Oral History Program Lowetta Tanner Interviewed by Keith Treseder 18 May 1971 i Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Lowetta Tanner Interviewed by Keith Treseder 18 May 1971 Copyright © 2014 by Weber State University, Stewart Library ii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. 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It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Tanner, Lowetta, an oral history by Keith Treseder, 18 May 1971, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Lowetta Tanner. The interview was conducted on May 18, 1971, by Keith Treseder. Tanner discusses the Mormon Battalion and the LDS interest and participation in the army. Tanner is the daughter of James S. Brown, a pioneer of the Mormon Battalion. KT: Mrs. Tanner, what did the young men think about joining the army? LT: Well, I can't exactly say what they thought, it was this call came from the United States Army to Brigham Young, to raise 500 men and to protect the U.S. against Mexico, and the Government called Brigham Young as the President of the Mormon Church, to raise 500 men to enlist to go to protect the U.S. against trouble they expected from Mexico and my father who was 17 years old who went out from his home in Illinois to fence his father's farm and this call came about Brigham Young to raise 500 men and my father went to the meeting for the call was made by the President Brigham Young and he was just 17 years old and his uncle enlisted being a young man patriotic and enthused by the talks that were made by Brigham Young and Esria T. Bennson another Mormon man, their calling on the young men would respond to the call of the Government; and the call of the church, we will furnished 500 men even if it takes the apostle to fill the call and being the young man enthusiastic and patriotic and his uncle enlisting he forgot about fencing the farm and enlisted. He joined the Mormon Church on his birthday - it was on the 4th of July - and he enlisted on July 7th and was baptized the same day. KT: He wasn't bitter about joining the army, were the other men? LT: They didn't know anything about it, the other men to respond to the call of the Government. Brigham Young was the one that made the call to the Mormon men. 1 KT: What did Brigham Young do with the money the army gave him for each soldier that enlisted? LT: Well, the money was supplied by the Government to outfit the men for the service and the money was used to bring some of the other saints to Utah particularly the women to Utah, and the men never received uniforms or any equipment -like uniforms. These fellows that say they represent the Mormon Battalion and put uniform on. The only thing they had was the birthday suit. They did not have uniforms, blankets, or anything to go the march which was a 2,000 miles march and Allen who was a leader of Mormon Battalion died before they finished the march. KT: Was there much sickness on the march? LT: Well, I think there was considerable sickness because traveling over the country without any roads they were making the trail through dessert land which the map of the Mormon Battalion shows the line of march, they made the way, they made the path, there was no trail. KT: They went down into the part of Mexico? LT: Yes, that map shows the trail, the longest and the hardest march known of infantry in the world. KT: What did they do in Mexico? LT: They just went through the country, there was no fight, it was anticipation of trouble with Mexico and these men went in case there was trouble with Mexico. If there was trouble to protect the U.S. interests. And when they got into San Diego they had traveled 2,000 miles on foot, KT: Well, Brigham Young kept the money their must not have been many supplies. 2 LT: There wasn't. KT: What did they do for food? LT: I don't know, they almost starved to death and for water as well. They walked miles and miles without water because there was no established reservation, rivers or anything for them to depend on. If they came across water that was it and if they did not that was it, they went without, many of them died. KT: What did they do when they got to San Diego? LT: That's where they were disbanded, they ended the march there had been no fighting with Mexico, it was just to protect the U.S. properties and the U.S. Government against trouble they anticipated with Mexico. They were disbanded at San Diego and of course, they did not receive money and they did not have money. KT: What about the flag pole they made? LT: Well, after they disbanded in San Diego, the Mormon men started to join the church as a pioneer to come to Utah. And when they disbanded in San Diego they went up the coast to San Bernardino in anticipation of getting work enough to bring them from San Bernardino to Utah. And when they got to San Bernardino they went to what is now Fort Moore and the men worked at Ft. Moore and at that time they were trying to make of for. There was father and 13 other men and some Mexico with them because it was unsettled country up to Ft. Moore. At Ft. Moore, father went into the San Bernardino Mountains and got a pole to fly the U.S. flag, two 50 ft. poles from San Bernardino Mountains down to Ft. Moore. Arid that was the first time the U.S. flag was raised over that territory. And that made the land in Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico U.S. properties. KT: Where did they go from Ft. Moore? 