These important documents were originally
discovered by Paul
Buford Fancher during the course of his research for
Richard Fancher (1700-1764) of Morris County, New Jersey: Richard
Fancher's descendants 1764-1992: Fancher-Fansher-Fanchier-Fanshier,
which was published in 1993. Mr. Fancher then gave this information on the
documents' location to Ron Loving, who was the President of the Mountain
Meadows Association at the time. Judge Roger V. Logan, Jr. published the
article below in the Utah Historical Quarterly's Summer 1992 edition, p.
224-235.
SEE
THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE IN THE UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
SEE THE
TRANSCRIPTIONS OF THE ORIGINAL DEPOSITIONS
NEW LIGHT ON THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS CARAVAN
By Roger V. Logan, Jr.
Accurate detailed information about the victims of the
Mountain
Meadows Massacre has, for many years, been scarce. Many writers
have studied the event, attempting to place blame, to expose complicity,
draw meaning or teach lessons from the tragic details of the killing1.
But, even with a considerable amount of literature on the subject,
reliable information about the Arkansas emigrants has remained hard to
find. It is, therefore, difficult to describe my joy when, after having
collected information about the Massacre for many years, Ron Loving, a
descendant of John Fancher (brother of emigrant Alexander Fancher),
called me and said that he had found depositions taken in 1860 from
close relatives and friends of the victims of the Massacre. Loving read
from one of the documents signed by an ancestor of mine, James Douglas
Dunlap. It contained information about one of his two brothers who had
fallen in the massacre. In all, there are depositions signed by
seventeen people. They provide a glimpse of what the caravan was like.
Loving discovered the depositions while reading microfilm copies of the
original records in the National Archives filed under
the rather uninviting title Territorial Papers of the United States Senate 1789–1873, Roll 15,
Utah December 31, 1849-June 11, 1870. Amongst a number of other
items on the roll were the sixty pages of depositions. The documents
were made as part of a futile effort by Arkansas’s U. S. Senator William
K. Sebastian, apparently prompted by State senator William C. Mitchell,
to get the Federal Government to reimburse seventeen of the surviving
children of the Mountain Meadows Massacre for the financial losses they
had sustained in the event.
The organizer of
one of the main contingents of the emigrant caravan was Captain John T.
Baker, a farmer, cattleman and slave owner who lived on Crooked Creek
near modern Harrison, Arkansas. His wife Mary, in her deposition made
October 22, 1860, said:
“My name is Mary Baker. I was lawfully
married to John T. Baker in the county of Madison and State of Alabama
[in] …1823; we emigrated to Arkansas in the year 1847 where we resided
together …until the said John T. Baker left his home in Carroll [now
Boone] County…with a lot of cattle, horses…and I am informed and
verily believe that after the said John T. Baker had proceeded as far
as a place in the west known as “Mountain Meadows” he, together with a
large number of persons in company with him, were murdered, and their
property all stolen or appropriated by the murderers. The object my
husband had in going to California was to sell a large lot of cattle
with which he had started, and when he left here in April 1857, for
California he was the owner of, and started with 138 head of fine
stock cattle, 5 yoke of work oxen, 4 yoke of work oxen extra, two
mules, one mare, one large wagon, provisions, clothing and camp
equipage for himself and five hands. The cattle were all good stock,
and all three years old and upwards were picked cattle and such as in
this market at the date of his departure from this place were worth at
the lowest cash price twenty dollars per head…[here follows a list of
property and value] amounting in all as far as I now remember to the
sum of $4148.00 ? in this market. ?”John T. Baker and his son Abel
Baker and his married son George W. Baker were all victims of the
Mountain Meadows tragedy2. Another of Bakers sons, John H.
Baker, also gave a deposition verifying what his mother had said. He
added that his father had taken guns, saddles and bridles and gave
detailed information about his cattle. John H. Baker said that he was
familiar with livestock prices in Arkansas and in California.
He said: “I have been in California - was there in the latter
part of the year 1852, stayed there until the month of September 1854,
and from my knowledge of the country, and the price of property I
think the property that the said John T. Baker left here with in April
1857, would have been worth at Mountain Meadows the full sum of ten
thousand dollars. This statement, however is only made from such
general knowledge as I have from the western trade, and also from the
information of other traders. I cannot now state what amount of money
my father started with, but I know he had money with him but as to the
amount I do not know.”
John Crabtree, a
neighbor who lived about half a mile from John T. Baker said:
"Mr. Baker was a very industrious
man, and a shrewd, good trader. … I was at the house of the said
John T. Baker, frequently while he was collecting the cattle, and I
was present in April 1857 when the said Baker started for
California… . I…aided and assisted him on his way a few miles when
he started.”
