Reflections on Grandpa's Life

The Provo Daily Herald ran the following obituary about Grandpa:

Howard Coombs Stutz

1918 ~ 2010

Howard Coombs Stutz, age 91, retired professor of genetics at Brigham Young University, passed away on July 20, 2010 following a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

He was born August 24, 1918 in Cardston, Alberta, Canada, the son of Joseph Reuben and Clara Coombs Stutz. While attending BYU in 1940, he met and married his sweetheart, Mildred Robison of Delta, Utah. They recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.

After graduating with a Master's degree in Botany from BYU, Howard was awarded a PH.D in genetics from the University of California, Berkeley. As a dedicated Scientist he spent a long and productive career studying plants throughout the world including those in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. He has published more than 80 scientific papers and recently completed a book on science and evolution.

Howard approached life with unbounded energy. In addition to raising his family of seven children on his beloved farm in the Riverbottoms of Edgemont, he was a popular instructor and lecturer at BYU for nearly 40 years. He was instrumental in arranging with the US Forest Service to establish a formal research laboratory adjacent to BYU for the study of desert shrubs of the Western United States. For many years he worked with Utah International in New Mexico providing research and resources for strip mining reclamation. In 1982, Dr. Stutz and his wife, Mildred, established a perpetual scholarship award at BYU for graduate students' studies of desert shrubs. He reluctantly retired from teaching at the age of 65 but continued his research well into his 80s.

Howard was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in many capacities including Elders Quorum president, Bishop, High Counselor, and Stake Patriarch. He approached every assignment with the same enthusiasm that he exhibited in his professional work. He has a strong testimony of the gospel and of God's love for his children.

Howard is survived by his wife, Mildred; four sons and two daughters: Craig (Priscilla); Tom (Annette); Joseph Lanny (Lorna); Ellen (Mark) Landeen; John (Nicole); and Susan (Todd) Atkin; and by a daughter-in-law, Janet; 42 grandchildren, 64 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son Kent, and by his grandsons, Mark, Carl and Boyd.

Funeral services will be held Monday, July 26, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at the Edgemont Stake Center, 303 West 3700 North, Provo. A viewing will be held Sunday, at the Berg Mortuary of Orem, 500 North State Street, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., or Monday morning, at the Stake Center, one hour prior to services. Interment, Orem City Cemetery. The family wishes to thank Aspen Home Care and Alpine Hospice for their compassionate care. Condolences may be sent to info@bergmortuary.com

The Deseret News also ran the obituary.

I am told the viewing this evening was a wonderful occasion that brought together family and friends from all directions. Although my family arrived too late in the evening to attend the viewing, we did enjoy exploring the farm grounds and discussing its good times, past and future.

Grandpa's Memorial Services

From the Berg Mortuary web site:

HOWARD STUTZ
Funeral services will be held Monday, July 26, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. in the Edgemont Stake Center, 303 West 3700 North, Provo. Friends may call at the Berg Mortuary of Orem, 500 North State Street, Sunday evening, from 6-8 p.m., or Monday morning, at the Stake Center, one hour prior to services. Interment, Orem City Cemetery.

In Memoriam - Grandpa Stutz

Grandpa Stutz passed away peacefully this evening at the farm. He lived a long and vigorous life, having celebrated his 70th anniversary with Grandma just this past week. There is much to say about his life, but not today. Now is a time for reflection, prayer, and family.


We love you, Grandpa.

Grandma and Grandpa's Wedding

Among the many pictures that Ellen sent is this wonderful portrait of Grandma and Grandpa on their wedding day -- July 15, 1940. I had never seen it before; in fact, it is the only picture from their wedding that I know of. It is a beautiful, touching picture of a young couple at the outset of their lifelong journey together.


The writings on the picture are Grandma's, but they originally were above (names) and below (date) the picture. I transferred them onto the picture while cleaning it up after scanning.

Grandma and Grandpa's Anniversary!

Might there be a party in the works for this summer? Ellen asked me to post the following:

Grandma and Grandpa Stutz are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary in July. We thought it would be a nice gift to present them with a collection of letters and/or pictures from all of the family members. We would particularly request short stories of a favorite memory or experience you have had with Grandma and Grandpa. I would be happy to do the collecting, but I need to receive these quickly (by the end of June) so that I can compile them into a notebook. Please remember to include your name with your letter or pictures. Ideally, we would love to hear from every family member. I will try to get the word out, but please notify your own family members because I am sure I don't have everybody's address or email. You can mail your letters to my address: Ellen Landeen 2906 W. 7500 S. West Jordan, UT 84084 or you can email to mlandeen@yahoo.com. Thanks for your help with this project. Call me if you have any questions. 801-561-3875.

For the record, Grandma and Grandpa were married July 15, 1940, making this their 70th wedding anniversary!

The Long Walk Home

This post is not about the movie with the same name. Rather, this post seeks stories about the walk home from school. It is inspired by a previous post of John and Susan and a comment by Shari. Leave comments with your stories and I will update the post to include it. They do not have to be interesting, just memorable to you in some way.

To get the ball rolling, here are a few stories about walks home that I had.

In second grade I found a quarter on the sidewalk and was so excited that I went to a phone booth (!) and called my mom to tell her. She listened to my good fortune, and then explained that the quarter was gone now because I used it on the phone call. I didn't understand that the phone would not give me change back, as phone calls were only a dime then. I was upset the rest of the walk home. Seeing my distress when I arrived home, Mom gave me another quarter. Thanks for your kindness, Mom!

In third grade, Dave and I got stuck at a convenience store for hours when Defender started serving up free video games. Who in their right mind would pass up free video games? The party ended when my dad pulled up in his truck to get us. I think Karla and Shari told him where we were, which is a good thing because we would probably still be playing. I don't recall getting in much trouble over it, so thanks for your kindness, too, Dad!

On cold days, the neighborhood kids would march in a line blowing big puffs of steam, pretending to be a choo-choo train. We also cracked the ice on every frozen puzzle along the way.

Anyone else with stories about the walk home from school?

Proofsheet - G&G 06

The trickle of updates from the rolls of film that Ellen sent continues.


Some of these pictures appeared in the initial post when Ellen sent the rolls of film. Click for a larger image. Let us know in the comments if you would like GAP to post larger images of any of these.

Earth Week Wasp

I've posted pictures of bugs before, but thought this picture of a wasp on a compact fluorescent light fixture was an appropriate post for Earth Week. As my sister Shari likes to say, "Save the Earth!"


This is pretty much the limit of the macro mode on my point and shoot camera.

Proofsheet - G&G 05

Another small update from a roll of film that Ellen sent.


