DELEGATES REPRESENT SANPETE COUNTY ~~~Hambleton, Sheep Shearing ~~~Polygamy ~~~Water allotments

 

HISTORY OF NIELS PETER MADSEN AND LARS MADSEN, Bodel Frandsen and Marie Wilhelmina Catherine Kraus ~~~ Pioneers of the Month ~~~July 2026

Niels Peter Madsen

 HISTORY OF NIELS PETER MADSEN AND LARS MADSEN

 Written by Anna Mina Louise Madsen Remund (Daughter of Niels Peter Madsen) December 1958 Typed from the original by Linda Cox Retyped by Richard Cox, Sept. 2011 Niels Peter Madsen was born September 17, 1832, the son of Lars Madsen and Bodel Nielsen. He was born in Svinnige, Osherred, Denmark. He had two sisters and five brothers. They belonged to the Lutheran Church and used to walk two miles to their meetings.

 Two Mormon missionaries, Hans Lund and Lars Ericksen from Mt. Pleasant, Utah, converted all the family to Mormonism. In 1854 the entire family was baptized and became members of the Mormon Church. In 1854 they decided to sell their estate which had been in the family for generations and go to Utah (Zion) in the United States. Then the family separated; three sons and two daughters went to America. The parents and youngest son, 8 years old, should go the next year, and the oldest son should remain to take care of their business and come to America the following year. Their father, Lars Madsen, went with the sons and daughters to Copenhagen, Denmark, arriving there in November. He [Lars] bid them goodbye, not knowing it would be the last time he would see them. Fate of Lars Madsen He [Lars] died one year later in November 1856, at Devils Gate, Wyoming, while coming to Utah. The Hodgetts and Willie Handcart Company were near Devils Gate, traveling through a terrible blizzard and deep snow. They were half starved and frozen. My grandfather Lars Madsen and my mother, Wilhelmina Krause, age 8 years, were walking together. He turned to go back. Mother [age 8] followed him, but he pushed her with his cane to go back. She cried and thought he was mean to her. They soon missed him, and found him dead in the deep snow. They made a shallow grave and buried him, then made a fire on his grave so the coyotes couldn’t smell the corpse. 

Back to the Lars and Bodel Madsen Children; On November 29, 1855, Canute Petersen (later of Ephraim) was chosen president over the Mormon emigrants on their ship which sailed from Keil, Germany. [this included three sons and two daughters of Lars Madsen, one of which was Niels Peter Madsen] They landed there at midnight, and from there they took a train to Gluckstart, Germany, arriving there the next day. Then they sailed for England. They were four days on the North Sea and then went by train to Liverpool. 

On December 6, 1855, they [three sons and two daughters of Lars Madsen] boarded a ship called John J. Boyd. There were 508 persons aboard. Apostle Franklin Richards who was there on a mission came on the ship and bade them farewell. They set sail and were soon out of sight of land. Many became seasick. The ship was overloaded. They had to sit on boxes, and also to eat. It wasn’t a very pleasant voyage. On December 19th [1855], a terrible storm came up. The ship 2 rocked and knocked over boxes and everything. Christmas Day the storm continued. One of the masts split and was wrapped with chains, and the sails were taken down. The captain was very discouraged over conditions. He forbade them to sing or pray, but that didn’t prevent the Saints from fasting and praying as their leader told them to do. The lord answered their prayers, and they go better weather. Then they came upon a ship drifting in the ocean with broken masts and sails. They lowered their life boats and rescued forty men and their valuable belongings. These sailors were of great assistance to them. A day later a fire broke out under the Captain’s cabinet and smoke poured out on the emigrants in the lower deck, almost suffocating them before the fire was put out. The Saints knew God would answer their prayers, and they would arrive safely in Utah from any such terrible deaths on the ocean. Their food was very coarse, and it had to be rationed. There were six grown people and fifty children died and were buried in watery grave. After a long tiresome voyage of eleven weeks and three days, they arrived in New York. They stayed at Castle Gate two days, then took a train for St. Louis, crossing the Mississippi on ferry boats. They arrived in St. Louis March 1st, 1856. They couldn’t speak English, and it was hard for them to get along. On June 1st, 1856, President Petersen gathered a company and they sailed on a steamboat to Winter Quarters, where they began to make preparations to go to Utah. 