Hugh A. Torrance
said:
“In April 1857 I was living on the
farm of the said John T. Baker and while he was gathering cattle for
his intended trip to California, I helped take care of the cattle
and to feed them. They were a good stock of cattle, well selected
and likely.”
One of the facts
which becomes readily apparent from the depositions is that John T.
Baker was the organizer and leading character in the contingent of the
Mountain Meadows Caravan which originated at Crooked Creek. Most of
the depositions mention the other victims as having gone west in
company with Baker. It is interesting to note that none of the 60
pages of depositions mentions Alexander Fancher, the person
traditionally thought to have been the leader of the caravan. There is
other evidence which shows that Fancher was in the caravan when it
passed through Utah and that he was referred to as its leader by a
number of persons who saw it there3.
GEORGE W. BAKER
Another leading
citizen of the caravan was John T. and Mary Baker’s oldest son, George
W. Baker. He took his wife and family along on the trip west. Only
three of his children would return. Joseph B. Baines, a neighbor of
the Bakers, testified on the 23rd of October, 1860, as follows:
“I…was living in one fourth mile of
John T. Baker when the parties all left for California in April
1857. I now reside at the same place I did then and within a quarter
of a mile of Mary Baker the widow of John T. Baker. George W. Baker
was the son of said John T. Baker and Mary Baker and I know that the
said George W. Baker left here about the same time of his father in
April 1857. When George W. Baker left he was the owner of in his own
right and had in his possession a considerable amount of cash and
personal property, and had sold out his lands and was moving to
California. He had a wife and four children when he left here. [
Baker's wife Manerva Beller Baker and children: Mary Lovina Baker,
Martha Elizabeth Baker, Sarah Frances Baker and William T. Baker.]
He was guardian of Malissa Ann Beller and she was also in the
company with him and he had in his possession as guardian of said
Malissa Ann Beller the sum of seven hundred dollars in cash. I had
paid him as guardian that amount for the said Malissa Ann, and know
he had that amount. I think Malissa Ann had a bed [?], bedding,
evening apparel &c but of what value I can not say. The amount of
personal property within the possession of the said George W. Baker,
and which he carried off with him as well as I can make an estimate
from my knowledge and information, recollection and belief was as
follows [:] 2 ox wagons, chains &c each worth $125, … [He] Had in
cash in hand about [$]500. He had beds and bedding, evening apparel
for himself and family, provisions for himself and family worth
[$]500, 3 young mares at $100 each, … 1 rifle gun [$]25, 1 double
barrel shot gun [$]25, 136 head of cattle (or about that number)…
[total value $] 4,320. He had oxen, but how many he had I do not
know. Neither do I know their value. Baker had a good outfit, and
his family was well provided for in the way of evening apparel,
provisions, &c, and I have placed the estimate at a sum that I am
satisfied is a low estimate of what said property was worth in this
market. The cattle were a very good lot… . Three of his children are
now living within one quarter mile of me at their grand mother’s
Mary Baker. The oldest of the children were recognized by their
friends and relations here as soon as they returned, and this fact
convinces me that said Baker and family except the children were all
murdered at Mountain Meadows…"
William C.
Beller, George Baker’s brother-in- law, said:
“…I was present when he [George W.
Baker] started to move to California in April 1857, and saw his
cattle and outfit for the trip. I think that George W. Baker had,
when he started from here, one hundred fifty or sixty head of
cattle, in which was included about eight yoke of work oxen. I think
the cattle without the oxen were well worth in cash in this market
fifteen dollars per head. …” He was moving to California, and
had his wife, 4 children, Malissa Ann Beller, David]. W. Beller, and
2 hired hands with him and was well supplied with provisions,
clothing, etc for the trip. … I could pick [the Baker children] out
of the crowd of children when they were brought back here. I know
they are the children of George W. Baker.”
John H. Baker,
already mentioned, testified about the composition of his brother’s
family and estimated the value of his 136 cattle, 8 yoke of oxen, 3
mules, and other possessions at $3,815.00. He also said that he knew
that the three children returned to Arkansas were his brother’s. Irwin
T. Beller, a brother-in-law of George W. Baker, swore that he had
accompanied Baker for two days at the start of the trip west and that
he was familiar with his stock and other possessions. He estimated the
value at $5,135.00.
MILAM L. RUSH
Lorenzo D. Rush,
Sr., was one of the earliest settlers of the area which is now
Harrison, Arkansas. His son Milam L. Rush died at Mountain Meadows5.
