OF PIONEER FAME
HISTORY OF TARLTON LEWIS
OF PIONEER FAME
See additional story by Laura McBride Smith
See Children of Melinda Gimlin Lewis (1st wife)
See Children of Elizabeth Carson (2nd wife)
Tarlton Lewis, first Bishop of Salt Lake City, was born 18 May 1805, in Pendleton District, South Carolina. Tarlton was the fourth child in a family of twelve children born to Neriah Lewis and Mary Moss. In 1809 the Lewis family moved to Kentucky, here Tarlton grew up and fell in love with Malinda Gimlin, the daughter of Samuel Gimlin and Elizabeth Moore. These two were married 27 March 1828. A little girl, whom they named Mary was born 27 Oct. 1829. The Lewis family moved to Macopin County, Illinois, where Beason Lewis was born 19 Feb. 1836. Tarlton and Malinda were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 25 July 1836 by Benjamin Lewis, brother of Tarlton.
Three of the brothers joined the Mormon Church in Caldwell County, Missouri; here they endured the persecutions dealt out to the saints by the mobs. The following story tells of one event.
From Archiebald Bennett’s lesson booklet entitled Adventures in Research we read: "On October 30, 1838 at a place called Haun’s Mill, on shoal creek in Missouri, a group of Mormon families had settled. Among them were three brothers, Benjamin, Tarlton and David. Angry mobs were threatening them from several settlements and the brethren met in council to decide what course to take, to defend against the mob threatening them with killings and house burnings. About 28 of the men were armed and in readiness to defend themselves against a small body of men who might come down upon them. The children were playing on both sides of the creek, the mothers were engaged in domestic activities and the fathers stood guard in the mill and other properties. The sun shown clear and all was tranquility.
About four o’clock a large company of armed men approached on horses and started firing about a hundred rifles upon Haun’s Mill. Tarlton and Benjamin were wounded. Benjamin’s wife gathered her children and took to the woods and stayed there all night. Benjamin had managed to nearly get to his house. He was taken in and his wounds cared for and he lived until early morning. He coughed up the bullet he was wounded with. His wife got home from the woods before he died and Benjamin asked her to keep the children in the Church together and to stay with them and then he expired. Returning to the Blacksmith Shop, they found eight already dead, and several expiring. In jeopardy of their own lives, expecting to be fired upon at any time they gathered up the dead bodies of their loved ones and threw them into an old well. Benjamin was buried in a grave dug by his brother, Tarlton. That is what history says but it is said, Malinda, as small as she was, with the help of Benjamin’s wife did most of the digging—but the women don’t get the credit due them. Tarlton was wounded in the shoulder and he carried the bullet to the grave, so he couldn’t do much digging.
There was one, Isaac Laney, who was shot in the abdomen and his intestines were falling out. Malinda took off her kitchen apron and bound it around his stomach to keep things in place. They managed to get him to the Lewis home before the mob returned. Malinda saw them coming and hid Tarlton under the house. The mob searched the house and upon seeing Mr. Laney, decided he was too near dead to waste a bullet on, and they left, never knowing the whereabouts of Tarlton.
After they were gone, Malinda wondered what she could find to cleanse their wounds. She knelt down beside her husband’s bed and prayed to the Lord for help, as she didn’t know what to do next. As she opened her eyes she noticed white ashes laying on the hearth, it seemed the answer to her prayer. She gathered the ash and soaked it in water. This water she used to bathe the wounds of both men. For weeks she nursed these men and was successful in bringing them back to health. Mr. Laney recovered and came to Utah with the saints.
History relates: "Tarlton Lewis recovered, however, he carried the bullet to his grave as a mark of this terrible event. David, the other brother escaped unharmed."
Despite this shocking tragedy the two surviving brothers never lost faith in the Church. Soon others of the Lewis Family were converted and baptized.
In the year 1839 the family moved to Quincy, Illinois. In October 1839, moved to Commerce, later named Nauvoo. Here Tarlton was set apart as Bishop of the Nauvoo 4th Ward by the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum. They also ordained him a High Priest. Their son, Edward, was born 3 Jan. 1840.
Tarlton loved the Prophet Joseph Smith. On 5 June 1841, he and several other men learning that the prophet was in danger of abduction, boarded a skiff and went to Quincy in order to rescue him. They arrived too late for they found he had been taken to Nauvoo in Company of the Officers.
