Contents |
Synopsis
The Mountain Meadows massacre was a series of attacks on the Baker-Fancher emigrant wagon train at Mountain Meadows, a rest stop along the Old Spanish Trail in southern Utah. The wagon train, mostly families from northwest Arkansas, was bound for California on a route that passed through the Utah Territory, during a time of conflict later known as the Utah War.[1]
After arriving in Salt Lake City, the Baker–Fancher party made their way south along the Old Spanish Trail, eventually stopping to rest at Mountain Meadows. While the emigrants were camped at the meadow, nearby militia leaders made plans to attack the wagon train. The militia was primarily comprised of Mormon settlers but also included some Paiute natives. The attacks began on September 7, 1857 and culminated on September 11, 1857, resulting in the mass slaughter of most in the emigrant party. Those spared by the assailants were children deemed too young to tell anyone of the events. The following year the U.S. Government repatriated seventeen of the young ones to their families in northwest Arkansas, finally delivering them home in September 1859.[2]
Almost twenty years elapsed before the investigations, delayed due to the U.S. Civil War, were concluded.[1] Only one man was held accountable for the massacre, John D. Lee. He was tried in two separate court cases, the first ending in a hung jury. He was eventually convicted during the second trial and sentenced to death. On March 23, 1877, Lee was executed at Mountain Meadows near the very spot of the atrocity.[3]
Controversy swirled around the events of September 1857 until almost the end of the twentieth century. A 1950 book by Juanita Brooks[4] renewed interest and debate in the matter. In 1990 a private association of survivor families constructed a large monument at Mountain Meadows. In 1999 the LDS Church erected a memorial near the site. Finally, in 2007 at the 150th anniversary ceremony, an elder of the LDS Church attended the events officially ending the boycott of taking responsibility for the incident.[1]
Baker-Fancher Party Wagon Train
List of wagon trains and family groups making up the Baker-Fancher Party.
List of Victims
Deceased
This list is not definitive or official.
- Aden
- William Allen Aden, 19
- Baker & Beller
- George Baker, 27
- Manerva A Beller Baker, 25
- Mary Lovina Baker, 7
- Melissa Ann Beller, 14 -Ward of George and Manerva Baker
- David W Beller, 12 - Ward of George and Manerva Baker
- John T. Baker, 52
- Abel Baker, 19
- Beach
- John Beach, 21
- Cameron
- William Cameron, 51
- Martha Cameron, 51
- Tillman Cameron, 24
- Isom Cameron, 18
- Henry Cameron, 16
- James Cameron, 14
- Martha Cameron, 11
- Larkin Cameron, 8
- William Cameron's niece, Nancy, 12 (Disputed)
- Deshazo
- Allen P. Deshazo, 20
- Dunlap
- Jesse Dunlap Jr., 39
- Mary Wharton Dunlap, 39
- Ellender Dunlap, 18
- Nancy M. Dunlap, 16
- James D. Dunlap, 14
- Lucinda Dunlap, 12
- Susannah Dunlap, 12
- Margarette Dunlap, 11
- Mary Dunlap, 9
- Lorenzo Dunlap, 42
- Nancy Wharton Dunlap, 42
- Thomas J. Dunlap, 17
- John H. Dunlap, 16
- Mary Ann Dunlap, 13
- Talitha Emaline Dunlap, 11
- Nancy Dunlap, 9
- America Jane Dunlap, 7
- Eaton
- William M. Eaton
- Edwards
- Silas Edwards
- Fancher
- Alexander Fancher, 45
- Eliza Ingrum Fancher, 32
- Hampton Fancher, 19
- Frances "Fanny" Fulfer Fancher (Disputed)
- Robert Fancher, 19
- William Fancher, 17
- Mary Fancher, 15
- Thomas Fancher, 14
- Martha Fancher, 10
- Sarah G. Fancher, 8
- Margaret A. Fancher, 7
- James Mathew Fancher, 25
- Huff
- Saladia Ann Brown Huff
- William Huff
- Elisha Huff and two other sons
- Jones
- John Milum Jones, 32
- Eloah Angeline Tackitt Jones, 27 and daughter
- Newton Jones
- McEntire
- Lawson A. McEntire, 21
- Miller
- Josiah (Joseph) Miller, 30
- Matilda Cameron Miller, 26
- James William Miller, 9
- Mitchell
- Charles R. Mitchell, 23
- Sarah C. Baker Mitchell, 21
- John Mitchell, Infant
- Joel D. Mitchell, 23
- Prewit
- John Prewit, 20
- William Prewit, 18
- Rush
- Stallcup
- Charles Stallcup, 25 (Disputed)
- Tackitt
- Cynthia Tackitt, 49
- Marion Tackitt, 20
- Seborn Tackitt, 18
- Matilda Tackitt, 16
- James M. Tackitt, 14
- Jones M. Tackitt, 12
- Pleasant Tackitt, 25
- Armilda Miller Tackitt, 22
- Wilson
- Richard Wilson
- Wood
- Solomon R. Wood, 20
- William Wood, 26
Survivors
The following children (age in 1857) were returned to their families in northwest Arkansas, September 1859, except as noted:[2] (Thompson 57)
- Children of George and Manerva Baker
- Martha (Baker) Terry, 5
- Sarah (Baker) Mitchell, 3
- William Twitty Baker, 9 months
- Daughters of Jesse and Mary Dunlap
- Daughters of Lorenzo Dow and Nancy Dunlap
- Prudence (Dunlap) Koen, 5
- Georgia (Dunlap) McWhirter, 18 months
- Children of Alexander and Eliza Fancher
- Christopher "Kit" Carson Fancher, 5
- Triphenia D. Fancher, 22 months
- Daughter of Nancy Sophrina Huff Cates
- Nancy Saphrona Cates, 4
- Son of John Milum and Eloah Jones
- Felix Marion Jones, 18 months
- Children of Jos. and Matilda Miller
- John Calvin Miller, 6 - retained as witness (Thompson 63)
- Mary Miller, 4
- William Tillman "Joseph" Miller, 1