President Petersen was made Captain. He appointed a captain for each ten wagons. On June 26th, 1856, they started on their journey across the plains for Salt Lake City [Lars, Bodel, and Wilhelmina Krause would start their ill fated crossing with the Hodgetts Company later in the summer]. It was a hard trip. Some of the oxen were wild and they didn’t know how to handle them. The next day was hot. The oxen were very tired, traveling with their tongues out. They had heavy loads and were compelled to unload some of their supplies and leave them by the roadside. One day they had a stampede. Their oxen became frightened, rushed together, and some wagons were broken and one man killed. A few more were injured. Indians were roaming from one side of the valley to the other. Sometimes they would visit the Saints and they gave them food and supplies, but they had to watch them and guard their oxen so they were not stolen. Every morning they were called together by the sound of bugle to receive instructions. Sundays they had meetings and rested. During the week on some days they would walk along, laughing and singing the songs of Zion. After three months of a tiresome trip, they arrived in Salt Lake City on September 20, 1856. They stayed there a few days, then sold their oxen and bought provisions. They traded a cook stove for a yoke of young steers. While in Salt Lake City, they met President Brigham Young and the leaders of the Church who impressed them very much. Plight of Lars Madsen, Bodel (Nielsen) Madsen, and Wilhelmina Krause Then the Madsen sons and daughters went to Kaysville, Weber County and lived. Their parents and young son, eight years old, and my mother, Wilhelmina Krause, 8 years , came with the William B. Hodgetts Company. They had to assist the company of Captain James D. Willies and Edwards Handcart Company. These people endured many hardships. It was late in the season,the Indians had run off with their cattle, and handcarts were breaking down, it was getting late in the fall, beginning to snow, even blizzards. It was a pathetic sight as weary old men and women, and little children drew their handcarts alongside the pioneers’ wagons for protection from the cold. Their shoes were wearing out, and the men had to wrap burlap around their feet. It would freeze on them and they had to sleep with the frozen burlap on their feet at night. 

Brigham Young heard of the Hodgetts and the Handcart Company. It was conference time. Apostle Franklin D. Richards and some missionaries were traveling with horses and teams, returning to Salt Lake City when they passed these companies. The ground was then covered with snow, and the next morning it was so deep it almost prevented the companies from traveling. It was so cold that many oxen died and the others were weak and poor. They had to discard some of their bedding and leave it by the side of the road. Conditions were terrible. They had only one week’s supply of food. Their clothing was in rags, and some had bruised and bleeding feet. Old men were tugging and pulling their carts which sometimes carried a sick wife of child, or a wife would be pulling a cart carrying a sick husband. Even though it was Conference time, President Young and others arranged for some men and wagons to go back and rescue them, or they would all have perished. 

At Devils Gate, Wyoming, the Hodgetts Company was snowed in, and Mrs. Madsen’s husband, and our grandfather, Lars Madsen, died of exposure and was buried there. This relief company came and helped them, and when they arrived in Salt Lake, Peter came with an ox team from Weber. The Madsen children had not heard from their parents since they left Denmark, and they didn’t know their father was dead. Peter took them to Kaysville to their home which consisted of a dugout and wagon box room of food. It was a sad meeting of mother and children, all feeling the loss of their father and husband. The mother was very tired and weary from the effects of exposure and the trials of the long journey they had endured. She had left a good home and had suffered much during the trip. In addition, she had to leave all of her possessions on the plains. Nevertheless, she was glad to again be with her children, and even though she had sacrificed so much and endured so many hardships on this journey, her faith in God and the religion she believed in was unshaken. She felt it was the will of the Lord. She told this [the following] story to her children. They sailed across the ocean in the ship Torton. They landed in New York, then took the train for Iowa City, remaining there for six weeks. Late in August they joined the William B. Hodgetts Company for the long and tiresome journey to Salt Lake. 

As soon as the Madsen boys got material, they built a house in Kaysville where they where they remained until President Brigham Young called a number of families to go to settle Sanpete. The Madsen’s of Mt. Pleasant First they went to Ft. Ephraim, but the Madsen boys were not satisfied there. They wanted to go to the northern part of the valley. President Young said if they went where Mt. Pleasant now is they should build a fort as the Indians were very unfriendly and had burned down Hamleton, a city west of Mt. Pleasant. All the Madsen boys came to Mt. Pleasant and helped build the fort. The people lived in the fort until they thought it was safe enough to move out and build cabins, but when the drums beat, they would all run back to the fort for safety. 

 The pioneers were a sturdy ambitious class of people. They were all given twenty-acre lots and farming land. People came from the east and west, from land and sea. They came in many companies and handcarts, horses, and ox teams. There were different nationalities – some Scots, Norwegians, Germans, Danes, English, Canadians, etc. They endured many hardships but all were good workers and soon cleared the land, making ditches to irrigate their lots and land. They planted grain, potatoes, etc., and built large nice homes where they planted lawns and trees, made fences, and eventually got electricity. This is how the beautiful city of Mt. Pleasant was built. 