Because only one of the pictures is interesting, here is a larger image of Grandma and Grandpa (click for a larger image.).


UPDATE

Shari writes in the comments:

This looks like the photo they had on display at their 50th Wedding Anniversary party. Remember those sheet cakes they had? And all the people who came to the farm? Grandpa and Grandma are (understatement of the year) troopers.

Thanks, Shari! I don't remember the sheet cakes -- until I found eggless cakes I didn't pay much attention to cakes -- but I would love to get more pictures (and stories?) about their anniversary. And, yes, they are quite the troopers!

Grammar Nerd Question

In the recent post Proofsheet - G&G 04 we wrote "the rest of the roll either exists somewhere else or is lost." We treated "the rest of the roll" as a singular subject and, thus, used singular verbs. Should we have treated "the rest of the roll" as a plural subject and written "the rest of the roll either exist somewhere else or are lost"? Would it matter if we changed the subject to "the rest of the negatives"?

See, kids, grammar is not only important, it's fun!

UPDATE

Craig writes in support and I think I can rest easy now.

"rest" is singular. You are correct. "of ...whatever" is not important to the singularity of the rest.

Whew! Even if the rest of the family members is unsure, we should probably put this to rest. Thanks, Craig!

Dave also chimes in with the rest of the story.

Of course, there are different rules if you are using British English. In America, we would say "Italy has won the World Cup" (or "Italy wins the World Cup!!"), whilst in the UK they would say "Italy have won the World Cup" (or "Italy win the World Cup!!"). We consider a noun that represents multiple items (in this case, the name of a political unit made up of millions of people) to be singular, they regard it as plural.

But of course, they also say "maths" instead of "math," so there's really no reason to take their grammatical rules seriously.

Thanks for the worldview, Dave! I am kind of interested in what the English think of their grammar; the language is called English for a reason, after all. It seems that some people view the resolution of subject/verb agreement for compound nouns as not being so simple. I cannot say that any particular view is clearest, and I do not think the grammar police will arrest anyone for getting it wrong, but in the interest of restoring some manner of prestige to my grammar skills I will continue to wrestle with the issue to find the surest, purest, fairest rule of application. Or, whatever.

OTOH, the use of "maths" seems to be a spelling disagreement more than a subject/verb agreement disagreement. "Maths" is used as a singular, correct?

Proofsheet - G&G 04

Today we have a very small update from the film that Ellen sent. There are only two negatives showing preparations for Christmas in Grandma and Grandpa's basement. Because these negatives did not match any of the others in the package, the rest of the roll either exists somewhere else or is lost.


Click for a larger image. Let us know in the comments if you would like GAP to post larger images of any of these.

UPDATE

Ellen posts some information about the pictures and a poem (!) in the comments.

For years, Grandpa and Grandma would fill a Christmas stocking for every child and grandchild in the family. It took a lot of effort and quite a bit of money and the basement would be off limits to family members for weeks. These two pictures were separate from other negatives because I think Grandma used them in her family newsletters. She also wrote a poem about the family Christmas stocking project.

Christmas on Grandpa's Farm

On Grandpa's farm there's a basement door
That's sealed up tight from top to floor
And a great big sign in black and white
Says, "DO NOT OPEN 'TILL CHIRISTMAS NIGHT!"

(My Daddy says, when he was a kid,
He'd crawl under the porch where the windows hid
And try to see through the webs and gloom
What was hiding in that secret room.)

On Christmas morn we'd wait in delight
While Grandpa turned on the Christmas lights,
Then we'd burst through the door and shout with glee
And "Whee-Whee" round the Christmas tree.

On the walls of the room were dozens of socks
One for each person - present or not.
Then we'd pour all the gifts out on the floor
There must be a zillion million or more!

Later that day we'd creep down the stairs
To see if there might be more gifts down there,
But the door to the secret room stood wide
And there wasn't a single thing inside

Thanks, Ellen! GAP can never have too many stories and poems!

Ellen wrote commented again to clarify that, "that poem was written by Grandma Stutz, not Ellen." Duly noted!

Rowan Squires Stutz

Yesterday, April Fools Day, a post went up at the Stutz Barn announcing that Rowan Squires Stutz joined Jeremy, Emlyn, and Big Sister Millie as the newest member of their family. Details are slim -- all we know is March 18, 2010, 7:42 a.m., 7 pounds 1 ounce, 20 inches -- since the JEM show blog is now available by invitation only. At least we get a picture!


We are pretty sure this is no April Fools joke; certainly Rowan's cuteness is no joke. The closest analogy we can think of -- let's be honest: this is a stretch even for us -- is the Tauntaun Sleeping Bag, which started off as an April Fools Joke (Huh?), but turned out to be real (Yeah!), but then turned out to be both very expensive (Yowza!) and very awesome to have (Woohoo!). Congratulations from GAP!

Other Projects - Photo Restoration

In addition to scanning the negatives and pictures that Ellen sent, I have been working on some other projects unrelated to family history. One of the more interesting ones is a photo of President and Mrs. Johnson that I restored for a friend at work.


In these before and after pictures, you can see (click for a larger image) that the original was very faded and retained very little color information. After scanning, and using only Photoshop Elements 5 (I still have not invested in a newer program!), I was able to tease some color and detail out of the picture. The steps I took were:

1. Straighten and crop the picture;
2. Fix and saturate color;
3. Improve the contrast and highlight/shadow detail;
4. Sharpen image;
5. Remove dust, scratches, and other blemishes; and
6. Reduce grain and other noise in the image.

The results are not perfect -- certainly not as as nice as a new picture -- but they are not too bad, especially considering the original image. It took a lot of trial and error, but short of painting on color (which I did not do) the picture is quite usable. I even received a box of cookies and brownies out of it!

I am not trained in photo restoration, and undoubtedly a professional could do more. But, if you poke around at a hobby long enough -- and I've been poking around a digital archiving for a little while -- you can get pretty good results.

UPDATE

Ellen writes in the comments, "Way to go, Rob. That's pretty cool how you can do that." Thanks, Ellen. I enjoy doing it!

Craig then adds, "Now see if you can photoshop grandma next to LBJ."


I'm not great at photo manipulation but, what the heck, here by request is Ladybird Stutz. Now, if you can identify which image Grandma's face is from -- it is from one of Grandpa's slides -- I will be really impressed.

Mystery Picture 100330

Well, we didn't have any luck identifying the kids in the previous mystery picture. Today, though, we have something a little more unusual.


This picture was from today's proofsheet post. I would assume they are atriplex seeds, but, well, I know what some of you might say if I did that. So, let's put the question out there. Does anyone know what these are and why there is a picture of them?

Proofsheet - G&G 03

As we slowly add more proofsheets to GAP, here is from a roll of film that Ellen sent.


