Baker–Fancher party

The Baker–Fancher party (also called the Fancher–Baker party, Fancher party, or Baker's Company) was a group of American western emigrants from Marion, Crawford, Carroll, and Johnson counties in Arkansas, who departed Carroll County in April 1857 and "were attacked by the Mormons near the rim of the Great Basin, and about fifty miles from Cedar City, in Utah Territory, and that all of the emigrants, with the exception of 17 children, were then and there massacred and murdered"^[1] in the Mountain Meadows massacre. Sources estimate that between 120 and 140 men, women and children were killed on September 11, 1857, at Mountain Meadows, a rest stop on the Old Spanish Trail, in the Utah Territory. Some children of up to six years old were taken in by the Mormon families in Southern Utah, presumably because they had been judged to be too young to tell others about the massacre.^[2]

The Baker–Fancher party, a wagon train of non-Mormon settlers crossing southern Utah Territory, were attacked by the Utah Territorial Militia who perpetrated the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre during the Utah War.

Background

 

Fanchers' livestock brand, a monogrammed J-F. Registered in 1852 at Tulare County, California—intended destination of ill-fated Baker–Fancher party—to Captain Alexander Fancher's older brother John

The Baker–Fancher party consisted of several smaller parties that set out separately from the Ozarks in northwestern Arkansas, and then joined up along the way. Many of the families in the group were prosperous farmers and cattlemen with ample financial resources to make the journey west. Some of the groups had family and friends in California awaiting their arrival, as well as many relatives remaining in Arkansas. Among the groups were the Baker train, led by Captain John Twitty Baker from Carroll County, and the Fancher train, led by seasoned expeditioner Alexander Fancher,^[3] which left from Benton County. Other groups included the Huff train, which also left from Benton, the Mitchell, Dunlapp, and Prewitt trains which left from Marion County, and the Poteet–Tackitt–Jones, Cameron, and Miller trains which left from Johnson County. Pleasant Tackitt, from the Poteet–Tackitt–Jones train, was a Methodist minister who led the others in worship and prayer services while on their journey.^{[citation needed]} When the groups left Arkansas in April 1857, the total company numbered more than 200.^[4] However, during the journey, some groups split off and others joined. Some of the trains that joined the company may have been from other states, such as Missouri.^[5]

The party was well outfitted with wagons, traveling carriages, a large herd of cattle estimated at close to 1,000 head, oxen, as well as numerous horses. They joined the expedition for various reasons; some to settle permanently in California, some to drive cattle west for profit, and some to find California gold. Like other emigrant groups traveling to California, they took money with them and planned to replenish their supplies in Salt Lake City for the remainder of the trip.^[6] The actual date of arrival in Salt Lake City is unknown, but historian Juanita Brooks places the arrival as August 3 or August 4, 1857 based on reports in the Journal History of the LDS Church.^[7] The Arkansans arrived in Utah with over 800 head of cattle and were low on supplies when they reached the Salt Lake area, a major resupply destination for overland emigrants.

Emigrants associated with the Baker–Fancher Party

Families leaving before reaching Utah Territory

As the different wagon parties traveled across the plains, some of those left by the wayside, ended up traveling to other destinations in safety. If Missourians had ever been these trains' fellow travelers,^[8][9] none are known to share these Arkansans' fate. The following is a list of those known to have separated themselves before arriving in the Utah Territory:

1. Smith
2. Morton
3. Hudson
4. Basham
5. Haydon
6. Reed
7. Stevenson
8. Hamilton
9. Farmer
10. Lafoon and/or Laffoon
11. Poteet – cousins to the Tackitt family (left and went to Texas the day before the massacre)

(Various other Arkansas trains are believed to have been associated with the Fancher–Baker party while on their journeys westward, yet they did not perish with them, include the Crooked Creek, Campbell, Parker, and [John S.] Baker – as distinct from the [John Twitty] Baker – trains.)

 

The Page family: siblings Lewis (rear), L to R – Samuel, Clarissa (Coffman), and John. Left the Baker–Fancher party before arriving at Mountain Meadows. Taken before 1918 in Clarksville, El Dorado County, California.