 These Madsen brothers were among the rest of the pioneers, doing their part in building the city which they all felt was so near [dear] to them. The Indians were very unfriendly. They killed a number of families who were in the fields working. Brother Kuhre’s parents, brothers and sisters were all killed. They thought he was killed, but he lay by his mother’s body. My sister-in-law’s grandmother and children were all killed. The father had to stand and see them killed. The Black Hawk Indian War lasted three years. It was heart rending to read about the many white men who were killed leaving large families. Horses and cattle were stolen from the pioneers. When the men went after their horses the Indians would lay in ambush and kill the men. Minute men were ready to be called and fight them when the Indians came.

Caroline Frandsen Madsen 

 It was in this terrible Indian War the five Madsen men fought. Father [Peter Niels Madsen] was in many of the Indian battles. In 1864 he with 60 men were called to go to Salina Canyon where they fought the Indians. Later he was called with the Sanpete Military. Another time he and others were sent to get the cattle from the Indians after they had been stolen. Father had the best horses, and the Indians were always trying to steal them. These Madsens were very prominent men. They all held big responsibilities and all did their part in building Mt. Pleasant. They all had large families, and their children went on missions and held high offices in Church and city offices. 

Father and Mother [Peter Niels Madsen & Anna Mina Louise Krause] were married January 2, 1864 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City [Anna Mina Krause was the 9 year old girl who traveled across the plains with Lars and Bodel Madsen]. He was bishop for many years. Mother was president of the Relief Society, and President Young and the leaders of the Church stayed at her home when they were in Mt. Pleasant. They had a family of ten children. Joseph, the oldest son, died when he was fourteen years old, and Freddie died at three months. Father held many prominent positions including city councilman and school trustee. He had an interest in the branch of ZCMI store and was part owner in the first saw mill and threshing machine that came to Mt. Pleasant. The Madsen boys all married and had large families. Their descendants are among the most prominent people in the West. 

On July 6, 1909, a monument was erected in Mt. Pleasant in honor of the pioneers, and father’s name was on the right plate. He enjoyed good health until just before he died, on September 30th , 1909 at the age of 77 years. He had one of the largest funerals ever held in Mt. Pleasant, and was buried in the cemetery at Mt. Pleasant, Utah.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MARIE WILHELMINA CATHERINE KRAUSE Born: 27 April 1847 Svenborg, Fuenert (Fynn), Denmark Age: 9 Hodgett Wagon Company Wilhelmina was reportedly a very “comely” and beautiful girl. Her parents were both from Germany. Her mother, Anna Lucia Simonsen Abel, had been widowed previously. When Anna’s first husband died, she inherited a wheelwright nail factory. Anna advertised in the Danish Star News for a manager to take care of the business and Johan H. F. A. Krause answered that advertisement, was hired, and proved to be very capable. He and Anna married and became the parents of six children. 

Wilhelmina went to her father’s nail factory one day and picked up a red-hot nail that had dropped on the floor, thinking it very beautiful. It left a terrible scar the rest of her life. Another incident at the nail factory would also influence the course of Wilhelmina’s life. A crowd had gathered outside the factory where two “Mormon” missionaries were passing out literature and announcing a meeting they would hold in the woods that night. Wilhelmina’s mother and her friend, Marie Frandsen, attended and participated in the singing. A mob of persecutors soon came with ropes and clubs, but the missionaries were able to escape and find shelter in the woods. Anna and Marie learned where the Elders were hiding, took food to them, and invited them to Anna’s home to hold another meeting. 

At this meeting, the same mob came, broke the door to the Krause home, and told the missionaries to leave the country. Before leaving, the missionaries gave each of those present some literature and hymnals.Wilhelmina received one of those song books and cherished it throughout her life. She loved to sing and had a beautiful singing voice. Other missionaries soon came and taught the gospel to the Krause family. Johan was not interested, but Anna requested baptism. She did not tell her husband. She secretly attended meetings for about two years and finally revealed her actions to her husband, requesting that he take her to “Zion” to gather with the Saints. Johan did not wish to leave his successful business, but he was also a kind man who didn’t like to see his wife unhappy. She would often sing from her little book this hymn: “Oh, Zion, when I think of thee, I long for pinions like the dove, And mourn to think that I should be so distant from the land I love. A captive exile, far from home, for Zion’s sacred walls I sigh, With ransomed kindred there to come and see Messiah eye to eye. While here I walk on hostile ground, the few that I can call my friends, are, like myself, in fetters bound, and weariness our steps attends. But yet we hope to see the day, When Zion’s children shall return, When all our grief shall flee away, and we again no more shall mourn. The thought that such a day will come, makes e’en the exiles portion sweet. Though now we wander far from home, in Zion soon we all shall meet.” Johann finally decided to sell the business and go to America. It was decided to let one child remain in Denmark with friends and go to America the following year with those friends. The children drew lots to see who would stay and the lot fell to Wilhelmina. The rest of the family left from Liverpool in 1855 with a company of four hundred Saints aboard the ship Charles Buck. The Krause family traveled as far as Mormon Grove, Kansas, where Anna and two daughters died of cholera in July 1855.

