the men in the Lehi settlement consecrated their property, as Arrington says was the estimated percentage of the participation of the men in the Territory, 51 lots should have been claimed on the deeds. It appears that participation in the consecration movement was higher in Lehi than in other parts of the Territory.
Notes

1 This, and similar documents by Wayne E. Clark, are posted at the Lehi Historical Society and Historical Archive Indexes, https://www.lehihistory.com. Thanks to John Knollin Haws Jr. and the other volunteers at the Lehi Historical Society and Archives for encouragement and support, and to Dan Olds for heartily pushing for the search for consecration deeds and for other important historical information. Corrections or additions welcome. wayneeldenclark@gmail.com.

2 Fox, Feramorz Y. (March 1944). The Consecration Movement of the Middle ‘Fifties,’ Improvement Era, 47 (2) February, March 1944: 80–81, 120–21, 124–25, 146–47, 185, 187–88.

3 He wrote that the recorded deeds were to have been sent to the office of the Trustee-in-Trust of the church in Great Salt Lake City. These must include the deeds now preserved in the LDS Church History Library, in Salt Lake City. Consecration Deeds, 1854–1867. One book, Consecration book, circa 1857–1858, Call Number CR 5 53, Identifier CR 5 53/b0001. No. 233, has a list of deeds from throughout the Territory. The original deeds on the printed forms of many are accessible from CR 5 53: Consecration Deeds 1854–1867. For example, the original consecration deed of John Brown is accessed from Deeds, B, #271–288. Fox mentions the existence of two deeds in possession of a man who found them in a rubbish pile.

4 Found in “Book A of Deeds” in the church historians office, and in “Pioneer Records, Salt Lake County Recorder’s Office, p. 249.”

5 p. 120

6 Leonard J. Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints, 1830–1900, p. 146–147. See also James Naylor Jones, The Utah Valley Home, https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/987726. Accessed 15 February, 2017, and Willing Hands: A Biography of Lorenzo Hill Hatch (1826–1910), http://www.b13family.com/html/journal-lorenzo_hatch.htm. Accessed 15 February, 2017.

7 Fox notes that this is an exact count, taken from records in office of the county recorder. He must have seen the copies of the deeds preserved in LDS Conveyance books in the Utah County Office of Land Records, 100 East Center Street, Suite 1300, Provo, Utah 84606. The contents of the books are indexed for electronic searching. Consecration deeds of early Lehi settlers are found in books labelled LDS Church Conveyances, BK C, BK F, and BK H.

8 His consecration was twenty cents below the average, $1,048.70.

9 Ownership and numbers of Lots and Blocks and acreage on various surveys throughout the county are contained in Webb Access to Utah County Land Records – Abstract Images — LDS Church Conveyance. Included are “American Creek Survey 1851,” “American Creek Survey of Farm Land,” 1853–1855, “Upper Dry Creek Survey of Farming Land,” 1853, and “Lake Farm Land.”

10 Presumably the garden plots in 1855/1856 were the same as the ones on later records. The earliest entry in the Utah County abstract book for garden plots for Lehi is for 1 December 1879.

11 Hamilton Gardner, 1913, History of Lehi, Including a Biographical Section, https://archive.org/stream/historyoflehiinc

12 Lehi: Portraits of a Utah Town, https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE1023732&from=fnd, accessed 17 November 2016.

13 Hamilton Gardner, 1913, History of Lehi, Including a Biographical Section, p. 158–159.

14 Hamilton Gardner, 1913, History of Lehi, Including a Biographical Section, https://archive.org/stream/historyoflehiinc.

15 Webb Access to Utah County Land Records – Abstract Images — LDS Church Conveyances BK C, BK F, and BK H.

16 Original in LDS Church History Library, CR 5 53, box 2, fd. 16

17 Original in CR 5 53, box 2, fd. 16

18 Original in LDS Church History Library, CR 5 53, box 3, fd. 1

19 Immediately follows the deed of David Evans, dated 10 May 1856, and of Henry C. Norton, dated 7 May [1856].

20 A brother, Jens Peter Folkman (1829–1911), has a son born in Lehi in 1858.

21 Original in LDS Church History Library CR 5 53 box 3, fd. 3

22 Original in LDS Church History Library, CR 5 53, box 3, fd. 3. See also Willing Hands: A Biography of Lorenzo Hill Hatch, 1826–1910, http://www.b13family.com/html/journal-lorenzo_hatch.htm

23 Original in LDS Church History Library, CR 5 53, box 3, fd. 3

24 James McGaw, age 34, was in Ogden, Utah, in the 1860 Census. His wife, Mary Matilda Bassett (1800–1878), age 56, was with him, as was Mary’s mother, Matilda Salter Bassett (1800–1878), age 56, (1837–1906), age 23, and Elias Bassett, age 40. Elias must have been James’s brother in law.

