Peter Muir Fife (1806 - 1873)

Born 5 Apr 1806 in Pathhead, Crichton, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret Turner — married 22 May 1830 in Crichton, Midlothian, Scotland

Husband of Hannah (Barrow) Rowley — married 7 Mar 1849 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah Territory, United States

Died 31 Jul 1873 at age 67 in Hamiltons Fort, Iron, Utah, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Brent Bowen [send private message]

Biography

Peter Fife was a Latter Day Saint pioneer.

Peter became a member of the LDS Church between 1830 - 1848.

Private Peter Fife served with the Iowa Volunteers during the Mexican-American War
Service Started: Jul 1846
Unit(s): Company B, Mormon Battalion
Service Ended: Jul 1847

• Fact: Christening (24 April 1806) Crichton, Midlothian, Scotland
• He was the son of John Fife and Jannet Muir
• Fact: Immigration (1848) Utah, United States
• Fact: Immigration (1848)
• Fact: Immigration (29 September 1850) Utah, United States
• Fact: Immigration (29 Sep 1850)
• Fact: Census (1860) Iron County, Utah, United States
• Fact: Burial (Aug 1873) Cedar City Cemetery, Iron County, Utah, United States
• Fact: Military Service: Private in Co. B Mormon Battalion, Mexican War San Diego, San Diego, California, United States
• Fact: http://familysearch.org/v1/LifeSketch Peter Muir Fife was born in Pathhead (near Edinburgh), Scotland on April 5, 1806.

Peter Fyfe, son of John Fyfe and Janet Muir was baptised in the parish of Crichton, Midlothian on 24 April 1806.^[1]

During his early life in Scotland he was primarily a farmer, but for some time before he immigrated to America he was a grocer on William Street in Edinburgh.^[2]

He married Margaret Turner May 22, 1830 in the parish of Crichton, Midlothian.^[3] Peter and Margaret had 5 children, three boys and two girls:

1. John Fyfe (bp 12 February 1832 in Kirknewton, Midlothian)^[4]
2. Peter Fyfe (bp 19 January 1834 in Kirknewton, Midlothian)^[5]
3. Margaret Fife (b ~ 1836 in Midlothian)^[2]
4. Jessie Fife (b ~1837, Ratho, Midlothian)^[6]
5. Thomas Fife (bp 24 February 1842 in St Cuthbert's, Edinburgh, Midlothian)^[7]

Peter and his brother James and James’ wife and children joined the Church in 1840 and wanted to go to Nauvoo in America. Margaret refused to accompany him. All of Peter and Margaret’s children stayed in Scotland with their mother.

Peter and his brother James arrived in Nauvoo in late 1841 or early 1842. Tax records of August 1842 show that James owned property and Peter later purchased a farm outside of Nauvoo.

Peter walked and talked with the Prophet Joseph Smith and was given a Patriarchal blessing by Hyrum Smith while in Nauvoo. In 1844 Peter spent a short time preaching the gospel in Virginia. Peter like other men who lived in Nauvoo worked on the Temple. He did baptisms for the dead. He received his own endowment on January 24, 1846 in the Nauvoo Temple.

Peter left with the other members of the Church who were driven out of Nauvoo in 1846 and went to Winter Quarters and Council Bluffs, Iowa. While there he volunteered to serve in the Mormon Battalion. The Mormon Battalion, which was a battalion of the U.S. Army, served in the Mexican War and marched from Council Bluffs Iowa to San Diego, California.

The Mormon Battalion built a new wagon trail from Kansas to California, built the first public buildings in San Diego, helped discover gold at Sutter’s Fort and endured much hunger, fatigue, thirst and the extremes of cold and heat. They were instrumental in helping secure for the United States the land that would become the states of New Mexico, Arizona and California.

After Peter was discharged from the Army he traveled to Salt Lake City by way of northern California. In Salt Lake City, he met Hannah Barrows again. He had met her previously on the ship that they had both traveled on when coming to America. They were married on October 7, 1849. Peter and Hannah had five children: Maria, Peter Barrows, Alice, Catherine and Elizabeth.

On October 11, 1849, just 5 days after Peter’s marriage to Hannah, Peter left Salt Lake City with 19 other Mormon men to go to California to mine gold. They arrived at the gold fields in February 1850 and worked there until November of 1850 then returned to Salt Lake City. Their profits were negligible.

In the early part of May 1851 Peter moved his family to Parowan, Iron County, Utah in response to a call to serve in the Iron Mission. After spending the summer and early fall in Parowan, Peter was assigned to go south to help establish another town. The group arrived in what would become Cedar City, Utah on November 11, 1851, which makes Peter and Hannah some of the first settlers of Cedar City.

In 1852 Peter took his family from Cedar City, along with Peter Shirts and John Hamilton, to the area that would become Hamilton Fort. He continued hauling coal for the Iron Mission and started farming in the Hamilton Fort area.

