The “Mormon” Burial Ground at Mt. Pisgah

: — —

The "Mormon" Burial Ground at

Mt. Pisgah, Iowa

P,Y MRS. HANNAH SETTLE LAPISII

[The author in the following paper tells how the "Mormon"

burialground at Mt. Pisgah was found, purchased, and improved.

Mrs. Lapish read her paper to President Joseph F. Smith, and he

writes:

"I have been very much interested, in going over with you your

memoranda of the discovery of the Pisgah burying ground, in Iowa,

by the inspiration that moved you to examine the books in the li-

brary of Mr. Depue, of Montana, and in the very happy results which

followed the giving of the information you thus gained by mere

chance, to the Huntington family. I am quite sure that a correct

account of this very interesting circumstance would afford great

pleasure to the readers of the Improvement Era, and would effectually

preserve the record for all time to come. I therefore hope that you

will see your wav to submit these matters to Brother Edward H.

Anderson with a view to their publication."

In appreciation of Mrs. Lapish's services to all lnteres. d, and

especially to his own family, in causing the way to be opened so

that the burial ground was transferred to the Church, O. B. Hunt-

ington made her a present of a rare memento, reproduced herewith

a due bill of the Nauvoo Legion, signed by the prophet Joseph Smith

shortly before his martyrdom. Editors.]

This is how the old "Mormon" burial ground was found at

Mount Pisgah, in Iowa, in an undisturbed condition, and was

eventually bought by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

Saints

I was visiting with my daughter, Mrs. Stelzer, in Dillon,

Mont., in August and September, 1885. My daughter took me

around to see different places of interest, of course. At this time

she was taking dairy products from a Mr. Depue, who owned a

very fine stock ranch. He told Mrs. Stelzer to bring her mother

out to see what a Montana stock ranch was like, so we accepted

the invitation. Mr. Depue came with a light rig and took us to

his home on the ranch, where I met Mrs. Depue and the family.

While Mrs. Depue was getting dinner, I was amusing myself with

the many interesting things in the parlor. I was attracted by

In reading over the titles of

a book-case well filled with books.

the books, I was impressed very much, to take a book out that

was not very striking in appearance, but was rather loose in

the shelf.

:

"MORMON" BURIAL GROUND 663

This old book had a hand-written table of contents on it

which read, "Reminiscences of Mount Pisgah, Iowa."

Having' read of the suffering of the Latter-day Saints at that

place, I took the book down and found it to be an old geography

of Jones township,

Union county, Iowa.

On section "8" was

marked a square about

an inch each way, in

which was written,

"Old 'Mormon' bury-

ing ground." I asked

Mrs. Depue if I could

take a few notes from

the book. I would

consider it a privilege

to do so, and I thought

it would be a benefit

to some of my peo-

ple, although I had

no one buried there.

At this juncture,

Mrs. Depue came in

and said that her hus-

band was ready to

drive us about the

ranch, but I begged

to be excused, as I

MRS. HANNAH SETTLE LAPISH preferred to stay and

take notes from this

little book. I felt sure it would benefit the Latter-day Saints. I

told her I was a "Mormon," and so interested in that book, if she

would please excuse me so I stopped and wrote what I could. I

;

felt like Ihad lots of company, unseen, but surely felt.

Mrs. Depue is the daughter of Stephen White who owned

the land that the "Mormon" graveyard was on, and she remem-

bered well what her father had told her of the sufferings of the

"Mormons" who camped on his land how they buried one man

;

wrapped in a sheet and how they stripped the bark from the trees

;

to improvise a coffin for him.

She further said her father would never permit her brothers

to plow up the land where the "Mormons" were buried. He said

"If they were 'Mormons,' they were human beings, and should

never be disturbed, or the land desecrated, by them" (his family).

I told Mrs. Depue that I was sure our people

would be de-

lighted to know that that burying ground had never been dis-

664 IMPROVEMENT ERA

turbed. I then asked her to write to her mother that a "Mor-

mon" woman, Mrs. Lapish, had been vis-

iting with her,and request her mother

and brother to write very soon to John

Taylor, President of the "Mormon"

Church, stating to him that the old burial

ground of the Saints at Mt. Pisgah had

never been disturbed since the "Mor-

mons" camped there. "I am sure that the

President will buy that lot, as he is the

trustee-in-trust of the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints."

Mrs. Depue wrote her mother right

away.

I left Dillon, Montana, in October,

and stopped off at Logan to do work in

the temple, for the dead. Sister Zina D.

H. Young invited me to call upon her and

Sister Prescinda H. Kimball. I accepted

the invitation one afternoon when J. D.

T. McAllister was there. He related

some remarkable spiritual manifestations

that had been made in the St. George

temple since he had charge of it. After

his narration, I said I thought a very re-

markable thing had happened to me

while was away visiting my daughter,

I

Mrs. Stelzer, in Montana. I related to

them my experience, and the notes I had

taken from the old book at the Depue

ranch of the man wrapped in a sheet for f

;

burial and of the bark of the tree for

;

his coffin, etc. At this juncture, Sister ji

Zina D. H. Young, who was with her *

daughter at this time, arose from her

the^bur-

chair, and taking me in her arms ex-^ffi™^

pisgah

claimed : "Sister Lapish, sent of God to

find my father's grave, for this was my father."Sister Prescinda

Kimball leaned her head on the table and wept, for it was their

father that was found to them again, even William Huntington.