25 This may be listed in error for Lot 6. Lot 8 of Block 2 is also recorded as having been claimed by Solomon Wixom on 28 January 1857. Alternatively Raymond and Wixom could each have occupied 1/2 of Lot 6 in 1857.

26 Immediately follows the deed of David Evans, dated 10 May 1856, and precedes the deeds of Lorenzo Hill Hatch, dated 11 April 1856, and of Henry C. Norton, dated 7 May [1856].

27 See Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, Joseph Robinson, https://history.lds.org/overlandtravel/pioneers/17621923085049108012/joseph-robinson. Accessed 1 March 2017.

28 See Biography of Joseph Morgan Wixom, https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/999379. Accessed 1 March 2017.

29 This figure includes $1000.00 listed by John Brown for his wife’s slave girl. See Consecration, Reformation, and “One African Servant Girl” in Lehi, Utah, https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5wDxipAGQN2a0libjFK1d2VEME0/view?usp=sharing

31 Lehi: Portraits of a Utah Town, https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE1023732&from=fnd, accessed 17 November 2016, p. 4–5, citing Andrew Field, “Notes.” Courtesy Leona Noyes, Lehi Library/Archives. Tunis Rappley is listed on both the East and South sides of the fort.

32 A subsequent study of the consecration deeds combined with the 1860 Census and other sources of information resulted in a more complete picture of the Lehi City fort in the years following the issuance of the deeds. Mormon Pioneers in Lehi, Utah Territory, 1854–1871, https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5wDxipAGQN2YzRBczAxMjlhsVFU/view?usp=sharing

33 The Old Fort Wall, a Herd of Cows, and a Near and Dear Neighbor in Lehi, Utah, https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5wDxipAGQN2a0libjFK1d2VEME0/view?usp=sharing


~

For more on William Sharp and his descendants, and on the Plain City families whose Lehi roots are documented in Clark’s consecration list, see:

Sharp-Bailey Wedding — William and Mary Ann’s story
Sharp-Stoker Wedding — Milo Riley Sharp and his family
History of Plain City — a multi-part series on Plain City’s founding families and history
1895 Plain City Student Body — the children of Plain City’s founding generation, including Delwin Sharp and the Skeen, Maw, and Folkman families
Sharp Family History Outreach — the broader Sharp family history and connections

Wayne E. Clark, Lehi, Utah, 2017. Part of the Wayne E. Clark Collection at the Lehi Historical Society and Archives, https://www.lehihistory.com. Contact: wayneeldenclark@gmail.com. Corrections or additions welcome.

Settlers in Lehi, Utah, Consecrated their Properties to their ChurchDownload
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Wilford Woodruff and Founding Fathers

Wilford Woodruff’s vision of the Founding Fathers requesting Temple Ordinances

We are moving soon, but the Burley 11th Ward gave me another chance to address them. Since I received a number of requests for a copy of the talk, which is really just a collage of various items I could find online, the Journal of Discourses, the Saints second and third volumes, and other various histories. Here is the text of the talk I wrote, that does not mean it is the talk I gave…

I first addressed the freedoms we have as contrasted in the Saints third volume related to Germany. I said the word Jew and Israel from the stand and did not fear reprisal. I listen to free radio anytime I want and even seek out British radio from time to time and there is nothing illegal. Lastly, we could congregate without the worry of those in our midst about what was said or in the actual act of meeting.

Then to the following:

Declaration of Independence – We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

George Washington: “The success, which has hitherto attended our united efforts, we owe to the gracious interposition of Heaven, and to that interposition let us gratefully ascribe the praise of victory, and the blessings of peace.”

Alexander Hamilton: “The Sacred Rights of mankind are not to be rummaged from among old parchments or musty records. They are written . . . by the Hand of Divinity itself.” “For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system, which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests.”

Thomas Jefferson: “The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.”

John Adams: “As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation.”

Benjamin Franklin: “The longer I live the more convincing Proofs I see of this Truth. That God Governs in the Affairs of Men!—And if a Sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid?—We have been assured, . . . in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House, they labour in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this;—and I also believe that without his concurring Aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than Builders of Babel.”

James Madison: “It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution.”