- Sons of Pleasant and Armilda Tackitt
- Emberson Milum Tackitt, 4 - retained as witness (Thompson 63)
- William Henry Tackitt, 19 months
Suggested Resources
Articles
Wikipedia: Mountain Meadows Massacre[1]
Famous Trials: The Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857 and the Trials of John D. Lee: An Account[3]
Encyclopedia of Arkansas: Mountain Meadows Massacre[5]
Smithsonian Magazine: The Aftermath of Mountain Meadows[6]
Reprint of essay by Ralph R. Rea: The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Completion as a Historic Episode[7]
Legends of America: An 1889 Account of the Mountain Meadows Massacre[8]
Books
The Mountain Meadows Massacre, by Juanita Brooks, 1950[4] Worldcat Library Search
Blood of the prophets: Brigham Young and the massacre at Mountain Meadows, by Will Bagley, 2004[9] Worldcat Library Search
Films
Burying The Past: The Legacy of the Mountain Meadows Massacre[10] On September 11, 1857, a wagon train of 120 immigrants bound for California were slaughtered under a white flag by Utah Mormons in one of the worst massacres in American history. Through the actual testimony of a young girl who survived, interviews with descendants, and forensic investigation, this compelling film break through decades of coverup to expose a story kept out of the history books. Descendants of the massacre, haunted by the tragedy to this day, struggle to find forgiveness and healing.
The Mountain Meadows Massacre[11] An engrossing documentary including interviews with historians, reenactments, and photographs that tell all sides of The Mountain Meadow Massacre.
September Dawn[12] A love story set during a tense encounter between a wagon train of settlers and a renegade Mormon group.
Radio
NPR: Day to Day Berkes, Howard 11 Sep, 2008[13] Mormon Historians Shed Light on Sept. 11, 1857 - Sept. 11 was a tragic date in American history long before the terrorist attacks of 2001.
Online Misc.
Route and Landmarks
Follow the Route and Landmarks of the Baker-Fancher Party.
Perspectives & Opinion
Salt Lake Tribune: Archaeologist Says He Has Found Actual Mountain Meadows Massacre Graves[14]
Frank Kirkman's Mountain Meadows Massacre Site
Linking to this Page
- To refer to this page in the text of another WikiTree page, enter the following code in the text:
- [[Space:Mountain_Meadows_Massacre|Mountain Meadows Massacre]]
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 July 2004. Web. 10 Aug. 2004. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Meadows_Massacre
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Thompson, Jacob (1860). "Message of the President of the United States: communicating, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate, information in relation to the massacre at Mountain Meadows, and other massacres in Utah Territory, 36th Congress, 1st Session, Exec. Doc. No. 42". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of the Interior.. https://archive.org/details/messageofpreside00unitrich.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Linder, Douglas O. “The Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857 and the Trials of John D. Lee: An Account.” Famous Trials, UMKC School of Law, 2020, https://famous-trials.com/mountainmeadows/936-home.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Brooks, Juanita. The Mountain Meadows Massacre. University of Oklahoma Press, 1999.
- ↑ James, Finck. “Mountain Meadows Massacre.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Central Arkansas Library System, 25 June 2018, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/mountain-meadows-massacre-129/.
- ↑ King, Gilbert. “The Aftermath of Mountain Meadows.” Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Feb. 2012, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-aftermath-of-mountain-meadows-110735627/.
- ↑ Rea, Ralph R. The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Completion as a Historic Episode. 2010, https://tfancher.tripod.com/.
- ↑ Bancroft, Hubert Howe. “An 1889 Account of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.” Legends of America, 2018, https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ut-mountainmeadow1889account/.
- ↑ Bagley, Will. Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows. University of Oklahoma Press, 2004.
- ↑ Partick, Brian F., director, Burying The Past: The Legacy of the Mountain Meadow Massacre, Brian Patrick Productions, 2004, IMDB, https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0397048/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0.
- ↑ Young, Eric, producer, The Mountain Meadow Massacre, The Studio Inc., 2001, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mountain_Meadows_Massacre_(film).
- ↑ Cain, Christopher, director. September Dawn. Sony Picture Home Video, 2007. IMDB, https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0473700/.
- ↑ Berkes, Howard (11 September 2008). “Mormon Historians Shed Light On Sept. 11, 1857.” Day to Day NPR.
- ↑ Maffly, Brian. "Archaeologist Says He Has Found Actual Mountain Meadows Massacre Graves; It’s Not on LDS-Owned Land." The Salt Lake Tribune, 30 Sept. 2015. Updated 11 Sep 2017.