Click for a larger image. Let us know in the comments if you would like GAP to post larger images of any of these.

Poll - John, the Complete Man

GAP proudly presents its first family poll.

John's recent comment that he "would have been a complete man if only Mom and Dad (Grandpa and Grandma) would have bought me the coon skin hat" followed by a laundry list of his childhood heroes got us thinking. Hmm, there must be something we can do with this.

In Which Hero Costume Would John Look Most Like a Complete Man?

Vote early, dip your finger in purple, and give thanks that you live in a democracy!

Rippin'est, Roarin'est, Fightin'est Man the Frontier Ever Knew!

Fess Parker died today. He is not family, and his television fame as Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone predates me. In fact, I would not have noticed his passing had I not come across his name earlier in a family picture.

When I was scanning some of Grandpa's slides a few months ago I became curious about this picture of John and Susan playing in the snow (developed in April 1967). What was John holding?


I opened the largest scan I had, zoomed in (click to see the big picture), and made out the words "Fess Parker" and a picture of a frontiersman.


After some poking around on Wikipedia and eBay (thanks, interwebs!) I found a better picture of the lunchbox and some history about Fess Parker.


And now I'm curious. What other Fess Parker gear did John have? For that matter, what other childhood heroes were people fans of?

As I look at the family pictures, I sometimes wonder about the details in them and the stories they hold.

UPDATE

Susan writes in the comments "wow, now that's a blast from the past" and John adds:

That lunch box was one of my favorite treasures including the matching thermos inside. I would have been a complete man if only Mom and Dad (Grandpa and Grandma) would have bought me the coon skin hat. In addition to Daniel Boone, I had my eye on Flash Gordon, The Lone Ranger, Jungle Jim, Zorro, And of course Super Man. Oh the good old days....!

Thanks, Susan and John!

Shari also writes, "You guys must have been walking home from school. :)" Ah, the fond memories of walking home from school. I should do a post on this, because in my memories I did enjoy the walk home. Thanks, Shari!

Proofsheet - G&G 02

We are making our way through a couple of projects right now, so the postings have been (and will continue to be) quite sparse. Things are moving along, though! We did get a chance to add Merissa to our Facebook link list (Hi, Merissa!).

The following is another proofsheet of a roll of film that Ellen sent.


Click for a larger image. Let us know in the comments if you would like GAP to post larger images of any of these.

Proofsheet - G&G 01

The following is a proofsheet of a roll of film that Ellen recently sent.


Click for a larger image. Let us know in the comments if you would like GAP to post larger images of any of these.

Found On The Interwebs - Bloody Tongue, Bald Head, and a Budding Political Future

Tyrel, Karla's oldest, not only made the second round in the Wyoming state wrestling tournament this past weekend (as a freshman!), he also was featured in a Casper Star-Tribune picture with the bloodied mouth he endured during a first round match.


Woohoo, we're proud of you, tough guy!

Former wrestler, and Tyrel's grandfather, Joe appeared recently in a Billings Gazette video about about his employer, Alternatives Inc., which provides treatment programs for inmates.


Joe's the old man at the end who looks like his nose is two inches from the computer monitor. He said that he was actually looking through the window, not at the monitor, and I'd probably tell people the same thing, too.

Lorna, Joe's wife, was featured several years back in a Billings Gazette article about her work at a "Congress" held by her company, Aware Inc., which provides services to persons with disabilities.

The Congress, which operates in much the same way as a state legislature, adopted 23 measures including one co-authored by Stutz that would provide flexible hours, more part-time employment and refresher courses in handling administrative chores. Aware delivers services for persons with challenging mental health, emotional and/or physical disabilities who otherwise would be served in a more restricted setting or not served at all.

Is that a political career I smell brewing at the Stutz household?

If anyone has other stories from around the Interwebs to post on GAP, send them our way!

Earthquake in Chile - Sarah Is OK

GAP is not a great source for current events. Heck, we're lucky if we get items posted once a month! This one's important, though, so we wanted to get the word out quickly.

Sarah Landeen, who is on her mission in Santiago, Chile, is OK after the earthquake.

Ellen, her mother, wrote on Facebook:

There was an 8.8 earthquake in Chile last night. Sarah is serving in Santiago West and is on the coast, but (being the nervous mom that I am) I called Church headquarters this morning, and all missionaries in her mission are safe and accounted for. :) We hope that is the same for all missions in Chile.

Sadly, many people have died in this disaster, which had 500 times the energy of the recent quake in Haiti. Please keep them and all who are suffering around the world in your thoughts and prayers. Please do what you can to help.

UPDATE

Ellen just posted more information about Sarah on Facebook:

I just got a phone call from Sarah in Chile. She is ok. Her house in intact, they have food and water, and there was no flooding from the ocean in her area. She said she woke up Friday night to the earthquake, they jumped under a table, stayed there until the shaking stopped. As of today, there is no power in her town, so she may not get to email tomorrow. It was so good to hear her voice!!!

Mystery Picture 100228

Oh my.

It seems we've gone almost the entire month of February without a mystery picture. Where does the time go? And, we don't even have a leap year to give us an extra day. It's now or never, so we chose now.

Ellen sent GAP some negatives with these and many other pictures. (Thanks, Ellen, and yes, the scanning is still progressing!) Unlike slides, negatives do not have the date that they were developed; we're guessing they are from the early nineties.




As always, the first picture can be clicked on to view a much larger image. The second, picture with the numbers over the heads can be clicked on to view a somewhat larger image. Some of the faces are easier to see in the third picture, so we threw that in for good measure. If you leave comments with the names of the people, we will fill in the numbered list as people are identified.

1 - Grandpa
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -
7 -
8 -

Moss Mustache - Revisited

One of GAP's earliest posts had pictures from the 1970s and 1980s of family members wearing moss mustaches. On a recent trip I decided to revitalize the moss mustache craze of yesteryear, bringing it into the 21st century.

Locked Out!

In the short period since we last ran a Family Blog Roundup the blogs for The JEM Show and for Wyoming Toomer have switched to invitation only access. And, GAP is not invited! Perhaps we overstayed our welcome? In any event, we have updated the label on the Family Links list on the right to reflect that they are "invite only". If the status changes, please let us know.

In the meantime, you can add family links or add family Facebook links if we have missed any.

Then and Now - Olympics

Mr. GAP and family visited beautiful Vancouver last week to catch a women's hockey match at the Winter Olympic games!


Our trip took us through Seattle, but unfortunately we did not have a chance to call Lori. (Hi, Lori!) I guess we will have to go back!