Samuel Adams: “Revelation assures us that ‘Righteousness exalteth a Nation’—Communities are dealt with in this World by the wise and just Ruler of the Universe. He rewards or punishes them according to their general Character.”

Charles Pinckney: “When the great work was done and published, I was . . . struck with amazement. Nothing less than that superintending hand of Providence, that so miraculously carried us through the war, . . . could have brought it about so complete, upon the whole.”

On May 4, 1842, he called to his side nine of the most faithful of his brethren—Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards, Newell K. Whitney, and others—and later their wives came with them to the upper floor of the Red Brick Store in Nauvoo. 

Joseph was seeking to fulfill the promise from D&C 124, given in 1841, which the Lord would reveal to Joseph “all things pertaining to this house, and the priesthood thereof, and the place whereon it shall be built.” 

He had started, “If it should be the will of God that I might live.” Then he corrected and said, “It is not the will of the Lord that I should live, and I must give you, here in this upper room, all those glorious plans and principles whereby men are entitled to the fulness of the priesthood.” He proceeded in an improvised and makeshift way to do so.

We have from Brigham Young that after they had received these blessings the Prophet said: “Brother Brigham, this is not arranged right. But we have done the best we could under the circumstances in which we are placed, and I wish you to take this matter in hand and organize and systematize all these ceremonies.”

Brigham Young later said, “I did so. And each time I got something more, so that when we went through the temple at Nauvoo I understood and knew how to place them there. We had our ceremonies pretty correct.”

While the Nauvoo Temple was started in 1841, the first endowments were performed in the winter of 1845 and into 1846.  Baptisms had started in the Mississippi River prior to the temple and moved into the temple baptistery soon after it was completed and dedicated, well before the rest of the temple was done.  Brigham, leading the church, was personally overseeing the organization and perfection of the endowment and other ordinances that started in Nauvoo. 

After arriving in Salt Lake City, the church used the top floor of the Council House, starting in 1852 until the Endowment House was completed in 1855.  It was in this building that endowments, prayer circles, some missionary training, and some setting aparts were conducted.  The use of the Endowment House ended in 1877 with the completion of the St George Temple.  That building stood until Wilford Woodruff heard that unauthorized sealings were occurring there and ordered it razed in 1889. 

The St George Temple was the only one completed during Brigham Young’s 30 year tenure as President.  It was dedicated on 1 January 1877 in three dedicatory prayers under the direction of Brigham.  The baptistery by Wilford Woodruff, the main floor by Erastus Snow, and the sealing room by Brigham Young Jr.  Wilford Woodruff served as St George Temple President from 1877 to 1884.  Brigham had to be carried up the stairs, but he stood and spoke in the Assembly Room. 

“When I think upon this subject, I want the tongues of seven thunders to wake up the people,” he declared. “Can the fathers be saved without us? No. Can we be saved without them? No. And if we do not wake up and cease to long after the things of this earth, we will find that we as individuals will go down to hell.”

Brigham lamented that many Saints were pursuing worldly things. “Supposing we were awake to this thing, namely the salvation of the human family,” he said, “this house would be crowded, as we hope it will be, from Monday morning until Saturday night.”

On 9 January 1877, the first baptisms for the dead were performed in the St George Temple.  The first endowment for the dead was performed on 11 January 1877.  Brigham and Wilford personally oversaw the ordinances being performed.  Wilford began wearing a white suit, starting the trend that continues to this day. 

All endowments to this point had been done and passed by word of mouth.  It was in St George, far from Salt Lake City, that the ordinances were first written down.  Brigham also wanted to make sure the record was preserved and that they were standardized.  They were read to Brigham time and time again who would then approve or continue to revise the ordinances.  Brigham went home to Salt Lake City in April 1877.  He stopped and dedicated the spot for the Manti Temple on the way home.

Wilford Woodruff then wrote in his journal on Sunday 19 August 1877, “I spent the evening in preparing a list of the noted men of the 17 century and 18th, including the signers of the Declaration of Independence and presidents of the United States, for baptism on Tuesday the 21 Aug 1877.”

His journal entry for August 21 reads, “I, Wilford Woodruff, went to the temple of the Lord this morning and was baptized for 100 persons who were dead, including the signers of the Declaration of Independence. … I was baptized for the following names.” He then listed the names of one hundred men.

Elder Woodruff continued his journal entry: “When [John Daniel Thompson] McAllister had baptized me for the 100 names, I baptized him for 21, including Gen. Washington and his forefathers and all the presidents of the United States that were not on my list except Buchanan, Van Buren, and Grant.” (The work for these presidents has since been done.)