 From Wilhelmina’s biography we read: Thus, Anna’s hope and cherished dream of gathering to Zion with the Saints was not to become a reality, but her great faith paved the way for her daughter, Wilhelmina, to be among those whose names were to be carved in Utah’s history. Meanwhile, in Denmark, Wilhelmina was unaware of the tragedy in her family and was preparing to sail with the Frandsens when Marie Frandsen’s brother tried to prevent Marie from going to Utah by telling the officials that Marie was stealing a child to take with her. The police officers took Wilhelmina’s clothes and precious song book and placed her in an orphanage with little but a gray uniform. The missionaries were finally able to make the truth known and obtain her Niels Peter and Wilhelmina Krause Madsen 349 Hodgett Company 

This biographical sketch comes from the 8th edition of the book Tell My Story, Too: A collection of biographical sketches of Mormon pioneers and rescuers of the Willie handcart, Martin handcart, Hodgett wagon, and Hunt wagon companies of 1856, by Jolene S. Allphin. This pdf edition (2017) has been edited, with some stories updated, and some corrections made. See also www.tellmystorytoo.com. Individual sketches may be used for family, pioneer trek, Church, and other non-commercial purposes.

.  The Elders arranged for Wilhelmina to travel with the Lars and Bodel Madsen family in the next emigrant group. Wilhelmina became very close to Brother and Sister Madsen. One morning while waiting out the bad weather and unloading the wagons at Devil’s Gate, Wilhelmina went with Brother Madsen a distance from the camp. When he collapsed in the snow, Wilhelmina cried and wanted to stay with him, but he took his cane and pushed her away, telling her she couldn’t stay or she would freeze. By the time she returned with help, Lars had died. 

 Wilhelmina stayed with the widow Madsen and eventually married her son, Niels Peter. They settled in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, where they had a home in town and also homesteaded a 160-acre piece of property. Bodel Mad Niels Peter served on the City Council and also as a Bishop for 13 years. Wilhelmina developed an infection in one eye, causing her to go blind in that eye, but she continued to read to her children from the Book of Mormon every night. Her children said that many times they saw her crying as though her heart would break. She would then go to her bedroom to pray and come out smiling, feeling God had given her the strength to bear her troubles. 

Eventually, Wilhelmina placed an ad in a St. Louis, Missouri, newspaper to advertise for her family. Her father was notified and soon he and his daughter, Augusta, arrived in Salt Lake City. They stood on the steps of the Deseret News Building each day for a week, inquiring of passers-by for information. They were about to give up when they met a man from Sanpete County and asked him if he knew a George Frandsen. The man knew the Frandsens and Wilhelmina and after 32 years this family was reunited. Wilhelmina’s father stayed in Utah for a month. Although Johan Krause does not seem to have made any efforts to locate his daughter prior to this, he maintained that the Mormons had stolen her. He returned to Missouri where he and his step-son, Frederick Abel, had become wealthy in St. Louis, pioneering in the plumbing business. They were both reputed to be millionaires and bought one of the first Pierce-Arrow automobiles in that area. 

Frederick visited Wilhelmina at one time and offered her anything to renounce her faith and return with her children to St. Louis where he would see that they had every advantage, but she refused. She did keep up communication with her sisters, Augusta and Caroline. Caroline sent her a gold band ring and told her if she didn’t see her in this life she would know her by her ring in the next world. After Wilhelmina’s very full and happy life, she was buried with the ring on her finger. “Sister Mina” served as a Relief Society President and was beloved by all. She played her accordion and sang to her neighbors. 

Her children wrote a tribute to her: “By her teachings and her good example she instilled into our hearts the good things of life, and taught us to live the Gospel which was so dear to her. She has been a beacon light to us all our lives and made an impression on us that will always be with us. She had a testimony of the Gospel. She knew it was true and that there is a God who answers prayers. She paid a full tithing and kept the Word of Wisdom and we never heard her swear or even use slang.” Sources:“The Life Story of Wilhelmina Krause Madsen” by Pearle M. Olsen and Aleen M. Summers; “Mt Pleasant,” by Hilda Madsen Longsdorf; email from David R. Gunderson, June 30, 2012.

 See also Lars Madsen story in Tell My Story, Too; familysearch.org. (See painting representing Wilhelmina entitled, “Trust in God,” by Julie Rogers, at tellmystorytoo.com.)