As a farmer, Peter Muir Fife was very well known. He could tie sheaves of wheat so tight that mice could not get in them. His wheat was of such high quality that many farmers would buy his wheat and use it for seed to grow their own crops.

Peter owned land in Cedar City that eventually was donated for part of the area where Southern Utah University now stands and land on which the Second Ward Church in Cedar City once stood.

Peter and Hannah Barrows marriage ended when she left him and the children and moved to Fillmore, Utah.

[Note: There is a good account of Hannah's life in Family Search. If you scroll down from here Hannah Barrow's name is listed as one of Peter's wives. You can click on her name and find her life story under memories.]

Peter met and married Mary Hunter in 1861 and together they had two children, Joseph Smith Fife born February 5, 1863 and Janet Fife, born November 18, 1864. They were sealed on October 10, 1868 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City by Wilford Woodruff.

Peter adopted Mary’s daughter Jane Condie, who was born on August 10, 1858. And he and Mary also raised the children that were born to Peter and his second wife Hannah. The story is told of Mary saying to Peter one day, “Peter, Peter, come quick! Your children and my children are beating up on our children!”

The legacy of Peter Muir Fife is one of great faith, to come to a foreign land for the sake of the Gospel and endure the hardships, violence, tribulation, fatigue, hunger, sickness, poverty, and to go through all of this and remain faithful, gives us a great example to follow.

• Fact: http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility Ploughman

Sources

1. ↑ OPR Baptism indexes; FYFE, PETER; JOHN FYFE/JANET MUIR FR263 (FR263); M; 24/04/1806; 681/ 10 281; Crichton; from www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} 1"Scottish General Register Office: 1841 Census Returns database, FreeCEN (https://www.freecen.org.uk/search_records/5a151984f4040b9d6e258d32 : viewed 24 Feb 2020), Peter FIFE in household of Peter FIFE, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland; from 1841 "England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images; citing The National Archives HO 107/18, Folio 6, Page 31, Schedule William Street, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey. Peter Fife Male 30 Grocer 1811 Midlothian, Scotland Margaret Fife Female 30 1811 Scotland John Fife Male 9 1832 Midlothian, Scotland Margaret Fife Female 5 1836 Midlothian, Scotland Janet Fife Female 4 1837 Midlothian, Scotland Isabella Tailor Female 15 Female Servant 1826 Midlothian, Scotland
3. ↑ OPR Marriage indexes; FIFE, PETER; MARGARET TURNER/FR584 (FR584); 22/05/1830; 681/ 30 135; Crichton; from www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
4. ↑ OPR Baptism indexes; FYFE, JOHN; PETER FYFE/MARGARET TURNER FR935 (FR935); M; 12/02/1832; 690/ 40 61; Kirknewton and East Calder; from www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
5. ↑ OPR Baptism indexes; FYFE, PETER; PETER FYFE/MARGARET TURNER FR940 (FR940); M; 19/01/1834; 690/ 40 71; Kirknewton and East Calder; from www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
6. ↑ "Scottish General Register Office: 1851 Census Returns database, FreeCEN (https://www.freecen.org.uk/search_records/5903d82ee9379091b1fb4fec : viewed 24 Feb 2020), Thomas FIFE in household of Margaret FIFE, William Street, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland; from 1851 "England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images; citing The National Archives /685, Folio 734, Page 4, Schedule 21, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.FIFE Margaret Head W F 44 Sick Nurse ROX Westerham FIFE John Son U M 19 House Painter Journeyman MLN Kirknewton FIFE Jessie Dau - F 13 Scholar MLN Ratho FIFE Thomas Son - M 9 Scholar MLN St Cuthberts GORRIE Alexander Lodger M M 28 Forester PER Monzie GORRIE Agnes Lodger M F 29 Wife Of Above Forester PEE Traquair GORRIE Peter Lodger - M 5m Son Of Above Forester STI St Ninians
7. ↑ OPR Baptism indexes; FIFE, THOMAS; PETER FIFE/MARGARET TURNER FR9519 (FR9519); M; 24/02/1842; 685/2 360 503; St Cuthbert's; from www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 06 November 2017, 22:53), entry for Peter Muir Fife(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:KWNV-KM6); contributed by various users.
• LDS Pioneer Overland Travel 1847-1868 web site: https://history.lds.org/overlandtravel/pioneers/50227/peter-muir-fife
• Early LDS
• Members of the Mormon Battalion, A Sesquicentennial Remembrance, compiled by Dr. Susan Ward Easton, p. 26. https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE5417209

Acknowledgements

• Profile Fife-13 was created by Brent Bowen through the import of Bwiki.ged on 03 April 2011
• Profile Fife-377 was created by Stephanie Stults on 8 Nov 2017