“It was a very interesting day,” Elder Woodruff continued. “I felt thankful that we had the privilege and the power to administer for the worthy dead, especially for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, that inasmuch as they had laid the foundation of our Government, that we could do as much for them as they had done for us.

“Sister Lucy Bigelow Young went forth into the font and was baptized for Martha Washington and her family, and seventy of the eminent women of the world. I called upon the brethren and sisters who were present to assist in getting endowments for those that we had been baptized for today.” (Wilford Woodruff’s journal, typescript, vol. 7, Church History Library; spelling and punctuation modernized.)

The first public mention of these events was made nearly a month after the baptisms were performed. In an address in the Tabernacle on Temple Square on 16 September 1877, Elder Woodruff first told publicly of the visitation of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

“You have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever been done for us. We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God. (Conference Report, April 10, 1898; Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, pp. 160-61)

During the 68th Annual General Conference of the Church which was held in April 1898, President Woodruff recounted the sacred experience:

I am going to bear my testimony to this assembly, if I never do it again in my life, that those men who laid the foundation of this American government and signed the Declaration of Independence were the best spirits the God of heaven could find on the face of the earth. They were choice spirits, not wicked men. General Washington and all the men that labored for the purpose were inspired of the Lord.

Another thing I am going to say here, because I have a right to say it.  Every one of those men that signed the Declaration of Independence, with General Washington, called upon me, as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Temple at St. George, two consecutive nights, and demanded at my hands that I should go forth and attend to the ordinances of the House of God for them.  Men are here, I believe, that know of this, Brother John D. T. McAllister, David H. Cannon and James S. Bleak.  Brother McAllister baptized me for all those men, and then I told these brethren that it was their duty to go into the Temple and labor until they had got endowments for all of them.  They did it.  Would those spirits have called up on me, as an Elder in Israel to perform that work if they had not been noble spirits before God?  They would not. (Wilford Woodruff, Conference Report, April 1989, pp. 89-90.)

“They waited on me for two days and two nights,” he said,

“I thought it very singular, that notwithstanding so much work had been done, and yet nothing had been done for them.” (Journal of Discourses, 19:229.)

I was also present in the St. George Temple and witnessed the appearance of the Spirits of the Signers….the spirits of the Presidents….and also others, such as Martin Luther and John Wesley….Who came to Wilford Woodruff and demanded that their baptism and endowments be done. Wilford Woodruff was baptized for all of them. While I and Brothers J.D.T. McAllister and David H Cannon (who were witnesses to the request) were endowed for them. These men… laid the foundation of this American Gov., and signed the Declaration of Independence and were the best spirits the God of Heaven could find on the face of the earth to perform this work. Martin Luther and John Wesley helped to release the people from religious bondage that held them during the dark ages. They also prepared the people’s hearts so they would be ready to receive the restored gospel when the Lord sent it again to men on the earth.” (Personal journal of James Godson Bleak – Chief Recorder of the St. George Temple.)

In 1986, some of the staff of the Family History Library’s LDS Reference Unit were assigned to compile and computerize all the existing genealogical data on the founding fathers, to identify their families, and to document completed temple ordinances for each. For purposes of the project, a founding father was identified as one who had signed one or more of the following documents: the Articles of Association (1774), the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Articles of Confederation (1778), or the Constitution (1787).

The library study of 1986 revealed that there were no sealings of children to parents performed at the time the baptisms and endowments were performed. As a note, the ongoing revelation related to sealings to parents was not revealed until 1894.  It was then that the Law of Adoption, or sealing to prominent church leaders, was discontinued and we were encouraged to do genealogical work to compile the pedigree of the entire human family.  It was then that the Utah Genealogical Society was founded that has snowballed into the fantastic work of FamilySearch and all its appendages. 

He also recorded that George Washington, John Wesley, Benjamin Franklin, and Christopher Columbus were ordained High Priests at the time.

Temple work was performed on behalf of the following well-known and respected men and women in the St. George Utah Temple in August 1877.

