Seth Benjamin Tanner (March 6, 1828 – December 3, 1918) was a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

pioneer, miner, and early

settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...

of Arizona.

Tanner Trail The Tanner Trail is a hiking trail located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. The trailhead is located at Lipan Point, a prominent lookout located to the east of the Grand Canyon Village, ...

in the

Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often consider ...

was named after him.

Life

Tanner was the son of John Tanner and Elizabeth Beswick. He was born in

Bolton Landing, New York Bolton Landing is a hamlet and census-designated places in the town of Bolton in Warren County, New York. It is located on Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains. It is a common tourist destination and the closest town to the State Park lands ...

, and was with his father's family as they were driven across the United States from place to place with the early Mormons. By the time he reached

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

in 1848, Tanner was 20 years old. Soon after arriving in Salt Lake City, Tanner left for the California

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

with his older brother Myron. In 1851, he and Myron joined other family members in helping to settle San Bernardino. For a time, Seth and his brothers made money breaking in semi-wild horses and driving them up from

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 ...

to sell in Salt Lake. In 1856, he went to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

for a while to invest in the coal business with some partners and

prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...

for coal, although they did not find much success in this venture. Tanner married Charlotte Levi in 1858 in Pine Valley, Washington County, Utah, and they settled in North Ogden and had seven children. After Charlotte's death in 1872, Tanner moved his family to Payson to be near other family members. In 1875, he was chosen by

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 ...

to go on an exploring mission with James S. Brown to Arizona, to search out a suitable place for settlement on the

Little Colorado River The Little Colorado River () is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about in ...

. He later returned to Utah Territory and married Anna Maria Jensen in 1876, then moved his family to Arizona, to an isolated cabin on the Little Colorado River near Tuba City, on the present-day Navajo reservation. Apparently his cabin was on the main travel route and visitors often stopped over there. Wilford Woodruff, fourth

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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), mentioned it when on the underground, hiding out from the federal marshals. Tanner's second wife had no children of her own, but raised the children of Tanner's first wife in this lonely cabin in the wilderness. Tanner also helped with the Hole-In-The-Rock expedition; he joined the expedition as a guide for the initial exploring party, guiding them up to the Bluff area after they had reached Moenkopi in the Navajo country. The whole expedition would have been much better off had they followed the route which Seth showed them, instead of taking the insane "short cut" down through the hole and across the redrock country. This "short cut" took them six months, instead of the six weeks it took to go the "long way" around. Apparently Tanner got along well with both the

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

and

Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...

Indians; he and his children learned their languages, and they called him by a Navajo name, ''Hastiin Shush'', which meant "Mr. Bear," and his sons were known as ''Shush Yaz'', or "Little Bear." Tanner's descendants even today operate a chain of Indian

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

s throughout the Southwest. "He was often appointed to deal with the natives, having the happy faculty of making friends with them ... Seth was a modest man but he was always thoughtful of others, and during his travels and life-long experiences when he was associated with others in travel, he was generally set apart as a hunter and fisher and to provide meat for the company." Tanner was a gentle, solitary man of the desert, and he did a lot of traveling and exploring through Northern Arizona. He engaged in prospecting and mining in the area, but does not seem to have had too much success in these ventures. It is said that his name is somewhat of a legend in northern Arizona, and many natural features bear his name. He died in

Taylor, Arizona Taylor is a town in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It was founded by Mormon settlers in January 1878, several months before the neighboring community of Snowflake. Taylor straddles Silver Creek, flowing from the nearby White Mountains to ...

at the age of 90.

References

External links

Tanner Trail DescriptionFifth Generation Trading Company
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, Seth American explorers 1828 births American Latter Day Saints 1918 deaths Tanner family Mormon pioneers People of the Arizona Territory People from Bolton Landing, New York Explorers of North America People from North Ogden, Utah

Life

See also

References

External links