The elder Rush testified October 23, 1860, as follows:
“I am the father of Milam Rush and
know that he left here in the month of April 1857, bound for
California; he left in company with John T. Baker. When my son the
said Milam L. Rush left here he was the owner of from ten to twelve
head of cattle. He had one rifle gun, three blankets, knives and his
wearing apparel, and also about twenty five dollars in cash. I think
his cattle were worth at a low cash price at least fifteen dollars
per head. ?. [total] $268.00.”
H. A. Torrance
testified that he was well acquainted with Milam L. Rush and knew that
he had left with about ten head of cattle. Torrance said he was a
neighbor to Baker, Rush, and Deshazo who were all emigrants in the
Mountain Meadows Caravan.
JOHN
M. JONES, NEWTON JONES,
PLEASANT TACKITT AND CYNTHIA TACKITT
Francis M. Rowan,
testified about members of the Jones and Tackitt families. He said:
“My name is Francis M. Rowan: I
reside in the County of Carroll and State of Arkansas. In April
1857, I was residing in the County of Washington in this state, and
the said John M. Jones and his brother Newton Jones, on their way to
California camped some 10 to 15 days within five or six miles of
where I lived at that time. I had been acquainted with the Jones
boys for a number of years previous to that time, and when they
camped there, I was frequently with the boys; I was at their camp
and saw their property, and being well acquainted with the boys,
Milam Jones, and Newton Jones particularly pointed out the property
that they owned, showed me their cattle and oxen. …My recollection,
and belief is that the two Jones boys owned four yoke of work oxen,
one large ox wagon. John M. Jones was married and had his wife and
two children with him, and was moving to California. He had with him
the widow Tackitt and three or four of her children; Newton Jones,
John M. Jones, his wife and two children, Widow Tackitt and three or
four children and Sebron Tackitt constituted one company in family
groups. The Jones boys owned the wagon, oxen and outfit, and the
others seemed to be traveling with them and depending on the Jones
boys for their support. The wagon was large and very heavily loaded;
I suppose John M. Jones had a gun and other fire arms but of what
value or number I do not know. Newton Jones had a fine rifle gun.
They appeared to be well supplied with beds and bedding and wearing
apparel for an excursion of that kind, and also with Provisions.”
Rowan said that
the Jones herd consisted of eight head of cattle and four yoke of
oxen. With their equipment and other possessions he estimated the
value of their property to be $1075.00. Rowan thought that the Jones
each owned half interest in the wagon and that Newton Jones had one
yoke of oxen of his own. He said John M. Jones had a gun. He also
said:
“There were several other persons
along, and who had separate wagons. There were three men by the name
of Peteat [perhaps Poteet], or Petteats. The oldest one of the
Peteats was a married man, had his wife and children along; They had
a separate camp and wagon; There was another man Pleasant Tackitt
who had a separate wagon; and before they started George W. Baker
drove up and camped near the others. The Peteats and Pleasant
Tackitt had oxen and other property but I can not say how many. They
had horses, and camp equipage, provisions, and appeared to be well
fixed for the outfit. … I have no doubt but what all the parties
were murdered at “Mountain Meadows” in September 1857, except a few
children who have been sent back to the states.”
Fielding Wilburn also testified about the Jones and Tackitt group.
He said:
“I was living near the Indian line in Washington County, Arkansas,
in the month of April 1857. I was personally acquainted with John M.
Jones, and Newton Jones, Pleasant Tackitt, and the Widow Tackitt
mentioned in the foregoing deposition of Francis M. Rowan. When the
parties above named, were on their way to California, and while they
were in camped on Indian Line in Washington County, Arkansas, I was
at their camp and stayed with them two or three days. I was well
acquainted, and on intimate terms with the Jones boys, and saw their
property. . . . John M. Jones and his brother had to my own
knowledge: one large good ox wagon, 4 yoke of first rate work oxen.
Their wagon was very heavily laden with clothing, beds and bedding,
provisions, &c. …”
Wilburn went
on to say that the Jones had six or eight stock cattle and that there
were other cattle totaling about sixty but he did not know to whom
they all belonged. He mentioned that the Widow Tackitt, Pleasant
Tackitt, Peteats and others were in the crowd and said that they all
left Arkansas for California together. He said that this all took
place sometime in the month of April, 1857. He said that the Peteats,
Basham and Tackitts had three wagons, several yoke of good oxen to
each wagon and had one horse and provisions. Felix W. Jones testified
that he was a brother to the two Jones men who have been referred to.
