Family Search ID: KWVM-SXF
WikiTree ID: Faucett-7
Find A Grave ID: 20290877
Billion Graves
LDS – Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel ID: 6855
Veteran of Utah Black Hawk War – Sergeant
Member of Zions Camp: – 5 May 1834 to 22 Jun 1834
Member of Danite’s at Far West, Mo.
First Baptized into the Church: April 13, 1832
Ordained Seventy: Far-West Mo. Saturday July 7th 1838 (Officiator: Joseph Young)
Ordained as an Elder: Jan 19, 1839
Ordained Bishop Midway, Wasatch, UT, USA
Endowment Date: January 3, 1846 Temple: Nauvoo, Hancock, IL, USA
Sealed to Parents Date: October 20, 1937
Sealed to Spouse Date: February 14, 1881
Sealed to Spouse Date: February 14, 1852
Migration to Utah: William Snow/Joseph Young Company:
Departure from Nauvoo, Illinois: 21 Jun 1850
Arrival at Salt Lake, Utah: 1-4 Oct 1850
1834 – Tennessee:
List of Letters Remaining at the Post Office at Nashville, TN (Includes John Fausett):
The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee), 02 Dec 1834, Tue • Page 3
The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee), 06 Dec 1834, Sat • Page 4
1834 – Zions Camp
“Festival of the Camp of Zion.” Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah), October 12, 1864. Accessed October 28, 2018. John Mckee Fausett (spelt Fossett)
List of Mormons in Missouri 1831-1941
1837 – Missouri
June 17, 1838 – Far West, Mo.
- Signer of “Letter against Dissenters” – likely member of the secretive and very controversial group “Daughter of Zion” (Later known as the “Danites”).
The “Daughter of Zion” sent a letter to Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, William W. Phelps and Lyman E. Johnson telling them they had 3 days to leave (signed by 83, including Hyrum Smith) [Ebenezer Robinson].
July 7, 1838 – Far West, Mo.
Ordained as Seventy by Sidney Rigdon:
“Opened by Prayer by President Sidney Rigdon. When the following brethren, who came up in the Camp in 1834 received their blessing, also ordained as Seventies:
Horace Evans, James Dunn, Alonson [Alanson] Ripley, Chandler Holbrook, Justus Morse, John [Mckee Fausett] Fawsett, Jackson Smith, Thomas Turner, Ebenezer Miller, Joseph Holbrook, Lewis Sabriskie Horace Cowan, James R Ivie, John C. Annis
After which several recommends passed the Conference as, follows:William Martin, presented but rejected by the Conference. Johnathan T. Packer, to the office of Teacher. Pleasant Ewell to the office of Deacon. Uziel Corey to the office of Deacon. George Walters came forward and <to> make confession but did not give satisfaction. After some remarks by President Rigdon, On Motion, the Conference adjourned until the first Friday in October next. Benediction by President Rigdon.Ebenezer Robinson,Clerk. [p. 153]
July 28, 1838 – Caldwell, Mo.
- July 28, 1838 – Two Land patents granted to John Fausett in Caldwell, Missouri:
September 7, 1838 – Caldwell, Mo.
- September 7, 1838 – Two Land patents granted to John Fausett in Caldwell, Missouri:
Jan 19, 1839 – Far West, Mo.
John Fausett, 43 made an Elder
Source: License Record Book, Page ii,” p. [ii], The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed January 7, 2019
January 29, 1839 – Far West, Mo.
“<January 29, 1839> worthy, from this County, till there shall not be one left, who desires to remove from the State, With this proviso, that no individual shall be deprived of the right of the disposal of his own property for the above purpose, or of having the control of it, or so much of it, as shall be necessary for the removing of his own family, and to be entitled to the overplus, after the work is effected, and furthermore said Committee shall give receipts for all property, and an account of the expenditure of the same— Far West. Mo. Jany. 29. 1839.”
