James Wilson and Sarah Ellen Thompson ~~~PIONEERS OF THE MONTH ~~~ SEPTEMBER 2025

 

Occasionally, the twenty-fourth was celebrated in the mountains. This was a day long to be remembered. After the flag-raising and gun powder was set off in Wilson’s Blacksmith Shop, the wagons started to roll toward the mountains to Derfee’s Meadows. There, on this beautiful smooth meadow, the wagons formed a circle similar to the pioneers’ as they crossed the plains.

James Wilson had a blacksmith shop on the corner where the drugstore now stands. James Borg and Ole Clemmensen had a harness shop and Abner Crane had a blacksmith shop on first west. Anderson's Blacksmith Shop was located on the east side of State Street, about Third South.

Several Blacksmiths and Farriers were needed to keep up with the demands of planting, cutting, and harvesting.

Wilson's Blacksmith Shop was located on the south side corner of State Street and Main, where the Pharmacy is located now. You can see main street buildings in the background.

 

James M. Wilson

BIRTH: 25 Dec 1836
Muskingum County, Ohio, USA

DEATH: 9 Jun 1911 (aged 74)
Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah, USA

BURIAL:
Mount Pleasant City Cemetery

Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah, USA

PLOTA / 93 / 3 / 2MEMORIAL ID141394  

 
 

Five Generations: Front--Mina Pritchett, Myrna Pitts, Sarah Ellen T. Pritchett Wilson. Back--Elaine S. Pitts, Vivian P. Smith

Levi Franklin Pritchett 

CHRISTMAS EVE AT FRENCHY'S HOUSE

 How many Christmas Eve's do you remember?

My children will never forget Christmas Eve when Santa Claus and Rudolf were flying over Frenchy's house. 

Rudolf's nose was blinking bright red.  Me and my two oldest children were waiting in the car as Peter

 delivered a goody to Frenchy.

Frenchy's real name was Victor Dahis, but everyone called him Frenchy.  He was a small single man

 that lived in the southwest of town.  He had an accent and it may have been French. He made his living

 by painting houses.  

  Peter would go duck hunting and deliver the ducks he had killed to Frenchy. But this Christmas Eve

 was special because he took him a beef roast.  

    

 Then I just caught a glimpse of a red light flashing in the sky.  I told my kids that I thought it might 

 be Rudolf's bright nose. They quickly got out of the car and took a look.  They were anxious to know if

Santa and his reindeer had passed over our house and perhaps, since we were not home, he didn't stop.

Oh my, how I wished I hadn't told them about the flashing red light.  It almost spoiled Christmas that

 year. 

     

 Peter told me that Frenchy that night had been working on a "paint by number" scene.  Frenchy was

 so proud of how it looked.  Then, he showed Peter one of his non "paint by number" paintings.  Those

 were very very good.

A few years later Frenchy's family showed up and took him to live with them.  

Shortly after that, a neighbor of Frenchy brought to the Relic Home a very small washer and ringer 

that they had left behind.

I did some research on Frenchy and will add it here.

 

 

WALKER INDIAN WAR (Taken from History of Mt. Pleasant ~~~ Hilda Madsen Longsdorf)

 

JAMES M. WILSON BLACKSMITH SHOP

 

An Old Land Mark ~~~Compiled by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

 Peter and I lived in the building shown as Clark and Johansen Furniture Store.  It had been bought by the Hafen Family.  Carrie Hafen lived there til her death and then we lived there for seven years. This cabin was in our backyard. 

Sarah Ellen Thompson Pritchett Wilson ~~~ Pioneer of the Month ~~~ August 2023

Levi Franklin Pritchett 

 

The Pritchett Family

 The family name of Pritchett originated in Wales and according to all known records, is a name of great antiquity, having an unbroken male descent from the princes of Wales, between Wye and Severn, a dynasty that lasted from the time of Caradoc Vraich, who reigned in 520 AD to the death of Bleddyn, the last prince in 1190 AD. 

During this time the family became very numerous and began to spread out into other parts of the British Isles. Many went into Ireland and the middle parts of England. From the period of the close of the reign of Bleddyn until about the middle of the 15th century, little is known about the family as few or no records were kept. It has to date been impossible to bridge the gap between 1190 and the first Pritchett who came to America. 