Families leaving in Utah Territory

The following is a list of those believed to have separated from the Fancher–Baker party, while it was passing through the Utah Territory:

1. Eaton, William M.
2. Edwards, Silas
3. Rush, Milum L., 28
4. Stallcup, Charles, 25
5. The John R. Page Family

Members of the wagon train who were at Mountain Meadows

The following table contains a list of those believed to have been killed during the massacre, along with the survivors (who are listed in bold). The table also lists if the person was listed on the 1955 Monument in Harrison, Arkansas, or on the 1990 Monument in Mountain Meadows.

Members of the wagon train who were at Mountain Meadows
Name (alphabetically by surname)		Age at time of massacre	Listed on
			1955 Monument	1990 Monument
Aden,	William Allen	19	Yes	Yes
Baker,	George W.	27	Yes	Yes
	Manerva Ann Beller	25	Yes	Yes
	Mary Lovina	7	Yes	Yes
	Martha Elizabeth	5	Yes	Yes
	Sarah Frances	2	Yes	Yes
	William Twitty	9 months	Yes	Yes
Baker,	John Twitty	52	Yes	Yes
	Abel	19	Yes	Yes
Beach,	John	21	No	Yes
Beller,	David W.	12	Yes	Yes
Beller,	Melissa Ann	14	Yes	Yes
Cameron,	William	51	Yes	Yes
	Martha	51	Yes	Yes
	Tillman	24	No	Yes
	Isom	18	No	Yes
	Henry	16	No	Yes
	James	14	No	Yes
	Larkin	8	No	Yes
Cameron,	Nancy	12	No	Yes
Coker,	Edward	27	No	No
	Charity Porter	37	No	No
	Unknown	Child	No	No
	Unknown	Child	No	No
Cooper,	William E.	29	No	No
	Abbey	29	No	No
Deshazo,	Allen P.	22	Yes	Yes
Dunlap,	Jesse, Jr.	39	Yes	Yes
	Mary Wharton	39	Yes	Yes
	Ellender	18	No	Yes
	Nancy M.	16	No	Yes
	James D.	14	No	Yes
	Lucinda	12	No	Yes
	Susannah	12	No	Yes
	Margarette	11	No	Yes
	Mary Ann	9	No	Yes
	Rebecca Jane	6	Yes	Yes
	Louisa	4	Yes	Yes
	Sarah Elizabeth	1	Yes	Yes
Dunlap,	Lorenzo Dow	42	Yes	Yes
	Nancy Wharton	42	No	Yes
	Thomas J.	18	No	Yes
	John H.	16	No	Yes
	Mary Ann	13	No	Yes
	Talitha Emaline	11	No	Yes
	Nancy	9	No	Yes
	America Jane	7	No	Yes
	Prudence Angeline	5	Yes	Yes
	Georgia Ann	18 months	Yes	Yes
Eaton,	William M.	Adult	Yes	Yes
Edwards,	Silas	Unknown	No	Yes
Fancher,	Alexander	45	Yes	Yes
	Eliza Ingram	33	Yes	Yes
	Hampton	19	Yes	Yes
	William	17	Yes	Yes
	Mary	15	Yes	Yes
	Thomas	14	Yes	Yes
	Martha	10	Yes	Yes
	Margaret A.	8	Yes	Yes
	Sarah G.	8	Yes	Yes
	Christopher "Kit" Carson	5	Yes	Yes
	Triphenia	22 months	Yes	Yes
Fancher,	James Mathew	25	Yes	Yes
Fancher,	Frances "Fanny" Fulfer	Unknown	No	Yes
Fancher,	Robert	19	Yes	Yes
Gresley,	John	21	No	No
Hamilton,	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Yes
Huff,	Saladia Ann Brown	38	Yes	Yes
	John	14	No	Yes
	William C.	13	No	Yes
	Mary E.	11	No	No
	James K.	8	No	Yes
	Nancy Saphrona	4	Yes	Yes
	Unknown Son	Unknown	No	No
Jones,	John Milum	32	Yes	Yes
	Eloah Angeline Tackitt	26	Yes	Yes
	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Yes
	Felix Marion	18 months	Yes	Yes
Jones,	Newton	23	No	Yes
McEntire,	Lawson A.	21	Yes	Yes
Miller,	Josiah (Joseph)	30	Yes	Yes
	Matilda Cameron	26	Yes	Yes
	James William	9	No	Yes
	John Calvin	6	Yes	Yes
	Mary	4	Yes	Yes
	Joseph	1	Yes	Yes
Mitchell,	Charles R.	25	Yes	Yes
	Sarah C. Baker	21	Yes	Yes
	John	Infant	Yes	Yes
Mitchell,	Joel D.	23	Yes	Yes
Prewit,	John	20	Yes	Yes
Prewit,	William	18	Yes	Yes
Rush,	Milum Lafayette	29	Yes	Yes
Tackitt,	Cyntha	49	Yes	Yes
	William H.	23	Yes	No
	Marion	23	Yes	Yes
	Sebron	18	No	Yes
	Matilda	16	No	Yes
	James M.	14	No	Yes
	Jones M.	12	No	Yes
Tackitt,	Pleasant	25	Yes	Yes
Tackitt,	Armilda Miller	22	Yes	Yes
	Emberson Milum	4	Yes	Yes
	William Henry	19 months	Yes	Yes
Wilson,	Richard	27	Yes	Yes
Wood,	Solomon R.	20	Yes	Yes
Wood,	William Edward	26	Yes	Yes

