| |
||
| |
||
Erastus Bingham, born in
Concord,
Essex, Vermont, 12 March 1798, son of Elisha Warner and Sarah (Perry)
Bingham;
died in Ogden, Weber, Utah, 2 May 1882; buried in Ogden.
(1) He married in St. Johnsbury, Caledonia, Vermont, 20 March
1818, Lucinda Gates, born in Ackworth, Cheshire, New Hampshire, 19
September
1797; died in Ogden, 3 January 1874, daughter of Thomas and Patty
(Plumly)
Gates.
Additionally,
as a polygamist, Erastus married
(2) Patience Perkins (1783-1862) in Salt Lake, 4 April
1852,
(3) Sally Maria Barber (1811- ) in Salt Lake, 7 April 1853,
(4) Mehitable Sawyer (1806-1886) in Salt Lake, 11 September
1857,
(5) Emma Nye (1837- ) in Salt Lake, 13 December 1862.
When he married Lucinda Gates,
Erastus had a farm in Concord, where he and his bride resided and where
the
first four of his children were born. About 1825, the family removed to
Littleton, Grafton County, New Hampshire. Lucinda and Louisa Maria were
born
there in 1826 and 1828, after which the family returned to the farm in
Concord.
Erastus had no formal
affiliation
with any religion until spring 1833, when Elder John F. Boynton brought
him
word of the "restored gospel." He read The
Book
of Mormon, was converted, and was baptized 11
November 1833, in St.
Johnsbury, Vermont, together with his wife and three of his children. A
fourth
child, Sanford, was baptized
there on 18 November. Erastus was the
only one of his father's family to join the Church, but his wife's
father and
her brother, Jacob, also joined. In spring 1836 Erastus sold his farm,
and in
the following June he traveled with his family (accompanied by Willard
Snow and
others) to Kirtland, Ohio. The family stayed there until September,
1836, then
continued the journey to Far West, Missouri, arriving on 4 November
1836.
Erastus rented a farm on Shoal Creek, about two and a half miles from
Far West,
and built a log house, into which he moved his family. The following
spring he
fenced his farm, which he cultivated until Fall 1838, when Governor
Lilburn W.
Boggs issued the exterminating order that forced him and the rest of
the Saints
to leave Missouri. At Far West, in January 1839, Church leaders named
Erastus a
member of the committee to orchestrate the exodus. Other members of
this
committee were John Taylor, Alanson Ripley, Brigham Young, Theodore
Turley,
Heber C. Kimball, John Smith, Don Carlos Smith, Elias Smith, Stephen
Markham,
and James Newberry. "On motion of President Brigham Young," says the
record, "it was resolved that we this day enter into a covenant to
stand
by and assist each other to the utmost of our abilities in removing
from this
State, and that we will never desert the poor, who are worthy, till
they shall
be out of the reach of the exterminating order of General Clark, acting
for and
in the name of the State."
Leaving Far West toward the
end of
March, Erastus and his family arrived in Hancock County, Illinois, in
April,
1839. He rented farms in the neighborhood of LaHarpe until Spring 1845,
when he
bought a 160-acre farm a few miles from Nauvoo. The following year,
when the
resumption of mob violence compelled the Saints to leave Illinois, as
they had
Missouri, Erastus exchanged his farm for a team of horses with which he
could
take his family into the wilderness. He left Nauvoo on 6 May 1846. He
and his
family suffered greatly from exposure and lack of proper food during
the trip
to Winter Quarters in Iowa (now Council Bluffs), but when they finally
arrived
they found that food and provisions were very scarce in that place as
well, and
as there were so many others there who were less fortunate than they, the leaders of the church decided the people here should move on to a
place
where the necessities of life could be found.
Erastus’ son,
Stanford, 25 years old at the time, later recorded in a sketch of his
father’s
life:
“Erastus
Bingham was made Captain of one hundred. They traveled Westward until
they
reached Council Bluffs, Iowa. Prior to their arrival at Council Bluffs,
the
United States Government asked for 500 volunteers to fight in the war
with
Mexico. Two sons and a son-in-law of Erastus Bingham volunteered,
Erastus, Jr.,
Thomas, and Elija Norman Freeman, husband of his (Erastus’) daughter,
Mary; and
they were recruited in the Mormon Battalion in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Erastus
Bingham had the care of the families of the volunteers. After resting a
few
days until two companies were organized, one called Brigham company and
the
other Heber’s company, they started traveling westerly according to the
directions of the Twelve Apostles…They travel up the Platt River until
they
overtook Bishop George Miller and his company. When they arrived at
Loop Fork,
Nebraska, a messenger on horseback brought word from the president of
the
Twelve, Brigham Young, that they should not venture farther for fear of
deep
snow or hostile Indians, but should locate a good camping ground for
the
winter.
The Captain,
Bishop Miller, was not in favor of obeying this order. He was anxious
to move
on, as the prospect of several months delay in the journey was not a
pleasing
one.
They remained
three days, considering and discussing the problem. At this juncture, a
number
of Indian Chiefs of the Ponca Tribe passed by on their way home from an
Indian
Council. They were very friendly and invited the travelers to go with
them to
their camping ground to a place called Swift Water near the Missouri
River
about 150 miles above or North of Winter Quarters….The Indians said the
camping
ground was good, with plenty of water and food for the animals which
the white
men were welcome to share.