– “History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842],” p. 882, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 4, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-c-1-2-november-1838-31-july-1842/61
1840 Census:
November 3, 1840 – Fulton Co., Illinois
- November 3, 1840 – Land patent granted to John Fausett in Fulton County, Illinois:
1842 – Hancock Cty, Oh. Tax Records:
Source: http://mormonhistoricsites.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/05/NJ2_Platt3.pdf
1850
Migration to Utah:
Note: much of the below can be found on “Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel“
William Snow/Joseph Young Company (1850)
Departure: 21 June 1850
Departed: Kanesville, Iowa
Arrival: 1-4 October 1850
“42 wagons were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Kanesville, Iowa (present day Council Bluffs), but the size of the company more than tripled as it made its way across the plains. It was initially organized near the Missouri River.”
1855 – Alpine City, Utah Territory
(Alpine City was also known as: Upper Dry Creek, Lone City, Mountainville)
John Mckee Fausett and family move to Alpine City, Utah:
“For ten years the settlers were tried with this plague of crickets and grasshoppers. It was a struggle to save enough of the crop for seed for the coming year and a meager existence for the families. Some of the people nearly starved to death and many of the animals died. Several settlers left Alpine for other locations where the insects weren’t so bad.
Even though times were bad in Alpine and some moved away, others kept coming. Those arriving in 1855 were Joseph Dudley, James Healey, John McKee Fausett, and Richard Carlisle.
The winter of 1854 and 1855 had snow four to six feet deep in the valley but little in the mountains, which caused a shortage of water the next summer. Crops were poor and the hordes of crickets finished off what little did grow. According to Nelson, the winters of ’55 and ’56 were the most severe ever experienced in Utah.
The cattle had been able to winter out in the low hills most of the time before but, with the deep snow and intense cold, added to the lack of crops for feed, nearly all the animals died. Money was scarce and even if you had some grain could only be bought in a very few places. Many of the men had to go away to work. Some logged, some worked on the railroad or took any job they could get. Several families had to go to other communities to live.
To say the Saints were sorely tried at this time would be putting it mildly. To add to their distress, on August 23, 1856, their spiritual leader and much loved bishop, Isaac Houston, died. His counselors, T. J. McCullough and Morris Phelps, carried on the church activities until the 13th of November, 1856, when Thomas J. McCullough was chosen bishop, with Davis McOlney and John Vance as counselors.
By 1857 there were about forty families calling Alpine home. Due to lack of room in the meeting house, the people had been holding church services in the home of James Healey. That spring they decided to build a new meeting house. It was finished in 1863 and dedicated by President Brigham Young, and was used for all public gatherings. The population of Alpine had increased to 135 people by 1860.
While combating Indian difficulties, cricket hordes, and trying to establish homes and make a living for their families, the settlers still had other challenges to meet.”
-Source: AN OVERVIEW OF ALPINE’S HISTORY 1850-1980 – Published by the The Official Website for Alpine City, Utah
1856 – Salt Lake City, Utah Territory
Feb 13, 1856: John Fausett of Moutainville listed as a President of Thirteenth Quorum of Seventies:
June 26, 1862 – Upper Settlement, Utah Territory
John Mckee Fausett was the first councilor to Sidney H. Epperson as Presiding Elder:
“At a meeting held June 26, 1862, Sidney H. Epperson was appointed Presiding Elder (the Upper Settlement) with John Fausett, first and Samuel Thompson, second counselors. This was his first calling to labor in the ministry.
The growth of the upper and lower settlements required some sort of organization to coordinate the activity of the various families in both places as in other latterday saint day pioneer communities too small for organization into a ward this was supplied originally by a presiding elder of the church who when sustained by the church members exercised political judicial military and religious authority. In 1862 Sidney Epperson was appointed presiding elder over the upper settlement with John Fausett and Samuel Thompson as his counselors.
1866 – Spring –
Fort Midway (Utah Territory)
John Mckee Fausett assisted in the establishment of Midway, Utah and is recorded as among the first 75 families there:
“In the spring of 1866, under the energetic direction of their presiding leader, Elder Sidney H. Epperson, a compromise location was chosen half way between the two and the settlers Forted in. The name Fort Sidney was suggested in honor of their leader and met with unanimous approval, but Sidney said, No. We’ll call it Midway.