Founding Fathers: William Hooper (NC), Joseph Hewes (NC), John Penn (NC), Button Gwinnett (GA), Lyman Hall (GA), George Walton (GA), Edward Rutledge (SC), Thomas Heyward Jr. (SC), Thomas Lynch (SC), Arthur Middleton (SC), Samuel Chase (MD), William Paca (MD), Thomas Stone (MD), Charles Carroll (MD), George Wythe (VA), Richard Henty Lee (VA), Thomas Jefferson (VA), Benjamin Harrison (VA), Thomas Nelson Jr. (VA), Francis Lightfoot Lee (VA), Carter Braxton (VA), Robert Morris (PA), Benjamin Rush (PA), Benjamin Franklin (PA), John Morton (PA), George Clymer (PA), James Smith (PA), George Taylor (PA), James Wilson (PA), George Ross (PA), Caeser Rodney (DE), George Read (DE), Thomas McKean (DE), Philip Livingston (NY), Francis Lewis (NY), Lewis Morris (NY), Richard Stockton (NJ), John Witherspoon (NJ), Francis Hopkinson (NJ), John Hart (NJ), Abraham Clark (NJ), Josiah Bartlett (NH), William Whipple (NH), Matthew Thornton (NH), Samuel Adams (MA), John Adams (MA), Robert Treat Paine (MA), Elbridge Gerry (MA), Stephen Hopkins (RI), William Ellery (RI), Roger Sherman (CN), Samuel Huntington (CN), William Williams (CN), and Oliver Wolcott (CN).

Note: Temple work was not done for John Hancock or William Floyd as it had already been completed previously.

Presidents of the United States: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James Knox Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson.  Temple work was not done for James Buchanan, Martin Van Buren, or Ulysses S. Grant.

Other eminent men baptized by Wilford Woodruff in the St. George Utah Temple in August 1877 include: Sir Edward Gibbon, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Oliver Goldsmith, Henry Grattan, Humboldt, Alexander von Irving, Washington Jackson, Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Johnson, Samuel Juarez, Benito Pablo Kemble, John Philip Liebig, Baron Justus von Livingstone, David Macaulay, Thomas Babington Nelson, Lord Horatio O’Connell, Daniel Peabody, George Powers, Hiram Reynolds, Sir Joshua Schiller, Johann Christoph Friedrich von Scott, Sir Walter Seward, William Henry Stephenson, George Thackeray, William Makepeace, Vespucci, Amerigo Webster, Daniel Wesley, John Wordsworth, William Parepa, Count Dimitrius, Martha Washington and her family, John Washington (Great Grandfather of George Washington), Sir Henry Washington, Lawrence Washington (Brother of George Washington), Augustine Washington (Father of George Washington), Lawrence Washington (Father of Augustine), Lawrence Washington, Daniel Park Custis, John Park Custis (Son of Daniel and Martha Parke Custis), and Martin Luther.

Eminent Women baptized include: Jean Armour (1767—1834) of Scotland, Jean Armour Burns (Wife of Robert Burns) (1759—1796), Jane Austen (1775—1817) of England, novelist, Mary Ball (1708—1789) of America, Mary Ball Washington (Mother of George Washington) (1732—1799), Sarah Bernard (1800—1879) of England, Sarah Barnard Faraday (wife of Michael Faraday (1791—1867), Charlotte Bronte (1816—1855) of England, novelist, Felicia Dorothea Browne (1793—1835) of England, Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806—1861) of England, poet, (wife of Robert Browning) (1812—18?), Martha Caldwell Calhoun (d. 1802) of America (mother of John Caldwell Calhoun) (1782—1850), Martha Parke Custis (1755—1773) of America (Daughter of Martha Washington) (1732—1802), Martha Dandridge Washington (1732—1802) of America (wife of George Washington) (1732—1799),  Rachel Donelson Jackson (1767—1828) of America (wife of Andrew Jackson (1767—1845), and Abigail Eastman Webster (1737—1816) of America (mother of Daniel Webster (1782—1852), to name but a few. Temple work was performed for a total of 70 eminent women.

During most of our national history Columbus and the Founders were considered heroes with determination and foresight.  Cities, rivers, and many other places were named after them.  More recently there has been a wide spread effort, designed especially to indoctrinate young people, which slanders Columbus, the Founders and their accomplishments.  Columbus is held personally responsible for centuries of mistreatment of Native Americans.  The Founders are portrayed as being greedy and motivated by selfish interests. All of this is as astonishing as it is misleading.  

From the Lord’s perspective among the most important events of the history of the world was the discovery and founding of America.  1 Ne 11-14.  Nephi was referring to Columbus when he wrote:  “I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land” 1 Ne 13:12.  By the Founders “the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation…even on the face of this land.” 1 Ne 22:7.

Go on to life and history of George Ross of Pennsylvania, signer of Declaration of Independence.  