Joe, my dad, told me that Grandma and Grandpa took the family to the Seattle World's Fair in 1962 when the Space Needle opened, but I have not yet seen any pictures from it. Does anyone have a story or two to share about the trip?

This was our family's second trip to the Olympics, the first being in 2002 to the Salt Lake Winter Olympics when Boyd was three months old.


He is on the far right in the top picture, which provides a nice then and now comparison.

At the Salt Lake games we attended the women's halfpipe competition in Park City with Karla and Brian Toomer, as well as with some friends -- very good friends (our children's godparents) -- from Montana.


We crashed at the farm with Grandma and Grandpa, who were enjoying some unseasonably warm weather. We could not have asked for better hosts!


We also attended a women's hockey match in Provo with Lucas. I should get a more recent picture of Lucas so we can do a then and now of him, too.


We vowed at the time that if the Olympics ever came back to our neck of the woods we would have to attend again. Since we were in Montana when the Vancouver games were announced, we told the boys their whole lives that we would take them to the 2010 games. Although we now live in Virginia, a promise is a promise, so we went.

Now, if the Olympics ever come back to our neck of the woods again....

Updates

We love it when GAP gets comments on older posts! Please feel free to contribute comments to any post, regardless of when it was originally posted. We update the posts as the comments come in, so you may want to peruse and comment on old posts from time to time. Darrel Crawford recently posted his first comments on on Mystery Picture 091019 and Mystery Picture 091027. Thanks, Darrel!

A Soldier and His Horse

Ellen provides the following story and picture of Grandpa. Thanks, Ellen!

While going through some of Grandpa Stutz’s papers, I found this picture and asked him what it was. He said that when he was in the army during WWII, he was stationed in the town of Garmish-Parkenkerchen at the time that the war ended. While he was there, he found this horse that was starving in an abandoned stable. He saved it and nursed it back to life. This is a picture of Grandpa riding the horse. He said he gave the horse to another soldier when he came home.

GAP has posted other stories about horses, but this is the first we've heard about Grandpa and his horse in the war. Does anyone know its name? In fact, does anyone have other stories about Grandpa and Grandma from the war years (where he was, what he was doing, what Grandma was doing, etc.)?

Family Blog Roundup 100204

There has been a bunch of family blog activity since our last roundup (in November!). Almost every blog in the group has been updated, and there are tons of pictures, so check them all out via the Family Links section of the right hand column. Be sure to suggest any others that GAP is missing.

Of particular note is the addition of The JEM Show blog (Jeremy, Emlyn, Millie) to our list. Welcome to GAP! We wonder if the blog will be renamed with the arrival of Millie's little brother, which according to the blog countdown is in just 53 days.

Also of note, Stutz Ohana recently had its first update since August 2008 with lots of good news from John and Nicole's family. Woohoo!

1943 Reunion Letters to Howard

Thanks to Ellen for sending these!

“Stutz reunions have been an important part of our lives,” Mildred Stutz records in All You Immigrants, p. 215. “The first Stutz reunion of which I have record was held August 25, 1943 on Viv and Verena’s farm near Cardston, Alberta.” She goes on to say that they were not in attendance because it was Howard’s 25th birthday, but that the family all wrote letters to him telling how much they missed having him there. I came across those letters the other day and thought you might enjoy reading them and feeling the spirit of the Stutz family in those early years.

(From Howard’s brother, Lee)

Sorry you aren’t with us today, Howard. Just disposed of eleven quarts of ice cream, five chickens and a sack of spuds, which of course was nothing compared to what we would have done had you been here too. Plan to come next year. – Lee

(From Howard’s brother, Clifford)

Wish you could have been able to make a visit home while we were here. The family have gone all out to show us a good time. Half of our time has been spent in eating – and not brown flour gravy and potatoes. Dad claims that what we have had to eat is the regular rations but I notice most everyone has put on weight since we arrived. If you have changed as much as Rowan, I wouldn’t know you. He was a complete surprise. Hope we will be able to see you before many more years elapse. Everyone has promised to pay us a visit. We would like the same promise from you. -- Cliff

(From Rowan’s wife, Gladys. Rowan is another of Howard’s brothers)

It is as hot as fire outside and also in the house. We are all full and the kids are as cross as bears. How would you like to be here, although we wish you were here. We hate to see Cliff and family’s visit end but we have enjoyed them here. Guess I had better close so someone else can write and I had better get my share of the dishes done. Be good and take care of yourselves. – Gladys O.

(From Cliff’s wife, Gladys)

We have certainly had a grand time here and enjoyed meeting all the family for the first time. We thought a month would be a long time to visit, but really 30 days have seemed a very short time. You will have to plan to visit us in the near future so we may become acquainted with your family. I have eaten so much ice cream today, I will never be the same again. Mother Stutz says you and Cliff are somewhat alike. The first day we were here Cliff could see everything that needed fixing, trees trimmed, etc. Next day he fell into the old ways and couldn’t see anything that needed doing. All he has been doing since is eat, fish and sleep —almost. Write us soon. – Gladys

(From Howard’s sister, Fern)

Chicken and taters gulped down my throat,
Poor old tummy begins to bloat.
Followed by salad, ice cream and cake,
Wonder how much more it can take.

Tummy starts aching, feels mighty sore,
A person would think I couldn’t eat more.
Another dish of ice cream and more cake
You can tell that tummy is of pre-war make.

Wish you were here to relieve some of the strain
We’re all going to be sick and you’re to blame.
If you hadn’t made your home ‘cross the line
You’d all been here with us, your plate beside mine!

Anyway, we sure does miss you all. – Love Fern

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

"Ask, and ye shall receive." GAP asked, and we certainly have received! Ellen sent a story, Andrew sent two patriarchal blessings, and Craig also sent a story. In addition, Ellen sent a box of slides, negatives, and pictures that are currently being digitized. Finally, there is more stuff from Ellen in the email inbox that we need to go through, too! Thank you everyone for the family history information for GAP to post!

Can we keep this train rolling? GAP could still use plenty of help, and we're open to publishing pretty much anything family related. Old stuff, new stuff, whatever stuff is just fine. Send to stutz at montana dot com and GAP will take care of the publishing logistics. Or, if you want to be involved on an on-going basis, drop a line and ask to be an author!

Today, we have some pumpkin patch pictures from the Stutz farm taken in what looks like the late 1990s, though I do not know the specific year. They include Ellen's family and Grandma and Grandpa and are from the recent batch of materials Ellen sent. We recognize almost everyone, but we'll make this an interactive posting. Drop the names, year, and any stories in the comments and we'll update the post with new information.






The pictures have not yet been edited to remove the bars on the side that are part of the scanning process. By way of comparison, though, these pictures, when clicked, are 1/25th the size of the images that we send out on disc each year. You can look forward to these pictures (and more!) on the disc that goes out this Christmas.