The first step in laying out the new settlement was the survey of the townsite. Sidney H. Epperson and John Huber carried the tape, Mark Smith and Attewall Wootton the pegs and within a few days Midway was laid out in ample blocks thirty-two rods square, with a Main Street six rods wide and side streets two rods narrower. A Public Square was set aside in the center of the new town site.
Action kept pace with dreams in those young Midway days; in an incredible short time the cabins of the upper and lower settlements were torn down and transferred to the new site.
Within a few days seventy-five primitive dirt-roofed log cabins surrounded the Central Square. Some abutting against each other while in some instances strong panels of upright posts made palisades between cabins built slightly apart, the whole forming an impregnable wall around the square. All doors opened upon the square. Small rear windows were to serve as port holes in case of attack.
The inner six acres of the square was inclosed with a heavy pole fence typical of the old Pioneers and was used as a corral for the protection of their stock at night. It was also the happy play ground for the children by day and the young folks by night. It was here they made their own amusements. When twilight settled over the scene they built small campfires, roasted potatoes and corn, sang songs and played games with all the joyous abandon of childhood and youth; always safe under the watchful eye of a night guard. The main entrance was guarded by a massive double-panel pole gate, each one pivoted to a huge anchor post. A heavy chain and padlock provided security when the gate was closed. And within it all lived some of the crack rifleman of the West, some forty of them being able to hit the bulls-eye seven out of ten at one hundred paces. Eternal vigilance was the price of safety. Sidney H. Epperson presided over Midway from the beginning.
In the meanwhile, Major-General Robert T. Burton and his chief-of-staff, Colonel D. J. Ross of Salt Lake City, made a trip to the Provo Valley for the purpose of cooperating with the settlers for their security. On June 26, 1866, they organized the Militia of Wasatch County and held an inspection drill at Heberville where a Fort for protection had been built. They elected officers pursuant to the general Territorial order issued concerning Militia organizations. Major Witt of Heberville was placed in command of the District. Having three battalions, one of cavalry, and two of infantry and to be known as the Wasatch Military District. Sidney Epperson and John Hamilton of Midway were elected Majors with John Watkins Bugler. The Fort was conducted under military law, having officers and picket patrol, arising and doing certain work at the call of the bugle. The Militia was in complete charge of all activities necessary for the welfare and general good of the community.
They now sensed the happiness of well-provided security and felt they would be able to repel any attack from the Redman should it occur.
This primitive old long Fort on the Pioneer frontier of the west presented a romantic and picturesque setting for the camera-man, but alas, none was present. We can see it now only from our imagination–Old Fort Midway!
One lives again in the days of the “Old West†when a noble and God-fearing people, guided by a sublime faith, endured the trials and difficulties of Pioneer life, that we their descendants might enjoy the comforts of civilization and peace.
Fortunately the Fort was never attacked, and when it was time to disband most of the people decide to remain here. The Old Fort was reserved by the town as a public square. The upper and lower settlements were never rebuilt.
With the cooperation of Matilda Robey Springer, Emily Coleman and Mollie Epperson we have made it possible to record all of the first seventy-five families in the Old Fort and the exact location of each on of them as follows:
From the southwest to the northwest corner: Sidney H. Epperson, Jeremiah Robey, J.A. Robey, Simon Higginbotham, Geo. Snyder, T. Ritter, Edwin Bronson, Samuel Thompson, Ira Jacobs, Washington Clift, Moroni Blood, John Huber, John Wintsch, Geo. Dabling, Dr. Jno. Gerber, Lucien Jacobs, Wm. Meeks, Robt. Cunningham, John Morton, E. Bates, Wm. Beeler.
Form the northwest to the northeast corner: John Faucett, Sr., Jacob Burgener, Sr., John Buhler, Jacob Buhler, C. Schoney, Ulrich Abbegglen, Conrad Abbegglen, Richard Shirlock, Peter Abplanalp, Simon Schneitter, Casper Sulser, Peter Galli, Christian Abbegglen, Norton Jacobs, Wm. Coleman, and Mrs E. Van Wagoner.