Tarlton Lewis spent nine months in the Black Hills getting out timbers for the erection of the Nauvoo Temple. He had charge of the crane used in hoisting the material for the erection of the temple. He was also very skilled as a cabinet maker and carpenter. He and eight other men and Brigham Young hoisted the last stone into it’s place, thus finishing the temple. Tarlton and Malinda had their endowments on the 17th of December 1845 and were sealed in the Nauvoo temple for time and all eternity 6 Feb. 1846.
On the 26th of June the Mormon Battalion was organized and Samuel, their oldest son signed up in Company "C". This was a terrible blow to his father and his turned white almost overnight as his son was only 16 years old.
The winter of 1846 was spent in "Winter Quarters" where the saints suffered much from cold and for want of food. A hole was chopped in the ice of the Missouri River to get water for camp use. One day Malinda went for water and little Edward tagged along. When she returned with her two buckets she thought he was right behind her, but he wasn’t. Hurrying to the river – all she could find was the little brass bucket her child had been carrying. It was supposed he slipped into the hole and was carried down stream. Such a sad time, and it was here on the 23rd of Dec, 1846, the same year, that Tarlton Lewis Jr. was born. Leaving his family camped in a covered wagon at Winter Quarters, Malinda’s husband traveled with Brigham Young, as one of the original pioneers to Utah in 1847. In 1848 he came back to Winter Quarters with Brigham Young’s party, with supplies to meet the immigrant trains. Here he found his own family just as he had left them, and brought them to Utah with him. Brigham was Captain of the 1st Division, arriving Sept. 21, 1848.
Martha Lewis was born July 10, 1849 in Salt Lake City. Malinda was proud of the fact that her husband was such a leader in the Church. He was the first Bishop in the valley, then, in December 1850 he was called to accompany George A. Smith to explore southern Utah and was one of the first settlers in Parowan, Iron County. He moved there with his family and over a hundred others on January 13, 1851, to make a permanent settlement. He was soon made Bishop of the new settlement of Parowan.
It was not Malinda’s lot to enjoy for long the home that she worked so hard for in Minersville. About 14 years later her husband was called to Joseph, in Sevier County, to help establish the United Order. They lived there a few years, then moved on a little north and east to the larger town of Richfield. Here her husband was again set apart as Bishop of Richfield, 2nd Ward.
Tarlton Lewis died Nov. 22, 1890 at Teasdale, Wayne County, Utah, at the home of his son, Beason Lewis. Malinda died June 5, 1894 at Richfield, Sevier County, Utah and was buried there.
Ruel Smith, son of Hyrum and Laura Smith, while doing research work in the library in Cedar City, Utah found the following: From the history of Andrew Jensen. "Under the direction of Bishop Tarlton Lewis, the brethren of the valley continued their labors on the houses which were being created in the stockades known as Pioneer Square. Now, Pioneer Park. Most of these houses were built in the interest of immigration; people were soon expected to arrive from the east."
HISTORY
OF TARLTON LEWIS
OF PIONEER FAME
Tarlton Lewis, first Bishop of Salt Lake City, was born 18 May 1805, in Pendleton District, South Carolina. Tarlton was the fourth child in a family of twelve children born to Neriah Lewis and Mary Moss. In 1809 the Lewis family moved to Kentucky, here Tarlton grew up and fell in love with Malinda Gimlin, the daughter of Samuel Gimlin and Elizabeth Moore. These two were married 27 March 1828. A little girl, whom they named Mary was born 27 Oct. 1829. The Lewis family moved to Macoupin County, Illinois, where Beason Lewis was born 19 Feb. 1836. Tarlton and Malinda were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 25 July 1836 by Benjamin Lewis, brother of Tarlton.
Three of the brothers joined the Mormon Church in Caldwell County, Missouri; here they endured the persecutions dealt out to the saints by the mobs. The following story tells of one event.
From Archiebald Bennett’s lesson booklet entitled Adventures in Research we read: "On October 30, 1838 at a place called Haun’s Mill, on shoal creek in Missouri, a group of Mormon families had settled. Among them were three brothers, Benjamin, Tarlton and David. Angry mobs were threatening them from several settlements and the brethren met in council to decide what course to take, to defend against the mob threatening them with killings and house burnings. About 28 of the men were armed and in readiness to defend themselves against a small body of men who might come down upon them. The children were playing on both sides of the creek, the mothers were engaged in domestic activities and the fathers stood guard in the mill and other properties. The sun shown clear and all was tranquility.
