The Ivie Family at
Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah
(revised 7/02)
"About the middle of August 1858, James R Ivie, Benjamin E. Clapp, Joseph R Clement, Isaac Allred, Reuben W Allred and Richard Ivie were chosen as an exploring party, to select a suitable location for a new settlement in the northern part of the valley. They decided upon a site on Pleasant Creek. They then returned to Fort Ephraim to state their views to the contingent of immigrants who had reached Fort Ephraim to remain over the winter.
"A meeting was called and a petition was drafted, signed by sixty men who were desirous of locating further north at the site selected. Not knowing just how to proceed or what to do, a meeting was called for the purpose of discussing necessary procedures. After some deliberations, James R Ivie Sr, Joseph R Clement, and Isaac Allred were chosen as a committee to wait upon President Bringham Young in order to obtain his advice. Afterwards, however, it was deemed best for James Allred and James R Ivie Sr, personally to present the petition.
"Leaving Fort Ephraim September 2nd, they arrived in Great Salt Lake City on September 6. There they met Elder Orson Hyde on the street and at once stated the purpose of their visit. He kindly escorted them to Pres. Bringham Young's office. After considering the petition President Young expressed himself as perfectly in favor of the new settlement. James R Ivie stated that the petitioners were desirous that he, President Young, appoint men to take the land. President Young, however, was not desirous of choosing their leader or bishop at that time, and drafted the following letter which was sent back with the committee and presented to the petitioners:
Great Salt Lake City, Sept 6, 1858
Brother John Reese and the rest of the brethern whose names are on the list:
I am perfectly willing that you should go there and make a settlement, but you must consider whether it will be safe or not. You wish to know my mind on the subject. It is this: that you must build you a good substantial fort and live in it, use every precaution that is necessary against Indians. Your fort must be twelve feet high and four feet thick, built either of stone or adobe and laid in lime mortar. I also want you to select one of your number for president and one for bishop. You will have to be very careful of your stock or you will lose them. In choosing your farming land get it as nearly together as possible. It would be better to have only one piece fenced. Then you are compact in case of an attack on you by Indians or white men.
Bringham Young
Ivie and Allred returned to Fort Ephraim on 24 September and called a meeting, where the letter from President Young was presented and the contents noted. At this meeting James R. Ivie, Joseph Clement and Isaac Allred were appointed as a committee to wait upon the surveyor at Manti and get him to survey town lots and farming land on Pleasant Creek. This committee with surveyor Albert Petty, of Manti, then visited the present site of Mount Pleasant and selected and surveyed a site where the fort was to be built, which was about one and one half miles east of the former site of Hambleton, together with a number of city lots and about 1300 acres of choice farm land in twenty-acre lots. Upon their return to Fort Ephraim, about the middle of October, a meeting was called, and later the settlers drew by number for the land and lots which were pointed out to them by the committee the following spring
On 10 January 1859, the petitioners again called a meeting for the purpose of organizing and making preparations for moving to the new quarters. This meeting was held in the schoolhouse. Later, however, Reddick Allred, not being sure he would move north with the party in the spring, declined to accept the position. (what position)
About the middle of February several of the men moved north until they were just west of where the settlement was to be located. They pitched their camp in a ravine in the cedar hills on the west side of Sanpitch River and began cutting posts which were to be used, as soon as spring opened, for fencing the farm land. The snow then being about two feet deep at the town site, they did not move over the river until later. They were joined by several other men who had prior to this time come north with cattle and horses to winter. They were the first to move towards the new settlement. After remaining in camp a short time, they, with five yoke of oxen, their wagons and seed wheat, drove through the deep snow to the present site of Mount Pleasant. March 20th, the company broke camp and through snow and mud moved their wagons and tents to where the fort wall was to be built; many pitched their camps on the bank of the creek, known as Pleasant Creek.
Some of the first group of settlers did not immediately move their families to the new location. Andrew Madsen wrote in his journal that 'just as soon as opportunity afforded, my brother Mads and I built dugouts conjointly and about the 12th of May, we, with our ox teams went to Fort Ephraim for our families, returning a few days later.' Others returned on April 10, some bringing their families and supply of wheat, grain and farming tools. A number of other settlers from Utah County arrived at about the same time and it became necessary for President Ivie to call upon the surveyors to plat more land. At this time, there were 1200 acres more platted which was given to the newcomers upon arrival.