PRITCHETT FAMILY PHOTOS ~~~MEN WITH BEARDS ~~~PIONEER DAY IN MT. PLEASANT 1947

I have posted this picture before.  However, this one is so much better. I found this one while searching

 Family Search for Pritchett Family records. John Frank Pritchett and Olive Monsen Pritchett were very much involved in Mt. Pleasant Pioneer Day. For many years, they furnished the Kentucky Fried Chicken that everyone so enjoyed. 

The following photos are from the Pritchett research I was doing.  My Grandmother was Sarah Emma Pritchett Rigby. 

JAMES MARTIN ALLRED AND 1ST WIFE CHRISTIANA GUSTAVE ANDERSON (From our archives)

 

Sam said...

What a wonderful surprise to see this post!



There is so much more I could tell you about this house. One brief story. When I was a boy in the late 50's, the west wall of adobes started to collapse. Dad wanted to shore up the wall and pour concrete as a foundation, at least in the damaged section. Our job as boys was to crawl under the house and excavate the space under the crumbling adobes so the concrete foundation could be poured. Up until that time the only foundation to the home was logs placed on rocks. I have no idea why my dad decided to send his boys on such a dangerous job.

I do regret tearing down the old house. We should have built the new house across the creek.

Sam Stewart (Samuel Spencer Stewart, Jr)

Sunday, 14 April, 2019

Unknown said...

Agreed! The old home shouldn't have been torn down. It changed so much.

Tuesday, 21 July, 2020

Unknown said...

Yes, something was lost with the old home being torn down.

HOME OF ELMER DELBERT MILLER AND WIFE ELIZABETH BIGLER ~~~from our archives

 

Mt. Pleasant History

 

BIRTHS:
Isaiah Cox, son of Issiah and Henrietta James Cox, born June 5, 1859. The family had just arrived at Mount Pleasant, and was camped in a covered wagon, on the banks of Pleasant Creek.
Edward Dalley, son of Edward and Elsie Aldrich Dalley, born
July 27, 1859.
Mc Carl Johansen, son of Peter and Annie Christina Johansen,
born September 5, 1859.
Joseph Beck, son of Hans C. H. Beck and Maria Rasmussen
Beck, born September 8, 1859.
Cinthia Nielsen (Mrs. D. R. Fitger), daughter of Fredrick and
Christina Nielsen, born August 15, 1859.
Sarah Jorgensen (Mrs. James Borg), daughter of Jens and
Christina Jorgensen, born September 18, 1859.

N. S , H, SENIORS BID FAREWELL ~~~ 1930

 

 

ENN ESS AITCH ~~~1930

 

NORTH SANPETE HIGH SCHOOL 1931

 

NORTH SANPETE HIGH SCHOOL 1916

Graduates of Class 1916 Plan a reunion. North Sanpete High School may have changed considerably in the past 50 years, but the fond memories of the graduating class of 1916 are still vivid among those who attended 

the school at that time. 

 

MT. PLEASANT BOOK ~~~ SURROUNDING COMMUNTITIES

NEWSPAPERS OF SANPETE COUNTY

 

Saga of the Sanpitch  1980

NEWSPAPERS OF SANPETE COUNTY

Eleanor P. Madsen

Ephraim, Utah

Professional Division

First Place Historical Essay

“When the last editorial is written

And the ink is smoothly dried;

When the papers have been folded

And addressed and wrapped and tied;

When these two who stood together,

Though days were dull or bright,

Will have closed the office door at last

For the long, eternal night;

May the thoughts and words and phrases

Of the things they dared to say

Be their unquestioned ‘press card’

In that land of endless day.” 1

This poem might well be a eulogy to all the editors of early Sanpete newspapers. We picture two
toiling together with laborious hand methods, the only available tools in those early days before the turn of
the century, when every letter was set separately, all the inking done by hand, and the press operated by hand
or foot power.

The old print shops are now forgotten as newer and faster methods have replaced the archaic one.
Even the Linotype is now becoming obsolete as more modern, electric machinery performs many tasks with
minimum effort for the editor and his staff.
Survey after survey has proven that no other medium is so thoroughly read or listened to as the
hometown paper. Indeed, since April 24, 1885, when the Home Sentinel, the first newspaper published in
Manti by James T. Jakeman, 2
residents have eagerly scanned local publications for personal and social items,
odd bits of national and state happenings, and other copyrighted material. Three items taken from the first
editions have a bit of humor for the reader today.
“Salt Lakers are having strawberries and cream and our Manti, more rain.”
Ft. Green Items: “The stores of this burg are paying 6 cents per dozen for eggs and 42 cents per bushel
for wheat.”