The records of Virginia Historical Society record that Miles Pritchett came to America on a sailing ship, the Star, in the year 1612. This was eight years before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Apparently, he settled in Jamestown, Virginia, and from there the family spread out into the area known at that time as the Virginia land grant. This area comprised what is now known as Virginia, Kentucky, Delaware, Tennessee, and parts of Georgia. The Pritchetts were also in Delaware and Maryland as early as 1669. It is in this area that most of the Pritchett family are found today and from which the branch of our family originally came. It has been difficult to trace a direct line of Pritchetts beyond the middle of the 17th century. Most of this difficulty is the direct result of the Civil War. During the various campaigns that the northern troops made into the South, many of the churches where the records of our people were kept were burned and it is therefore impossible to verify many of the stories and much of the information that has come down from generation to generation and from family to family. James Mitchell Pritchett, the father of Leonidas Pritchett, was born in Smyth County, Virginia on June 1, 1817, and later married Mary Ann Fulcher. To them were born nine children: William, Leonidas, John, Nancy, Thomas, Levi, James, Rebecca, and Douglas. Douglas died at the age of three years but all the other children lived to marry and raise a family. William, the eldest, married Peggy Heneger. Leonidas married Elizabeth Ann Heninger. John married Mary V. Hambrick. Nancy married John Floyd Young. Thomas married Lovina Chadwick Heninger, and later, after her death he married Ida Huntsman. Levi married Ellen Thompson. James married Kate James. Rebecca married Lindsey Brady. 

The descendants of these eight children have spread into nearly all the western states. Many of them have at one time or another become interested in their genealogy and have made an attempt to find the records of their families. As a result, there has been a tremendous duplication of effort and in many cases, each one has interpreted the existing records in their own way, which has resulted in many conflicting claims and dates of births, marriages, and deaths. Written by La Von Fuller Shreeve; date unknown. Found in papers belonging to Hazel Smith Carver, a great-granddaughter.

Wilson's Blacksmith Shop was located on the south side corner of State Street and Main, where the Pharmacy is located now. You can see main street buildings in the background.

James Wilson
Blacksmith

 

James M. Wilson

BIRTH: 25 Dec 1836
Muskingum County, Ohio, USA

DEATH9 Jun 1911 (aged 74)
Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah, USA

BURIAL:
Mount Pleasant City Cemetery

Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah, USA

PLOTA / 93 / 3 / 2MEMORIAL ID141394  

 
 

Five Generations: Front--Mina Pritchett, Myrna Pitts, Sarah Ellen T. Pritchett Wilson. Back--Elaine S. Pitts, Vivian P. Smith

Home of Orrin Smith Clark and his wife Sarah Elizabeth Gilson ~~~Researched, Compiled and Updated by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

 

Pioneer Merchants

PIONEER MERCHANTS OF MT. PLEASANT

History of Mount Pleasant by Hilda Madsen Longsdorf
pp 326-330
(Compiled 1922)

During the fort wall days of Mt. Pleasant, Alma Bennett

and Miner Wilcox sold a few necessities.

Later, as the people began to move from the fort, some goods were brought in by peddlers.

In the early sixties John Dahlin and others conducted sort of a store in one room of a small house on a lot where S. E. Jensen now lives at First East and First South; and from a small room of a dwelling house just south John Wheeler and David Candland sold goods. Some say Peter Jorgen Jensen was also

located in this neighborhood. 

Freighting was done by ox teams across the plains from eastern points to Salt Lake City, and then in turn it took a long time to make the trip from Salt Lake City to Mt. Pleasant.

About 1863, Alma Bennett had a small workshop on a lot where A. C. Madsen's home now is on State Street and Third North where he made and sold furniture, he also sold articles made at a crude sawmill owned by George Wilson, Henry Mc. Arthur and A. H. Bennett, east of town. Later, several people made and sold furniture, among them James Olsen, Nils Rosenlof, and Harold Christian Beaumann, Sr.



In 1866, Paul Dehlin had sort of sawmill machinery oper­ated by a big water wheel, placed in the stream on Main Street between Third and Fourth west about where the Clyde property is now located.

In 1864 William Jennings established the Jenning's store, on the lot where William Hansen now lives, north side of Main Street between Second and Third west. It was managed by Joseph Stanford. Anthon H. Lund and Charlie Hampshire clerked there for a short time.