About four o’clock a large company of armed men approached on horses and started firing about a hundred rifles upon Haun’s Mill. Tarlton and Benjamin were wounded. Benjamin’s wife gathered her children and took to the woods and stayed there all night. Benjamin had managed to nearly get to his house. He was taken in, and his wounds cared for and he lived until early morning. He coughed up the bullet he was wounded with. His wife got home from the woods before he died and Benjamin asked her to keep the children in the Church together and to stay with them and then he expired. Returning to the Blacksmith Shop, they found eight already dead, and several expiring. In jeopardy of their own lives, expecting to be fired upon at any time they gathered up the dead bodies of their loved ones and threw them into an old well. Benjamin was buried in a grave dug by his brother, Tarlton. That is what history says but it is said, Malinda, as small as she was, with the help of Benjamin’s wife did most of the digging—but the women don’t get the credit due them. Tarlton was wounded in the shoulder and he carried the bullet to the grave, so he couldn’t do much digging.
There was one, Isaac Laney, who was shot in the abdomen and his intestines were falling out. Malinda took off her kitchen apron and bound it around his stomach to keep things in place. They managed to get him to the Lewis home before the mob returned. Malinda saw them coming and hid Tarlton under the house. The mob searched the house and upon seeing Mr. Laney, decided he was too near dead to waste a bullet on, and they left, never knowing the whereabouts of Tarlton.
After they were gone, Malinda wondered what she could find to cleanse their wounds. She knelt down beside her husband’s bed and prayed to the Lord for help, as she didn’t know what to do next. As she opened her eyes she noticed white ashes laying on the hearth, it seemed the answer to her prayer. She gathered the ash and soaked it in water. This water she used to bathe the wounds of both men. For weeks she nursed these men and was successful in bringing them back to health. Mr. Laney recovered and came to Utah with the Saints.
History relates: "Tarlton Lewis recovered, however, he carried the bullet to his grave as a mark of this terrible event. David, the other brother escaped unharmed."
Despite this shocking tragedy the two surviving brothers never lost faith in the Church. Soon others of the Lewis Family were converted and baptized.
In the year 1839 the family moved to Quincy, Illinois. In October 1839, moved to Commerce, later named Nauvoo. Here Tarlton was set apart as Bishop of the Nauvoo 4th Ward by the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum. They also ordained him a High Priest. Their son, Edward, was born 3 Jan. 1840.
Tarlton loved the Prophet Joseph Smith. On 5 June 1841, he and several other men learning that the prophet was in danger of abduction, boarded a skiff and went to Quincy in order to rescue him. They arrived too late for they found he had been taken to Nauvoo in Company of the Officers.
Tarlton Lewis spent nine months in the Black Hills getting out timbers for the erection of the Nauvoo Temple. He had charge of the crane used in hoisting the material for the erection of the temple. He was also very skilled as a cabinet-maker and carpenter. He and eight other men and Brigham Young hoisted the last stone into it’s place, thus finishing the temple. Tarlton and Malinda had their endowments on the 17th of December 1845 and were sealed in the Nauvoo temple for time and all eternity 6 Feb. 1846.
On the 26th of June the Mormon Battalion was organized and Samuel, their oldest son, signed up in Company "C". This was a terrible blow to his father and his hair turned white almost overnight as his son was only 16 years old.
The winter of 1846 was spent in "Winter Quarters" where the saints suffered much from cold and for want of food. A hole was chopped in the ice of the Missouri River to get water for camp use. One day Malinda went for water and little Edward tagged along. When she returned with her two buckets she thought he was right behind her, but he wasn’t. Hurrying to the river – all she could find was the little brass bucket her child had been carrying. It was supposed he slipped into the hole and was carried down stream. Such a sad time, and it was here on the 23rd of Dec, 1846, the same year, that Tarlton Lewis Jr. was born. Leaving his family camped in a covered wagon at Winter Quarters, Malinda’s husband traveled with Brigham Young, as one of the original pioneers to Utah in 1847. In 1848 he came back to Winter Quarters with Brigham Young’s party, with supplies to meet the immigrant trains. Here he found his own family just as he had left them, and brought them to Utah with him. Brigham was Captain of the 1st Division, arriving Sept. 21, 1848.
Martha Lewis was born July 10, 1849 in Salt Lake City. Malinda was proud of the fact that her husband was such a leader in the Church. He was the first Bishop in the valley, then, in December 1850 he was called to accompany George A. Smith to explore southern Utah and was one of the first settlers in Parowan, Iron County. He moved there with his family, and over a hundred others, on January 13, 1851, to make a permanent settlement. He was soon made Bishop of the new settlement of Parowan.
