Adventures in Mormon History

Of all the people to go down as villains in the history of the Latter-day Saints, perhaps none were as colorful as the infamous W. W. Drummond, Federal Judge of the Utah Territory in 1855. Arriving with a flamboyant woman whom he introduced as Mrs. Ada Drummond, the Judge immediately set out to cut away at the legal foundations of the Latter-day Saint settlements up and down the Utah territory - their probate courts, their water claims, timber claims, grazing claims, and their right to incorporate cities at all.
In this episode, we will explore how Judge Drummond earned the contempt of the Latter-day Saints in a number of ways, from his barely-veiled desperation to hang someone--anyone--to his flirting with and mutual teasing with Ada, who sat next to him on the bench (even during death penalty cases), to becoming the first judge to be himself arrested and thrown into jail for assault with intent to commit murder, and finally how--in his bumbling efforts to flex the power of the federal courts, he unintentionally sparked a war with the Native Tribes of Utah, resulting in 8 Latter-day Saints killed and the loss of 150 head of cattle.
To learn more about the stories in and material in this podcast, please see these (excellent!) sources:
Ronald W. Walker, "Proud as a Peacock and Ignorant as a Jackass: William W. Drummond's Unusual Career with the Mormons," 42 J. of Mormon Hist. 3, 1 (July 2016). The article can be found at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jmormhist.42.3.0001
At Sword's Point: A Documentary History of the Utah War to 1858, Vol I and II (ed. William MacKinnon), 2008.
* On a personal note, William ("Bill") MacKinnon was kind enough to correspond with me while I was deployed to Afghanistan in 2019. An Air Force Veteran himself, he very generously sent me copies of hitherto-unknown primary sources, topics of future interest, and thoughts on a wide array on early aspects and figures in Utah History. His enormous body of scholarly work on the Utah War is simply incredible.
Key Terms: William Drummond, Ada Carroll, "Skinny Ada," Brigham Young, John Taylor, John Burnhisel, Federal Judges, Utah Territory, Deseret, William "Wild Bill" Hickman, Levi Abrams, Cato, Posse, Native Tribes, Indian Wars, Jail, Writ, Habeas Corpus,

This episode continues the adventures of Thomas L. Kane, who left his home in February 1858 and set out for Salt Lake City. His self-imposed mission was to stop the Utah War. His plan was, as his wife Elizabeth later wrote, was somewhat hazy: “Tom’s plan was to go in disguise to Utah by way of California, winter though it was, and make his unexpected appearance at Brigham Young’s very gates, relying upon his own mental force and Young’s knowledge of the sincerity of his goodwill to the Mormons. He actually intended to turn a whole people’s will and make them ask for peace in the hour of their triumph.” But before he could get to Brigham Young's gates, he first had to pass through the towns of Los Angeles and San Bernadino. At the time, both these towns were hornet nests of anti-Mormon frenzy.
On this episode, we recount:
o How Thomas Kane assumed the identity of "Doctor Osborne," and came up with a cover story about needing to get to Utah to collect specimens of western flora. We recount how (somewhat ham-fisted) effort at undercover work.
o Just how dangerous Los Angeles and San Bernadino were for Latter-day Saints in 1857 - 1858. For background, we recount the (mis)adventures of William Wall, who passed through San Bernadino on his way home to Provo from a mission to Australia. He was pursued by a lynch mob, but managed to evade them twice. But he had a final confrontation as he prepared to leave the City. We recount how, as William Wall was surrounded, he bore a "powerful testimony of the Gospel." Then, he bore a different kind of testimony with what he called a "splendid double-barreled shotgun" and a "good Bowie knife," impressing upon the mob that some of them would die along with him.
o The Vigilance Committee of San Bernadino's efforts to hunt the mysterious "Doctor Osborne."
o How Kane saved from the violence of the Vigilance Committee by Frances Swan Clark and Colonel Alden Jackson.
To learn more about the stories in this episode, please check out these (excellent!) sources:
o Ardis A. Parshall, "Frances Swan Clark: A Kindness Remembered," essay posted 18 May 2008 and last visited on 6 November 2022, http://www.keepapitchinin.org/2008/05/18/frances-swan-clark-a-kindness-remembered-redux/. I came across Parshall's essay in MacKinnon, At Sword's Point, Part 2 Chapter 7, n. 34, so thanks to both Parshall and MacKinnon!
o For the materials and sources in this story, we owe a special thanks to Utah War historian William "Bill" MacKinnon - His two-volume set, "At Sword's Point: A Documentary History of the Utah War to 1858" is an extraordinary resource for anyone interested in learning more about the Utah War. It is available on Amazon and Google Books.
Search Terms: Frances Swan (Kimball Clark) Clark, Winter Quarters, Thomas L. Kane, Patrick Kane, Utah War, Albert Sidney Johnston, "Doctor Osborne," George Clark, William Wall, William Pickett, Elizabeth Kane, James Buchanan, Brigham Young, Ebenezer Hanks, Los Angeles, San Bernadino, Mississippi River, Mormon Pioneers, Plural Marriage, Polygamy, Secret Identity, Vigilance Committee, Lynch Mobs, Old West, Colonel Alden Jackson,