About 1869 a Co-op store was started, later this company erected a building on the southwest corner of the intersection of Main and State streets.

A few years later on account of the increasing business of this company they built a brick building on the northeast corner of intersection Main and State streets.

The brick for this building was made west of town under the direction of Andrew Madsen and C. W. Anderson; Martin Rasmussen, James C. Meiling and others did the burning. Among those who did the excavating were John Meyrick, Paul Coates, Sr.; Lars and Andrew Christensen were masons, and Jacob Rolfson and Eric Gunderson, Sr., were carpenters. Nothing but first-class bricks or materials were put into the building at that time.

The same clerks, Charlie Hampshire, Ole Sorenson, Blenda Dehlin, and Lauritz Larsen, served in this building; among those who later served were Wellington Seely, Wm. Morrison, Jr., Stena Jensen, Louise B. Madsen, Caroline Johansen, Nora Jorg­ensen, Lena Madsen, and Minie Johansen.

In 1898 the Equitable Building was erected and the stock was transferred there. This company built the Branch Building on Third South and Second West, which for some time they operated in connection. Later Tathen and Dun. Then George Christensen, then the Progress Branch, and then Paul Monsen and Vern Gunderson were located there.

In 1893 the Union Mercantile Company was organized. They did business in the brick building formerly occupied by the Co-op store. In 1897 the company was reorganized as Madsen & Sons Mere. Co., who were in business for a number of years. Madsen & Longsdorf began business in the building in 1898




selling machinery and repairs. S. D. Longsdorf also had a grocery and produce store there. Three years after the building of log Co-op Store, G. G. Bjelke, John Waldermar, Magnus Rosen­berg and others built an adobe building west on Main Street which was considered much more up to date than the "Log Co-op." They were joined by Niels S., Andrew, and Hans S. Nielson.

In this building sprang into existence what was later known as the Sanpete County Co-op. It was then known as the Lower or Swedish store or Gentile store, and did a flourishing business with N. S. Nielson, August Wall, Hans Nielson, (clerk) Andrew S. Nielsen and Henry Ericksen as clerks.

During the seventies John Waldermar had a butcher shop in a log building opposite the Sanpete County Co-op, where Henry Ericksen and A. B. Waldermar were the clerks. Among the meat dealers a little later were Mike Jorgensen and Taylor Armentrout. A joke well remembered was a wager a young man made at that time that he could, blindfolded, hit a mark with a cleaver on a chopping block in Armentrout's Shop. He was blindfolded and as he raised his arm to strike, M. G. Rolph slipped the young man's hat on the mark; the man struck and cut his own brand new derby right in two. This caused quite an excitement at the time, but Rolph had to furnish a new hat.

Other meat dealers were DeLong, Niels Rasmussen, Evan Ivie, and Keen Tidwell. In 1889 the Ericksen Meat & Grocery Company was established by Henry Ericksen and Alif Ericksen. Later Joseph Seely, Al Peterson, John Ericksen, Andrew O. Mad­sen, and Stewart Seely were located on the north side of Main Street, between State and First West.

It is thought that Hutchin and Lither opened the first drug store unless Dr. Evans earlier sold drugs. They say he sold every­thing and customers were welcome to help themselves from any bottle back of the curtain. It is said 1. B. Hunter also sold drugs. Lindsay had a drug store in Nickolsen's building, north on State Street. This building was later moved to Main Street and was occupied by Dr. E. C. Mills and others. Biddle, Wright and Moss were located on Main Street; later they sold to S. H. Allen and Thomas West, who, in 1889, established a later type drug store. William Clos and Paul Vanoric were the druggists there. W. W.


Woodring also had a drug store. In 1897, A. H. Maiben built the Palace Pharmacy, which later was Maiben and McGraw, Maiben & Aldrich, and of later date, A. D. Sutton Drug Company, R. W. Weech Drug Company, and now we have on the corner of State and Main, where the old log store once was, the drug store owned and operated by Ed Johnston.

It is remembered that in the early days Mrs. Coates had a small store in part of an adobe house on the lot where the Hans Nielsen home now is. Later her son held forth in what is now known as the Willard Kofford block.

Daniel Beckstrom had a furniture shop about where Lawrence Carlsen now lives. Ferdinand Clark and Christian Johanson car­ried a stock of furniture on State Street, as did also Axel Bjelke.

