Former cotton mission Chapter member Charles Summerhays passed away recently. He will be dearly missed by our organization. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions private services were held. Charles Callis Summerhays, 87, resident of Washington City, Utah lovingly returned home to his Heavenly Father on May 10, 2020 in St. George, Utah. Born June 30,1932 in […]
This article originally appeared in Vol.53, No.1 (2006) of Pioneer Magazine. By Paul L. Anderson The St. George Tabernacle proclaims the New England roots of many Utah settlers more clearly than any other Mormon pioneer building. At first glance, it could be an eighteenth-century New England city church transported to the arid West, its walls […]
by Helen B. Gardner, a freelance writer living in Gunlock, Utah. Dr. Bowler, her brother, is a professor at Southern Utah University. 1912-1917 The year was 1912. At his ranch home in Central, Utah, henry davis holt sat listening to an itinerant dry goods drummer tell the story of how many telephone companies were being […]
This article originally appeared in Vol.60 No.2 of Pioneer Magazine Thomas L. Kane was an attorney, abolitionist, and Union Army general from Pennsylvania. He came to know the Saints through a conference held in Philadelphia in May 1846. He was impressed by their stance against slavery and took on the role of assisting them in […]
This article originally appeared in Vol.54, No.4 (2007) of Pioneer Magazine. by Colleen Whitley Given the persecutions and extremities the Latter-day Saints had suffered in Missouri, Illinois, and crossing what was then called “The Great American Desert,” it was only natural that they did not want to be dependent on “outsiders” any more than was […]
Oswald Barlow was a member of Utah's first Martial Band, directed by Professor Thomas. Not only did he play the fife and drum, but he was also an expert dancer. So, in 1859, Oswald opened up his own school of dance. Many of the Saints were glad to receive instruction from him, and cultural arts were strongly encouraged by Brigham Young. In fact, several of Brigham's daughters were among the first pupils at his school. Oswald also had a splendid bass voice and was a good entertainer; therefore, many people loved to hear him sing.
Built just five years after St. George was settled, the Gardeners’ Club Hall is considered to be the oldest public building standing in the city. This small, unassuming adobe building predates the courthouse, the tabernacle, and the temple by several years. Located across the street north and a half block west of [the marker], the […]
This article originally appeared in Pioneer Magazine, 2010 Vol.57 No.3 by Lyman Hafen,Founding Editor of St. George Magazine, author of 10 books on Southern Utah history, and executive director of the Zion Natural History Association For centuries Southern Paiutes had summered in this high lush valley where water and game were abundant. But the pastoral […]
Submitted by David Smith Born: 26 March 1847, Manchester, Lancashire, England Died: 8 August 1919, Cedar City, Utah Originally published as “Active Useful Career Is Ended,” Iron County Record, 8 Aug 1919 Joseph T. Wilkinson, one of Cedar’s aged and most respected citizens, passed peacefully away at an early hour this morning. In his demise, […]
This article originally appeared in Vol.54, No.4 (2007) of Pioneer Magazine. by Colleen Whitley Given the persecutions and extremities the Latter-day Saints had suffered in Missouri, Illinois, and crossing what was then called “The Great American Desert,” it was only natural that they did not want to be dependent on “outsiders” anymore than was absolutely […]
This article originally appeared in Vol.54, No.4 (2007) of Pioneer Magazine. by Kenneth Mays The story of arizona’s “honeymoon trail” is attributed to the hundreds of Latter-day Saints who followed it between 1877-1927 from areas of Arizona to be married in the St. George Temple. The trail ran through the desert, “winding through steep canyons, […]
This story is told by Edith Alice Hinton Gibson and Wilhelmina B. Hinton. They were respectively John Nock’s daughter and daughter-in-law, and had 1st hand knowledge of him. This short history is located in the Archives and Special Collections area of the library at Utah State University in Logan, Cache, Utah.
Tribute by Dilworth Strasser We are saddened by the passing of a great ambassador who introduced hundreds of people to the sup over the past 20 years. John H. Morgan Jr. was a member of the salt lake chapter. John’s pioneer ancestors were a lot of his reason to give back through education. John’s grandfather […]
Lawrence Brent Miner, age 69, passed away on Nov. 23, 2021, at St. George Regional Hospital. Brent was born on Feb. 22, 1952, in Salt Lake City and was the second son to Lawrence John and Julie Miner. Along with his parents and older brother he moved from Cottonwood Heights to St. George in 1968. […]
Anna is born in Virgin, Utah but a a very early age moved to Eagar Arizona, then Snowflake, Az, then Morelos, Mexico Where she went to school. Forced out of Mexico, she moved with her family to Woodruff, Arizona, then later to Hurricane, Utah. She married, raised her family, and died there.