At the crisis of the Utah War -- Arguably the most dangerous moment in the history of the Latter-day Saints -- Colonel Thomas Kane set out on a bold plan: He would travel to Utah and Wyoming, in the dead of winter, throw himself between the U.S. Army and the Latter-day Saints, and hammer out a peace agreement. Nobody -- including President James Buchanan and his own father, Judge John Kane -- believed he would succeed. Yet Thomas Kane declared to Buchanan, "I am determined to go, with or without your approbation." On this episode (Part I of III), we remember Colonel Thomas Kane, the greatest hero of the Utah War.
Thomas Kane was born to wealthy and influential parents. His father, John Kane, was a federal judge and a leading Jacksonian Democrat. The Kane family was driven by a deep need for adventure, exploration, and humanitarian causes. Elisha would become a Navy Officer and an explorer. When the British expedition of Sir John Franklin disappeared into the Arctic in 1845, Elisha would answer the pleas of Lady Jane Franklin for a rescue mission. He would make two grueling expeditions to the frozen Arctic wastes in an effort to find and rescue the unfortunate crew of the Terror.
Thomas was, in some ways, different from his brother Elisha. At 5 and a half feet and 130 pounds, Thomas was frequently laid low with illness. But he shared his brother’s deep need for hardship and rugged adventure, which seemed to bring him to life. His brother John would later write, “Tom is never so well as when exposed to that which would kill most men of his build, and that a hard life in open air—not matter how hard—always agrees with him better than the most tranquil sedentary existence."
On this episode, we recount:
- Thomas's efforts to follow in his brother's tracks, and lead his own expedition to the frozen Arctic to rescue the unfortunate crews of the H.M.S. Terror and the H.M.S. Erebus.
- Thomas Kane's grief at the death of his friend, LDS Apostle Jedediah M. Grant.
- Thomas Kane's need for rugged adventure and open-handed philanthropy
- Thomas Kane's hair-trigger sensitivity for anything he viewed as a slight to his honor, and even after suffering a gunshot wound to the face during the 1861 Battle of Dranesville (near present-day Arlington, Virginia), he was determined to move forward and fight a duel against a fellow Union Officer.
- His wife Elizabeth's desperate effort to stop her husband from dueling
To learn more about the stories in this episode, please check out these (excellent!) sources:
o Matthew J. Grow, “I have Given Myself to the Devil: Thomas L. Kane and the Culture of Honor,” 73 Utah Hist. Q. 4 (2005). NOTE: In this episode, I state as a fact that Elisha Kent Kane married Margaret Fox. Matthew Grow's article describes the history of their romance and their love letters. Margaret Fox claimed they were married; the surviving Kane family strenuously disputed her claim.

o Richard D. Poll, “Thomas L. Kane and the Utah War,” 61 Utah Hist. Q. 2 (1993)

o Elder Lance B. Wickman, “Thomas L. Kane: Outrider for Zion,” Ensign (September 2003)
o For the materials and sources in this story, we owe a special thanks to Utah War historian William "Bill" MacKinnon - His two-volume set, "At Sword's Point: A Documentary History of the Utah War to 1858" is an extraordinary resource for anyone interested in learning more about the Utah War.

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln appointed John W. Dawson as the third Territorial Governor of Utah. Lincoln’s decision would lead to a cascade of bizarre, unintended consequences – from Utah’s first #MeToo episode involving a governor, to yet another gunfight involving Porter Rockwell, to the discovery of a massive grave robbing operation within Salt Lake City, and - reportedly – a French Ghost haunting the Great Salt Lake. On today’s episode, we will explore the Governor, the Gunfight, and the Ghost of the Great Salt Lake [Part 1].
Key Words: Brigham Young, Abraham Lincoln, Albina Williams, Thomas S. Williams, John W. Dawson, Utah Territory, John M. Bernheisal, #MeToo in Pioneer Utah, Wood Reynolds, Moroni Clawson, Jason Luce, Lot Huntington, John P. Smith, Utah War, Deseret News, Orrin Porter Rockwell, Danites.
To learn more about the information in this episode, please check out
Special thanks to the History Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for making the primary sources available!
You can find the letter of John M. Bernheisal describing his conversation with Abraham Lincoln here: Brigham Young office files, 1832-1878 (bulk 1844-1877) > Utah Delegate Files, 1849-1872 > John M. Bernhisel to Brigham Young, 1849- 1866 > 1862 January-March; Call Number CR 1234 1 .
You can find the affidavit of Albina Williams here:

Brigham Young office files, 1832-1878 (bulk 1844-1877) > Federal and Local Government Files, 1844-1876; Call Number CR 1234 1 .

See also the Deseret News , "Departure of the Governor," Deseret News (Jan. 1, 1861).
For more information on the beating of Governor Dawson, check out Salt Lake City Archives, "I Found it in the Archives - 1861 Criminal Case" (Oct. 3, 2012), available at https://slcoarchives.wordpress.com/tag/john-w-dawson/.
Harold Schindler, In Another Time: Sketches of Utah History 81-82 (1998).

This episode concludes the story of "The Man Who Shot Frank Worrell."
On September 16th, 1844, Frank Worrell was a man on a mission. Flanked by a group of friends, Worrell galloped out of Carthage, Illinois on the main road to Nauvoo. Worrell had enough of the Jack Mormon Backenstos (the term meant a person friendly towards the Mormons though not a Mormon himself). Worrell believed that, if they were ever going to drive the Mormon people from Illinois, Backenstos had to die.
Worrell's mission? Chase down the sheriff and shoot him dead before he could reach the safety Nauvoo.

On this episode, we discuss the increase of mob violence against non-Mormons who the Anti-Mormons (such as Worrell) viewed as too closely aligned with the Mormon cause. This began with the assault on Sheriff Minor Deming, who ultimately shot and killed his attacker, Samuel Marshall, on the steps of the Carthage Courthouse. Deming resigned as sheriff pending his trial, and Jacob Backenstos won election as the Sheriff of Hancock County. But Backenstos would find himself riding for his life to escape a possee, led by Frank Worrell. As luck would have it, this 2-mile chase led them both to a small group of Mormon refugees, under the escort of Porter Rockwell.
To learn more about the information in this episode, please check out Dallin H. Oaks & Marvin S. Hill, Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith (1979).