UPDATE

Ellen writes in the comments:

I remember when we took these pictures. It was on a sunday afternoon in October and we came to Provo in our sunday clothes. Picture #3 is of Melissa, Sarah and Emily Landeen with Grandma. Picture #5 is of David and JR Landeen. The first two pictures look like Kenni Lynn Wilcox's children. Notice the giant Pumpkin. It made a wonderful jack-o-lantern.

A Story of the Revolution - Sarah Lucille Keith Allen (1975) (Introduction)

The previous two posts are the essay "A Story of the Revolution" written by Sarah Lucille Keith Allen in 1975. This story ties into the Stutz line as follows:

• Mildred Robison Stutz (Grandma) is the daughter of Ward Albert and Sepha Abbott Robison
• Ward Albert Robison was the son of Willis E. and Sarah Ann Ellett Robison
• Willis E. Robison was the son of Benjamin Hancock and Lillis Andree Robison
• Benjamin Hancock Robison was the son of Joseph and Lucretia Hancock Robison
• Joseph Robison was the son of Joseph and Cornelia Guinal Robison of whom this story tells
  

The author, Sarah Lucille Keith Allen, is a relative of Grandma's, although I am not sure what the exact relationship is.

The story is written in these posts exactly as it was sent to me by Craig. I broke it into parts -- one part per post -- because it is rather long to put in one post. I believe it was Craig who provided the explanation of the family relationship; it was not part of the original story and I thought it provided a good context for the story, so I put it in this introduction.

Thank you Craig for sending this story to me! It was especially helpful that it was already transcribed into an electronic format, making it easy to post and share with the family. If anyone else has stories transcribed or electronic versions of Grandma's books or other family documents, please send them along!

A Story of the Revolution - Sarah Lucille Keith Allen (1975) (Part I)

This story began two centuries ago. How long it seems to look back. And how remote we feel when we try to peep into the lives of our ancestors who came to the shores of America so many years ago. Strong and stalwart, they left their native lands to seek a spot somewhere on the face of this great round earth where they might worship God in their own way. With the life blood flowing vigorously through their veins with the high ambitions and hopes of youth, our grandfathers and grandmothers came to this vast continent – rich with buried treasured of gold, silver, copper, iron and unknown minerals; its mighty streams un-forded and unexplored; its wonderful woodlands and immense plains of grass and flowers. This choice land was protected by two great oceans; a land of promise to all who came for peace and freedom and to worship God; and a refuge for the oppressed of all nations.

Among those who came and settled in Charleston, Montgomery County, New York, a little Dutch colony, was a young girl, Matilda Collier, who came with her parents to this new land. They were many weeks crossing the great Atlantic Ocean during which time they passed through hardships and privations not a few.

Matilda, as she grew, was trained in all helpful and womanly ways. She was frugal cheerful and had a winning way. We hate to relate it, but truth compels the statement that she was remarkably noted for being the homeliest young lady in the colony.

James Albert Guinal was the most handsome young Englishman that ever set foot in stirrup or shouldered his musket and knapsack in defense of his country. The homely Matilda, with her sprightly ways, womanly dignity, sparkling wit, and above all her true and loving heart and noble soul, won the love of James Albert Guinal and with the consent of her parents they were married. “And merrily rang the bells and happy were the few months of wedded bliss.”

Dark clouds were gathering from the east. From the parent country came oppression and tyranny threatening the existence of all her struggling children who, weak in number but strong in the sense of right, full of faith in that God who rules among the nations of the earth declared that this country should be free. All of her valiant sons armed themselves as best they could and fought for their liberty.

Among the first to enlist in the service of his country was James Albert Guinal. With sorrowful heart but cheerful countenance his loving wife helped and encouraged him all she could. After joining the soldiers in defense of his country he was soon promoted to the rank of Lieutenant under General Washington. Bravely he pressed to the front of the battle; nobly he fought thinking of home, of wife and of the unborn child, dreaming of the peace that would come after the war was over, when he could sit in tranquility by his fireside with his loved ones around him. But that could never be for he fell in the Oriskany battle that was fought near the Mohawk River. “After James Albert Guinal was wounded he arose to his knees and prayed for his wife, his unborn child and or his country.”

His wife Matilda mourned for him. She was grieved that her child should never know his father. She walked alone through the pine-scented forests carpeted with delicate flowers which grow profusely in the rich, damp earth. What an ideal place to rear a family in peace and love.

The time arrived for delivery; after many hours of travail her child was born, not a son, but a beautiful daughter, possessing many of her mother’s virtues and her father’s good looks and manners. As little Cornelia grew, her mother taught her to revere her father’s good traits, for he was an honest man and brave soldier.

A Story of the Revolution - Sarah Lucille Keith Allen (1975) (Part II)

Matilda and Cornelia had a very good neighbor, Peter Miller. Peter was a strong young man, measuring six feet-two inches in his stockings. He was very kind to them and often helped them in many ways.

Peter had a stepfather, a wicked man, who would invite the Indians to kill white people. The Indians would give him the scalps, which he would sell to the Tories for eight dollars each; nor cared he where they came from – man, woman or child – it mattered not, so great was his lust for wealth and his greed for gold. He was also abusive to his wife, and he hated and feared Peter. He would have been glad to have Peter killed. But for Peter’s superior strength and size he dared not attack him.

One day Peter stood leaning on his hoe, a large clumsy tool, homemade, as were most of the implements used at that time. His stepfather came up with a band of hostile Indians and said to the chief, “Go and make Peter work.” The chief went toward Peter, brandishing his long knife over him, and told him to work. Peter did not look up, nor flinch, but stood still, his eyes cast down, still leaning on his hoe. The chief thrust his knife in a threatening manner as though he would kill Peter. Then Peter raised his great hoe as if to strike, then quickly whirled, jumped the fence and was soon lost in the forest. From there he went and joined the army and fought bravely.

After many days he returned. His mother’s house was large with two doors on one side. His stepfather saw him coming and, feeling that there was not room in the same house for both of them, he started to run out of one door as Peter entered the other with a hatchet in his hand. Peter, seeing his stepfather fleeing before him, as the Philistines before Samson, threw his hatchet with such force that it caught the back of his stepfathers head, fastening a portion of the hair into the side of the door frame. There it stayed for many years, the government keeping the old house for a relic; nor would they allow anyone to withdraw the hatchet.

Peter resumed his normal life with his mother, free from the hatred of the wicked stepfather. He remembered his friends, the Guinals, and frequently visited and helped them. Peter learned to love the mother, Matilda, and told her of his love. Nor was his suit rejected. There was on problem, however. Matilda’s parents were opposed to her marriage. So determined were they to stop the marriage that they shut her up. “But love is stronger than iron bars, and laughs at locksmiths.” So with Peter’s help she escaped and they were happily married.

