John Doyle Lee (September 6, 1812 – March 23, 1877) was an American pioneer and prominent early member of the
Latter Day Saint Movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...
in
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. Lee was later convicted as a
mass murderer
Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The United States Congress defines mass killings as the killings of three or more pe ...
for his complicity in the
Mountain Meadows massacre
The Mountain Meadows Massacre (September 7–11, 1857) was a series of attacks during the Utah War that resulted in the mass murder of at least 120 members of the Baker–Fancher party, Baker–Fancher emigrant wagon train. The massacre occur ...
, sentenced to death and was
executed
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
in 1877.
Early Mormon leader
Lee was born on September 6, 1812, in
Kaskaskia
The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in t ...
,
Illinois Territory
The Territory of Illinois was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 1, 1809, until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Illinois. Its ca ...
, and joined the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1838. He was a friend of
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
, founder of the church, and was the adopted son of
Brigham Young
Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...
under the early Latter Day Saint
law of adoption doctrine. In 1839, Lee served as a
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
with his boyhood friend,
Levi Stewart
Levi Stewart (April 28, 1812 – June 14, 1878) was a Mormon pioneer and a founder of Kanab, Utah.
Early years
Bishop Levi Stewart was born April 28, 1812 in West Edwardsville, Madison, IL to William Stewart (1784-1837) and Elizabeth Van Hooser ...
. Together they preached in Illinois,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, and
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
. During this period Lee converted and baptized
"Wild Bill" Hickman
William Adams "Wild Bill" Hickman (April 16, 1815 – August 21, 1883) was an American frontiersman. He also served as a representative to the Utah Territorial Legislature.
Latter Day Saint
Hickman was baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of ...
. Lee practiced
plural marriage
Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...
and had 19 wives (at least eleven of whom eventually left him) along with 56 children.
Lee was a member of the
Danites
The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saint members in June 1838, in the town of Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri. During their period of organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took ...
, a fraternal vigilante organization. The Danites were first organized in
Caldwell County, Missouri
Caldwell County is a County (United States), county located in Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the county's population was 9,424. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Its county seat is King ...
, during the
Mormon War. Lee was also an official scribe for the
Council of Fifty
"The Council of Fifty" (also known as "the Living Constitution", "the Kingdom of God", or its name by revelation, "The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and Power thereof, and Judgment in the Hands of His Servants, Ahman Christ") was a Lat ...
, a group of men who provided guidance in practical matters to the church, specifically concerning the move westward out of the established areas United States in the east to the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
. After Smith's death, Lee went with Brigham Young and other Latter Day Saints to what is now
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, and worked towards establishing several new communities there. Some of those communities included
Lee's Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch
The Lee's Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Historic District includes the ranch homesteaded by Mormon pioneer John D. Lee at Lees Ferry, Arizona, and now in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It is notable for its association with Lee, the ferry a ...
, located near
Page, Arizona
Page is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, near the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 7,247.
History
Unlike other cities in the area, Page was founded in 1957 as a housing com ...
. A successful and resourceful
farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...
and
rancher, in 1856, Lee became a United States
Indian Agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government.
Background
The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of t ...
in the
Iron County, Utah
Iron County is a county in southwestern Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 46,163. Its county seat is Parowan, and the largest city is Cedar City.
The Cedar City, UT Micropolitan Statistical Area incl ...
, area, where he was assigned to help
Native Americans establish farms. In 1858, Lee served a term as a member of the
Utah Territorial Legislature
The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 state representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 state senators. There are no term ...
, and following church orders in 1872, Lee moved from Iron County and established a heavily used
ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
crossing on the
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
, where the site is still called
Lee's Ferry
Lees Ferry (also known as Lee's Ferry, Lee Ferry, Little Colorado Station and Saints Ferry) is a site on the Colorado River in Coconino County, Arizona in the United States, about southwest of Page, Arizona, Page and south of the Utah–A ...
. The nearby ranch was named the
Lonely Dell Ranch and is now listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
, together with the ferry site.
Mountain Meadows massacre
Massacre
In September 1857, the
Baker–Fancher party, an emigrant group from
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, camped at
Mountain Meadows, a staging area in southern Utah used to prepare for the long crossing of the
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...
by groups travelling westward to
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. They were attacked by a combined group of Native Americans and
Mormon militia
The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States. With growing antagonism from surrounding settlements it came to have as its main function the defense of Nauvoo, and surrounding Latter Day Saint ...
men dressed as Native Americans. There were multiple motives for the conflict, including a general atmosphere of rising tensions between the US Federal government and Mormon settlers (see
Utah War
The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US go ...
of 1857-1858) and a rumor that the Baker–Fancher party included those who had murdered Mormons at the 1838 event known as
Haun's Mill massacre.
On the third day of the siege, Lee (not dressed as a Native American) approached the Baker–Fancher encirclement under cover of a white flag and convinced the emigrants to surrender their weapons and property to the Mormons in return for safe conduct to nearby
Cedar City
Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located south of Salt Lake City, and north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Gam ...
