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PACE, DONALD GENE COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP ON THE MORMON FRONTIER: MORMON BISHOPS AND THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF UTAH BEFORE STATEHOOD

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COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP ON THE MORMON FRONTIER: MORMON

BISHOPS AND THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL

DEVELOPMENT OF UTAH BEFORE STATEHOOD

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate

School of The Ohio State University

By

Donald Gene Pace, B.A., M.A.

*****

The Ohio State University

1983

Reading Committee: Approved By

Mansel G. Blackford

John C. Burnham

Eugene J. Watts

Advisor / Department of History ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am very grateful to those who have assisted me in

the various phases of the preparation of this dissertation.

Most of all, I express sincere appreciation to Professor

Mansel G. Blackford, my doctoral advisor. His professional competence and insightful suggestions have aided me in each

stage of this study. His promptness in working with me on

revisions, and his frank, yet courteous, criticisms have been most helpful. I am grateful for the help of Professor

Eugene J. Watts, particularly in the area of quantitative

historical analysis. His guidance in this field has

allowed me to analyze large amounts of data, a task which would have been virtually impossible without the use of a computer. I express appreciation also to Professor John C.

Burnham, for his assitance in enriching my general

background in American history, for serving on my

preliminary examination committee, and for his suggestions

concerning this dissertation. I express appreciation also

to my wife, Deone Budge Pace, for her uncomplaining support

and for her assistance with the seemingly endless details

associated with preparing data for computer analysis. I

also wish to thank my friend, and relative, Seth Budge for

ii his generous assistance in the preparation of computer data. To Edd Hubbard, I express appreciation for making available to me a microcomputer for much of the writing of the dissertation.

I am grateful for the funding provided by The Ohio

State University's Alumni Association and also by The Ohio

State University's Instruction and Research Computer

Center. The bulk of my research took place in Salt Lake

City, Utah. I am particularly indebted to the the helpful staff of the Library-Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for allowing me to use their extensive collection of documents relating to Mormon history. I also appreciate the courtesy of the staffs of the Genealogical Library of the LDS Church, the Utah

Historical Society, the Utah State Archives, each located in the Salt Lake City area, and the Harold B. Lee Library, at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah.

Ill VITA

September 25, 1952 . . . Born in Salt Lake City, Utah

1976 ...... B.A., Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah

1977-1978 ...... Research Assistant, Department of History, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah

1978 ...... M.A., Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah

1978-1981 ...... Teaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University

1981-1983 ...... High School Teacher, Pima, Arizona

1982-1983 ...... Computer Instructor, Eastern Arizona College, Thatcher, Arizona

PUBLICATIONS

"Changing Patterns of Mormon Financial Administration: Traveling Bishops, Regional Bishops and Bishop's Agents, 1851-1888." Brigham Young University Studies, forthcoming.

"Elijah F. Sheets: The Half-Century Bishop." Supporting Saints: Biographical Essays on Nineteenth Century Mormons. Whittaker, David J . , and Cannon, Donald Q., eds. Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center Monograph Series, forthcoming.

"Wives of Nineteenth-Century Mormon Bishops: A Quantitative Analysis." Journal of the West 21 (April 1982) :49-57

IV FIELDS OF STUDY

Major Field; United States History Professors Mansel G. Blackford, John C. Burnham, Robert H. Bremner, Harry Coles, Richard J. Hopkins.

Minor Field: Latin American History Professor Donald Cooper

Studies in Quantitative Methods for Historians Professor Eugene J. Watts TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...... ii

VITA ...... iv

LIST OF T A B L E S ...... ix

INTRODUCTION ...... 1

Chapter

1. AN OVERVIEW OF PRE-UTAH MORMON HISTORY...... 8

Frontier Mobility...... 11 Patterns of Community Building ...... 17 Church Government...... 28 Co n c l u s i o n...... 35

2. THE MORMON CHURCH IN THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST. 45

Mormons in the Great B a s i n ...... 46 The Salt Lake City W a r d s ...... 49 Minersville...... 54 R i c h m o n d ...... 57 LDS Organizational Development ...... 60 A. Traveling Bishops: 1851-1877...... 62 B. Regional Presiding Bishops: 1851-1877 . . 63 C . Bishop's Agents: 1877-1888...... 65 C o n c l u s i o n...... 68

3. A QUANTITATIVE OVERVIEW OF THE MORMON BISHOPS. . 80

Birthplace...... 81 W e a l t h ...... 84 O c c u p a t i o n...... 91 Age...... 9 3 Length of Service...... 96 C o n c l u s i o n...... 99

VI 4. THE BISHOPS IN POLITICS...... 114

Ecclesiastical Politics...... 115 Political Officeholding in Three Settlements . 124 A Quantitative Analysis of Political Activity. 132 C o n c l u s i o n ...... 139

5. BISHOPS AND REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. . . . 143

Personal Wealth...... 149 Telegraphs and Railroads ...... 150 M i n i n g ...... 162 C o n c l u s i o n...... 167

6. BISHOPS IN AN URBAN W E S T ...... 175

Urban Improvement...... 177 Ecclesiastical Office and Economic Leadership Opportunity...... 182 Canals and Irrigation...... 190 Cooperative Stores ...... 195 United Orders...... 204 Co n c l u s i o n ...... 212

7. MARRIAGE PATTERNS AND THE "R A I D " ...... 221

Nineteenth-century Mormon Beliefs Concerning M a r r i a g e ...... 224 Extent of Polygamy ...... 227 Age of Spouses ...... 228 Polygamy and Widowhood ...... 231 Sisters As Plural Wives...... 233 Childbearing ...... 234 Intermarriage Patterns ...... 237 The R a i d ...... 239 Co n c l u s i o n ...... 245

8. SOCIAL LEADERSHIP...... 252

Education...... 252 T e a c h e r s ...... 256 The "Reformation"...... 260 Social Welfare ...... 263 R e l o c a t i o n...... 276 Co n c l u s i o n ...... 281

Vll 9. MORMON BISHOPS AND THE QUEST FOR COMMUNITY . . . 289

Bishops on the Mormon-Frontier ...... 291 Community Leadership on thi Mormon Frontier in Comparative Perspective ...... 296 Mormons and P u r i t a n s...... 301 Bishops and B o s s e s ...... 307 Bishops and Businessmen...... 311 Conclusion...... 323

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 330

Primary Sources: Manuscripts and Public Records...... 330 Primary Sources: Newspapers...... 333 Primary Sources: Theses and Dissertations. . . 334 Secondary Sources...... 335

Vlll LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Participation By Nineteenth-century Bishops In Utah Territorial Legislature...... 133

IX INTRODUCTION

In recent years, many historians have increased our awareness of the importance of community and urbanization as important themes in American history. Robert V. nine's recent study, Community on the American Frontier; Separate but Not Alone, effectively analyzes the influence of community in the American past. Hina's work deals with a broad range of community-building efforts, including those of the Puritans and the Mormons.^ An insightful volume written about Mormon cooperation and community-building is

Leonard J. Arrington, Feramorz Y. Fox and Dean L. May,

Building the City of God: Community and Cooperation Among 2 the Mormons. Other works by Arrington have contributed much to the completion of this dissertation, including

Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Lacter-day

Saints, 1830-1900, and The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-day Saints, which he coauthored with Davis

Bitton.^ I have also benefited much from the work of James

3. Allen and Glen M. Leonard. Tneir The Story of the

Latter-day Saints, provides a helpful overview of Mormon history, and provides an outstanding bibliography of 4 primary and secondary sources relating to Mormon history. 2

I have emphasized the urb^n nature of the Mormon community-building experience, and have found that, as in many other areas in the West and in the United States in general, the Mormon frontier experience can be understood more fully when the powerful influence of urbanization is taken into account. A number of fine urban studies have been published. Useful volumes relating to American urbanization are Charles N. Glaab and A. Theodore Brown, A

History of Urban America, and Kenneth T. Jackson and

Stanley K. Schultz, eds., Cities in American History.^ A number of authors have clarified the urban nature of the western frontier experience. Important works relating to urbanization in various American frontier regions are

Richard C. Wade, The Urban Frontier: The Rise of Western

Cities, 1790-1830, and Earl Pomeroy, The Pacific Slope: A

History of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and

Nevada.^ I have found Gunther Barth's, Instant Cities:

Urbanization and the Rise of San Francisco and Denver to be particularly helpful. Barth devotes considerable attention to the Mormon urban experience and his interpretive discussion of "instant cities" provides a key to understanding the Mormon capital at Salt Lake City.^ A valuable bibliographic essay concerning urbanization in the

West, which appeared in the Western Historical Quarterly in

19 74, is Bradford Buckingham, "The City in the Westward Q Movement--A Bibliographic Note." 3

In spite of the fine studies of community and urbanization which have been completed to date, one of the largest gaps in the historiography dealing with the

American West involves community leadership in the nineteenth-century Mormon settlements, and the placement of the Mormon community-building experience in an urban setting. Because of the religious orientation of the

Mormon cities and towns, local religious leaders were important authority figures during the half-century following the Mormons' arrival in the Great Basin in 1847.

In his doctoral dissertation, "The Mormon Hierarchy,

1832-1932: An American Elite," D. Michael Quinn provides a thoughtful group biography of the central Mormon 9 leadership, the General Authorities. No comparable study of lower-echelon Mormon leaders has been written. A large body of religious leaders, the ward bishops, played dominant roles in the political, economic, and social development of their communities, as well as helping to shape the nature of the Mormon frontier experience in general.

Because over 1,000 men served as nineteenth-century

Mormon bishops, an historical analysis of their contributions has posed difficult challenges to historians of the Mormon past. During the first half of the twentieth century, Andrew Jenson compiled a massive amount of information concerning prominent Mormons, including numerous bishops. He also pieced together background information about the Mormon wards which existed in or prior to 1930 .^*^ Lacking modern technological advantages,

Jenson could hardly have analyzed the tremendous amount of detailed historical and biographical information which he gathered. Jenson's contributions to my study have been substantial. Without his work, it would have been virtually impossible to put together a nearly comprehensive

list of nineteenth-century bishops and then analyze

information concerning them. The availability of computers

for historical analysis has allowed me to build upon the

foundation laid by Jenson. In order to see general patterns, I have employed quantitative methods to analyze data relating to the bishops' leadership.

Some aspects of their leadership, of course, defy quantitative analysis. While the computer-assisted

investigation provides breadth to the study, a case study

approach, based on research into the histories of four

Mormon wards, provides depth. In recent years. Dale

Beecher has done extensive research on the office of

bishop. Beecher has focused primarily on the evolutic of

the ecclesiastical office and on the religious functions of

tue bishops. His work provides insights into many facets

of the bishops' leadership.This dissertation takes a

largely different approach and analyzes the bishops as

general community leaders. It probes into their 5 contributions to the political, economic and social life of their communities. The dissertation relates the bishops' leadership to such important historical themes as urbanization, regional economic leadership, social welfare programs, and the quest for community. Notes

^Robert V. Hine, Community on the American Frontier; Separate but Not Alone (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1980). 2 Leonard J. Arrington, Feramorz Y. Fox, and Dean L. May, Building the City of God: Community and Cooperation Among the Mormons (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976).

^Leonard J. Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints, 1830-1900 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1958); Leonard J. Arrington and Davis Bitton, The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-day Saints (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1979). 4 James B, Allen and Glen M. Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976) .

^Charles N. Glaab and Theodore A. Brown, A History of Urban American, 2nd ed. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1976); Kenneth T. Jackson and Stanley K. Schultz, eds.. Cities in American History (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972) .

^Richard C. Wade, The Urban Frontier: The Rise of Western Cities, 1790-1830 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1959); Earl Pomeroy, The Pacific Slope: A History of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1965).

^Gunther Barth, Instant Cities : Urbanization and the Rise of San Francisco and Denver (New York: Oxford University Press, 1975). g Bradford Buckingham, "The City in the Westward Movement— A Bibliographic Note," Western Historical Quarterly, 5 (1974): 297-306. 9 D. Michael Quinn, "The Mormon Hierarchy, 1832-1932: An American Elite" (Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, 1976) .

^^Andrew Jenson, Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Publishing Co., 1941); and Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4 vols. (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901-36; reprint ed., Salt Lake City: Western Epics, 1971).

^^Uale Beecher, "The Office of Bishop: An Example of Organizational Development in the Church," Task Papers in LDS History, no. 21 (Salt Lake City: Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1978); and "The Office of Bishop," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 15 (Winter 1982): 103-15. CHAPTER 1

AN OVERVIEW OF PRE-UTAH MORMON HISTORY

The quest for effective community leadership has been a persistent theme in the history of America's cities and towns. Community members and leaders have mutually affected each other. The particular makeup of individual communities has helped determine who may lead, and the personality of leaders has in turn influenced community development. This dissertation focuses on grass-roots leadership in the Mormon settlements of the nineteenth-century American West. The dominant religious organization in these settlements was The Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints. For the sake of brevity and because other names for the Church frequently have been used, the terms "Mormon" and "LDS" (derived from Latter-day

Saints) will be used to denote membership in that religious body. This first chapter provides a general historical overview of Mormonism prior to the Saints' arrival in Utah in 1847 by describing four important topics: Joseph Smith and the origins of Mormonism, major geographical movements, patterns of community leadership, and organizational development. 9

Because of the religious nature of the LDS communities,- one must have some understanding of the origins of Mormonism in order to appreciate Mormon leadership in the West. During tne first half of the eighteenth century an important movement, the Great

Awakening, led many Americans to increase their religious activity. A subsequent era of renewed emphasis on religious participation resulted from a Second Great

Awakening, which took place in the late-eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This period of zealous traveling preachers and religious emotionalism affected western New York so profoundly that the area became known as "the Burned-over District." Living in this area provided Joseph Smith an opportunity to gain familiarity with current religious ideas as a young man.^ Questioning the validity of the ideas of the various contending religious groups, the fourteen-year-old Smith retired in

1820 to a grove of trees with the intent of praying for divine answers to the perplexing religious questions.

Smith entered the woods desiring to know if he should affiliate with any particular church, but emerged from the grove convinced that no church met with God's approval.

The source of his Inspiration, Smith maintained, was a vision in which he had personally seen God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ.^ During the next three decades prior to his death, Smith related other experiences with 10 heavenly messengers,^ arranged the publication of a book of 4 scriptures called the Book of Mormon, organized a church, recorded many revelations,^ and in general laid the basic foundations from which Mormonism developed.

During the 1020's Smith prepared a scriptural account concerning life in pre-Columbian America for publication. Smith declared that he had received an ancient book, composed of engravings on six-by-eight-inch metallic sheets, from a heavenly messenger named Moroni.^

Having little formal education himself. Smith stated that by means of divine assistance he translated the record into

English.^ The new collection of scriptures, called the

Book of Mormon, bore the name of the prophet-historian

Mormon, one of a number of ancient American prophets g mentioned in the book. In 1830 Smith organized a church which came to be known officially as The Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints. Because of the prominent place of the Book of Mormon among Smith's followers, church 9 members became known unofficially as "Mormons." Smith believed that all other religious organizations lacked proper authority but was convinced of his own divine authority. According to Smith, John the Baptist and three of Christ's earthly apostles--Peter, James and

John— visited him and ar. associate in 1829 and conferred heavenly power upon them.Smith's claims to have received divine authority not only influenced Mormon 11 religious practices but indirectly altered the course of western American history. Many individuals joined this new religion, convinced of the authenticity of Smith's experiences. Their loyalty to the young prophet and the church he organized resulted in their becoming fugitives, periodically forced to move from one frontier area to another in search of religious freedom.

Frontier Mobility

Throughout much of their early history the concept of a "West" was important to the Latter-day Saints. The famous trek of the Mormon pioneers to Utah and their subsequent colonization in the Great Basin were their most famous efforts at settling in frontier regions. A search for refuge in frontier areas characterized Mormon history in the pre-Utah period as well. In 1830 Joseph Smith sent four missionaries to preach to the Indians, whom the Book of Mormon described as a chosen people.Mormon concern for the Indians grew out of a sense of religious duty to help them reach their promised destiny. Mormon practice toward the Indians also possessed elements of two common

American philosophies. First, the Mormons viewed the

Indian as a "noble savage," thereby respecting the positive virtues of Indian civilization. Their favorable perception of the Indians was based more on admiration for past and future Indian accomplishments, as described and prophesied 12 in the Book of Mormon, than on their regard for contemporary Indian civilization. Second, the Mormons felt an obligation, a "white man's burden," to help revitalize the Indians. The Mormons reconciled these two seemingly-contradictory philosophies through their belief that carrying out their "white man's burden" would assist 12 the Indians to again become "noble." Although contact and even confrontation later challenged such optimistic

pro-Indian sentiments. Mormon leaders continued to take

seriously their duty to help the Indian reach the destiny outlined for them in the Book of Mormon.In addition to 14 its religious significance, the Church's first mission to

the Indians was also important as a symbol of future westward expansion.Commencing their mission in New

York, the missionaries spent time with Catteraugus,

Wyandot, Shawnee and Delaware Indians in New York, Ohio and

Kansas. Federal officials opposed their efforts to meet with the Indians, who had given respectful attention to the 16 missionaries.

Proselyting success among white settlers in Ohio

resulted in many conversions to Mormonism, and Ohio quickly

came to appear more promising than New York in terms of its

potential for adding converts to the new church. Ohio

also held promise as a personal refuge for the Mormon

prophet, who had been plagued by persecution in New York.

Smith and his followers soon moved westward to Ohio, which 13 served as the Church's headauarters for much of the 18 1830's. During the 1830' many Latter-day Saints also congregated in Missouri. Mormon revelation designated a location in Jackson County, Missouri as the site of a future world religious center. Joseph Smith's teachings concerning this city, known as Zion or the New Jerusalem, predicted its future urban development, since Zion was to 19 be the center of an outwardly-expanding urban complex.

However, by the end of the decade the Mormons had been forced to leave Missouri and to abandon temporarily their plans for building a utopia in that state. In spite of this disappointing setback. Mormons retained the hope of one day returning to create an ideal city prior to the 0 0 anticipated millenial return of Christ.

Frontier spatial mobility became a distinguishing characteristic of the nineteenth-century Mormon Church.

Less than a decade after founding their settlements in Ohio and Missouri, the Mormons moved to yet another frontier 21 area in their ongoing search for refuge. Following the

Missouri persecutions, most Mormons relocated along the

Mississippi River in Illinois and Iowa. Here the Saints prospered as never before, creating an impressive urban center at Nauvoo, Illinois and establishing a number of 22 smaller settlements in the region. Building Nauvoo posed 2 3 a formidable challenge to the Mormons. Beginning with a malaria-infested Mississippi River swamp at Commerce, 14

Illinois,he Saints created a beautiful, orderly city which by 1844 boasted roughly ten thousand inhabitants, a 25 population second only to Chicago among Illinois' cities.

In a manner recalling the enthusiasm of city boosters promoting new townsites, Joseph Smith optimistically

renamed the town Nauvoo, which he explained connoted a 2 6 beautiful resting place in Hebrew.

Nauvoo established important precedents in Mormon city-building and foreshadowed the creation of Salt Lake

City, Utah. At Nauvoo, for the first time, the Mormons created a major urban center which provided direction to outlying satellite communities. This same pattern, which prevented the overpopulation afflicting other American cities, became permanently entrenched in Mormon practice with the establishment of Salt Lake City and its numerous 27 subordinate settlements. More than anyone else, Joseph

Smith directed the development of the city which came to be called "the City of Joseph." Brigham Young figured

prominently in the exodus of many Saints from Missouri to

Nauvoo. In 1838 and 1839 Joseph Smith and other Mormon

leaders were imprisoned in Missouri, a situation which

temporarily transferred the burden of leadership to the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, one of the presiding bodies

in the Mormon ecclesiastical hierarchy. The Quorum's

senior apostle, Brigham Young, directed the exodus to

Illinois, a small-scale operation when compared to the more 15 28 famous pioneer migration he later led to Utah. Joseph

Smith, who soon joined the Saints in Illinois, favored a continued emphasis on gathering, as opposed to scattering, to avoid further persecutions, a view which gained popularity among the Mormons following their expulsion from 29 Missouri. Like other western American barter economies,

Nauvoo's economy was based primarily on property exchange.

Agriculture was an important economic activity in the

Nauvoo area, but the city achieved little success in developing manufacturing and transportation. Nauvoo's primary economic assets consisted of its real property and buildings. Residential development provided work for many residents, and construction emerged as the city's leading industry. Local businesses, including brickyards ana sawmills, catered to the construction industry. Major industry never materialized in Nauvoo, and the city's economy can best be described as pre-industrial.^^

During the Nauvoo years, Joseph Smith attained his greatest spiritual and secular influence. In addition to his dominant religious position as the Mormon prophet, he served as mayor, newspaper editor, and entrepreneur.^^

Nauvoo also ended Smith's direct influence over his followers; in 1844 he and his brother Hyrum were murdered by a mob. The immediate issue which stirred up the hostility that led to his death centered around the destruction of a printing press used by Mormon dissidents 16 to defame the Church. The Nauvoo city council authorized the action after concurring that the press constituted a public nuisance. The council held the power to eliminate such a nuisance, but their action appeared to enemies as a violation of the principle of freedom of the press. The destruction of the press served as a convenient pretext for

Smith's enemies, who secured his imprisonment and successfully promoted his extralegal execution while still imprisoned in Carthage, Illinois.

Joseph Smith had envisioned a Mormon haven in the

Rocky Mountains,and following his death the Mormon leadership considered possible frontier areas which would permit the Saints to freely build up their religious communities. Church resettlement committees discussed

Texas, Oregon, and Alta California, then a spacious,

Mexican province, as possible sites for Mormon migration.

The LDS leaders eventually opted for the Great Basin region of Alta California,and church members began settling in the region in 1847.

Not long before the Saints' departure from Nauvoo, a statement signed by Brigham Young, then head of the

Mormon apostles, conveyed a sense of "manifest destiny."

The epistle maintained that the Saints' exodus "from these

United States to a far distant region of the west, where bigotry, intolerance and insatiable oppression lose their power over them— forms a new epoch, not only in the history 17 of the church, but of this nation.The migration from the Mississippi River to the Great Basin was characterized by a high degree of order and a strong sense of community.

The Mormons' religious motivation set their journey apart from other pioneer treks. Unlike most westward-bound parties, the Saints traveled without professional guides or outfitters. Demonstrating an unusual degree of social cohesion, they planted crops for those who would later follow them, and contributed to a fund which extended credit to impoverished Saints desiring to make the westward journey. Even after reaching their destination, organized relief parties returned to provide assistance to others 3 8 over the final, most difficult portion of the trail.

Although they had abandoned Nauvoo, the Mormons profited from their exercise in city building and duplicated it on a larger scale at Salt Lake City. The Saints literally transplanted themselves, their beliefs, and institutions to the Great Basin, where they created what was essentially a 39 new and grander Nauvoo.

Patterns of Community Building

From the Church's early years the idea of gathering

God's chosen people at a refuge called "Zion" gained prominence in Mormon thought. Around such a community of believers. Mormons dreamed of creating a cohesive society in which political, economic and social unity would 18 40 prevail. Joseph Smith's views concerning the physical dimensions of Zion pointed toward an urban-centered society. Impressed with the need for urban planning, Smith gave explicit details about the physical layout of the city of Zion. His explanation, which accompanied a drawing, described a mile square city divided into uniform blocks.

These blocks were to be further subdivided into lots on which houses were to be built facing in alternating 41 directions. This plan aimed at preventing any one street from becoming entirely lined with houses. The concept of having all streets the same width with all intersecting roads meeting at right angles gave an added measure of orderliness to Smith's plan. The Mormon prophet reserved space "for store-houses for the Bishop," for temples, and

for other public buildings in the center of the city.

According to Smith "the whole plot is supposed to contain

from fifteen to twenty thousand people: you will therefore see that it will require twenty-four buildings to supply 42 them with houses of v/orship, schools, etc."

The Mormon leader proposed a blending of the benefits of urban and rural life. As in New England 43 towns, larger agricultural activities would be carried out near the city but in an area distinctly separate from

the private homes and public buildings. Urban residents would be allowed ample space for gardens, and a system of

zoning would prevent city land from becoming overcrowded. 19

Physical decay would be retarded by constructing houses of high quality materials, and expansion would proceed in an orderly fashion, using the original city design as a model.

In this way growth would be encouraged without jeopardizing the quality of life for the original settlers.

Smith's plan for an urban-based Zion conveyed a sense of optimism regarding his ambitious hopes for Mormon urban development and expansion. It also provided for a mixture of public planning and individual initiative by

laying down general regulations while recognizing that "the

taste of the builder" could vary.In this way Smith made at least some allowance for satisfying individual preferences regarding property improvement:

When this square is thus laid off and supplied, lay off another in the same way, and so fill up the world in these last days; and let every man live in the city, for this is the city of Zion. . . . No one lot, in this city, is to contain more than one house, and that to be built twenty-five feet back from the street, leaving a small yard in front, to be planted in a grove, according to the taste of the builder; the rest of the lot for gardens : the houses are to be built of brick and stone.

Before Smith's dream of establishing a model Zion

in Missouri materialized, bitter persecution drove the 4 5 Mormons from their homes in Jackson County. In spite of

the temporary setback, Smith's 1833 description of Zion

influenced Mormon urbanization efforts for the remainder of

the century. Mormon apostle-historian B. H. Roberts provided an analysis of the plan's impact on Mormon 20 expansion and planning. Roberts argued that Smith's plan for Zion profoundly affected Mormon colonization activities. He noted that in Nauvoo and in the West "the settlements have been laid off into town plats divided into blocks of equal size by streets running at right angles, with farming lands immediately surrounding the settlements cut up into small holdings." Such a layout enabled residents "to live in the town or city and every family

[to] have a home in the town, that they might enjoy the advantages of schools, public meetings, and society."

Convinced of the social advantages of Smith's plan, Roberts poi ad out that "the plan removes the dreary loneliness of the ordinary pioneer, and even of farm life" and that it

"retains the advantages of organized society." Smith's plan allowed the Saints "to advance upon the wilderness or semi-desert as drilled cohorts move to battle," which made their potential for success much more likely than if they had employed "the method that is but a series of individual conflicts." Roberts concluded that the Mormon prophet's plan "made the Latter-day Saints the most successful of modern colonizers.

Other Mormon leaders kept Joseph Smith's vision of

Zion alive. Brigham Young predicted that Zion would 47 eventually encompass the entire world. Wilford Woodruff, a contemporary of Smith who later became President of the

Church, linked the creation of Zion with both spiritual and 21

temporal enterprises, including city-building. Woodruff

argued that "every branch of business, both temporal and

spiritual" could be viewed as part of the overriding 4 8 objective to build a modern-day Zion. To achieve that goal, he maintained, the Saints needed to avoid "sitting on

a hemlock slab singing ourselves away to everlasting

bliss." According to Woodruff, Zion-buiIding involved

agricultural and mining pursuits as well as temple

construction. Woodruff, who like Smith viewed urbanization

in a religious context, observed: "We are obliged to build

cities, towns and villages, and we are obliged to gather

the people from every nation under heaven to the Zion of

God."^^

Because the Mormons believed their secular pursuits

contributed to their spiritual mission, church leaders

became involved in community political, economic and social

affairs. This pattern, which came to characterize both

upper and lower echelon Mormon leaders in the Intermountain

West, originated in the pre-Utah years. The Mormon

tendency to congregate in groups worried other area

residents who feared the Saints' political potential.

While residing in KirLland, Ohio, Joseph Smith demonstrated

a strong interest in political matters. Several Mormons

living in Kirtland won election to public office. By the

mid-1830's the Mormons not only dominated Kirtland politics

but also possessed sufficient numerical strength to 22 determine the outcome of county political races. Other residents in both Missouri and Ohio felt threatened by

Mormon political unity, although Joseph Smith was cautious to maintain a nonpartisan political stance.

After the Saints relocated in Illinois, the Mormons gained political strength along the Mississippi River.

Mormon officials, including Joseph Smith and members of the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, held political office during the Nauvoo period.Joseph Smith recognized that his primary lc^-_rship role was religious but was determined to use his influence to promote sound politics and encouraged other Saints to do the same. As he stated in 184 3:

There is one thing more I wish to speak about, and that is political economy. It is our duty to concentrate all our influence to make popular that which is sound and good, and unpopular that which is unsound. 'Tis right, politically, for a man who has influence to use it, as well as for a man who has no influence to use his. From henceforth I will maintain all the influence I can get. In relation to politics, I will speak as a man; but in relation to religion I will speak in authority. If a man lifts a dagger to kill me, I will lift my tongue."52

Nauvoo became such a dominant political force in

Hancock County and adjacent areas that earlier residents, like those in Missouri and Ohio, feared Mormon political influence. Joseph Smith unsuccessfully attempted to avoid the negative reactions which partisanship would elicit from politically-sensitive non-Mormons by encouraging his followers to vote for the preferred candidate regardless of 23 political affiliation.^^ in 1841 he asserted:

In the next canvass, we shall be influenced by no party consideration, . . . so the partizans [sic] in this county, v;ho expect to divide the friends of humanity and equal rights, will find themselves mistaken— we care not a fig for Whig or Democrat; they are both alike to us, but we shall go for our friends, our tried friends, and the cause of human liberty, which is the cause of God. We are aware that 'divide and conquer' is the watchword with many, but with us it cannot be done— we love liberty too well— we have suffered too much to be easily duped.54

Realizing that building Zion required more than spiritual direction, the Mormon leadership became involved

in economic matters. Their economic policies affected people both inside and outside of the Church. They exerted economic influence over their followers by implementing the

law of consecration and stewardship, by which Mormons placed all of their property at the disposal of church

leaders, and also through the less demanding law of tithing, which required only a tenth of the Saints' material possessions. In Missouri the planned gathering of

Mormon converts to the center of Zion led to ambitious land purchases. Mormon businessmen began cutting into the profits of non-Mormon Missourians. Mormon economic activity frightened at least some area residents, who feared that the Saints might gain possession of both their properties and their businesses. In Ohio Joseph Smith and others promoted a quasi-banking enterprise. Like many other American financial institutions in the 1830's, the 24 establishment failed, leading to disaffection by many

Mormons, and a serious internal crisis for the young

Church. Although the prophet's attempt to help the

Kirtland economy clearly failed, his involvement in the venture demonstrated his philosophy that a religious leader could appropriately deal with either spiritual or temporal matters, since both were vital to the establishment of the

Kingdom of God.

In Nauvoo the Church shifted away from the previously unsuccessful communitarian attempts involving the law of consecration and stewardship. Now the Saints were only required to tithe their worldly possessions, rather than consecrating all they had. In Nauvoo Mormon economic practices moved closer to the free enterprise system.In the Great Basin tithing became even more firmly entrenched in Mormon economic life, while the

Church's place in the free enterprise system became a divisive issue with both economic and religious overtones.

The Nauvoo years saw the establishment of the basic economic patterns which the Saints followed after arriving in Utah.

The concept of total community leadership, as opposed to narrow spiritual oversight, had its roots in the pre-Utah period. Mormon leaders took an interest in overall societal development. They realized that if the

Saints were to create an ideal society, they had to become 25 an educated people. One of Joseph Smith's revelations urged the Saints to develop inte1lectully; "Study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books, and with 59 languages, tongues, and people." In accordance with this counsel a "School of the Prophets" was organized in

Kirtland which taught both religious and secular subjects.

The school offered doctrinal training to prospective missionaries and provided others the opportunity to study penmanship, arithmetic, grammar, geography, and even

Hebrew.

In Nauvoo secondary-level courses offered by the city's university included history, philosophy, mathematics, languages, religion, sciences, music and

literature.Under the title "University of the City of

Nauvoo," the LDS publication Times and Seasons listed the

faculty for the university and stressed the need for education: "The opportunity which thus presents itself to

the citizens of this city, and the surrounding country, for acquiring a thorough and useful education, should not be

neglected." The article hoped that during this time "of

bustle and enterprise . . . that mental culture will not be

passed over as a little thing." The publication urged

individuals "who desire to be useful in their day, [to]

come forward at once, and matriculate in some department of

the university, that mind may grapple with mind in seeking

after hidden treasures." The article contended that 26

"knowledge is power" and maintained that "a finished education always gives an influence in cultivated society, which neither wealth nor station can impart or control.

Common schools also operated in Nauvoo in each of the municipal wards. Many men and women taught in these schools, drawing from contemporary textbooks.The idea of establishing schools along ward lines saw further implementation in Utah, where this organizational pattern allowed community education to come under the influence of ward bishops. Regarding teacher competency, the Times and

Seasons publicized the desire for qualified instructors:

"The Teachers must procure a certificate of competency from the Chancellor and Registrar before they can be recognised

[sic] by the Wardens.

During the pre-Utah era Mormon leaders gained experience in dealing with immigrants and the poor.

Successful proselyting in England coupled with the encouragement of an American gathering led over 4,700

British Saints to migrate to the New World prior to the

Saints' arrival in Utah. These immigrants placed great demands on community resources since many were poor. The most successful proselyting in England occurred among the economically troubled working class.

In Nauvoo public works projects enabled unemployed

immigrants to find work and also to contribute to community development by assisting in the construction of homes and 27 other buildings.Joseph Smith exhibited charitable sentiments toward the poor yet deplored ingratitude on the part of welfare recipients:

I will say to those who have labored on the Nauvoo House, and cannot get their pay— Be patient; . . . If any man is hungry, let him come to me, and I will feed him at my table. If any are hungry or naked, don't take away the brick, timber and materials, that belong to that house [Nauvoo House], but come and tell me, and I will divide with them to the last morsel; and then if the man is not satisfied, I will kick his backside.67

Dealing with immigrants and the poor created social challenges fui the Mormon leadership in Illinois and later in Utah. So did the explosive social question of polygamy.Even before the Church's clash with federal authorities over the issue of polygamy in Utah, the issue had attracted a good deal of criticism. In the 1830's rumors concerning Mormon polygamy began damaging the

Church's public image.A revelation concerning plural marriage was recorded during the Nauvoo period, although

Joseph Smith may have become convinced of the correctness of the principle over a decade earlier. Mormons practiced polygamy on a much more limited basis in Nauvoo than they were to later in Utah. Prior to Smith's death in

1844, the extent of polygamy was "limited to the Prophet and two or three dozen leading men" and their plural wives.

After that, the number of polygamists slowly increased prior to the exodus to Utah. 28

Church Government

From the time of the founding of the Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830, church leaders claimed divine authority to act in religious matters. An understanding of Mormon doctrine regarding such authority is fundamental to comprehending the hierarchy of power upon which church government was based. As with Mormon theological concepts in general, Joseph Smith's teachings concerning authority, referred to in Mormon terminology as priesthood, had a lasting influence on Mormon administrative patterns. Smith explained that the scriptures spoke of two priesthoods: the higher priesthood,

Melchizedek, and the lower priesthood, Aaronic or

Levitica1. He observed that "although there are two

Priesthoods, yet the Melchisedek Priesthood comprehends the

Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood, and is the grand head, and holds the highest authority which pertains to the

Priesthood.

In line with Smith's statement, church leaders recognized the theoretical unity of priesthood power, while dealing with the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthoods as 73 separate branches of that power. After asserting in a revelation that "there are, in the Church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic," Smith went on to explain the duties of each branch as well as who was to preside over each: 29

The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church. . . . Wherefore, it must needs be that one be appointed of the High Priestnood to preside over the priesthood, and he shall be called President of the High Priesthood of the Church. . . . The second priesthood [Aaronic] . . . is called the lesser priesthood . . . because it is an appendage to the greater, or the Melchizedek Priesthood . . . The bishopric is the presidency of this priesthood . . . the office of a bishop is in administering all temporal things.74

Smith and his successors each served as "President of the High Priesthood," a position which empowered them to preside over all church government. The "bishopric" which the revelation designated to head the lesser priesthood came to be known as the Presiding Bishopric. The revelation not only defined the jurisdictions of the two priesthoods but also established that the President of the

Melchizedek Priesthood was to preside over the Presidency of the Aaronic. Ecclesiastically speaking, the President possessed supreme authority to preside over all other 75 church officials.

By the late 1840's , five distinct units of central, or general, church leadership had been established: The

First Presidency, the Church Patriarch, the Council of the

Twelve Apostles, the First Council of the Seventy, and the

Presiding Bishopric.In 1830, Joseph Smith became the

first President of the Church. In 1832, he was officially

sustained as President of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and

in that same year he chose two counselors, thus completing 30 the organization of the First Presidency. The following year, Joseph Smith, Sr., the President's father, was ordained to the office of Patriarch of the Church, and wan charged with the responsibility of giving blessings to 7 H worthy church members. In 1835, two more general authority groups were added to the central leadership of the Church— the Council of the Twelve Apostles and the 79 First Council of the Seventy. The complete organization of the final general authority group, the Presiding 8 0 Bishopric, did not take place until 1847.

On the local level, two important units of Church government were established in the pre-Utah period. The stake, generally speaking, came to denote a regional organization, which at times was further subdivided into smaller units called wards. Government within the stakes came to be patterned after the general authority groups.

At times, for instance, stake officers included a three-man stake presidency, a twelve-man high council, and bishops in 81 charge of the ecclesiastical wards. Several types of

Mormon bishops emerged in the pre-Utah years, including general. Presiding, stake, ward, and traveling bishops.

The use of the bishop's agent was also introduced. Between

1831 and 1847, four men served the Church as general bishops. None served as a "Presiding Bishop" over the entire Church, but because of their general supervision of temporal affairs they were called "the bishops of the 31

Church" during the 1830's and 184C's. Unlike that of the later ward bishops, their jurisdiction was not given specific geographic boundaries, but was limited in a 8 2 general way to a broad region in the 1830's. In the

1840's these general bishops had no regional definition to Q 3 their responsibilities.

Among Joseph Smith's revelations was one in 1841 which named, for the first time, a three-man Presiding

Bishopric for the entire Church. Vinson Knight was to be the Presiding Bishop, with Samuel H. Smith and Shadrach 8 ^ Roundy as his counselors. ' in spite of being named in the revelation to serve as a Presiding Bishopric, Knight and his counselors-to-be apparently never assumed their 8 5 positions. Six years passed before another man, Newe1 K.

Whitney, was named as Presiding Bishop. Whitney continued to serve as Presiding Bishop until his death in 1850.®° By the time of Whitney's death, the Presiding Bishop's duties were well-established. Basically, he was to care for the temporal needs of the entire Church and to preside over the 8 7 Aaronic Priesthood.

The stake bishop constituted yet another type of bishop which originated in the pre-Utah period. A Mormon stake was a basic ecclesiastical unit which eventually came

8 8 to denote a regional organization subdivided into wards..

Vinson Knight served as an early stake bishop and may have been the first to function as such. When the organization 32 of the Adam-ondi-Ahman Stake took place i.n Missouri in

1838, a stake presidency and high council received the approval of the meeting. On that occasion, also, Vinson 89 Knight was selected to be a temporary acting bishop.

After removing to the Nauvoo region, the pattern of using stake bishops became commonplace. In Lee County, Iowa a 9 0 bishop functioned as a stake official. The organization of six stakes, each with a stake bishop, occurred during a 91 short time span in 1840. During the Nauvoo years, Mormon leaders subdivided stakes into ward units. This organizational pattern set an important precedent which saw extensive implementation in the Utah period. Taking their name from the term often used to denote political precincts, the wards served as useful administrative 9 2 divisions. At an 1839 LDS conference three men were designated to serve as bishops over specified geographical 9 3 areas in Nauvoo. By 1845 ten bishops presided over 94 Nauvoo wards.

The traveling bishop, still another type of bishop, also emerged in the pre-Utah period. In an 1830 revelation

Joseph Smith mentioned this variety of bishop; "No person is to be ordained to any office in this church, where there is a regularly organized branch of the same, without the vote of that church." He explained that in cases "where there is no branch of the church that a vote may be called," certain church officials, including traveling 33 95 bishops, "may have the privilege of ordaining."

Commenting on the revelation, the Mormon leader John Taylor noted that the traveling bishops "were given for the regulation of the newly organized branches.Orson

Pratt, another Mormon leader, indicated that the traveling bishops, like all bishops, were responsible for temporal matters. He explained that "a traveling Bishop in his jurisdiction would not be limited to a Ward." According to

Pratt, such a bishop would have the responsibility "to travel through the various Stakes of Zion to exhort the people to do their duty, to loo. ifter the temporal 9 7 interests of the Church." In an 1845 entry relating to traveling bishops, the History of the Church stated: "Dr.

John M. Bernhisel was appointed a Traveling Bishop to visit. 9 8 the Churches." it seems reasonable to assume that

Bernhisel performed some or all of the duties described by

Joseph Smith, John Taylor, and Orson Pratt: ordaining, regulating newly-organized branches, exhorting the people

to do their duty, and looking after the temporal interests of the Church. In 1844 and 1845 John Murdock also 99 apparently served as a traveling bishop.

The term "bishop's agent" was used extensively in

Utah in the 1870's and 1880's to describe a type of bishop which functioned at the stake level. The origin of the expression can be traced back to at least 1831. In a

revelation that year, Joseph Smith recorded instructions 3 4 concerning the "law of consecration and stewardship." This law entailed the voluntary donation by individual members and families of all their property to a church representative, the bishop. The revelation instructed

Edward Partridge, a general bishop, to deed back to each donor a portion, or stewardship, sufficient for "his family, according to his circumscances and his wants and needs.Surpluses remaining with the bishop after he deeded the requisite property to each member were to be placed in the hands of the community business representative, or agent. The agent was also to see that all members of the community had sufficient means to care for themselves and to guard against the accumulation of excessive wealth.Although the revelation did not call the agent by the specific title of "bishop's agent," it did help establish a precedent for using a financial agent as an intermediary between the Church and its members.

By the middle of the nineteenth century the basic administrative organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was well established. Ecclesiastical authority, or priesthood, was divided into two major branches; the Melchizedek to preside over spiritual matters, and the Aaronic to supervise the temporal. As part of the second branch of the priesthood, the office of bishop was created. Important precedents were set in the use of general, stake, ward, Presiding, and traveling 35 bishops, ûs well as bishop's agents. These church officers

laid the foundation for an admir istrative system used in

Utah to handle much of the Church's economic affairs. The creation of wards headed by bishops also established a pattern of local government which significantly influenced community-building efforts in the Mormon West,

Conclusion

Important themes in Mormon community leadership in

Utah are better understood when viewed in a context of continuity from the pre-Utah years. A dominant factor in early Mormon history was the powerful leadership of Joseph

Smith who, by the time of his death in 1844, had laid down the basic religious doctrines which characterized subsequent Mormon thought and life. Although his murder occurred before the Saints' move to Utah, his religious and secular teachings profoundly affected Mormon development in that region. He provided his followers with additional scriptures besides the Bible, professed to have have received priesthood authority from heavenly messengers, and published numerous revelations. During the Joseph Smith period the Mormons came to rely on the frontier for relief from persecution as well as for space in which to attempt to create model communities. Their spatial mobility was part of American westward expansion, but their tendency to move as a group set them apart from other frontier 36 settlers. Smith encouraged urban development and proposed a plan for an ideal city which later affected urbanization in the Great Basin. He established a pattern of community leadership which affected the history of numerous Mormon settlements. Smith provided a model in which an ecclesiastical leader took an active interest in all major areas of community life, whether spiritual or temporal.

Primarily a religious figure, Smith nonetheless asserted his leadership in political, economic and social matters.

His example demonstrated an aversion to narrow ecclesiastical leadership, and displayed a preference for total community leadership. Not content merely to inspire a Sunday congregation. Smith sought to guide a community of believers all week long.

Smith urged political participation and held public office. He promoted economic policies which channelled resources into church hands, and participated in attempts to improve public finance. He took an active interest in social issues, such as education, polygamy, and social welfare. The Mormon prophet helped establish the organizational framework which allowed his followers to create instant cities characterized by order rather than chaos. By creating central, regional and local levels of ecclesiastical administration. Smith instituted a viable plan of church government. 37

The organizational structure created by Smith permitted the Utah Saints to achieve a degree of social order which otherwise probably would have been impossible.

As part of his organizational plan, Smith outlined the basic duties of various types of bishops. Of particular

importance to this study, he implemented the use of ward bishops who frequently reenacted his pattern of total community leadership in the Mormon West. In Joseph Smith

the Mormons not only found a modern-day prophet, but also a visionary social leader whose legacy affected the history of a large portion of the American West. Likewise, in the community bishops, the Saints would find strong religious

authority figures, as well as public-spirited men willing

to engage in a broad range of community leadership

activities. Mormonism expanded and prospered in the Great

Basin region, but the basic foundations for the Saints'

achievements there were laid before their arrival. 38

Notes

■"■Allen and Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, pp. 10-12. In various places throughout this dissertation quoted naterial has been edited to improve such items as spelling, grammar, punctuation and capitalization. In no case has the meaning of quotations been altered through such editing.

^The Pearl of Great Price (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981.), Joseph Smith— History. In accordance with the currently accepted practice of not underlining books of scripture, the Mormon scriptures are not underlined in this study.

^See, for example. The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981), 27:7-8, 12 and 110:1-16. 4 Allen and Leonard, Story of the Latter-day Saints, p. 47.

^Canonized collections of his revelations are found in Doctine and Convenants and Pearl of Great Price.

^Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Period 1 , ed. B.H. Roberts, 6 vols., 2nd ed. (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1948-1953), 4:537; Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith— History.

'^Smith, History of the Church, 4 : 537 . g See The Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981.). 9 Allen and Leonard, Story of the Latter-day Saints, p. 47.

^"^Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith— History; Doctrine and Covenants, 27:7-8, 12.

^^Leonard J. Arrington and Davis Bitton, The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-day Saints (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1979), pp. 145-146.

^^Ibid. An overview of Mormon-Indian relations is "Mormons and Native Americans," which appears as chapter eight in Arrington and Bitton, pp. 145-160. 14 Allen and Leonard, p. 53.

^"Ibid., p. 53

^^Arrington and Bitton, p. 146.

^^Allen and Leonard, pp. 54, 56. ^^Ibid.

^^Ibid., pp. 54, 81-82.

^°Ibid., pp. 59, 82-84, 88. 21 The author acknowledges Allen and Leonard for heightening his awareness of the quest for refuge as a persijient theme in nineteenth-century Mormon history. 22 Arrington and Bitton, p. 69; Allen and Leonard, p. 142. 23 Allen and Leonard, p. 143. ^^Ibid. 25 Arrington and Bitton, pp. 50, 69.

^^Allen and Leonard, p. 142. For a valuable account of urban boosterism see Boorstin, "Competitive Communities on the Western Frontier," Kenneth T. Jackson and Stanley K. Schultz, eds., Cities in American History, pp. 9-15. 27 For a provocative interpretive treatment of the urban dimension of nineteenth-century Mormonism, with emphasis on Nauvoo and Salt Lake City, see Gunther Barth, Instant Cities: Urbanization and the Rise of San Francisco and Denver, pp. 39-60. 28 Arrington and Bitton, pp. 67-68. 29 Allen and Leonard, p. 141.

^^Allen and Leonard, pp. 154-56. For valuable overviews of the Nauvoo period of Mormon history see Allen and Leonard, pp. 139-215, and Arrington and Bitton, pp. 65-82. 40

^^Allen and Leonard, p. 137. 32 Allen and Leonard, pp. 190-198; Arrinyfcon and Bitton, pp. 77-82.