Back to the stores again-Niels Lund conducted one in part of the adobe building on the lot where P. C. Lund's home is today. Sorn J. Neilson had a store where Roy Christensen now lives. Later he and his brother, Neils Peter, and H. C. Beaumann, erected a store on Main Street, on part of Peel's lot, where the DeGraff sisters, Antoinette and Annie, clerked. Abram Johnson, Lena Jorgensen, Rozena Fechser and Amelia Olsen were among the first clerks there. In 1895 Larsen Brothers had a store, on Larsen's lot, south of the South Ward Chapel, where Alex Poulsen later located.

Some of the early Main Street stores which need only be men­tioned in passing, were Brown & Acord, the creamery stations managed by Peter Matson and Ole Hansen, and James B. Porter's book store a block east; Tarvey's notion store, Arrowsmith notion store, Aldrich Brothers in the Progress Building, W. O. Ash & Company, Hardware, which started as a tin shop and developed into a leading hardware store, located in part of the building used by the Consolidated Furniture Company.

Tathen and Selby conducted what was known as New York Cash store, or Golden Rule; later John Selby became sole owner, and later the National was operated there by Straws.

Another store of early importance was the one operated by George Farnsworth and others. It was started in part of a small building about where the B. F. Lovel home now is. Later they built a frame building just south. The building had an upper story where furniture was carried in a limited way. Abram John­son and Amasa Aldrich were the clerks who served. Later A. Kofford's two-story frame building was erected on Main Street, near where is now the grocery department of the Wasatch Merc. Niels Rolph, it is said, had conducted a small needle shop in his father's property in the northeast part of town. After his death, M. G. Rolph operated the store erected on Main Street. Many remember the auction sale conducted there when L. P. Nelson acted as an auctioneer. Martin Kroll conducted the first confec­tionary store, also the first bakery. It was located between State and First West, on Main Street, many remember the ringing of a bell as the door was opened. Peter Jensen was formerly located on this block, also.

Many such stands have since operated and vanished, however, Anthon Gunderson, located west on Main Street, and Peter Jensen. formerly located in part of the Mt. Pleasant Opera House, held forth for many years.

J. E. Gunderson bought and made improvement on Main Street, and J. C. Penney Company started business there in 1911, with W. B. Hicks as manager. Postgard's Jewelry Company, which later became the Squire Jewelry and Floral Company, was estab­lished in 1920, between First and Second West on the north side of Main Street, and later they moved one block west, and then back again.

So history is made.

Home of Levi Franklin Pritchett and his wife Sarah Ellen Thompson~~~ Researched and Compiled by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

 

The Town Blacksmith and the Town Farrier

Almost all of the farming implements were homemade and hand-made. Peter Madsen Peel, who was the first blacksmith in the colony, is credited with having made most of them; however, some people made their own.
George Farnsworth, who in his native land learned the farrier trade, was said to be an excellent "Shoer," assisted, and also kept the oxen shod. Iron was very scarce and hard to get, being obtained usually from the wreckage of immigrant wagons. Straight oak sticks were brought from the mountains for making bows for ox yokes. These sticks were cast into a fire long enough to roast them thoroughly, then they were bent into the required shape, and when complete was thought to be just as good as those brought "from the States."

In 1859, on the 11th of August, they began harvesting their first hay crops, consisting of native grasses growing in abundance in the lowlands, called the Hay Field, which was south and west of where Chester is now located. The only means of cutting the grass was with homemade scythes and snaths, raking it with rakes and pitchforks which were made from native wood and such iron as could be obtained. Much time was consumed in haying on account of this simple method, and the use of ox teams, sometimes one ox and a cow, in hauling it so great a distance. As soon as hay crops were put up, harvesting of the grain began. This was handled in about the same manner as the haying.

The grain was cradled, raked up into bundles and bound by hand, then hauled into the yards and threshed by being trampled on by oxen or flailed with willows or flails by men. The separating of the grain from the chaff was accomplished by waiting for light wind or breeze, at which time, the farmers would toss it into the air, against a canvas, erected upright like a wall, the grain falling into another canvas, while the chaff was blown away. This was repeated several times, or until the wheat was thoroughly separated or clean. Sometimes, when the people did not have a cradle, the wheat was pulled up by the roots with the bands. When this was done, the stacks would be as black as the earth. The crops were good and much grain was harvested; however, much of it matured late and some was frozen, due to the fact that some of the settlers had arrived late in the spring and did not get their seeds planted early enough to mature. The women always took an active part in the harvesting, helping with the raking, binding, and gleaning, etc.