The people were at that time living in their tents and in covered wagon boxes. Plowing began on the sixteenth day of April. Settlers continued to arrive from different parts. In a month's time, although many were not accustomed to such work, and the oxen were slow and the tools mostly homemade, one thousand acres of ground were cleared of the tall dense brush, the ground cultivated and a number of irrigation ditches dug.
Letter from James R Ivie to Bringham Young
Pleasant Creek April 20th 1859
President Young
Dear Sir
I have thought that you might like to hear how we are getting a long in this far off country as there is a great many rumors in circulation about us we thought that we would give a statement of our situation ourselves. Last Fall we got the surveyed and surveyed some 13 Hundred acres of Land and gave it out and some of the Brethern plowed some. But the winter has bin so long and cold that we have not done any thing until late, and finding that we had not land enough we have got in all about 25 Hundred acres now taken up or at Least there is about 100 and forty shears taken up of twenty acres apeace and \there is more Land yet wanted and we have not had any intention of Doing of anything But of carreing out your instruction given to us Last fall, But there is and has bin a spirit of Jellesey against us from the Day we Petitioned you for the settlement, threats maid by those Commanding of the Military, until we have bin almost ready to Dispear, and as to our taken our Families here until we can make the Fort we have had no such intention yet there is some half Dozen famileys here that came from Filmore and Little Cottonwood near Salt Lake City and they thought that they might of as well camp out one Place as the other. But all without our Council as far as we can judge there will be at Least one hundred and fifty men here to help us Build the Fort, as we thought that it was best to ( ) our Grass before we built the Fort, we ( ) of our Calculation of commencing of the Forton the first of June and continue the work until Done, and if we have Done anything wrong it has bin through weakness and not Desinedley. The People was caled together by my self and Bro. Reuben Allred and apointed myself and Cousin Reddick Allred to take the Lead of the Place but through the influence that has bin he is not comeing, so now if you have anything for us Do let us hear what we must Do for the arthorities here has not Give us any council only to Carry out the Council that you have given us which we have ever had in mind to Do, and as to our not Respecting of the Council of the Brethren here I called upon them time and again to get Land at Fort Ephream but could not Do it and they told me that I had better make a new Location which we have Done so fore and hold ourselves open for any council that may be Given and as to Bro. Snow and Benson we had no intention to Disrespect them when here and Did not no that they had any instruction for us as it was Left with the Petishioners to select there own officers in your letter to us now there is a rong tell us wherein and we'll try and make it right for we want the confidence and faith of the Saints of God and his servents
So no more but believe me your serveant in the New Covenant.
James R Ivie
In reply to a letter from President Ivie concerning the organization that had been affected and the move from Ephraim, the following was received from Bringham Young:
Great Salt Lake City, May 6, 1859
James R Ivie
Pleasant Creek
Dear Brother:
In reply to your letter of the 20th inst. I have to inform you that I have heard no complaint concerning your new settlement and trust there will be no grounds for any reasonable complaints by anyone disposed to do right. In your location it would seem to be an easy matter to manage your affairs justly for the benefit of all concerned, and to make early and efficient steps for building a secure fort that you may be safe in an Indian country and conduct your affairs upon wise principles, living industrious and humble that you may make your settlement beneficial to yourself, the country and the territory at large. In all of which you have the best wishes of your brother in the Gospel.
Bringham Young.
The Murder of Isaac Allred by Thomas C Ivie.
On Wednesday, 11 May, "...(Isaac Allred) was killed by Thos. Ivie, who assailed him over a trivial matter and beat him with a burning stick from the camp fire...He died the next day. The difficulty arose over some sheep which Bro. Allred had in charge and which belonged to Thos. Ivie.” Allred is buried at Fort Ephraim the next day.
Hosea stout reports in his diary.
"News from San Pete County is that Isaac Allred my brother-in-law has been murdered by Thomas Ivie. The particulars and circumstances which led to his murder I have not learned."
"Isaac Allred and Thomas Ivie were both good Mormons of long standing in the church, neighbors and friends, they became involved in a quarrel over some sheep."