^^Allen and Leonard, p. 180. 34 Allen and Leonard, pp. 208-214, 217.

^^Arrington and Bitton, pp. 100-101. 36„ ...... _ ......

Arrington and Bitton, p. 101. 3 8 Arrington and Bitton, p. 101. 39 See Barth, pp. 39-60 ; Arrington and Bitton, : 70 . 40 Arrington and Bitton, p . 6 6. 41 Allen and Leonard, pp. 81- 82; Smith, History the Church, 5: 357-59. 42 Smith, History of the Church, 5: 357-59. 43 Robert V. Bine, Community on the American Frontier :, pp. 37-40. 44 Smith, History of the Church, 5: 357-59. 45 B.H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Century I, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City : The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1930.), 1: 312. 46 Ibid., 1: 312-313. 47 Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. (London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot, 1854-86; reprint ed., Salt Lake City: 1967), 9: 138. From an address given July 28, 1861. 48 Journal of Discourses, 15: 77. Address delivered April 8, 1872. 49 Ibid., 16: 268-69. Address given October 8, 1873 . 41

^^Allen and Leonard, pp. 82, 94, 110.

^^Ibid., pp. 151, 164. 5 ? Smith, History of the Church, 5: 286.

^^Alien and Leonard, pp. 151, 173, 182.

^"^Smith, History of the Church, 4 : 480 . For general background on Mormons and politics during the Nauvoo years see Allen and Leonard, pp. 173-215.

^^Allen and Teonard, p.82.

^^Ibid., pp. 110-16.

^"^Ibid. , pp. 137, 154 .

^^Ibid., 137-38. 59 Doctrine and Covenants, 90: 15.

^^Allen and Leonard, pp. 95-96.

*^^Ibid., p. 158. 6 2 Nauvoo Times and Seasons, 3: 630-32. This newspaper issue was dated December 15, 1841.

^^Allen and Leonard, p. 158.

^'^Nauvoo Times and Seasons, 3 : 630-32 .

^^Allen and Leonard, pp. 145-49.

^^Ibid., p. 153.

^^Smith, History of the Church, 5: 286.

^^Arrington and Bitton, p. 69.

^^Allen and Leonard, pp. 70, 110.

^°Ibid., p. 69.

^^Arrington and Bitton, pp. 197-99. 72 Smith, History of the Church, 4: 207. 42

^^The traditional modern spelling for this priesthood is "Melchizedek," as opposed to "Melchisedek." 74 Doctrine and Covenants, 107: 1, 8, 13-15, 65, 68. TC '"Ibid.

^^Allen and Leonard, pp. 77-81. For excellent historical treatment of the various General Authority groups, see D. Michael Quinn, "Mormon Hierarchy" and Quinn, "Organizational Development and Social Origins of the Mormon Hierarchy, 1832-1932: A Prosopographical Study" (M.A. thesis. University of Utah, 1973). 77 Doctrine and Covenants, 20: 1-3; Allen and Leonard, pp. 77-81. 7 8 Allen and Leonard, pp. 77-81.

^^Ibid. 8 0 Quinn, "Mormon Hierarchy," p. 30. 81 Allen and Leonard, pp. 81, 161. 8 2 Dale Beecher, "The Office of Bishop: An Example of Organizational Development in the Church," Task Papers in LDS History, no. 21, p. 16; Quinn, "Mormon Hierarchy," p. 25. 8 3 The first two general bishops were Edward Partridge and Newel K. Whitney. During the 1831-1838 period, in which the Saints were divided into two major groups. Partridge presided in Missouri and Whitney in Kirtland. After LDS headquarters were transferred to Nauvoo in 1839, partridge and Whitney continued as general bishops, but no longer had easily divided geographical jurisdictions. Both men lived at Nauvoo, where they also served as local ward bishops. See Quinn, "Mormon Hierarchy," pp. 25-26. 84 Doctrine and Covenants, 124: 141. 8 5 Quinn, "Mormon Hierarchy," pp. 26-27.

^^Quinn, "Mormon Hierarchy," p. 30; Roberts, Comprehensive History, 3; 157-59, 4: 114. 8 7 Quinn, "Mormon Hierarchy,", p. 30. 43 8 8 The author expresses appreciation to William G. Hartley for helping to alert him to the vague, ambiguous use of the word "stake" in Mormon historical records. 89 Smith, History of the Church, 3: 38-39. 90 Allen and Leonard, p. 161. 91 Smith, History of the Church, 4: 233, 236. 9 2 Allen and Leonard, pp. 161-62. 93 Ibid., p. 161. 94 Journal History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830- ," Library Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, hereafter cited as Journal History, April 1, 1845. The Journal History consists of a detailed collection of information relating to Mormon history, which is organized chronologically. This Journal History entry was taken from the journal of William Clayton. 95 Doctrine and Covenants, 20: 65-66.

^^John Taylor, Items on Priesthood to the Latter-day Saints (n.p.: Taggart & Co., 1969), p. 15. 9 7 Journal of Discourses, 22: 34-35. Pratt's statement was made on October 10, 1880, at a time when there were no traveling bishops. 98 Smith, History of the Church, 7: 374. 99 See John Murdock, An Abridged Record of the Life of John Murdock, Taken from his Journal by himself. Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University., pp. 40-42. B.H. Roberts regarded Newel K. Whitney, classified earlier in this chapter as a general bishop and a Presiding Bishop, as a traveling bishop. See Roberts, Outlines of Ecclesiastical History (Salt Lake City : Deseret Book Co., 1979), p. 341. This work was initially published in 1893.

^^^Doctrine and Covenants, 51: 1-20.

^*^^Ibid.; Sidney B. Sperry, Doctrine and Covenants Compendium, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, Inc., 1960), pp. 216-17. 44

1837 William Marks was elected as Dishop Whitney's agent in Kirtland. The purpose of his agency was probably to help collect the required funds for land purchases in the state of Missouri, as well as in Kirtland. More is known about Bishop Partridge's agent, Algernon Sidney Gilbert. In 1831 Gilbert was apointed as an agent for Bishop Edward Partridge in Missouri, and was expected to apply his business abilities to help establish the Church in that locality. Gilbert, acting in concert with Partridge, was "to receive moneys [sic], to be an agent unto the church, to buy land in all the regions round about," while Partridge was to "divide unto the saints their inheritance." Because of his subordinate position to Partridge, Gilbert might appropriately be referred to as a "bishop's agent." John Taylor observed: "There are also Bishops agents, such as Sidney Gilbert and others." See Beecher, "Office of Bishop: An Example of Organizationa1 Development in the Church," Task Papers in LDS History, no. 21, p. 17; Kirtland Tax Lists, 1838; Janne M. Sjodahl and Hyrum M. Smith, Doctrine and Covenants Cuiiuiiencary (Sait Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1945), p. 394; Doctrine and Covenants, 57: 6-7; Taylor, Items on Priesthood, p. 30. CHAPTER 2

THE MORMON CHURCH IN THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST

The Great Basin provided a permanent home for the

Latter-day Saints. The frontier setting in which the

Mormons lived facilitated the proliferation of their institutions.^ New settlements brought the formation of new wards, which in turn increased the demand for community bishops. By the end of the nineteenth century over one thousand men had served as ward bishops. In order to assess the community leadership which the bishops provided, this study analyzes the impact of the bishops from four specific wards on their own communities and on the Mormon

West in general. Two of the communities selected were wards in the Mormon capital at Salt Lake City: the Eighth and Thirteenth Wards. The other two were Minersville, a southern-Utah settlement initially founded to promote

Mormon mining, and Richmond, an agricultural community in northern Utah. This chapter examines the evolution of these four wards and discusses Mormon organizational development in the last half of the nineteenth century.

45 46

Mormons in the Great nasin

In 1847 the Latter-day Saints began building an urban center which became a lasting headquarters for the

Church. Mormon apostle Wilford Woodruff's description of

the Salt Lake valley conveyed a sense of manifest destiny and a desire to build cities in a wilderness region:

We came in full view of the valley of the Great Salt Lake, or the Great Basin— the Land of Premise, held in reserve by the hand of God as a resting place for the saints. . . . Thoughts of pleasant meditation ran in rapid succession through our minds at the anticipation that not many years hence the House of God would be established in the mountains and exalted above the hills, while the valleys would be converted into orchards, vineyards, fields, etc., planted with cities, and the standard of Zion be unfurled, unto which the nations would gather.2

Woodruff's statement provides insights into Mormon motives for colonizing the new region. Woodruff dreamed of

"orchards, vineyards, fields, etc.," but above all he

envisoned the new homeland as a religious center,

symbolized by the anticipated construction of a temple, "a

House of God." The massive migration of Mormons into the

Great Basin created the first "instant city," to use the historian Gunther Barth's phrase, in the American West.

Barth has argued that San Francisco, Denver, and Salt Lake

City differed from other urban centers because of "the

suddenness of their emergence and the speed with which they

joined the ranks of cities that had taken centuries to

evoive." In the American West, he maintained, "the second à-> half of the nineteenth century was the age of city building." Western cities grew rapidly, but the instant cities experienced yet more impressive growth than western cities in general.^ Unlike San Francisco and Denver, Salt

Lake City, with its strong religious foundation, developed into what one contemporary observer aptly labeled "the temple city. From the start Mormon social cohesiveness facilitated the creation of a major frontier urban center largely unaffected by the atomization which characterized the development of San Francisco and Denver. The homogeneity and religious unity which promoted order in the

Mormon capital contrasted sharply with the more chaotic growth of these other western cities, which attracted heterogeneous populations and became subject to, as Earth has put it, "the unrestrained interplay of social, political, economic, and cultural forces.

The Great Basin provided a place of refuge fcr the

Saints. The prospect of escaping the persecution which drove them west lent added appeal to the Mormons' wilderness refuge. William Clayton, one of the original pioneers, expressed sentiments which echoed those of other persecution-weary settlers. Clayton preferred "to dwell here in this wild looking country amongst the Saints surrounded by friends, though poor, enjoying the privileges and blessings of the everlasting priesthood, with God for our King and Father," as opposed to having to "dwell 48 amongst the gentiles with all their wealth and good things of the earth, to be eternally mobbed, harassed, hunted, our best men murdered with every good man's life continually in danger.

Urban planning in Salt Lake City began early. Wido streets, measuring 132 feet across, intersected at right angles. Square ten-acre blocks added to the sense of orderly spatial development. No house was to stand opposite any other, and even adjacent houses were to be about 132 feet apart. The Mormon urban plan also provided for garden areas, which would stretch back 3 "'0 feet behind the homes. Far from allowing indiscrimate settlement, the

Mormons not only reserved a block for their temple but also designated several other blocks "in different parts of the city for public grounds.

Early in Utah's history. Salt Lake City served as the capital of the provisional state which the Mormons called Deseret. After Congress created the Territory of g Utah in 1850, the site of the territorial capital shifted to Fillmore, but the change was short-lived because of that settlement's limited population and its unsatisfactory potential for outside communication. Salt Lake City became the territorial capital, just as it would later become the permanent capital of the state of Utah.

Salt Lake's favorable location between the West

Coast and the Mississippi River increased its commercial 49 potential. Non-Mormons, seeking economic opportunity, added to the city's population and introduced greater heterogeneity. The Mormon capital boasted about S.noo inhabitants at midcentury, over 8,000 in 1860 and about

14,000 in 1870. The population rose to about 21,000 in

1880 and then more than doubled in the next decade, leaving the city with a population of nearly 45,000 in 1890. By q 1900, Salt Lake City's population stood at about 53,500.'

The predominant role of religion in the temple city set it apart from other western instant cities, as we11 as from any of America's more traditional cities. As Gunther Barth has observed, "On the scale, and in the isolation, of Salt

Lake City, such a degree of practical community planning, through a fusion of ecclesiastical and secular affairs, had never before been achieved in the course of American urban growth.

The Salt Lake City Wards

In 1849 Salt Lake City was divided into nineteen ecclesiastical wards. In order to examine community leadership in Salt Lake City, this study focuses on two of these early church units, the Eighth and Thirteenth Wards.

The Eighth Ward was located a short distance from the temple block. In 1887 the combined Mormon and non-Mormon population of the Ward was 897. Roughly fifty percent of the ward's inhabitants at that time were LDS, which would 50 place the ecclesiastical ward's population at about 450.

Unlike the Thirteenth Ward, whose population ..pparenily declined due to business development, the Eighth Ward seems to have retained more of a residential nature during the nineteenth century than its neighboring ward to the north.

In 1930, 744 Latter-day Saints resided in the Eighth ward, compared to 1,054 for the combined Twelfth and Thirteenth

Wards. Unlike the Thirteenth Ward, the Eighth Ward did not experience sufficient business pressure to force its amalgamation with another ward. Located within the boundaries of the ward was the Eighth Ward Square. On this ground or nearby the advance pioneer group first encamped.

The square later provided a place for newcomers to camp after their arrival in the Salt Lake valley. it also became the site of other public activities and eventually became the location of the impressive City and County

Building.

Addison Everett became the Eighth Ward's first bishop. His successor, Elijah F. Sheets, served as bishop for nearly a half-century, from 1856 to 1904. The Eighth

Ward provides a case study of a ward which came under the leadership of a single bishop during most of its nineteenth-century history. It also is an example of a ward whose bishop exerted religious influence outside his immediate ward by doubling for a time as a traveling

. . , bishop.12 51

Elijah Sheets was one of the most influential bishops in Mormon history. His forty-eight year tenure exceeded that of any other bishop. He also served the [,DS

Church at the central level as a traveling bishop, as head livestock agent, and as an assistant trustee-in-tcust.^^

Sheets was born in 1821 at Charleston, Pennsylvania.

Orphaned when only six years old, he resided with his grandparents and then after roughly two years moved in with 14 the Edward Hunter family. The Hunter-Sheets "father-son" relationship paralleled their subsequent interaction in

Church administration. Hunter rose to the position of

Presiding Bishop, and Sheets emerged a ne of Hunter's most prominent subordinates. Appropri y, Presiding

Bishop Hunter assisted in ordaining She , as a ward bishop in 1856.^^

In 1840 the nineteen-year-old Sheets entered the

Mormon Church through baptism. He demonstrated his loyalty to the Church by moving to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1841 and by becoming an Elder in 1842. The Nauvoo years brought maturity to the Church in general and to Sheets personally.

While in Nauvoo Sheets performed six months of voluntary labor on the Nauvoo Temple without compensation. Prior to moving with the Saints to Utah in 1847 he went on proselyting missions to Pennsylvania and Great Britain. In

1850 Sheets took part in the settlement of Iron County,

Utah. After returning ^o Salt Lake City to live, he became 52 bishop of the Eighth Ward in 1856.^^

The Thirteenth Ward provides an example of a city ward in which bishops served for shorter tenures. The ward was located in the heart of what is today Salt Lake City's downtown area. The ward's residents achieved greater economic prosperity than those in most other wards. The men who served as Woolley's counselors each possessed greater than average wealth. They included a merchant, a prosperous stockman, a mayor engaged in various economic endeavors, a businessman who helped build sawmills, another civic leader, and a deputy sheriff for the county and a deputy marshal for the territory. According to one description of the Thirteenth Ward, it contained "some of the most important business blocks in the city." Important buildings within its limit included the Salt Lake Theater,

Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution, and City Hall.

The Social Hall stood next to Woolley's house. The Gardo 18 House also lay inside the ward's boundaries. This stately edifice, which served for a time as the home for

President John Taylor, was envisioned as a sort of 19 Latter-day Saint "White House." The Thirteenth Ward also contained "John Reading's nurseries and flower gardens, consisting of five large greenhouses covered with 7,000 square feet of glass, the most extensive nursery of its kind in Utah at the time. Eventually due to "the encroachment of business houses," a consolidation of the 21 Salt Lake 12th and 13th Wards occurred in 1908. Edward

Hunter became the ward's first bishop in 1849. In 1851 hr 22 became the Presiding Bishop over the entire Church.

Hunter's prominence as a General Authority makes it difficult to assess his direct leadership over the

Thirteenth Ward. Because this study addresses ward-level community leadership. Hunter's activities as a ward bishop have not been analyzed, since he served simultaneously as a ward bishop and a General Authority. The present study examines community leadership in the Thirteenth Ward by focusing on Hunter's successors, Edwin D. Woolley

(1854-1881), Millen Atwood (1881-1890), and Nelson A. Empoy

(1891- 1904).2 ^

Edwin D. Woolley had close association with

President Brigham Young and with Presiding Bishop Hunter.

He even served for a time as Young's business manager.

Woolley also engaged in mercantile, stockraising and 24 farming activities. He was born in 1807 in Pennsylania,

joined the LDS Church in 1837 and during a proselyting mission helped convert Edward Hunter to Mormonism. Woolley

lived in Nauvoo, knew Joseph Smith personally, and in 1848

traveled to Utah. Like other Utah bishops Woolley demonstrated loyalty to the Church prior to being entrusted 25 with ecclesiastical leadership responsibility in Utah.' 54

Millen Atwood was born in Connecticut in 1817 and received occupational training as a mason. In 1841 he moved to Nauvoo, where he met Joseph Smith. Atwood joined the Church, went on a mission, moved to Utah, served another mission, and returned to Utah with a company of handcart pioneers, which suffered intensely, losing sixty-seven of its 500 members during the journey.By the time he became a bishop in 1881 Atwood had proven his 27 dedication to the cause of Mormonism.

Nelson A. Empey, born in Canada in 1837, was baptized a Latter-day Saint in Nauvoo at about the age of eight. His father, William Empey, who baptized him, was part of the first pioneer group to arrive in Utah. William brought his family to Utah in 1848. Although Nelson became a Mormon at an earlier age than his predecessors, he had much in common with them. He lived in Nauvoo, experienced the trip across the plains to Utah and served as a 28 missionary.

Minersville

Following the founding of Salt Lake City in 1847, the Mormons established numerous other settlements. For the first few years Mormon colonization efforts largely centered in the area near Salt Lake City, and the two other 29 nearby settlements of Ogden (1848) and Provo (1849). In

1851 Parowan, in southern Utah, was established. That same 55 year a number of Parowan settlers founded Cedar City, an area rich in iron deposits.

In 1858 four men discovered lead in Southern Utah near the site of what came to be called Minersville.

Brigham Young encouraged the settlement of the area, and families from Parowan arrived in 1859 to establish a townsite. Cedar City residents previously had selected a site known as Lower Beaver, approximately seven miles to the northwest. The settlers at Lower Beaver experienced serious water difficulties, and the settlement soon failured. Some of these settlers relocated at the site chosen by the Parowan group, which became the permanent location of Minersville.^^

Sheep and cattlemen traveled through Minersville during the 1870's and 1880's. Individuals also passed through Minersville with horses and mules on their way to

Milford, a railroad station. One Minersville resident provided a camping area for such people. He charged those who stopped there a 25b fee, as well as selling feed for the animals. According to one account "the 'pass road' south of Minersville was the most used route for men from

Kanab, Panguitch, Parowan, Cedar City, and other parts of

Southern Utah." While the transients probably helped

Minersville's economy, their social behavior was sometimes less than desirable. The account noted that "they came here to camp and the camping grounds were very often the 56 scene of great disturbances, as some of the men would begin 3 2 drinking, playing cards, and quarreling."

Four bishops led the Minersville Ward in the nineteenth century: James Henry Rollins (1860-1869), James

McKnight (1869-1890) , Solomon Walker (1.890-1894) and George

Eyre (1894-1901)

James H. Rollins was born in New York in 1316. He later lived in Kirtland, Ohio, and at age fourteen he obtained a Book of Mormon from LDS missionaries. Not long thereafter he first met Joseph Smith. In 1831 Rollins moved to Independence, Missouri, and in 1832 was baptized into the LDS Church. Rollins witnessed anti-Mormon persecution and suffered imprisonment along with other

Mormon men. Like many other Latter-day Saints, he moved to

Nauvoo and later to Utah. During the 1850's Rollins participated in the Mormon colonies in California and then returned to Utah, where he assisted in strengthening the

Mormon settlements in southern Utah. He resided in Parowan and then moved to Minersville, where he became that 34 settlement's first bishop.

James McKnight, Rollins' successor as the

Minersville bishop, was born in Scotland in 1830. Unlike

Rollins, McKnight did not live in any of the important

Mormon settlements of the pre-Utah period. Like Rollins, and the Latter-day Saints in general, McKnight wandered a great deal before settling in the American West. He moved 57 to Australia, where he listened to the preaching of Mormon missionaries, was baptized, and then engaged in missionary work himself. McKnight journeyed to America, settling in

California, and later in Minersville.^"*

Solomon Walker was born at Winter Quarters,

Nebraska in 1848, and came to Utah at the age of four. He was baptized at about the age of eight. In 1863 Walker moved to Minersville. He served a Church mission in 1887, which was cut short due to ill health, and in 1890 he became the bishop of Minersville.^^

George Eyre, the final nineteenth-century

Minersville bishop, was born in 1838 in England. At the age of seventeen Eyre accepted the teachings of Mormonism.

He engaged in missionary work for four years prior to emigrating to America with his wife. After arriving at New

York and journeying to Florence, Nebraska by rail, the couple completed their trip to Salt Lake City on foot.

Following their move to Minersville, Eyre worked as a farmer. Eyre served as the bishop of Minersville from 1894 until 1901, when he was released from his responsibilities because of poor health.

Richmond

In 1859 Mormon settlers founded the town of

Richmond in northern Utah. Not long after the Saints' arrival in the Great Basin an exploring team had traveled 58

to Cache Valley, in which Richmond was later established.

They reported to Brigham Yc.ng that the valley "looked 3 8 beautiful from the summit of the mountains." Further

exploration occurred in the 1850's, when John Bair and

others investigated the area. They noted that the area where Richmond came to be located possessed qualities which would support a permanent settlement : rich soil, adequate water, grazing land for animals and accessible timber. By

the end of the decade the new settlement had been

established. By 1860 many settlers had arrived in

Richmond, including two future Richmond bishops, Marriner 39 W. Merrill and William L. Skidmore.

Ecclesiastical organization began at Richmond in

1859, but the creation of an LDS Ward did not take place

until 1861. Marriner W. Merrill became bishop of the new

ward and served until 1879, when William L. Skidmore

succeeded him as bishop. Skidmore occupied that position

until 1900, when Thomas H. Merrill, son of Marriner W. 40 41 Merrill, became the new Richmond bishop.

Marriner W. Merrill was born in New Brunswick,

Canada in 1832 and was baptized into the LDS Church in 1852

prior to his twentieth birthday. He later related having

received a prophetic vision at the age of nine in which he

viewed things which related to Mormonism. "In the vision,"

he explained, "I saw the Church and the Prophets Joseph and

Brigham. I saw the travels of the latter and of the Saints 59 from Nauvoo and Winter Quarters to Utah." He related that

"at that time the divinity of plural marriage was revealed to me. . . . The progress and development of the Church were shown and the persecutions of the Saints were made clear to my understanding, and I heard a voice which told 4 2 me that all I beheld was true." Merrill arrived in Utah in 1853, having narrowly escaped death in crossing the

Platte River. After residing in Salt Lake City and

Bountiful, he moved to Richmond in 1860. The following 43 year Merrill became the town's bishop.

William L. Skidmore was born in Philadelphia in

1344. At the age of eight, Skidmore was baptized into the

LDS Church in the Delaware River. In 1855 he traveled with other family members to Utah. Skidmore passed his first winter in Salt Lake City, where he experienced a shortage of food. Skidmore noted that "the winter was very severe and was cold with deep snow." During that time they were unable to obtain adequate food supplies "and had to live on corn meal and molasses." He added that "when spring came, we dug Sego roots and other plant roots to live on." In

1856, Skidmore took up residence with Reason Lewis, apparently for economic reasons. He explained that Lewis

"offered to take me in as his son, and it would relieve 4 4 mother of one to feed and clothe." Skidmore moved with

Lewis' family to Richmond in 1860.^^ In 1863 he traveled east to Florence, Nebraska with eight other boys from 60

Richmond in order to help other Latter-day Saints migrate to Utah. Prior to becoming bishop in 1879 Skidmore participated in community affairs. He actively supported a local dramatic company, served as a justice-of-the-peace, helped transport lumber for the Logan Temple and carried out ward religious duties while Marriner W. Merrill was , . . 46 bishop.

LDS Organizational Development

In Utah the LDS Church continued to function under the direction of the General Authority groups which had been established in the pre-exodus years. The use of bishops at different levels of church government also continued for many years, but by the end of the nineteenth century regional bishops had been discontinued while ward bishops and the Presiding Bishop continued to function,. An awareness of the use of non-ward bishops in nineteenth-century Utah helps one place the ward bishops in proper administrative perspective. As important as the local ward bishops were, traveling bishops, regional presiding bishops, and bishop's agents also carried out 47 important responsibilities.

These non-ward bishops assumed a prominent place in the Church's economic structure between 1851 and 1888.

Because Mormons tithed their income and made other religious donations, the Church's General Authorities faced 61 the Challenge of caring for these contributions. The common practice of donating "in kind" (such as pigs, eggs, or butter) rather than in cash compounded the difficulty of the task, since such tithing not only had to be accounted for but also fed or kept from spoiling. As the chief administrators of voluntary donations, the Presiding

Bishopric relied on a storehouse system and on traveling and regional bishops to assist them in caring for these resources. The Mormons often called these tithing houses

"bishop's storehouses," since those holding the ecclesiastical office of bishop generally supervised them on the local, regional and central levels. Local tithing houses functioned under the direction of the local bishop, or presiding elder in settlements without bishops.

Regional tithing offices operated at times under the direction of regional bishops. The "Bishop's General

Storehouse," located in Salt Lake City, came under the direction of the Presiding Bishop of the Church. This central storehouse also doubled as a local and regional storehouse for nearby bishops. The tithing houses and their chief administrators, the bishops, played central roles in nineteenth-century Mormon economic 4 8 administration. 6 2

A. Traveling Bishops: 1851-1877

In order to meet the challenge of directing the storehouse system the Presiding Bishop employed a number of centrally appointed agents. These included traveling bishops and regional presiding bishops during the 1851-1877 period and bishop's agents between 1877 and 1888. During his tenure as Presiding Bishop from 1851 to 1883, Edward

Hunter used traveling bishops to aid him in administering 49 the temporal affairs of the Church. The duties of the assistant presiding traveling bishops grew out of the temporal duties assigned to the Presiding Bishopric. These traveling bishops were to periodically settle accounts with the various bishops and then report back lo the Presiding

Bishop. The traveling bishops were to see that the local bishops were faithful in gathering tithing and forwarding it to the General Tithing Office. These bishops also taught the local bishops acceptable tithing methods and showed them how to keep accurate records and how to fill out the required reports. As implied by their title, the traveling bishops traveled. One of them, Nathaniel Felt, visited practically every settlement in Utah in fulfilling his duties.

In 1871 the First Presidency called Elijah F.

Sheets, as a traveling bishop. In their letter of appointment to Sheets, Brigham Young and his counselors asked him to assume general supervision of tithing 63 donations in Utah, Juab, Sanpete, and Millard Counties, as well as other areas which might be assigned to him later.

The First Presidency instructed Sheets to see that tithing was forwarded to the General Storehouse at Salt Lake City, and authorized him to counsel and advise local members on cemporal matters. In his brief autobiography Sheets did not specify clearly if or when he was ever formally released as a traveling bishop. His tenure must have ended by October 10, 1880 when Orson Pratt remarked that the

Church at the time had no traveling bishops.

B. Regional Presiding Bishops: 1851-1877

During the administration of Brigham Young a number of "presiding bishops" helped direct the temporal interests of the Church. Unlike Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter, whose jurisdiction encompassed the entire Church, these presiding bishops possessed only regional authority. To distinguish them from the Presiding Bishop of the Church, the terms "regional presiding bishop" or "regional bishop" will be used.^^ The responsibilities of the regional presiding bishops included regional tithing supervision and the general oversight of temporal affairs in the settlements under their charge. In his letter appointing

Samuel F . Atwood as a regional bishop in Summit County,

Brigham Young instructed him to oversee tithing collection, care for public property, counsel with the local bishops. 64

"and generally to attend to, and transact business pertaining to the temporal interests of the Church.The use of regional bishops became widespread but not universal in the Mormon West. As of July, 1877 about three of every five Mormon settlements or wards came under the supervision of a regional bishop.The era of the regional presiding bishops came to a close with an official pronouncement- made by the First Presidency in 1877:

In consequence of it having been thought more convenient in some of the stakes for the tithing to be concentrated in one place, and for one bishop to receive reports from others and keep charge of the tithing, etc., the idea has grown up that such a bishop is a presiding bishop, and in many places he has been so regarded. This idea is an incorrect one. Brother Edward Hunter is the only one who acts as presiding bishop in the Church.55

Certainly the First Presidency was aware that the regional presiding bishops had not simply evolved independently in their areas in response to a desire for more efficient tithing administration. Brigham Young had promoted the idea by calling men to serve as regional bishops. The First Presidency's rejection of the idea of regional presiding bishops seemed to be a reaction to the exaggerated importance some Mormons had ascribed to their regional leaders. The 1877 circular limited the power of the regional bishops while clarifying and enhancing the authority of the Presiding Bishopric. 65

C. Bishop’s Agents: 1877-1888

In abolishing the regional presiding bishops,

Brigham Young did not leave an administrative void.

Although he attacked the idea of regional presiding bishops, he perpetuated the use of regional bishops. In

July, 1877, George W. Bean was selected as a regional bishop of Sevier Stake.The bishop's agents functioned almost exclusively during the administrations of John

Taylor and Wilford Woodruff, due to the death of Brigham

Young on August 29, 1877. The bishop's agents were, as their title implied, agents of the Presiding Bishop, or

Presiding Bishop's Agents.

The bishop's agent system provided for the most extensive, uniform oversight of regional tithing matters which the Church had yet enjoyed. Between 1877 and 1888 the Presiding Bishop depended on his agents to solve problems on a decentralized level, communicate necessary information, provide accurate financial reports, care for tithing resources, and even act as loan officers and sales 59 representatives.

In Sevier County a problem arose which involved the financial interests of the Church as well as those of a man who had complained to the Presiding Bishopric in a letter.

In response to his complaint, John R. Winder, of the

Presiding Bishopric, wrote Bishop's Agent George W. Bean, asking him to find a solution to the problem. That same 66 day Winder also penned a letter to the man involved notifying him that the whole matter had been placed in the hands of Agent Bean. In 1884 Bishops Leonard W. Hardy and

Robert T. Burton, of the Presiding Bishopric, sought the assistance of Bishop's Agent George Osmond of the Bear Lake

Stake to help a new family of German immigrants with food and shelter when they arrived at Paris, Idaho.

The Bishopric also used the bishop's agents to help provide the effective communication they needed to direct

the Church's temporal affairs. Frequently they sought

information regarding the tithing resources available in various regions. "How many car loads of well assorted

potatoes do you think you will have in your stake?" was

typical of the nature of the Presiding Bishopric's requests

to their agents. The bishop's agents were a central part of the Presiding Bishopric's efforts to keep accurate

financial records. They imparted instructions relative to

tithing matters and bookkeeping to the local bishops. The bishop's agents settled accounts with the ward bishops, a duty made more difficult by "in kind" donations and at

times by the bishops' inadequate recordkeeping and tithing

management practices. The agents were also responsible for

keeping abreast of stake tithing matters and reporting

periodically to the Presiding Bishopric, but as of 1882 many of them neither received nor disbursed tithing. The administration of regional tithing affairs led the agents into related areas. In some cases they assumed the roles of loan officer or sales agent for the Presiding

Bishopric. In 1884 Bishops Hardy and Burton, of the

Presiding Bishopric, instructed Morgan Stake's agent,

Charles Turner, to loan a man ten tons of tithing hay.

They advised Turner to take the man's "obligation" for the amount allotted and then expect repayment the ensuing fall.

In Territorial Utah most church members paid their tithing in kind and what cash they did donate was so badly needed to pay for consumer goods, immigrant transportation fares, and farm supplies that most monetary donations quickly left the Territory. The challenge of converting in kind items to cash became a major concern for the Presiding Bishop.

In 1884 Presiding Bishop William B. Preston asked Bishop's

Agent Francis Gunnell to forward him samples of wheat from three different settlements so that the central office could present them to a prospective buyer. A letter from the Presiding Bishop to Agent George Osmond demonstrated the advantages of a centrally-coordinated sales network.

"You had better sell the wool at home if possible," the

Presiding Bishop advised- He informed his agent that "the highest price here is 15t. If you can get 14t or near that in cash you had better sell, if not send it to this

Office."G2 68

Between 1887 and 1889 a change from bishop’s agents

to stake tithing clerks occurred. One reason for discontinuing the bishop's agents was to prevent stake presidents from acting in a dual role as president and agent in their stakes. Another reason was the desire of

the Presiding Bishopric to interact with the ward bishops and stake clerks directly. Their capacity to do this

increased with railroad development. Bishop's agents were discontinued first in regions located close enough to railroad lines to allow the Presiding Bishopric to personally attend to the business in those stakes. Late in

1887 the bishop's agents in some stakes were discontinued.

Then, on March 1, 1888, the Council of the Twelve Apostles disconinued all bishop's agents.

Conclusion

The frontier exerted an influence on the life of each bishop in the Salt Lake City Eighth, Salt Lake City

Thirteenth, Minersville and Richmond Wards. Frontier mobility brought them to Utah from diverse places: New

York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Nebraska, Scotland and

England. The creation of frontier Mormon settlements at

Salt Lake City, Minersville and Richmond opened up opportunities for community leadership to each of the men

studied. Their combined experience demonstrated that

strong loyalty to Mormonism could allow one to rise to a 69 position of influence in a frontier Mormon community. The consistent creation of wards in the expanding Mormon West allowed many men the opportunity to become bishops and increase their influence in community matters.

Mormon expansion was characterized by numerous colonization efforts which exhibited both religious purpose and order, two interrelated characteristics. Effectively carrying out their religious desire to create a Kingdom which was both firmly established and yet constantly expanding required organizational consistency. Building on precedents established during the pre-Utah years, the

Saints built an organizational structure which helped bind the expanding Mormon empire together.

In the Church's administrative system the ward bishops functioned under the leadership of the Presiding

Bishopric. Besides depending on the ward bishops to help care for Church resources, the Presiding Bishopric also counted on other types of bishops. Between 1851 and 1888 the Presiding Bishopric relied on traveling bishops, regional presiding bishops, and bishop's agents to help keep the storehouse system running smoothly, to assist ward bishops with financial matters, and in general to assist the Presiding Bishopric in directing the temporal affairs of the Church. The various agents of the Presiding

Bishopric were ordained bishops but, unlike ward bishops, their jurisdictions extended beyond a single ward. 70

Traveling bishops served during the 1850's, 1860's and

1870's. Regional presiding bishops functioned during those

same decades and were replaced beginning in 1877 by bishop's agents. The traveling bishops, regional presiding bishops, and bishop's agents played leading roles in church

financial administration.

The discontinuation of the bishop's agents spelled

the end to an era in which centrally-appointed bishops

served as regional administrators for the Presiding

Bishopric. By abolishing their regional agents and

assuming more direct responsibility for ward and stake

tithing matters, the Presiding B'^uopric increased

centralization in the Mormon Church. Yet, simultaneously

they promoted the decentralization of tithing

administration by allowing regional church leaders to

select their own "stake tithing clerks" to replace the 64 centrally-appointed bishop's agents. Like a corporate

bureaucracy, the LDS General Authorities may have been

responding to "the pressure for centralization of authority

to assure corporate integrity and the countering pressure

for decentralization in administration to secure efficiency

trough ready response to diverse conditions.

The prime underlying motives behind Mormon

geographical expansion and organizational development were

of a spiritual nature. The combination of an expanding

frontier and a well-organized religious organization also 71 provided a climate in which the political, economic and social influence of the ward bishops could flourish. 72

Notes

^Robert F. Berkhofer, Jr. has argued that the frontier should be "viewed not as an area demanding innovation, but as an opportunity for the proliferation of old institutions." Berkhofer, Jr., "Space, Time, Culture and the New Frontier," in The West of the American People, eds. Allan G. Bogue, Thomas D. Phillips, and James E. Wright (Itasca, 111.: F.E. Peacock Publishers, 1970), p. 35. This is an abridged version of an article which originally appeared in Agricultural History 38 (January 1964) : 21-30 .

'^Cited by William E. Berrett and Alma P. Burton, comps., Readings in L.D.S. Church History, from Original Manuscripts, 3 vols. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1953-58), 2: 302.

^Barth, Instant Cities, pp. xiii, 5-6. 4 Barth describes Salt Lake City as an instant city and develops the temple city theme in ibid., pp. 39-60.

^Ibid. , p. 42.

^Berrett and Burton, II: 304.

^Elden J . Watson, comp., The Orson Pratt Journals (Salt Lake City: Elden Jay Watson, 1975), p. 461; "GENERAL EPISTLE from The Council of The Twelve Apostles to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, abroad, dispersed throughout the Earth," December 23, 184 7. The complete text of this document is found in James B. Clark, ed., Messages of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-75): I: 323-36. 0 Allen and Leonard, pp. 252-53; Barth, pp. 57-58. g Andrew Jenson, Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, s.v. "Salt Lake City."

^^Barth, pp. 57-59.

^^Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Salt Lake City 8th Ward"; Salt Lake City Eighth Ward Manuscript History, LDS Church Archives. 73 12 Addison Everett was born in New York in 180 5. Everett joined the Mormon Church in 18 3 7 and later moved to Nauvoo. During the interval between the Saints' exodus from Nauvoo and Everett's departure with the first group of Mormon pioneers, he became the bishop of a ward at Winter Quarters, a Mormon settlement located on the west side of the Missouri River. Everett became bishop of the Eighth Ward in 1849. Andrew Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 4: 702; Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Salt Lake City 8th Ward." For background on Winter Quarters see Allen and Leonard, pp. 234-37.

^^Elijah F. Sheets Collection, LDS Church Archives; Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1: 614-16. 14 Sheets Collection; Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1: 614-16.

^^Sheets Collection.

^^Sheets Collection; Jenson, LLS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1: 614-16.

^^Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint; Bishop Edwin D. Woolley (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976), pp. 323-25. 18 Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Salt Lake City 13th Ward." A picture showing Woolley's residence and the Social Hall next door is found in Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, p. 324. 19 Allen and Leonard, pp. 380-81.

^^Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Salt Lake City 13th Ward." 21 Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Salt Lake City 13th Ward." 22 Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1: 227-32. 23 Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Salt Lake City 13th Ward." 24 Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, p. x. 25 Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, pp. vii-viii; Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, pp. 630-634. An excellent book-length treatment of Woolley's life is Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day 74 Saint. 2 6 Leonard J. Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, p. 158, 27 Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1: 633-34; 4: 693, 2 8 Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 4: 464, 701.

Allen and Leonard, pp. 264-266. 30, 'ibid., p. 266.

Alvaretta Robinson and Daisy Gil 1 ins, eds.. They Answered the Call; A History of Minersville, Utah (n.p.: Minersville Centennial Committee, 1962), pp. 1-7; Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Minersville Ward. 32 Robinson and Gillins, eds., p. 201.

^^Ibid., pp. 33-34. This source states that Isaac Grundy "presided as temporary Bishop from June 1859 until James Henry Rollins was ordained as Bishop on April 7, 1860." Grundy seems to have been a temporary ecclesiastical leader lacking official status as bishop and has not been included among the Minersville bishops in this study. 34 Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 4: 410-11; Robinson and Gillins, eds., pp. A167-71.

^^Short biographical sketches concerning McKnight are found in Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 4: 410 and Robinson and Gillins, eds., pp. A139-40. The latter account was written by Susanna McKnight Roberts, the bishop's daughter.

^^Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 3: 549; Robinson and Gillins, eds., pp. A178-80.

^^Robinson and Gillins, eds., p. A64. 3 8 Berrett and Burton, comps., 2: 322. 39 Amos W. Bair, comp., History of Richmond, Utah (Richmond: Richmond Bicentennial Committee, 1976), pp. 7-9 ; Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Richmond." 40 Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1: 404. 75

41 Bair states that Thomas Tidwell served as bishop of Richmond from 1859 to 1861. See Bair, comp., pp. 86, 88; Jenson maintains that "on Nov. [sic] 15, 1859, a branch of the Church was organized at Richmond with Thomas Tidwell as presiding Elder. . . . The place was organized as a regular bishop's ward in 1861 with Marriner W. Merrill . . . as Bishop." See Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Richmond." Because of the conflicting evidence concerning Tidwell he has been omitted from consideration in this study of ward bishops. His exclusion from the present work is appropriate even if he was actually ordained as tne bishop of Richmond because he did not preside over a ward. Marriner W. Merrill has been included in the study cf Richmond community leaders although he became a General Authority in 1889. Merrill's status as a community leader differed from that of Edward Hunter, the Salt Lake City Thirteenth Ward bishop and General Authority who was omitted from consideration, because Merrill's tenure as bishop completely proceeded his service as a General Authority. Thomas H. Merrill was also excluded from consideration as a community leader in this study because his tenure did not begin until 1900. 42 Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1: 156-61. 43 Biographical information concerning Merrill is found in Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1: pp. 156-61, 3: 764; and in Bair, comp., pp. 156-60. For a longer account of his life see Melvin C. Merrill, ed., Utah Pioneer and Apostle: Marriner Wood Merrill and His Family (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1937). 44 Bair, comp., p. 244.

^^Ibid., pp. 181-182. 46 For details concerning Skidmore's life see Bair, comp., pp. 243-48; and Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1: 403-404. 47 For an article which focuses on these non-ward bishops see D. Gene Pace, "Changing Patterns of Mormon Financial Administration: Traveling Bishops, Regional Bishops and Bishop's Agents, 1851-1888," Brigham Young University Studies, forthcoming. The author expresses appreciation to 0. Michael Quinn, of Brigham Young University, for assistance in the formulation and completion of the M.A. thesis upon which that article was largely based, and to Keith W. Perkins, of Brigham Young University, for his helpful suggestions concerning both 76 substantive and stylistic matters in the thesis. The author also expresses appreciation to Brigham Young University Studies for permission to incorporate information from his "Changing Patterns of Mormon Financial Administration" into this dissertation. For an expanded treatment of topics relating to non-ward bishops see D. Gene Pace, "The LDS Presiding Bishopric, 1851-1888: An Admini.s.tt^+-ive Study" (M.A. thesis, Brigham Young University, 1978) . 48 Leonard J. Arrington, "The Mormon Tithing House: A Frontier Business Institution," Business History Review 28 (March 1954): 24-25; Pace, 'Changing Patterns of Mormon Financial Administration." 49 At the fall 1851 LDS General Conference John BanJ^s, Alfred Cordon and Nathaniel Felt were approved and ordained as assistant presiding traveling bishops. They continued to be sustained as such at each subsequent General Conference until October 1853. In the April 1852 General Conference five additional men were selected as assistant presiding traveling bishops : Seth Taft, David Pettigrew, Abraham Hoagland, David Fullmer and Daniel Spencer. How long the eight men continued as traveling bishops remains un)cnown, except in the case of Seth Taft, who was formally released at the 1858 General Conference. Journal History, October 6, 1851; April 6, 1852, p. 1; April 7, 1852, p. 1; October 7, 1852, p. 1; April 7, 1853, p. 1; April 11 , 1852 ; Salt LalJoseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History, 1982. For a list of nineteenth-century traveling bishops see Pace, "Changing Patterns of Mormon Financial Administration."

^^Journal History, September 22, 1851, p. 6; Jenson LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 2: 382. Probably the Presiding Bishopric's most influential traveling agent during the 1860's and 1870's was A. Milton Musser. In Musser's 1860 letter of appointment, the First Presidency designated Musser's title as a traveling agent for the General Tithing Office. The terms traveling agent and traveling bishop were apparently used interchangeably in nineteenth-century Utah, and Bishop Musser became well-lcnown as a traveling bishop. Musser ended his service as traveling agent in 1876. Detailed documentation concerning Musser as a traveling agent is found in Pace, "Changing Patterns of Mormon Financial Administration." I"!

Brigham Young, George A. Smith, Daniel H. Wells to Elijah F. Sheets, April 28, 1871, First Presidency Collection, LDS Church Archives; Sheets Collection; Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, 22: 34-35. 52 At a "bishops meeting," held in Salt ake City in 1852, American Fork Bishop Leonard E. Harrington suggested the need for a regional bishop in his area when, after asking about storehouses and the disposition of tithing produce, he "wanted to know if a sectional organization could not be entered into where a number of the neighboring bishops could assemble and make reports to an individual that might be appointed to preside." Harrington's statement is recorded in Bishops Meetings with Presiding Bishop, 1851-84, LDS Church Archives, February 25, 1852. These bishops meetings generally were held every two weeks from 1851 to 1884. In 1865 Traveling Bishop Musser suggested stepping up the use of regional presiding bishops in a letter to Brigham Young. Musser thought "that the interests of the Tithing office and the people would be promoted by making the following blendings and appointing presiding Bishops over them." Musser argued that "it would certainly lessen the labor of the General Tithing office and by having central places of deposit for tithing produce instead of so many small ones, the losses also would, . . . be materially abridged." He then detailed the "blendings" he had in mind and recommended seven men for Brigham Young to consider as regional bishops. Musser's recommendations are found in Musser to Brigham Young, October 2, 1865, First Presidency Collection, LDS Church Archives. For a list of regional presiding bishops see Pace, "Changing Patterns of Mormon Financial Administration." The list was compiled from various sources encountered during research. See bibliography in Pace, "LDS Presiding Bishopric,", pp. 173-79. The names of the final regional presiding bishops appeared in Salt Lake City Deseret Evening News, LDS Church Archives, July 3, 1877.

^^Young's letter to Atwood is cited in Beecher, "The Office of Bishop," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, p. 106. 54 The Salt Lake County wards, twelve percent of the total, have not been ind u e d among the wards which came under the direction of a regional presiding bishop. They apparently required no regional bishop due to their proximity to the Presiding Bishopric and the General Tithing Office. The percentage of settlements under the direction of regional bishops was derived from the list of settlements headed by a local bishop or presiding elder found in Salt Lake City Deseret Evening News, July 3, 1877. 77

^^Brigham Young, George A. Smith, Daniel H. Wells to Elijah F. Sheets, April 28, 1871, First Presidency Collection, LDS Church Archives; Sheets Collection; Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, 22: 34-35.

^^At a "bishops meeting," held in Salt Lake City in 1852, American Fork Bishop Leonard E. Harrington suggested the need for a regional bishop in his area when, after asking about storehouses and the disposition of tithing produce, he "wanted to know if a sectional organization could not be entered into where a number of the neighboring bishops could assemble and make reports to an individual that might be appointed to preside." Harrington's statement is recorded in Bishops Meetings with Presiding Bishop, 1851-84, LDS Churcn Archives, February 25, 1852. These bishops meetings generally were held every two wcoks from 1851 to 1884. In 1865 Traveling Bishop Musser suggested stepping up the use of regional presiding bishops in a letter to Brigham Young. Musser thought "that the interests of the Tithing office and the people would be promoted by making the following blendings and appointing presiding Bishops over them." Musser argued that "it would certainly lessen the labor of the General Tithing office and by having central places of deposit for tithing produce instead of so many small ones, the losses also would, . . . be materially abridged." He then detailed the "blendings" he had in mind and recommended seven men for Brigham Young to consider as regional bishops. Musser's recommendations are found in Musser to Brigham Young, October 2, 1865, First Presidency Collection, LDS Church Archives. For a list of regional presiding bishops see Pace, "Changing Patterns of Mormon Financial Administration." The list was compiled from various sources encountered during research. See bibliography in Pace, "LDS Presiding Bishopric,", pp. 173-79. The names of the final regional presiding bishops appeared in Salt Lake City Deseret Evening News, LDS Church Archives, July 3, 1877.