“Wide brimmed hats are very fine as substitutes for umbrellas in the sun’ but people do say they are
out of place on the front seats of the theatre. He (she) whom the coat fits let him put it on.
Within five years two other local papers appeared. In June, 1890-, James T. Jakeman issued the County
Register in Ephraim 4, and in November, 1890, A.B. Williams and J.M. Boyden published the Mt. Pleasant
Pyramid. 5.in 1891 the Ephraim plant was purchased by M. F. Murray and Company. The name was changed to the Enterprise 6
by which it was known through the management of ten editors, Ward Stephensen, John
Christiansen, Fred Jorgensen, W.E. Thorpe, Oscar Neilsen, a. E. Britsch, Nephi Christensen, Curtis Mitchelson
and Roscoe C. Cox. 7 Mr. Cox began publication in 1925 and was editor and manager for 35 years, the longest
period for any of the publishers. 8

The plant was located first in a building at 30 East Center Street. It was
later moved to the basement of the Ephraim Bank building and then to 56 North Main (Roscoe Cox Home).
The Mt. Pleasant Pyramid was purchased from Mr. Williams and Mr. Boyden by Burke McArthur in
1911. Mr. McArthur bought the first Linotype machine in Sanpete County, and continued to make
improvements in the plant until it was modernized throughout. About this same time, he also purchased a
permanent home for the paper, the building which it now occupies. 9

“The price of the local paper was combined with the needs of those concerned in Sanpete; it was
printed in kind; in terms of so much hay, so many potatoes or so many cords of firewood.” 10 Rates of
subscription listed in the Mt. Pleasant Pyramid Friday morning December 29, 1912, were: one year - $1.50; six
months - $.75; three months - $.50.
Editorials played an important role in the early newspapers, serving to arouse interest and to motivate
the people to action on local issues. They also helped shape policies and form public opinion on vital matters,
proving that the ‘pen is mightier than the sword.”
Mt. pleasant also had a small newspaper called The Call, which was edited and published by Christian
N. Lund, Jr., in a plant on the south side of the street at about 270 West Main. Mr. Lund operated his plant
first in Salina, then in Mt. Pleasant for a total of about ten years before moving to Salt Lake City, where he
continued in the newspaper business with a paper entitled The Progressive Opinion, which maintained a
circulation in Sanpete County for many years.

The Home Sentinel in Manti with J. T. Jakeman, Manager, and Dan Harrington, Editor, was re-named
The Sentinel in 1890 when H. H. Felt leased it. On October 13, 1893, under lease to Joel Shomaker, the paper
acquired the title of the Manti Messenger, which has continued since that time. 11 Other publishers to the
year 1929 year were J. L. Ewing, Peter A. Poulson, M.A. Boyden and S. Peter Peterson. 12
An item from the January 26, 1894, issue of the Messenger gives an insight into law enforcement in the
city.

“Sleigh riding has been the order of the day for some time. Some of the boys were a little too fast to
be within the limits of the city ordinances last Sunday and as a result were fined on dollar each.”
A rival paper in Manti, the Sanpete Democrat, was first issued in June, 1898, 13 and in 1902 was known
as the Sanpete Free Press with L. A. Lauber, publisher. It sold for $1.00 per year. 14 A local item in the January
7, 1902, edition reads as follows: “The rabbit hunt on Monday between Manti and Ephraim resulted in favor of
Ephraim by a score of 186 to 155….”
In the south end of the county, the Gunnison Valley News recorded this item:
“The great event came when a man named Camp came with a press and started a local weekly, which
he called the Gunnison Gazette. It was housed in a little building that stood on the north side of Center street
next to the school lot. After a short while, in 1909, he sold it to Nephi Gledhill. It was an old Washington hand
press. It took the family to get the paper out. The children would go after school and set type. When the
bank building was finished it was moved into that basement.”1513
In 1919 the paper was transferred to Howard W. Cherry, who modernized its operations and changed
the name to Gunnison Valley News. Subscription rates were $2.00 a year and $1.00 for six months. 16

Many
issues of the paper that year carried items of soldiers returning from World War I. the paper for July 4, 1919,
gave a detailed announcement of a patriotic program followed by foot, auto and horse races, boxing, baseball
and dancing, saluting the soldiers with the greeting: “Welcome, Soldier boys, the town is yours. Let’er bust.”
Prior to the editions of the local papers in the various communities in the County, the readers of early
news were able to obtain the Daily Deseret Evening News, which began as a weekly journal in 1867. “It
contained a variety of material, including speeches, lectures on scientific subjects, messages from church
heads, legal notices, local news, messages from the settlements reporting their progress, etc. It was always
part of the settlement. It gave the people a sense of contact with the world, a basis for comparing their lives
with that of other settlers and made them feel part of a large and important body. Everybody read the
News.”17 In this News, September 22, 1883, there appeared “more than two columns of the full size
newspaper, the names of all the stake presidencies and ward bishops for all the organized stakes of the
church.”