He said that John M. Jones was married and went west with his wife and
two children. He said that Newton Jones was a young man and was going
with his brother to California. Jones gave further details about the
property his brothers had taken with them and confirmed a lot of what
Wilburn had already stated about them.
ALLEN P. DESHAZO
James DeShazo,
who lived in the same neighborhood as John T. Baker, lost a son, Allen
DeShazo, in the massacre. On October 23, 1860, he testified that his
son had left for California with Baker in April of 1857 and that he
believed he had been murdered at Mountain Meadows.
“He had seventeen head of stock. The
most of the cattle were likely heifers, and were worth in cash over
two hundred dollars the morning he left here. … This together with
his evening apparel worth fifty dollars, and a violin worth ten
dollars was all the property that I can remember that the said Allen
P. had when he left.”
James DeShazo
said his son’s property was worth three hundred dollars. Hugh A.
Torrance said young DeShazo’s cattle were well selected and “likely”
and worth $15.00 per head at least.
CHARLES R.
MITCHELL AND JOEL D. MITCHELL
One of the most
interesting depositions is that of State Senator, later to become
Confederate Colonel, William C. Mitchell7. Mitchell had the
melancholy job of describing his murdered sons’ property. Earlier, he
had written to Senator Sebastian (December 31, 1857) and said:
“Two of my sons were in the train
that was massacred, on their way to California, three hundred miles
beyond Salt Lake City, by the Indians and Mormons. There were one
hundred and eighteen unmercifully butchered; the women and children
were all killed with the exception of fifteen infants - one of [my]
sons, Charles was married and had one son, which I expect was saved,
and at this time is at San Bernardino, I believe in the limits of
California. I could designate my grandson if I could see him.“
Mitchell felt strongly that something
must be done to punish the guilty in this matter. He continued:
“From all accounts the President has not made a call sufficient to
subdue them; the four regiments together with what regulars can be
spared is too small a force to whip the Mormons and Indians, for rest
assured that all the wild tribes will fight for Brigham Young. I am
anxious to be in the crowd - I feel that I must have satisfaction for
the inhuman manner in which they have slain my children.”
Colonel Mitchell
believed that his infant grandson, John Mitchell, had survived the
massacre. He wrote about the boy on different occasions and worked
tirelessly for the return of the surviving children. Mitchell was
appointed agent of the U. S. Government to go to Fort Leavenworth, in
Kansas Territory, to receive the surviving children. He went there in
August of 1859, and he, with others from Arkansas, brought the
children back to Carrollton where they were distributed to their
families, and in one case, to a friend. Two of the surviving children
who had been kept in Utah to serve as witnesses should the guilty be
prosecuted, were taken to Washington, D. C., and then delivered to
Mitchell at Carrollton, Arkansas, in January of 1860.
It is because of William C. Mitchell that
we have most of the original written records of who the emigrants
were. He was present at the taking of most, if not all, of the
depositions, and appears to have been the one who forwarded them to
Senator Sebastian in Washington. Mitchell’s own deposition tells about
his sons and their property:
“I was personally well acquainted
with said Charles and Joel Mitchell—they were my sons, and I
assisted them in making their outfits for the trip in the spring of
1857. They left in company with John T. Baker and many others and
were murdered as I am informed and believe at “Mountain Meadows” in
September of same year. They were on their way to California, and
when they left here they had in their possession and under their
control the following personal property. They had cash when they
left this county in April of 1857 about the sum of two hundred and
seventy five dollars. They had thirteen yoke of good work oxen. They
had sixty two head of other cattle and when they reached Washington
County in this state, they wrote to me that they had bought ten head
more and intended getting two more so as to make one hundred head in
all. … They had one large ox wagon, log chains &c. They had their
wearing apparel, beds, and bedding and cooking utensils. The
property they had with them when they left for California in April
1857, was worth in this market, at the date of their departure … [as
follows:] 13 yoke of work oxen @ $60.00 per yoke $780.00, 74 head of
other cattle, cows, steers &c @ 12 $888.00, cash on hand when they
left here [$]275.00, 1 large wagon, chains &c [$]120.00, 1 horse,
saddle bridle [$]100.00, guns, firearms, knives &c [$]50.00,
clothing, beds, and bedding, provisions, cooking utensils, camp
equipage &c [$]300.00 [total]$2513.00. … I believe that said
property at Mountain Meadows would have been worth the sum of about
five thousand dollars.”
Sam Mitchell,
one of William C. Mitchell’s other sons, did not go west with the
wagon train. He also gave a statement about his brothers. He said:
“I am a brother to Charles R. and
Joel D. Mitchell mentioned in the foregoing deposition of William C.