^^Young's letter to Atwood is cited in Beecher, "The Office of Bishop," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, p. 106. 54 The Salt Lake County wards, twelve percent of the total, have not been indued among the wards which came under the direction of a regional presiding bishop. They apparently required no regional bishop due to their proximity to the Presiding Bishopric and the General Tithing Office. The percentage of settlements under the direction of regional bishops was derived from the list of settlements headed by a local bishop or presiding elder found in Salt Lake City Deseret Evening News, July 3, 1877. 78

55 To modernize spelling, "&c" has been changed to "etc." Clark, ed.. Messages of the First Presidency, 2: 283-95 provides a copy of the entire July 11, 1877 circular of the First Presidency.

^^Brigham Young's promotion of the use of regional bishops is demonstrated by his letter of appointment to Samuel F. Atwood referred to previously.

^^Flora Diana Horne, Autobiography of George Washington Bean, a Utah Pioneer of 1847, and his Family Records (Salt Lake City; tltah Printing Co., 1945). 5 8 John Taylor died on July 25, 1887 after which Wilford Woodruff presided as head of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. For an early explanation of the bishop's agent system see John Taylor's remarks in Salt Lake City Deseret Evening News, January 28, 1878. The original minutes upon which this newspaper account is based is found in Bishops Meetings, January 24, 1878. 59 A comparison of the July 3, 1877 list of regional bishops with a May 17, 1884 list of bishop's agents demonstrates the superior geographical coverage provided by the latter. See Salt Lake City Deseret Evening News, July 3, 1877 and May 17, 1884. For a list of bishop's agents see Pace, "Changing Patterns of Mormon Financial Administration." The list came from a number of sources. For more detailed information regarding sources consulted see the bibliography in Pace "LDS Presiding Bishopric," pp. 173-79.

^^For the Presiding Bishopric's correspondence with their agents see Winder to Bean, June 9, 1888, and Hardy and Burton to Osmond, March 21, 1884, Presiding Bishopric Collection, LDS Church Archives.

^^Edward Hunter to William Paxman, March 17, 1882, Presiding Bishopric Collection, italics in original; Joseph Fish, Journal, LDS Church Archives, December 15, 1882; Edward Hunter to William H. Dame, March 15, 1882, Presiding Bishopric Collection. 6 2 'Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton to Charles Turner, February 9, 1884, Presiding Bishopric Collection; Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, p. 139; William B. Preston to Francis Gunnell, June 20, 1894, Presiuiuy Bishopric Collection; William B. Preston to George Osmond, July 15, 1884, Presiding Bishopric Collection. 79

^^Presiding Bishopric to George C. Parkinson, July 14, 1888, William B. Preston and John R. Winder to James H. Martineau, December 24, 1887, William B. Preston, Robert T. Burton and John R. Winder to R. J. Taylor, December 24, 1887, Presiding Bishopric Collection. Other letters of the same date to bishop's agents are conveniently grouped together in the Presiding Bishopric Collection. The agents in Salt Lake and Davis Stakes actually were not discontinued during this time period. Salt Lake never had one and the Davis agent had been discontinued earlier because of nearness to Salt Lake City. John Taylor to John Q. Cannon, February 12, 1886, First Presidency Collection; William B. Preston and John R. Winder to George Farnsworth, October 2, 1888, Presiding Bishopric Collection. 64 William B. Preston, Robert T. Burton, John R. Winder to Bishops of the several wards in Utah Stakes, January 6, 1888, Presiding Bishopric Collection.

^^Jessie L. Embry, "Grain Storage: The Balance of Power Between Priesthood Authority and Relief Society Autonomy," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 15 (Winter 1982): 59-66. Embry's source for this quotation is Helen Baker and Robert R. France, Centralization and Decentralization in Industrial Relations (Princeton: Industrial Relations Section, Princeton University, 1954) , p. 5. CHAPTER 3

A QUANTITATIVE OVERVIEW OF THE MORMON BISHOPS

Computer technology can be of great benefit to historians, because it allows them to analyze large amounts of data and to arrive at meaningful conclusions about their chosen subjects. Quantitative analysis is particularly valuable in the area of group biography, because it helps the historian summarize information relating to large numbers of individuals. This chapter utilizes quantitative methodology in order to portray the backgrounds of the more than 1,250 nineteenth-century Mormon bishops. It provides a quantitative overview of the bishops in terms of five important areas : place of birth, wealth, occupatir , age, and length of service.

The discussion which follows suggests answers to a number of questions relating to the bishops. How many bishops were born in foreign countries? What implications regarding frontier community leadership are suggested by the large percentage of foreign-born community leaders?

How wealthy were the bishops relative to other Utah males and to American males in general? Did immigrant bishops share equally in the wealth with the American-born men?

30 81

What occupations did the bishops practice most frequently?

How old were they when they began and ended their tenures?

How long did they remain in their positions? What impact did long tenures have on the nature of Mormon community leadership? To what extent did regional variations exist in the background characteristics of the bishops examined?

The answers to such questions are essential to a better understanding of the men who dominated community leadership in the Mormon West.

Birthplace

The Mormon West was a land of opportunity in which numerous foreign-born men became bishops and thus participated more fully in shaping the development of their communities. Birthplace information on 924 of the bishops, extracted from biographical accounts, indicates that about four in ten were born outside of the United States.^

During the nineteenth century immigrants comprised a sizable proportion of the Utah's population. Even so, the high percentage of foreign bishops is impressive, because the percentage of foreign-born residents appearing on the territorial censuses never exceeded 32 percent.^ As with immigrants to the United States before 1880, most immigrant bishops were born in Northern and Western Europe. Of the

924 bishops analyzed, 349 were foreign-born. All but nine of these immigrant bishops were born in that geopgraphical 82 area.^ Sixty-six percent of the immigrant bishops were born in either England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland.^

Bishops from Denmark, Sweden or Norway comprised 29 percent of the immigrant bishops; the remaining foreign-born bishops accounted for only 5 percent of the total.^

Sixty-two percent of the bishops were born in current or future American states. The place of birth for nearly three-quarters of these 575 American-born bishops can be traced to only six different states, with 39 percent of them coming from Utah alone. These Utah-born men, children of parents who had traveled to Utah, formed an important group from which bishops emerged as the century progressed.^ Besides the Utah-born men the largest groups of American-born bishops came from important eastern and midwestern states which figured prominently in early Mormon history. New York, the state in which the Church’s formal organization took place,^ was the birthplace of 11 percent of the nineteenth-century Utah bishops. Illinois and Iowa, the Mississippi River states in which Saints gathered 0 during the Nauvoo years, produced 8 percent and 5 percent of the Utah bishops respectively. Ohio, the home of the 9 temporary Mormon headquarLers at Kir bland, and

Pennsylvania, where Joseph Smith resided while preparing much of the text for the Book of Mormon,each contributed

5 percent of the total number of American-born bishops.

Approximately half of the bishops were born on each side of 83 the Mississippi River.““

The Great Basin offered abundant opportunities for male LDS immigrants to engage in community leadership by becoming bishops. Data from the 1870 Utah territorial census shows that immigrant men fared very well in becoming bishops. In Cache County immigrants outnumbered

American-born bishops. Twenty-three of the 41 bishops then residing in Cache County were foreign-born. In Beaver

County there was an equal number of immigrant and

American-born bishops among the 18 men for whom information was found. In Salt Lake County, also, half of the 64 bishops were immigrants. Combining all counties except

Salt Lake County, American-born bishops comprised 54 percent and immigrant bishops 46 percent of all bishops.

When all 378 bishops on the census are considered, the native bishops again exceed their immigrant counterparts, 12 by a narrow margin of 53 percent to 47 percent.

These figures carry important social implications.

That such a large percentage of immigrants became bishops

implies that they successfully integrated themselves into

Mormon society. The office of bishop provided foreigners with a means of upward social mobility. The prestige attached to ecclesiastical office was especially pronounced

in frontier Utah because of the close relationship between church and state. Ecclesiastical leadership offered

immigrants more than the opportunity to exert narrow 84 religious leadership. As shown in other chapters of this study, in the Mormon settlements bishops received disproportionate opportunities to exercise leadership in their communities. The potential for broad community leadership which the office of bishop extended to the immigrants made the position all the more prestigious for them.

Wea1th

The bishops on average possessed greater wealth than the Utah population in general, suggesting they were men of standing in their communities. According to 187C census information, even immigrant bishops possessed far greater real wealth than other Utah males. Although the mean real wealth of the immigrant bishops fell about $300 below the $1,782 average for United States males, it was more than double the $644 average for Utah males.

Bishops born in the United States had a mean average of $2,988 in real wealth, compared to only $1,492 for the foreign-born bishops. Considering only the overall averages for the two groups of bishops exaggerates the differences between the two. When the men are compared by age groups, the sharp differences in wealth largely disappear. Such a comparison supports the idea that Utah was a land of opportunity for the immigrant men who became bishops. Immigrants in their twenties and thirties in 1870 85 actually held more real wealth than the American bishops.

Those in their forties averaged $1,940 in real wealth, compared to $2,342 for the American men. The foreign-born bishops who were then in their fifties averaged $2,432 and the native bishops $3,033. A major reason why the overall immigrant real wealth average was only half that of the

American men was that the immigrants were younger at the time of the census. Only one immigrant bishop fit the sixty-and-older category, compared to thirty-seven

American-born men, and the sixty-or-older category was the wealthiest of the age divisions. Comparing only bishops between the ages of twenty and fifty-nine reveals that immigrant bishops possessed 91 percent as much real wealth as their American counterparts. This tends to substantiate the finding of economists J. R. Kearl, Clayne L. Pope and

Larry T. Wimmer that "birthplace seems to have played a relatively small role in wealth distribution in the 14 nineteenth-century Utah economy." Likewise, foreign birth does not appear to have hindered men in the higher wealth levels from becoming bishops, regardless of their place of birth.

A subsequent section examines the wealth of bishops in four specific communities— the Salt Lake Eighth and

Thirteenth Wards, Minersville and Richmond— and compares their wealth to United States males, Utah males and other members of their immediate wards or settlements. It is 86 appropriate here, however, to take a more general look at

the bishops who resided in the three counties which contained the four communities.^^

In 1870 the bishops then residing in Salt Lake

County held the most real wealth of the three counties. On

the average (based on the mean) the Salt Lake bishops

possessed real property valued at $3,496, an amount much higher than the averages for Cache and Beaver

Counties— $1,122 and $885, respectively. Using the median average provides a more realistic picture of the bishops'

average wealth, because it is not influenced by the

extremely high amounts of property-holding that skew the

overall distribution. When more extreme cases are

deemphasized in analyzing Cache and Beaver counties, by

using the median, the two counties fare more favorably.

Still, the Cache County median, $598, and the Beaver County

figure, $500, fell below the overall bishops' median of

$790 and even further behind the Salt Lake median of

$2 ,000.

The Salt Lake County bishops' superior wealth

reflected the larger wealth pattern for all Utah heads of

household: Salt Lake County residents possessed

significantly greater wealth than those living outside of

that county. Salt Lake County was the first area settled,

had the largest population, served as church headquarters

and was a regional financial capital. Thus, opportunities 3 7 to acquire wealth in Salt Lake County were greater than in outlyingX.1 • areas. 17

The bishops residing in the three counties possessed more nearly equal amounts of personal wealth.

Unlike real wealth, such as land, houses and other structures, personal property consisted of more temporary personal effects. Beaver County bishops led the three counties in this wealth category with an average personal wealth of $1,475, much higher than the overall bishops' average of $869. The Salt Lake County ward leaders fell slightly below the bishops' figure with an $858 average.

The Cache County bishops placed lowest in personal wealth with $727. In terms of the median average, the personal wealth of the bishops in the three counties was much closer. The bishops living in Beaver County still ranked highest with a median of $500, equalling the overall bishops' average of $499. The Salt Lake County bishops

fell only $17 short of the Beaver County average, while the

Cache County leaders repeated their last place ranking with a $442 median average. The relatively similar personal wealth status of the bishops, as shown by the median, suggests that the oasic differences in wealth between the

Salt Lake County bishops and others lay in the area of real wealth. Salt Lake County was settled roughly a decade prior to Cache and Beaver Counties, and land and buildings

in the Mormon capital undoubtedly had greater value because 1 0 of the county'« prominence."

The bishops in the four communities under consideration possessed greater wealth than the oiher men in their communities. Figures compiled from the 1850 and

1870 Utah territorial censuses clearly show the superior economic status which the bishops enjoyed. According to the 1850 census, which provides real wealth figures, each of the five present or future bishops of the four selected communities exceeded the $201 mean average for adult Utah males. Only two of them reached the $448 overall average for the 130 total bishops who appeared on the census. None of the five men achieved the national real wealth average of $1,001. Addison Everett, the Salt Lake Eighth Ward bishop in 1850, possessed $300 in real wealth, and his successor, Elijah F. Sheets, $600. Edwin D. Woolley and

Millen Atwood, both future Salt Lake Thirteenth Ward bishops, held $500 and $300 in wealth espectively. James

H. Rollins, a future bishop of Minersville, also topped the

Utah average with $350. No Richmond bishop appeared on the census. Comparing the selected bishops' real wealth with that of other men in their same age brackets also reveals their superiority in wealth-holding. Only forty-six-year-old Addison Everett failed to match the 19 average for his age group, by a mere three dollars. 89

In 1870 the average value of the real property held by United States males over twenty was $1,732, the average for Utah males was $644, and bishops' average was $2,295.

Bishop Sheets and Bishop Marriner W. Merrill both exceeded the Utah and national averages, with real wealth of $4,000 and $2,500 respectively. Millen Atwood, not yet a bishop, held $10,000 in real property and, like Sheets, bettered the Utah, national and bishops' averages. Everett, now a former bishop, surpassed the Utah average with $1,500. Of the Salt Lake bishops, only Nelson Empey, a future Salt

Lake bishop, fell below the Utah average with $400. None of the Minersville bishops met the Utah average. Rollins, now a past bishop, owned $600 in real property and Solomon

Walker and George Eyre, both future bishops, $400 and $200.

In terms of their total real and personal wealth, five bishops exceeded the wealth of other men in their age brackets, while three fell short of the Utah average.

Examining the relative wealth of the bishops in their own communities adds yet greater precision to the analysis of their economic status. Tax lists provide an effective way of measuring this relative wealth. On Salt

Lake County tax assessment rolls between 1859 and 1879,

Sheets consistently ranked higher than 90 percent of those in his ward.^^ Woolley ranked higher than 90 percent of those in his ward on assessment rolls between 1853 and

1879. He possessed more wealth than 94 percent in 1853, 90 the year before he became a bishop, more than 91 percent in

1858, and more than 95 percent in 1879. Millen Atwood ranked higher than 90 percent of those in his ward in 1879, 22 two years before he succeeded Wool ley as bishop. Cache

County tax rolls for 1869 place Merrill's wealth higher

than 97 percent of those assessed in Richmond. William L.

Skidmore ranked above 57 percent of those in his ward in

1878, the year before he became a bishop. By 1892 Merrill,

then a former bishop, was the wealthiest person in

Richmond, and Bishop Skidmore ranked higher than 89 percent 23 of the town's inhabitants.

The bishops' possession of greater than average

wealth was important to them as community leaders. It

enabled them to participate easily in the economic

development in the communities and regions in which they

resided. Their relatively large holdings in real property

helped bind them to the localities in which they lived and

gave them a deep interest in community development. Their

wealth also raised their social status and may have added

to their prestige as religious leaders. The Church's

leaders hoped to avoid the division of their people into

antagonistic social classes, but Mormon doctrine clearly

linked righteousness to prosperity. The idea constituted a

major theme in the Book of Mormon, which stated that an

ancient American prophet named Lehi repeated a divinely

decreed promise and ultimatum: "And he [the Lord] hath 91 said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

In addition to the inherited American tendency to admire wealth, Mormons also viewed the prosperity of their bishops as evidence of divine favor.

Occupation

Standing in the community also was measured by the occupation of citizens. According to the 1870 Utah territorial census, farming ranked as the most common profession in Utah, and was practiced by 36 percent of the 25 total heads of household. The bishops included on the

1870 census worked at a variety of occupations, but most were farmers. Sixty-three percent of the 371 bishops for whom occupations were given engaged in farming.Laborers formed the second most common occupational group in Utah in

1870. Nineteen percent of the population were laborers, 27 compared to 5 percent for bishops. None of the Beaver or

Cache County bishops reported the occupation of "laborer."

In Salt Lake County the percentage of bishops who were laborers stood at 6.5 percent. For all counties except

Salt Lake County this percentage was 4.5 percent. Although the social status of farmers varied, the high percentage of bishops who engaged in that occupation suggests that farming constituted a respected vocation in Mormon 92 society.■ . 28

Five percent of the ward leaders also listed their 29 occupation as "bishop." None of the Beaver County bishops gave "bishop" as their occupation and only 3 percent of the Salt Lake County bishops did. In Cache

County 28 percent reported their occupation as "bishop."

These figures are of particular interest, because they show that some bishops perceived their primary occupation as their ecclesiastical position. The varying sizes of their wards, both in terms of geography and of population, placed different demands on the bishops' time. Differences in personal conscientiousness and administrative ability also affected how the bishops regarded their responsibilities.

Nearness to the General Tithing Storehouse in Salt Lake

City and varying duties relating to tithing collection, care and disbursement also helped determine how much time the bishops needed to devote to their obligations. The majority of the 1870 bishops--past, present, and future— did not view their church position as their primary occupation. Such men may not have seen their ecclesiastical calling as their primary occupation in terms of the relative amount of time they devoted to their assignments. They may have perceived themselves as primarily farmers, for instance, and only secondarily as bishops. That most of the bishops reported an occupation other than "bishop" suggests that the bishops constituted 93 30 primarily a lay ministry

A discussion of the ages at which bishops began ard ended their tenures is important, because it provides clues about the maturity of community leadership in the Mormon settlements. An examination of beginning and ending age patterns also helps in determining whether or not newer frontier settlements provided greater leadership opportunities to younger men than regions which had been settled for longer periods of time.

In the nineteenth century, Mormon leaders tended to select younger bishops in the outlying frontier regions than those they chose in Salt Lake County. This implies that younger men found greater opportunities to rise to positions of leadership in Mormon society by settling away from the Mormon capital. Presumably this was true, in part, because younger men were more likely to move to newer frontier settlements than older, more established residents. This same pattern occurred in Puritan society.

Historian Robert V. Mine observed that the youngest of

Puritan settlers were the most likely to colonize new areas. He explained that "the new [settlement] companies, usually the relatively young of a congregation, would select a minister and then petition the legislature for land. 94

The median age at which men became bishops was

forty-one years. In Salt Lake, Cache and Beaver Counties, which contained the four communities this study focuses on, the average beginning age differed from this overall average- In Salt Lake County bishops began their tenures at a median age of forty-four years. In Cache and Beaver

Counties, areas which required colonization, the average beginning age was lower. In Beaver County men became bishops at an average age of forty years. In Cache County bishops began serving at a median age of only thirty-seven.

These comparative figures support the thesis that younger

men received greater leadership opportunities in the newer

frontier regions than in Salt Lake County, the first area

settled.

Comparing Utah bishops with those in Idaho and

Arizona demonstrates that the Utah leaders were generally

older when they began their tenures than the men in the

other two states. One-fourth of the Utah bishops began

their service at age thirty-five or younger. Twenty-nine

percent of the Arizona bishops, and 38 percent of the Idaho

leaders commenced their tenures by age thirty-five. In

Utah, 26 percent of the men were fifty years of age or

older when they became bishops. Older men were not called

as frequently in the two neighboring states. Only 20

percent of the Arizona bishops and 12 percent of the Idaho

bishops began their tenures after age forty-nine. 95

The median age at which bishops were released from their positions was fifty-four years. The Utah bishops retained their positions until a median age of fifty-six years, which exceeded the overall bishops' average and the averages for either the Idaho or Arizona leaders. Idaho bishops ended their tenures at a median age of fifty years.

The Arizona bishops matched the ending age of the Idaho bishops quite closely, terminating their service at a median age of forty-nine years. Utah ward bishops both commenced and ended their service at an older age than their Idaho and Arizona counterparts. These figures indicate that Utah, in general, had older, more experienced leaders than its neighboring territories. They also imply that what competition did exist for leadership positions was keener in Utah than elsewhere. If such was the case, the central church leadership would have found a greater number of qualified community leaders from which to select new bishops in Utah's mure mature settlements than in the two adjacent territories. Such a situation would have allowed the General Authorities to be more selective in choosing new bishops, which would likely have resulted in the selection of men who were somewhat older and more experienced than the Idaho or Arizona bishops. 96

LenqLh of Service

Some bishops served for extremely long periods of time, but such tenures were more the exception than the rule. An analysis of total tenure information available on

1,205 of the 1,262 bishops shows thar slightly more than half maintained their positions for less than ten years.

Twenty-nine percent served for five years or less and 27 percent served from six to ten years. After that the percentages drop off noticeably. Eighteen percent held office for between eleven and fifteen years; 11 percent for sixteen to twenty years; 12 percent for twenty-one to thirty years. Only 3 percent continued as bishop for over thirty years, and service for over forty years was very uncommon. Overall, based on the arithmetic mean, the bishops averaged about eleven years of service. The median, or middle tenure, was about nine years.

The total length of service for ward bishops remained fairly constant for men who began their tenures during different parts of the last half of the nineteenth century. According to the median, bishops who began their tenures during the 1847-1859 period averaged 6.6 years.

The mobility caused by Mormon colonization efforts may have reduced the average tenure for bishops who began their service during that period in particular. In subsequent time periods the median tenure stabilized to a consistent level berween nine and ten years. The bishops who 97 commenced during the 1860-1876 period averaged 9.3 years, while those who started during the 1877-1889 period averaged 9.9 years. The men who began during the 1890-1899 period averaged 9.8 years.

The possibility of serving for an extended period of time increased the potential for charismatic, personalistic leadership in the Mormon communities.

Personalism thrives best in an atmosphere of weak organizational structure and declines as organizational structure becomes institutionalized.^^ In Mormon society community members developed loyalty to their bishops because of the bishops' religious office and personal characteristics. Mormon bishops served for widely divergent lengths of time, ranging up to nearly a half-century. Shorter tenures tended to cause the Saints to perceive their bishops as institutions more than as personalities. Longer tenures persuaded them to view their leaders more in terms of their personal qualities and leadership styles. Remaining in office for indefinite, potentially long periods of time, the nineteenth-century bishops brought more personal influence to their positions than if they had been called to served for definite, short terms. In many wards the bishops' long tenures provided greater opportunities for ward members to develop loyalty and emotional attachment to them personally than if they had served for predetermined short tenures. In Richmond 98 only two men served as bishops during almost the last forty years of the century. In Minersville James McKnight served for over two decades, but his two successors provided a combined service of only about a decade. In the Salt Lake

City Thirteenth Ward, the combined service of three bishops totalled a half-century. In the Salt Lake City Eighth

Ward, Elijah Sheets retained his position for almost that same length of time, longer than any other bishop in the

Church. Perhaps the longer, indefinite tenures of the past century reflected more reliance on charismatic leadership, a practice which became less necessary as

Mormon institutions matured.

Although the average length of service for the nineteenth-century bishops remained consistently long, there was evidence that organizational development broke down personalism by causing bishops to be released from their positions. In 1877 Brigham Young set in motion a

"reorganization" movement which discontinued the use of regional presiding bishops, thus permanently curtailing the personal influence of those influential leaders.

Stronger organizational structure made personal influence more difficult to obtain for their replacements, the bishop's agents. The reorganization movement also resulted in the creation of many new wards, in the selection of many new bishops, and in the release of many bishops. Such a dramatic change, during a time in which organizational 09 standardization received special emphasis, caused 3 8 personalism to decline in many Mormon wards.

Conclusion

The frontier conditions of the Mormon West in the mid-nineteenth century, especially the availability of land, allowed men to attain positions of community leadership, which they could hold, potentially, for many years. Approximately six out of ten Mormon bishops were born in America, and virtually all of the immigrant bishops came from northern or western European countries. Not only did the immigrant bishops receive substantial ecclesiastical leadership opportunities, but they also achieved almost the same levels of wealth as the

American-born leaders. The bishops' wealth permitted them to invest in community development, which enhanced their image as community leaders. The bishops were primarily farmers, although they engaged in a number of different occupational fields. Some considered their main occupation to be their church position. Bishops who served in areas outside of Salt Lake County began their tenures at a younger age than the Salt Lake County men, suggesting that the newer frontier settlements offered greater leadership opportunities to younger men than did the Mormon capital.

The analysis of issues relating to birthplace, wealth, occupation, age and length of service points out that 100 considerable variations existed among the nineteenth-century Mormon bishops. They came from diverse locations, possessed varying amounts of wealth, engaged in a variety of occupations, and began and ended their service at different ages. Regional variations also existed.

There was no "typical" Mormon bishop during the 1847-1900 period, just as there was there was a no "typical" Mormon.

Nevertheless, as a group the bishops differed in some respects from the general LDS population. They possessed greater wealth, engaged more frequently in farming, and attained greater social status than other

Mormon men. Although their backgrounds varied, their common ecclesiastical calling bound them together as an important group, and, as will be shown in subsequent chapters, gave them opportunities to play major roles in molding the political, economic and social development of the Mormon settlements in the American West. 101

Notes

^United States, as used here, includes areas which had not yet achieved statehood status. The computer software package used for quantitative analysis in this dissertation is Norman N. Nie et al. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, 2nd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book C o ., 1975) .

^According to United States Bureau of the Census figures the percentage of immigrarxts in Utah was 17.5 in 1850, 31.7 in 1860, 30.8 in 1870, 30.6 in 1880, and 19.4 in 1900. The Census Bureau did not give figures for Utah Territory in 1890. A convenient summary of the information concerning immigrants on these and other Utah censuses is found in Douglas D. Alder, "The German-speaking Immigration to Utah, 1850-1950," (M.A. thesis. University of Utah, 1959), Appendix G, pp. 124-134.

^Of of the nine exceptions seven were born in Canada. The other two were born in Dilerburg, Prussia and Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, both of which came under the western European influence. 4 This figure includes the Isle of Man and the Island of Jersey,

^Summary information regarding birthplace is provided in the following table : 102

Country or State of Birth for Nineteenth-Century Utah Mormon Bishops Country or State of Birth Frequency

Foreign England 166 Denmark 79 Scotland 42 Sweden 16 Wales 16 Switzerland 7 Ireland 6 Norway 5 Canada 5 Germany 3 New Brunswick 2 So.Africa 1 Prussia 1

1 foreign 349 (37.8%]

United States East of Mississippi River 295 West of Mississippi River 280

Total United States 575 (62.2%)

Total foreign and U.S. 924 (100%)

The total for England includes three bishops who were born in either in the Isle of Man or the Island of Jersey.

^Utah was the only western state from which any significant number of bishops came. California, Texas and Wyoming contributed only two bishops each.

^A1len and Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, p. 47.

^Ibid, pp. 139-172. 9 Ibid, p. 62.

Ibid, pp. 40-45. 103

^^There were 51.3 percent born east of the Mississippi River and 48.7 percent to the west.

^^This 47 percent immigrant figure for the 1870 census is somewhat higher than the 38 percent immigrant figure referred to previously, which was derived from biographical information on 924 men. One major reason why the 1870 census may have indicated a higher immigrant level than the percentage for the 1847-1900 period as a whole is that the census did not contain information on the large group of Utah-born bishops. Too young to appear on the census as heads of household in large numbers, t exclusion probably drove the 1870 immigrant percentage up. Only two men, comprising one-half of one percent of the 3 78 bishops appearing on the census as heads of household, were born in Utah.

^^Information regarding place of birth for the nineteenth-centr / bishops is provided in the following table :

County Foreign

SL 50% (64)

Cache 56% (41)

Beaver 67% (21)

Non-SL 46% (314)

Total 47% Bps. on (378) Census 14 J.R. Kearl, Clayne L. Pope, and Larry T. Wimmer, "Household Wealth in a Settlement Economy: Utah, 1850-1870," Journal of Economic History 40 (September 1980): 496.

^^The source for the Utah andUnited States figures was Ibid. No number ofcases, N, appeared in the table from which these averages were ta)<.en. Regarding the information, these authors wrote, "The sample procedures are such that the means . . . for United States are based on all males over age 20 and the Utah data are based on all 104 male heads of household over age 20." Their source for United States wealth was Lee Soltow, Men and Wealth In the U.S.f 1850-1870 (New Haven, 19 75). Any man who began serving as a bishop during the 1847-1900 period was included in the bishop categories, regardless of whether or not he was a bishop in 1870.

^^The 1870 Utah territorial census provides the data upon which the conclusions in this analysis are based. This census included real wealth information on 338 men who at some time served as a bishop by the year 1900. It supplied personal wealth data on 339 bishops. Even though not all of these men necessarily served as bishops in 1870, the census data supplies helpful information concerning their wealth. It also gives some idea of regional variations between the Salt Lake, Cache and Beaver Counties, although the places of residence given for the bishops on the census were not necessarily the same as the locations in which they served as bishops. The analysis of census information is derived from computer printouts which summarize the census data. The author received these through the generous cooperation of Professors Kearl, Pope and Wimmer of Brigham Young University. The author also gratefully acknowledges the funding for the quantitative work in this and other chapters which was provided by the Instruction and Research Computer Center of The Ohio State University.

^^Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter's belief that it was cheaper to live outside of Salt Lake City suggests that prices were higher in Salt Lake county than elsewhere. See the section entitled "Relocation," in chapter 8 of this dissertation. Hunter's opinion is especially valuable because of his prominent position in Mormon financial administration and his awareness of commodity prices and economic conditions in the various settlements. The census information indicates that wages in the city were also higher than in other areas. Kearl, Pope and Wimmer found that "a household alike in all respects that we can measure except place of residence and located in the set of counties nearest to Salt Lake County would have expected wealth of only 59 percent of that of the control group. For those in the outer ring of counties, the expected household wealth is about 64 percent of that of the control group. These differences obviously are substantial." Their "control group is composed of households with male heads who are farmers, born in the northern United States, living in Salt Lake County and appearing only in the 1870 Census." See Kearl, Pope, and Wimmer, pp. 488-90. Information regarding the bishops' real wealth is summarized in the following table: 105

Real Wealth For Bishops Of Selected Counties On 1870 Utah Territorial Census County Mean Median N S.D. V

Beaver 885 500 17

Cache 1122 598 39 1420 1.27

SL 3496 2000 54 4519 1.29

All 2295 796 338 6323 2.75 Bishops

Mean and median are approximated to the nearest dollar. The standard deviation, S.D., measures the degree of clustering around the mean. The coefficient of variability, abbreviated "V" in the table heading, consists of the quotient resulting from the division of the standard deviation by the mean. "V" is a particularly useful measure because standard deviation and mean increase as larger numbers are used, whereas the ratio which "V" provides is a relative percentage that standardizes dispersion information. Values for "V" which are larger than one, such as those in this table, suggest a wide range of wealth levels. In such cases, the median often gives a more realistic average. Information left blank on the census was treated as missing data, not as an amount of zero dollars. This increased the compatability between the figures concerning bishops and Utah heads of household in general, since Kearl, Pope and Wimmer followed the same methodology. 18 The following table provides a summary of the preceeding details along with additional personal wealth information: 10(5

Personal Wealth For Bishops of Selected Counties On 1870 Utah Territorial Census County Mean Median N S.D. V.

Beaver 1475 500 18

Cache 727 442 38 939 1.29

SL 858 483 53 1628 1.9 0

All 869 499 339 1285 1.48 Bishops 19 Wealth data for individual from the compilation of Utah territorial census information by Kearl, Pope and Wimmer. I assumed Mellea Atwood on the census to be a misspelling of Millen Atwood. Birthplace, profession and age entries closely paralleled information given in Andrew Jenson's biographical sketch of Atwood, See Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:633-34. Comparative information comes from Kearl, Pope, and Wimmer, "Household Wealth,", pp. 483-84. These authors used mean wealth as their average measure. They stated that "the means . . . for [the] United States are based on all males over age 20 and the Utah data are based on all male heads of household over age 20." Their information for the United States came from Lee Soltow. Men and Wealth. The men were grouped by age in ten year blocks: 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and over 70.

^^The sources for the information on 1870 are the same as those for 1850. The age categories were modified to 20-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, and over 65. Combined real and personal wealth were used in the figures for the various age groups. Andriun Everett was assumed to be Addison Everett because age, birthplace, current place of residence and occupation are all reasonable. See his 1850 census entry and Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:702. Neils Empy was considered to be Nelson A. Empey since the entries for birthplace, profession and age match biographical information given in Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:726. Only Empey's real wealth of $400 was given in the census, which by itself did not equal the $657 average for his age group. Empey was included among the three men mentioned in the text as falling short of the average combined real and personal wealth for their age divisions. His inclusion among these three bishops needs some qualification since blank data, entries were regarded as missing data in the overall bishops' averages used in 107

this study.

^^Salt Lake County Tax Assessment Records, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City; 1859, 1866, 1874, 1879. This analysis included only those whose property value was given, and no differentiation was made between LndLviduals and businesses. Sheets was wealthier than 91 percent of his ward in 1859, 90 percent in 1866, 96 percent in 1874, and 96 percent in 1879. Additional evidence of Sheets' wealth is found in Sheets Collection, folder 9, which includes a list of property under the heading "Statcmeni of Property belonging to E. F. Sheets."

22 Salt Lake County Tax Assessment Records; 1853, 1858, 1879. In this analysis an attempt was made to exclude businesses. Entries with "Est" after a name were included, based on the assumption that that the three letters stood for the estate of a deceased person. The rankings for 1853 and 1879 are based on the combined taxes assessed rather than on total wealth figures. On the 1858 tax roll, Woolley's wealth is given as $4,020. A subsequent entry, not included in the ranking, listed the value of merchandise for E. D. Woolley & Co. at $8,88 1. 23 Cache County Tax Assessment Records, Utah State Archives; 1869, 1878, 189 2. Entries with "Est" following a name were included in the ranking while businesses were not. Additional evidence regarding the financial status of Merrill and Skidmore is found in ibid.; 1870, 1872, 1873, 1876 and each year from 1879 to 1891. 24 Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 1:20. Other Book of Mormon references which relate righteousness and prosperity include 1 Nephi 2:20, 2 Nephi 1:9, Jaiom 1:9, Mosiah 1:7, Alma 37:13 and Alma 50:20. 25 The four leading occupational categories and their accompanying percentages were farmers (36.2), laborers (18.6), craftsmen (13.2) and "at home" (13). See Table 3, entitled "Characteristics of Utah Households in 1870 Census," Kearl, Pope and Wimmer, p. 487. The number of valid cases, N, was 19,137.

have attempted to include men with an occupational description very closely related to that of "farmer". I have not included "f labor" or "f 1" in this figure.

27 I have included only the category of "laborer" in the 5 percent figure and have not included other possibly-related categories, such as "d labor," "farm 108 labor," or "f 1." 2 8 Kearl, Pope and Wimmer found that in 1870 farmers possessed a mean total wealth of $1,139, compared to only $321 for laborers, which supports the idea that farmers had a higher social status than laborers. See Kearl, I’ope, and Wimmer, ibid. 29 The 5 percent figure includes one case in which two occupations were listed, the first of which was "bishop." I have assumed that the bishops personally reported their occupations to the census takers. If only the bishops who were actually serving in 1870 were considered, the percentage would be much higher. Even assuming that the number of 1870 bishops were 101, the number of wards that existed prior to the 1877 "reorganization" movement, the percentage would be 19. The percentage of currently-serving bishops who claimed "bishop" ao theii occupation was likely even higher than 19, since the number of IE 70 wards was probably less than the number of 1877 units. See William G. Hartley, "The Priesthood Reorganization of 1877: Brigham Young's Last Achievement," Brigham Young University Studies 20 (Fall 1979) : 32. 3C The following tables provide summary information regarding the most common cccupationc of nineteenth-century bishops who appeared on the 1870 census.

Most Frequent Occupations Of Mormon Bishops in Utah, 1870 Occupation Frequency Percent

Farmer 232 62.5

Bishop 19 5.1

Laborer 18 4.9

Carpenter 11 3.0

Other 91 24 . 5

Total 371 100.0 109

Most Frequent Occupations Of Mormon Bishops in Beaver County, 1870 Occupation Frequency Percent

Farmer 14 73.7

Other 5 26.3

Total 19 100.0

None listed their occupation as bishop.

Most Frequent Occupations Of Mormon Bishops in Cache County, 1870 Occupation Frequency Percent

Farmer 26 66.7

Bishop 11 28.2

Other 2 5.1

Total 39 100.0 110

Most Frequent Occupations Of Mormon Bishops in Salt Lake County, 1870 Occupation Frequency Percent

Farmer 24 38.7

Carpenter 5 8.1

Laborer 4 6.5

Bishop 2 3.2

Other 27 43.5

Total 62 100.0

The occupation of "bishop" was included because of its particular relevance to this study. Other occupations also had the same frequency but were grouped under the "other" category because of their low percentage of the total.

Most Frequent Occupations Of Mormon Bishops in All Utah Counties Except Salt Lake County, 1870 Occupation Frequency Percent

Farmer 208 67.3

Bishop 16 5.2

Laborer 14 4.5

Other 71 23.0

Total 309 100.0

^^See Mine, Community on the American Frontier, pp. 36-37. 3 2 Summary information regarding age at the beginning of the bishops' tenures is found in the following table : Ill

Age At Beginning For All Bishops And County Mean Median N S. D. V

All 42.351 41.328 919 10.176 .24

SL 44.845 44.143 129 9.989 . 22

Cache 39.277 37.250 47 9.530 .24

Beaver 40.313 39.500 16 9.053 .23

The following table summarizes information concerning the beginning ages of nineteenth-century bishops :

Beginning Age For All Bishops And For Selected States Age Categories State -35 36-41 42-49 50- Tot.% N

Utah 24.6% 22.6 27.3 25.6 100.1 696

Idaho 37.7 27.9 22.1 12.3 100.0 122

Ariz, 28.9 26.7 24.4 20.0 100.0 45

All 26.6 24.0 26.4 23.0 100.0 919

Total percentage for Utah is 100.1 age range figures. 34 Salt Lake and Cache County bishops both ended their tenures at a median age of 57 years, but the Salt Lake County bishops established a slightly greater mean average, 58 years, compared to 56 years for the Cache County men. Beaver County bishops ended their tenures younger, at a median age of 50 years. Their mean ending age was a similar 50 years. Excluding the Salt Lake County bishops, all of the other Utah, Idaho and Arizona leaders combined ended their tenures at a median age of 54 years, and a mean average of 54 years also. The Beaver County leaders, who generally began at a younger age than the Salt Lake County bishops, also ended their service at a younger age than the bishops from that county. Beginning at an age nearer to that of the Cache County bishops, the Beaver County men served shorter tenures and ended their service at a younger age than the Cache County leaders. More detailed information regarding ending age of bishops in the various geographical units spoken of is summarized in the following tables: 112

Age At End Of Tenure For Selected States And For All Bishops Combined Group Mean Median N S. D. V

Utah 55.681 55.500 692 12.846 .23

Idaho 50.607 50.100 122 11.844 .23

Ariz. 51.156 49.000 45 13.275 .26

All 54.545 54.214 914 12.750 .23

Age At End Of Tenure For Selected Counties Group Mean Median N S. D. V

SL 58.316 56.750 133 14.055 .24

Cache 55.872 56.800 47 12.909 .23

Beaver 50.235 49.750 17 10.686 .21

Non-SL 53.903 53.984 781 12.410 .23

^^The following table provides more detailed summary information concerning the four periods mentioned in the text:

Length Of Tenure For Nineteenth-Century Mormon Bishops Who Began Their Service During Selected Time Periods

Period Years Mean Median N S. D. V

I 1847-1859 11.454 6.583 108 11.910 1.04

II 1860-1876 12.353 9.250 116 9.856 .80

III 1877-1889 11.939 9.938 527 8.439 .71

IV 1890-1899 10.747 9.795 375 6.659 .62

The bishops' tenures showed less deviation from the mean as the century progressed. As shown in the table, both the standard deviation, S. D ., and the coefficient of variability, V, declined over time, suggesting greater stability in lengths of service. 113

^^The word "personalism", as used here, connotes an emphasis on a leader's personality, as opposed to his position. 3 7 Hartley, "Priesthood Reorganization of 1877," p. 20. 3 8 Hartley found that in 1877, 101 old wards continued and 140 new wards were established. Only 56 men were retained as bishops while 185 new bishops were selected. This number of new bishops included new ward leaders as well as men who had been presiding in the capacity of either "acting bishop" or "presiding elder." See ibid., p. 32. Such a drastic change in ward leadership personnel certainly caused a decline in the overall personalism of the ward bishops, which supports the contention that organizational development caused personalism to decrease. CHAPTER 4

THE BISHOPS IN POLITICS

The bishops' presence in numerous settlements allowed them to stimulate the development of relatively uniform political behavior throughout the ever expanding

Mormon frontier. Because of their prominence in Mormon

society, the bishops helped make the Mormon Church a powerful political force in Territorial Utah.

Nineteenth-century Mormon bishops engaged in political activity in two major ways. First, they used their ecclesiastical positions to encourage desired political behavior in their congregations. Second, they participated

personally in civic affairs. This chapter analyzes the bishops' political leadership by examining how they promoted political activity through religious channels.

The chapter presents case studies of the bishops' direct

political involvement in three settlements and provides an overview of the political activity of all bishops during

selected years.

114 115

Ecclesiastical Politics

Mormon meetings, particularly those involving the priesthood leadership, dealt with political affairs.

Mormon leaders frequently took part in a wide variety of matters which would not normally be cons’'^ered spiritual.

Canals, tax collection, urban improvement, and railroads were all subjects discussed in church meetings, although each was civic in nature. Mormons drew no fine

jurisdictional lines between spiritual and civic matters,

for they viewed both as part of kingdom building. Not only

did Mormon leaders sometimes convert their meetings into

quasi-political forums by dealing with such issues, but

they also directly addressed the subject of politics.

Sometimes those taking minutes at church meetings

merely noted that politics had been discussed, without

elaborating on the content of the remarks. "Spoke upon the

subject of politics"^ or "political questions were

discussed"^ are examples of brief remarks which leave much

unsaid. More descriptive entries in church minutes show

that the substance of many statements made from the pulpit

or in leadership sessions concerned political elections.

At an 1862 bishops meeting, Bishop Leonard W. Hardy, of the

Presiding Bishopric, encouraged the bishops to see that the

brethren in their wards voted "that there may be a full

vote recorded."^ In 1876 Bishop Robert T. Burton, of the

Presiding Bishopric, "hoped the Bishops would stir up the 116 people" concerning the importance of an upcoming election.

Following an 1877 election, Presiding Bishop Edward lluntf'r sought to learn the extent of voting in the various wards when he inquired at a bishops meeting if "a reasonable vote" had been cast.^ In 1880 Bishop Hardy "made a stirring appeal to the Bishops to wake up the people to vote next Monday at the Election."^

The ward bishops followed the example of their superiors in promoting voter turnout at the local level.

At an Eighth Ward teachers meeting, Bishop Elijah F. Sheets asked the men present to be sure "the folks were urged to go to the polls and vote. In 1885, after expressing his satisfaction with the voter response at the previous school trustee election. Sheets "urged the teachers to he as vigilant as before in getting the people to vote."^ The following year Richmond Bishop William L. Skidmore instructed a ward teachers meeting to inform "the pec" ?" g concerning an election the next day. Skidmore seemed to equate appropriate voting with fulfilling religious duties.

Referring to the next day's election, Skidmore told a general ward congregation in 1892 to

not act unwisely in electing our city officers. Do not let it be said of us that we claim the name of Latter-day Saints, and at the same time not live as Saints should live, and do the works of a saint. Let us endeavor to do all that lays in our power to help roll on the work of God.9 117

Bishops encouraged a full voter turnout, although

prior to the establishment of the opposition Liberal Party

in 1870 the number of voters made no difference in tho

final outcome. During this period Mormons voted to demonstrate their loyalty to the candidates which high-ranking church officials had selected, a practice

paralleling the Mormon custom of "sustaining" church 10 officials in religious meetings." Presiding Bishop Edward

Hunter explained that "the only reason for all this is

simply to shew to God, angels and men that we are willing

to act as a unit to do our duties.In his doctoral dissertation on Utah territorial politics, Ronald C. Jack

concluded that in the 1847-74 period every candidate which

the Mormon leadership "approved or selected" succeeded in 12 gaining office.

As long the Mormons voted primarily to demonstrate

unity and not to decide the outcome of an election there

was little need for the bishops to tell their congregations

how to vote. In 1870 two new parties entered politics: the

anti-Mormon Liberal Party and the Mormon-dominated People's

Party.Even so, telling the people how to vote was not

as important as simply getting congregations to the polls,

since the arrival of Mormons at the polls generally

guaranteed a vote for the People's Party during the 187C's

and 1880's. Bishop Skidmore, a delegate and nominating

committee member at an 1883 People's Party county 1.1 8

14 convention, realized this. On Sunday, August 5, 1883

Skidmore looked for and found tickets for the next day's election.The following day, after turning the tickeLs over to the election judge, Skidmore, like a political boss, "spent the day in watching the polls and bringing people to vote, with my team and buggy." The flag flew, and a band attempted to inspire voting with its music.

In 1876 the pro-Mormon Salt Lake Daily Herald reasoned that the voters were familiar with the People's Party candidate and although "we have no question of their election . . . we ask all to vote."^"^

In the 1870's the Mormon versus Gentile political power struggle included a battle over the marked ballot.

Gentiles, upset with Mormon political domination in Utah, pushed to abolish the marked, non-secret ballot which a

Mormon-controlled legislature had voted into law in 1853.

The law assigned the senior justice-of-the-peace to serve as his precinct's election judge, to provide a ballot box and stationary, and to appoint an election clerk. The 1853 act also provided that the justice take each previously folded ballot and number it. Following the placement of the vote in the ballot box, the clerk was to note the elector's name and vote number.Supporters of the system maintained that by numbering votes any illegal ballots could be removed without jeopardizing the election's integrity as a whole. Opponents argued that the system 119 provided church leaders with the means of discovering who 19 supported the church ticket. in 1878 the Gentiles finally won their battle to abolish the marked ballot.

In this affair the Gentiles directed their attack in part at the bishops, who promoted Mormon block voting, served at times as justices-of-the-peace, and assisted in nominating candidates and administering elections. In 1866 Pr<^."iding

Bishop Edward Hunter announced at a bishops meeting that the tickets for an upcoming election would be available to the bishops for distribution to the men in their respective wards.At an 1876 bishops meeting, A. Milton Musser informed the bishops of "a caucus meeting of the leading men of this county" at which nominations would be made "for the precincts of this city and county." The bishops received an invitation to attend.

During the 1880"s the national government passed legislation aimed at eliminating Mormon polygamy. In spite of the increased pressure on them, most polygamists refused to abandon what they viewed as a divinely sanctioned practice. The Edmunds-Tucker Act, passed by the Congress in 1887, went beyond trying to abolish Mormon polygamy and sought to wrest both economic and political control from the Church. The measure withdrew legal recognition of the

Church as a corporation, and limited the Church's property ownership to $50,000, demanding that any holdings above that amount be forfeited to the national government. The 120 legislation seriously curtailed Mormon political rights.