John D Lee writes: "Thurs 9th Samuel Hamilton arrived from G.S. Lake City, reported that Thos Ivy killed Isaac Allred, both of San Pete Co. It seems that the parties got into a dispute about herding sheep and Ivy struck him an unlucky blow on the head with a cedar stick which he drew out of the fire in the moment of passion, broke his skull. He lived 8 hours, but never spoke. Allred previous to this it seems had struck Ivy several times."
"Fatal Assault - A correspondent at Manti, under date of May 15th, says that on the evening of 11th of May, at Pleasant creek in Sanpete county, a man by the name of Thomas Ivie committed an assault upon Isaac Allred, striking him twice with a fire brand, breaking the skull, which caused death shortly after.
Ivie was immediately arrested and committed, to answer for the offense at the next term of court.
Deceased had a large family which by that fatal occurrence, are left to mourn the loss of a much loved and respected husband and father."
Deseret News
Wed, May 25, 1859
On May 12, Thomas Ivie is arrested and taken to Manti, where he is bound over by Justice Elisher Averett.”
It is sadly ironic that at the same time James R Ivie must have received the letter from Bringham Young admonishing him that it would seem to be an "easy matter to manage your affairs justly and for the benefit of all, that his brother Thomas murdered their cousin, Added to the strains he had previously described to Young, were added the additional burden of arranging his brother's defense, while commencing the building of the fort. Under the direction of James Ivie the fort walls were begun on 13 May. He assigned supervisor, a captain , and ten men for each wall. The plan called for a gate in each wall. The north and south gates were large enough for teams and wagons to pass through. The fort walls were completed July 18.
"The inside of the thick wall served as the back wall of each of the homes, which were 16 feet square. The other three walls were made of adobes. The doors and windows of each home faced Pleasant Creek, which ran through the center of the fort. The creek was bridged approximately halfway between the distance it ran inside the fort. Close to the bridge the long, log one-room schoolhouse was built, where A.B. Strickland and Mrs Oscar Winters served as the first schoolteachers. The schoolhouse also was used as chapel, theater, dance hall, and meeting place.
Andrew Madsen reported that, "During the month of June, we were kept very busy in attending to our crops and the building of the large fort wall."
On 13 June, a grand jury was impaneled which on the 14th presented a true bill for murder against Thomas C Ivie. A jury was then chosen and the case proceeded; the trial lasted until the 16th when it was admitted to jury, who returned a verdict of guilty, and on Friday, June 17th, Judge Garner Snow pronounced a sentence of death upon the prisoner. Ivie appealed his case to be tried before Judge Eccles, and on the 3rd of July, Sheriff A. Tuttle left Manti with the prisoner for Camp Floyd. Hilda Madsen Longsdorf writes that “Ivie was kept at Camp Floyd for sometime, then turned loose. He went to Missouri where he quarreled with a brother-in-law, who killed him and left his body in a corn field to be devoured by the buzzards. This happened about a year after he left Utah." According to a version in the LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, . “Pres. Young prophesied that Thos Ivie would apostatize from the Church and that buzzards would pick his bones. This prediction was literally fulfilled, as the remains of Mr. Ivie were subsequently found in a corn field nearly devoured by buzzards."
"July 10th, Apostle George A. Smith and Amasa Lyman visited the settlement, after giving much good instruction and advice to the people, proceeded to organize the Saints on Pleasant Creek into an ecclesiastical ward. William Stuart Seeley was chosen and ordained Bishop with Harvey Tidwell as first counselor and Peter Yorgen Jensen as second counselor. The office of president was thereby vacated, and Brother James R. Ivie felt very much pleased when released from the responsibility that had been placed upon him, in the establishment of the colony for which he had worked so hard." (6)
16 July 1859 - "At a convention held at Manti, on the 16th, Edwin Whiting was nominated for Councilor and John L Ivie for member of the House of Representatives of the next Legislative Assembly."
