Two babies born in pioneer Utah, no more than a footnote to history and maybe that’s why they’re so often confused. One was a son of the notorious William Adams “Wild Bill” Hickman. The other was not. They were born just a few days apart in February 1850. William Adams Hickman, Jr. is easy. He…
Tag: Mormon Pioneers
Will Luce and the Pony Express
Family tradition says Wilford “Will” Luce (1838-1906) rode Pony Express. His daughter Nan (Luce) Leonard wrote in her autobiography: “Before my Father married my Mother he carried mail on the Pony Express from Utah to Nevada. The ride was rough and dangerous, and I can remember him telling us children how in Skull Valley he…
1852 Utah Slave Code
I knew, vaguely and in the back of my mind, that Utah was a slave territory before the Civil War. It’s one of bits of trivia I trot out from time to time to serve as a reminder that I’m a history nerd. Not that anyone really cares. Not that it matters to Civil War…
Settler Colonialism Among the Mormons
I count on High Country News for compelling stories about my Western homeland but I don’t always get to the articles right away. I had this one marked to come back later but somehow it’s been over a year — Nick Bowlin, “How Mormon history helps explain today’s public-land fights” (Apr. 13, 2020). It’s got…
Was Her Name Elizabeth?
I wrote a post recently about my 2nd great grandmother, Annie Noble Luce. I had occasion to look at and link to the entry about her in Book of the Pioneers. She says there her parents were John and Elizabeth Quarmby. We had no information beyond that until her grandson James Marker (1899-1980) decided to…