From the northeast to the southeast corner: John Moser, John Davis, Chas. Love, Jno. Holfeltz, Geo. Bonner, Sr., Henry Coleman, Sr., Geo. Wilson, Wm. Wilson, John Lowe, Jesse McCarrel, D. Zufelt, Jas. Gurr, Harvey Meeks, Chas. Gurney, Abigail Shelton, John O. Neil, Jas. Jackson, George Wardle, Wm. Bagley, and Nathaniel Riggs.
From the southeast to the southwest corner: Attewall Wootton, Joseph Forbes, Marks Smith, David Wood, Hyrum Oakes, Martin Oakes, H. Horsley, Moroni McOlney, David, Andrew and James Hanilton, James and David Provost, John Van Wagoner, Sr., Eph Van Wagoner, David Van Wagoner, John Watkins, Alvah and Ephraim Hanks.
John Watkins was bugler and Sidney H. Epperson and Ira N. Jacobs were officers of the Fort.
The settlements continued to grow independently until indian trouble threatened the settlers in 1866 in their exposed positions all along the creek the families were extremely vulnerable to the type of raid made by the indians the church leaders advised them to join together and build a fort for their mutual protection tradition states that the question of the fors location was a warm issue between the residents of both settlements loyal citizens of mound city ol were extremely reluctant to leave the obvious virtues of their high surroundings to join the lower settlement and the equally patriotic stalwarts of the lower settlement were just as naturally inclined to reject the offer to join the upper settlement finally as a result of compromise they built the fort midway between the two and thus the present town of midway got its name and location.
By mid-summer of 1866 seventy-five cabins stood on the fort line. Some of them were moved from the old settlements. The fort was never attacked which fact in itself is a tribute to the ability of the pioneers to cooperate in overcoming common difficulties.
PIONEER LIFE
Wasatch settlers brought to the pioneer struggle very little in the way of material resources an ox or two a wagonload of goods and usually a gun were the items constituting their physical possessions there were no homes to come to with rugs furniture beds and lights nor were there roads or schools or church buildings stores or a thousand and one other things to which we are accustomed these had to be built and at the same time crops had to be raised and shelter provided shelter is perhaps a better word than home to describe the first hurried building by a people who had to spend most of their time plowing the land and putting in a crop A wik
lup dup made of brush covered with wheatgrass and dirt or a dugout in a hill whichever was most expedient was the common solution the food was also appropriate to their situation elizabeth fillmore tells how john and mary annrm faucett moved to midway when there were only five families there they lived in a dugout the first year and ubsisted subsisted s on roots large squirrels and boiled wheat.
As soon as the first crops were planted a number of log cabins rose to replace the dugouts and wikiups wikiups they were to last until the sawmills were built to provide the lumber for frame houses and furniture these log cabins were chinked with mud and roofed with long grass and dirt the entire family crowded into the single room with a fireplace in one end and the beds in the other the beds were built into the wall by running three logs across the room forming several bunks most beds were fitted with straw ticks the table and benches that constituted the common items of furniture were made of slabs and at times there would be some especially prized item such as a cupboard which the family had carried across the plains the floors were dirt for the most part although wooden floors were not unknown the fireplace was used both for heating and cooking and since matches were unobtainable the pioneers started fire with flint or borrowed a light from their neighbors borrowing fire was an early morning ritual john huber notes that the family who raised the first smoke in the morning could count on someone immediately coming in with a fire shovel to get some glowing coals sagebrush was commonly burned in the fireplace and the pioneer mother did her cooking over the open fire in kettles and friddles griddles griddles bread was baked in the family bakeoven bake oven placed in front of the fire candles or a rag burning in a pan of grease served for light at night.
Raty, Leslie Shupe, “A History of Wasatch County, 1859-1899” (1954). All Theses and Dissertations.5060. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5060
1866 – Utah Black Hawk War:
Mustered in: May 1st at Heber City, Utah
Mustered out: July 1st.
Rank: Sergeant
Service: Captain Ira Jacobs. Utah Milita. Third Battalion of the Wasatch District. Sixth Platoon.