The little girl, Cornelia, grew up and married a young Englishman named Joseph Robison. They had a son whom they named Joseph, after his father. They still lived in the little Dutch colony, Charleston, Montgomery County, New York. As they spoke the mother tongue, the young Joseph learned to speak Dutch before he learned the English language.

A few years after the war, they moved farther west, leaving about eight hundred acres of rich land with personal property in New York. The heirs were advertised for, but as they did not go back to prove their title, the property was kept for a long time as unclaimed soldier’s property. It was finally disposed of by the government.

“And now on this the 26th day of Oct. 1900, I, Isabella Pratt Robison, grandchild of Joseph Robison junior, great-grandchild of Joseph Robison senior, great-great-grandchild of Matilda and James Albert Guinal, am sitting here, about 2000 miles west of where all these things happened and looking back through all these years, and thinking of the wonderful inventions and the flight of time of the great changes – social, religious and physical – and am wondering what my great-great-grandchildren will be writing about me in one hundred hears hence.”

And now I, Sarah Lucille Keith Allen, a great grandmother, am sitting here near the birthplace of my mother, Isabella Pratt Robison Keith, hoping that my children down through the ages will love and revere their great ancestors.

Sarah Lucille Keith Allen
Dec. 28, 1975
Manti, Sanpete County, Utah

Patriarchal Blessing - Joseph Reuben Stutz

Thanks to Andrew for sending this!

Patriarchal Blessing of Joseph Ruben (sic) Stutz

Millcreek the 9th of July 1893, Salt Lake County, Utah.

A blessing given under the hand of Patriarch W. J. Smith, upon the head of Joseph Ruben Stutz, Son of Lorenzo Stutz and Catharina Leutenegger, Born August the 26th 1881, Millcreek Salt Lake County Utah.

Brother Ruben, I place my hand upon thy head in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, to bestow upon thee a Patriarchal and a Fathers Blessing, and I Seal upon thy head the Blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with all appartening to the new and everlasting Covenant, even the Blessings of posterity, that thy posterity may be numerous upon the Earth, with houses and lands, flocks and herds, the fruits of the Field and of the Vine, and that you may be valiant to the truth and in the testimony of Jesus Christ and be mighty in proclaiming his gospel to the Sons on Man, and to Nations afar off, live to see Israel gathered, and Zion redeemed, and assist in building up her waste places, be gathered to the center stake, and be a pillar in the Temple of God, when your hair shall be white as the pure wool, have the ministering of holy Angels, and have faith like Elijah of Old, and be filled with inspiration and revelation and discernment, and prophesy, and be a Mighty man in the Lords House, be a comfort, and a blessing to thy parents, all the Day long, and heal the sick, comfort the afflicted in Israel, and be valiant in the Testimony of Jesus. Thou art of the Royal seed of Israel, of the house of Joseph, of the lineage of Ephraim. I Seal these Blessings upon thy head with a Holy Resurection in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Recorded Book D, Page 83, 84.

UPDATE

Ellen thanks Andrew in the comments. Andrew then notes, "There must be another one out there as these were numbered 2 and 3."

Patriarchal Blessing - Lorenzo Stutz

Thanks to Andrew for sending this!

PATRIARCHAL BLESSING OF LORENZO STUTZ

Mill Creek the 9th of June 1893, Salt Lake County, Utah, of blessing given under the hand of W. J. Smith upon the head of Lorenzo Stutz son on Leodegar Stutz and Verena Stutz, born September the 7th, 1838, Islisberg, Switzerland. Brother Lorenzo, I place my hands upon thy head in the name of Jesus of Nazerath, to bestowe upon thee a Patriarchal and a Fathers Blessing, and by virtue of the Eternal Priesthood I Seal and confirm all of thy former Blessings and I bless thee with the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with the blessings of the Covenant with a numerous Posterity upon the Earth, that thy joy may be full in the Lord, I bless thee in the Priesthood, that thou may magnify honor and sustain the Same, and be a true and faith-full Saint, and a honored Servant of God to Proclaim the gospel in power to the convincing of the honest in heart to heal the sick comfort and console the afflicted and cheer the drooping Spirit and minister to the needs of the Poor and the Needy, and Sick for that Spirit that leadeth to do good, to deal justly, to walk humbly before thy God, Judge riteousley, love mercey and do good continually, and thousands shall call thee Blessed of the Lord and rejoice to hear the sound of thy Voice, Thou shall be a Saviour to thy Fathers house and to thy ancestors, and to the house of Israel and to Minister in Holy Temples for their redemption and salvation, be inspired by dreams and Visions and the ministering of Holy Angels, to strengthen thee and bear thee up before the Lord in thy Holy calling, and take thee. I bless thee with health and prosperity that thee may thrive and prosper amongst the Saints of God, with a renewal of thy body and watch for the Saviour’s Coming that thou may be prepared to meet him and be caught up and changed in the twinkling of an eye, and ever be with the righteous in the Mansions of the First in the new heavens and on the New Earth, when it shall be sanctified like a Sea of Glass and thy rest shall be glorious. I bless thee with these Blessings, for thou are of the seed of the Faithfull, a Child of Promise of the House of Joseph through the Loins of Ephraim, a lawfull heir to the blessings of the Gospel through thy diligence and thy faithfullness, I seal this Blessing upon thy head with a holy resurrection and eternal life according to the holy order and Sealing power even so, Amen.

Recorded in Book D, Page 81.

When Grandpa Went to Jail - Clifford Stutz (1982) (Introduction)

The previous five posts are the essay "When Grandpa Went to Jail" written by Clifford Noel Stutz in 1982. Clifford is Grandpa's (Howard's) brother, and the "Grandpa" in the story is Lorenzo Stutz, Clifford and Howard's (and others') grandfather. Lorenzo's story has also been told in two previous posts: the first was from newspaper accounts from the time and the second was from Grandma's (Mildred's) book All You Immigrants.

The story is written in these posts exactly as it was sent to me by Ellen. I broke it into five sections -- one section per post -- and gave each a title identifying the content:

1. Story
2. Poetry
3. Diary
4. Polygamy and the Penitentiary
5. Final Thoughts

These title headings were my only contribution to the essay. Ellen also contributed a note to the poetry section about a Landeen ancestor's connection to Lorenzo Stutz.

Thank you Ellen for sending this story to me! It was especially helpful that it was already transcribed into an electronic format, making it easy to post and share with the family. If anyone else has stories transcribed or electronic versions of Grandma's books or other family documents, please send them along!