We each felt this a very remarkable event to find this old

grave-lot, after so many, many years lost to every one apparently.

We did surely acknowledge the hand of the Lord in this, for he

"moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform." Sister

Zina wrote her brother, Oliver Huntington, that night, of the in-

cident. Mrs. Depue had written her mother, as 1 had requested

her to do. and when I arrived home in the latter part of October,

: :

"MORMON" BURIAL GROUND 665

a letter from Brother Oliver Huntington was awaiting me in care

of Bishop Bromley, of American Fork. It was a letter of ap-

preciation. I have received many tokens of appreciation

from

them all.

The ground, or burial lot, was purchased by the Church, and

a monument erected thereon. Sister Zina D. H. Young sent me

the first picture of the monument. Afterwards I received a large

one from Oliver Huntington. Sister Zina also told me that they

had work done in the temple for the White family, who owned

the lot at Pisgah. She further said

"You do not know how dear you are to Us, especially to me and

my dear sister Prescinda whom we buried today, from the Assembly

Hall. There will be a host of friends to meet you when you go be-

hind the vail where our sister has just gone."

Notes taken at the house of Mrs. Depue, by Hannah Lapish,

in Dillon, Montana

Jones Union Co.

Township, Iowa. The "Mormon's" sojourn

from 1846 —

1852 called the Big Field.

to It comprised sections 7, 8,

16, 17, containing 1400 acres of land. On the 23rd. of May, 1850, Wm.

M. Lock, "Uncle Billy," as he was known, and Henry Peters, settled

on land owned by L. G. Williams, J. K. White, and Stephen White.

The "Mormons" built a small horse-power mill for cracking corn,

on Grand River. The burrs were made from common boulders known

as nigger-heads. These stones can now be seen at the house of Mrs.

Stephen White, on section "8", Jones Township. They are two by

one and one-half feet in diameter, and two feet thick. The "Mor-

mon" cemetery is on the north quarter of section "8." A head-stone

remains in it, can be seen from the door yard of A. C. White. It is

made of lime-stone and has cut upon it, the Masonic Square and

Compass, with the letters O. E. on it.

The above notes were taken from -Illustrated Centennial", with

sketches, maps and directory of Union Co., Iowa, published by C.

J. Colby, Creston, Iowa, in

Gratefully,

Hannah Settle Lapish,

Salt Lake City, Utah, 4th. Ave.

The following correspondence, referred to in the above article,

explains itself:

Springville, October 24, 1885.

Bishop Wm. Bromley, American Fork, Utah:—Will you please for-

ward or hand the following few lines to a sister m. your place by

the name of Lapish. I do not know her given name or I

might write

to her direct, and oblige,

Your brother in the gospel,

O. B. Huntington.

you through my sister, Zina D. Young,

Sister Lapish:— I heard of

who is Will

now in Oregon. you please write to me the names ot

all the Saints that were buried at Mt. Pisgah, Iowa, that you can re-

member and where the proper representative or nearest re atiye o :

that

each now living T presume that Zina D. gave yon to understand

is

666 IMPROVEMENT ERA

this matter has been laid upon me to look after by the highest author

ity and you will please not delay, and oblige,

Your brother in the gospel,

O. B. Huntington,

Springville, Utah.

P. S. —

If you have any relatives or particular friends buried there

please state what you would like to do or have done with or for the

—

burying ground. O. B. H.

Springville, May 3, 1894.

Mrs. Hannah Lapish, American Fork, Dear Sister: -The accompany- —

ing memento has inscribed on its face the name of Joseph Smith,

written by his own hand, and is the last mark from the hand of the

Prophet of Gcd in my possession. The ether name inscribed thereon,

John S. Fullmer, is the man of whose singular death you will find

an article in the April number of the Young Woman's Journal, of 1894.

This "keepsake" I have many years cherished and loved, but now

Tills O:ifato «.// A J»«,«J

ty

' </L M*** &y.n ^^^S '<

i>wm$~l fy ^ 0ti'/r>ui4Ur f&tttMh «> <Umaiul4 uili any vienieJ in (^{ %J^^;t h

NAUVOO LEGION NOTE

The size of this note is 6^ by 2 /2 inches inside of the border, its full size being

z

4 by 7 inches. It is endorsed: "This piece of money was preserved by Fanny Hunt-

ington, wife of Dimick Huntington, and she gave it to me on the 6th of October, 1884,

in Salt Lake City, Utah, on my way to Logan Temple.

"Oliver Boardman Huntington."

give it freely to you in token of my appreciation of the great favor

you did our family and the relatives of the many Saints that were

buried at Pisgah, in Iowa, by causing the avenue to be opened by

which that burying ground was transferred to the Church of Jesus

—

Christ of Latter-day Saints consisting of one acre of land, a good

fence around the same.

Accept my thanks for your kindness, and believe me,

Ever your friend and brother in the gospel of Christ,

O. B. Huntington.

P. S. I will also send you a photo of the monument at the Pisgah

burying ground, erected through my instrumentality.

AMERICAN FORK, UTAH