It prohibited men who refused to pledge in writing that they would adhere to and support the federal legislation aimed at abolishing polygamy from voting, serving in public office, or acting as jurors. The Edmunds-Tucker Act also withdrew the voting privileges of all Utah women.

Following the anti-polygamy pressures against the Church in the 1880's and the discontinuation of the People's Party in

1891, the Mormons divided along national party lines.

Because neither the Republican or Democratic Parties constituted an official church party as the People's Party had, bishops needed to approach the subject of politics 2 3 with greater caution than in earlier years.

In the 1890's bishops sought to avoid antagonizing their congregations with partisan political comments. On an election day in 1891, Bishop Skidmore noted in his journal that "some men seem bereft of all reason and past 24 getting cranky over politics." Six days later he expressed his wish at a church meeting that "the People would let the subject of Politics rest for awhile, and live 25 their religion." Skidmore exercised caution in persuading others to back a particular party. Following the Church's decision to dissolve the People's Party and divide along traditional party lines in order to increase

Utah's chances for statehood, priesthood leaders received counsel not to influence voters to support any given 121

party. By altering their political stance, Church

leaders did not intend to eliminate their political

influence.

Their new, more orthodox, position allowed the bishops a realistic means of exerting their influence

through more acceptable political channels. Bishop

Skidmore resolved to adhere to the Church's political

policy and for over a year refused to advise anyone concerning party affiliation. Having thus provided others

"ample time to study politics and act upon their own agency," Skidmore wrote, "I do not hesitate longer to show my colors and declare myself a democrat." Accordingly, he publicly declared his preference and wore a democratic 27 badge on his coat. Bishop Henry Ballard, of Logan, Utah, described his experience, which underlined the need for ecclesiastical restraint in an era of political turmoil:

Sunday evening I spoke in my ward meeting asking the Brethren to be fair toward each other at the election the following day and repudiated the hard speeches which had been indulged in at times and as I had not taken any hand in either party, only my feelings run with the Democrats but never made it known by using any influence for that party, yet at the close of the meeting I was violently assailed by two of my Brethren, . . . leaders of the Republicans in my Ward, for what I had said."28

Ballard lamented that the Republicans won the next day "by much scheming and all the Liberals who is [sic] the 29 apostate element joining them." lz!2

Political contention arose among Salt Lake City residents, causing concern among ward bishops, who viewed differences over politics as a threat to church unity.

Thirteenth Ward Bishop Nelson A. Empey spoke about political division in October, 1894 and asked his ceachers^^ "to be on their guard and let no such feelings affect them. The following July, Empey told his teachers to instruct ward members not to allow hard 3 2 feelings to arise because of politics. In October, with an election at hand, Empey again warned against politically motivated bad feelings.Elijah Sheets of Salt Lake

City's Eighth Ward also disliked the political contention which accompanied the introduction of national party politics into Utah. At the Sunday afternoon meeting held

September 15, 1895 Sheets "advised all not to go wild over politics" and encouraged his congregation "to vote for the best men" regardless of party. Reflecting his dismay over excessive political fervor, he instructed his ward members to seek the kingdom of God first, commenting that had the present meeting been political rather than religious "the

House would ue filled.

Due to the large number of immigrants in the Mormon

West, leaders often encouraged naturalization, which, in turn, increased the number of eligible Mormon voters.

Noting that an election day was near. Presiding Bishop

Edward Hunter instructed the Salt Lake area bishops in 1866 123 to oversee the attainment of citizenship status by those who were not yet citizens.In 1869 the first transcontinental railroad was completed in Utah; and, while

Mormon leaders welcomed the advent of the railroad, they simultaneously took steps to maintain their political control in the area.^^ Several 1869 Bishops Meetings reflected this concern for continued political dominance by dealing with the politically important subject of naturalization. On September 30 George A. Smith, a member of the Church's First Presidency noted his "great anxiety .

. . for every man in Zion to be naturalized, to become

American Citizens" in order to qualify to vote. Smith worried lest "the time may soon come when it will be a test with us in the counting of votes." He charged the bishops to learn the citizenship status of the men in their respective wards and to encourage non-citizens to become naturalized. Two weeks later the subject of naturalization again received attention at the bishops 3 8 meeting. At the next meeting Presiding Bishop Hunter spoke about naturalization and learned that the bishops

"had thoroughly canvassed their wards" finding out who was still not naturalized and in most cases obtaining a 3 9 commitment to deal with the matter promptly. During the politically difficult 1880's the concern for naturalization of immigrants for voting purposes continued. Bishop A. A.

Kimball gave this account of his determined effort to 124 encourage naturalization in his community in 1882:

Arose sick not able to work but spent the forenoon in hunting up our citizens who had not taken out their citizenship papers to have t'nem go to Beaver District Court to get their papers. By noon had found ten or eleven and started them right off so they could vote at the coming election. I had to furnish three of them money to go with.40

In the mining community of Pleasant Valley, Bishop

T. J. Parmley encouraged his teachers at an 1889 priesthood meeting to advise immigrants arriving "from the old countries" about the importance of obtaining American 41 citizenship and to teach them the required procedure.

Political Officeholdinq in Three Settlements

In the Mormon West bishops often filled political offices in their communities. The bishops of Salt Lake

City, Richmond and Minersville engaged in a wide range of political activities. A detailed examination of these areas reveals that the bishops repre^rcntod their communities in the territorial legislature as well as in local civic bodies.

Bishops James H. Rollins of Minersville, Edwin D.

Woolley of the Salt Lake Thirteenth Ward, and Marriner W.

Merrill of Richmond each served in the territorial legislature, which consisted of lower and upper houses, called the House and the Council. Rollins served only a single term in the legislature. As a member of the House, 125 he represented both Beaver and Piute counties. Despite his brief legislative career, Rollins typified the legislative involvement of Mormon bishops as a group. The limited number of legislative seats prohibited continuous participation by each community bishop. Even so, the brief tenures of Rollins and many other bishops added up to an impressive amount of legislative activity. Bishop Woolley proved an exception to the rule. One of the Church's most prominent bishops, Woolley represented his constituency eight times in the House.Woolley began his legislative career by serving in two sessions prior to his ordination as bishop in 1854. After completing his first session in

1851-52 , Wool ley achieved what would have been a sweeping political victory in a non-Mormon political setting. In territorial Utah his "landslide" merely demonstrated the typical Mormon bloc vote. After being nominated unanimously by 1,400 persons, Woolley went on to win the 43 election by receiving 241 of 242 votes cast. After becoming bishop, Woolley received all but two of the 306 votes cast in the 1855 election and subsequently served in 4 4 the 1855-56 lower house. Beginning with the 1858-59 session and ending with the 1865-66 meeting, he served eight consecutive terms in the House, consistently winning 45 by large majorities. Following the 1865-66 legislative 46 session. Wool ley refused further nomination. 126

Bishop Merrill represented Cache and Rich Counties in the legislature. Merrill served in the House in 1874, while bishop of Richmond, and then in the Council in 18 80, 47 the year following his release as bishop. In the 1874 session Merrill served on the Indian affairs, revenue, and 48 unfinished business committees. The 1874 legislators met: with resistance from the territorial governor, who vetoed 49 about two-thirds of the bills they passed. Serving with a number of other bishops in the Mormon-dominated 1874 session, Merrill realized that the federally appointed governor could check the free rein Mormon legislators otherwise might have enjoyed to pass legislation for their constituents. As a member of the Council in 1880, Merrill served as chairman of the railroad committee, an appropriate position for one who played an important rolo in Utah's railroad development. In addition, Merrill served on elections, penitentiary, petitions and memorials, and militia committees.

Although many bishops served in the territorial legislature, the bishops' political activity centered mainly upon affairs in their own communities. Merrill was a central figure in Richmond, where he became the first postmaster in 1864, a position he held for two decades.^"

He increased his civic involvement by assuming the duties of Cache County selectman from 1872 to 1879, a position which he used to further the development of Richmond and 127 his county in general. Cache County courthouse records

indicate that Selectman Merrill made motions to appropriais

funds to help the town of Hyrum build a canyon road, t;o

"anchor and secure Bear River bridge," to consolidate

Logan's school districts, to organize a Benson school district, and to help defray county fair expenses. Each of

the motions was approved. The records do not always

specify which public officials pressed for the passage of different measures. Considering Merrill's interests and

his hometown, several decisions seem to have received his backing. In 1873, the Utah Northern Railroad received a

$4,000 appropriation. That same year a $500 appropriation

for a road between Richmond and Weston was granted with the

stipulation that Merrill direct the expenditures. The

courthouse records also contain a vague reference to

another 1873 measure involving a road between Merrill's

hometown and Smithfield. In 1875 a road appropriation of

$231 was authorized "for making a road on Cub River near

Richmond." The same day the "County Road Commissioner

[was] directed to locate [a] road south of Richmond field

running west to Bear River." An entry dated July 6, 1876

dealt with the consolidation of Richmond's school districts

into a single unit. In 1877 two larger appropriations

involved Richmond, and at least one concerned Selectman

Merrill directly. On June 4 a $1,000 appropriation for a

"County road from Logan to Territory line north of 128

Richmond" received approval. On September 3 the court appointed Merrill "to oversee and direct" a $940 52 expenditure for Richmond roads. Merrill's successor as bishop of Richmond, William Skidmore also served in civic positions. In 1876 Skidmore began two years of service as a justice-of-the-peace. He also served as a city 54 councilor.

Minersville bishops also left their mark on community affairs. Prior to moving to Minersville, Bishop

Rollins served in San Bernardino, California in various public capacities. In 1854 Rollins won election as San

Bernardino's city treasurer.Rollins' autobiography indicates that he had to win a more traditional political battle than him Mormon counterparts in Utah. Rol''.ins noted that in 1857 he was elected assessor for San Bernardino,

"notwithstanding the opposition.After moving to

Minersville, Rollins continued his public service. On

March 5, 1860 the Beaver County Court ordered that Rollins assume the office of selectman upon his predecessor's resignation.Like Bishop Merrill, of Richmond, Bishop

Rollins served as postmaster for his community. He acted as postmaster from 1864 to 1880, allowing his own home to double as a post office.Both the post office and

Rollins' salary grew in importance as time passed.

Initially Rollins earned $12 per year for his services, which was raised "year by year," according to Rollins, 129 until he received $240 in 1872. Mail business increased, because mining districts which opened up in other areas relied on Minersville as their central office. Each day,

Rollins explained, "four horse coaches" traveled "from Salt

Lake to Pioche." As postmaster at the Minersville station,

Rollins received business from stages going "either way" 5 9 and "distributed for Beaver and all mails going south."

Rollins served in at least one other civic office, that of notary public.

James McKnight, Rollins' successor as bishop of

Minersville, also engaged in public service. The establishment of a town board accompanied the incorporation of Minersville, and McKnight became the board's first president. As a member of that body he served with another future Minersville bishop, Solomon Walker.At the regional level, McKnight twice held the position of county 62 commissioner.

On March 12, 1849, Bishop Addison Everett of the

Eighth Ward was elected as a justice-of-the-peace for Salt

Lake City. Everett possessed the major quality needed to win the election; he was a bishop. At least seventeen of the nineteen justices elected in 1849 also served as bishops in that year. Even the two exceptions verged on meeting the main criterion for election. The Salt Lake

Fifth Ward had too few inhabitants to require a bishop at the time, but Thomas W. Winter, the man elected as that 130 ward's justice-of-the-peace, later became its first bishop.

The Eleventh Ward's justice-of-the-peace may have served in

1849 as the acting bishop of another ward. in the 1850's

Bishop Sheets became involved in Salt Lake City civic affairs. He received an appointment as supervisor of streets, and "was elected as a member of the city council and alderman of the first municipal ward," holding those 64 positions "for about twelve years." In 1857 Sheets received the entire bloc vote to win election as one of nine Salt Lake City councilors. As of January 10, 1860,

Sheets also served as a selectman.While still a Salt

Lake City bishop, Sheats served in politics in Provo.

Brigham Young called upon Sheets and many other Salt Lake men to move to Provo, since "Provo had got to be a prity

[sic] hard place, and President Young wished to reform it as there was some hard cases lived there. While in

Provo, Sheets served on the city council, as an "acting

Alderman," and received an appointment as Utah County assessor and collector.^® The move to reform Provo's "hard cases" apparently proved unpopular with soldiers in the area. One man claimed to have "heard the soldiers swear they would pull down Alderman Sheet's [sic] house and hang the Alderman.Later Sheets again served as a Salt Lake public official. In 1876 Sheets defeated his Liberal Party opponent 2,854 to 643 to win election as a city 70 councilor. 131

Thirteenth Ward Bishop Edwin D. Woolley served as

Salt Lake County Recorder for "several terms,and also 72 as a notary public. Ironically, Woolley ran on an

opposition ticket against the People's Party in the 1870

Salt Lake City municipal election. No doubt without his

approval, Woolley's name appeared on the Independent (later

Liberal) ticket as their candidate for alderman of the

fourth municipal ward. He lost by a margin of 1,997 to

2 9 9 . In an effort to lure away Mormon voters, the

opposition party had included loyal Mormons, including 74 Wool ley, on their ticket. After nominating their

candidates at an organizing meeting on February 9, 1870,

they called a mass meeting to ratify their selections.

Hoping to attract many Mormons to their meeting, they

unwittingly succeeded too we11.^^ Prior to the mass

meeting the Deseret Evening News publicized the invitation

and encouraged "a crowded attendance. Loyal Mormons did

as the Church's newspaper had suggested and, outnumbering

the opposition, controlled the meeting and ratified their

own ticket. Utah historian and bishop Orson F. Whitney

called the action "simply a practical joke, conceived and

carried out in the spirit of merriment." He argued that

the joke "was undoubtedly discourteous, as most practical

jokes are" but that it "was the off-spring of mischievous 7 8 mirth rather than ill-natured animus." On election day

the Independent Ticket received 13.1 percent of the 2,301 132

79 votes cast. Including practicing Mormons, such as

Woolley, on their ticket apparently did not draw Mormon 8 0 votes as the anti-Mormon party had hoped.

A Quantitative Analysis of Political Activity

A quantitative analysis of the political participation by all nineteenth-century Mormon bishops provides further evidence of their active political involvement. Their prominent place in the Utah political scene becomes obvious when one considers their participation in the territorial legislature and their service as delegates to Utah's various constitutional conventions. Comparing Utah mayors and probate judges for selected years with a list of nineteenth-cencury bishops shows that the bishops frequently assumed prominent political positions at the local level as well.

Between 1851 and 1894, thirty-one sessions of the

Utah territorial legislature convened. (See Table 1 for a summary of the bishops' participation in the territorial legislature.) The number of House members ranged from twenty-four to twenty-seven during the various sessions, and about half that number served in the Council. During all of the sessions combined, bishops filled 28 percent of

the 1,187 total seats. Bishops filled 33 percent of the

788 House positions and occupied 20 percent of the 399

Council seats. Th<^ bishops' legislative participation 133

Table 1

Participation By Nineteenth-century Bishops In Utah Territorial Legislature

House Council Total No Yrs Bp N% Bp N % Bp N % 1 51-2 9 27 33 2 15 13 11 42 26 2 52-3 8 26 31 1 13 8 9 39 23 3 53-4 4 25 16 3 13 23 7 38 18 4 54-5 3 25 12 3 13 23 6 38 16 5 55-6 7 26 27 3 13 23 10 39 26

6 56-7 7 27 26 3 13 23 10 40 25 7 57-8 10 26 3 3 4 13 31 14 39 36 8 58-9 12 26 46 4 ] 3 31 16 39 41 9 59-60 9 24 38 1 13 8 10 37 27 10 60-1 10 25 40 3 13 23 13 38 34

11 61-2 11 25 44 2 13 15 13 38 34 12 62-3 10 26 38 2 13 15 12 39 31 13 63-4 11 26 42 2 13 15 13 39 33 14 64-5 9 26 35 2 13 15 11 39 28 15 65-6 11 26 42 2 13 15 13 39 33

16 66-7 11 26 42 2 13 15 13 39 33 17 68 8 26 31 4 13 31 12 39 31 IS 69 12 26 46 4 13 31 16 39 41 19 70 11 26 42 3 13 23 14 39 36 20 72 13 26 50 3 13 23 16 39 41

21 74 12 26 46 3 13 23 15 39 38 22 76 13 26 50 4 13 31 17 39 44 23 78 9 26 35 6 13 46 15 39 38 24 80 7 26 27 4 13 31 11 39 28 25 82 6 24 25 2 12 17 8 36 22

26 84 5 24 21 0 12 0 5 36 14 27 86 7 24 29 1 12 8 8 36 22 28 88 4 24 17 I 12 8 5 36 14 29 90 4 24 17 3 12 25 7 36 19 30 92 4 24 17 0 12 0 4 36 11 31 94 2 24 8 2 13 15 4 37 11 Totals 259 788 33 79 399 20 338 1187 28

Source: The data regarding territorial legislators, upon which this table is based, is found in Gordon Irving, "Rosters of Members of the Legislative Assembly, Utah Territory, 1851/52 to 1894," Task Papers in LDS History, No. 5 (Salt Lake City: Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1975). 134 reached its peak in 1874 when they comprised 44 percent of the total legislative membership. Following the onset of the anti-polygamy "raid," the bishops' numerical dominoi ion in the legislature declined sharply. During the final two sessions prior to statehood in 1896, bishops constituted only 11 percent of the total participants.

The bishops generally made up a larger percentage of the House than of the Council. With percentages ranging from 8 to 50 percent, the bishops constituted one-third or more of the house members in seventeen of the thirty-one sessions. Their numerical strength in the House varied substantially during the 1850's, ranging from 12 percent during the 1854-55 session to 46 percent during the 1858-59 meeting. During the following decade their invol'/enent stabilized at consistently high Levels of between 31 and 46 percent. Their level of participation increased somewhat in the 1870's, the decade following the arrival of the transcontinental railroad. The Mormon leaders, determined to maintain Lheir dominant political position following the completion of the transcontinental line, continued to comprise a substantial portion of the legislature. This situation demonstrates the serious political threat which the bishops posed to the anti-Mormon Liberal Party, which sought to wrest political power from the Church. During the five sessions of the 1870's , bishops filled 50 percent of the seats twice, and 46 percent, 42 percent and 35 L35 percent in the other three sessions.

During the 1880's, the decade of the "raid," the bishops continued to participate in the House, hut their highest percentage, 29 percent, failed to meet even the

lowest percentage of the previous decade. The percentage of bishops in the House fell to 17 percent during each of the 1888, 1890 and 1892 sessions and then fell to only R percent during the final, 1894 session of the territorial

legislature, in which only two of the twenty-four house members were bishops. The decline of the bishops' membership in the House provides evidence of the seriou s political consequences which the anti-polygamy crusade

imposed on the Church.

The bishops served less frequently in the Council, which consisted of either twelve or thirteen total members

in all but the initial session. During the 1850's, the bishops' membership in the Council ranged from one member,

8 percent, to four, 31 percent. In the 1860's, their numerical presence in the Council varied from two, 15 percent, to four, 31 percent. During the 1870's, the bishops reached the peak of their numerical strength in the

Council, as they did in the House. Three bishops, 23

percent, served in each of the decade's first three sessions. This number increased to four in 1876 and then

to six in 1878. During the 1878 session, the six bishops constituted 46 percent of thirteen total council positions. 13G

The "raid" reduced the political participation of the bishops in the Council. Beginning with four bishops,

31 percent in the 1880 Council, the number of bishops fell to two in 1882 and then sunk to zero in 1884. During the final two sessions of the decade, only one of the twelve council members, 8 percent, was a nineteenth-century bishop. The bishops' level of participation fluctuated during the first half of the 1890's from three, 25 percent, to zero and then back up to two, or 15 percent during the final session of the Territorial Council. At the turn of the century, bishops served in both houses of the Utah state legislature, but their numerical strength fell far below the percentages they achieved during the 1870's. In

1900, bishops occupied nine, 20 percent, of the forty-five house seats and filled three, 17 percent, of the eighteen 81 senate positions. While they still held almost one-fifth of the total legislative seats, the political golden age of the bishop-legislator clearly had ended.

The Mormon Church and its bishops consistently backed attempts to gain statehood status for Utah

Territory. Beginning in 1849, seven constitutional conventions were held, which finally culminated in the 8 2 desired acquisition of statehood in 1896. The federal government's repeated denials of Utah's requests for statehood became a great political disappointment to the

Mormon people. Membership rosters of statehood conventions 137 held in 1862, 1872, 1882, 1887 and 1895 demonstrate the active role the bishops played in this political issue.

Bishops made up between about one-fifth and one-third of the delegates at these five conventions. The percentage of bishops involved in these conventions fell as the century progressed. At the 1862 convention, 36 percent of the sixty-seven delgates were nineteenth-century bishops. In

1872, 35 percent of the one-hundred four delegates were bishops. During the 1880's the percentage of bishops who served as delegates declined. At the 1882 convention, bishops comprised 24 percent of the seventy delegates, and in 1887 they accounted for 19 percent of the sixty-nine delegates. During the 1895 convention, 20 percent of the one-hundred seven delegates were bishops. Even though the percentage of bishops at the final convention was lower than at the 1862 and 1872 conventions, they still comprised one-fifth of the total delegation, which indicates their continued interest in the statehood issue they had supported for decades.

Besides representing their areas in the legislature and at constitutional conventions, the bishops participated extensively in local politics. The relatively small number of seats in the territorial legislature limited the bishops' participation in that body, but such was not the case with local political positions. These public offices provided a means of political activity for numerous ward 138 bishops. An examination of two local offices, mayor and probate judge, indicates the interest bishops took in local politics. Contemporary sources for the years 1865, 1874,

1884 and 1893 provide useful information concerning the two offices, with the exception of the 1865 source, which contains no information or mayors. In 1865, one-third of the twenty-one probate judges were bishops. By 1874, nearly one-half of the probate judges, nine out of twenty, were bishops. In 1884, during the decade of the "raid" the percentage of bishops serving as probate judges declined to

25 percent. In 1893, none of the twenty-six probate judges were bishops. The 1880's also saw a reduction in the percentage of bishops holding the office of mayor. In 1884 only 16 percent of Utah's thirty-seven mayors were bishops, compared to 42 percent ten years earlier. In 1893 only 8 4 five out of forty-two mayors, 12 percent, were bishops.

The bishops frequent service as mayors and probate judges indicates the close relationship between the religious and civil affairs at the local and county levels in Territorial Utah. The high percentage of bishops who acted as mayors suggests that ecclesiastical position often served as a passport to political office. The bishops' service as county probate judges during the third quarter of the nineteenth century was particularly important because of the extraordinary powers those judges possessed during that period. In 1852, the territorial legislature 139 empowered he probate courts to hear both civil and criminal cases, and to exercise original jurisdiction in both areas. This legislative action gave the bishops who served as probate judges legal authority to go far beyond the traditional powers of probate judges to deal with wills, estates, and guardianship. The territorial legislature generally selected probate judges from among the bishops or other Mormon leaders. Latter-day Saints generally viewed the bestowal of judicial authority on these men as beneficial. Non-Mormons, however, questioned the wisdom of having a judicial system which blurred the division between church and state. While in practice the probate judges seemed to treat both Mormons and Gentiles with equal fairness, Utah's probate court system aroused the suspicion of non-Mormons. Finally, in 1S74, the

Congress passed the Poland bill which eliminated the extraordinary powers which the Utah probate judges had exercised. Shortly thereafter, in Ferris v. Higley, the

United States Supreme Court upheld the act.

Conclusion

The nineteenth-century bishops were a major political force in the Utah Territory. Many bishops personally held political office at the territorial, county, and local levels. Even bishops who did not hold political office received opportunities to influence 1.4 0 political behavior in ecclesiastical meetings. The territory's political development deviated from the more complete separation of church and state seen elsewhere, because its population was far more homogeneous than the populations of other regions. Mormons comprised nearly 100 percent of the Utah population in 1850 and 77 percent in

1880. At the turn of the century two out of three Utah residents were Mormons.The bishops' extensive political participation resulted in part from the expansion of settlements and the correspond:'g orga ization of Mormon ward=, which allowed numerous men to assume positions of community ecclesiastical leadership. Sucn religious

leadership, in turn, provided the bishops with disproportionate opportunities to excercise political

influence, through officeholding and in other ways.

Utah Territory's congressional representative,

George Q, Cannon, defended Utah's political arrangement before the United States Congress. Cannon explained that

"there is probably no officer in the Utah Territory, if he belongs to the Mormon people, who does not hold some

position in the Church." He informed the Congress that

"the Mormon people do not believe in salaried preachers."

Cannon noted that "bishops, probate judges, men of different vocations in the community, are . . . called upon

to speak to the people." He reasoned "that if you say that

a man must not exercise political functions in Utah because 141 he is an officer in the church you exclude from all offices 8 7 in the Territory every respectable Mormon." As Cannon suggested to Congress, the Church's domination of polii-ir-n should not be regarded as an unnatural political aberration. Having directed the settlement and development of Utah, the Church naturally had a strong vested interest in the territory's politics. 14:

Notes

^Richmond Ward Historical Record, LDS Church Archives, October 19, 1890. 2 Salt Lake City Eighth Ward Historical Record, LDS Church Archives, November 7, 1889.

^Bishops Meetings, February 27, 1862. 4 Ibid., August 9, 1877.

^Ibid., January 22, 1880.

^Eighth Ward Historical Record, July 31, 1874.

^Ibid., July 23, 1885. 0 William L. Skidmore Diaries, LDS Church Archives, November 1, 1886. 9 Richmond Ward Historical Record, February 7, 1892.

^^Ronald C. Jack, "Utah Territorial Politics: 1847-1876" (Ph.D. dissertation. University of Utah, 1970), p. 518-19; Juanita Brooks, ed. On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1844-1861 , 2 vois. (Salt Lake City : University of Utah Press and Utah State Historical Society, 1964) p. 358n. Mormon congregations traditionally demonstrated their united support of church leaders by "sustaining" them with a vote of approval at church meetings. Such votes primarily served to ratify previously made decisions.

^^Bishops Meetings, February 8, 1866.

^^Jack, p. 519.

^^According to Jack, "the organizing meeting for the 'Independent Ticket' (later named the Liberal Party) was held February 9, 1870." Jack, 137. 14 Skidmore Diaries, July 10, July 14, 1883. Skidmore's journal entry for August 7, 1883 indicated he was "Chairman of the Standing committee of Richmond Precinct for the Peoples [sic] Party."

^^Ibid., August 5, 1883.

^ ^Ibid., August 6 , 1883 . 14 3

^^Cited by Jack, 359. 1 Q Ibid., 76-77. 19 Ibid., 77.

^°Ibid., 76. 21 Bishops Meetings, February 8, 1856.

^^Ibid., July 27, 1876. 23 Allen and Leonard, pp. 394-419. 24 Skidmore Diaries, August 3, 1891. 25 Richmond Ward Historical Record, August 9, 1891. 2 6 Allen and Leonard, pp. 417-18. 2 7 Skidmore Diaries, November 8, 189 2. 2 8 Henry Ballard, Journal, LDS Church Archives, March 6, 1892. 29 Ibid. March 7, 1892.

^^Teachers were local church officials who assisted the bishops in overseeing the affairs of their wards.

^^Salt Lake City Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, LDS Church Archives, October 26, 1894. 3 2 Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, July 26, 1895.

^^Ibid., October 25, 1895. 34 Eighth Ward Historical Record, September 15, 1895,

^^Bishops Meetings, February 8, 1866.

See Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 234-56 for a discussion of the Mormon response to the coming of the railroad.

^^Bishops Meetings, September 30, 1869 . 3 8 Ibid., October 14, 1869. 39 Ibid., November 11, 18f9. 144

40 Abraham A. Kimball, Journal, Harold B. Lee Library, September 7, 1882. 41 Pleasant Valley Ward Priesthood Minute Book, LDS Church Archives, November 10, 1889. 42 See Gordon Irving, "Rosters of Members of the Legislative Assembly, Utah Territory, 1851/32-1894," Task Papers in LDS History, no. 5 (Salt Lake City: Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1975) for a session by session listing of participants in the legislature, as well as an alphabetized summary of each legislator's activity. 43 Leonard J. Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, p. 291; Jack, p. 550. 44 Jack, p. 563. 45 Ibid., pp. 579, 584, 590, 597, 601, 607, 612, 620. In the election years between 1858 and 1865 inclusive Woolley won by the following margins (total vote appears in parentheses): 1858: 1214 (1253), 1859: 1311 (1313), 1860: 385 (386), 1861: 266 (266), 1862: 246 (247), 1863: 1358 (1358), 1864: 945 (954), 1865: 712 (713). 46 Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, p. 335. 47 When a Mormon ecclesiastical official ended his service in a particular position, thereby becoming relieved of the attendant duties, he was said to be "released" from his position. 48 Melvin C. Merrill, ed., Utah Pioneer and Apostle, 69 49 Ibid., pp. 69-70.

^^Ibid. , pp. 70-71.

^^Ibid., 63. 52 See Ibid., 66-68 for excerpts relating to Merrill's career as a selectman. 53 Andrew Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, p. 403 . 145 54 Salt Lake Deseret News, November 13, 1933. Article found in Journal History, November 11, 1933, p. 5.

^^James H. Rollins, Autobiography, LDS Church Archives.

^^Ibid.

^^Beaver County, Utah, Court Records: Book. A, 1856-83, Genealogical Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, herafter cited as LDS Genealogical Library, p. 18. Without giving a date or specifying an office, the centennial history of Minersville lists "James Rollins" under the heading of town presidents and councilmen. Because the list does not provide dates, but presumably includes names spanning a century, it is conceivable that this James Rollins may be someone other than the bishop of Minersville. See Alvaretta Robinson and Daisy Gillins, eds., History of Minersville, p. 82. 5 8 Ibid., p. 83 . 59 Rollins, Autobiography; Robinson and Gillins, eds., pp. 83-84. This source states that Rollins continued as postmaster "until January 20, 1880, at which time Joseph H. Dupaix was appointed Postmaster and moved the office to a building which stood where the Delmar Gray home now stands."

Beaver County Deed Records, August 5, 1871.

^^Robinson and Gillins, eds., pp. 77-78. 6 2 Ibid., A139. This information appears in Susanna McKnight Roberts' biographical sketch of her father, James McKnight.

^^Brooks, On the Mormon Frontier, pp. 348-49. Stout lists Daniel C a m s as the ]ustice-of-the-peace for the Eleventh Ward. I have assumed this to be a misspelling of Daniel Garn, who served as bishop pro tempore of the Ninth Ward between 1849 and 1851. See Andrew Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Salt Lake City 9th Ward." 64 Sheets Collection.

^^Journal History, April 6, 1857, p.9.

^^Ibid., January 10, 1860.

^^Sheets Collection. 146

^^Ibid. While Sheets called himself an "acting Alderman," a letter from Ezra T. Benson to Franklin D. Richards dated February 15, 1868 referred to Sheets, Wm. Mil1er and Myron Tanner as Provo aldermen. Journal History, February 16, 1868, p. 2.

Journal History, September 27, 1870, p. 3.

Jack, p. 457.

^^Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:5'3. 72 Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, pp. 331, 542, note 23. Arrington gives Februrary, 1872 as the date of the certificate appointing Woolley as a notary public.

^^Deseret Evening News, February 22, 1870. 74 Jack, p. 138, note 32.

^^Jack, pp. 137-39.

^^Deseret Evening News, February 10, 1870. Quoted in j4, 138-39.

^"^Jack, p. 139. 7 8 Whitney's statement is guoted in ibid., p. 140.

Ibid . , p. 144.

^°Ibid. 81 For a list of the members of the 1900 Utah State Legislature see Utah State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1900, Utah State Historical Society. 8 2 Stanley S. Ivins, "A Constitution for Utah," Utah Historical Quarterly 25 (1957): 95-116. According to Ivins, a constitutional convention met in each decade from the 1840’s to the 1890's , including two in the 1880's . 8 3 For the names of delegates to these constitutional conventions, see Journal History, January 23, 1862, pp. 2-3; February 19, 1872; April 10, 1882, p. 2; June 30, 1887, p. 2; and Official Report of the Proceedings and Debates of the Convention Assembled at Salt Lake City on the Fourth Day of March, 1895, to Adopt a Constitution for the State of Utah (Salt Lake City; Star Printing L47

Company, 1898) 2 vols., LDS Church Archives. 84 Journals of Territorial Legislature, 1864-65 Session, LDS Church Archives; Sloan, comp., Gazeteer o£ Utah and Salt Lake City Directory, 1874, Utah State Historical Society; Sloan, comp, and ed., Utah Gazetteer and Directory of Logan, Ogden, Provo and Salt Lake Cities, for 1884, Utah State Historical Society; R.L. Polk & Co.'s Salt Lake City Directory, 1893, Utah State Historical Society. The years given in the citations for these sources give an accurate representation of the bishops' involvement in the offices of mayor and probate judge. However, the years given in the titles of these publications do not necessarily correspond exactly with the years in which the officers served in the positions to which they were selected. 8 5 For further discussion of issues relating to the territorial probate judges see James B. Allen, "The Unusual Jurisdiction of the County Probate Courts in the Territory of Utah," Utah Historical Quarterly 36 (i968): 133-42; Allen and Leonard, Story of the Latter-day Saints, pp. 260-61, 356-57; Elizabeth D. Gee, "Justice for All or for the 'Elect'? The Utah County Probate Court, 1855-72," Utah Historical Quarterly 48 (Spring 1980): 129-47.

^^See the table entitled "LDS - non-LDS Utah Population," Salt Lalce City Church News, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, week beginning June 19, 1983, p. 7. The table was "compiled by [the LDS] Church Historical Department stake and mission statistics and U.S. census records." 8 7 Allen and Leonard, pp. 356-57. For Cannon's remarks, these authors cite "United States Congress, House, Congressional Record, 43 Cong., 1 sess., 1874, vol. 2, pt. 5 : 4471 ." CHAPTER 5

BISHOPS AND REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The nineteenth-century Mormon bishops provided widespread economic leadership on the Mormon frontier.

Usually men of above-average wealth, they invested in the economic development of the Graat Basin. This chapter examines the bishops' participation in telegraph, railroad, and mining ventures. The creation of an economic infrastructure (that is, the transportation net\;ork needed for economic growth) was essential to the success of new frontier economies, and the Mormon leadership made repeated attempts tc lay a solid economic framework which would permit the Mormons to prosper in their frontier home.

Mormon support of telegraph construction, railroad building, and mining demonstrated their desire to establish an adequate economic foundation. The Mormon leaders attempted to create an infrastructure characterized by balance. They sought to employ technology to further their building of a religious kingdom, but tried to avoid allowing any facet of economic development, such as mining.

148 149

to assume undue importance.

Personal Wealth

As discussed in chapter three, the bishops generally had more wealth than the average adult Utah male.

It will be recalled, for instance, that in 1870, bishops

possessed an average of $2,295 in real property, compared

to $1 ,782 for United States males and only $644 for Utali

males. The bishops' wealth enabled them to invest in

community and regional economic enterprises. They gave

financial backing to incorporation efforts and aided

business development through personal economic activities.

Legislative acts increasingly supported more widespread

business incorporations, which allowed the bishops and

others to engage more easily in this phase of economic

progress. During the 1850's, the territorial legislature

approved incorporation appeals only through special

legislation. During the following decade, the number of

incorporation attempts increased sufficiently to persuade

the lawmakers to enact general incorporation laws. In 1864

the first of these general acts enabled telegraph companies

to incorporate without special legislative action.

Subsequent general laws provided for the incorporation of

irrigation and railroad companies. The most significant

general incorporation act received legislative approval in

1870. The new law exceeded all previous general acts in 150 scope, permitting the incorporation of manufacturing, mining, industrial and commercial enterprises. General incorporation procedures received additional uniformity in

1884, when the legislature enacted a measure which combined all incorporation laws under a single act.^

Telegraphs and Railroads

The Mormons viewed religion as broadly encompassing all phases of human endeavor. Their prophets consistently taught that economic considerations were an important feature of the religious life. A high percentage of Joseph

Smith's revelations spoke at least partially of economic matters. One early revelation shortly following the organization of the Church in 1830 explained the indivisible relationship between spiritual and temporal matters: "Verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law 2 which was temporal." Brigham Young, Smith's successor, continued the first prophet's emphasis on viewing temporal affairs in a spiritual light. Young maintained that "we cannot talk about spiritual things without connecting with them temporal things, neither can we talk about temporal things without connecting spiritual things with them. They are inseparably connected." 151

In their teachings and in practice, the Mormon

leaders effectively harmonized the seemingly contradictory concepts of spirituality and materialism. Joseph F. Smith, a nephew of the first Mormon president and the Church's sixth president, explained that "it has always been a cardinal teaching with the Latter-day Saints, that a religion which has not the power to save people temporally and make them prosperous and happy here, cannot be depended upon to save them spiritually, to exalt them in the life to come." Such teachings help place the emphasis the bishops gave to economic development in a more complete perspective. Economic activity allowed them to more fully

live their religion. This religious philosophy explains why the Church and its bishops supported such worldly endeavors as telegraoh and railroad construction, and mining. These imp .t aspects of American economic development, which elsewhere came to be associated with greed, corruption and worldliness, assumed a different

meaning for the Latter-day Saints, whose religious leaders

counted such advances as divine blessings, capable of

helping spread God's kingdom.^

In 1861 the transcontinental telegraph was

completed, replacing the short-lived Pony Express. Salt

Lake City lay at the juncture of the eastern and western 4 portions of the line. Interest then grew for the

construction of a regional telegraph line to service the Mormon settlements.^ With strong church backing,

telegraphic facilities were constructed in the Great Basin,

and the territorial legislature voted to permit the

incorporation of the Deseret Telegraph Company in 1867.

Bishop Woolley was one of ten Mormons appointed to hold

shares in the new company on behalf of Mormon congregations.^ The new telegraph line was a public enterprise, and Woolley's acting as an incorporator differed from individual corporate Investment. Each cf the

other incorporators was a Mormon bishop, with the exception

of the company's president, Brigham Young.^

An even more important transcontinental project,

the railroad, saw its conclusion in Utah in 1869. The

first trancontinental line received congressional backinq

in the Pacific Railroad Act, which President Abraham

Lincoln signed into law in 1862. The massive undertaking

resulted from the efforts of two major railroad companies.

The Central Pacific Railroad Company built the line

eastward from Sacramento, California. The Union Pacific

Railroad Company worked its way westward from Council

Bluffs, Iowa.^ The Mormon Church and its bishops actively

backed the endeavor. In 1868 Brigham Young signed a

contract with the Union Pacific Railroad Company which

provided church members with employment related to railroad

construction. Bishops received a number of the

construction subcontracts which resulted from the Church's 153 agreement with Union Pacific. Small subcontracts generally went to bishops who had ward members that desired employment. Larger agreements which required ;pec i al i zeri labor, such as cutting tunnels or constructing bridge abutments, went to John Sharp, a ward bishop associated g with the Church's Public Works Department, Joseph A.

Young, Brigham Young's son, and Joseph F. Nounan, a non-LDS

Salt Lake businessman.

Railroad building received strong grass-roots support from the Mormons, but there was a concern that too many men would go to work on the railroads to the detriment of their communities. In typically Mormon fashion the bishops were asked to insure that an adequate number of workers would remain home to work the crops and fields.

This request underscored the bishops' utility in implementing economic policy as well as the Mormon desire for balanced economic growth. One week after Young signed the agreement with Union Pacific, the topic of railroad building occupied the attention of bishops at the Salt Lake bishops meeting. Presiding Bishop Hunter asked for a ward-by-ward report in order to ascertain "what members might be expected to work on the railroad." Neither the

Eighth or Thirteenth Wards provided the desired information. For the Eighth Ward, the minutes stated "to meet" and the Thirteenth Ward, they explained, "didn't report." Other wards indicated their intention to 154 participate. In the Second Ward, "most of the men in the ward [were] going to work on the railroad." The Tenth Ward had already organized into three ten-person companies, each with its own captain in addition to the captain in charge of all the groups. They had also arranged to provide food for the families of those involved. The Third, Fourth and

Seventh Wards each estimated the number of hands they could provide the railroad effort at "about 1 0 . " In the summer of 1868 the Deseret News published an anonymous piece of correspondence which gave evidence of the bishops' assistance to the Union Pacific in the Echo Canyon area.

The author's list of the forty-five camps in Echo Canyon included "Bishop Hickenlooper's, 6th Ward," "Bishop

Sheets'," "Bishop McRae's, 11th Ward" and "Bishop

Proctor's, 10th Ward."^^

In response to Brigham Young's counsel. Bishop

Sheets of the Eighth Ward took a Union Pacific subcontract in 1868. In conjunction with Bishop A. 0. Smoot, Sheets formed a cooperative company involving approximately seventy-five men. In 1868 Adopthus H . Noon, a member of

Sheets' and Smoot's railroad company wrote a letter to the editor of the Deseret News praising Sheets' leadership.

Sheets had ties with both Salt Lake City and Provo, and his company apparently did as well. When Noon and other company members from Provo arrived in the Echo Canyon area, the Salt Lake Eighth Ward part of the company was "already 155 on the ground, with the indefatigable Sheets in charge."

The company demonstrated the peculiar Mormon blending of religion and economics when they "drew up and signed a cooperative agreement, and a system of rules, the strict prohibition of profane language being one of them." Noon explained that "we . . . feel as proud as a dog with two tails, that under the able supervision of Bishop E. F.

Sheets, our 'cuts,' 'dams,' and grading have been repeatedly referred to by the Engineers in speaking to other companies, as fair specimens of how they want the work done."

Noon reported that Sunday meetings were "well attended" and that in general "the conduct of our 'Mormon

Boys' is worthy of high commendation, no swearing, no drinking, no quarrelingAfter Sheets finished his contract he went to work on John W. Young's contract.A correspondent to the Deseret News reported that "the camps of Bishop Sheets and John W. Young are close together, and make the best arranged encampment I have yet seen in the

Canyons." In a eulogistic tone the author noted that

"order governs, harmony reigns, and the best of feelings exist.In contrast to such seemingly unrealistic praise of positive Mormon behavior, perceptions of non-Mormon

"hell on wheels" camps seen elsewhere seem overly derogatory. Even allowing for such distortions of reality, reports concerning the Mormon railroad camps indicate that 156 the behavior of the Latter-day Saint crews was highly exemplary. According to economic historian Leonard

Arrington, "if newspaper reports can be relied upon, u.P. and C.P. superintendents were complimentary of the work done and the effectiveness of the bishops in maintaining such standards as no swearing, no drunkenness, and no work on Sunday. " As of October, 1868 "Young [had] about 150 men, with a proportionate number of teams and carts, at work on his contract, and Bishop Sheets [had] something 18 like the same number."

Bishop Empey, the future bishop of the Thirteenth

Ward, engaged in railroad work on the Union Pacific ’ine as 19 a contractor. William D. Johnson, Jr., who later became a bishop himself, recorded having worked briefly for Empey in Weber Canyon. 20 Church members in Richmond also backed the railroad effort. In 1868 the loss of crops to grasshoppers caused Richmond men to seek and acquire Union

Pacific railroad work.^^ Richmond residents also worked on the Central Pacific line.^^

As with the telegraph, the completion of the transcontinental railroad spurred the developm.ent of branch

lines. The Mormons' work for Union Pacific and Central

Pacific left them better prepared to build regional lines of their own to link important Mormon settlements. The

Church promoted the construction of branch lines, including those built by the Utah Central and Utah Northern 157

2 3 Railroads. Not long before the completion of the transcontinental railroad, Mormon leaders backed the establishment of the Utah Central Railroad Company.

Brigham Young became president of the new company. Later in 1869, Young and other company officials traveled along the company's proposed route, which allowed them to meet with community leaders and to make arrangements for the grading of the line with the settlements and wards 24 involved. Contracts were distributed among the settlements, with bishops soliciting and supervising the 25 labor. The road was completed early in 1870.

Sheets worked vith John W. Young in building the

Utah Central line. 1 the Deseret Evening News reported in 1869 that Young, v h the assistance of Sheets, was organizing workers to lay track. The party was to begin at

Ogden and then proceed toward Salt Lake City. Sheets personally recounted having aided Young with the 27 tracklaying for the Utah Central. Brigham Young looked to the bishops to help promote the sale of Utah Central bonds. The Mormon leader attempted to use these bond sales to offset large financial obligations he owed to other

Mormons for their previous work on the transcontinental railroad. Both the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific companies failed to pay for the Mormon railroad work they had contracted. This inadequate compensation for railroad labor placed undue pr^'ssure on Young to make good on his 158

2 8 monetary agreements.

The church president desired widespread participation in the Utah Central bond purchases. In a circular written to the bishops, he explained that "those who are not in circumstances to purchase a whole Bond" should be provided with "the opportunity to purchase a portion of a Bond." Young wanted "the Bishop or some other responsible person" to hold such bonds and make interest 29 payments. The bond sales were a topic of discussion at an 1870 bishops meeting. The Presiding Bishop requested

"the Bishops to use their influence in their wards, and ascertain forthwith what can be done towards the purchase of Railroad bonds.in spite of strong church backing, sales proved disappointing. Mormon response to the bond sales was so limited that Young found it necessary to turn to the Union Pacific for a loan of $125,000.From an administrative standpoint. Young's attempt to sell railroad bonds provides evidence of his reliance on the bishops for this phase of railroad financing. Perhaps due to abundant

Mormon labor, but limited financial reserves, both the president and the bishops found it easier to obtain support for laying railroad track than for purchasing railroad bonds.

In 1871 bishops supported the formation of the Utah

Northern Railroad Company. The company proposed to construct a railroad line approximately 125 miles long 159 beginning at "Ogden City or from the termini of the Union

Pacific, Central Pacific and Utah Central railroads" and 32 ending in southeastern Idaho Territory. A subsequent route change, designed to extend the line to tie into

Montana railroad traffic, failed due to insufficient financing. According to Moses Thatcher, a Mormon who became president of the company in 1873, "the iron and rolling stock have been furnished by Mr. Richardson, an eastern capitalist." About one-half of the $1,400,000 expended on the line came from New York captitalists Joseph and Benjamin Richardson. In 1871 bonds valued at over

$1,000,000 dollars were issued. As was common ^ üughout the United States at that time, the Richardsons apparently purchased these bonds for only 70 percent of their face value, which gave them an investment of about $700,000.

While the Mormons looked to the East for capital, they supplied the bulk of the labor themselves. Moses Thatcher described the principal type of backing which church members provided as "the best wealth the world possesses— union of interest and concert of action, backed by the bone and muscle of the independent farmer, the hardy lumberman, and the intelligent miner.

Bishops were important in building the line. The company's thirteen original directors included six ward bishops and one regional presiding bishop: Marriner W.

Merrill (Richmond), William Maughan (Wellsville), Samuel 160

Roskelley (Smithfield), 0. N. Liljenquist (Hyrum), Lorenzo

Hill Hatch (Franklin), William Hyde (bishop of Hyde Park beginning in 1872) and William B. Preston (a regional presiding bishop in Cache Valley). Bishops also participated in recruiting labor and in supervising 34 construction. Superintendents, including Merrill, received appointments over particular segments of the route. Merrill's portion involved "the north end of Cache

Valley and beyond.The minutes of an 1873 Cache County bishops meeting state that Merrill "wished the Brethren, to come out and help build the Railroad from Logan, to

Franklin, next week."^^ The Utah Northern Railroad came under the control of railroad capitalist Jay Gould, who paid Joseph Richardson about $400,000 to secure his Utah

Northern interests. A large part of the Mormon holdings also apparently went to Gould, who later sold his T7 investment in the line to Union Pacific."