The railroad was built for the purpose of getting the coal from Wales, where coal had been discovered in 1855 and was the first discovered in Utah. Later it was recognized as of good quality for blacksmithing and other purposes.

James Wilson had a blacksmith shop on the corner where the drugstore now stands. James Borg and Ole Clemmensen had a harness shop and Abner Crane had a blacksmith shop on first west. Anderson's Blacksmith Shop was located on the east side of State Street, about Third South.
Several Blacksmiths and Farriers were needed to keep up with the demands of planting, cutting, and harvesting.

Wilson Blacksmith Shop

One story told by Peter Gottfriedsen: It was the inherent nature of an Indian to steal, and this brings to my mind an incident told of an Indian who brought a half-worn-out ax to a blacksmith to be fixed. The blacksmith said, 'I can't fix it, it hasn't any steel in it.' 'Oh, yes,' said the Indian, 'It all steal, me steal it last night.' "
(excerpts taken from Hilda Madsen Longsdorf, "Book of Mt. Pleasant")

SOMEBODY'S BIRTHDAY ~~~ GUESS WHO ???

 

MEHITABLE BENNETT SEELEY

Also See:  https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2217707143168230507/7715997466031738025

 

Mehitable was the youngest child of a family of twelve children born to Amos and Anna (Duncan) Bennett.  From various sources came the conflicting dates of Mehitable’s birth as: 17 Nov 1779 or 17 Oct. 1780.  The Bennett family was listed in the 1790s in Orange County, N. Y.  However, they must have moved back and forth from Orange County to the northeast part of Pennsylvania several times because of Indian attacks and destruction of property.

In the History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, Vol. 1, p. 182, 183, we found this brief account of the Bennetts:

“Amos Bennett and his family were living in Wyoming, PA, at the time of the Indian attack (July 3, 1778) occupying a log house.  During the progress of the battle, a party of Indians came near and were discovered.  One of Mr. Bennett’s daughters, out of curiosity, opened the door, but was instantly pulled back into the house and door reclosed.  Scarcely had the inquisitive girl been dragged into the house when a bullet struck into the door-post where she had stood a moment before . . .  About the year 1785, Mr. Bennett removed with his family from Orange County, N. Y. to Wyalusing, Pa, where he lived until 1791, then purchased property and settled permanently in Asylum Bradford County, Pa.  He built a little tub-mill at the falls just below the road on Bennett’s creek . . . His house stood on the flats.  Mr. Bennett died in 1813.  His wife Anna died 1814.”

Amos Bennett left a Will, which is included in this collection, in which he named his twelve children.  However, here is listed the children with their spouses as found in the printed history quoted above:

Amos, Jr. married Amy Wilcox and lived in North Towanda.

Thomas went to Genesee County, N.Y., married, and later lost his wife (name unknown).

John married Hannah Vargason and lived in Albany Township, Bradford County, N.Y.

Gideon - nothing more known - but was named in his father’s Will of 1812.

Daniel married in the Genesee County, N.Y. and died there.

Nathan went to Genesee County, married Polly Ellsworth and joined the Mormons.

Benjamin married Betsy Abbatt of Wyalusing.  He was drafted in the War of 1812 and was discharged after reaching Danville, Pa. 

Susanna married Joshua Bailey, lived in North Tawanda.

Hetty (Mehitable) married Justus (Azel) Seeley and removed with her husband to Canada.

Prudence married Jacob Strickland of Wysox, Pa. and went West with her husband about 1811.

Martha married Richard Benjamin, lived in Asylum, Pa.

Hanna married Benjamin Acla, lived in Asylum.

After years of research it has been established that Amos Bennett Sr. was born 20 Mar. 1739 at Locke, Cayuga Co., N.Y. near the Finger Lakes, the son of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Smeallie) Bennett.   Ebenezer was the son of Thomas and Ann Bennett.  Extensive research has not yet established the Duncan ancestry beyond Anna - wife of Amos Bennett.