UPDATE

The posts were originally published 1-2-3-4-5 chronologically, but because GAP organizes posts in reverse chronological order they were on the blog as 5-4-3-2-1. Ellen suggested (thanks, Ellen!) reversing the order so they can be read 1-2-3-4-5. Fortunately, GAP can alter space-time, so we've changed the posts to make them look like 1 was published last (and, thus, appearing first on the blog, 5 was published first (and, thus, appearing last on the blog), etc.

Andrew writes in the comments, "Great stuff. I'll check my records to see if there is anything I can add." Thanks, Andrew!

Andrew then writes, "I have the patriarchal blessings of JR and Lorenzo. Also, do you want any Coombs stuff?" Oh yeah! We love getting patriarchal blessings, Coombs stuff, and any other family history information. Send it to GAP, Andrew, and we'll post it. And, thanks!

When Grandpa Went to Jail - Clifford Stutz (1982) (Story)

Grandpa was in the State Penitentiary from November 29, 1886, to May 31, 1887. He was arrested on Saturday, November 6, 1886, for cohabitation and was brought before a United States Marshal on Monday, November 8. He then appeared before the Grand Jury on November 22, and was turned over to the Sheriff on November 26, who sentenced him to twelve months in prison, a $100.00 fine plus court costs. Three days later on November 29, 1886, he was committed to the State Penitentiary located on the Southeast corner of 13th East and 21st South in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Penitentiary was located in the area known as Sugar House across the street East from the present Sugar House Shopping Center.

The fine if $100.00 in 1886, was rather high and would be equivalent to a fine of $2000.00 to $3000.00 today. A note in Grandpa’s prison diary stated that wheat was selling for seventy-five cents per bushel, cows $25.00 and pigs $1.50. In 1982, wheat was selling for $3.30 per bushel, cows $800.00 and pigs $160.00 or ten to thirty times as much as in 1886.

At the time of his arrest he was forty-eight years old, had two living wives and two wives, Mary Mueller and Margaritha Stoller, who had died. He had five living children, and one child, Hyrum, by Margaritha Stoller, who had died. His first wife Elizabeth Gally Heugly, was seventy-two years old and had borne him no children. His other wife Katharina Leutenegger was twenty-seven years old and was the mother of most of his children.

The children living at home at the time of his arrest were:

1. Lorenzo Herman, age thirteen, mother: Mary Mueller. She died April 17, 1874.
2. Joseph Reuben, age five, mother: Katharina Leutenegger.
3. Orson, age three, mother: Katharina Leutenegger.
4. Mary Magdalene, age two, mother: Katharina Leutenegger.
5. John, age one month, mother: Katharina Leutenegger.

The family lived on a forty acre farm north of 33rd South and 7th East in Salt Lake County. The farm had been purchased from the United States Government on September 13, 1871. A comfortable one story brick home had been built on the property. The address in 1886 was listed as the 3rd house North of 14th South on the East side of 7th East.

A picture taken during the summer of 1897 showed two houses, the original home and a two story frame house to the east. The second wife probably lived in the frame home. The picture included Grandpa (Lorenzo), age fifty-nine, Dad (Joseph Reuben), age sixteen, Uncle Orson, age fourteen, Aunt Mary, age thirteen, and Aunt Lorena, age three, all by Katharina Leutenegger, my grandmother. Grandma is not in the picture. This picture was probably taken during the period of estrangement between her and Grandpa. She divorced Grandpa in 1897 and married John Beck on January 7, 1898.

Grandpa was in the Penitentiary during the winter so his absence did not interfere too much with the farming operations. His son, Lorenzo, was old enough to do the chores and the two wives could get along quite well by themselves.

His prison diary listed livestock consisting of one horse, two cows, two calves and two pigs. He probably had chickens and other poultry. The family probably had plenty to eat and money to live on.

Grandpa’s going to the Penitentiary was brought on by his loyalty to his family and a desire to live the doctrines of the Church. By abandoning one of his wives he could have avoided going to jail. He, along with hundreds of other loyal Church members, chose not to do this and instead submitted themselves to the penalties of the law.

In 1843, Joseph Smith, after inquiring of the Lord regarding the justification for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and Solomon for having many wives and concubines, received a revelation on the eternal nature of the marriage covenant and the plurality of wives. This revelation is Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants. After this revelation was received, all faithful members of the Church were expected to abide by its teachings in order to raise up a righteous posterity. Lorenzo Stutz took this revelation seriously and tried to live its precepts and teachings. Because of this he was sent to jail.

When Grandpa Went to Jail - Clifford Stutz (1982) (Poetry)

While in jail Grandpa wrote the following lines of poetry expressing his feelings about this experience and recorded them in his diary:

Brother Reiser:
Our path is scattered with thorns
Of him who would like to destroy
By obeying the laws of God
You and I were cast into prison
But let us say like Jesus
“Father, thy will be done.”
___________________________
While God has sent His Messenger
To comfort your soul
Take care of the precious things
That you do behold
Watch every footstep
That you do make
For things might be laid
In your path wherever you may go
Remember the words that Jesus has said
We should all watch and not forget our prayers.

[Note from Ellen: It may interest you to know that the poems mentioned above are addressed to Brother Reiser. Brother Reiser is actually Heinrich Reiser, a fellow Swiss immigrant and also the great grandfather of my husband, Mark Landeen. We had a marriage made in prison.]

Brother Foster:

May you be true to and faithful
To Him who has shown
His mercies and kindness
In many ways to you
And your brother in the Gospel.
We have been told the time would come
To prepare ourselves to stand alone.
So you have stood before the court
And brought yourself to uphold the truth
For this was the cause
That you were sent for six months
To the Utah pen.

When Grandpa Went to Jail - Clifford Stutz (1982) (Diary)

Lorenzo Stutz’s prison term was shortened by the untimely death of his first wife, Elizabeth Gally Heugly, on March 3, 1887. He felt this was an act of providence and recorded his thoughts in his prison diary.

Dear Brother:

My time is drawing near at hand
For me to leave the pen
Twelve months stared me in the face
When brought to the prison gate
But God, not man, has changed the course
Instead of twelve months, six months
To shorten my imprisonment
With sorrow and with peace I left.

Here are a few notes of interest to the family from Grandpa’s prison diary:

January 3, 1887
Received orders that we should not stand in groups to look at the visitors on the walls.

January 6, 1887
I had a good talk with my dear family.

January 14, 1887
Writing this morning to my family.
Warden called me out to see if I could cook and wanted me to come into the kitchen to work.
Moved into Number 3 this evening.

January 15, 1887
Early this morning to the kitchen.