By the end of the decade Utah Northern interests had contributed fo the formation of two other railroad 3 8 corporations. Under the second of these new companies, the line originally begun by the Utah Northern was extended to Garrison, Montana, an impressive distance of 466 miles from Ogden, Utah. Merrill became the main contractor and subsequently the general superintendent of construction on the portion of the line from Franklin, in southern Idaho, 3Q north to Idaho Falls. ' A letter written from Logan, Cache 161

County, in 1879 praised Merrill's railroad performance:

President Merrill has the contract for grading the Utah Northern Railroad extension. He takes it in behalf of the people. He renders statements to the Bishops' meeting. He pays fair wages, and gets a cent a yard more than an outside company offered to do it for. He gets reasonable compensation for his services; the balance of the profits goes to aid the building of the Temple, or for the benefit of whatever other public improvement is decided on. So no contractor gets rich out of the people in Cache Stake."40

The letter points out the atypical use of at least some Mormon railroad profits for temple building and public improvement. This suggests that to the Mormon leaders, railroad building was more than simply a matter of economics. Earlier the Church had acted in a similar vein, by providing for the tithing of Union Pacific monies paid through the Church to Mormon subcontractors for work on the transcontinuental project.in addition to Merrill's railroad work associated with the Utah Northern line and its extension, Merrill was also one of the directors of the

Salt Lake and Ogden Railway Company, Incorporated January 4? 21, 1875.4^

Nineteenth-century Mormon bishops, both within and outside of the selected communities, exerted a disproportionate influence on western railroad building.

Of sixty-three railroad companies incorporated in Utah from

1869 to 1883, twenty-three (37 percent) included at least one bishop among their initial directors. Ward bishops 162 comprised thirty-five of the 430 total directors (8 43 percent). Easily the most prominent of these bishops, in

terms of his railroad contributions, was John Sharp, the

Salt Lal

represented. Sharp personally was an original director of

16 percent of the railroad companies and filled 2 percent 44 of the total directorships.

Mining

As with other areas of economic development, the bishops promoted mining, but in a way which contrasted

sharply with mining activity in other frontier areas.

Brigham Young argued that "gold and silver rank among the 4 5 things that we are the least in want of." Presiding

Bishop Hunter once informed the bishops that they needed to be "up and doing" because "there were many Gold Diggers

[who had] scattered themselves through the various wards."

Hunter opposed placing "blind confidence in those who

profess a partial belief in our doctrines," presumably to gain Mormon approval and material wealth by so doing.in

1871 Bishop Sheets expressed his regret "that the people 47 had the mining fever so badly." in spite of such

statements, both Brigham Young and the bishops saw value in mining, if carried out properly. Young sought to create a 16 3 self-sufficient kingdom based on balanced economic development. He saw mining as part of an ideal economy, but realized that mining alone could not provide the economic foundation he sought to establish. Neither could 48 agriculture or manufacturing by themselves.

Bishop Woolley, of the Thirteenth Ward, invested In silver mining by holding shares in the Fleetwood Tunnel in the Little Cottonwood Canyon, located just southeast of the

Mormon capital. Woolley and another shareholder held over one-third of the stock, while the remainder belonged to nine other investors, who included Woolley's family members 49 and friends. Hired laborers began work at the site of the tunnel in 1872. The stockholders engaged three men to extend the Fleetwood Tunnel for ten dollars per foot and also hired a superindendent. Woolley paid fifty dollars to provide tools for the work. The 1873 financial crisis precipitated many mining shutdowns in Territorial Utah and caused a delay in the development of the Fleetwood Tunnel, but by the end of the following year work again proceeded on the mine. Woolley's financial benefits from the investment are not known, but he did value his holdings enough to become involved in court action to maintain ownership in the mine.^^ Woolley also became involved in mining in a public capacity. By 1875, Woolley was was

"County Recorder in and for Salt Lake County and Deputy

Recorder of Mount.ain Lakn Mining District. 164

Prior to becoming bishop of Minersville, Rollins participated in church-approved gold mining in California.

Mormons played a part in California gold mining bcginninn with the 1848 discovery which prompted the famous gold 52 rush. In his recent study of Mormon mining in

California, J. Kenneth Davies wrote that "it appears that between nine hundred and a thousand adult Mormons may have been involved in the gold fields between 1848 and 1857."

He estimated that "as many as 15 to 25 percent of the overall 1847 adult male pioneer group and 50 percent of several subgroups of Mormon pioneers of that year went ir to the gold fields." In the early years at least, these mining efforts were so successful that they resulted in

"bringing probably as much as one hundred thousand dollars in gold into the Salt Lake Valley from 1848 to 1851, providing gold backing for the Mormon money system and the

'foreign exchange' needed for economic expansion.The

Calfornia gold thus proved helpful to Utah's fledgling economy. It was during this period that the mining company of which the thirty-three-year-old Rollins was a member 54 departed for California from Provo, Utah. After gaining experience in working with California gold, Rollins returned to Salt Lake, where he v/as reunited with his family. Rollins again journeyed to California, this time with his family, with a company under the direction of two

Mormon apostles, Charles C. Rich and Amasa Lyman.He 165 taught school for a short while, until he "could not stand 57 to be confined, and begged to be released." Later

Rollins assisted in the site selection and laying out of

San Bernardino. Rollins became one of the owners of a 59 store and "prospered in this trade." A brief account of

Rollins' activities in California, written by his daughter,

Melissa, included a reference to gold, although It is not clear whether Rollins participated in its acguisition.

Melissa recalled:

One afternoon I came running into our front room and there sat Amasa Lyman, Charles C. Rich, and Father counting stacks of gold pieces and gold slugs of all sizes. The money was in an eight, cornered box, approximately fifteen inches in diameter by five inches high. How I longed to touch one of those shinning [sic] coins but Father looked at me very sternly and spoke, 'Lissie, don't you touch that.'"60

Rollins again returned to Utah, where he became an important figure in lead mining.Jesse N. Smith, one of the early settlers of Minersville, recorded in his journal that in 1859 he and others formed "a lead mining company."

Nineteenth-century bishops were well represented among the eight men Smith mentions in connection with the organization. Smith, who later became a bishop, was the company's secretary. Tarlton Lev/is, a former bishop, James

H. Rollins, soon to become Minersville's first bishop, and

Silas S. Smith, a future bishop,, became directors. The remaining officers included a president, Isaac Grundy, and three additional directors.^'' In his autobiography Rollins 166 also referred to the formation of a mining company, and noted that the company "opened up" what they called the

Rollins mine. Following the creation of "a primitive furnace, to which we hauled the ore," Rollins recall’’d,

Grundy did the smelting work in return "for one half of: the produce." Rollins provided insight, into his partie Ipji Lon in the company's production and marketing practi.ces.

The first bar of lead smelted weighed GO lbs. This was carried to Salt Lake by Tarlton Lewis. The next six bars I took myself, and sold to the merchants for 25* per lb., and I obtained for it shoes, clothing and groceries of all kinds. After this we procured molds which run [sic] bars that weighed 1 lb., and sometimes we run [sic] 5 lb. flat bars. The 5 lb. bars I sold to Brother Pyper for the purpose of making white lead. The smaller b^rs I sold for 250 g^piece [sic], as I went up through the country.

Roll-.is' daughter, Melissa, explained that her father was part owner of the Lincoln [Rollins] mine and that he sold lead to Brigham Young. She mentioned the need for ammunition at that time for use in fighting Indians.

Later in her account, Melissa explained that; "the Navajo

Indians bothered [sic] stealing our cattle and horses" and that she "helped make bullets which my Father manufactured from his lead mine," which here she does not refer to by 64 name.

Rollins signed the by-laws of the Lincoln Mining

District in 1871. These by-laws provided for the position of recorder in the Lincoln District, and stated that

Rollins had been elected to that office for a one-year 16 7 term.^^ Rollins later received $5,000 for his holdings in the Rollins MineThe 1875 articles of incorporation for the Lincoln Mining and Smelting Company indicate that tliis company's holdings included a "Rollins Lode Mining Claim," among other mining claims.Rollins subsequently invested heavily in the Cave Mine, which he and three others

"located" in 1 8 7 1 . Rollins' new investment enabled him to make and sell gold and silver. Unfortunately, due to 69 "bad partners" he suffered serious financial loss. ' In

1883 Rollins also helped locate a mine known as the Rattler

South Extension. Without specifying wtien, Rollins staled in his autobiography, "I finally abandoned the minln^ , ,,71 business."

Conclusion

The nineteenth-century Mormon bishops influenced telegraph and railroad building as well as mining in the

Great Basin. As a group, they possessed above-average wealth, which facilitated their promotion of economic enterprises. Their leadership did not result from personal wealth alone. Railroad activity on church-backed lines sometimes utilized ecclesiastical organizations to help fulfil contracts. This practice gave the bishops additional opportunities to exert economic leadership. All major branches of economic activity in Territorial

Utah— including telegraphs, railroads and mining— were 168 heavily influenced by the involvement of the local Mormon bishops. 169

Notes

^Jerry R. Lounsbury, "Acts of Incorporation in Territorial Utah" (M.S. thesis, Utah State University, 1965), pp. 28, 106, 119.

^Doctrine and Covenants 29:34; Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 5-6. Young's statement in cit'd by Arrington in this source.

^Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 5-6, 262, 425, note 16. Joseph F. Smith's statement is cited in this source.

^Ibid., pp. 199-200.

^Ibid., p. 228.

^Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, pp. 420-21.

^The incorporators included Brigham Youi.^, Ldward Hunter (Presiding Bishop), A. Milton Musser, (traveling bishop), A. H. Raleigh (ward bishop), John Sharp (ward bishop), William Miller (regional presiding bishop), John Hess (ward bishop), Andrew J. Moffitt (ward bishop) and Robert Gardner (ward bishop and regional presiding bishop). See Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, p. 420. See Pace "Changing Patterns of Mormon Financial Administration" for information on traveling and regional bishops. g Leonard J. Arrington, "The Transcontinental Railroad and the Development of the West," Utah Historical Quarterly, 37 (Winter 1969) pp. 5, 7-8. 9 The Public Works Department came into existence in 1850. Allen and Leonard, Story of the Latter-day Saints, p. 274. According to Arrington, the superintendency of Public Works "was transferred to the Presiding Bishop in 1870." Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 109.

^^Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 261-63.

^^Bishops Meetings, May 28, 1868.

^^A copy of the correspondence, dated July 13, 1868, is found in Journal History, July 13, 1868, p. 2. I have listed only the camps which directly specify a bishop's title and name. 170

^■^Sheets Collection. During the nineteenth century A. 0. Smoot served both as a ward bishop and a regional presiding bishop. See Pace, "LOS Presiding Bishop: i.c,", pp. 184-85 for a list of regional presiding bishops and their tenures. 14 Noon's letter, dated June 28, 1868, is found in Journal History, June 28, 1868, p. 1.

^^Ibid., July 16, 1868, p. 1 contains a copy of the news item from which this information was taken. It appeared originally in Salt Lake City Deseret Evening News, July 16, 1868. John W. Young, a son of Brigham Young, was an important Mormon railroad figure. See Robert G. Athearn, "Contracting for the Union Pacific," Utah Historical Quarterly 37 (Winter 1969): 22.

^^See Journal History, July 31, 1868.

^^Arrington, "Transcontinental Railroad," pp. 7, 10. 18 See Journal History, October 20, 1868 for a copy of the Deseret Evening News clipping, dated October 20, 1868, from which this information was taken. 19 Biographical Sketches, LDS Church Archives, Nelson Adam Empey.

^^Johnson, Jr., Journal, 1867. 21 Merrill, ed., Mormon Pioneer and Apostle, p. 76.

2 2 Richmond Ward Manuscript History, LDS Church Archives. The Church signed a contract with the Central Pacific Railroad Company in 1868, several months after making an agreement with Union Pacific. The contract "was taken in the names of Apostle Ezra T. Benson . . . Lorin Farr [later a regional presiding bishop!, and Chauncey W. West [then serving as a regional presiding bishop]." See Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 263-64. See Pace, "LDS Presiding Bishopric," pp. 184-85 for a list of regional presiding bishops and their tenures. 23 Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 270-92 discusses Mormon railroad construction which followed the arrival of the transcontinental railroad. 24 Ibid., 270-71. The proposed route for the Utah Central Railroad extended from Ogden to Salt Lake City. See Clarence A. Reeder, Jr., "The History of Utah's 171

Railroads, 1869-1883" (Ph.D. dissertation, Univers iky of Utah, 1970), p. 420. 25 Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 271-72.

^^See Journal History, September 14, 1869 for a copy of the pertinent Deseret Evening News editorial of the same date. 27 Sheets Collection, folder 2. 2 8 Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 265-69. 29 The text of this circular is found in ibid. 268.

^"^Bishops Meetings, September 15 , 1870 .

Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 267-69. Arrington explained that Young "was forced to borrow $125,000 on his personal note from Oliver Ames, president of the Union Pacific Railroad Company (although why he should have had to borrow the money, at nine per cent interest, when according to his own statement Union Pacific owed him that much is not clear)." Regarding the Church's financial challenges resulting from the insufficient bond sales, Arrington stated: "It is probable that the church assumed most of the burden of the debt with tithing resources. At the time of Brigham Young's death in 1877 the church's burden was reported as $139,678 in Utah Central bonds and coupons." 3 2 Reeder, J r ., p. 423.

^^Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 283-89 provides background information concerning the Utah Northern Railroad. 34 Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 283-89; Reeder, Jr., p. 423. A discussion of regional presiding bishops and a list of men serving as such is found in Pace, "Changing Patterns of Mormon Financial Administration."

^^Ibid., pp. 284, 490-91, note 121.

^^Cache Stake Bishops' Minute Book, 1872-76, LDS Church Archives, May 10, 1873.

Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 283-89 . 3 8 Ibid., pp. 287-89; Reeder, Jr., pp. 423-24. 172

39 Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, p. 289. 40 This July 14, 1879 letter, written by Charles W. Nibley, was originally published in the Mormon publication, the Millennial Star. A copy is found in Journal History, July 14, 1879, p. 3. The word "Stake," as used here, denotes a regional Mormon ecclesiastical organization. Merrill, ed., Utah Pioneer and Apostle, p. 66 indicates that a strong friendship between Merrill and Nibley grew out of their railroad work together. The account states that "a cordial written engraved testimonial was given [Merrill] by Brother Nibley and his co-workers in tribute of the high esteem in which they held him because of his fairness, generosity, and regard for those who worked under him when he was Superintendent." See Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1: 159-60 for additional information regarding Merrill's railroad activities. 41 Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 262-63. 42 Reeder, Jr., p. 417. 43 Reeder, Jr., pp. 401-27 provides a convenient summary of each of the sixty-three companies, based in most cases on the original articles of incorporation. The summaries give each company's original name, date of incorporation, amount of capital stock, directors, and proposed route. 44 For further information on Sharp's railroad activities see Athearn, pp. 22-23 and James B. Allen, "'Good Guys' vs. 'Good Guys': Rudger Clawson, John Sharp, and Civil Disobedience in Nineteenth-century Utah," Utah Historical Quarterly 48 (Spring 1980): 162. Sharp served as an initial director of the following companies, whose year of incorporation is given in parenthesis: Utah Southern Railroad Company (1871), Utah Southern Railroad Extension (1874) , Utah and Northern Railway Company (1877) , Utah and Northern Railway Company (1878), Utah Southern Railroad Extension (1879), Utah Southern and Castle Valley Railway Company (1880), Echo and Park City Railway Company (1881), California Central Railway, Utah Division (1881) , Pleasant Valley Branch of the Utah Central Railway (1881) , Utah Central Railway Company (1882). See Reeder, Jr., pp. 401-27. 45 Cited by Arrington from a sermon given October 25, 1863. Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 203, 473, note 41. 46 Bishops Meetings, March 10, 1864 173

47 Prove Stake Bishops' and Lesser Priesthood Minute Book, 1868-75, LDS Church Archives, May 9, 1871. 48 Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 241, 473, note 41. 49 Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, p. 450 .

^^Ibid., pp. 450-51. According to Arrington, "the heirs were fully willing to sell the mine a few weeks after Edwin's death," which occurred in 1881.

^^Utah Mining District By-Laws, 1870-1922, Utah State Archives. Woolley signed as such on November 3, 1875 . 5 2 J. Kenneth Davies, "Mormons and California Gold," Journal of Mormon History 7 (1980): 83-88.

^^Ibid. , pp. 83-84 . 54 David J. Whittaker, "Mormon Mining Missions in Gold Rush California: A Summary," term paper, Brigham Young University, March 10, 1977, pp. 9-10, 20. The company left for California in 1849.

^^Robinson and Gill ins, eds., History of Minersville, p. A169 .

^^Rollins, Autobiography.

^^Ibid. 5 8 Ibid.; Melissa Kaziah Rollins Lee, Autobiography, LDS Church Archives.

59 Lee, Ibid.

^°Ibid.

^^Ibid.

^^Oliver R. Smith, ed., Six Decades in the Early West: The Journal of Jesse Nathaniel Smith (Salt Lake City: Publishers Press, 1970), April 9, 1859. After giving details concerning this organization, Rollins and Gillins, eds., provide further evidence of Rollins' involvement with this undocumented statement: "The original location papers were signed by John Wesley Osborne, Isaac Grundy, Jesse N. L74

Smith, Tarlton Lewis, William Barton and Henry Ljilins. The document was sworn to by James Henry Rollins, who was Beaver County Recorder at that time." History of Minersville, pp. 18-19.

^^Rollins, Autobiography. 64 Lee, Autobiography.

^^Utah Mining District By-Laws, 1870-1922. The signatures on the by-laws were dated January 16, 1871.

^^Rollins, Autobiography.

^^Beaver County Incorporation Records, Utah State Archives. The articles of incorporation were signed and filed May 11, 1875. The word "Claim" possibly could be "Claims."

^^Rollins, Autobiography; Robinson and Gil lins, eds., pp. 25-26. This work uses the word "located" but gives only a general source reference: "Records in the Beaver County Courthouse." Presumably the information came from a written source similar to the "original location papers" mentioned in Robinson and Gillins, pp. 18-19, cited previously in conjunction with the 1859 lead company formation.

^^Rollins, Autobiography. Robinson and Gillins, eds., state that the Cave Mine "was a great producer of gold, silver and lead for many years." History of Minersville, p . 25.

^^Robinson and Gil lins, eds., p. 31. Whether Rollins personally invested in this mine or simply participated as district recorder is not clear. Under a heading entitled "Rattler South Extension," this source states: "The Rattler was located August 3, 1883, by Cyrus Mark, B. L. Croff, W. L. Croff, J. L. Wetherill, G. P. Wetherill and James H. Rollins, district recorder." 71 Rollins, Autobiography. CHAPTER 6

BISHOPS IN AN URBAN WEST

The bishops' promotion of railroads, telegraphs and mining furthered the economic development of the Utah area, helped break down frontier isolation, and encouraged urbanization. In fact, urbanization had been part of the

Mormon experience before they settled in Utah. Prior to their westward migration, the Mormons built a remarkable urban center in Nauvoo, Illinois.^ Following their arrival in the West, they continued to foster urban growth by

Cl eating settlements which offered the advantages of both urban and rural life. Gathering together in towns and cities, they derived the social and economic benefits of community living, yet still engaged in major agricultural pursuits beyond the principal residential areas.^ Although numerous small towns lacked the population to qualify as cities, they possessed a number of urban characteristics.

Even the non-urban Mormon towns responded so readily to the leadership provided by the Mormon capital. Salt Lake City, that these towns and their bishops were part of an urban complex. In the words of Utah historian Charles S.

Peterson, Utah

175 176

has in large measure been an urban state. It began as a city and grew into a metropolitan strip with even its smaller communities responding to urban influences both from within the state and from distant metropolitan centers. In the study of its urban development 1 les the promise of a keener sense of place and a deeper understanding of those natural and social forces that give Utah society character and form.3

The urban dimension formed the nucleus around which economic development grew. Even in the small towns, the dominant economic leadership came from institutions within the central population areas. Mormon financial administration centered around an urban-based financial institution, the tithing house. Bishops' courts, which helped resolve economic disputes, and church leadership meetings, which many times involved economic decision-making, took place in the cities and towns. The formal incorporation of Mormon wards, centered in urban areas or in the population core areas of small villages, gave bishops legal economic authority in their settlements.

Numerous canal and irrigation ventures contributed to the survival of urban areas and the growth of aspiring villages. Rural agriculture depended heavily on water projects, but these endeavors constituted only part of a more important objective: sustaining permanent settlements.

An extensive network of cooperative mercantile establishments emerged in an urban setting and restrictive trade policies helped the Mormons maintain economic control in population centers both large and small. United Orders, Ill cooperative economic experiments which generally came under the direction of ward bishops, were adapted to meet the needs of settlements with varying degrees of urban development.

Clearly, nineteenth-century Utah was far from an urban state, but the ideal of the well-ordered city permeated the economic thinking of its leaders, whose economic activities aided in the process of urbanization.

Strong ecclesiastical leadership in an emerging urban environment constitutes an important focal point for the study of frontier Utah. This chapter describes the part which the grass-roots Mormon leaders played in the urbanization process on the Mormon frontier.

Urban Improvement

The bishops' activities proved consistent with the belief of other American contemporaries that beautiful, orderly surroundings promoted positive character 4 development. Population growth, while desirable, was less important than rhe creation of planned, spacious urban areas. The bisnops directed urban beautification efforts in their wards and settlements as they sought to build and maintain cities and towns which were symbols of progress worthy of God's chosen people. The bishops viewed their city and town building efforts with optimism. They held high hopes for their individual communities and for the L7S

Mormon frontier as a whole. They actively sought to avoid the physical decay of their surroundings so common in

American urban areas in general.

The bishops were proud of their successes in transforming the wilderness into a vast region in which

Mormonism could thrive. Bishop William L . Skidmore's pride and optimism pervaded an 1887 journal entry:

Took a ride over the hills where in my youthful days I took care of the cattle of the early settlers and then I knew nearly every rock, bush, hill and dale. But what a change has been wrought since those happy days of boyhood. The ravines and gently sloping hills have been fence'! and the fertile spots cultivated and the remaining portion reserved for pasture. And where the wild coyote used to howl, making the hills echo with his noise, now the proud rooster crows upon his own dung hi] 1.5

The bishops were active in the physical betterment of their communities. At an 1853 bishops meeting,

Presiding bishop Edward Hunter indicated his desire that

"the brethren," by which he meant the bishops, "see that the lots are occupied by gardens being made on them all, and fences repaired; also that the water ditches are attended to, and the water properly distributed.in 1875

Hunter asked "the bishops to notify their wards to clean out the water ditches opposite their respective lots, to allow the water a free and uninterrupted course."”^ When

Marshal J.D.T. McAllister wanted to improve compliance with a city ordinance, he took his concern to the bishops meeting. There he complained that "putting all kinds of L79 rubbish and refuse in the open streets" was a growing

"nuisance" in Salt Lake City. McAllister wanted "the bishops to use their influence to have these things cleaned g up, and the streets kept free from it." In Bishop Edwin

D. Woolley's Thirteenth Ward, items relating to civic improvement comprised the main topics of concern at 1854 meeting: repairing streets, opening ditches, planting shade trees, providing a fence for the school and building "back 9 houses."

Elijah F. Sheets received praise for his efforts to

improve Salt Lake City. An 1864 account which mentioned his involvement in urban improvement proudly noted that

"the grand, curbed and paved water ditches and crossings are adding much to the appearance of East and First South

Temple Street [sic]." The goal of urban development clearly included esthetic considerations since the improvements, both achieved and projected, were valued for reasons of both utility and beauty. "We trust the City authorities and Bishop Sheets will continue the good work as fast as funds for that purpose will permit, until at

least the principle [sic] streets and water courses are improved in a style at once so beautifying, clearly [sic] and water-saving.The emphasis on both usefulness and appearance was also apparent in Sheets' efforts as

"supervisor of streets" to build a "new acqueduct . . . in

North Temple Street" designed to prevent flood damage by a IRO local stream. The Deseret Mews reported that:

The present work, when completed, will not only obviate this, but will make of North Temple Street, one of the most beautiful streets and most desirable places of residence in the city. . . . instead of being a cause of dread to those whose places are close to it, [City Creek] will be an addition to the beauty and value of the location."11

After the project had been completed, the Deseret

News eagerly pointed out that the sometimes destructive stream had been tamed. The Mormon paper also praised community financial support for this urban improvement effort and noted the important role Sheets had played:

The acqueduct on North Temple Street has been completed in a substantial manner and the waters of City Creek course quietly down it in a tame and gently gurgling style. The work is a credit to the city, and the early date of its completion speaks well for the energy of Supervisor Sheets, and the prompt liberality of the citizens who donated to increase the appropriation of the Legislative Assembly.12

In Richmond Bishop Skidmore urged his congregation at a Sunday Meeting held late in 1882 to improve their surroundings. "Every man who owns property should seek to build up and beautify that property, haul gravel, plant trees and in every way possible try and improve. " His community did not necessarily respond promptly to the bishop's exhortations regarding urban improvement. The following May, Skidmore's congregation listened as a speaker explained to them the correlation between their own muddy feet and their failure to follow their bishop's 181 counsel. "If we had obeyed the counsel of our bishop and the brethren we could have come to meeting today with dry feet instead of wading in the mud. All our sidewalks wouId have been graveled and fine trees would have been growing 14 along our walks." Skidmore's drive to improve the

"Public Square" included a request to church headquarters which seemed to take President John Taylor, Brigham Young's successor, by surprise because of Skidmore's desire to use church funds for public improvement. Skidmore had asked for $200 for "the fence and other improvements on [the]

Public Square." Although President Taylor thought it

"rather an unusual request for the [church] trustee to receive, to help fence a Public Square," he gave the

Ricnmond bishop one-half of the desired amount. Mo doubt

Skidmore's being bishop aided him in securing this financial backing for urban development.^^

The Mormon leaders' determination to improve the physical aspects of their communities proved consistent with Joseph Smith's vision of a series of orderly, planned urban areas. The Mormons did not implement Smith's plan for an urban Zion completely, but their city-building efforts reflected their first prophet's interest in urban improvement. The bishops perpetuated Smith's active concern for urban physical development. As religious refugees or children of pioneers, they felt a high degree of loyalty to the larger Mormon community which shared 182 their heritage of persecution and sacrifice. This helps explain their v/illingness to replace the less coopera, ive brand of individualism, which prevailed in other frontier towns, with a variety of individualism characterized by voluntary submission to the common good. Such willingness to promote groups goals helped strengthen the bonds of

Mormon community and made the Mormon settlements more orderly. Yet this submission to group goals, which the

Mormon leadership found so desirable in building the Mormon kingdom, deprived many Gentiles and even some church members of the degree of individualism which they desired.

In spite of the advantages of conformity in buildinq a religious empire, the imposition of groups values was objectionable to many of the non-conformist minority. The bishops' atypical blend of individual initiative and cooperative effort demonst’"ated that they, unlike other frontier leaders, gave their primary loyalty to their religious community. Their voluntary committment to city-building provides evidence of the depth of their desire to make the Mormon experiment.in large-scale colonization succeed.

Ecclesiastical Office and Economic Leadership Opportunities

Salt Lake City emerged as an "instant city" in the m.id-nineteenth century, becoming an important urban center virtually overnight due to the heavy Influx of Mormons into the Great Basin.Following the rapid growth of Salt Lak«

City, it provided the dominant thrust in all major phases of Mormon life. Urbanization, as opposed to a deliberate attempt to promote rural living, received strong emphasis

in Mormon population expansion, as it did throughout the

American West. Utah began as an urban state, and Mormon bishops, even in sparsely populated areas, responded to th«

leadership coming from the urban capital of Mormonism, Salt

Lake City. Regardless of their distance from Salt Lake

City, Latter-day Saints and their bishops promoted the urbanization of their own areas, yet consciously hound

themselves to Salt Lake City, which provided the central

leadership for the fundamental institutions of their

religion. Meetinghouses emerged in the smaller towns, but church headquarters was in Salt Lake City. Tithing houses came into existence in remote settlements, but regional

tithing administration centered in the more developed urban areas, and the entire system ultimately looked to Salt Lake

City's central storehouse for final direction. Local ecclesiastica1 leaders, prominent supporters of economic

advance, took their cues from the Mormon capital, a

practice which promoted uniformity of economic practices

among the Mormon settlements. The bishops' fundamental

roles in administering the tithing house system illustrate how such uniformity bound the settlements together

economically, while at the same time offering the bishops 184 disproportionate opportunities to exert economic influence on a decentralized basis.

Mormon economic practices gave bishops authority to act in economic affairs, regardless of their personal wealth. An examination of nineteenth-century tithing house administration underscores this point. In the West faithful Mormons were expected to donate one-tenth of their income the Church. The administration of those donations, called tithing, involved tremendous sums of money or commodities and required an extensive administrative system to keep a network of tithing houses functioning. The Mormon tithing house was one of the most important economic institutions in frontier Utah. The tithing house served as a general store and a barter-style community trading center. A person having an abundance of one crop could exchange his product for another he needed which was in surplus at the tithing house. Church members could thus exchange goods without losing profits to a middleman. To facilitate community trade in kind, as opposed to cash, the tithing houses even issued a form of currency, called tithing scrip. Barter economics was by no means unique to the Mormons. The bishop-directed tithing house was unique, however, as the principal institution of the most extensive barter system in America in the last half of the nineteenth century. The bishop's storehouse helped institutionalize the economic leadership of bishops 185

in their communities. The bishops forwarded roughly one-third of the donations they received to Salt Lake City, but disbursed the remaining two-thirds locally, which gave

them significant economic authority in their communities.'^

Another Mormon institution which, like the

storehouse, gave economic power to the bishops was the

bishop's court. In Territorial Utah both civil and

ecclesiastical courts existed. Church leaders encouraged

Mormons to reconcile their differences within the Church's

own judicial system. Accordingly, Mormons, and at times

even non-Mormons, took their disputes to the church courts.

The Mormon judicial system consisted of courts at the

community, regional, and central church levels. The

numerous courts at the community level were headed by the

local bishops and were called bishops' courts. In an area with such close church-state ties as Utah had many

questions which normally would have been considered to be

civil matters came before these bishops' courts. In

addition to cases involving moral and religious questions,

many cases involved economic matters. By ruling in such

cases, with the aid of counselors and witnesses, the

bishops exercised a type of regulatory power over community

economic practices and often served as arbitrators in 18 them. 166

Several cases which came before the bishops' courts illustrate the nature and extent of the judicial role of the bishops. On one occasion Bishop William L. Skidmore arbitrated in a case between three individuals and the City of Richmond. The case concerned the alleged failure of the city council to pay a $250 note. Bishop Skidmore ruled that since the city was apparently at fault, the three men were no longer bound to honor their obligations to the city. In the Thirteenth Ward, Bishop Edwin D. Woolley decided a case in 1855 between a merchant and one of his customers. The two had quarrelled over a $40 note while on the premises of the merchant's store. The merchant became upset and according to his own account:

I tried to get [him] out of the store by fair means but he would not go. So I got excited, took him by the hair by the left hand and beat him with my right and crippled rny hand. So I took the heel of my boot and pounded him awhile.19

The man who received the pounding brought a charge against the merchant. After hearing the case, Bishop

Woolley ordered the merchant to pay $25 to the man to compensate for his violence toward him. In an 1863 case a clerk accused a local businessman of failing to pay him adequately for "attendi..g to his business" for a year and nine months. Bishop Woolley ordered the businessman to pay

$100 per year for services rendered and to allow the accuser free use of a "Back Shop." In these cases. Bishop 187

Woolley exercised an arbitrating power by ruling in controversies which stemmed from economic disputes.

The bishop's storehouse and the bishop's court

each institutionalized the involvement of bishops in

economic matters. Regardless of personal wealth, bishops

gained the opportunity to shape community economic

practices because of these institutions. Even a poor

bishop could disburse large amounts of tithing or decide in

judicial cases involving wealthy merchants. Occupying

ecclesiastical positions increased the bishops' potential

for exerting economic influence in their communities.

In addition to their religious functions, Mormon

wards served as economic units, both in practice and law,

due to incorporation. The Beaver County articles of

incorporation indicate that bishops participated in the

incorporation of the Minersville Ecclesiastical Ward in

1882. Due to his position as bishop, James McKniaht became

a director and president of the ecclesiastical

organization. The articles reserved the presidency for the

current bishop, who was to "be a member of said Board of

Directors, and the President thereof." The articles made

it clear that "no person who is not a Bishop of said Church

in said Ward shall be eligible to the office of President."

Solomon Walker and George Eyre, two future bishops, were

selected as directors, with Eyre also being elected

vice-president. 18R

In 1882 the Richmond Ecclesiastical Ward was

incorporated. Because of his position as bishop, Skidmore

automatically became a director and the president of th'~ ward corporation. Bishop Skidmore, ex-Bishop Marriner W.

Merrill and many Richmond church members signed the

agreement, but apparently no stock subscriptions were

22 required. Skidmore also participated in the

incorporation of the regional, stake, ecclesiastical

organization. When the Cache Valley Stake was incorporated

in June, 1886, Skidmore became one of seven directors.

In Salt Lake City bishops also presided over their ward

corporations. In 1883 the first meeting of the directors

of the Eighth Ward corporation convened at the residence of 24 "President E F Sheets." As bishop. Sheets continued to

act as a director and president of the organization.^^ As

of 1886 Bishop Millen Atwood was president of the

Thirteenth Ward ecclesiastical association. Bonds indicate

that his successor. Nelson A. Empey, was a director and

president in the 1890's.

The articles of incorporation for the Minersville

Ward specified that "the objects of said corporation [were]

religious, social, charitable and educational, and not for

pecuniary profit." Nevertheless, the articles gave legal

economic authority to the bishop by granting him and other

corporation officers the legal "right to receive . . . any

contributions of money or personal property for use and 189

benefit of the corporation." All property previously held

in trust by the bishop or other trustees on behalf of ward

members was now to come under the legal control of the ward corporation. Any real property which the corporation

acquired would also be "vestfed] in the corporation, in

trust for the members thereof." In essence, the articles

of incorporation granted economic authority to the bishops with regard to corporation holdings because of their

ecclesiastical positions, which guaranteed them the

presidency of the ward corporations.

The pressure which the federal government placed

upon the Church during the 1880's seems have been the prime

motivating factor behind the numerous ward incorporations which occurred during that decade. Although the

Edmunds-Tucker Act was not passed until 1887, the Church

anticipated its passage by decentralizing legal control of

its property. This practice began during the

administration of Brigham Young, when individual members

held church property in trust as a precautionary measure

against more stringent enforcement of a $50,000 property

limitation placed on the Church by federal legislation

adopted in 1862. When finally passed, the Edmunds-Tucker

Act provided for the enforcement of the $50,000 limitation

on the Church's property holdings, which to that point not

been rigorously carried out. At the local and regional

levels, ward and stake corporations gained title to church 190 economic assets, including such properties as meetinghouses, stores, livestock, tithing houses, and irrigation projects. The transfer of title for church properties demonstrated that the central church leadership looked to the bishops to help protect Mormon property from being forfeited to the federal government. In spite of tiv-

Church's precautions, by July, 1888 the federally-appointed receiver could point to more than $800,000 in property 2 7 which he had confiscated from the Church. The widespread ward incorporation movement emphasized the local economic preeminence of the ward bishops by transfering legal authority to property to the ward corporations, of which they automatically became president.

Canals and Irrigation

Urban growth in the arid Great Basin required careful water management. Permanent settlements demanded water resources, and canal-building became a major area of economic activity. Within two decades of the Mormons' arrival in 1847, more than two hundred canals were created in Utah Territory for irrigation purposes. In 1865 the territorial legislature enacted a general incorporation act 2 8 to facilitate the incorporation of irrigation companies.

Mormon bishops promoted canal building by supporting incorporation efforts and by promoting canal construction through ecclesiastical channels. The bishops also helped 191 regulate water use in their communities.

The articles of incorporation for Salt Lake, Beaver and Cache Counties reveal that the bishops backed the formation of irrigation and reservoir companies. When the

Territorial Legislature enacted a measure providing for the incorporation of the Deseret Irrigation and Navigation 2 9 Canal Company, Sheets was one of twelve incorporators.

Solomon Walker and George Eyre were two of the four leading subscribers when the Minersville Reservoir and Irrigation

Company was incorporated in 1889, subscribing $737.50 and

$645 respectively. Seventy-seven other subscribers invested less than these two bishops. At one time, James

McKnight became the company's president.In 1898 the

West Field Canal and Irrigation Company was incorporated, with its principal place of business at Beaver City, the county seat of Beaver County. Although Walker was not one of the company's incorporators and initially did not buy any shares, by 1899 he was a company director and two years later he was a director and also the president.In Cache

County William Skidmore participated in the formation of

The Richmond Irrigation Company in 1909, nearly a decade 3 2 after his release as bishop.

Canal-building often received church support and benefited from the backing of bishops and their congregations. Church administrative channels provided convenient organizational lines for carrying out economic 192 activities, including canal construction. An 18j7 canal-building effort utilized church leadership. At a

Salt Lake City bishops meeting, two bishops and others spoke of the need for assistance on parts of a canal for which they were responsible.^^ In both the Eighth and

Thirteenth Wards the topic of canals also came under consideration. Bishop Sheets referred to a canal in at least four church meetings between March 1 and April 13.^^

During this same time period Bishop Woolley also had the canal issue on his mind, as shown by his reference to a canal in a Sunday evening church service.At a special bishops meeting convened in 1864 a major canal pro] ,ct received attention. The bishops meeting served on this occasion as a forum for economic decision-making. A motion passed providing for the appointment of a committee "to organize a Company and prepare to commence the work immediately." Sheets and ten others then received approval as the committee members.Earlier that year a mass meeting had assembled to consider what was apparently the same canal project. On that occasion "it was voted that the Bishops of the several Wards should form a committee to receive subscriptions in their respective Wards, and make report of their proceedings to the City Council." A three-man committee, which included Sheets, was appointed to judge the feasibility of the project.in Richmond,

Merrill participated in building at least two canals which 193 carried water to farms in the Richmond area.^^ in

Minersville, McKnight "used a rock and brush dam for his farm," and although this endeavor was not very succ'^ssful, part of the dam continued to exist under the name of "the 3 9 McKnight Dam." McKnight also participated in water matters as a delegate of an "Irrigation Congress," which 40 met in Ogden, Utah. In 1893, the First Presidency of the

Church appropriated $800 to assist Minersville ward members

"in re-commencing work on [their] dam." No cash appropriation was given, but the Minersville bishop received authorization to use "labor and produce tithing" 41 for the specified amount. This gave the Minersvil le bishop an opportunity to apply both human and agricultural resources to meet his community's water needs.

The bishops regulated water matters in their wards.

In 1849 Salt Lake ward bishops "were required to see that ditches were cut around their respective wards and that bridges were provided where ditches crossed open 42 streets." In 1854 Bishop Woolley was one of nine men in his ward to be chosen as a watermaster over a block in the ward. Woolley and the others were "to see that a ditch be made around their blocks and across their portion of the street, with a gate at each corner for the purpose of 43 dividing the water in times of irrigation." In 1875

Presiding Bishop Hunter asked the bishops "to notify their wards to clean out the water ditches opposite their 194 respective lots, to allow the water a free and 44 uninterrupted course." Sheets became personally Involved in water matters as "watermaster and supervisor of streets 45 of Salt Lake City." An 1864 Deseret News editorial concerning irrigation noted that Sheets was "the general 46 watermaster" and mentioned "watermasters of the wards."

At a Cache County bishops meeting,- at which Bishop Merrill was present, the close relationship between church and state was evident in one bishop's statement concerning watermasters. "It was the duty of the county court," the bishop explained, "to appoint the watermasters in each settlement." As a result he "thought it would be well for the bishops to hand in the names of those they wish 47 appointed at the next meeting of the court."

Bishops also assisted in regulating water matters by attempting to settle disagreements concerning water rights.48 in 1878 church members in one Mormon area received the counsel: "In water disputes, let the 49 Priesthood rule." In their economic history Building the

City of God, the historians Leonard J. Arrington, Feramorz

Y. Fox and Dean L. May argue "that the frequency and intensity of disputes over water were kept at a relatively

low level" when ecclesiastical officials played a major role in resolving water-related conflicts. In Utah many

Mormons willingly sacrificed personal economic benefits in order to conform to counsel given by church leaders. 195

Ultimately, the decision to comply with a bishop's judgment-, was a matter of religious, not civil, obedience. With the

passage of time, the influence of the bishops declined, as many individuals turned to civil authorities for final decisions. The power of the bishops in this type of economic decision-making continued at least indirectly into

the twentieth-century. According to Arrington, Fox and

May, district court decisions "are often based upon and carry into effect the terms of settlement made long before by ecclesiastical tribunals.

Cooperative Stores

The bishops' support of mercantile establishments demonstrated their loyalty to the central church policy which aimed at keeping Mormon capital in Mormon hands

following the completion of the transcontinental railroad

in 1869. Mormon leaders feared that the advent of the

railroad would foster an influx of non-Mormon capitalists and other Gentiles to such a degree that their own social and economic control would be seriously threatened. On many other American frontiers outside businessmen often gained financial control of such important frontier economic activities as cattle ranching and mining. Whether or not the Mormon leaders were aware of these specific precedents, they clearly wanted to preserve their own

frontier region from outside control. The religious 196

leaders responded to the anticipated threat by promoting

extensive cooperative ventures in an effort to maintain

economic independence. As part of this effort, in 1868 the

Church promoted the establishment of Zion's Cooperative

Mercantile Institution, Z.C.M.I. The company was

incorporated in 1870 following the passage of the gen^'iraJ

incorporation law earlier that year.^" Z.C.M.I. was a

parent store which had numerous branch stores in the 52 various Mormon settlements.

Bishop Woolley owned over seventy shares of stock

in the Salt Lake Thirteenth Ward Co-op, a branch of

Z.C.M.I. His ward's cooperative, a community general

store, replaced Woolley's own establishment.^^ Woolley

responded to Brigham Young's call for "a co-operative store

in each ward."^"^ In May, 1870 Woolley reported at a bishops meeting that his ward's store had been in business

for a year, had $5,000 in capital stock and "had published a divident of 25 per cent to the stockholders." Woolley's

report no doubt pleased his ecclesiastical superiors.

Daniel H. Wells, a member of the Church's First Presidency, seemed to credit the opening of stores in the various wards with checking the flow of non-Mormon merchants into Salt

Lake City. He noted that already seventeen such merchants had closed their establishments.^^ 197

In 1866 Bishop Merrill helped establish a cooperative store in Richmond, which came to be known as the Richmond Cooperative Mercantile Company, R.C.M.r.”'^

Bishop Skidmore and former Bishop Merrill supported the formal incorporation of the R.C.M.I. in 1882. Skidmore subscribed to $50 in the cooperative and Merrill to

$785 .69 . As of 1891, Merrill was also the president of th'^ company. Of the thirty-six total subscribers listed in the articles of incorporation twenty-three invested more than

Skidmore; only two invested mere than Merrill.

In 1894 the Minersville branch of Zion's

Cooperative Mercantile Institution was officially incorporated. The fourteen incorporators of the

Minersville Cooperative Mercantile Institution included a past bishop, James McKnight, the present bishop, Solomon

Walker, and a future bishop, George Eyre. Walker equalled the investment of two others by subscribing to a company high of twenty shares, worth $500. In addition to his financial backing of M.C.M.I., Walker also became the company's first president. McKnight subscribed to four shares, $100, and became treasurer. Eyre subscribed to a single share, worth $25.^^

The church cooperatives enjoyed the backing of loyal Mormons, who patronized the Mormon stores while strictly avoiding gentile establishments. In 1865 and 1866 the Mormon leadership encouraged church members to boycott 198 merchants deemed hostile to church interests. Later an expanded boycott of most gentile merchants accompanied the anticipated completion of the transcontinental railroad.

Church leaders feared that inexpensive eastern goods might flow into the territory and seriously harm Mormon economic self-sufficiency. Patronizing Mormon establishments, the leaders hoped, would prevent their settlements from succumbing to the financial domination of non-Mcrmon 59 businessmen. At the October, 1858 LDS General Conference the church membership sustained their leaders' plan to protect Mormon financial interests. The subsequent establishment of Z.C.M.I. and its branch stores further promoted church economic control.Brigham Young's policy aimed at preserving a Mormon sense of community.in

July, 1868 the trading issue received attention at the Salt

Lake bishops meeting. Presiding Bishop Hunter "very much reprobated" the practice of "trading with gentiles."

Hunter apparently viewed the boycott as a battle which would continue for some time, since he thought that children should be instructed "not to patronize outsiders. Over a year later Hunter expressed his

"regret [concerning] the patronage yet bestowed on the outside merchants." The minutes stated that "most present thought it was chiefly done by people from the country."

Hunter looked to the bishops to help discourage trade with

Gentiles as well encourage trade with loyal Mormons. After 199 mentioning the gentile trade issue, he suggested that the bishops should use their religious position to put pressure on gentile merchants. Without detailing the specific means to that end, Hunter stated that "the bishops knew their duty and should do it," with the assistance of the teachers in their wards. At this same meet-ing the bishops received notification "that a new cooperative drug store was now open," and that "the people generally should be apprized of the fact, and requested to patronize it."^^

Bishop Sheets followed President Young's stance on economic self-sufficiency. He demonstrated his loyalty to

Young at Utah Stake bishops meetings he attended in 1869.

On March 23 of that year Sheets expressed support for the idea of limiting consumer patronage to a single store in 64 order to "dry up all the retail trade." The following day at a meeting of bishops, their counselors, and the presiding relief society officers of Provo's four wards.

Sheets spoke concerning the blessings he felt would accompany adherence to the Church's position.He felt that the Church's plan would "unite the faithful" and expose those who refused to submit "to the control of the holy priesthood." Sheets wanted to begin immediately. "We ought to go into business within one week from this. Such a society cannot fail, for we ought all to understand that it becomes our duty to invariably trade at our own store and in this manner build it up."^^ 200

Bishop Sheets suggested that the bishops and their councilors serve on the board of directors of the proposed retail store.At a Utah Stake bishops meeting held in

August, 1869 Bishop Sheets stated that he did not consider a certain merchant to be a friend of the Church. Sheets recommended "that the teachers visit every man and warn them that their fellowship is in danger if they continue trading with" the merchant under consideration.^^ By means of such ecclesiastical intervention, Sheets sought to influence the nature of urban society through economic means. At a teachers meeting held in the Salt Lake Eighth

Ward in October, 1869 Sheets stated that "cooperation to some seemed to be a bug bear, but he was satisfied that it was only a stepping stone to greater things that will ,,69 come.

Applying ecclesiastical sanctions was one means by which Mormon religious leaders dealt with the trade issue.