Originally published in the Fall 2001 issue of Pioneer Magazine. by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The following is an address given at the 2000 sup National Encampment held in Cedar City, Utah. Inasmuch as our topic is “Standing on the Shoulders […]
Submitted by Alexa West, a student at Little Valley Elementary School in St George, Utah. Esther Stucki Gubler was born to Samuel and his third wife, Anna Mary, on August 11, 1886. She was their second daughter. Her older sister was Mary Stucki Tobler. Her father began going blind about the time Esther was born, […]
By: Emmry Davidson, a student at Heritage Elementary School in St. George Utah. I’m going to talk to you about my great, great grandmother. My great, great grandmother’s name is Elsie Stout Wood. I chose to research Elsie Stout because I have a cousin named Elsie and I wanted to learn about her. In this […]
voices of remembrance foundation oral history COLLECTION DIXIE STATE COLLEGE OF UTAH ST. GEORGE, UTAH November 15, 1968 mary hafen leavitt was interviewed on November 15, 1968 in St. George, Washington County, Utah by Fielding H. Harris, a representative of the Voices of Remembrance Foundation. She related her personal history of living in various parts […]
Submitted by Aria Doman, student at Riverside Elementary School in Washington, Utah. Alma Snow Whiting was my Great Grandma, she died just about a year ago and I miss her so much. It is still weird to think that she is gone. I am writing about her because I want to get to know her […]
by Orson F. Whitney, History of Utah Vol.4 The pioneer who shared with orson pratt the distinction of being the first among their famous band to enter Salt Lake valley was a prominent Elder and soon became an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Of all the distinguished characters surrounding brigham […]
This article originally appeared in Vol. 65 No.1 (2018) of Pioneer Magazine by Joseph B. Romney, grandson. In his role as the young stake president of the Juarez Stake in Mexico, Junius Romney is the central figure in the last great Mormon exodus. It follows in the series of exoduses, which began in Kirtland, Ohio, […]
This article originally appeared in History of Utah Vol.4 by Orson F. Whitney Prominent in various ways and in business a successful farmer and stock-raiser, Angus M. Cannon, President of the Salt Lake Stake of Zion, is given the right of precedence in this group of biographies. He has been a resident of Utah since […]
Elder and Sister Jeffrey R. Holland on rootstech 2021 Connect Family Discovery Day give a tour of their hometown, St. George, Utah and give important spiritual advice. “If you will be faithful and keep your covenants with the Lord, I promise you that every opportunity and every blessing enjoyed by others will be afforded you […]
From Whitney’s History of Utah, Vol. 4 “THERE were giants in the earth in those days.” Scarcely more apt were these words in the days described in Genesis than to the days of George A. Smith and his fellow founders of Utah. Seldom have so many great spirits been grouped in any one triod as […]
Christopher's skills were needed in St. George because the temple was under construction there and he was the only sheet metal worker in the Dixie mission at that time. However, there was not enough business in St. George to provide him work, so he secured a little four-wheeled cart and an ox. He loaded the cart with tin ware and tools and visited all the towns in southern Utah, exchanging his ware for flour, potatoes, butter, cheese, etc. He made most of his wares from waste cans as it was difficult to ship in sheet tin. People saved empty cans and metal ware of all kinds for him. His store of wares consisted of buckets, milk pans, tin cups and plates, lamps, canteens, coffee pots, wash boards, etc. The ball on the St. George temple and the one on the St. George tabernacle are Christopher Riding's work, as is the metal work on all the public buildings erected before his death. The tin-covered sphere on the temple remained until October 25, 1994, when it was replaced with a fiberglass model as part of a renovation project.
Christopher was a loyal member of the church although he was never active in public affairs due to the fact that his work kept him away a great deal of the time. He was a great reader, spending every evening in this way.
by McKay Ellis Note: This pioneer history is one of the winning 4th-grade student essays submitted to the cotton mission chapter in it’s annual Essay Contest. My great grandpa Alten Christensen was a pioneer in the retail industry of southern Utah. He was also a pioneer with his faith. The Store In 1929, Alten opened […]
from the cotton mission chapter Newsletter, December 2020 Robert K (Bob) Thornley is recognized as a Modern Pioneer for his many contributions to his family and ancestors, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the community of St. George, and the cotton mission Chapter of the National Sons of the Utah Pioneers organizations. Bob […]
This article originally appeared in Vol.60 No.2 of Pioneer Magazine By Emily Brooksby Wheeler, MA, MLA Gardening was an essential activity for Utah’s pioneers, especially in the first few years after their arrival, when it provided their only sustenance. Immigrants and missionaries brought seeds and starts to Utah from all over the world, and settlers […]
This article originally appeared in Vol.60 No.1 (2013) issue of Pioneer Magazine jacob hamblin received the first call to do missionary work in what is now arizona at October general conference in 1853. During the late 1850s and early 1860s, Hamblin visited the Navajo and Hopi tribes, attempting to preach the gospel to them. Largely […]