January 17, 1887
Lorenzo was up this day. (referring to his son, Lorenzo, coming to visit)

January 31, 1887
Mother received a telegram that her case not to come up until next Monday.

February 3, 1887
Sister Bally and children were up this morning.

February 15, 1887
Lorenzo was up this day

February 22, 1887
Lorenzo was up this day

March 3, 1887
Death came at 3 A.M. (written in German) (Elizabeth Gally Heugly died)
Lorenzo was up this morning
Lorenzo was up this evening

March 4, 1887
Elizabeth Cugraben
M. Parry came to the funeral (of Elizabeth Gally Heugly)

March 7, 1887
Lorenzo was up this morning not seeing me
Mister --- says that all was well. One of the little boys fell down.

March 8, 1887
Not feeling well

March 11, 1887
Sick this morning, I was not able to go out this morning.

March 12, 1887
No better this morning.

March 13, 1887
A little better this morning

March 14, 1887
Not very well.

March 15, 1887
To the kitchen this morning

March 25, 1887
Sick this morning

March 26, 1887
Not very well this morning

March 27, 1887
Not very well this morning

March 28, 1887
Not very well this morning

March 29, 1887
Not very well this morning
Lorenzo was up after my clothes. No talk with him. (note: The family had to come to the prison and pick up the prisoners’ laundry.)

March 30, 1887
Not very well

March 31, 1887
Not extra well

April 1, 1887
Received some butter and candy
Not extra well
Hearing that Thrina and some of the children was up today (note: the name “Thrina” was referring to Katherina, his wife.)

April 2, 1887
Writing a letter this morning. Not extra well.

April 7, 1887
My family was up this day

April 9, 1887
Lorenzo was up with the clothes.

April 16, 1887
A letter wrote this morning
Bathroom police

April 18, 1887
Bathroom police

April 23, 1887
Sent a letter

May 5, 1887
My family was up this day

May 6, 1887
Fine this morning

May 7, 1887
I feel well

May 8, 1887
Very fine this morning

May 9, 1887
I feel well this morning
Bathing day

May 12, 1887
Lorenzo was up this morning after my clothes.

May 16, 1887
I am cold. Yard police this morning
I feel well this morning

May 25, 1887
Very well this morning.
Bathroom police

May 26, 1887
I feel well

May 27, 1887
Well this morning

Sunday, May 29, 1887
My time is up this morning but I would not get out until Tuesday.

From his diary we gather that Grandpa worked in the prison kitchen from January 15 until March 15, a period of about two months.

After Elizabeth Gally Heugly, his first wife’s death on March 3, Lorenzo’s health began to fail and he did not get to feeling well again until about May 6, a period of about two months.

On April 16, he was assigned to clean bath rooms. He apparently did this along with helping to clean the yard until he was released on May 31, 1887.
____________________

One little note on polygamy life recorded in his diary:

Mother (Elizabeth Gally Heugly) came home from the meeting on the twenty-seventh of February and Monday the twenty-eighth. She came up to Heugly (her son, Joseph Heugly) and said that the Stutz folks refused to lend the coffee mill to her to grind her coffee and ground it for her themselves and brought it to her.
______________________

A recipe which Verena thinks is for Indian Pudding, appears in his prison diary. It may have been one of the dishes prepared for the inmates.

1 pint of sweet milk
6 Tablespoons of corn meal
2 Tablespoons of flour
2 Tablespoons of cold milk
4 eggs, sugar, molasses, a piece of butter, salt, cinnamon

I (Clifford) made a batch and it is pretty good. I mixed the corn meal, flour and cold milk and eggs together, then added to the sweet milk and cooked slowly for ten minutes. Then I added the other ingredients to taste. It makes a thick sweet pudding. Try it!

When Grandpa Went to Jail - Clifford Stutz (1982) (Polygamy and the Penitentiary)

Starting in 1862, laws were enacted by the Congress of the United States which brought on wholesale arrests within the Mormon community, disrupted families, forcing mass migration of members to Mexico and Canada and long term foreign missions for many of the Church leaders. Most of the early laws brought only harassment to the Mormons. However, in March 1887, the Edmund-Tucker law was passed which disincorporated the Church, abolished the Perpetual Immigration Fund, confiscated all Church owned property and outlawed cohabitation. The law was tested in the courts and found to be constitutional by the Supreme Court in 1890. Soon after this, on September 24, 1890, President Wilford Woodruff issued a manifest declaring that the Church would no longer teach polygamy or plural marriage or permit any member of the Church to enter into its practices. The Manifesto was accepted as doctrine of the Church in General Conference on October 6, 1890. Following the Manifesto the President of the United States pardoned all who were in prison for cohabitation.
_____________________________

A few notes on the State Penitentiary where Grandpa served time:

A note in the October 15, 1853 Deseret News states that proposals were being received for donations of land for the location of a penitentiary for the Territory of Utah. The Congress of the United States, when they set up a Territorial Government of Utah in 1850, appropriated $20,000.00 for the construction of public buildings. Some of this money was to be used for the construction of a Penitentiary.

On May 5, 1882, Caleb West, the new Governor of the Territory, arrived in salt Lake City. His first official act was to visit the Penitentiary and offer pardons to all who were confined there for cohabitation if they would obey the law. Of course, this meant that they must give up their plural wives and children born to these women. Most of them declared that they could not conscientiously do as he desired.

C.R.Savage, a noted photographer of Salt Lake City, took many pictures of historical events. Among these are two pictures of the men who were in the State Penitentiary for cohabitation. Lorenzo Stutz is in both pictures. One picture is close up and the other at a distance. The pictures reveal the following:

1. The men are all dressed in striped prison clothes with white shirts. Clothes other than prison garb were sent home for cleaning by the families and returned.

2. The men all kept their own civilian hats. Notes in Grandpa’s diary states that on January 4, 1887, orders were given that the prisoners were to lift their hats before speaking to an officer, and on January 7, orders were given for the prisoners to take off their hats before going into the dining room.

3. The picture taken at a distance shows a one story frame building and several people standing on top of the prison wall. Two of the people are women with parasols. In Grandpa’s diary he notes several times that members of his family were on the wall. Apparently this is where they came to visit.

4. The men are all distinguished looking. Grandpa in his diary kept a list of those who were imprisoned for cohabitation. The list starts with Rudger Clawson, No. 1, and ends with Mortensen, No. 152. Grandpa lists himself as No. 123. A supplementary list in Grandpa’s personal effects extends the list to George Percy, No. 208.

5. The Penitentiary was surrounded by a wall apparently twenty to thirty feet high. Inside are two story frame barracks with barred windows and several single story buildings. We assume the two story buildings served as kitchen, dining room, etc.