. The emigrants accepted the offer and surrendered, however approximately 120 of the Baker–Fancher party were then killed by Mormon militia and
Paiute Indians, leaving only about 17 small children as survivors. William Ashworth notes in his autobiography that after the massacre, the "leaders among the white men had bound themselves under the most binding oaths to never reveal their part in it." Lee told Brigham Young that the Indians had been solely responsible, that "no white men were mixed up in it." Lee later maintained that he had acted under orders from his militia leaders, under protest, and remained active in Mormonism and local government for several years afterwards.
Arrest and execution
In 1874, Lee was arrested and tried for leading the massacre. The first trial ended inconclusively with a
hung jury
A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again.
...
, seemingly because of the prosecution's attempt to portray Brigham Young as the true mastermind of the massacre. A second trial in 1876, in which the prosecution placed the blame squarely on Lee's shoulders, ended with his conviction and he was sentenced to death. Lee never denied his own complicity, but claimed he had not personally killed anyone. He said he had been a vocally reluctant participant and later a
scapegoat
In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...
meant to draw attention away from other Mormon leaders who were also involved. Lee further maintained that Brigham Young had no knowledge of the event until after it happened. However, in the ''
Life and Confessions of John D. Lee'' he (or an editor) wrote, "I have always believed, since that day, that General
George A. Smith was then visiting southern Utah to prepare the people for the work of exterminating Captain Fancher's train of emigrants, and I now believe that he was sent for that purpose by the direct command of Brigham Young."
On March 23, 1877, Lee was
executed by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...
at Mountain Meadows on the site of the 1857 massacre. His last words included a reference to Young: "I do not believe everything that is now being taught and practiced by Brigham Young. I do not care who hears it. It is my last word... I have been sacrificed in a cowardly, dastardly manner." On April 20, 1961, the LDS Church
posthumously
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death
* ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987
* ''Posthumous'' (E ...
reinstated Lee's membership in the church.
Descendants
Lee had 19 wives and 56 children, and his descendants are now numerous. Former
Solicitor General Rex E. Lee
Rex Edwin Lee (February 27, 1935 – March 11, 1996) was an American lawyer and academic who served as the 37th Solicitor General of the United States from 1981 until 1985. He was responsible for bringing the solicitor general's office to the cent ...
is a direct descendant of John Lee, as are his sons Senator
Mike Lee
Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Lee began his career as a clerk for the U ...
of Utah and Utah Supreme Court Justice
Thomas R. Lee.
Another descendant,
Gordon H. Smith
Gordon Harold Smith (born May 25, 1952) is an American politician, businessman, and academic administrator who served as a United States Senator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served two terms in the Senate from 1997 to 2009. On Septe ...
, was a U.S. Senator from Oregon.
US Representatives
Mo Udall
Morris King "Mo" Udall (June 15, 1922 – December 12, 1998) was an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as a U.S. representative from Arizona from May 2, 1961, to May 4, 1991. He was a leading contender for the 1976 Democra ...
(D–AZ) and
Stewart Udall
Stewart Lee Udall (January 31, 1920 – March 20, 2010) was an American politician and later, a federal government official. After serving three terms as a congressman from Arizona, he served as Secretary of the Interior from 1961 to 1969, unde ...
(D–AZ) and their sons,
Mark Udall
Mark Emery Udall ( ; born July 18, 1950) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, represe ...
(D–CO) and Senator
Tom Udall
Thomas Stewart Udall ( ; born May 18, 1948) is an American diplomat, lawyer and politician serving as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from N ...
(D–NM) are also descendants.
Stewart Udall served as Secretary of the Interior under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. See also the
Lee-Hamblin family for a list of more of his noteworthy descendants.
Film portrayals
John Lee was portrayed by
Jon Gries
Jonathan Gries ( '; born June 17, 1957) is an American actor, writer, and director. He is best known for the role of Uncle Rico in '' Napoleon Dynamite '' for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male, an ...
in the film ''
September Dawn
''September Dawn'' is a 2007 Canadian-American Western film directed by Christopher Cain, telling a fictional love story against a controversial historical interpretation of the 1857 Mountain Meadows massacre. Written by Cain and Carole Whang Sc ...
'' (2007).
Notes
References
* .
* .
* . Reissued in single-volume paperback: Huntington Library, 2004:
* Kelly, Charles, ed. ''Journals of John D. Lee, 1846–47 and 1859.'' Salt Lake City, Priv. print. for R. B. Watt by Western printing company, 1938. Republished: Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1984.
* .
External links
* John D. Lee Family Association Official Website: http://www.johndleefamily.org
* Online tree of Lee Descendants: http://www.wadhome.org/lee
* http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/i_r/lee.htm Excellent sketch of Lee's life
*
*
*
John Doyle Lee's diaryfrom a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, John D.
1812 births
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