Erastus
Bingham stood up on his wagon wheel and talked to the Saints, telling
him that
he proposed to obey the council of president Brigham Young, that he and
his
family would remain until Spring and invited all to join with him in
accepting
the invitation of the Indians to share their camping ground. About one
half of
the company remained with Erastus Bingham; the others decided to
attempt the
journey Westward with their commander, Bishop Miller. They pushed on
Westward
but met with a great many losses. The Indians stole some of their
animals; and
they suffered from the cold and lack of food and were compelled to
return, some
of them camping near Erastus Bingham’s camp. The Ponca Indians were
very kind
to the families who were sharing with them their camping ground, even
bringing
meat for some of the most destitute families. They
wintered with the Ponca Indians, living in their wagons and a wickiup
the friendly Indians provided for them.
In the spring
of 1847 Erastus Bingham and his family returned to Council Bluffs where
he was
chosen a member of a committee to go into Missouri and secure wagons
and
supplies for the journey West across the plains. He bought provisions
to last
his family 18 months. On the 11th of June, 1847, they left Council
Bluffs; and
after getting across the Elkhorn River, they started on their way
Westward.
They traveled up the North side of the Platt River in a company of 666
wagons
consisting of Daniel Spencer’s group of 100, Ira Eldredge’s 50,
Jedediah M.
Grant’s 50 and Erastus Bingham’s 10, together with other groups. The
company
was so large that it was organized with captains of tens, fifties and
hundreds
to guarantee the best of order. Yet it would be so unpleasant because
it would
be so late before the last wagon could start from camp in the morning
and so
late at night before it could get into camp. Two wagons traveled
abreast,
making two roads.
The company
divided near Laramie, Wyoming and Erastus Bingham and family were with
those in
the lead.”
This company arrived in Salt
Lake
Valley on 19 September 1847, and Erastus made a home for his wife and
children
in Salt Lake City. In Spring 1848, he was allotted a farm in the
Holiday district and acquired a grazing permit for an area about twenty
miles
southwest of Salt Lake, now known as Bingham Canyon. There he erected a
herd
house.
In 1850, Brigham Young called
upon
Erastus to help build new settlements in the North (Weber County).
Thus, in
early April, Erastus went with his son Sanford and son-in-law Isaac
Newton
Goodale to the Weber River,
where he staked out a farm and built a house. This
farm was located on property now occupied by city and county offices.
In
September, when Brigham Young chose this location as site for a city to
be
named "Ogden," Erastus sold his claim and moved to the vicinity of
Farr's Fort, north of the Ogden River. There, he laid out another farm and
built another house for his family. When the Weber Stake was organized,
Sunday,
25 January 1851, Ogden was divided into two wards, with Erastus Bingham
serving
as Bishop of Ogden North Ward (Farr's Fort). The following spring,
Erastus relocated with his family to a parcel of land northwest of
Farr's Fort.
There, sometime between 1851 and 1853, Bishop Bingham began
construction of a
fort (Bingham's Fort) to protect his family and other settlers from the
depredations of hostile Indians. This fort was located in what is now
known as
the Lynn district, north of Second Street and west of Wall Avenue in
Ogden.
Meanwhile, on 28 January 1850,
the
General Assembly of the territory created Weber County encompassing
"all
that portion of country known as Weber Valley, extending as far south
as Stony
Creek, and west to the Great Salt Lake." However, the organization of a
civil government there awaited the appointment of Isaac Clark as
Probate Judge
on 7 February 1852. On 1 April that year, Clark named Erastus Bingham
one of
three selectmen for the County. In its first session, on 24 April, the
County
Court named "supervisors" for the various settlements, designating
Erastus Bingham supervisor for "Ogden Settlement North of Ogden
River." In the first municipal election, October 1852, Lorin Farr
emerged
as mayor of Ogden; Erastus Bingham, as one of the four aldermen. In
June 1856,
when the County was divided into four Wards, Erastus Bingham was named
Bishop
of the First Ward. He served in that capacity until released, in 1868,
on
account of age and ill-health. Erastus also served a term as
representative of
Weber County in the first Territorial legislature, which convened in
December
1854.
Bingham's Fort, with walls
built
of rock and mud to a height of about twelve feet, enclosed an area 120
by 60
rods. By the end of 1854, Bingham's Fort had a population of 732. But
the
following year, when Brigham Young visited the stronghold, he advised
the
residents to abandon it to build a "real city" south of the Fort, on
the site he had previously chosen for the City of Ogden. Though he
continued to
operate his farm in the Lynn district (Bingham's Fort), Erastus
acquired
property in Ogden (at what is now 23rd and Madison), where he build
another
home for his family. In 1858, with the approach of Johnston's Army,
Erastus
moved his family to Payson, Utah, but left his son Thomas and
son-in-law Isaac
Goodale behind with orders to "burn everything" if it looked as if
Johnston's Army would try to bivouac in the city. When the threat
passed,
Erastus and his family returned to Ogden.
Erastus
Bingham lived a noble and exemplary life and passed away May 2, 1882 at
the age
of 84 years, one month, 21 days.
Erastus’
first wife, Lucinda Gates Bingham, exercised the highest degree of
charity, and
by deeds of kindness proved that she loved her neighbor as herself.
Anyone
coming to her in confidence or in need went away comforted. In the dark
days of
Missouri and Illinois persecutions many needed and sought her council,
help,
and encouragement. She and her daughters, while crossing the plains to
Utah
gladdened the hearts of the other weary travelers with songs as they
gathered
around the campfires, so necessary for the morale and to prepare them
for a
good night’s rest.
The Indians
knew of the kindness of Mrs. Bingham and she and her family were safe
from the
violence of the occasional raids.
New emigrants
who arrived in Ogden in poor health or poor circumstances were sure of
assistance if they came to her. She never turned anyone away who was
hungry or
weary.
Lucinda passed away in January 1874 in Ogden, Utah in the home they built when they moved from Bingham’s Fort.