Siege and massacre

Main article: Killings and aftermath of the Mountain Meadows massacre

During the early morning hours of Monday, September 7,^[10] the Baker–Fancher party was attacked, at their Mountain Meadows camp, by as many or more than 200 fighters – Mormon militiamen disguised as Native Americans, and according to some accounts including Paiutes,^[11] but this was refuted by some of the survivors.

The attackers were positioned in a small ravine southeast of the emigrant camp.^[12] As the attackers shot into the camp, the Baker–Fancher party defended itself by encircling and lowering their wagons, along with digging shallow trenches and throwing dirt both below and into the wagons. Seven emigrants were killed during this opening attack and were buried somewhere within the wagon encirclement; sixteen more were wounded. The attack continued for five days, during which the besieged families had little or no access to fresh water and their ammunition was depleted.^[13]

On Friday, September 11, 1857, two Mormon militiamen approached the Baker–Fancher party wagons with a white flag and were soon followed by Indian agent and militia officer John D. Lee. Lee told the battle-weary emigrants that he had negotiated a truce with the Paiutes, whereby they could be escorted safely the 36 miles back to Cedar City under Mormon protection in exchange for turning all of their livestock and supplies over to the Native Americans.^[14] Accepting this, the emigrants were led out of their fortification. When a signal was given, the Mormon militiamen turned and murdered the male members of the Baker–Fancher party standing by their side. According to Mormon sources, the militia let a group of Paiute Indians execute the women and children. Some children were killed while in their mothers' arms or after being crushed by the butts of rifles or boot heels. The bodies of the dead were gathered and looted for valuables, and were then left in shallow graves or on the open ground. Members of the Mormon militia were sworn to secrecy. A plan was set to blame the massacre on the Indians. The militia did not kill 17 small children who were deemed too young to relate the story. These children were taken in by local Mormon families. The children were later reclaimed by the U.S. Army and returned to relatives, and there is legend that one girl was not returned and lived out her life among the Mormons.^[15]

 

The site of the massacre, as seen through a viewfinder, from the 1990 Monument

Leonard J. Arrington reports that Brigham Young received a rider at his office on the same day of the massacre. This letter asked Young's opinion on what to do with the Baker–Fancher party. When he learned what was contemplated by the members of the LDS Church in Parowan and Cedar City, he sent back a letter that the Baker–Fancher party be allowed to pass through the territory unmolested.^[16][17] Young's letter supposedly arrived two days too late, on September 13, 1857. However Jon Krakauer claims that Brigham Young and other Utah territory officials encouraged the massacre beforehand and sought to deny their roles afterward.^[18]

Some of the property of the dead was reportedly taken by the Native Americans involved, while large amounts of cattle and personal property was taken by the Mormons in Southern Utah. John D. Lee took charge of the livestock and other property that had been collected at the Mormon settlement at Pinto. Some of the cattle was taken to Salt Lake City and traded for boots. Some reportedly remained in the hands of John D. Lee. The remaining personal property of the Baker–Fancher party was taken to the tithing house at Cedar City and auctioned off to local Mormons.^[19] Brigham Young, appalled at what had taken place, initially ordered an investigation into the massacre but in the end it must be acknowledged that his own unwillingness to work with Federal authorities contributed both directly and indirectly to the blunder of justice, and was part of the reason two trials were necessary.^[16]

Family legends

Several histories and legends have been passed down from the surviving children, the oldest of whom was only 6 years of age during the massacre, to today's descendants; some of these stories tell a slightly different tale of the massacre.