The Wasatch Wave , (Heber, Utah), 21 Dec 1906, Fri • Page 7, “History Wasatch Wave – John Fausett”, newspapers.com
Congressional series of United States public documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1869, page 140, google books
Other Sources / Historical Records:
BYU Nauvoo Community Project
Family Central
Midway Cemetery Burial Records
Maurine C. Ward: Women of the Nauvoo Relief Society
A Partial List of Church Member Living in Nauvoo
AN OVERVIEW OF ALPINE’S HISTORY 1850-1980
Missouri Land Records: 1777 – 1969
https://s1.sos.mo.gov/records/archives/archivesdb/ViewImages.aspx?Id=177314
Letter from Citizens of Pittsfield to Richard M. Young [5]
JSP: Petition from Whitford G. Wilson and Others, 8 June 1844
The Heirs of Samuel and Rebecca Beard
BIOGRAPHY OF JAMES GILBRETH HAWS AND NANCY ISABELLA WILLIAMS HAWS
Blog: For the Love of Geneology – Benjamin Martin Ivie
List of Zion’s Camp participants – John Mckee Fausett (Fossett):
Wikipedia
LDS – Mormon-Missouri War of 1838
State Historical Society of Iowa – The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri
John Mckee Fausett, a History:
John McKee Fausett joined the church in Missouri with the early saints, and he and his sons worked on the temple in Nauvoo, Illinois.
John was one of Joseph Smith’s bodyguards at the time of his martyrdom in Nauvoo, Illinois.
He said one of the men of the mob, set the body of Joseph against the well curb, and when a member of the mob attempted to cut off the head of the Prophet, he saw the streak of light as it came from heaven, between the ruffian and the body of the Prophet, which so frightened the mob, that they all fled. They had to take the ruffian away from the spot, as he was unable to move.
He attended the mock funeral that was held for the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. He took part in many of the church activities of the Saints. He was a member of Zions Camp. He was appointed with two other men, Mormon leaders, who were organized to join the mob, for the purpose of finding when the mob would start action. The mob leader asked my grandfather John, “How many Mormons can you eat?” he replied, “if they were greased, I could swallow three or four.” They gained their purpose.
“The coffins were then taken out of the boxes into the little bedroom in the northeast corner of the Mansion, and there concealed and the door locked. Bags of sand were then placed in each end of the boxes, which were then nailed up, and a mock funeral took place, and the boxes deposited in a grave with the usual ceremonies.”
As published in the Deseret News in 1857
The coffins were then taken out of the boxes into the little bedroom in the northeast corner of the Mansion, and there concealed and the doors locked. Bags of sand were then placed in each end of the boxes, which were nailed up, and a mock funeral took place, the boxes being put into a hearse and driven to the graveyard by William D. Huntington, and there deposited in a grave with the usual ceremonies. This was done to prevent enemies of the martyred Prophet and Patriarch getting possession of the bodies, as they threatened they would do. As the hearse passed the meeting ground accompanied by a few men, William W. Phelps was preaching the funeral sermon.
– BYU Studies – (Source)
He first married a young widow, Margaret Smith, who had one son, Jackson Smith at the time of their marriage. Margaret Smith along with their two children Amanda, and William accompanied John across the plains arriving in Utah in 1851 with other Latter-Day Saint converts. They lived in Provo for a time and here Margaret died.
He met and married Mary Ann Shelton. They lived in Midway when there were only 5 families at the upper settlement, they lived in a dugout the first year as they were too busy planting crops and harvesting them to build a cabin. Later he built a log cabin close by one of the warm springs. Grandfather took part in all the activities of Midway and with the early settlers suffered for food and many of the necessities of life, along with many other hardships. He did farming, and as his family was mostly girls, they helped him in the fields, doing everything in the crude way of the early pioneers.
They went through the troubles with the Indians, who on many occasions threatened their lives .The people in the settlements owned quite a number of sheep, and they pooled them together and John took care of them with the help of his wife and children. To avoid trouble with the Indians, they moved up into the mountains into what was called the White Pines, during the summer months with their sheep and cows. The Indians would not go there as they claimed there was a large serpent in the lake that was in the White Pines.
John was a very kind and charitable man to everyone. He was a bishop of Midway, Utah, and a veteran of the Black Hawk War.
Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
Original data: Applications for Headstones for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941. Microfilm publication M1916, 134 rolls. ARC ID: 596118. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92. National Archives at Washington, D.C.
Applications for Headstones, compiled 01/01/1925 – 06/30/1970, documenting the period ca. 1776 – 1970ARC: 596118. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985, Record Group 92. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
Description
These headstone applications can tell you a lot more than just name, rank, and serial number.
History of John McKee Fausett and Mary Ann Shelton Fausett
John McKee Fausett, son of Richard and Mary McKee Fausett was born December 22 1804 in Sweeney Co. Tennessee. He became a member of the church and was one of Joseph Smith body guards at the time of his martyrdom in Nauvoo, Illinois. He first married a young widow, Margaret Smith, who had one son, Jackson Smith at the time of her marriage to Mr. Fausett. Margaret Smith was born 1798. She became the mother of three other children: Amanda Fausett Clift, who married George Washington Clift and whose son married Amanda Johnson and whose daughter, Mary, married John Thomas Watkins; also Lucretia and William Fausett. John McKee Fausett crossed the plains by ox team in 1853 and settled in Provo, Utah. Jackson Smith was sealed in the the temple to John McKee Fausett; and he married Mary Marie Owens and was the father of Rachel Isabell Smith Orgill the wife of Mark Orgill and mother of fourteen children of whom the oldest was Mary Ann Orgill Johnson, wife of Nels Joseph Johnson. He later married Mary Ann Shelton. They moved to Midway when there were only five families at the upper settlement. (about one mile north of Schneitter’s Hot Pot Resort.) They lived in a dugout the first year, as they were to busy planting crops and harvesting to build a cabin. Later he built a log cabin close by one of the warm springs.
Source: https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/20660316?cid=mem_copy
The Day it Rained
One day it rained and the little sister, her name was Jane, began to cry as she had left her doll things out under the trees and she didn’t want them to get wet. Her dolls were homemade rag dolls, the only kind they ever saw. Someone started for the dolls when they saw a big grizzly bear coming toward the cabin. They came running and the bear kept coming toward the cabin. Grandma (Mary Ann Shelton?) tipped the table upon its end against the door. The bear went on by and turned toward the corral where the calves were. Grandma said, “Children, you stay here,” and she picked up a big club and started to the barnyard, praying all the way. The Bear went on and didn’t bother the calf pen much to her relief. Grandmother never seemed to be afraid of anything. Our Heavenly Father surely protected her and her children. There were eight girls in the family and they had much work to do.
One day Grandpa (John McKee Faucett) was walking along a narrow trail. He looked ahead and aw a big bear coming toward him. It wasn’t a very wide trail, he didn’t know what to do. As the bear got closer, Grandpa stepped to one side as far as he could and the bear stepped to the other side and they passed in safety. He went a little farther and her came another bear and they did the same thing.
Grandfather came into the cabin one day and told his daughters he was going to the Upper Settlement. It was several miles to walk. But two of the girls wanted to go as there was a dance they wanted to go to. Grandpa had a leg of mutton that he was carrying and they started out. It was rather rough walking over the mountain trail or road. Aunt Nancy (Nancy Ann Faucett) and my mother Margaret (Margaret Faucett), called Maggie, were the girls with Grandfather. Aunt Nancy said in scarcely a whisper, Father, there’s a bear. Her father didn’t hear her but my mother did and she spoke out in a loud voice, Father, there’s a bear! The bear could smell the meat and was coming right toward them. It’s head was down. Grandpa laid the mutton down and said “You girls go up the hill as fast as you can.” It happened that a tree had blown down. Grandfather reached over and picked the tree up, it was all he could do to lift it and he dropped and yelled. The bear had never looked up. At the noise of the falling tree and his yell, the bear turned and went the other way, just plowing the ground up with his feet. Grandpa looked at the tree that he had lifted and let fall. He said it was so big that he didn’t know how he ever lifted it. But in his fear he was given added strength. They continued on their way. Grandpa had to go back home. Mother wouldn’t let him go back alone, so she walked that long weary way back with him.