Long story short.
B. Young, to various , 1855. "will no one rid me of this troublesome lawyer?"
Turns out, someone would.
B. Young, to various, 1857. "Will no one rid me of this troublesome wagon train?"
Surprise! Turns out, someone would. Mountain Meadows Massacre.
Troublesome Lawyer:
My GGGma's (Mary Ann Polly Bullock) second husband. Jesse Hartley.
He wasn't Mormon. Brigham Young denounced him publicly; said that he should have his throat cut; Jesse lit off for the territories; he ended up dead. Bill Hickman confessed to the killing. He was never punished.
It’s an interesting event, that parallels, in a small way, the much larger horrors perpetrated at Mountain Meadows a few years later. Brigham Young expressed distress at non-Mormons traversing Utah; they ended up dead. Their killers, save but for a token soul, went unpunished. There's no proof that he directly ordered the killing, I suspect he didn't. But, in such an atmosphere, is a direct order necessary?
It's all in the cover up.
It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It's called living. -Terry Pratchett
4 comments:
damn.
mah peeps done killd yer peeps.
:-(
Ahhh, the joys of a shared heritage. BTW. Rilly? Who're you related to?
Mary Ann Polly Bullock is also my third great grandmother. Fascinating history to be sure.
Hi,
Jesse Thompson Hartley was my relative. I'd be interested in knowing where you got the quote by Brigham Young. I know the story of how he ordered Jesse's murder but Id like to read more about it if there is more info out there.
thanks,
shabbyrose@windstream.net
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