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Cargo Plane Loses Wing Over Plain City

Standard Examiner article about Plain City plane crash

I previously wrote an article about the piece of airplane scrap Grandpa kept in his front yard. I referenced this newspaper article and that I would type it up and make it available. Here it is. Before, here is a picture of that piece of scrap Grandpa Ross picked up in Mike Pananzio’s garden.

Piece of airplane wreckage Milo Ross picked up in Mike Pananzio’s garden

Cargo Plane Loses Wing Over Plain City; 2 Die In Crash

Ogden Utah, Saturday October 15, 1960

Smoke Billow From Ship In Mid-Air, Witnesses Say

EXport 4-7711  80th Year No. 269  5 Cents

Plain City – At least two airmen were killed at 11a.m. today when a Capitol Airlines C46 twin-engined plane leased to the Air Force lost a wing and spun into a cornfield.

Eyewitnesses said the plane caught fire in mid-air and fell to earth in a field of Paul Knight at 1975 N 4000 W.

Debris was scattered for more than a mile and a gaping hole in the open field underscored the violence of the impact.

Identities of the dead were not known immediately. Parts of the two bodies were strewn over the area.

An Air Force spokesman said it was believed only the unidentified pilot and co-pilot were aboard.

No one in this community of about 900 people was injured but authorities evacuated residents living in nearby houses.

The Air Forces said the plane was owned by Capitol Airways of Berry Field, Nashville, Tenn. It was contracted by the Air Force to haul freight and was inbound to hill Air force Base about 10 miles southeast of the crash site.

The plane presumably was swinging into the fight pattern to approach the landing strips.

Plain City residents said it was traveling almost directly toward Ben Lomond peak when it came to grief.

Estimates of its altitude varied, but one source said it looked to be about 1,00 feet up.

Louis E Pierce of Brigham City was one eye witness.  He said saw the plane in the air and heard and engine sputter, then saw a black smoke cloud and saw one wing fall off.

Whether it broke loose before the plane nosed to earth or was blown that distance by the explosion could not be learned.

Hill Air Force Base officials were airlifted to the scene by helicopter.

Also called to the scene were the Weber County fire department and officers of the Weber County sheriff.

Moss ambulance Service was called, but the attendant said, “There was nothing to pick up. We saw parts of one body all over a field. Hill AFB officials would not release any information on the crash. They and officials of the Federal Aviation Agency were at the scene within the first hour and ordered the area roped off.

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I found this article online from the Standard Examiner on the 17th, two days after the above article.

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TRIO PROBING FOR REASON IN AIR CRASH.

A three-man investigating panel from the Federal Aviation Agency is probing today for the cause of a spectacular plane crash Saturday in Plain City which killed two civilians when the plane plummeted into a corn field minus a wing.
The crew from the FAA offices in San Francisco is headed by JACK BROWN and is headquartered at Hill Air Force Base.
Meanwhile, the scene of the crash, a corn field owned by PAUL KNIGHT of 1874 N. 400 W., is being guarded by members of the Weber County Jeep Patrol.
The wind that fell, carrying with it one of the plane’s two engines, completely blocked a road from the Plain City cemetery and created a serious fire hazard because of spilled fuel from the wing tanks.
The wing was removed from the highway by jeep patrol members.
FAA investigators are searching through a sea of charred and burned debris, scattered over a wide area extending in all directions from the 20 to 30-foot crater made when the plane hit the ground.
Enroute To Hill.
The plane, a C46, was enroute to Hill Air Force Base from Rapid City, S.D., carrying about 10,000 pounds of Air Force cargo and was under contract to the Air Force by Capitol Airways of Berry Field, Nashville, Tenn.
Killed instantly were the pilot and co-pilot, identified at REED A. BURT, 42, Salt Lake City, and Oliver N. CHADWELL, JR., Edmonton, Okla.
The crash and the movement of the plane moments before the crash took place place in full view of several eye witnesses.
The height of the plane and its apparent trouble drew the attention of several who said they saw the wing drop off and then saw the plane plunge to the ground, bursting into flames.
The intense heat of the fire made it impossible for anyone to attempt rescuing crew members and their bodies were so badly broken it was impossible for officials at the scene to determine the size of the crew.

Ogden Standard Examiner Utah 1960-10-17

Reed Allen Burt was born 30 September 1917 in Salt Lake City. He married Jewell Alma Butler (1920-2018) 16 February 1944 in Midland, Texas. His wife and three children survived him.

Oliver Henry Chadwell Jr was born in May 1929 in Oklahoma. I cannot see that he was married.