It was not Malinda’s lot to enjoy for long the home that she worked so hard for in Minersville. About 14 years later her husband was called to Joseph, in Sevier County, to help establish the United Order. They lived there a few years, then moved on a little north and east to the larger town of Richfield. Here her husband was again set apart as Bishop of Richfield, 2nd Ward.
Tarlton Lewis died Nov. 22, 1890 at Teasdale, Wayne County, Utah, at the home of his son, Beason Lewis. Malinda died June 5, 1894 at Richfield, Sevier County, Utah and was buried there.
It can be said of Malinda that she was one of the kindest persons that ever lived. She was ever on the lookout for ways to help those in need. It seemed she knew just when her neighbors needed her help most and would appear on the scene at the right moment to do the most good. Even after she had passed on, these incidents of her helpfulness were told and retold to her posterity by theirs.
Ruel Smith, son of Hyrum and Laura Smith, while doing research work in the library in Cedar City, Utah found the following: From the history of Andrew Jensen. "Under the direction of Bishop Tarlton Lewis, the brethren of the valley continued their labors on the houses which were being created in the stockades known as Pioneer Square. Now, Pioneer Park. Most of these houses were built in the interest of immigration; people were soon expected to arrive from the east."
From the diary of George A. Smith we read: "Sunday, Dec 15, 1850, Bishop Tarlton Lewis assisted by the brethren made a large campfire in the center of the corral, by request a general meeting was opened by singing and prayer was given by Tarlton Lewis. Call was made for the Bishops to come forward and answer to their names. This took place on the Provo River, Monday morning, Jan. 10, 1851. Bishop Lewis and nine other men started up the canyon to cut timber for a new meetinghouse. Tuesday 18, 1851: Bishop Lewis and three other men commenced framing the mill. Friday May 16, 1851: Tarlton Lewis appointed 2nd Alderman on the city council. On June 17, 1851 another boy was born to this household, they named him Ephriam Lewis.
May 24: Tarlton Lewis and Brinkerhoff took a walk to Red Breaks, took their spades along, excavated a mound, found an adobe wall, some human bones, and timber."
Tarlton and Malinda were the parents of eight children. Theirs is a great posterity. From a second marriage there were two sons, William and Benjamin.
Tarlton was a real pioneer always helping found new towns, making reservoirs, clearing new land, and encouraging people to build and build well. He was always on the frontier. He was a colorful figure in the early days of southern Utah. He was often referred to as the "Grand Old Man."
When Tarlton was a small boy he was afraid of ghosts, he had to bring the cows in and it was generally dark before they were all gathered home; so he told his father he didn’t want to go after the cows. "Well," said his father, "the next time you see a ghost I will tell you what to do, pick up a big stick and walk right up to the thing and hit it hard and you will never be afraid again." Tarlton had always loved and obeyed his father; so one night sure enough he could see a ghost through the big trees as he was in the forest. His first impulse was to run, and then he remembered what his father had told him, so he found a big stick, and with trembling hands and knees shaking he walked right up to the ghost, and there stood one of the old milk cows with a little new white calf walking around her. It was a lesson Tarlton never forgot and he was never afraid again.
Laura Smith gives this bit of information: One of my long-time friends tells me this story about Tarlton Lewis and his wife, Malinda. She said when she was a young girl her family was moving into the town where the Lewis family lived; they were quite poor and had to do a lot of repair work on the house they were moving into. It was cold and they had worked hard all day, and were very tired, not taking time to fix supper and they hadn’t much to fix. It was night when a knock came at the door, on opening it who should be standing there but Tarlton Lewis and his good wife and a big basket of food, all for them. She quoted, "A friend in need is a friend indeed", and what a spread they had that night; a big pot of hot beans, a big roast, hot bread just out of the oven, and a great bowl of fresh butter. Oh how they enjoyed that meal. This friend of mine said it was the best dinner she ever ate in all of her life. She said for then on she dearly loved this couple, and had never forgotten the kindness these good people had shown to her family. She said Tarlton had a good home, a big farm and all farm animals needed to care for his property; his place was kept so free of weeds that he had to get weeds from his neighbors to feed his pigs. Everything was well cared for; he had a nice strawberry patch; orchard; and wonderful garden, in fact they raised nearly everything they needed to eat, drink or wear. His home was a model for anyone to pattern after. It is said Tarlton gave away more than he kept for himself. This family was dearly loved by all of their neighbors.