The Salt Lake Weekly Herald (Tribune) also found ready circulation in Sanpete County, 18
In listing early day publications, the Snowdrift, with Roscoe C. Cox as its first editor, provided
happenings and literary contributions from students at the College as well as being a media for training and
developing of talents in the news field.

The local papers were a powerful force in uniting the thoughts and actions of the people in the
communities. In giving due credit to the editors and publishers of Sanpete newspapers in the 44 years from
1885 to 1929, we are aware that they put the good of the people before their personal gain. First and
foremost was their love of the work, hearts that felt and understood the pulse of the community, men who
dared crusade for a better world, sometimes unappreciated, sometimes misunderstood, but never ceasing
their efforts for the printed page until that final copy was edited. These hands that set the type, turned the
presses and folded the papers will not be forgotten. Their words will echo and re-echo from the yellowed,
brittle pages, reminding us of conflict, tragedy, of joy and faith and hope, of life, as it was in our Sanpete
towns through these years.
Sources: 1
Christie Lund Coles, “To Mother and Dad”, Newspaper clipping.
2
These Our Fathers, p. 36
3
Snow College Film Library, Home Sentinel, 1885.
4 W. H. Lever, History of Sanpete and Emery Counties, p. 287.
5
These Our Fathers, p. 103.
6 W. H. Lever, p. 287.
7
These Our Fathers, p. 86.
8
Armanda Cox, Personal information.
9
These Our Fathers, p. 103.
10 Albert Antrei, “The Salty Old Press of Sanpete County”, Enterprise, 1979.
11 Mt. Pleasant Pyramid, December 29, 1912.
12 Antrei.
13 Song of a Century, p. 123.
14 W. H. Lever.
15 Sone of a Century, p. 123.
14 W. H. Lever.
15 Snow College Film Library, Sanpete Free Press, January 7, 1902.14
16 These Our Fathers, pp. 156-157.
17 Snow College Film Library, Gunnison Valley News, May 2, 1919.
18 These Our Fathers, pp. 156-157.
LAND OWNERSHIP IN EARLY FAIRVIEW

MOUNT PLEASANT HISTORY (pages 54 - 58)

 

MOUNTAINVILLE TRAGEDIES ~~~ Melba Shelley Hill (From our archives)

 

             

              Alec Burnside's barn was struck with lightning and burned.

              Will Burnside's house burned to the ground in 1890.


              Jim Brown's house burned.  Kids lit a match in the clothes closet to find their clothes and              
              started it.


             Inger Christensen was the first death in the ward.
     
             Jean Cowan died in childbirth Feb. 7, 1890.


             Hartley Syler came from Fairview and lived in Len's orchard.  Their little girl drowned in a sunken 
             swill barrel.

HOME OF NIELS PETER NIELSEN SR. AND WIFE BIRTHE MARIE AAGARD

 

 

 

North Sanpete Members of the Business Team 1991~~~ Taking First Place In Region Competition ~~~(Governor Cox had hair)

 

Treasured Photos From Our Archives

 

Sunshine Club 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FR

 MT. PLEASANT GIRLS REPRESENTING THE THIRTEEN COLONIES 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ISIAH COX
FIRST WHITE PERSON BORN IN MT. PLEASANT *1859 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1914 PHOTO TAKEN OF ORIGINAL PIONEERS STILL LIVING 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LOCAL REDSKINS ON MAIN STREET

unknown occasion

DONKEY IN THE STRAW ~~~ Saga of the Sanpitch ~~~ 1974

  Git up here, you stubborn, lop-eared jackass, you,‖ a hoarse, half-whispered command forced its way out through clenched teeth as Will Arthur Cox tugged on the rope in an effort to get the donkey up on top of the straw stack. The object of this indignity was the property of a would-be suitor who had traveled from Nephi to court some young Manti girl. This night he had chosen to heap his attentions on one of the Cox sisters, but their mothers had decided that they would all be favored, and they had spent most of the afternoon trying to make themselves the most attractive. 

Ed‘s toes dragged along on the ground as he rode toward the younger sisters who stood watching him close the gap between them. Of course, the older ones busied themselves nonchalantly about the dooryard while Ed grinned broadly and waved vigorously toward them. The Indians had raided the settlement of Nephi a few nights before and had run all their livestock off. This donkey came wandering home the next day so, because it was the only transportation available, he rode it to Manti. He arrived in time to help with the evening chores before supper and had earned the wholehearted approval of the four wives of Father Cox.