In 2007, the families/descendants of the surviving children came together in Utah, for the 150th anniversary of the massacre. The family stories were compared and found to be very similar. All of the families agree the stories told of Mormons dressed as Natives, and that none of the Native people participated in the Massacre of the wagon train. Family stories tell of being taken by "Indians who washed of their skin and turned white".

Surviving children

 

Survivor Nancy Sephrona Huff, four years old at tragedy, "was taken away by John Willis, whom she lived with until she was returned to relatives in Arkansas two years later".^[20]

Seventeen small children, all under the age of seven, survived the Mountain Meadows massacre. Two years after the Massacre, the orphans were returned to their families. The following is a list of the surviving children:

1. Baker, Mary Elizabeth, 5
2. Baker, Sarah Frances, 3
3. Baker, William Twitty, 9 months
4. Dunlap, Georgia Ann, 18 months
5. Dunlap, Louisa, 4
6. Dunlap, Prudence Angeline, 5
7. Dunlap, Rebecca J., 6
8. Dunlap, Sarah E., 1
9. Fancher, Christopher "Kit" Carson, 5
10. Fancher, Triphenia D., 22 months
11. Huff, Nancy Saphrona, 4 (Huff is prominently featured in the documentary Burying the Past: Legacy of the Mountain Meadows Massacre)
12. Jones, Felix Marion, 18 months
13. Miller, John Calvin, 6
14. Miller, Joseph, 1
15. Miller, Mary, 4
16. Tackitt, Emberson Milum, 4 (Returned to their mother's family, the Millers)
17. Tackitt, William Henry, 19 months (Returned to their mother's family, the Millers)

Aftermath

Main article: Killings and aftermath of the Mountain Meadows massacre

See also: Remembrances of the Mountain Meadows massacre and Investigations and prosecutions relating to the Mountain Meadows massacre

Following the massacre, the perpetrators swore each other to secrecy, and the murdered members of the wagon train were hastily buried; yet the elements and scavengers quickly uncovered their corpses. Two years after the massacre, United States Army officer James Henry Carleton was sent to investigate it. He was convinced that the Mormons were the main perpetrators. Some of these children, who had seen their families killed, recalled seeing white men dressed as Indians among the attackers. Carleton examined the scene of the massacre and believed that the Paiutes had played a minimal role, and that the attack had been planned and executed by the Mormons. The remains of about thirty-four people were found and buried. The troops then built a cairn over the graves, and made a large cross from local cedar trees, the transverse beam bearing the engraving, "Vengeance Is Mine, Saith The Lord: I Will Repay". This cross was placed at the top of cairn and a large slab of granite was leaned upon the side, with the engraving:

Here 120 men, women, and children were massacred in cold blood early in September, 1857. They were from Arkansas.^[21]

Some claim that, in 1861, Young brought an entourage to Mountain Meadows and had the cairn and cross destroyed, while exclaiming, "Vengeance is mine and I have taken a little".^[22]