Mehitable was about twenty years of age when she met and married Justus Azel Seeley on 9 April 1800 in Luzerne Co., Pa.

Justus Azel had lived with his parents, Justus and Sarah (Stuart) Seeley in Canada, so after a few years in Pennsylvania he returned to Pickering Home District in Upper Canada in 1811 with his parents, his wife, Mehitable, and their five children who had been born in Pennsylvania.  The children were:  Rachel, born 2 Sept. 1801; Rebecca, born 4 July 1803; John born 8 June, 1805; Elizabeth, born 29 July 1807; and Mary born 24 Jan., 1810.

In January 1812, a war broke out again with the United States.  Justus Azel was drafted by the English into the military service and was assigned to barracks at Toronto Canada where he stayed until mid-May 1812.  When illness of his wife, Mehitable, necessitated his return home on furlough, his father Justus substituted for his son.

On 18 May 1812, Mehitable gave birth to a son, William Stuart.  That same day, Justus Seeley died at the barracks as the newest grandson was born.

While living at Pickering, Home District, Upper Canada, three more children were born to them:  Justus Wellington, born 20 Jan. 1815; Sarah Ann, born 27 Aug. 1817; and David Seeley, born 12 Oct 1819.  

Mehitable, her husband and children, resided in Upper Canada until 1838.

John Taylor, a minister in nearby Toronto, Canada, had a congregation of devout Christians who were studying Christ’s Church.  The Seeleys were member of this group.  When Parley P. Pratt and his companion came from Kirtland, Ohio, preaching the restored Gospel, John Taylor and many of his congregation became baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Seeleys, following conversion, made the decision to gather to their Zion, then in Far West, Missouri.  William, his wife and family, along with his parents, Justus Azel and Mehitable, went by way of the Great Lakes in steamers, while David and Justus Wellington traveled in wagons.

They expected to meet in Missouri, but because the mobs had driven the Saints back toward the Mississippi River, it was not until November 1838 that the family was re-united in Calhoun Co., Illinois.

In the Spring of 1839, they moved to the vicinity of Burlington, Iowa, where they stayed until the Spring of 1841 when Justus Azel, Mehitable and three married sons, William, Justus Wellington, and David located at Nashville, Lee County, Iowa.  [Note: Their daughter Elizabeth and her husband James Young and children were also with them.] Here, during a few peaceful years, they welcomed the arrival of several grandchildren.

On 3 Feb 1846 this faithful couple, Justus Azel and Mehitable (Bennett) Seeley, were endowed in the Nauvoo Temple, but mobs drove the participants out before the eternal marriage ceremony was finished.

When the mobs drove the Saints from Nauvoo, the aging Justus Azel and Mehitable traveled with their sons and families to Winter Quarters, Nebraska, arriving in October 1846.  Here they remained in humble circumstances until 6 June 1847, when they crossed the Missouri River and started Westward with a Pioneer Wagon Train on 13 June 1847. [Note:  During that terrible winter at winter quarters, their daughter Elizabeth lost 3 of her 4 youngest children, leaving 6 remaining, the oldest, James being only 17. They also emigrated with Elizabeth’s parents in 1847.]

After a long, strenuous trip, the Seeleys arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley on the 29 Sept 1847.  Here they lived a short time in Old South Fort.  The Seeleys were witnesses of the miracle of the Gulls the following summer.

In May 1849, Mehitable and Justus Azel Seeley had Patriarchal Blessings from John Smith.  (copies enclosed)

The aging parents moved to Pleasant Grove, along with their son William and family.  They were living there in March 1858 when Justus Wellington and his family returned from seven years pioneering in San Bernadino, California.  

Justus Azel Seeley died in Pleasant Grove, Utah, 1 April 1859 and he is buried there.

Rather than remain alone, Mehitable moved to Mt. Pleasant, Utah to spend the few remaining years of her life with her children who had been called to settle in Sanpete County.

Mehitable died 2 Aug 1861 and lies buried in Mt. Pleasant.

Her posterity is numerous.  They revere her name and her faithfulness in living a Christlike life.  She lived the principles of the restored gospel and her testimony brought her through the many sacrifices and trials she was called to endure.

NOTE:  This couple was sealed by proxy in the Manti Temple 27 June 1868 after Justus Azel Seeley appeared in a dream to one of his sons, reminding him of the unfinished ordinance at the Nauvoo Temple in 1846.

