John D. Lee

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For other people named John Lee, see John Lee (disambiguation).
John D. Lee
Member of the Council of Fifty[1]
1844 – March 23, 1877 (1877-03-23)
End reasonDeath[1]
Member of the Utah Territorial Legislature
In office
1858
Personal details
BornJohn Doyle Lee
(1812-09-06)September 6, 1812
Mountain Meadows, Utah Territory, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by firing squad
Resting placePanguitch City Cemetery
37°48′57.96″N 112°24′56.88″W / 37.8161000°N 112.4158000°W / 37.8161000; -112.4158000 (Panguitch City Cemetery)
Spouse(s)Agatha Ann Woolsey
Nancy Bean
Louisa Free
Sarah Caroline Williams
Rachel Andora Woolsey
Polly Ann Workman
Martha Elizabeth Berry
Delethia Morris
Nancy Ann Vance
Emoline Vaughn Woolsey
Nancy Gibbons
Mary Vance Young
Lavina Young
Mary Leah Groves
Mary Ann Williams
Emma Louise Batchelor
Terressa Morse
Ann Gordge
Children56

John Doyle Lee (September 6, 1812 – March 23, 1877) was an American pioneer, and prominent early member of the

Latter Day Saint Movement in Utah. Lee was later convicted of mass murder for his complicity in the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre and sentenced to death. In 1877, he was executed by firing squad
at the site of the massacre.

Early Mormon leader

Lee was born on September 6, 1812, in

plural marriage
and had 19 wives (at least eleven of whom eventually left him) along with 56 children.

Lee was a member of the

Lee's Ferry. The nearby ranch was named the Lonely Dell Ranch and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, together with the ferry site.

Mountain Meadows massacre

Main article:
Mountain Meadows massacre

Massacre

In September 1857, the

Haun's Mill massacre.[5]

On the third day of the siege, Lee (not dressed as a Native American) approached the Baker–Fancher encirclement under cover of a white flag and convinced the emigrants to surrender their weapons and property to the Mormons in return for safe conduct to nearby

Paiute Indians, leaving only about 17 small children as survivors.[6][7] William Ashworth notes in his autobiography that after the massacre, the "leaders among the white men had bound themselves under the most binding oaths to never reveal their part in it." Lee told Brigham Young that the Indians had been solely responsible, that "no white men were mixed up in it."[8]
Lee later maintained that he had acted under orders from his militia leaders, under protest, and remained active in Mormonism and local government for several years afterwards.

Arrest and execution

Photograph of Lee (seated next to the coffin) just prior to his execution.

In 1874, Lee was arrested and tried for leading the massacre. The first trial ended inconclusively with a

Life and Confessions of John D. Lee he (or an editor) wrote, "I have always believed, since that day, that General George A. Smith was then visiting southern Utah to prepare the people for the work of exterminating Captain Fancher's train of emigrants, and I now believe that he was sent for that purpose by the direct command of Brigham Young."[10]

Drawing of Lee's execution.

On March 23, 1877, Lee was

posthumously reinstated Lee's membership in the church.[12]

Descendants

Lee had 19 wives and 56 children, and his descendants are now numerous. Former solicitor general

Thomas R. Lee.[13][14] Another descendant, Gordon H. Smith, was a U.S. senator from Oregon.[15]: 812  U.S. representatives Mo Udall (D–AZ) and Stewart Udall (D–AZ) and their respective sons, senators Mark Udall (D–CO) and Tom Udall (D–NM) are also descendants.[15]: 804, 806–807  Stewart Udall served as United States Secretary of the Interior under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. See also the Lee–Hamblin family
for a list of more of his noteworthy descendants.

Film portrayals

John Lee was portrayed by Jon Gries in the film September Dawn (2007).

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Quinn, D. Michael (1980). "The Council of Fifty and Its Members, 1844 to 1945" (.pdf). BYU Studies. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University: 22–26. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  2. OCLC 30473917, archived from the original
    on 2017-01-13, retrieved 2013-10-31, In January 1856 Lee was appointed U.S. government Indian Agent in the Iron County environs. His job was to distribute tools, seed, and supplies, and to assist the Indians with farming methods.
  3. ^ "[Lee] became the local bishop and the Indian agent to the nearby Paiute Indians." PBS.org, John Doyle Lee (1812–1877)
  4. ^ Parker, B.G. (1901), Recollections of the Mountain Meadow Massacre, Plano, CA{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Digital reprint (pdf) Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine by the Mountain Meadows Massacre organization
  5. Haun's Mill massacre
    ...
  6. ^ Denton, Sally (2003), American Massacre, New York: Random House, p. xxi
  7. ISBN 978-0195160345.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  8. ^ Ashworth 1934, p. 37
  9. ^ "The West – The Last Words of John D. Lee". PBS.
  10. ^ Lee 1877, p. 225
  11. ^ PBS.org, The Last Words of John D. Lee
  12. OCLC 30473917, archived from the original
    on 2017-01-13, retrieved 2013-10-31
  13. OCLC 24502140
  14. ^ "Mountain Meadows event remembered: Descendants join together in 'spirit of reconciliation'", Church News, September 22, 1990
  15. ^ a b Manderscheid, Lorraine (1996). Some Descendants of JOHN DOYLE LEE. Bellevue, Washington: Family Research and Development.

References

External links

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