Notes

1. Uncle Dale's Old Mormon Articles: Misc. Southern States, 1845–1919
2. Bagley 2002, p. 209
3. Finck 2005 Fancher had journeyed to California from Arkansas previously in 1850 and 1853. Bagley 2002; the 1850 San Diego County, Calif. census Roll: M432_35; Page: 280; Image: 544.)
4. Bagley 2002, pp. 55–68; Stenhouse 1873, pp. 424–427
5. Bancroft 1889, p. 512; Gibbs 1910, p. 12
6. Stenhouse 1873, p. 428
7. Brooks 1950, pp. 28–29
8. Bancroft 1889.
9. Gibbs 1910.
10. Brooks 1950, p. 50; Bigler 1998, p. 169
11. Lee 1877, pp. 226–227 Lee said the first attack occurred on a Tuesday and the Native Americans were several hundred strong.
12. Walker, Turley & Leonard 2008, p. 158
13. Shirts 1994
14. Shirts, (1994) Paragraph 9
15. Brooks, 1950, pp. 101–105
16. Leonard Arrington. (1986) Brigham Young: American Moses, p. 257
17. Brigham Young to Isaac C. Haight, Sept. 10, 1857, Letterpress Copybook 3:827–28, Brigham Young Office Files, LDS Church Archives
18. Krakauer, Jon (1999), "Chapter 18", Under the Banner of Heaven, New York: Anchor Books, ISBN 1-4000-3280-6
19. Brooks, 1950. See also Klingensmith Testimony at first trial of John D. Lee
20. Nancy Saphrona Huff at Burying the Past: Legacy of the Mountain Meadows Massacre website
21. Carleton, James H. (1902), Special Report of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, Government Printing Office, p. 15
22. Sally Denton (2003). American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows, September 1857 (New York: Vintage Books, ISBN 0-375-72636-5) p. 210.

References

• Bagley, Will (2002), Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows, Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN 0-8061-3426-7
• Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1889), The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft: History of Utah, 1540–1886, vol. 26, San Francisco: History Company, LCCN 07018413, LCC F826.B2 1889 (Internet Archive versions)
• Bigler, David (1998), Forgotten Kingdom: The Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847–1896, Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, ISBN 0-87421-245-6
• Briggs, Robert H. (2006). . Utah Historical Quarterly. 74 (4): 313–333. doi:10.2307/45062984. JSTOR 45062984. S2CID 254444678. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
• Brooks, Juanita (1950), The Mountain Meadows Massacre, Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN 0-8061-2318-4
• Burns, Ken; Ives, Stephen (1996). "New Perspectives on the West (Documentary)". Washington, D.C.: PBS.
• Finck, James (2005), "Mountain Meadows Massacre", in Dillard, Tom W. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, Little Rock, Arkansas: Encyclopedia of Arkansas Project
• Forney, J. (5 May 1859). "Kirk Anderson Esq". Valley Tan (published 10 May 1859). p. 1. Archived from the original on 12 December 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
• Gibbs, Josiah F. (1910), The Mountain Meadows Massacre, Salt Lake City: Salt Lake Tribune, LCCN 37010372, LCC F826 .G532
• Little, James A. (1881). "Jacob Hamblin: A Narrative of His Personal Experience". Faith Promoting Series. Vol. 5.
• Lee, John D. (1877), Bishop, William W. (ed.), Mormonism Unveiled; or the Life and Confessions of the Late Mormon Bishop, John D. Lee, St. Louis, Missouri: Bryan, Brand & Co., ISBN 1-4366-1518-6
• Rogers, Wm. H. (February 29, 1860). "The Mountain Meadows Massacre". Valley Tan. pp. 2–3. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012.
• Shirts, Morris (1994), "Mountain Meadows Massacre", in Powell, Allen Kent (ed.), , Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, ISBN 0-87480-425-6, OCLC 30473917, archived from the original on 2013-08-09, retrieved 2013-10-31
• Stenhouse, T.B.H. (1873), The Rocky Mountain Saints: a Full and Complete History of the Mormons, from the First Vision of Joseph Smith to the Last Courtship of Brigham Young, New York: D. Appleton, ASIN B00085RMQM, LCCN 16024014, LCC BX8611 .S8 1873
• Thompson, Jacob (1860). "Message of the President of the United States: communicating, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate, information in relation to the massacre at Mountain Meadows, and other massacres in Utah Territory, 36th Congress, 1st Session, Exec. Doc. No. 42". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of the Interior.
• Turley, Richard E. Jr. (September 2007). "The Mountain Meadows Massacre". Ensign. Salt Lake City: LDS Church. ISSN 0884-1136.
• Walker, Ronald W.; Turley, Richard E. Jr.; Leonard, Glen M. (2008), Massacre at Mountain Meadows, Oxford University Press
• Young, Brigham (August 5, 1857a). "Proclamation by the Governor". Salt Lake City: Utah Territory.

External links