One member of Sheets' Eighth Ward appeared by request at a teachers meeting, where his loyalty to the Church came under the scrutiny of ward leaders. The man admitted to having failed to pay tithing and to having engaged in financial dealings with Gentiles. Me indicated that he intended to continue such activity, and explained that through outside trade he could ot tain lower prices and satisfactory quantities. Sheets advised him that he should submit to a rebaptism, apparently as a symbol of intended 20 I reform. The following month, Sheets informed the teachers that he had conversed with the deviant individual, who did not deem it necessary to be baptized again, although he drank, failed to attend church meetings or make tithing donations, had not altered his conduct, and continued to undertake financial transactions with non-Mormons. Those assembled unanimously backed a motion to cease fellowshipping the man for a four-week period, during which teachers would contact him and advise him that 71 he needed rebaptism. After failing to meet the expectations of the ward leaders, those attending a teachers meeting the following month unanimously supported a decision to take away the man's church membership.

Sheets' two counselors, J.D.T. McAllister and Henry

W. Lawrence, presided over the meeting just described, presumably in the bishop's absence. By the end of the year

Lawrence, too, had lost his church membership due to ecclesiastical sanction. Lawrence and another man were

"cut off" from the Church "for apostacy and unbelief" by a special teachers meeting presided over by McAllister, who took charge in place of Bishop Sheets, who was not 7 2 present. Minutes of the t<=achers meeting provide evidence that the outside trade issue contributed to

Lawrence's expulsion from the Church. Lawrence spoke out against the church's restrictive economic policies, and asserted his sympathy toward the Utah Magazine, a liberal 202 publication which advocated economic development based on

Utah's mineral wealth,Lawrence presented an eloquent defense of his position and announced his willingness to 74 suffer the consequences for his unorthodox stance. The punitive action taken against Lawrence by McAllister and the teachers later received approval by the Eighth Ward members, and the Salt Lake bishops meeting unanimously voted to publish in the Deseret News the names of tne two excommunicated members of the Eighth Ward, as well as another four from the Seventh Ward, and one person from both the Sixth and Eleventh Wards. At the same bishops meeting, "it was also suggested that every store keeper

[sic] who is known to be importing goods from the East, instead of sustaining our Cooperative institution, should be looked after and dealt with by the authorities of the ward in which they live.

The Mormon leaders' perception that a crisis was at hand and their determination to demand loyalty to church policies seemed to be reflected in the bishops' zeal in weeding out uncommitted Mormons. Tne minutes of a

February, 1870 bishops meeting included the names of forty-three individuals who had "apostatized" and lost their membership in the Church. The cases were not necessarily related to the trade issue, but the large number of excommunications reflected the general tension over the matter of loyalty to church authority which 201 prevailed during the period. The completion of the transcontinental railroad contributed to this climate of apprehension, for Mormon leaders were genuinely concerned that large numbers of non-Mormons would travel to Ui.ah by rail and seek to undermine the moral atmosphere of the

Mormon settlements."^^ The ecclesiastical sanctions which were related to the trade question were an attempt by the

Mormon leadership to influence urban mercantile development, since such establishments centered primarily in the cities and towns. Presiding Bishop Hunter, concerned about the bishops' frequent resort to ecclesiastical sanctions, encouraged moderation: "We would much rather gather people in the Church than cut them off."

Hunter wanted the bishops to perform their duties with a proper spirit "and not drive people out of the Church, but try to be saviors.Sheets seemed personally committed to learning who the loyal members of his ward were. He believed his ward "needed to reform" and spoke "in favor of 7 8 trimming up and causing men to show their colors." A few months later he told the teachers in his ward that he

"thought the saints were improving" and then remarked "that it was good that we had rid ourselves of many that have 79 been not much good to us for some time."

Bishop Woolley backed the idea of boycotting gentile merchants but opposed what he considered to be overreaction regarding the issue. His remarks at an 1869 20 4 bishops meeting demonstrated his strong views on the

subject. He 'chought it high time to cease this constant.

tirade against the merchants and unless we were governed more by common sense, than the spirit of enthusiasm made manifest that night, we would have the greatest babel in our midst, than [sic] had ever been seen before.

Although Woolley's attitudes were relatively moderate he, too, used his religious authority to fight dissent within the Church. Two members of Woolley's ward,

William S. Godbe and Elias L.T. Harrison, actively promoted a movement of religious dissent known as the "New

Movement." Both lost tlieir membership, although Godbe

served as Woolley's counselor from 1865 to 1869. Lawrence, of the Eighth Ward, also backed the movement which the two men advocated. Although Godbe and Harrison differed with

church leaders over doctrine, one of their major objections

regarded the trade boycott against Gentiles. In the

Thirteenth Ward, as in the Eighth, the gentile boycott had

raised an issue which brought serious opposition from 8 1 within the Church itself.

United Orders

In the five years prior to his death in 1877

Brigham Young pressed for greater cooperation among the

Saints. Church leaders urged the creation of cooperative ventures known as "United Orders." Willing adoption of 205 these Orders grew in part from fear created by the panic of 8 2 1873. A cooperative organization at Brigham City, in

Northern Utah, successfully withstood the effects of the panic and inspired Latter-day Saints elsewhere to step up the level of cooperation in their own communities. The

Brigham City Cooperative had forty departments which engaged in a wide variety of economic activities. The

Mormon leaders urged the creation of voluntary United Order 84 associations. Under this system Mormon communities could continue their economic contacts with the outside world, but their increased self-sufficiency would better enable them to sustain themselves during economic emergencies.^^*

Another purpose for the Orders was to counteract the general tendency for groups to divide into social classes based on wealth.

Various types of United Orders emerged which made it more practical for numerous settlements to participate in some way in this effort to achieve greater unity and self-sufficiency. The Orders ranged from communal associations, in which all economic property was held in 8 7 common, to more limited orders, such as those established in larger urban areas, in which Latter-day Saints financed 8 8 ward-level cooperative ventures. Most of the Orders failed by 1877. Others survived into the 1880’s but succumbed to the political pressures placed on the Church 89 during that decade. 206

Bishops figured prominently in the the leadership of the United Order movement. In practically every casr' the bishop became president of the his ward's United Order.

The bishops of the Salt Lake Eighth, Salt Lake Thirteenth,

Minersville and Richmond Wards each became president of 90 their ward's Order.

In 1874 "The United Order oC the City of Beaver" was organized. Minersville and other settlements belonging to the Beaver Stake also apparently came into the Order under this same organizational agreement. The "Preamble and Articles of Agreement" included statements which indicated the broad spectrum of issues which church leaders viewed as important in building a united, self-sustaining people. The document indicated a desire t-n remain free from the capital-labor strife seen elsewhere: "We have learned of the struggle between Capital, and Labor, resulting in strikes of the workmen with their consequent 9 1 distress, and also the oppression of monied monopolies."

The articles argued that prosperity was linked to self-sufficiency and that the Saints should "not only supply [their] own wants, but also have some to spare for exportation." The agreement described the possibility for cultural advance as well as material progress. It stated:

We believe that by a proper classification of our labors and energies, with a due regard to the laws of life and health we will not only increase in earthly possessions at a more rapid rate, but wil1 also have more leisure time to devote to the 207

cultivation and training of our minds, and those of our children, in the Arts and Sciences.92

The articles of agreement give evidence of the intention to create a United Order which engaged in diverse activities: "a General Business of Farming, Manufacturing,

Merchandising, Fruit-Growing, Stock-raising, Dairying, and as many other pursuits as will tend to the material prosperity of the Order." Although the articles designated

Beaver as the Order's "principle [sic] place of business," they also provided that "other places may be selected" for the purpose of "carrying on the branches of business of the 93 Order."

This ambitious attempt to encourage greater social homogeneity advocated the production and use of homemade apparel. The agreement deplored "foolish and extravagant fashions" which would cause the Saints "to copy after extravagance, and to be forever changing in the style of 94 [their] apparel, at a great and unnecessary expense."'

In a covenant-type agreement the participants in the Order committed "to place in this Order, . . . all our time, labor, energy, and ability, and such property, as we may feel disposed to transfer to the Order, to be controlled in the interest of the Order." Bishop James

McKnight presided over Minersvilie's United Order activities. At one Order meeting McKnight reported "the condition of affairs at Minersville" and remarked that 208

"they were anxious to know what wages they were getting per 95 day." Details concerning the operation of the Order at

Minersville are meager. One brief assessment o£ the Ord-^r there states that "they tried to live this for several years. Some believed in it while others did not. The result, as in most places, was not successful.

Unlike the Minersville organization, the Richmond 9 7 United Order, begun in 1875, proved successful. Bishop

Marriner W. Merrill became president of the Order in 1875 and served as such until he resigned in 1880. During that time period most of Richmond's business activity had ties 98 to the town's United Order. These included a cooperative store, meat market, cabinet shop, tin shop, sawmill, shoe 99 shop and granary. Eventually the Order became part of the Richmond Cooperative Mercantile Institution. One account of Richmond's United Order stated that "it was said to be one of the most active and successful Orders in the

Territory.

Of the many Orders established in the Salt Lake 102 City area in 1874 few actually carried out operations.

The Eighth Ward Order, with Bishop Sheets as its presiaent, established a hat factory.An "Agreement for the

Incorporation of the Eighth Ward Industrial Society of Salt

Lake City" was filed late in 1874. This document indicated that the Order intended "to carry on the business of

Furriery Hatting and General Merchandising" and to issue 209

200 shares of capital stock at ten dollars per share.

Bishop Sheets subscribed to twenty-five shares, one eighth 104 of the total. Late in 1875 the Deseret News reported that the factory at that time was producing hats for both men and women. ^ The hat factory operated "for several years, but finally succumbed as an institution 'that did not pay.'

In 1874 the Salt Lake City Thirteenth Ward also organized a United Order and Bishop Edwin D. Woolley served as its president. The Thirteenth Ward's contribution to the United Order movement was a "Butchers Shop and Grocery

Store. According to George Goddard, the Order's secretary, the organization caused bad feelings and did not succeed in uniting ward members as intended. Goddard recorded that in February, 1875 he "attended a United Order meeting .... to hear the financial report of the

Butchers Shop & Grocery Store, which was not very satisfactory and which occasioned some unpleasant personal recrimination, tending rather to divide than strengthen the 109 bonds of Union." The seriousness of the division is reflected in Goddard's comments about a meeting held two days later. He wrote that a motion was made for Millen

Atwood, a future Thirteenth Ward bishop, to "take charge of and superintend" the venture.In October that idea received approval from the Order's stockholders, who agreed to turn the enterprise over to Atwood for fifty cents per 2 in 111 dollar of value.

As in the Mormon settlements in general, the United

Orders of the four communities met with some success, but mostly with failure. Of the four communities, only

Richmond appears to have obtained the kind of success church leaders had hoped for. In the Thirteenth Ward, and perhaps in others, the desired increase in social unity did not materialize. The reason why so many United Orders

failed varied. A major source of difficulty related to discord concerning the practical implementation of an

idealistic plan. Sometimes, property owners lacked sufficient confidence in the church leaders who possessed the greatest authority to make decisions under the United

Order system. Some industrious Saints despised sharing with persons whom they regarded as indolent. In other cases, leaders became disgusted with improvidence and excessive waste. Perhaps some Orders would have continued

longer by overcoming internal strife, but when contention

threatened the well-being of ward ecclesiastical organizations, the Orders were allowed to disband without

pressure from church leaders to convert failing Orders into

successful operations. The anti-polygamy crusade also contributed to Order failures. Allowing excessive numerical growth within an Order posed another problem 112 which contained the seeds of failure. 211

In spite of frequent disappointments, the United

Order movement succeeded in some areas. Temple building

received impetus from United Order labor and supplies.

Orders also led to increased productivity, greater

investment in community enterprises, fuller use of local

resources, and less Mormon economic inequality. Imports decreased while the Orders were in operation, which allowed church members to preserve a greater level of independence

from eastern financial control.

The United Order movement was an innovative attempt

to encourage social and economic unity in communities with

varying degrees of urban development. The adaptation of

Orders to meet the needs of diverse communities

demonstrates the flexibility of the Mormon leaders in

implementing broad economic policies. The Saints'

widespread participation in the movement often resulted

from strong support for central and community leadership.

The Mormons' high level of involvement also provides

evidence of a strong sense of community in the LDS

settlements. Such loyalty to church leadership and strong

community ties help explain why such a large number of

Saints were willing to take the risks involved in entering

into greater cooperative association with fellow community

members. 212

Conclusion

The Mormons' quest for an urban society mirrored

the overall American experience, but the planned, orderly manner in which urban expansion proceeded under

ecclesiastical direction set the Mormons apart from their

American contemporaries. The Mormon bishops gained opportunities to act in urban economic affairs as a result

of their church positions. The bishop's storehouse, the bishop's court and the ward corporation each helped

institutionalize the bishop's economic authority. The

pervasive economic influence bishops exerted in community

after community set the Mormon urban experience apart from

any other in the history of the trans-Mississippi West. To

the Mormons growth was desirable, but not at any cost.

Gold and silver rushes would have brought even more rapid

growth, but the Mormons valued the nature of their society

more than impressive population figures. Mormon mercantile

policies gave evidence that the Mormon leaders were

determined to control the nature of urban economic

practices.

In an effort to prevent financial control by

unsympathetic gentiles, the bishops carried out rhe

Church's policy of establishing cooperative stores and

boycotting gentile merchants. Such an attempt to preserve

a sense of community and to promote Mormon self-sufficiency

may have retarded population expansion, but such attempts 213 were not aimed at stifling urban growth or urban economic development. Although the Mormon leaders seemingly

restricted urban economic growth through their boycott,

they advanced their own form of urban mercantile development. United Orders also constituted an attempt by

church leaders to influence the the nature of urban

economic development. Mormon leaders showed flexibility in

adapting these Orders to settlements of varying population

sizes.

The establishment of Orders in Mormon cities and

towns provides an example of Mormon attempts to improve

urban economic life. Nineteenth-century Utah was not a

mature urban area, but it was influenced by the

urbanization process. The study of the economic activities

of bishops not only provides insight into the nature of

their economic leadership but also adds precision to the

understanding of Utah's urban development. The bishops

promoted urbanization and, like their wards and

settlements, responded to waves of urban influence

emanating from the Mormon capital. 214

Notes

^For a brief gereral treatment of the Mormons in Nauvoo see Arrington and Bitton's "Triumph and Tragedy In 'The City of Joseph'," which appears as chapter 4, pp. 65-82, of their Mormon Experience■ 2 Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 88-9C describes the laying out of town lots and the providing for agricultural land outside the residential area.

^Charles S. Peterson, "Urban Utah: Toward a Fuller Understanding," Utah Historical Quarterly 47 (Summer 1979): 235. 4 See Jackson and Shultz, Cities in American History, pp. 255-56 for a brief introduction to the "City Beautiful" concept.

^Skidmore Diaries, May 2, 1887.

^Bishops Meetings, April 17, 1853.

"^Ibid. , March 25 , 1875.

®Ibid., April 22, 1875. 9 Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, March 7, 1854.

^^Journal History, November 16, 1864, p.l.

^^For the Deseret News account, see Journal History, September, 1866, p. 2. 12 See Journal History, January 2, 1867, p. 2 for the Deseret News account published on that date. For additional evidence of Sheets' involvement in urban improvement see Journal History, December 13, 1867. 13 Richmond Ward Historical Record, December 10, 1882.

^^ibid.. May 13, 1883.

^^John Taylor to Bishop William L. Skidmore, January 31, 1887, First Presidency Collection.

^^For information regarding instant cities, see Barth, Instant Cities. Pages 39-60 are particularly relevant to the study of Mormon urbanization efforts. 215

^^Allen and Leonard, Story of the Latter-day Saints, pp. 272-73; Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 141-44; Arrington, "Mormon Tithing House,", pp. 24-25, 49-55; Pace, "Changing Pattern of Mormon Financial Administration"; Charles B. Spahr, "America’s Working People: X— The Mormons," The Outlook 64 (1900): 310.

■^“James B. Allen, "Ecclesiastical Influence on Local Government in the Territory of Utah," Arizona and the West 8 (Spring 1966): 35-48; Allen and Leonard, pp. 260-62. 19 Richmond Ward Historical Record, November 8, 1879; Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, January 20, 1855. 20 » Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, January 20, L855, June 13, 1863. 21 Beaver County Incorporation Records, Utah State Archives. Filed April 3, 1882. 22 Cache County Tax Assessment Records, Utah State Archives. Filed May 17, 1882. 23 Ibid. Filed June 23, 1886. The articles of a previous, "superseded" incorporation of the Cache Valley Stake were filed January 16, 1886. 24 Eighth Ward Historical Record, March 26, 1883.

^^See, for example, Ibid., January 14, 1884; January 2, 1886; and January 2, 1889. 2 6 Salt Lake County Incorporation Records, Utah State Archives. A certificate, dated May 19, 1882, acknowledged the filing of an "agreement of Incorporation" and stated that on this date the probate judge had approved the document. The statement giving evidence concerning Atwood was signed on January 19, 1886. The bonds for Empey were dated January 26, 1392 and January 22, 1897. 27 Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 353-79. 2 8 Lounsbury, "Acts of Incorporation," pp. 52-53. 29 See Journal History, January 2, 1867 for a typed copy of the Deseret News article of the same date onwhich this information is based.

^^Beaver County Incorporation Records. The participation of McKnight in the incorporation process is difficult to assess from the articles of incorporation. 216

The articles include a James W. McKnight among the ten incorporators. Bishop James McKnight, however, had no middle initial. In the list of subscribers the ten incorporators apparently head the list. The order of the ten names is the same in both places. The first ten subscribers seem to be identical to the incorporators, with two possible exceptions. On the subscribers list the name James McKnight appears, this time with no middle initial. The name H. A. Walker is on the subscribers list, rather than Hyrum Walker, as given with the incorporators. This James McKnight subscribed to $757.50, the third highest amount, but since it is unclear whether he is really the bishop I have not included him in the textual description of the incorporation. No James W. KcKnight was listed with the investors in the company. A James McKnight, with no initial given, appeared before the probate judge as one who executed the articles of incorporation instrument. In any case. Bishop McKnight did become involved at some point with the company. According to his daughter, he "was president of the Minersville Irrigation Company." Robinson and Gil lins, eds., History of Minersville, pp. A139-40.

^^Beaver County Incorporation Records. 32 Cache County Incorporation Records. 33 Bishops Meetings, March 3, 1857. 34 Eighth Ward Historical Record, March 1, March 4, April 13, April 23, 1857. 35„ Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, March 15, 1857 . 3 £ ■'“Bishops Meetings, November 10 , 1864 .

^^Journal History, August 17, 1864. 3 8 Merrill, ed., Utah Pioneer and Apostle, p. 63. 39 Robinson and Gillins, eds., pp. 87-88. 40 Ibid., p. A139. 41 George Reynolds to Bishop G. Walker and Counselors, July 27, 1893, First Presidency Collection. 42 Arrington, Fox, and May, Building the City of God: Community and Cooperation Among the Mormons, p. 51. 43 Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, March 7, 1854. 44 Bishops Meetings, March 25, 1875. 45 Sheets Collection. 46 This Deseret News information is found in Journal History, May 18, 1864. 47 Cache State Bishops' Minute Book, 1872-76, LDS Church Archives, March 29, 1873. 48 Arrington, Fox, and May, Building the City oC God, p. 55. 49 Cited by Ibid., p. 56.

^°Ibid. , pp. 56-57.

^^Salt Lake County Incorporation Records. 52 Arrington provides insight into Mormon economic responses to the perceived railroad threat in Great Basin Kingdom; chapter 8, "The Year of Decision: 1869," pp. 235-56; chapter 9, "Mormon Railroads," pp. 257-92; and chapter 10, '""he Cooperative Movement,", pp. 293-322

^^Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, pp. 449-50, 454. 54 See Young's comments in Bishops Meetings, February 4, 1869.

^^Ibid., May 12, 1870. For other bishops meetings references to the Thirteenth Ward store see Ibid., February 18, March 4, 1869.

^^Merrill, ed., p. 81. An entry for 1866 in Richmond Ward Manuscript History, LDS Church Archives, describes the cooperative store as a "flourishing institution."

^"^Cachc County Incorporation Records. Additional information concerning Merrill's support of the cooperative store is found in Merrill, ed.. Ibid., pp. 81-85.

^^Beaver County Incorporation Records. 59 Allen and Leonard, pp. 327-34. 2] R

^^Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 248-49, 482-63, note 50. Arrington notes that even the expanded boycott did not completely end friendly relations between Mormons and a small number of gentile merchants.

^^O.N. Malmquist, The First 100 Years: A History uC The Salt Lake Tribune, 1871-1971 (Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society, 1971), pp. 14-15.

^^Bishops Meetings, July 9, 1888.

^^Ibid., November 25, 1869. 64 Provo Bishops Meetings, March 23, 1869.

^^The relief society was an important organization for Mormon women.

^^Provo Bishops Meetings, March 24, 1869.

G^ibid., March 24, 1869.

^^Ibid., August 31, 1869.

^^Eighth Ward Historical Record, October 25, 1869.

^^Ibid., February 25, 1869.

^^Cache County Tax Assessment Records, March 26, 1869,

According to Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, p. 615, Sheets served a mission in New York and Pennsylvania during the years 1869 and 1870. Since the Lawrence case took place late in 1869 this mission likely explains his absence from such a critical meeting.

''Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 243-44. 74 Eighth Ward Historical Record, December 13, 1869.

^^Bishops Meetings, December 23, 1869. These minutes referred to McAllister as "Acring B[isho]p J.D.T. McAllister." Specific reasons are not given in these minutes for the expulsion from the Church of the members referred to.

"^^Allen and Leonard, p. 328 .

"^"^Bishops Meetings, February 17 , 1870 . 210 78 Eighth Ward Historical Record, May 5, 1870. 79 Ibid., September 20, 1870

Bishops Meetings, February 18, 1869. Cited by Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, p. 431. Additional evidence of Woolley's moderate stance is found in Bishops Meetings, October 15, 1868. 81 For background on the divisive issues relating to the "New Movement" see Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, pp. 428-44 .

Allen and Leonard , 83. Ibid. P- 3 60. 84. Ibid. p. 361. 85. Ibid. pp. 361-62.

8 6 . Ibid. p. 362. 87. Ibid. P- 364 .

88 . Ibid. p. 363 . 89. Ibid. pp. 365-66. 90 For a useful list of United Orders, which gives the names of of their presidents, see Appendix VIII in Arrington, Fox, and May, Building the City of God, pp. 407-13. An alphabetized list follows in Appendix IX, on pp. 414-19. 91 Whether the word "workmen" is plural or singular is unclear. 92 "Record of the United Order of Beaver Stake of Sion," LDS Genealogical Library, pp. 253-83. Microfilm number 485,237. 93 Ibid, 94 Ibid. 95 Ibid. 96 Robinson and Gillins, eds., p. 61. 97 Merril1, ed., p. 77. 220

98 Ibid., pp. 77, 83. 99 Bair, comp.. History of Richmond, p. 37.

^^^Merrill, ed., p. 83.

^°^Ibid., p. 77.

^^^Arrington, Fox, and May, Building the City of God, p. 221.

^^^Ibid., p. 221; Eighth Ward Manuscript History; Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Salt Lake City 8th Ward. " ] 04 Salt Lake County Incorporation Records. Articles filed December 29, 1874. 105 Eighth Ward Manuscript History.

^'^^Quoted words are from Ibid. For other references to the Eighth Ward's United Order see Eighth Ward Historical Record, June 25, 1874, September 2, 1874, and September 16, 1875.

^^"^George Goddard, Journal, LDS Church Archives, February 23, 1875.

1 0 g Ibid., May 27, 1874. Goddard was elected secretary on this date and I have assumed that he continued to act in that office until the Order failed the following year. The assumption seems reasonable since he continued to attend United Order meetings until that time. 109 Ibid., February 23, 1875.

^^°Ibid., February 25, 1875.

^^^Ibid., October 23, 1875. 112 For information regarding United Order failures and accomplishments see Allen and Leonard, pp. 359-66; Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 323-41.

^^^Ibid. CHAPTER 7

MARRIAGE PATTERNS AND THE "RAID"

The experiences of Mormon bishops and their wives differed from those of married persons in other frontier areas. In addition to being part of an atypical society, the bishops and their wives were unique because of their practice of polygamy, or plural marriage, in which Mormon men were married to more than one wife.^ The bishops'

loyalty to a marriage practice deplored by much of the nation set them apart from other nineteenth-century

American elites. Their refusal to submit to federal pressure to discontinue their plural marriages required many bishops and their wives to go "underground" to avoid federal marshals seeking to eradicate Mormon polygamy.

Forced to choose between religious and civil law, a sizable number of bishops served prison terms for obeying what they 2 considered to be the law of God.

Although only a relatively small percentage of

Mormon women were plural wives, polygamous marriage was so uncommon in America that it caught the public's attention,

led to vicious anti-Mormon attacks by the press, and resulted in severe anti-polygamy legislation by the United

221 222

States Congress. The polygamy question provided a unifying issue around which opponents of Mormonism could rally, yet criticism of the Mormons was not limited to that one issue.

Critics argued that Mormon economic practices violated the principle of free enterprise. They complained that the

Mormon practice of bloc voting ran counter to the political diversity which party politics offered. Critics expressed their disgust with Mormon marriage practices because they offended their moral sensibilities. In 1856, an election year, the Republican Party adopted a national platform which included a denunciation of slavery and polygamy, evils which the Republicans labeled the "twin relics of barbarism." One important fomenter of anti-Mormon sentiment, a judicial appointee, W.W. Drummond, criticized

Mormon religious influence in the court system.^

The Mountain Meadows Massacre, which occurred in

1857, also caused serious concern among critics of the

Mormons. In that tragic event, numerous members of an overland immigrant group composed of Southerners were murdered by Mormons and Indians as they passed through

Utah. Unfortunately, Brigham Young's message not to disturb the immigrant train, which may well have prevented the killings, arrived too late. Historical information concerning the event is still lacking, but it appears that blame can be placed to varying degrees on the Mormons, the

Indians, and on the immigrant train. Also, there was an 223 unusually high level of tension in Utah at the time, because of President James Buchanan's decision to send a military expedition to Utah. The President's decision frightened the Saints, who still remembered how, in earlier years, military forces had aided the mobs which persecuted 4 them.

Of the various issues which aroused anti-Mormon sentiment, polygamy seemed to have caused the most widespread criticism. Today virtually every major textbook on Utah or Mormon history deals in some way with Mormon polygamy. However, in spite of the useful studies about polygamy which have appeared to date, none has focused on polygamy among the over 2,000 wives who married men serving as bishops between 1847 and 1900. Such a study is important, because in no other specific -roup of comparable size was there such a high concentration of women married to polygamist husbands. Focusing on the wives of bishops also demonstrates with greater precision why the bishops were an atypical elite.

This chapter, based in part on a study of 835 wives of bishops, describes the impact of polygamy on the lives of the women involved by dealing with several important

themes: nineteenth-century Mormon beliefs concerning marriage, the extent of polygamy among the wives of bishops, the age of those involved in polygamous marriages, polygamy and widowhood, sisters as plural wives, 224 childbearing, intermarriage patterns, and the impact of the

federal government's anti-polygamy crusade on the bishops

and their wives. Comparisons with the monogamous wives of

bishops are made throughout the chapter to place the

experience of polygamous wives in a fuller context.^

Nineteenth-century Mormon Beliefs Concerning Marriage

One cannot fully understand the motives behind the

uncommon marriage practices of nineteenth-century Mormons

without some understanding of Mormon doctrinal beliefs

concerning the institution of marriage. These religious

beliefs included the official sanction of polygamous

marriages. The Mormons justified this practice on two

grounds: Biblical precedent and the belief in revelation to

the first Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith, instructing him to

reinstitute the practice of polygamy in modern times.

First publically announced in 1852, the practice gained

wide acceptance among Mormons until 1890 when most all

plural marriages ceased to be performed.^

Besides encouraging plural marriages. Mormon

marriage doctrine differed from traditional American

marriage philosophies in another way. Church leaders

taught that marriages solemnized in certain holy places,

such as Mormon temples, could continue not only throughout

life on earth but also for all eternity. Joseph Smith and

his successors, including Brigham Young, further taught 225 that the men and women who received these eternal marriage rites and then continued to be faithful would become Gods in the world to come. Women were thus given the hope of attaining exalted positions along with their husbands.'

This Mormon doctrine, which held that mortal men and women could progress to the state of Deity, was reflected accurately in the words from a well-known Mormon hymn written by Eliza R. Snow, a plural wife of Joseph Smith:

In the heav'ns are parents single? No; the tho't makes reason stare! Truth is reason, truth eternal Tells me I've a mother there.8

Joseph Smith taught that in addition to a Heavenly

Father there was also a Heavenly Mother. Moreover, since men and women were created in the image oftheir Divine

Parents, they were Gods in embryo and could eventually become Heavenly Fathers and Mothers themselves. Marriage for time and eternity therefore assumed a prominent place among Mormons, who perceived it as constituting a fundamental step in God's ultimate plan for the salvation of humankind. Mormons who were wed in either kind of marriage, polygamous or monogamous, could be married 9 ("sealed") for time and eternity. Mormon marriage practices were atypical, then, for two basic reasons: first, they might involve polygamy and second, they were frequently performed for an eternal duration. 226

The present chapter considers polygamous wives to be only those who were alive and married to a husband who had at least one other living wife. In the minds of nineteenth-century Mormons, however, the concept of marriage beyond mortality further expanded the possibilities for polygamous marriages. Mormon doctrine taught that if one wife married a man for eternity end then died, the marriage could still become polygamous. The experience of the wives of Bishop Christopher J. Arthur provides a case in point. Caroline Eliza Haight became

Christopher's first wife. Following the birth of

Caroline's first child, Christopher hired the daughter of a friend to assist the Arthur family. "We fell in love,"

Christopher wrote, "and both her parents desired me to take her for a wife." He passed up the opportunity, being

"afraid to hurt Caroline's feelings." The declined marriage troubled him for years afterward. "From that time for 20 years," he recalled, "I mourned and repented and feared I would not get another chance." Christopher never did practice polygamy while Caroline was alive, but following her death on March 3, 18 74 he married three wives: Ann Elizabeth Perry (February 17, 1875), Marion

Brown (November 22, 1875), and Jane Adamson Condie (January

18, 1877). With the marriage and subsequent sealing of

second wife Ann Elizabeth to Christopher, the Arthur family became polygamous in a non-mortal sense, for Christopher 227 still considered his deceased wife Caroline to be his spouse following her death.

Extent of Polygamy

Estimates of the percentage of Mormon adults who practiced polygamy vary. Mormon historians Leonard

Arrington and David Bitton recently estimated that based on the results of past research "no more than 5 percent of married Mormon men had more than one wife" between about

1850 and 1900. They maintained that "since the great majority of these had only two wives, it seems reasonable to suppose that about 12 percent of Mormon married women were involved in the principle.Wives of Mormon bishops participated in polygamous marriages much more frequently than Mormon wives in general. Of the 835 wives of bishops studied, 58 percent were at one time married to a man who had at least one other living wife. Thirty percent of the

835 women were definitely not involved in polygamy while the participation in polygamy could not be determined with certainty for the remaining 12 percent. Somewhere between about 58 and 70 percent of the wives of bishops were polygamous wives.

There are several reasons for the high incidence of polygamous marriage among bishops. First, men who took plural wives needed to meet requirements of spiritual 12 worthiness. Men who at some point were bishops met such 228 a standard more frequently than the general church membership. Second, upper-echelon Mormon leaders strongly encouraged bishops to enter polygamy.Third, some attempt was made tc limit polygamy to families in which a husband was sufficiently wealthy to support multiple wives 14 and many children. The bishops clearly qualified in this area, for as we have seen they were among the wealthiest men in their communities.^^ One girl, whose father was a polygamist, held the opinion that "any girl would have taken a successful Bishop though he be married, in preference to a single man with nothing.These reasons help explain why the bishops practiced polygamy with a much greater frequency than Mormon men in general.

Age of Spouses

The difference between the ages of polygamous wives of bishops and their husbands was unusually high, especially for third or subsequent wives. The bishops' wives were nearly always the same age or younger than their husbands. In all of the polygamous and monogamous marriages combined, only about 10 percent of the wives were more than one full year older than their husbands. Women who were between zero and five years younger than their husbands participated in polygamous marriages roughly as often as in monogamous marriages. As the age gap between spouses widened, marriages increasingly tended to be 229 polygamous. In marriages where a wife w;"; between six and twelve years younger than her husband, ( percent of the marriages were polygamous. In cases where the wife was thirteen or more years younger than her husband, 8 7 percent of the marriages were polygamous.

Polygamous first wives were generally about n'.r.a'.een years of age, while their husbands were twenty-one years old. Polygamous second wives averaged nineteen and one-half years when they married, and their husbands thirty-one years. For polygamous third and fourth wives the gap was even larger. Third wives were nineteen and one-half years old and their husbands thirty-four and one-half when they married. Fourth and subsequent wives, averaging nineteen and one-ha]f years of age, married men who were about twenty-one years their senior, about age forty-one. These Mormon women married at an age comparable to that of other frontier women. Rejecting the notion

"that women on the frontier routinely married at fourteen or fifteen" years of age, historian Julie Roy Jeffrey found that "scattered studies of pioneer families indicate that single women married not in their early teens but in their 18 late teens and early twenties."

Monogamous wives of bishops and their husbands had somewhat similar age differences as polygamous wives.

Monogamous first wives, like polygamous first wives, were typically nineteen years of age when they married. Their 230 husbands were about twenty-two, as compared to twenty-one for husbands of polygamous first wives. Had wives of bishops participated in monogamous marriages only, the age differences between spouses would have been relatively small. Even in monogamous marriages when a husband remarried, the age gap between spouses rose dramatically.

Women who married a bishop who had no other living wife were, on the average, about sixteen and one-half years younger than their husbands as compared to eleven and one-half years younger for polygamous second wives.

Because subsequent marriages were clearly more common in polygamous marriages than in monogamous unions and because so many of the women who married bishops were engaged in polygamous marriages, the average age gap between spouses was abnormally high for wives of bishops.

The age gap between spouses was somewhat smaller for polygamist bishops than for Mormon polygamists in general.

Comparing the results of Stanley S. Ivins' study of 1,784 19 Mormon polygamists in general with the present findings regarding wives of bishops reveals that the age gap was somewhat larger for polygamous wives overall than for the polygamous wives of bishops; three years to two for first polygamous wives, fourteen to eleven for second polygamous wives, and eighteen to fifteen for third polygamous wives. 231

Polygamy and Widowhood

The abnormally high age gap between spouses in polygamous marriages produced an uncommonly large percentage of widows. Although polygamy may have facilitated marriage for many Mormon women, it also caused disproportionate problems for the women involved by leaving so many of them widows. Of all the women studied, both monogamous and polygamous, about six in ten outlived their husbands. Roughly half of polygamous first wives and half of monogamous first wives became widows. When polygamous or monogamous second or later marriages occurred, the

likelihood for a woman's becoming a widow increased sharply. About seven in ten polygamous second wives and the same proportion of monogamous second wives became widows. Moreover, because polygamy substantially increased the number of second or later marriages among wives of bishops, they suffered disproportionately from widowhood.

Another way of viewing the tremendous impact which polygamy had on widowhood is to focus on the men involved.

Of the 180 proven polygamist bishops sampled in this study,

143, or nearly four out of five, left at least one widow.

These 143 polygamist bishops left 243 widows. Of the 143 men, sixty-six, or 46 percent, left one widow; sixty, or 42 percent, left two widows; twelve, or 8 percent, three widows; and five, or 4 percent, four or more widows. 232

As would be expected cases where a large age gap existed between spouses, the widows of polygamist bishops remained husbandless for a longer period of time than wives who were more nearly the same age as their spouses.

Polygamist first wives generally remained widows until their deaths about twelve years following the passing of their husbands. Polygamous second wives were widows for fifteen years, third wives for twenty years, and fourth or subsequent wives for twenty-four and one-half years. The widowed polygamous wives generally did not remarry.

According to remarriage data on the family group sheets, only between 7 and 9 percent of these women ever remarried.

In monogamous societies widows pose a challenge to the social welfare institutions which help support them.

In Utah's monogamous-polygamous society not only did the wives of bishops and other women become widows more

frequently, but they also often entered widowhood two or more at a time. Widowhood in a polygamous family did have at least one advantage. Wives had the possibility of relying on each other. Even if the husband were gone, the other wife, or wives, remained. Such an arrangement offered the potential advantages of mutual comfort, companionship and even economic assistance. These were only reactions, of course, to the difficult situation the women faced. Ironically, aside from the additional burdens placed upon the women themselves and upon other family 233 members, the largest burden for the care of the widows probably fell most heavily on the chief social welfare agents of the Mormon Church, the community bishops.

Sisters As Plural Wives

Frequently, plural wives were sisters. Hannah

Adeline and Lydia Lenora Hatch, two daughters of polygamist

Bishop Lorenzo Hill Hatch, both married Bishop Levi Mathers

Savage. Bishop Savage married Lydia Lenora on December 24,

1879 in the Mormon temple at St. George, Utah. Three years after Lenora's marriage to Levi, she gave birth to a ten-pound daughter, Adeline, who presumably was named after

Lenora's younger sister, Hannah Adeline. One year later that same younger sister, Hannah Adeline, followed in 21 Lenora's footsteps by marrying Levi Savage.

Generally, as with the Hatch sisters, polygamous marriages involving sisters included only two sisters, but there were exceptions. Bishop Emanuel Bagley married Mary

Isabelle Pope in 1866, her sister Charlotte Culver Pope in

1870, and yet another sister, HuIda Jane Pope, in 1873.

Between 1869 and 1896, the three sisters bore Bishop Bagley

thirty children. At least one of the sisters gave birth during all but five of the years during that twenty-eight year time span. Altogether, of the 180 polygamist bishops

studied, between 9 and 12 percent married at least two

sisters. 234

Childbearing

Mormons contended that a prime reason for practicing polygamy was to produce children. Brigham Young stated :

If my wife had borne me all the children that she ever would bare, the celestial law would teach me to take young women that would have cnildren. Do you understand this? I have told you many times that there are multitudes of pure and holy spirits waiting to take tabernacles. Now what is our duty? To prepare tabernacles for them; to take a course that will not tend to drive those spirits into the families of the wicked, where they will be trained in wickedness, debauchery, and every species of crime. It is the duty of every righteous man and woman to prepare tabernacles for all the spirits they can."22

The bishops and their wives clearly acted consistently with this theological belief and maintained a high birthrate. During the nineteenth-century the birthrate in America declined substantially. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, women typically gave birth to seven children. By the beginning of the twentieth century they averaged only three and one-half children.

The wives of bishops did not follow this trend. Mormon bishops were consistently in the upper economic brackets of their society, yet their wives bore more children than

American women in general had averaged even at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In contrast, other wealthy Americans limited their families more than the 235 general population. The noted American social critic,

Thorstein Veblen, attributed this trend, at least in part, to the desire of the rich to display their wealth, through what he termed "conspicuous consumption." Veblen argued that such consumption, with the attendant financial demands

"required in the reputable maintenance of a child is very considerable and acts as a powerful deterrent" to a higher birthrate among the wealthy. Whatever tendencies toward

"conspicuous consumption" the bishops and their wives may have exibited, they obviously did not respond by having fewer children. A more likely explanation for the high birthrate for the bishops and their wives may be that it was more fashionable for elite in Mormon society to display children than wealth, although both children and wealth 24 could raise one's social status. Based on childbearing information available on 640 of the 835 women studied, these wives of bishops, both monogamous and polygamous, averaged 8.2 births. The 640 women bore a total of 5,025 children.

The polygamous wives, for whom childbearing information is available, averaged 7.9 children.

Monogamist women averaged 8.9 children. Although monogamous wives overall averaged more births than polygamous wives, polygamous first wives actually bore more children, 9.6, than monogamous first wives, 9.1.

Polygamous first wives clearly did not cease having 236

children after their husbands married subsequent wives.

Polygamous second wives bore an average 7.0 children as

compared to 6.5 for their monogamous counterparts;

polygamous third wives averaged 7.25 children; and

polygamous fourth or higher wives averaged 4.75 children.

The relatively large number of children that the wives of bishops bore was the result of large childbearing

spans and relatively close spacing of children. The women,

both monogamous and polygamous combined, bore children for

an average span of 17.7 years between first and last

births. For all polygamous wives the span was 17.0 years.

For all monogamous women it was even higher, 18.4 years.

The category with the longest gap between first and last

births was polygamous first wives who, on the average, bore

their last child 20.0 years after their first as compared

to 19.5 for monogamous first wives. Polygamous second

wives had children over an average time interval of 16.1

years as compared to 13.7 years for monogamous second

wives, 14,7 years for polygamous third wives, and 10.5

years for polygamous fourth and subsequent wives. For all

of the women combined, about seven in ten bore children for

fifteen or more years, about four in ten for twenty or more

years, and one in ten for twenty-five or more years. About

one in two of the women bore their first child before

turning twenty-one and roughly seven of ten gave birth to

their last child after reaching thirty-eight years of age. 237

About one in five women gave birth to their final child after turning forty.

The bishops and their wives spaced their childcen close together. The average interval between first and subsequent children born in the Utah area was 2.3 for all wives considered together.The polygamous wives spaced their children 2.4 years apart. Monogamous women spaced their children slightly closer together, 2.2 years.

Polygamous first wives averaged a new child every 2.4 years following their first birth as compared to 2.2 for monogamous first wives. Second polygamous and monogamous wives gave birth every 2.5 and 2.2 years respectively; third polygamous wives had a child every 2.5 years; and fourth or subsequent wives every 2.3 years. In summary, the bishops and their wives spaced their children at close intervals and apparently continued having children as long as possible. In spite of their relatively privileged position in Mormon society, these men and their wives were far more concerned with producing children than restricting their birth.

Intermarriage Patterns

Polygamy exerted an influence on the wives of bishops by affecting patterns of intermarriage. Probably the best means of testing whether a melting pot (that is, the assimilation of immigrants into society) succeeded in 238 frontier Utah or any other area is to examine intermarriage between relevant groups. Using this criterion, the marriage patterns of the bishops and their wives demonstrated that a melting pot existed among Mormons in nineteenth-century Utah. Most of the immigrants who arrived in Utah during that period came from northern and western Europe. About one-third of all the wives of the bishops were immigrants, while about two-thirds were born in the United States. In Utah-area marriages involving the wives of the bishops, about one-half involved American spouses only. Over one-third involved an immigrant spouse marrying another immigrant from a different nation, and about one-tenth of the marriages included immigrant spouses from the same nation.

Immigrants entered polygamy more readily than native-born Americans. Of Utah area marriages involving at least one immigrant spouse, 69 percent of the marriages were or became polygamous; 31 percent were monogamous. In

Utah marriages which included solely American spouses, only

53 percent of the marriages were polygamous and 47 percent monogamous. The combination of spouses which most consistently produced polygamous marriages were those involving women, either immigrant or American, who married immigrant men. When immigrant bishops married women from their own country 6 6 percent of the marriages were polygamous. When they married American women, the 239 percentage rose to 76 percent. Finally, when immigrant bishops married immigrant women from a nation other than their own, 78 percent of the marriages involved polygamy.

The frequency with which the wives of bishops participated in marriages involving partners from different nations indicates that a melting pot operated among the wealthier members of Mormon society. This melting pot existed in Utah in both polygamous and monogamous marriages. In terms of promoting intermarriage between different nationalities, polygamy hastened the assimilation of immigrants. Some 41 percent oC polygamous marriages involved spouses from different nationalities, including the United States, as compared to 27 percent for monogamous marriages. In many cases, the determination of the bishops and their wives to marry within the Mormon faith and engage in polygamy caused them to abandon hopes for more traditional monogamous unions involving spouses of the same nationality.

The Raid

During the 1880's the federal government attempted to break the power of the Mormon Church in the Utah area and used the polygamy question as a means to achieve its aim. In doing so the government satisfied the wishes of many Americans who opposed Mormon polygamy. Those who backed the government's anti-polygamy crusade did so for 240 varying reasons. Some regarded polygamy as a reprehensible

practice which was totally at odds with Christian morality.

Others used the polygamy question in order to profit

politically. Still others sought publicity or monetary

profit by publishing information regarding the controversial practice.As part of this anti-polygamy

effort, the Congress passed the Edmunds Act in 1882. This

legislation set in motion an intense effort by anti-Mormons

to disenfranchise the Mormons, as well as a drive to

prosecute church members on charges of polygamy and

unlawful cohabitation. The government's anti-polygamy

"raid" of the 1880's resulted in 1,037 convictions for 2 8 either polygamy or unlawful cohabitation. Mormon

historian Andrew Jenson has compiled a list of 834 Mormons

who were imprisoned during the 1884 to 1892 period, which

would indicate that a large number of the anti-polygamy 29 convictions resulted in prison sentences. A comparison

of the names listed by Jenson with the list of bishops used

in the present study reveals that 104, or 12 percent, of

the 834 Mormon prisoners served as a bishop between 1847

and 1900.

The imprisonment of such a large number of

influential community leaders increased social tensions,

but it also created a heightened sense of community in

Mormon circles. Although going "underground" or serving a

prison term traditionally carried negative connotations, 241 Mormon bishops, imprisoned for loyalty to church teachings, wore their prison experience as a badge of honor rather than one of shame. A photograph of a Mormon general authority surrounded by thirteen bishops, all dressed in prison stripes, attests to their pride in being imprisoned over an issue of conscience. The Mormon bishops experienced imprisonment on a larger scale than any comparable group of religious leaders in American history.

The high esteem in which their communities held them caused the prison experience to take on a more positive meaning for the Mormon bishops.

Bishop Elijah F. Sheets, like many nineteenth-century bishops, practiced polygamy. Although he married four wives, at no time was he married to more than two living wives.His practice of polygamy led to his imprisonment during the "raid.Sheets seemed to view his incarceration as more of a social distinction than a condemnation. While in the penitentiary, he posed with other inmates in his prison apparel, and following his release from the "pen" his ward gave him a hero's welcome 32 at a social gathering they held in his honor. Prior to

Bishop Sheets' imprisonment "the marshalls had been after 33 [him] for over four years." One close acquaintance

recorded that Sheets "spent a great deal of time travelling

[sic] back to the states and around through the Territory

,. . "34 in disguise." 242

Bishop William L. Skidmore managed to avoid arrest by going underground. His journal provides specific details concerning his strategy for remaining free from the marshals. On September 29, 1887, Skidmore slept in a barn after learning that deputies were looking for him. He again slept in a barn the following night, and then took even greater precautions the next day, disguising himself by shaving his beard and changing his manner of dress.

Skidmore's son watched out for his safety, and a wife brought food to his barn hideout. When word came that he would be caught by the deputies that night, he carried some quilts to a new place of refuge, a strawstack located in a field. After arising from his bed of straw the following day the bishop, disguised as a tramp, went to his own door requesting bread. So effective was his disguise that his daughter initially failed to recognize him.

The wives of polygamous bishops faced unusually difficult circumstances, since their husbands were among the prime targets of the "raid." In an attempt to thwart the efforts of the federal marshals who sought evidence of plural marriage, wives of bishops were frequently separated from their husbands. As many bishops went "underground" to escape arrest, their wives faced "underground" experiences of their own.^^ The wives of polygamist bishops found it necessary to take extra precautions when carrying and bearing children because of the obvious evidence of 243

"cohabitation" which pregnancy and especially childbirth could provide the marshals. A polygamous wife of Bishop

Skidmore moved from her home in Richmond, Utah to a nearby town because of pressure being placed on polygamists.^^

'/hile away from Richmond and her husband, she gave birth to a son. News of the birth prompted Bishop Skidmore to write a letter and send five dollars for his wife's benefit.