THE BROAD AX ~~~ Contraversial Newspaper of Early Utah ~~~ Edited by Julius F. Taylor~~~ "He Himself A Colored Man "

 The Broad Ax (1895-1931) was a weekly newspaper that began publication on Aug. 31, 1895, originally in Salt Lake City, Utah, by Julius F. Taylor. After a series of conflicts with the Latter Day Saints, Taylor relocated the newspaper to Chicago, Illinois in 1899.

The owner (s): Julius F. Taylor      Founded: 1895

The Broad Ax (taken from wikipedia)

Throughout its history, the Broad Ax (Salt Lake City and Chicago) was issued weekly by its founder, publisher, and editor, Julius F. Taylor (1853-1934).  Born into slavery near New Market, Virginia, Julius Taylor was the 13th of 14 children of Gilbert and Mary Ann Taylor.  Taylor’s parents and older siblings had earlier been sold to different owners but remained in relatively close proximity in the Shenandoah Valley. In the mid-1860s Taylor made his way to Philadelphia and settled successively in St. Paul, Minnesota; Fargo, North Dakota; and Chicago, before arriving in Salt Lake City in 1895. There Taylor founded the Broad Ax, which joined two other black newspapers published in Salt Lake City at a time when there were fewer than 1,000 African Americans in the state. 

The first issue, published on August 31, 1895, carries the motto that remained with the paper until it ceased in 1931: “Hew to the line.”  Taylor announced that his paper would be “Democratic in politics, advocating the immortal principles of Jefferson and Jackson.”   He advocated racial equality, religious tolerance, and support for Free Silver (and, later William Jennings Bryan).  As one scholar observed, “a sharp-tongued, Democratic, atheistic, African American editor in Utah in the 1890s stood out as an anomaly” (Michael  S. Sweeney, “Julius F. Taylor and the Broad Ax of Salt Lake City, Utah Historical Quarterly 77, no. 3: 205). 

With tensions rising between the Broad Ax and the leaders of the Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City, Taylor relocated to Chicago in 1899.  The last issue of the Broad Ax published in Salt Lake City was vol. 4, no. 41, dated June 6, 1899.  Taylor relaunched the paper in Chicago, continuing the same numbering, with the July 15 issue.   Along with a description of his editorial platform (roughly identical to the description in the first issue in 1895), the Chicago debut issue carried an endorsement signed by the mayor of Chicago, Carter Henry Harrison II. 

Described by one historian as “the most controversial black newspaper in Chicago in the late nineteenth century” (Juliet E. K. Walker, “The Promised Land:  The Chicago Defender and the Black Press in Illinois: 1862-1970,” in The Black Press in the Middle West, 1865-1985, ed. by Henry Lewis Suggs, Greenwood Press, 1996, 21), the Broad Ax was noted for its caustic, inflammatory language and criticism of Booker T. Washington.  During World War I, Taylor provided extensive coverage of lynchings that took place on American soil while black soldiers fought for the United States in Europe.  

In 1912, Taylor joined with the publishers of three other black Chicago newspapers to form the Colored Press Association of Chicago (not to be confused with the Associated Negro Press founded by Claude Barnett in Chicago in 1919). Taylor was joined in this venture by Robert S. Abbott, founder, editor, and publisher of the Chicago Defender; Sheadrick Bond Turner, state legislator and editor and publisher of the Chicago Illinois Idea; and William D. Neighbors, Chicago real estate developer and editor and publisher of the Illinois Chronicle. The purpose of the organization was to strengthen the mission of the black press in Chicago by establishing a local news gathering bureau, highlighting issues of particular interest to African Americans, and, more specifically, to endorse an African American candidate for county commissioner. 

Apparently, no issues of the Broad Ax published after 1927 survived, but the obituary for Taylor published in the Defender (May 19, 1934, p. 18) notes that he published the Broad Ax until 1931 when his health no longer permitted it.  Taylor’s paper has sometimes been confused with another African American newspaper, the Broad Axe published in St. Paul, Minnesota (1891-1903), edited by Albert L. Graves and Harley O. Doolittle, but these were separate enterprises. 

Provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

The people of Mt. Pleasant welcomed Taylor and he had good words for them.