 He planned to sleep with the Barn Crowd in the ―Old Cox Barn‖ for a couple of nights before returning experiences on his trip to Nephi, but now he was the center of a spellbound audience as he told of his experiences on his trip to the Missouri River for immigrants. The girls had to know what the latest fashions were. Did style call for hair piled on top of their heads or worn long? What were the latest dance steps? Could he remember the popular songs they were singing in St. Louis now? Ed told them what he had observed and then he added, ―Hell, they‘re just girls, the same as you are.‖ The girls giggled and Louisa replied, ―I‘ll wager their hands aren‘t as rough and calloused as ours are, anyway.‖ The boys had decided to play a trick on Ed because they were being to totally ignored. While he was receiving all the attention they were shoving and pulling, dragging and heaving his donkey up to the top of the straw stack by the barn. ―Black Hawk probably bribed this stupid, onery mule to return home‖ Hase Clark snorted. ―Wonder why they didn‘t kill it and be done with it.‖ 

When the donkey was up on the stack they tied it to a shed post and put and ox bow across its shoulder, then mounted a sack stuffed with straw on its back and left it for the night. Ed left the ―Big House‖ about nine o‘clock and walked quickly to the barn. He was thinking about Lavinia‘s brown eyes, Emmrette‘s tiny waist, Adelaide‘s beautiful long hair—and what a flirt Rosalia was. When he came to Manti again he would have to pay special attention to Louisa. She was quite stand-offish. Emily, Sarah Ann and Esther were really cute, but he guessed they were a little too young. As he walked into the barn a bullet was fired at a know in the rafters above him and he dropped to the floor instantly, whipping his gun out on his way down. 

Then he heard the snicker of the fellows and he moved forward to be introduced to them. There was Fred, Jr., and Will Arthur, John Hall, Ezra Shoemaker, Haslam Clark, Joe Snow, Elias DeMill, Alma Beal, William Richey, George Pectol, Titus Billings Heber Petty, Frank Beal, Gardner Snow, Luther T. Tuttle, and Andrew Van Buren. Marriage and death were the only acceptable reasons for getting out of the Barn Crowd. 

Winter and Summer they slept with their clothes on and their six-shooters strapped to their waists, ready for any emergency or duty. Will Arthur claimed he had slept in the barn for seven years.   Half past midnight they heard some cussing and swearing outside. Cautiously, Will Arthur made his way to a guard post and he saw Hebe Petty slipping and sliding up out of the creek. He had had a little too much whiskey and had slipped off the bridge into the icy water below. His clothes were frozen stiff, his teeth chattered, and he was shaking with cold. Will and Ed went after him and put him in bed between them to thaw him out. First, he was wet and miserable, then he was sick to his stomach, and then he was humble and penitent. No one got any sleep that night! 

Early in the morning, Ed went to get his donkey. No donkey! He knew it couldn‘t have gone very far because he had hobbled it when he turned it loose. He checked with the settlers close by. He looked inside the fort walls a block away. He searched through a sailor's glass (telescope), from the slate hill to the north, swinging it around slowly. Still no stray donkey! When he got back to the Cox home he asked, ―"Will, can you go with me and show me a few of the places that ornery cuss might be hid up?" Will pondered. ―"Well, I really can‘t afford the time to just go looking‘, but I‘ll tell you what I‘ll do. I‘ve got to bring a load of firewood out of the mountains today while the Indians are wintering down south. If you want to go with me, we‘ll keep a close vigil for that animal while we‘re gone."‖ ―"Well, I guess that‘s the way it‘ll have to be."
 Ed remarked. 

Late that afternoon as Will and Ed rode into the rear on top of the wood; Ed spotted the donkey up on the straw stack, silhouetted against the cold gray sky, bearing the oxbow and straw-stuffed sack valiantly. Ed turned to Will and said, ―"Will, have you known about this all day?" ―
"I can‘t honestly say I haven‘t," Will answered, ―
But I do know this, I sure got a good days work out of you while we were on the lookout for the ornery cuss , and I want to thank you".

 Ed jumped off the wood immediately and went to bring the donkey down. He found a partly filled tub of water so he knew the family was in on the trick too, or had learned about it during the day. He didn‘t stay to solicit the attention of the girls after supper, and he took the ribbing of the Barn Crowd good-naturedly, but he was gone in the morning before anyone stirred—without saying goodbye. Emily cried. She was the soft-hearted one of the family. ―"Well,  Will drawled,  
I guess we were a little rough on him. Next time I see Ed I‘ll have to apologize".

Source: Taken from an Auto-biography written by Will Arthur Cox

Norma S. Wanlass

 

Utah Governor's Mansion Haunted ???????

SENIORS BID FAREWELL ~~~ 1930 NORTH SANPETE