Skidmore's fear of the marshals apparently prevented him from personally visiting his wife and child at such an important time.

Women marrying into polygamy during the "raid" also took special precautions since such marriages were illegal 3 8 according to federal law. Because Mormons considered such legislation to be an unconstitutional violation of 3 y their freedom of religion , they refused to comply and took rather extreme measures at times to avoid suspicion.

On June 14, 1885 seventeen-year-old Mary Elizabeth Cox married Bishop Milton L. Lee in the St. George Mormon temple. Wanting to avoid a highly publicized marriage, the bride-to-be cautiously maintained secrecy on her wedding day. Having shared a room with her own sisters and other

Mormons the night prior to her marriage, Mary dressed while the other occupants in the room still slept. She subsequently walked in a bent-over, unsteady fashion until arriving at the temple. To further avoid arousing suspicion Mary entered through an infrequently used temple 244 door after meeting tne church official who later performed the marriage ceremony. Even following the marriage rites

Mary and her new husband met only briefly and then parted, 40 going in different directions. Elizabeth Francis

Fellows, a school teacher, also demonstrated a desire for secrecy following her marriage on April 5, 1881 to Bishop

Benjamin C. Critchlow. After secretly becoming Bishop

Critchlow's second wife, Elizabeth did not even change her residence and continued to live with her parents while she 41 taught school, just as she had before her marriage.

Many of these women, such as the wives of Bishop

Christopher J. Arthur, found it necessary to face life alone while their husbands served time in the penitentiary.

Between May 16 and October 24, 1889, Bishop ArL’nur was imprisoned for having plural wives. During that period, his three living wives, Elizabeth, Marion, and Jane each received a personalized poem from their encarcerated 42 mate. Meanwhile, the imprisoned patriarch received kind treatment from the jailer, ate yucd food, developed memorable friendships, and even obtained three photographs of imprisoned bishops as souvenirs. He described his prison experience as being "fraught with much enjoyment."

He later wrote that "liberty to go to my home and family and associate with the people of Cedar was the only 43 drawback." Perhaps Arthur's account glossed over the trials of prison life. Even so, one wonders if the wives 245 waiting outside the Utah penitentiary may have encountered

a more difficult situation and experienced greater

hardships than their imprisoned husbands. Shortly

following his release from prison, Bishop Elijah F. Sheets

argued that the wives of the imprisoned men "had to suffer 4 4 as much if not more than the brethren."

Conclusion

The Mormon bishops and their wives formed a unique group in American history. Nowhere in America, or even in

Utah, did such a large number of men and women practice

polygamy as consistently as the bishops and their wives.

Possessing a different religious philosophy than Americans

in general, they perceived marriage as a permanent

relationship which could continue beyond earth life. They

also believed that more than one woman could marry the same

husband and that in an e:ernal existence the polygamous

husband and his wives could become a Heavenly Father and

Heavenly Mothers.

The majority of the bishops' wives became

polygamous wives and the practice exerted a far-reaching

impact on both the bishops and their wives. Bishops often

married wives who were much younger than themselves. This caused an unusually high number of their wives to become widows. Because of the abnormally large age gap between

polygamous spouses, these wives outlived their husbands 246 more often than monogamous wives, who were more nearly tne same age as their husbands. Besides altering che traditional monogamous relationship between spouses, polygamy sometimes altered the relationship between sisters. Many of the wives of bishops were sisters who were married to the same husband. The bishops and their polygamous wives spaced their children close together and had large families,. Despite their relatively high economic status, they had large families. The wives of bishops who practiced polygamy helped create a melting pot in

Territorial Utah. They married spouses from a '■’Ifferent country than their own even more frequently than the monogamous wives of bishops.

E'inally, polygamy subjected the bishops and their wives to an attack on their marriages by the national government. Following the government's weakening of Mormon 4 5 voting strength, forcing surrender of church property, attempts to break up polygamous marriages,and the imprisonment of numerous bishops, the Mormon Church finally submitted to the government's demands. In 1890 the

President of the Church officially announced that no future 47 plural marriages would be performed. Following the announcement the institution of polygamy began a steady decline in Mormon society. 247

Notes

^Davis Bitton provides an excellent introduction to sources dealing with Mormon polygamy in "Mormon Polygamy: A Review Article," Journal of Mormon History 4(1977) 101-18. Kimball Young's sociological approach to the subject: of polygamy, based on numerous interviews of persons who lived in polygamous families, is found in his Isn't One Wife Enough? (New York: Holt and Co., 1954). The Hulet interviews on which the book is based are housed in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Arrington and Bitton deal with Mormon polygamy in The Mormon Experience in chapter 10, "Marriage and Family Patterns," pp. 185-205. Also useful is chapter 6 of Julie Roy Jeffrey, Frontier Women The Trans-Mississippi West, 1840-1880 (New York: Hill and Wang, 1979), "If Polygamy Is the Lord's Order, We Must- Carry It Out," pp. 147-78. Demographic approaches to polygamy are James E. Smith and Phillip R. Kunz, "Polygyny and Fertility in Nineteenth-Century America," Population Studies 30(November 1976) 465-80; and Stanley S. Ivins, "Notes on Mormon Polygamy," Western Humanities Review 10 (Summer 1956) 229-39. I express appreciation to the Journal of the West for permitting the inclusion in this study of material previously published in my article entitled "Wives of Nineteenth-Century Mormon Bishops: A Quantitative Analysis." Reprinted from Journal of the West, April 1982, pp. 49-57 with permission. Copyright 1982 by Journal of the West. No additional copies may be made without the express permission of the author and of the editor of Journal of the West. I also wish to thank Professor Glenda Riley of the University of Northern Iowa for editorial assistance in the writing of material contained in the article, and hence in this chapter. I express gratitude for the generous funding provided by the Instruction and Research Computer Center of The Ohio State University, which made the guantitative analysis in this chapter possible. 2 The best general account of the federal government's attack on the Mormon Church during the period of the raid is Gustive 0. Larson, The 'Americanization' of Utah for Statehood (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1971). See also Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, chapter 12, "The Raid," pp. 353-79.

^Arrington and Bitton, pp. 161-84.

'^Ibid, 248 The major primary source for this chapter is the "family group sheet" collection of the LDS Genealogical Society. Although varying in quality, the family group sheets constitute the best single source for analyzing nineteenth-century Mormon families. The sheets provide birth, marriage, death and childbearing information for many bishops and their wives. The collection has been used largely for genealogical and religious purposes, but is also a valuable source of historical information. Specific references to information from family group sheets will not be provided in this chapter. Too many were used to be cited individually and the sheets are arranged conveniently in alphabetical order according to surname at the LDS Genealogical Society.

^See Arrington and Bitton, Mormon Experience, pp. 194-99 for a brief discussion of the origins of Mormon plural marriage. Allen, "'Good Guys' vs. 'Good Guys'," pp. 151-56 gives an overview of the federal legislation leading to the official announcement to discontinue polygamy in 1890 .

^Arrington and Bitton, pp. 185-86. g Young, p. 39. Biographical information about Eliza R. Snow is found in Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, I: 693-97. 9 Arrington and Bitton, pp. 185-86.

^^See Christopher J. Arthur, Journal, LDS Church Archives.

^^Arrington and Bitton, Mormon Experience, p. 199. Other estimates of the extent to which Mormons practiced polygamy are found in Smith and Kunz, pp. 470-71.

^^Arrington and Bitton, p. 204.

^^Young, Isn't One Wife Enough?, pp. 106-07; Skidmore Diaries, April 6, 1884. 14 Young, Isn't One Wife Enough?, pp. 56-57 , 105 .

^^See the chapters in this dissertation entitled "A Quantitative Overview of the Mormon Bishops" and "Bishops and Regional Economic Development."

^^Cited by Young, Isn't One Wife Enough?, p. 120. 249 17 Based on the median, an average measure which deemphasizes exceptional cases. 18 Jeffrey, pp. 57, 66. 19 Ivins, Notes on Mormon Polygamy.

^'^Stephanie Smith Goodson, "Plural Wives," in Mormon Sisters; Women in Early Utah, ed. Claudia L. Bushman (Cambridge, Mass.: Emmeline Press, 1976), p. 104. 21 Lynn M. Hilton, ed.. Journal of Levi Mathers Savage (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, Extension Division, Publication Services, 1955). 2 ? Kimball Young, Isn’t One Wife En/^ugh?, p. 206 . Brigham Young's statement, made on September 21, 1856, is found in Journal of Discourses, 4: 56. Mormon scriptural support for childbearing as a purpose of polygamy is found in the Bool< of Mormon, Jacob 2: 23-30 .

^^Regarding American birthrates Smith and Kunz wrote: "Beginning as early as 1800 the United States experienced a regularly declining total fertility rate from 7.04 in 1800 to 3.56 in 1900. Between 1850 and 1884 the decline was from 5.42 to 4.29." Smith and Kunz, p. 472. 24 Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions (New Yorit: New American Library, 1953) , pp. 86-87. 25 These figures must be regarded with some caution since the family group sheets from which this information was talcen were generally compiled and submitted by descendants of the women studied. Childless women or women with fewer children were underrepresented in the present study because they had fewer descendants to place information in the Mormon archives. Including these women in the averaging and even assuming they bore no children would still give an overall average of 6.0 births per wife.

^^This average figure, the median, is based only on data for women who gave birth to two or more children. Other women had no relevant childbearing intervals to consider. 27 Allen and Leonard, p. 393. 2 8 Stewart L. Grow, "A Study of the Utah Commission: 1882-1896" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Utah, 1954), p. 268. Crow's figures for the years between 1879 and 2S0

1892, inclusive, add up to 33 convictions for polygamy and 1,004 for unlawful cohabitation. Only one conviction, for polygamy, occurred before 1884. For general background on this period see "The Raid," chapter 12 of Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 353-79. 29 Andrew Jenson, "Prisoners for Conscience Sake," LDS Church Archives. This list included George Reynolds, who was sentenced in 1879, and ended his prison term in 1881.

^"^Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 2: 614-16; Elijah F. Sheets, Family Group Sheet Collection, LDS Genealogical Library.

"^Sheets Collection; Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 2: 614-16. 32 Sheets Collection; Photograph, Utah State Historical Society.

^^Sheets Collection. Spelling edited and the word "me" was replaced with "him" for readability. 34 Isaac Brockbank, Autobiography, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Yeung University, pp. 44-45. 35 General background concerning the underground experience of Mormon women is found in Kimberly Jensen James, "Women on the 'Underground' of Mormon Polygamy," Journal of Mormon History 8 (1981); 49-61.

^^See Skiumore Diaries, June 11, 1885, May 12, 1886, October 14-16, 1887.

^^See Ibid., February 10, 1888. 3 A James, p. 57. 39 Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 358-59. 40 James, p. 57. 41 Ibid., 57. 42 Arthur Journal. ^^Ibid. 251 44 Eighth Ward Historical Record, January 3, 18 89. 45 Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, p. 358.

^^See Ibid., chapter 12, pp. 353-79.

'^^Ibid. , 377-79 . CHAPTER 8

SOCIAL LEADERSHIP

In addition to playing active roles in laying the urban political and economic foundations of numerous communities, the bishops also influenced the social development of their settlements. This chapter analyzes the ways in which they sought to improve their communities.

The bishops promoted education, encouraged moral reform, and monitored the social n- -ds of their communities through the use of ecclesiastical i -esentatives called teachers.

They also influenced the socxal nature of their wards by extending welfare assistance to the poor and by discouraging urban overcrowding.

Education

Part of the bishops' efforts to improve their communities centered around education. Close ties between church and state allowed the bishops greater opportunities to provide leadersip in education than they would have had as members in non-Mormon communities. The bishops displayed leadership in education by personally serving as school trustees or by directing the selection of trustees.

252 253

Such leadership was convenient, because the nineteenth-century Mormon ecclesiastical ward doubled as the basic unit of school district organization. Early in

Salt Lake City's history the municipal government looked to the bishops for assistance in promoting education. In 1852 the county court resolved that "the bishops of the several wards in Great Salt Lake County" receive written notification to act in educational matters. The bishops were to see that ward-level public meetings were held,

"cause their wards to be laid out into a school district or districts," and report back to the court.^ Later in 1852, the court desired the county's bishops "to cause an election to be held in the several school districts in their respective wards . . . for the election of 2 trustees."

In 1854 Bishop Woolley met with residents of the

Thirteenth Ward to select three school trustees. Woolley called the meeting to order, read an ordinance relating to school trustees and won unanimous approval as one the three trustees.^ Educational organization along ward lines was again seen in the Thirteenth Ward in 1865, when Woolley gained unanimous support as one of three trustees from "the 4 male inhabitants of the 13th School District." School organization on the ward level also occurred in the Eighth

Ward. After Bishop Sheets indicated the need for additional school trustees at an 1861 teachers meeting. 254 that body unanimously elected cwo trustees.^ In

Minersville, Bishop James McKnight served personally as a school trustee.^

The bishops also supported education by their concern for proper school maintenance. In 1855 the

Thirteenth Ward's school trustees, including Bishop

Wool ley, gave notice of a meeting which dealt with school-related taxation. As a result of the meeting a committee, probably consisting of the trustees themselves, was tc ccc te the implementation of a decision to impose a tax of one-half of one percent for school needs.^ At an

Eighth Ward teachers meeting held in 1861, Bishops Sheets helped provide for school upkeep by appointing a man to see 0 that the school building was cleaned. Richmond Ward minutes for that same year also give evidence of the bishop's leadership in school maintenance:

Moved and seconded that the citizens of Richmond repair the school house according to the plan proposed by the Bishop, and that the remaining tax due be expended in repairing the floor and making seats under the direction of the trustees. Resolved that the Bishop tax or proportion to each man in the Ward what he shall donate or do in repairing the school house. "9

The Mormon Church and its bishops supported

Mormon-dominated education and viewed non-Mormon schools with suspicion. Placing children in a non-Mormon school was a practice which Bishop Sheets spoke out against in a religious court case involving a man and his wife which he 255 tried in 1875. The minutes state that Sheets "advised them both to take their children from a Gentile School.in

Richmond a neighbor of Bishop Skidmore sought his counsel in 1883 after "some sectarians" offered to purchase land from her on which they could build a school house.

Skidmore advised against selling property "to those who were trying to destroy the truth and [lead] the children astray." The non-Mormons also tried to buy land from 12 others, and Skidmore repeated his counsel to them. Two months later Skidmore advised the children at Sunday School not to attend the non-Mormon school. in spite of his bias against non-Mormon educators the Richmond bishop deplored religious intolerance which led to the violation of property rights. He noted in his journal: "I heard today that some willful persons had thrown the windlass down the well belonging to the Presbyterian school teacher." The Richmond bishop noted that he "denounced" the misdeed "at the meeting and counseled the people not to molest her nor her property and anyone caught doing so 14 should be severely dealt with." Still, Skidmore opposed the school on religious grounds, believing so strongly in his position that he told his congregation in 1884 that "no parent that loves their children will send them to be taught by these sectarians. 256

Teachers

Making use of church organizational channels, the bishops used "teachers," their ward-level ecclesiastical subordinates, to assist them in promoting greater adherence to desired social behavior. The teachers helped the bishops maintain communication with ward members, which strengthened the sense of community in the Mormon settlements. Bishops met with their teachers personally to hear their reports, to offer recommendations and to provide personal oversight for the problems of their wards. Tne bishops were convinced that the service the teachers provided was fundamental to the well-being of their wards.

"There was no more important position in the Church than that of a good faithful teacher," Bishop Sheets once remarked.Bishop Woolley regarded the teachers as the

"legs and feet" of "the Kingdom of God."^”^ At a teachers meeting held in 1880 Sheets instructed his teachers to visit every member of the ward "at least once a month and as much oftener as possible." To emphasize the importance of their service. Sheets told the Eighth Ward teachers that they were "as much on a mission as if they were sent to the nations of the earth and God required as much diligence 18 from them." Sheets did not exempt himself from needing a visit from the teachers. At an 1875 teachers meeting

Sheets notified the teachers that probably a year had elapsed since the last time teachers visited his house. 257

Sheets missed their visits and explained that he did not want the teachers to overlook visiting his house because he felt that "the teachers had an influence that was good 19 among the people both old and young."

The bishops desired their teachers to live exemplary lives in order to better qualify themselves to act as the bishops' representatives. At times, religious sanctions against delinquent teachers were imposed. At a teachers meeting held in 1879 Sheets dealt with a teacher who previously had been "suspended as acting as a teacher because he was fighting." Because of his actions Sheets and his counselors had called the teacher before a bishop's court, at which time he became offended at the court's proceedings. Sheets maintained that the teacher's behavior left him and his counselors no other choice than to act as they had, which is not specified in the teachers meeting minutes. Sheets argued, "We would not be justified in receiving [the teacher] into our bosoms without some restitution." The bishop stated that he was "willing to take [the teacher] in full fellowship if he will manifest a penitent Spirit and make suitable reparation." The wayward teacher responded by apologizing for hurting the bishopric's feelings, requesting that they forgive him, and assuring them that he would try to do better.Following 21 his statement he "was restored to full fellowship." 258

Besides using their teachers to assist them in the general oversight of their wards, the bishops called on them to carry out specific assignments. In 1867 Bishop

Woo’ directed his "teachers to raise as much as they cou . their respective blocks on Monday next for the 22 support of the poor." Bishop Sheets enlisted the aid of his teachers in carrying out his responsibilities regarding tithing. At an 1873 teachers meeting Bishop Sheets' counselor, Isaac Brockbank, explained that the meeting's primary objective was to ask the teachers to visit the members of the Eighth Ward in order to learn vvhat occupation they had, how much remuneration they had received for their work, and the amount and kind of tithing which they had paid thus far in 1873. Following

Brockbank's introduction of the subject Bishop Sheets and his other counselor, John McAllister, followed by addressing the same theme. The inquiry began in the meeting itself with Sheets and others reporting their income and tithing paid during the year. The fallowing week the teachers returned to report their findings.

Although all of the desired information had not been acquired, the status of twenty-five ward members was 23 disclosed.

The bishops relied on their teachers to settle problems within their wards. Presiding Bishop Hunter

"urged the necessity of every bishop having good, faithful 259 teachers to settle all difficulties that may arise.

Hunter wanted more problems to be solved independent ot the

Church’s judicial system. He maintained that v _'h teachers helped solve problems "they generally remain[ec settled, because they [were] accomplished on the principle oC mutual reconciliation.''”^ The teachers were to be tolerant but not to the point of improperly condoning unrighteousness.

Bishop Sheets, for instance, displayed a sensitivity to the different circumstances of persons within his ward. In

1883 he referred to an unspecified difficulty between two parties and stated that he wanted the teachers to attempt to settle the matter causing the conflict without resorting to a bishop's court. Although willing to hold courts when he deemed it necessary, in this case Sheets advised the teachers "to be lenient toward them as they were very ignorant in the principles of the Gospel and like little children and needed more teaching than others of more experience.

The teachers proved useful in helping the bishops monitor the spiritual and temporal needs of their wards.

They also provided an established, organized channel through which information could be disseminated effectively. The comments of a visitor to Utah in 1870 underscored the way teachers helped impose order in an urban area. A Mr. Reasoner came to the Mormon capital as an aaent of the American Bible Society. His aim was to 260 provide "Bibles at a very low rate, and gratuitous distribution among the poor." Presiding Bishop Hunter introduced Reasoner at a Salt Lake bishops meeting, where

the visitor made an insightful statement concerning the teachers. His remarks are of particular interest because

they represent the views of a detached observer. According to the minutes, during "the few days he had been here he had learned that a better system of reaching the masses of the people existed here than in any place he ever visited, and thought that a more thorough canvass [sic] of the city might be made by the teachers of the different wards, and 27 more effectual than by any other means." As Reasoner discovered. Mormon ecclesiastical organization provided a degree of organization lacking in other urban areas.

The "Reformation"

Indicative of the bishops' backing of common values in the early years following the founding of Salt Lake City was their promotion of a drive to improve Mormon society called the "reformation." During the 1850's when Jedediah 2 8 M. Grant, of the First Presidency, and other General

Authorities made a concerted effort to purify the Church spiritually, the bishops carried out this "reformation" at the ward level. Grant looked to the bishops to provide

leadership in this movement of spiritual awakening, but did not overlook their need for reform. At a bishops meeting 2fil held in Salt Lake City, Grant questioned the bishops concerning their faithfullness in holding individual and family prayers. Placing high value on physical cleanliness, Grant also probed concerning the taking of thorough weekly baths. When the bishops failed to measure up to Grant's expectations, he preached that they must conform personally and then proceed to purify the entire city. Grant warned the bishops that failure on their part would result in serious consequences: "They shall be removed from their place, and the Marshall shall receive orders to send Policemen round to wash the Bishops and people and cleanse every house, for the wrath of God burns 29 against us."

A "catechism" evolved which included a number of questions designed to assist members to reform. Bishops and other eceived a printed version which illustrated the

Church's attempt to promote adherence to a common set of community values. The catechism asked questions regarding a wide variety of behavioral topics including murder, adultery, unauthorized use of property, lying, profanity, coveting, drunkenness, paying debts, use of irrigation water, payment of tithing, speaking against doctrinal principles, prater, cleanliness and sabbath observance.

Taking their cue from the upper-echelon leaders, the bishops stressed the reformation in ward meetings. At the Eighth Ward's Sunday evening service held September 27, 262

1856 Bishop Elijah F. Sheets told his ward "that President

Grant . . . gave the bishops instructions to get up a reformation in their wards that they might reform and be honest, pay their debts and tithing and live a..; Saints of the most high, . . . to be more faithful and keep all ol; the commandments."^^ He continued to stress the 3 2 reformation in subsequent church meetings. In 1857 many of the members of his ward demonstrated their desire for personal reform by being rebaptized.

minutes of meetings held in the Thirteenth Ward in

November and December 1856 show that the reformation was being stressed there also. At one Sunday meeting five speakers, including Bishop Woolley and Jedediah M. Grant,

"all . . . spoke very forcibly on the subject of reformation." Grant urged the ward members "to return all the stolen property they had stolen to the Bishop." He told them that those who followed this counsel "should be blessed, and those that would not should be cursed, them

and theirs, from this time henceforth.The minutes for two other meetings at which Bishop Woolley and others spoke both stated, "Subject Reformation."^^ Remarks made at yet other ward gatherings may have been prompted by the emphasis on reform. On Christmas Day Bishop Woolley spoke of "the whoredom and the wickedness in the 13th Ward and was going to cleanse the Ward by the help of the Lord and the brethren.The following day at a teachers meeting 263 one man reported that "some houses [were] not as clean as they should be." Another stated that "some neglect family prayer but have promised to do better.During this period of reformation Bishop Woolley submitted to rebaptism, which he received at the hands of his friend, 3 8 Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter.

Social Welfare

Caring for the poor constituted one of the most important responsibilities the bishops assumed as leaders of their wards. The bishops were charitable men who gave of both their time and means for the welfare of others.

William Skidmore may have gained greater sympathy for the needy because of his personal experience wica 39 hunger as a youth. Serving as a bishop provided him with opportunities to assist the poor. In 1882, Skidmore distributed beef which another individual had donated for 40 the benefit of the poor. Four years later he nought to help a young boy whose bad leg required him to use a crutch. Skidmore visited a doctor to see about getting the boy a brace and learned that the cost for one would be twenty-five dollars. The doctor offered to provide free service to the boy since his mother was "a poor widow," and

Skidmore indicated his willingness to allow the doctor the 41 necessary money to order the brace. During that same 42 year Skidmore also provided the poor with donated meat. 264

The day before Thanksgiving in 1893 the poor became the recipients of community charity when they received wood and beef.

Bishop Sheets believed that "all that we have is the Lord's and when He wishes it, to gather the poor from the nations or perform any work to build up the kingdom of 4 4 Godf it should be on hand." At an 1859 teachers meeting,

Bishop Sheets and twelve others each donated one-half cord 4 5 of wood for the benefit of the poor. At an 1864 meeting,

Sheets and others spoke regarding fulfilling the needs of the poor, and Sheets again donated one-half cord of wood 46 for their benefit. In 1863 She ts spoke about "raising means to send to the Frontiers f.r the Poor" and then pledged a yoke of oxen, a wagon and three hundred pounds of 4 7 flour to that end. In responding to the need for similar assistance in 1864, Sheets spoke on the subject at the teachers meeting and then followed by promising to furnish one yoke of cattle, one hundred pounds of flour, and a 48 dried beef. Following the arrival of a train of immigrants in 1865 the Deseret News reported that "Bishop

Sheets, Elder Goddard and others of our citizens were busy with the new comers [sic], finding them homes, looking to their welfare and otherwise having them properly cared for."49 265

Besides being willing to donate their own time and means when they felt the occasion required it, the bishops were convinced that the Church should help provide for the legitimate needs of the poor. Although the poor received assistance at times simply because they were poor, the bishops' attitudes and actions revealed a tendency to be particularly generous in providing r— - the welfare of the

"worthy poor." This attitude coincided with a widespread contemporary social philosophy which encouraged distinguishing between the deserving and the undeserving poor. Such distinctions proved easier to make in theory than in practice. Still, either type of poverty carried negative social implications. Most Americans viewed poverty as "e result--not a cause— of vice and imprudence. Mormon scripture promised "the poor who are pure in heart" that "the fatness of the earth shall be theirs.On the other hand Mormon doctrine denounced the idle, greedy poor: "Wo unto you poor men, . . . whose bellies are not satisfied, and whose hands are not stayed from laying hold upon other men's goods, whose eyes are full of greediness, and who will not labor with your own 52 hands!" in 1882, Bishop Robert T. Burton, of the

Presiding Bishopric, requested the bishops to examine a list of the poor being assisted by the Tithing Store, and then "to report the worthiness or otherwise of those families nov/ receiving support." The Presiding Bishopric, 266

Burton explained, did not want "to deprive the worthy poor.

In spite of its opposition to the non-i ii'lusl.r innn poor, Mormon scripture described caring for the poor as a fundamental religious duty. In the same revelation which condemned the idle poor, the greeuy rich also received a rebuke: "Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your 54 souls." Another revelation equated giving to the poor with giving to God himself.The Book of Mormon linked one's generosity to the poor with receiving forgiveness for sirs."^ It also spoke out against those whose love for money, substance and fine apparel exceeded their love for

"the poor and the needy, the sick and the aff1icted."

Their doctrines gave Mormons cause to view the elimination of poverty optimistically. Included among Joseph Smith's revelations was an account of an ancient society which had

"no poor among them."^®

Bishop Woolley's Thirteenth Ward provided welfare assistance to a woman afflicted with cancer and to poor 59 individuals engaged in temple construction. Teachers from Woolley's ward collected donations for the poor ranging in variety from soap to burial shrouds and from food to children's books.When six hundred people from

Woolley's ward took a train excursion to another city in

1870, the ward's poor attended free of charge.A later 267 bishop of the Thirteenth Ward, Nelson A. Empey, visited a sick woman, gave her money to meet her needs, sent a doctor 6 2 to assist her, and found a place for her to live.

In January, 1882 Bishop Sheets spoke concerning

"the many poor" which the Eighth Ward supported totally or partially and told the teachers "the poor must not be neglected. In April of that year a report made at the

Eighth Ward teachers meeting indicated that the funds used

to support the ward's poor were low. The minutes stated

that "at present we were in debt but still the poor never have suffered in this Ward."^^ Sheets felt that the

Latter-day Saints should be willing to produce not only for

themselves but also for others. "The man who raises a

bushel of wheat more than he needs for his own consumption

has done so much for the general good," he explained. "He

must be a slothful servant who produces nothing more than „65 he consumes."

The Mormon leaders cared for the needs of their own

people first, but they also on occasion extended assistance

to Gentiles and Indians. As we have seen earlier, the

Mormons experienced conflict with the Gentiles.

Mormon-Indian relationships were generally peaceful, but

disagreements did arise on occasion. In the 1850's

hostilities erupted during the Walker War, which was named

after Chief Wakara, or Walker, who previously had been on

friendly terms with the Mormons and had even joined the 268

Mormon Church. Brigham Young's attempt to reach a reconciliation with Wakara eventually succeeded. Following

Young's reassuring the Indians verbally of his friendship

toward them, and his providing them with gifts, including cattle, clothing and even firearms, Walkara responded:

"Wakara has heard all the talk of the good Mormon chief. .

. . Wakara love Mormon chief; he is a good man. . . . If

Indian kill white man again, Wakara make Indian howl."*’*’

In spite of occasional conflicts with the Indians, the

Mormons generally treated them with fairness, both out of kindness and as a means of self-protection.®"^

Church officials representing Brigham Young at an

1866 bishops meeting indicated the president's desire that:

the bishops respond quickly to meet the needs of the "many

Gentiles" living among them "who [were] poor and destitute." Young wanted "the bishops to take immediate

steps to relieve their wants, and not permit them to

suffer.One prominent Salt Lake bishop, John Sharp,

then stated that "he had engaged between thirty and forty of that class to work on the canal.Speaking of the

"Gentile poor" in 1868, Presiding Bishop Hunter expressed

his hope they "be looked after, and not allowed to

suffer.In 1870 Hunter indicated that such assistance had been carried out when he told a bishops meeting that

"much had been distributed to those who do not belong to us."^^ By 1875, Hunter's charitable feelings exceeded any 269 desire he may have had to differentiate between worthy and unworthy poor. According to Hunter, "whether persons in our midst are in the Church or not, deserving or undeserving, they are human beings, and if destitute, must 72 not be allowed to suffer." Two years later Hunter remarked that unemployed non-Mormons who sought tithing 7 3 office assistance were "never sent empty away [sic]. "

In Cache Valley, which included Richmond, welfare disbursements were made to the Indians. After examing the valley's tithing office records, the historian Leonard

Arrington has noted that "during the period 1863 to 1888 the Cache Valley tithing office expended $16,044 on behalf of the Indians, or an average of more than $600 per year."

Besides providing evidence of donated food items such as flour and beef, the records also reflected Mormon confidence in the peaceful nature of at least some Indians.

"Fixin' gun for Indian George" demonstrated this confidence as did the entry "Bullets for Indian Alma."^^ Bishop

Skidmore once recorded in his journal that "Indian Alma got 75 his two sacks of wheat." On another occasion he noted that "Indian John from Washakie came for flour which he got as well as a good meal."^^

The bishops' assistance to both poor Gentiles and

Indians resulted, at least in part, from genuine humanitarian concern for the needy. Aid to the Gentiles may have been more selfless, however, than donations to 270

potentially dangerous Indians. Mormon welfare policy

toward the Indians exhibited an inclination to help those

in need as well as a desire to pacify the Indians for

security reasons. These two motives influenced Brigham

Young, whose attitudes no doubt influenced the community

bishops. Speaking to the legislature about Indians in the

mid-lGjO's, Young stated: "I have uniformly pursued a

friendly course of policy towards them, feeling convinced

that independent of the question of exercising humanity

towards so degraded and ignorant a race of people, it was

manifestly more economical and less expensive, to feed and

clothe, than to fight them."^^ The bishops' extension of welfare benefits to the Indians demonstrated their support

for Young's Indian philosophy.

The bishops' brand of charity did not include

over-generous giving. Their rejection of the idea of

creating a permanent dole may be seen in Bishop Skidmore's

response to a previous welfare recipient who told him he

lacked flour and hay. Perceiving that the man entertain^

the mistaken notion that he had a right to public support,

Skidmore informed him that he would need to search for the 7 8 things he lacked on his own. At a July, 1882 teachers

meeting Bishop Sheets listened to a statement regarding a

man whose wife had argued that her husband needed his

hospitalization to be funded by the ward. After several of

those present disagreed with the woman's request. Bishop 271

Sheets remarked that this case was "peculiar" and had "two sides." "In the first place," he explained, "the man's family had ought to care for him in his affliction."

Besides, he continued, "this Ward is out of funds and are 79 [sic] now owing for the care of the poor already." in

1889 Sheets explained that he favored assisting "all worthy poor." He did not favor helping persons who could work but 8 0 were simply lazy. Sheets advocated providing assistance for those who would otherwise suffer, but he opposed aiding those who could take care of their own needs. "The more we help some people," he once said, "the more they need 0 1 help." The Eighth Ward bishop also believed that poverty involved not only actual conditions but also depended to some extent on one's attitude concerning his circumstances.

According to Sheets, "those who feel poor always will be poor."82

In spite of the bishops' doctrinal and philosophical sympathies toward the poor, the reality of providing assistance became a burden to them at times.

Being front-line, grass-roots, welfare administrators gave the bishops a first-hand feel for the flaws of a harsh

Social Darwinist position. The bishops' contact with varying types of poor persuaded them that making wasteful, undiscriminating donations to the poor was unw.se. Like the wealthy industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, the bishops seemed to believe that "in bestowing charity, the main 272 consideration should be to help those who will helo themselves." They agreed with Carnegie that "neither the 8 3 individual nor the race is improved by alms-giving." Th^ demands which caring for the poor placed upon them sometimes led the bishops to feel imposed upon. Bishop

Woclley resented the poor who relied too little on their own efforts. In 1867 he referred to "the great number of poor in the Thirteenth Ward [who], not showing any disposition to help themselves out, settle down on the 84 charity of the ward." Almost three decades later Robert

T. Burton, of the Presiding Bishopric, wrote Bishop Nelson

Empey about a woman with seven children, who needed some assistance. In asking Bishop Empey to have his teachers look into the case. Burton acknowledged the heavy welfare responsibilities Empey faced in caring for the poor. "We are well aware that you are much overburdened with this class of people, yet they are human beings and in our midst and we cannot allow them to suffer." Burton informed Empey that the woman would be provided with enough fuel to assist 8 5 her until Empey could learn more concerning her needs.

Bishop Sheets' statements at an 1884 teachers meeting indicate that he had similar feelings. The immediate matter at hand was a bill Sheets had received from the teacher of a "Day School" reguesting payment foi the schooling of poor children. Sheets counseled those present "that if they fetch people into the ward that are 273 too poor to provide for themselves they should see that they are maintained and not burden the ward with them."

Sheets' counselor, Joseph McMurrin, remarked that no ward should be burdened disproportionately for the care of the poor, although he realized that poor people had as much right to choose which ward to reside in as rich people did.

He personally favored assisting any poor that he might bring into the Eighth Ward. Bishop Sheets then explained

"the difficulties that arise by allowing too many poor people to crowd into any ward without a bishop's knowledge or consent." He thought that as bishop he had the right to make sure "that the ward was not imposed upon." Sheets attempted to clarify his position on the poor by arguing that he was not unfair to them. He noted that he had

instructed two brethren in the ward "never to deny anyone whenever they applied [for assistance] or it was known in any way that they needed help."^^ In 1889 Sheets told the teachers, perhaps with some sarcasm, "we must be doing better to the poor than others; hence the reason why they

flock in."®^

Correspondence from church headquarters to Bishop

Marriner W. Merrill helps illustrate the burden which caring for the poor placed upon bishops. In 1873 Presiding

Bishop Hunter wrote Merrill concerning a woman, named

Nancy, who had lived in several city wards prior to moving 8 8 to Richmond. A few monf-hs later Hunter expressed his 274 displeasure with Merrill's attitude about the newcomer.

Responding to a letter from Merrill, Hunter demonstrated his desire to have charitable bishops. The letter provides an excellent expression of the Presiding Bishop's view regarding the social welfare responsibilities of the local bishops.

We regret that your ward should be oppressed with too many poor. Let us know how many you have, and we will arrange for other wards to relieve you. Nancy has sacrificed a good home and her family for the Gospel's sake, and has suffered much. She has lived twenty years in this city in several wards and needed more or less assistance, and during that whole time we have not had so many complaints at. is contained in your letter, after four months experience. She can have a peaceable situation in our city, and not be subject to being turned out of doors especially in this season of the year. Any other assistance we can render you ward, shall be pleased to do so, [sic] lest you become more deranged than even Nancy herself. She, like some other unfortunates, who need a little aid, have no more claim on one ward than another, but wherever they happen to be, there we expect the bishop to look after them and not allow them to suffer. The fast offerings in every ward if honestly paid would be allsufficient [sic] to sustain the poor and anything lacking from that source can be made up from the tithing, so that neither bishop nor ward need be oppressed. All that is wanted is for the bishop to act as a father, not as a Lord over God's heritage. [A] small room with a little fuel and food is all that Nancy needs to make her happy as an angel, all of which is less costly in the country than in this city.89

The Presiding Bishop did not lose interest in the case. In 1878 Hunter and his counselor, Leonard W. Hardy, informed Merrill that they had inquired into the well-being of their "old friend Nancy" and learned that she needed 275 sortie things "to make her comfortable." They instructed the

Richmond bishop to give her a shawl and some shoes and told him that they would provide her with "some good warm cloth 90 for a winter dress."

Social welfare demanded the attention of the ward bishops and became one of their fundamental duties. The ward leaders took a personal interest in the welfare of the poor, including at times non-Mormons. The Mormon welfare system provided a non-governmental method of dealing with poverty. This system, in which the bishops figured prominently, provided a viable means of extending social welfare on an individualized basis over a large geographical area. The Presiding Bishopric's central oversight of welfare activities helped the poor by encouraging uniformity of welfare practices in the various wards and settlements. The transient poor received more adeguate care because of this uniformity. After moving to a new ward the poor could look to their new bishop for the required assistance, as they had done in their previous place of residence. The poor also benefited from the

Presiding Bishopric's attempts to insure that bishops extended adequate relief to the needy. The Bishopric stressed caring for the poor in meetings and through correspondence, alerted bishops to persons with special needs, and encouraged ward leaders to persist in the difficult task of administering the Church's welfare 276 program.

Relocation

The bishops were concerned with more than merely treating the symptoms of poverty. They wanted to attack its causes. One way they attempted to get at the n o t oC poverty was to encourage relocation. The bishops believed that overcrowding put undue strains on the city wards.

They also felt that overpopulation placed greater burdens on the poor themselves in terms of earning a livelihood.

The ward leaders supported a "safety-valve" philosophy, viewing sparsely settled frontier areas as a release for the pressures which overcrowding imposed on urban residential areas. Consistent with this philosophy, they encouraged the poor to move to less settled areas, commonly referred to as "the country." The bishops not only desired to avoid urban overcrowding, but also sought to expand the

Mormon empire through colonization. Their promotion of a 91 policy of relocation furthered both objectives.

The minutes of the Salt Lake bishops meetings provide evidence that relocation was a recurring theme in attempts to reduce urban poverty. In 1853 Tarlton Lewis, the bishop of a relatively distant settlement, "said there was plenty of employment for all the poor we could send there." Bishop Joseph L. Heywood advanced the idea that bishops could counsel the poor who were capable of working 277

"ko go into the country, where a living [was] easily to be made." Bishop David Pettigrew gave further backing to the concept of relocation by explaining that the previous winter his ward was "crowded" with poor, "but they had now, with but very few exceptions, got them out into the 92 country."

Presiding Bishop Hunter's ideas concerning relocation were important because of his influential leadership position. His attitudes are particularly relevant to the present study, because they may have influenced or at least reinforced the thinking of the ward bishops regarding the safety-valve philosophy. In 18C4

Bishop Hunter expressed his intention of having "the incoming emigration" go to "country settlements." Hunter

"required the bishops from a distance to take with then several families now waiting to go to different parts of the Territory." The Presiding Bishop believed that "the country" held superior employment potential for the poor 9 "3 than did "the city." ' Four years later, Hunter spoke of city families desiring "to go to the country," and related his wish that newcomers currently living in the various wards would "be sent . . . where rent is lower and means of subsistance easier." Other bishops lent support to

Hunter's position by speaking of the advantages the poor 94 could gain by moving from city to country. Positive comments by those v/ho had gone to the country further 278 strengthened Hunter's conviction that the relocation of the poor was a wise policy to follow. Hunter once told those at the bishops meeting "of quite a number of families wh' had testified to him their gratitude that they were counselled [sic] to go into the country to settle,- rather than stay in the city where food, fuel and employment w e m 95 so scarce."

Hunter seemed to believe that "the country" offered advantages relating to character development. This attitude echoed the sentiments of other nineteenth-century

Americans who believed that the country extended moral and economic advantages to the poor, as well as a higher probability for good health.In 18/5 the ^residing

Bishop "spoke of many families in the counties [sicI wanting boys, where it was far better for them to go than 9 7 remain in the city." In that same year. Hunter

"suggested the importance of sending the children into the country to learn habits of industry, and get t.hoir own 9 8 living." in spite of "frequent opportunities" for some of the poor to move to the country. Bishop Hunter noted in 9 9 1876 that "most of them are unwilling to go." The poor seemed to prefer to remain in their first place of residence, in spite of its disadvantages, rather than risk moving to an unfamiliar area, although the new area may have offered them a more comfortable living. It seems unlikely that a large proportion of the poor actually moved 279 from city to countryside. Farming costs and lack of training would have made it impractical for many to make such a move. The unwillingness of the poor to relocate also demonstated that obedience to ecclesiastical counsel was not universal.

Several months after his ordination as bishop in

1j 5G, Bishop Sheets recommended that the poor be counseled

"to go into the country." He did not want poor persons brought into the Eighth Ward by anyone who was unable to provide for their support and hoped to prevent the Ward's becoming overburdened with "more than [its] share of the poor."^^^ Sheets still seemed to be trying to implement this safety-valve philosophy in 1880 when he stated that provision for housing in the country had been made for a brother, but that the man was unwilling to accept the

^ 101 arrangement.

Bishop Woolley, experienced in facing the difficulties of caring for the poor, also espoused a safety-valve philosophy. Woolley reasoned that persons relying wholly "on a bishop for their support . . . should at least" submit to their bishop's counsel. "When the warm weather comes along," Woolley stated, "he intended to tell the poor of the 13th ward either to maintain themselves or 102 go into the country." Woolley's comments may have prompted a reaction from another bishop who "had acted as bishop in several country places." In his opinion "instead 280 of sending the poor away from us, it would display far greater wisdom and philanthrophy [sic]" for the bishops to attempt to create work for the poor in order to promote self-reliance.

Presiding Bishop Hunter and his subordinates,

Sheets and Woolley, seemed to echo the thoughts of Robert

M. Hartley, "the most important single figure in American charity in the middle third of the nineteenth century," according to the social historian Robert H. Bremner.*^^

Hartley criticized urban communities for failing to provide decent living conditions for many of its dwellers, "but he

also criticized the poor for their refusal to leave the

city."^^^ The thinking of the city bishops was reflected

in Hartley's opinion "that self-help and the West were

sufficient to solve the major part of the nation's poverty

problem.One can with little difficulty picture the

Salt Lake bishops advising the urban poor in the spirit of

Hartley's counsel:

Escape then from the city--for escape is your only recourse against the terrible ills of beggary; and the further you go, the better . . . a few dollars will take you hundreds of miles, where, with God's blessing on willing hearts and strong hands, you will find health, competence, and prosperity."107

In the lives of the bishops we see the paradox

which they faced as administrators of voluntary donations

made to the Church. They walked a philosophical tightrope.

On the one hand, they dared not neglect the poor because of Personal charitable feelings id adherence to Mormon doctr.nc advocating proper of the poor. On ihe fr .> hand, they philosophically opposed doing toe much "or >■ poor. The paradox they iaced -,nd tie balanc" thov

tterp'ed r-- if feet were ref-octeo ii ^heii s*-i tim-r. ni act ■•as while aervina as bishops. The charitable coinrmi.,. > • leaders donated for tie relief of the poor, yet - : • tM v were not "blessed" with more tr.an tn^ir due , laLc o ■■ r y.:. i.eedy in their wards. They tried no,. *■ o over loon r Ir needs

: no poor but also wished more ol tnem wou ' . 1 oie i-nto the country. The bishops saw no inconsistency i 'i the^r social welfar? attitudes and practices. To them the overriding philosophy of doing what was best for the poor encompassed both the need for charitable donations and the obligation to act in the best iterests of the poor by not providing too much.

Conclusion

Just as tne bishops' religious position pave ^nem opportunities to influence economic and political development, it also increased their potential for social leadership. Certainly, non-bishops promoted urban improvement, education, moral reform, social welfare and relocation, but bishops became involved in these areas more frequently because of their ecclesiastical duties. 282

Religious and secular social leadership overlapped significantly in nineteenth-century Mormon communities.

Education gained support when organized along ward lines.

Acceptable social behavior became synomymous with religious obedience when promoted by bishops and their teachers. Tin- poor benefited from the social welfare system which the bishops kept functioning. Even mobility from city to countryside assumed a religious dimension when encouraged by the bishops. On the Mormon frontier social questions were viewed from a religious perspective, and areas requiring social leadership frequently became concerns of the community bishop. 2 p. 3

Notes

^Salt Lake County Court Minutes, LDS Genealogical Library, March 16, 1852.

^Ibid., June 8, 1852.

^Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, November 28, 1854. 4 Ibid., March 2, 1865. Significantly, the minutes of this and other education-related meetings are found in the same record which contains minutes of ward religloun meetings.

^Eighth Ward Historical Record, January 23, 1862.

^Robinson and Gil lins, eds. , History of Minersville, p. A139. This biographical sketch of KcKnight does not give the time of Mcknight's service but does imply that it took place after he arrived in Minersville. It is not clear whether he was bishop at the time he was a school trustee.

^Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, June 23, 1855. I have assumed Woolley to be one of the trustees mentioned because of his election to that position at a meeting hole the previous month. See Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, May 18, 1855. The items for which the tax apparently was o be used included school repair, fencing, back houses, and a basement. g Eighth Ward Historical Record, October 31, 1861. 9 Quotation cited by Merrill, ed., Utah Pioneer and Apostle, p. 89. The date of this entry is November 8, 1861. For general background concerning education in Richmond see Bair, comp., History of Richmond, pp. 51-70.

^^For background information regarding education in nineteenth-century Utah see Charles S. Peterson, "A New Community: Mormon Teachers and the Separation of Church and State in Utah's Territorial Schools," Utah Historical Quarterly, pp. 293-312.

^^Eighth Ward Historical Record, November 17 , 1875 . 12 Skidmore Diaries, September 19, 1883.

^^Ibid., November 18, 1883. 284 14 Ibid., December 16, 1883.

^^Richmond Ward Historical Record, November 11, 1884 I g Eighth Ward Historical Record, November 14, 1877.

^^Cited by Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, p. 336.

^^Eighth Ward Historical Record, May 20, 1880.

^^Ibid., June 24, 1875.

^*^A bishopric consisted of a three-man body composed of a bishop and two assistants, called counselors.

^^Eighth Ward Historical Record, April 24, 1879. 22. 'Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, February 23, 1867, 23 Eighth Ward Historical Record, July 7, 1873. 24 Bishops Meetings, May 28, 1868.

^^Ibid., May 28, 1868.

^'’Eighth Ward Historical Record, March 8 , 1883 . 27 Bishops Meetings, March 3, 1870. 2 8 Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1: 56-62 provides a biographical sketch of Grant's life. 29 Paul H. Peterson, "The Mormon Reformation" (Ph.D. dissertation, Brigham Young University, 1980), p. 73; Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, pp. 345-46. Quotation based on Bishops Meetings, September 30, 1856. Arrington provides an interesting comment regarding Woolley's personal cleanliness on p. 346. He wrote, "From the journals of Samuel and John Wool ley, who after coming in from the fields always washed before going to meeting, we can be assured that Edwin washed himself reguarly."

^^Paul H. Peterson, pp. 74-76.