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1860
Utah Census:
name age house occupation residence
James R Ivie 57 6 farmer Mt Pleasant, Sanpete
James A Ivie 28 3 livestock Mt Pleasant, Sanpete
Richard A Ivie 35 8 farmer Mt Pleasant, Sanpete
John Lehi Ivie 25 3 farmer Mt Pleasant, Sanpete
Isaac Allred 72 2 farmer SpringCity, Sanpete
James Allred 76 2 farmer Ephraim, Sanpete
Billingsley, Campbell 28 5 farmer Mt Pleasant, Sanpete 150 - 325
Foote, Warren 42 10 miller Salt Lake County, 500 - 350
Zabriskie, Jerome 32 7 farmer Mt Pleasant, Sanpete 400 - 700
McArthur, Henry A 31 6 farmer Mt Pleasant, Sanpete 300 - 1,500
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January 12th, Apostle Orson Hyde and Ezra T. Benson visited the colony and preached to the people, and on January 13th, A.B. Strickland assisted by Mrs. Oscar Winters began teaching school. Brother Strickland, who had some difficulty with the children, was assaulted and abused by James R. Ivie, the dispute arising over some punishment inflicted by the teacher upon a brother of Ivie. Brother Strickland closed his school the 26th of March. This was most likely James A Ivie, as he did have a brother under the tutelage of Sutherland, while his father James R Ivie did not.
From Wallace Stegner’s Mormon Country, we learn that on February 26, 1860, "James Ivie was accused of assaulting and abusing Brother Alvin Strickland for punishing the Ivie child at school. Ivie was reprimanded and the schoolmaster relieved of his post. (August 25) - Did the incorrigible Father Ivie go after hay before the appointed time, standing against his brethren with his eyes wide open? He was dropped from the quorum until he improved his manners only to get into trouble again (October 22) for going to the Canyon on the Sabbath day."
Sarah Ivie dies in Missouri, bringing into play the provisions of her late husband's will. Anderson Ivie, the father of Thomas C Ivie died in 1852, and by his will left his entire estate to his wife Sarah for her life. Sarah died in early in late 1860 or 1861, and so the formula set forth by Anderson Ivie for dividing his estate among his children would now come into play. Son, Thomas C Ivie is living with her at the time.
20 December 1862- Amanda Jane Moore, the wife of Thomas C Ivie is married to Mathew Caldwell at the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Thomas C Ivie is still alive.
Thomas C Ivie is murdered in Missouri. C1863. An Ivie family account does not mention the murder, by states that "Thomas Celton left his family at Mt Pleasant and went to Missouri to settle his father's estate, but while he was there he was killed by some radical during the unsettled times of the Civil War. Yet another account relates that Thomas C Ivie was murdered by a brother-in-law. Yet another account relates a prophesie by Bringham Young that buzzards would pick his bones.“ And finally, in the Salt Lake City Tribune account of the Aikens murder case, there is even a hint that Ivie may have been assassinated by orders of the church hierarchy.
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The Social Hall was completed at Mt Pleasant, 7 December 1862. "At a Bishop's council meeting held December 27th, it was decided that not more than thirty-two couples be invited to a party in the Social Hall at one time...Tickets of brass should be made and divided so that equal numbers be invited from each ward. Every man was to pay a bushel of wheat for the entertainment. Cripples and widows should be admitted free. No beer was to be drunk in the hall. John L. Ivie and Rasmus Frandsen were chosen as committee for the house, to act as floor managers and arrange for or furnish music, candles, etc., and keep and supervise cleaning. The expense to be taken out of receipts, earnings to go to the benefit of the house."
Dora Day Johnson remembers, "I came to Mt Pleasant March 1860. I was at that time eight years old. That winter the old log meeting house, in the center of the fort, was the play house. Some of the players who took part at this time were Wood Brandon, John Ivie and his wife, Katherine Ivie, Dolph Bennett, George Porter, Joseph S. Day and others whom I do not now remember They played "Good for Nothing Nan," and the "Merchant of Venice." The scenery was wagon covers and other materials mixed together, but didn't we children enjoy it! and so did everyone else. The next play house was the Social Hall, with real scenery. Wood Brandon and Katherine Ivie were the only two members who stayed with the company...There was no entrance to the stage in the Social Hall, and the crowds were so large they could not pass through the aisles, so the cast had to crawl through the windows to get to the stage. Mary Katherine Ivie had legs that were too small to look good, and she would fill her stockings with bran; but upon moving about, the bran soon fell to her shoe tops, which were either laced or buttoned high tops. This looked funny, of course." Scenery was painted by early Utah artist, C.C.A Christensen