--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Hannah Settle Lapish collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 17 number: 7 published: 1914-05 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Hannah Settle Lapish, "The “Mormon” Burial Ground at Mt. Pisgah," *Improvement Era* 17, no. 7 (May 1914): 662–666.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1707unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera1707unse start_page: 662 end_page: 666 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1914-05) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1707unse publication_year: 1914 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1914, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # 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 1876. 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 ' wm$~l fy ^ 0*ti'/r>ui4Ur f&tttMh «>*