^^Eighth Ward Historical Record, September 27, 1856 . 205 32, For example, see Ibid., October 1 and October 4, 1856,

^^Ibid., March 7, 1857. 34 Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, November 9, 1856,

35]Ibid., November 30 and December 7, 1856 36 Ibid., December 25, 1856.

3"^Ibid. , December 26 , 1856 . 3 8 Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint, p. 345 39 Bair, comp., p. 246; Jenson, LDS Bioqrapnical Encyclopedia, I: 403.

^^Skidmore Diaries, April 19, 1882.

^^Ibid., March 8, 1886. The context of this journal entry implies that Skidmore was in Logan when he visited the doctor. 42 Ibid., November 24, 1886. 43 Ibid., November 30, 1893. 44 Journal History, February 9, 1868, pp. 1-2. 45 Eighth Ward Historical Record, September 1859. 46 Ibid., October 27, 1864.

^"^Ibid., March 8, 1863 . 48 Ibid., March 3, 1864. 49 Journal History, November 15, 1865.

5^Charles Rosenberg, "The Nature of Poverty and the Prevention of Disease," in Cities in American History, eds. Jackson and Schultz, pp. 258-71. This article is reprinted from Rosenberg, The Cholera Years; The United States in 1832, 1849, and 1866 (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1962), pp. 133-50.

^^Doctrine and Covenants, 56:17. 286

56:16. 53 Bishops Meetings, December 7, 1882. 54 Doctrine and Covenants, 56:16.

^^Ibid., 42:31.

^^Book of Mormon, Mosiah 4:26.

^"^Ibid., Mormon 8:37.

^^Pearl of Great Price, Moses 7:18. 59 Arrington, From Quaker tc Latter-day Saint, p. 333,

*°Ibid., p. 333.

^^Ibid., p. 447. 6 2 Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, January 29, February 27, 1892.

^^Eighth Ward Historical Record, January 12, 1882.

G^ibid., April 5, 1882.

^’^Journal History, February 9 , 1868 , pp. 1-2.

^^A balanced overview of Mormon-Indian relations is "Mormons and Native Americans," which appears as chapt-pr R of Arrington and Bitton, pp. 145-160.

^"^Ibid.

^^Bishops Meetings, January 25, 1866.

^^Ibid., January 25, 1866.

"^^Ibid., February 12, 1868 .

'^Ibid., February 17, 1870.

^^Ibid., February 25, 1875.

^"'Ibid., March 8, 1877.

^^Arrington, "Mormon Tithing House," pp. 42-46.

^^Skidmore Diaries, October 26, 1883. 2%7

Ibid., November 7, 1893. For additional information on Indian relations in the Richmond area se; Merrill, ed., pp. 88-89; and Bair, comp., pp. 14-15. 77 Arrington and Bitton, Mormon Experience, pp. 147-48. 7 8 Skidmore Diaries, August 20, 1883. 79 Eighth Ward Historical Record, July 27, 1882. 8 0 Ibid., January 3, 1889.

^^Ibid., December 10, 1885. p y Ibid., July 5, 1866. 8 3 Andrew Carnegie, "Wealth," North American Review 148 (June 1889); pp. 661-64. 84 Thirteenth Ward Historical Record, June 29, 1367.

^^Presiding Bishopric Collection, February 14, 1896 .

^^Eighth Ward Historical Record, June 26, 1884. 8 7 Ibid., January 3, 1889. 8 8 Presiding Bishopric Collection, June 18, 1873. 89 Ibid., October 27, 1873. Underlining in origins 1. 90 Ibid., January 26, 1878. 91 The safety-valve concept is discussed in Ray A. Billington, "The American Frontier Thesis: Attack and Defense," American Historical Association Pamphlets, no. 101 (Richmond, Va.: William Byrd Press, 1971), pp. 21-25.

^"^Bishops Meetings, June 7 , 1853 .

^^Ibid., October 9, 1864. 94 Ibid., October 29, 1868.

^^Ibid., November 26, 1868.

96.Rosenberg, p. 267. August 26, 1875. q 0 Ibid., November 4, 187 5. 99 Ibid., June 29, 1C76.

^^^Eighth Ward Historical Record, September 29, 1856,

^°^Ibid., May 20, 1880.

^^^Bishops Meetings, February 25, 1875.

^^^Ibid., February 25, 1875. 104 Robert H. Bremner, From the Depths (New York; New York University Press, 1956) , p. 35.

^°^Ibid., p. 37.

^°®Ibid. , p. 38.

^^^Hartley's quotation cited in Ibid., p. 38. CHAPTER 9

MORMON BIP' ÛPS AND THE QUEST FOR COMMUNITY

Mormonism flourished in the Great Basin, but the foundations for Mormon accomplishments in the West were laid east of the Mississippi River before 1847. Viewing the Mormons' western experience as a continuation of their eastern past provides the most accurate perspective from which to examine community leadership in the Mormon West.

During the first half of the nineteenth century, the

Mormons came to look upon the frontier as refuge from persecution and as a land on which to settle and create model communities. Because of this reliance on the frontier, the Latter-day Saints figured prominently in the

American westward movement, distinguishing themselves from other settlers by their proclivity for group migration.

Joseph Smith, the first Mormon prophet, outlined a plan for orderly urban development which profoundly influenced the nature of urbanization in the Mormon settlements. Salt

Lake City, initially a transplanted Nauvoo, became the

Mormon capital and an important western urban center.

Joseph Smith exerted a powerful influence over his followers and dominated the pre-Utah period of Mormon

289 290 history. By the time of his murder in 1844, Smith had

spelled out the basic religious doctrines of the Church oC

Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had introduced new books of scripture, and had formed an organization which gave stability and order to Mormon frontier settlements. By establishing central, regional and local administrative offices in the Mormon Church, Smith provided a workable plan of church government which influenced the nature oE church leadership in Utah. As part of this organizational plan. Smith described the basic responsibilities of the various types of bishops. The ward bishops, by far the most numerous of the bishops, frequently repeated Smith's pattern of broad community leadership on a smaller scale.

Joseph Smith and his presidential successois provided the

Latter-day Saints with authority figures at the central

level, while the ward bishops did the same at the local

level. Like Smith, the bishops engaged in a broad range of community leadership activities. Like their first prophet, the Utah bishops played active roles in all major areas of community life. Believing that their religious authority-

justified involvement in a wide range of community activities, the bishops sought to influence the nature of political, economic, and social developments in the Mormon settlements. The bishops went beyond presiding over Sunday congregations and sought to broadly guide their communities throughout the week.^ 291

Bishops on the Mormon Frontier

This study has focused primarily on the community leadership of the bishops who presided over the Salt Lakp

City Eighth, Salt Lake City Thirteenth, Minersville and

Richmond Wards. The existence of these communities on a frontier not only influenced the history of the Latter-day

Saints in general, but also had an important impact on the leaders of these four communities. The lure of the frontier brought them to Utah from various places, including foreign lands. The creation of Salt Lake City and the prolific expansion of settlements which resulted in the founding of Minersville, Richmond, and many other towns provided opportunities for numerous men to become bishops and increase their influence in community affairs.

Mormon colonization efforts were characterized by religious purpose and submission to ecclesiastical leaders.

Latter-day Saint kingdom-building in Utah benefited from organizational consistency. In the Mormon communities, the ward bishops acted primarily under the direction of the

Presiding Bishopric, a three-man body of the Church's

General Authorities, which specialized in the administration of temporal matters. The Presiding

Bishopric depended on the ward bishops to help care for

Church resources. The fundamental purposes of Mormon colonization and organizational development derived from 292 spiritual concerns, but the combination of expanding frontier settlements and organizational uniformity promoted a climate in which ecclesiastical influence in community political, economic, and social matters could flourish.

Quantitative methods help provide an understanding of the socio-economic backgrounds of the bishops. Their lives on a frontier in the American West permitted a large number of Latter-day Saint men to become bishops and in many ca^es to serve for long periods of time, wnich facilitated personalism in Mormon community leadership.

The Great Basin offered leadership opportunities to both

American-born and foreign-born men. In the nineteenth century, immigrants comprised a sizable portion of Utah'e population, and many foreign-born men became bishops, thu- furthering Mormon community-building efforts. These immigrant bishops possessed greater wealth than Utah males in general, and also nearly equaled the wealth of the

American-born bishops. For these immigrant men, living in a frontier region provided them with an opportunity to prosper financially. Most bishops were farmers, but they also engaged in a variety of other occupations, which shows that they were basically a lay, rather tran a professional, ecclesiastical leadersbio group.

Bishops frequently took part in politics by holding civic office. Bishops served in responsible positions as territorial legislators, mayors, and probate judges. They 203 also promoted Utah's quest for statehood by serving as delegates to constitutional conventions. The bishops in tie four selected conn unities accumulator an impressive recond of public service vvhich included a wide variety of civic offices: territorial legislator, county recorder, county commissioner, president of a town board, city councilor, alderman, selectman, just.ice-of-the-peace, postmaster, notary public, and supervisor of streoLs. in addition to theii direct participation in politics, the bishops exercised political influence in other ways. Th"/ encouraged voter turnout, urged immigrants to .lecome naturalized citizens, and spoke of political matters at church meetings. The bishops' direct and indirect involvement in politics reinforced the close relatif ship between church and state in Territorial t i.

The LDS Chuich influenced every majot field of economic activity in Territorial Utai’., and the bishops played extremely important roles in the economic iiowtl' of their wards and regions by backing such concerns as telegraphs, railroads, mines, canals, storehouses. United

Orders and cooperative stores. The bishops' possession or greater than average wealth increased their capacities tc support local and regional business endeavors, but their economic leadership did not stem solely from their wealth.

The bishops' religious positions provided them with numerous opportunities to exert economic leadership. Their 294 economic authority was institutionalized through the use of

the Mormon storehouse system, the holding of bishop's courts, and the establishment of ward corporations.

An awareness of the bishops' economic activiti<^s

not only provides greater understanding of their economic

leadership but also provides insight into the nature of

Utah's urban development. The manner in which Mormon urbanization proceeded in a planned, orderly fashion under ecclesiastical leadership distinguished Mormon city-building efforts from the more chaotic situations existing in most other American cities at that time. The cumulative economic influence, which the bishops of

numerous communities supplied, demonstrated the unique

nature of the Mormon urban experience. The bishops'

support of mercantile policies aimed at promoting Mormon

self-sufficiency showed that they, like their ecclesiastical superiors, desired to control the nature of

urban economic development. In an attempt to maintain

Mormon financial dominance of the Utah Territory, the bishops supported the establishment of cooperative Mormon

stores and encouraged their followers to boycott gentile merchants. Although their stance discouraged non-Mormon business growth, the Mormon leaders advanced their own plan

for urban mercantile development, which involved a network of cooperative stores. The bishops' economic activities

influenced the economic climate of larger cities and 295 subordinate rural areas as well, thus increasing the loyalty of Utah's residents to the urban economic leadership which the Mormon capital provided.

Just as the bishops' ecclesiastical positions gave them opportunities to influence political and economic affairs, their religious status also increased their potential for social leadership. The bishops encouraged urban improvement, backed attempts to further education, and played prominent roles in providing aid to unfortunates in their communities. In dealing with social welfare concerns, the bishops faced the challenge of striking an appropriate balance between fulfilling their religious obligation to assist the poor and avoiding unwise welfare disbursements. The bishops attempted to reduce poverty by encouraging movement from cities to the countryside.

The Mormon bishops and their wives constituted a unique group in American history. In no other group of comparable size did such a large number of spouses practice polygamy. The bishops and their wives viewed marriage as a potentially unending relationship and believed they could attain the stature of Heavenly Fathers and Mothers in an eternal existence. The bishops' frequent marriages to younger women commonly resulted in unusually long periods of widowhood. The bishops' wives bore children at close intervals; and, contrary to national trends, in spite of their favorable economic standing, they had large families. 296

Many bishops and their wives suffered persecution at the hands of the national government during its anti-polygamy raid. A large number of bishops served prison terms for marrying plural wives, which placed strains on Mormon communities and disrupted community leadership patterns.

The bishops' marriage philosophy and practices clearly set them apart from community leaders in other areas. Unlike other leadership groups, the bishops gained increased social status through the practice of polygamy.

In the Mormon West the political, economic, and social spheres of life all assumed religious significance, a situation which enabled the bishops to expand their influence and become, collectively, the dominant force in community leadership. The bishops' powerful leadership also established them as one of the most influential community leadership groups in American history. The nineteenth-century Mormon bishops exerted a greater direct influence on community-building than any comparable

American leadership group since the Puritan fathers.

Community Leadership on the Mormon Frontier in Comparative Perspective

The political, economic and social leadership which the Mormon bishops exerted helped strengthen the bonds of community in the settlements and wards they presided over.

In politics the bishops encouraged high voter turnout, which resulted in united support for preferred Mormon 297 candidates. In economic affairs they urged their communities to support cooperative economic policies. In social matters they influenced community atmosphere by encouraging the creation of orderly settlements and by directing social welfare efforts. The bishops' involvemi^ni in these areas helped create a strong sense of community which became a distinguishing characteristic o£ the Mormon settlements. The historian Robert V. Hine has suggested that place, size and values are three fundamental elements to consider in analyzing any sense of community. "The group," Hine has explained, "must exist in a definable space, and its geography and architecture feed its sense of belonging together." Optimum population size, according to

Hine, also contributed to a sense of belonging. Also important, he has argued, were binding values, the most important of which was a mutually held belief thnL the community as a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts.This section examines the Mormon settlements in terms of these three elements. It then places Mormon community-building efforts in a larger, comparative framework. The section links the Mormon community experience with the American past by comparing nineteenth-century Mormon and seventeenth-century Puritan communities. It then adds a contemporary, urban dimension to the comparison by examining similarities and differences between the bishops and two other groups of prominent urban 29R

leaders: bosses and businessmen.

Mormons enjoyed a stronger sense of place than most contemporary Americans. Part of this sentiment involved nn awareness that in many cases they had settled early in a town's history and helped it mature during its formative years. The Mormons prided themselves on having conquered a wilderness and through community effort having met difficulties which they felt less united communities could not have overcome. A quarter century after the founding of

Salt Lake City Apostle Wilford Woodruff expressed this pride in his people's achievements and argued that the pre-Utah period prepared them to meet the challenges they

faced in the Great Basin:

Nobody but Latter-day Saints would have lived here, and endured the trials and afflictions that we endured in the beginning; . . . Any people but the Latter-day Saints would have left this country long ago. . . . no other people could have lived here— no, they would have knocked each others' brains out on account of the little water they would have had in their irrigating operations. When men saw their crops and trees withering and perishing for the want of water, the selfishness so general in the world would have worked up to such an extent, that they would have killed one another, and hence I say that none but Latter-day Saints would have stood it; but they, by the training and experience they had before received, were prepared for the hardships and trials they had to encounter in this country.3

The Latter-day Saints' sense of place was not necessarily based on identification with a specific,

limited, geographical area. Each Mormon town had its own 2Q0 unique blend of physical features, as all communities do.

Each settlement also possessed a sense of belonging to th''

American West. In the Mormon case this sensitivity may have been heightened, because the Saints regarded their frontier home as a land of promise reserved by God for His chosen people. The Latter-day Saints' perception of place in terms of broad region and specific locality was strengthened further by a cognizance of their common past.

They knew where they, collectively, had come from, and they realized, often from first-hand experience, the high personal and group costs exacted from them prior to their arrival at their destinations. In the early years none of the adult members of their communities had been born in their current place of residence. For them, sense of place in the West must have included memories of important pre-Utah Mormon settlements. Recollections of Nauvoo caused a more immediate identification with place in Salt

Lake City, because residents of the new capital associated with individuals with whom they previously had shared a sense of place.

The relatively small size of Mormon settlements also promoted a strong sense of community. Population figures for the four communities considered in this study show that populations remained small enough to permit close interpersonal relationships. In 1879 the number of persons 4 in the Minersville Ward totaled 213. By 1900 the J i j ' j population of Richmond exceeded 1200.^ Presumably most of these were LDS ward members, since in 19 3 0 Mormons comprised 95 percent of Richmond's total population of

1,310.^ Minersville and Richmond remained small. Although

Salt Lake City grew large, its wards remained small enough to encourage amenable social relations. Salt Lake City's population rose from about 5,000 in 10 50 to 12,859 in 1870.

The city boasted 44,843 inhabitants in 1890 and 53,531 in

1900.^ Extensive Mormon colonization efforts kept Salt

Lake City from growing at an even faster rate. Within the growing Mormon capital the existence of wards discouraged urban anonymity and allowed LDS city residents to maintain a greater sense of community than they otherwise would have enjoyed.

In the Mormon settlements wards could be subdivided if considered too large or combined if deemed too small.

In 1917 the Richmond Ward was divided into the Richmond

North and South Wards. By 19 30 this allowed Richmond

Mormons to belong to wards numbering roughly 600 apiece rather than to a single ward with over 1,200 members.^

When the Thirteenth Ward's population declined due to business expansion, it and the neighboring Twelfth Ward were combined to form the Salt Lake City Twelfth-Thirteenth

Ward in 1908. In 1930 some 1,054 persons belonged to the 9 amalgamated ward. 3n L

Above all, the Latter-day Saints experienced a feeling of social cohesiveness because of the common values. Mormon communities were tied together by shared values which were not regional in nature. This universal sot of behavior-shaping principles created an enlarged sense of community which bridged the geographical gaps between settlements and united the Mormon frontier, in a sense, into a single extended community. The bishops' leadership in political, economic, and social matters promoted a sense of community in their wards and settlements.

Mormons and Puritans

The Mormons' community-building efforts during their first half-century in the West paralleled the Puritan experience in their first decades in the New World. The bishops' sense of divine mission was similar to the sense of destiny which inspired the Puritan leaders. Both believed that God had an overriding plan for humanity which affected the course of world affairs.Both the

Latter-day Saints and the Puritans maintained that God had singled them out and given them a divine commission to lead the way in carrying out his divine will. Both groups perceived of themselves as a modern Israel which was under a covenant obligation to remain free from the evils of the world. 302

The two societies desired to break their isolation on their own terms, as the the world adopted the pure religious precepts entrusted to them as God's chosen people. Both the Latter-day Saints and the Puritans believed that a wilderness journey constituted an essential part of fulfilling their divinely entrusted mission. By fleeing from the world, they could consolidate strength and gain the world's admiration as a "city on a hill." The

Mormons and the Puritans shared the view that America was a chosen land destined to be the site of a "New Jerusalem."

They looked to America to provide a wilderness refuge In which they could freely create model "Zion" communities preparatory to Christ's second coming.

The Mormon bishops espoused sentiments similar to those of John Wintrop, the important seventeenth-century

Puritan leader. Like the Biblical Israelites, Winthrop journeyed from the Old World "house of bondage" to the New 12 World "land of promise". Many nineteenth-century Mormon bishops made a similar separation from what they viewed as bondage zo a promised land. This literal separation, which both Puritan and Mormon leaders experienced, was made possible by the American frontier. Over two centuries before the Mormons settled in Utah Winthrop stated:

We are entered into covenant with him for his • work, we have taken out a commission . . . then hath he ratified this covenant and sealed our commission [and] will expect a strict performance of the articles contained in it . . . for we must 301

consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us."13

The idea of establishing a covenant between God und his chosen people also figured prominently in Mormon doctrine. One of the four LDS books of scripture came to be known as "The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of 14 Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." These revelations gave the Latter-day Saints cause to maintain, as the

Puritans had, that they were a chosen people bound by a covenant relationship to God. One of Joseph Smith's revelations stated, "And they shall observe the covenants i_5 and church articles to do them."'" A Brigham Young revelation which related to the Saints' trip westward, expressed the importance of this convenant relationship in

Mormon thought. The revelation also drew a parallel between the Latter-day Saints and ancient Israel.

The Word and Will of the Lord concerning the Camp of Israel in their journeyinqs to the West: Let all the people of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and those who journey with them, be organized into companies, with a covenant and promise to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord our God. .

And this shall be our covenant— that we will walk in all the ordinances of the Lord. . . . I am he who led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; and my arm is stretched out in the last days, to save my people Israel.16

In addition to having the examples of the ancient

Israelites and the Puritans before them, the Saints read of the wilderness experiences of other groups of chosen people 304

in the Book of Mormon. The book included an account of the

Jaredites, who left th<^ Old World for America roughly two

thousand years prior to the birth of Christ. It also related the experience of a later group, whicli included a prophet named Lehi, who escaped the destruction of

Jerusalem and voyaged to America approximately six hundred years before Christ. According to the Book of Mormon, th^ groups of chosen people it describes perceived the New

World to be a land of promise. The account of the

Jaredites refers to it as "a land which is choice above all

the lands of the earth.The Book of Mormon contains words ascribed to one of Lehi's sons, Nephi, who wrote,

"that after we had sailed for the space of many days we did arrive at the promised land. . . and we did call it the 18 promised land." John Winthrop would have concurred with

the Book of Mormon's assertions that the Lord "raiseth up a righteous nation" and that "he leadeth away the righteous 19 into precious lands." Some of the words attributed to

Nephi would have fit comfortably into the text of a

Winthrop sermon;

And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made; wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt.20 305

Focusing on the key elements of place, size and common values provides a framework for comparing Mormon and

Puritan societies. Such a comparison shows that the communities of the two religious groups possessed a high degree of social cohesiveness and that their leaders exhibited strong similarities.^^

The Puritans maintained a strong sense of place, as the Mormons did. Wilderness was important to the Puritans, and they were conscious of its impact upon them. To the

Puritans, the wilderness had both geographical and symbolic significances. Seeking isolation in which to perfect themselves and their young church, the Puritans, in william

Bradford's phrase, perceived "a hideous and desolate 2 2 wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men." According to John Cotton's broad definition, "All the world is a 23 wilderness." The Puritans' emphasis on their wilderness condition imbued them with a unifying sense of place which strengthened community bonds. The early Puritan sense of community must also have been strengthened by the knowledge that their new home lay at the end of a long sea voyage which other community members also had experienced. Their sea voyage resembled the land and sea travel required of

Latter-day Saints intent on joining the Saints in the Great

Basin. Wilderness forced separation from the Old World and 24 from other Puritan settlements. It exerted a solidifying impact on communities, as it forced residents to focus on 306 25 their common desire for physical survival.

Like the Mormons, the Puritans founded a number oF other towns in the decades following their creation of a settlement at Massachusetts Bay. Settlement companies gav<' evidence of their religious inclinations by choosing a minister prior to their relocation. This proliferation of settlements helped keep population size down, thereby encouraging greater interpersonal contact and stronger Ç g community ties." The expansion of frontier towns also provided greater opportunity for local religious leaders to exert influence in their communities. The frontier provided such an opportunity to Puritan leaders as it later would for Mormon bishops.

More than either place or size, a common set of values became a distinguishing characteristic of both the 27 Puritan and Mormon communities. These mutually held values were critical to the continuation of social cohesiveness in both societies, for "without shared perspectives there can be no communityIn Puritan society individuals were subordinate to the community and their activities came under the scrutiny of town officials.

In a manner recalling the Mormon teachers, Puritan selectmen checked on individuals through regular household visits in which they kept abreast of idleness, parental 29 conscientiousness, and town worship patterns. The

Puritans also desired to have a community which practiced 307 the types of social behaviors enumerated in the catechism of the Mormon reformation.

Mormon and Puritan community-building efforts shared much in common. In spite of their having existed in different eras, the thought and values which shaped their societies were similar. Both groups shared a sense of divine mission, both sought to create a city on a hill, and both did succeed in creating unusually strong communities.

The existence of available frontier land on which they could promulgate the values they espoused helped facilitate their successes in community-building. In relative isolation, each group conformed their political, economic, and social practices to further their religious goals.

Bishops and Bosses

Urban political bosses exerted a powerful influence on nineteenth-century American cities. Their political domination, known as bossism, drew strength from a system of reciprocity: the bosses rendered social services in exchange for votes. Although the ultimate goal of bossism was political success, the quest for votes made bossism a significant force in urban social welfare. Historical studies concerning bossism have provided a detailed picture of urban social leadership and of social responses to urbanization.^^ Exploring the extent to which Mormon bishops acted as bosses brings an increased awareness of 308 the social dimensions of urbanization on the Mormon frontier.

At the outset, comparing religious bishops wihh. secular bosses may seem inappropriate. Certainly basic differences existed. Unlike the urban machines, the bishops did not grant protection to "those engaged in more questionable enterprises, such as liquor sales, prostitution, and gambling.The motives behind the social welfare efforts of bishops and bosses also varied.

Although both cared for the social needs of their communities for humanitarian reasons, the drive behind the bishops' activities was primarily religious as opposed to the political ambition of the bosses. Nevertheless, both groups probably shared a desire for status and power. The bishops enjoyed strong political backing from their congregations, but their political success probably depended less on reciprocity than the success of the bosses. Rather than devoting their full attention to establishing a strong political base in their communities as the bosses did, the bishops frequently promoted a

"safety valve" philosophy by encouraging the poor and unemployed to relocate. The bishops were more anxious to see the poor relocate than to have them remain in their wards for voting purposes. They felt that relocation not only helped the poor but also eased the burden they placed on local resources. 309

Notwithstanding important differences between the two types of community leaders, the bishops and bosses had much in common and played similar functional roles in their societies. Both extended social welfare in an urban setting, both participated in local political and economic development, and both introduced immigrants to urban life.

The bosses and the bishops emerged as influential community

leaders to fill a leadership vacuum, which existed in nineteenth-century American cities. The failure of these urban centers to meet the welfare needs of the poor and the

immigrants, for instance, allowed the bosses and bishops to provide their own forms of social welfare. A number of phrases describing bossism apply also to bishops. Like the bosses, the bishops provided what has been called "the 3 2 'first social welfare agency.'" As such they "supplied

the poor with jobs, clothing, rent, fuel and other forms of material benefits that the economic system proved unable or unwilling to supply.Both bishops and bosses constituted a "highly centralized system of parallel government that performed a myriad of services for a diverse constituency."^^ Like the boss and his machine,

the bishop and his ward "provided much of the social life of the community and undertook the [task] of naturalization 35 of immigrants." in organizational terms the "teachers" were to a bishop's ward what the block captains were to an

urban political machine. To draw a rough parallel, through 310 the teachers the Mormon Church, like Tammany Hall, was

"organized down to the block level.

Although their political battlegrounds were different, both bosses and bishops effectively waged political warfare. The bosses' struggle against reformers for political control paralleled the bishops' fight against

Gentiles and apostate Mormons seeking to wrest political control from the Church. Opponents raised cries of corruption against both groups as they sought to gain political power. Because they "offended moral sensibilities," although in different ways, both bishops and bosses became "a symbol of the decay of American institutions and values.The two groups sought to

justify what others saw as moral degeneracy. In response to the charges of corruption leveled at his political organization. New York City boss George Washington riunkitt differentiated between "honest graft and dishonest 3 8 graft." He justified his own acquisition of the honest variety with the statement "I seen my opportunities and I 39 took 'em." The main moral criticism the bishops faced centered around their practicing polygamy. What others viewed as a moral defect the bishops regarded as a moral virtue stemming from obedience to religious law. The complaint that the bosses were undemocratic could also have been directed at the bishops, for their support of a 4 0 church-domina ted political system. Bishops and bosses 311 both assisted immigrants and urban poor to find employment in an era virtually devoid of governmental employment assistance. According to the historian John D. Buenker, an increasing number of scholars now believe "that the urban political machine performed a large number of necessary services more efficiently taan any existing alternative, at, a cost that, even allowing for the attendant gra£t, was not 41 exorbitant." The bishops' version of bossism also functioned affectively, with the added advantage of operating without the graft which so often accompanied bossism elsewhere.

Bishops and Businessmen

The bishops' success in building a strong sense of community may be more fully ; eciated by comparing their efforts to what occurred in non- Mormon western cities. The experiences of business leaders from major Pacific Coast cities contrasts starkly with those of the Utah bishops.

Although businessmen attempted to create a sense of socio-economic unity in their communities through urban planning, their efforts largely failed. An analysis of why the bishops succeeded while the businessmen failed ties the

Mormon urban experience to that of other western locations and helps explain why the Latter-day Saint settlements differed from those of the Pacific Coast. Salt Lake City,

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle all 112 became major western urban centers, yet Salt Lake City differed from each of the cities more than they frnm 42 each other.

Urban planning and orderly spatial development succeeded to a greater degree under ecclesiastical direction than under business leadership. This was due in

large measure to the nature of the populations with which the businessmen and the bishops dealt. The businessmen attempted to reform a heterogeneous population which refused to adopt their views. The bishops, on the other hand, dealt with a homogeneous population possessing a common system of beliefs, which predisposed them to respond favorably to the bishops' leadership.

In Utah, the Mormon Church provided an authority which influenced political, economic, and social developments. In the other western cities no comparable authority emerged to unify or dominate various interest groups. The business community, for all its political, economic, and social clout, could not rally the support or command the allegiance which the LDS leadership achieved.

Businessmen were an interest group, interested primarily in their own profits; and even businessmen were often divided in their desires. Their concern for community was basically self-centered, and they rendered community service primarily in a manner calculated to redound to their own personal financial success. Bishops, on the 313 other hand— even those who were also businessmen— constituted more than an interest group. They were part of the dominant power structure which permeated

Territorial Utah. Los Angeles businessmen sought to prevent San Diego from becoming a terminal for the Southern

Pacific Railroad for personal financial reasons. Salt Lake

City businessman-bishop Edwin D. Woolley sacrificed his own mercantile establishment to the Church's cooperative economic plan.

Bishops and businessmen both desired urban development, but their motives differed to some extent.

Both groups thought they knew what was best for their communities and were rather intolerant of dissent. Both groups sought to exercise social control, and although they viewed their efforts as beneficial, some members of society, such as the poor in the Pacific Coast cities and the gentiles in Salt Lake City, resented such activity and felt that such efforts reduced their personal freedom. The businessmen's efforts comprised an attempt by the middle class to reform the lower class. Businessmen hoped that public parks would make the lower class more orderly, while promoting uniformity and discouraging dissent. The bishops sought to achieve these same objectives through religion.

Both grorns desired to impose their own values on others.

The failure of the business community to do so helped preserve a high level of diversity in western cities, a 314 situation which provided many urban residents with an intriguing place to live. The success of the bishops in promoting a common set of values made Salt Lake City more homogeneous than other western cities. The orderliness and uniformity which existed in the Mormon capital appealed to

Mormon residents, but to non-Mormons the city lacked the variety and excitement which other western cities offered.

The businessmen found their vision limited by their own personal economic interests. Such self-interest has led Robert M. Fogelson, in his history of Los Angeles, 'o write about "politically influential businesses which consistently pursued their own rather than the community's interest.As ecclesiastial leaders, the bishops viewed their own resources as subordinate to the community good.

Only under such conditions could United Orders emerge.

Businessmen in major urban cities from Los Angeles to

Seattle were intent on building their own particular cities. Salt Lake City bishops were determined to build a

Mormon empire. While Los Angeles businessmen promoted a

"fragmented metropolis, Salt Lake City bishops helped cement together a cohesive kingdom.

The cities of the Pacific Coast lacked any social institution which could bind their expanding settlements into a region of cohesive communities. In the Mormon settlements, the binding influence of church wards and stakes helped create a sense of larger community. The 315

Mormon ward could effectively cope with urban growth.

Beginning in the central city, newly created wards could expand into suburban areas, thus providing a unifying 1 Ink between city and suburb. As the leaders of the ever growing number of wards, the bishops' unifying influence accompanied urban geographical expansion. h le residential mobility weakened voluntary associations and severed neighborhood ties elsewhere,the wards alleviated the anonymity resulting from such mobility. Comparing the

LDS Church's worldwide expansion to urban sprawl further underscores the Mormon ward's adaptability. The ward made the transition from an era in which it was "the locus of the gathering" to a modern period in which it moved in 46 response to "the scattering."

The ward provided an effective means of creating a sense of community among Mormons. In terms of its capacity to promote community, the ward constituted the single most important social institution in the Mormon settlements.

The bishop, like the ward, became an institutional figure that alleviated the growing pains of urbanization. "The people of Los Angeles," Fogelson stated, "desired the size but not the character of a modern metropolis." Yet they lacked an institution comparable to the Mormon ward, which could do for their city what the ward did for Salt Lake

City residents: allow their metropolis to maintain "its sense of fellow feeling and . . . its standards of personal 316 morality. . . . to perpetuate familiar rural relationships within a strange urban society, . . . to combine the rspirli: of the good community with the substance of the great 47 metropolis." The ward helped Salt Lake City residents, unlike those of Los Angeles, "to reconcile their ambitions for a great metropolis with their visions of the good community.""^® Business leaders could not, even had they so desired, marshal the adherance to values which would maintain brotherhood, morality, close interpersonal relationships and "the good community." Both businessmen and bishops viewed materialism as fundamental to urban growth, but their motives differed. For the bishops, material and spiritual concerns were integrally related.

For the business community, other-worldly considerations were largely extraneous.

The issue of city planning offers an area of comparison which demonstrates fundamental differences between Salt Lake City and the cities of the Pacific Coast.

Adaptations of what could be called the "Joseph Smith plan" for urban development saw extensive implementation in the

Mormon West. Yet, on the Pacific Coast, the highly regarded efforts of professional city planners failed to win widespread implementation in each of the four major cities under consideration. According to the historia..

Mansel G. Blackford, "all of the major Pacific Coast cities drew up comprehensive urban plans during the Progressive 317

Era." Yet, such proposals as San Francisco's Burnham Plan,

Portland's Bennett Plan, and Seattle's Bogue Plan never gained suffi, ‘ant support to impose a comprehensive program 49 of urban deve.pment. The combined destruction of both a fire and an earthquake in 1906 provided San Franciscans with what seems, in retrospect, to have been a golden opportunity to embrace city planning. Daniel H. Burnham, a

leading American urban planner, completed the design which bore his name and promised to modernize and beautify Sar

Francisco, while at the same time making it more efficient.

In spite of the quality of Burnham's plan, San Franciscans

lacked the social unity to adopt and implement his 1 50 proposal.

San Franciscans and other western urban residents

in large measure faiied to appreciate that "cities impose collective risks and collective responsibilities."^^ The cooperative nature of Mormon society was a manifestation of this sense of collective responsibility, and the bishops used their positions to remind the Saints of their obligations to society. Mormon became concerned with enterprises which required a high degree of cooperation.

Political unanimity, cooperative merchandising. United

Orders, and cooperative irrigation projects met with varying degrees of success. But, these were higher manifestations of sense of community. In Salt Lake City and other Mormon settlements, features taken from Joseph 318

Smith's urban plan were carried out with little fanfare.

Collective responsibility was so widespread that wide streets and orderly physical layout were hardly major issues. Thus, the Mormons planned during their formative era, and although the other western cities had ample opportunity to plan,^^ even in the early twentieth ceniucy, they lacked the sense of community which the Mormons brought with them from Nauvoo, and then built upon in the

West.

San Francisco lacked an acceptable authority figure who could rally support behind comprehensive planning. One view advocated placing the control of planning of the hands of a small number of experts. Another approach suggested that capitalist E.H. Harriman, with the backing of business interests, be given free rein to impose order on San

Francisco.This suggestion to look to businessmen to provide unifying authority contrasted with the prevalent tradition in Utah, to turn to ecclesiastical leadership for supreme authority. Businessmen could not impose order in

San Francisco, or any other Pacific Coast city, because agreement was impossible "in the absence of a common set of values and desires and without abundant trust in those in ,,54 power."

The failure of businessmen and others to achieve the concerted support of their communities had roots stretching back into the nineteenth century. A Burnham 319

Plan could be drawn up rather quickly, a planned city could be built within à few years, but the sense of community needed to make such united action possible could not be created overnight, if ever. The social diversity of San

Francisco could not be altered easily. Indeed, changing the city's physical landscape seems minor by comparison.

The fire and earthquake allowed San Franciscans a second chance to build their city's streets and buildings. The disasters did not, however, provide them sufficient opportunity to alter their city's sense of community. San

Francisco's greatest challenge did not lay in the areas of design and construction, but in the areas of cooperation and willingness to suppress personal interests for the common good. The city was too large, too heterogeneous, and too lacking in adequate, acceptable authority figures to seize the opportunity that was theirs. Unlike the

Mormons in Salt Lake City, they were not building a temple city, or a religious kingdom. They had no overriding motive to follow a strong leader, even if one had emerged.

Businessmen and interest groups, lacking any force of persuasion comparable to Mormon religious motivation, could not agree among themselves, let alone impose a sufficient sense of community to call forth the concerted effort needed to make planning succeed. In contrast, the sense of mission which the Mormons possessed gave the proponents of order in Salt Lake City an advantage over those who 320 elsewhere proposed planning under the direction of businessmen. Even though the bishops influenced business development, they were, above all, moral and religious

leaders. As such, they could more easily gain the trust of other Mormons than the businessmen of other cities,, whose vested economic interests subjected them to popular suspicion.

The response of Portland's business leaders to the projected completion of the Panama Canal can be compared and contrasted to the bishops' reaction to the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Although the opening of

the canal occurred more than three decades after the

railroad reached Utah in 1869, the two events have some things in common. Both involved major technological undertakings, and both caused urban residents to become apprehensive about the social consequences which they believed would accompany the completion of the projects.

Bishops and businessmen feared that the expected influx of newcomers would create unwanted social problems. The attitudes of the two leadership groups with regard to these social consequences provides a useful framework for analyzing their social leadership.

Both bishops and business leaders encouraged public acceptance of plans which would preserve--even improve— social cohesiveness and public morality. Utah's plan, involving Mormon businessmen, but ultimately promoted 32 1 by the Church, pressed for economic cooperation. Bishops came out in strong support of the program, and played important roles not only in seeing to the plan's acceptance on a ward-by-ward basis, but also in promoting the widespread implementation of what amounted to a significant matter of public policy Portland's unusually cohesive business leaders were, n a sense, comparable to Utah's bishops. Their primary objectives were economic, but the high social objectives of the Benentt Plan, which they guided through to adoption, gives evidence of their social vision as well as their business common sense.

The inability of the business community to inspire the actual implementation of this major planning effort points out important differences between the two leadership groups. Businessmen could not sway the general public consistently on immediate, specific proposals which affected their pocketbooks. They readily sanctioned the

Bennett Plan as a fine ideal proposal, but failed to endorse a closely related park bonds issue. Had businessmen possessed the moral suasion of the bishops, they might have succeeded. Religious action groups in

Portland, meanwhile, did little compared to the achievements of the businessmen. Bishops had ties to the

Mormon hierarchy and often were economic leaders themselves. Moreover, they could cast economic issues in a religious mold, persuading otherwise reluctant Saints to 322 act in favor of the common good for the benefit of their own souls. The bishops could link salvation to one's position regarding public policy, by intimation if not by outright declaration. Businessmen could not. Bishops could uniformly mobilize the support of their wards.

Businessmen could not uniformly gain the support of ihoir communities and had no organization comparable to the

Mormon ward through which to work. The religious homogeneity of the Utah residents allowed bishops to effectively wear more than one hat. They could promote public business policy, not only as prominent economic leaders, but also as politicians, or as religious officials. The Portland businessmen did not have that advantage. Nor did they have a constituency trained to trust and follow them as community authority figures.

Certainly there were differences in time, place, and nature of the two public policy programs. But, the establishment of cooperative stores in numerous settlements posed a formidable task, perhaps comparable to gaining the united support of a single city behind the implementation of urban planning. Both of the two groups could inspire the adoption of public policy measures. Their ability to influence others was an important hallmark of leadership.

Implementation, on the other hand, required a oertain kind of population--such as a united religious community, which would willingly defer to authority— and a certain kind of 323 leader— with ties to both the power structure in their societies and rapport with the common folk. Salt Lake city had both, Portland had neither, and cooperation, in spite of its failures, saw much more extensive implementation in

Utah than urban planning in Oregon.

Conclusion

The nineteenth-century Mormon bishops were political, economic, social, and religious leaders. They were a major force in community leadership in the American

West. The community leadership which the bishops exercised strengthened the sense of community in numerous Mormon settlements. The bishops presided over congregations in which relatively close community ties existed. Thcir communities were bound together by a sense of place, by limited populations, and by shared values. The bishops inherited the community-unifying advantages of place and size. Easily t..e Ir greatest contribution to enhancing the

Mormon sense of community lay in the area of values. LDS communities were tied together by common values which basically were not regional. That they were shared by the overall Mormon population helped create a sense of community which bridged the geographical gaps between settlements and united the Mormon frontier into a single extended community. 324

The community-building efforts of the Mormons and more particularly of the bishops can be placed in a broader framework by drawing comparisons with another religious society, the Puritans, and with other groups of community

leaders, the city bosses and urban businessmen. The efforts of Mormons and Puritans to build close-knit communities resembled each other in fundamental ways. Rotli groups established communities which matured in a frontier setting. An awareness of the wilderness they lived in added to their attachment to the regions and specific

localities in which they resided. Seeking refuge in wilderness regions allowed their leaders greater flexibility in striving to create the kinds of religious communities they desired. One observation concerning the colonial Puritans applies to the "latter-day Puritans"^® as well: "Those inside the church fellowship had something very special; those outside were very far away indeed

The bishops, bosses, and businessmen shared much in common, suggesting that the urbanization process created an environment in which strong community leaders could play major roles in social and economic development, while actively participating in civic affairs. Urban growth created a social welfare gap which community bishops and bosses moved in to fill. Individuals, such as George

Washington Plunkitt of Tammany Hall in New York City and

Elijah Sheets in Salt Lake City, did not rise on their own. 3 25

Dominant personalities surfaced as part of strong organizations. The urban "search for order"^^ required organization. In New York, Tammany Hall reaped political benefits by providing adequate organization to face that city's challenging social welfare needs. In Utah, the

Mormon Church met the organizational demands of urbanization by assuming political and social leadership.

The bishops created a variation of American bossism by maintaining a system of social welfare as a religious duty, rather than for political gain. They also promoted the development of a cooperative business environment which set them apart from the more competitive business leaders of cities on the Pacific Coast. 326

Notes

am indebted to Douglas D. Alder for introducing me to the distinction between leading congregations or communities. Alder's perceptive views concerning the general significance of the Mormon ward have influenced the interpretations of this dissertation. See Alder, "The Mormon Ward; Congregation or Community?" Journal of Mormon History 5 (1978): 61-78. 2 Mine, Community on the American Frontier, pp. 21-26.

^Woodruff's remarks, made April 8, 1872, are recorded in Journal of Discourses, 15: 79-80. 4 Beaver Stake Historical Record, September 6, 1879. By 1930 ward membership had risen to 702. See Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Minersville Ward."

^Bair, comp., History of Richmond, p. 36.

^Jenson, Encyclopedic History, s.v. "Richmond [Utah]

^Ibid., s.v. "Salt Lake City."

^Ibid., s.v. "Richmond [Utah]."

^Ibid., s.v. "Salt Lake City 12th-13th Ward."

^^My interpretations concerning the sense of destiny which the Mormons and Puritans shared was heavily influenced by the views of Gustav H. Blanke, a non-Mormon writer, whose perceptive insights appear in Gustav H. Blanke, with Karen Lynn, "'God's Base of Operations': Mormon Variations on the American Sense of Mission," Brigham Young University Studies 20 (Fall 1979): 83-92. For additional information about the Puritans, which relates to the themes discussed in this chapter, see "Errand into the Wilderness," which appears as Chapter 1 of Perry Miller, Errand into the Wilderness (The Belnap Press of Harvard University Press, 1956; reprint ed.. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1964), pp. 1-15.

^^Blanke, pp. 83-92. 12 These two quoted phrases are cited by Blanke, p. 86. 3 27

^^The word "and" in brackets has been added by Blanke to Winthrop's statement as cited by Blanke, p. 85. Blanke quotes from Winthrop's "A Modell of Christian Charity, Written on Boarde the Arrabella, On the Attlantick Ocean, Anno 1630," and gives as a source the Winthrop Papers (Boston; Massachusetts Historical Society, 1929-1947), 2:294-295. 14 Doctrine and Covenants, Title Page.

^^Ibid., 42:13.

*^Ibid., 136: 1, 2, 4, 22

^^Book of Mormon, Ether 1:42

^^'ibid. , 1 Kephi 18:23

^^Ibid., 1 Nephi 17:37-38. 20 Ibid., 1 Nephi 17:40.

^^Hine, pp. 21-26. 22 Material quoted is cited by Ibid., p. 34.

^^Cited by Ibid.

Ibid. p. 35. 25,Ibid. pp. 35-36. Ibid. pp. 36-37, 41-42.

Ibid. p. 42. 28,Ibid. p. 25. 28,Ibid. p. 44. 2^A useful overview of bossism is "Bosses and Reformers," which appears as Chapter 10 of Glaab and Brown, A History of Urban America, pp. 187-208. A highly readable account based on the life of a Tammany Hall political leader is William L. Riordon, ed., Plunkitt of Tammany Hall (New York: E.P. Dutton & Co -, 1963) . 31 See John D. Buenker's "Essay" in Buenker, John C. Burnham, and Robert M. Crunden, Progressivism (Cambridge: Schenkman Publishing Co., 1977), p. 40. 328

Phrase cited by Ibid

^^Ibid., pp. 40-41.

^^Ibid., p. 40.

^^Ibid., p. 41.

'“See Arthur Mann's introduction to Riordon, od., Plunkitt of Tammany Hall, p. xv. Parenthetical comments in original. 37 Buenker, p. 41. 3 S Riordon, ed., pp. 3-6. 39 Ibid., p. 3. Phrase in quotations in original. 40 Buenker, p. 41.

'’^Ibid., p. 41.

^^The sources which supplied the information concerning the Pacific Coast cities upon which the current interpretive comparison is based are Mansel G. Blackford, "Civic Groups, Political Action, and City Planning in Seattle, 1892-1915," Pacific Historical Review 49 (November 1980): 557-80; Blackford, "The Lost Dream: Businessmen and City Planning in Portland, Oregon, 1903-1914," Western Historical Quarterly, forthcoming; Robert M. Fogelson, The Fragmented Metropolis : Los Angeles, 1850-1930 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967); and Judd Kahn, Imperial San Francisco: Politics and Planning in an American City, 1897-1906 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1979).

'^^Ibid. , p. 41.

''This term is taken from the title of ibid. 4 5 This was the case, at least, in Los Angeles. Ibid., p. 195. 46 Alder, "The Mormon Ward," p. 65. 47 Fogelson, p. 191

^®Ibid., p. 276. 49 Blackford, "City Planning in Seattle," pp. 569-70. 329

■^^Kahn, pp. 1-2.

^^This quotation by Charles Tilly is cited by K-shn, p. 213. 52 Blackford, "City Planning in Seattle," pp. 569-70,

^^Kaun, p. 210-12.

^"*Ibid., p. 214.

Blackford explained that "like many other professional men during the Progressive Era, [Edward] Bennett believed in the primary importance of a person's social environment in shaping his character. A well planned city would, he thought, imbue Portlanders with citizenship values and lessen friction between different groups in the city." Blackford, "City Planning in Portland," p. 13.

^^This phrase is Mine's. Hine, p. 211. 57 Cited by Hine, p. 37. From the manner of footnoting it is not exactly clear who the original author of the quotation is. 5 8 Phrase taken from the title of Robert H. Wiebe's book. Wiebe, The Search for Order, 1877-1920 vwew York : Hill and Wang, 19 67). BIBLIOGRAPHY

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