William Wormer Drummond (died November 20, 1888)"Drunk, Disgrace, Death", ''

Chicago Inter Ocean The ''Chicago Inter Ocean'', also known as the ''Chicago Inter-Ocean'', is the name used for most of its history for a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, from 1865 until 1914. Its editors included Charles A. Dana and Byron Andrews. Histo ...

'' (November 21, 1888), p. 1."Another Chapter", ''

'' (November 23, 1888), p. 7. was a justice of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

of the

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...

from 1855 to 1857. Born in Virginia, Drummond was raised and educated to enter legal practice, moving to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1851 for that purpose. He practiced briefly in that city, and became involved in

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politics, until he was appointed by President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

to serve as a justice of the Utah Territory. Around that time, however, Drummond reportedly became enamored of a woman named Pleasant Ridgeway, described as "a young and beautiful adventuress", for whom Drummond abandoned his wife and children. Drummond brought Ridgeway to Utah with him, claiming that she was his wife, arriving with her in September 1855. Drummond immediately came into conflict with

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 ...

and

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), which controlled the territorial legislature, and at one point Drummond was placed under house arrest by a probate judge appointed by the legislature.Michael W. Homer, "The Judiciary and the Common Law in Utah Territory, 1850-61", ''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' (Spring 1988), Col. 21, No. 1, p. 104. Within a few years, Drummond left, with some accounts attributing this to his determination that the Mormon population "refused to submit to civil authority", and others claiming he was "forced to resign from the bench by the stories of his conduct". Following his resignation, he traveled to

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, where he published an account asserting that the government of Utah had become corrupted by the influence of Brigham Young and the LDS Church, and that the men of Utah swore loyalty to the church over the Constitution. These claims helped to precipitate the

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 ...

, in which President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

sent U.S. forces to the territory to quell perceived efforts to form a tyrannical rule over it. Drummond himself returned to Chicago around 1860 to resume the practice of law, but failed in that endeavor, at which point Ridgeway left him. Drummond reportedly become impoverished, a beggar and a habitual drunkard, and shared a house with petty criminals whom he at least permitted to plan their crimes at the house. He died in a saloon in Chicago in November 1888."Neighboring Items", ''The Macomb Journal'' (December 6, 1888), p. 1.

References

Year of birth missing Date of birth unknown 1888 deaths People from Virginia Illinois lawyers Justices of the Utah Supreme Court {{US-state-judge-stub