Mitchell. I was well acquainted with the outfit of the parties, and
acquainted with all the property set forth in the tabular statement
made by the said William C. Mitchell and from my knowledge of the
property and its value I believe that the value therein given and
estimated is a fair cash valuation.“
JESSE DUNLAP, JR.
AND LORENZO DOW DUNLAP
William C.
Mitchell’s wife Nancy was a sister of two victims of the massacre,
Lorenzo Dow Dunlap and Jesse Dunlap. Jr. The Dunlap Mitchell family
had twenty-six members in the caravan and only five orphan children
survived the massacre. Senator Mitchell gave a second deposition about
his brother-in-law Lorenzo D. Dunlap. He said that:
“He was well acquainted with Lorenzo
D. Dunlap who left for California in John T. Baker Company and that
the said Dunlap had a wife and eight children who was all killed at
or near a place called the Mountain Meadows, Utah Territory, except
two small daughters who is at this time in my care and the said L.
D. Dunlap had at the time he left Arkansas, the following described
property to wit: four yoke of oxen worth sixty dollars each, twelve
head of cattle worth fifteen dollars each, three guns, pistols,
knives &c worth fifty dollars, one wagon, log chains, wagon sheet &c
worth one hundred dollars. Provisions, cooking utensils, tent,
bedding &c worth three hundred and fifty dollars. This statement is
what property was worth at the time they left Arkansas in the spring
of 1857. I am informed and believe it was worth more in Utah
Territory. I was appointed special agent to receive and take charge
of the children survivors of the Mountain Meadows Massacre and
received the children above mentioned at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas
Territory in August A.D. 1859 and returned them to Carrollton,
Arkansas, in September 1859 and have no doubt of the death of L. D.
Dunlap and [that he] was killed at or near the Mountain Meadows in
Utah Territory. . . “
Three other family members
verified that Mitchell’s statement about Lorenzo D. Dunlap was
correct. They were Samuel Mitchell, already mentioned, James D.
Dunlap, and Adam P. Dunlap, both brothers of Lorenzo D. Dunlap.
My great, great, great grandfather, James Douglas Dunlap was, himself,
helping to raise three of the orphaned survivors of the massacre. He
also made an affidavit. He said:
“Jesse Dunlap and family left Marion
County…en route for California in April, 1857 and was in company of
Capt. John T. Baker and all of his family with the exception of
three small daughters, I have no doubt, was killed at or near the
Mountain Meadows in Utah Territory. And said Jesse Dunlap left with
the following described property belonging to him, to wit: nine yoke
of oxen worth sixty dollars per yoke, thirty head of cattle worth
twelve dollars per head, five head of horses worth one hundred
dollars each, three wagons, log chains &c worth one hundred dollars
each, three guns, pistols and knives worth fifty dollars each at the
time of departure… provisions, camp fixins, cooking utensils &c
worth four hundred dollars. The said Dunlap family contained at the
time he left a wife and nine children. The three youngest was
delivered at Carrollton, Arkansas, in charge of William C. Mitchell
special Agent in September A. D. 1859 and said survivors of said
Jesse Dunlap is at this time in my possession. The said Jesse Dunlap
deceased was my brother”.
In a short
statement, William C. Mitchell added that James D. Dunlap had the
three children of Jesse Dunlap at his house “which is their home at
this time.” In their affidavits, Robert H. Mitchell
and William C. Dunlap tell how they were with William C. Mitchell,
special agent for the U.S. Government, when he received surviving
children from the massacre at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Territory.
These men said they were well acquainted with Jesse Dunlap and knew
his outfit having traveled with him the day of his departure for
California in the Spring of 1857. They said that the statement made by
James D. Dunlap was correct. An additional affidavit made by Adam P.
Dunlap and Samuel Mitchell also verified the accuracy of James D.
Dunlap’s statements.
CONCLUSION
The depositions, while not the only
contemporary records of the Arkansas emigrants, are some of the best.
In reading them one can sense the concern that the affiants felt for
the well being of the orphaned survivors who were bereft of parents
and estate and who faced the prospect of great adversity. The
depositions failed to accomplish their primary goal of securing
government assistance under some sort of Indian depredations
compensation act. Such laws were passed but none were made applicable
to the Mountain Meadows survivors.
The documents are valuable for the detail
which they add to the body of knowledge about the emigrant caravan,
its composition and leadership. They also give some of the best
statements of the purpose many emigrants had in making the journey
west and also give an accurate account of the property owned by the
emigrants. Since all the adult emigrants were killed there are few
statements by persons who knew first hand what the emigrant caravan
consisted of.
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