3 LT: They went down to Soters Fort where gold was discovered. Marshall and Soters were building a mill at the American river and these Mormon men went down there to get work. At that time these two men were building a mill and these men volunteered to ask for work to get money enough to bring them to Utah. And father went with these other men and got work at Soda Fort where gold was discovered. And while he was there, father was with the men who found the gold in the river. And father took the gold up to the cabin that the men work-in and tested it three ways and he was the first man to declared it gold. KT: Did you know the three ways that he tested it? LT: Yes, in his teeth, with his hammer, and with the cooking utensil. And he was the first man to declare it gold. KT: How long did they stay at Soders Fort? LT: They stayed long enough, they were the first who find gold and they decided they would say nothing about it until they staked some claims and they proved more about the gold and then there was the gold rush. KT: He stayed at Soters Fort long enough to get gold to come back home, LT: They had left the people on the plain, you see, and they were ready to get home, he never met his own family for 11 years, he was 17 years old when he went with the Mormon Battalion. He was 27 years old. His father was so discussed at Brigham Young taking his 17 years old boy. They did take his sons. I have a letter in my grandfather own handwriting telling how discussed he was, taking his boy in the Battalion without ever letting him come homeland find it out what his father thought about it. And he never saw his family for 11 years then he was called on the mission to England, KT: Was he called on the mission? 4 LT: Yes, to England, KT: Where did he meet them, did they come to Utah? LT: No, they were so mad with Brigham Young, they wouldn't come to Utah and he never to Salt Lake until after father family was raised and he was an old man, he came to Salt Lake just to visit, he had the first land granted in Iowa and had land there, Daniel Brown, he called them long ear jacks. KT: How come he did not stay in Soters Fort? LT: We wanted to come back to the people that were coming over the plans to Utah. And the gold rush, people rushed there by the 1,000 and they said did you ever regret not going back? And he said never. The LDS men just stayed long enough to get money to come home. Soters and Marshall promised them if they would come to work at the mill, they would supply them with provision and wagons and horses to come on to Salt Lake. And they only stayed long enough to get money for the wagons and horses to bring them on to Salt Lake. KT: Did they give them the horses and the wagons? LT: Yes, they did, KT: I was under the impression that when he came back to Utah Soters did not give him his money. LT: Well, the gold-rush just killed the men that owned the mill. They forgot about the mill, the people rushed to look for gold. And they died poor men because their business went haywire when the gold was announced and they came all over the U.S. They came around the horn and everywhere to get the gold, they forgot about the mill. KT: Did your father ever regret leaving the mill? 5 LT: No, never. Now this I heard with my own ears, his sister Nancy came to visit after father died and she said Jim, did you ever regret leaving the gold? he said, No she said, You could have been a multi-millionaire, then he said, Nancy, I have a higher object in my life than gold, and we were standing by him and he said, Nancy, these are my jewels, these mean more than all the gold in the world, as he put his arm around me. KT: What did the march do for the Mormon in Utah? LT: Well, it discovered the gold on the American river at Soters Fort, I don't know that everybody rushed to California to get gold, it was the greatest rush in the world. But these men left the gold feel where they might have become multi-millionaire they had a higher objects in the world than collecting gold, their religion and people meant more than all the gold you could stack up. He never became rich but he thought he was rich by the family he had. He called his two daughters, my treasures, two his sisters that was visiting from the East at that time. KT: Was your father ever bitter about the march? LT: Oh! No, no, he was not bitter while they volunteered for their county and church and they were real LDS, he joined the church on his 18th birthday which was on the 4th of July, he was baptized on the 7th and joined the Battalion on the 7th, and he never saw any of his people, KT: Did your father talk much about the march? LT: Well, he wrote about it, he kept the diary in 1897, he called it the life of the pioneer. He was born in North Carolina and moved to Illinois and planted crops until the time the crops was ready to harvest, he sent his son out to fence his farm and when he was out there the 6 call came from the Government and the church, he enlisted and never had a chance to ask his father, he just left the land and went for the call of the Government and church. KT: When he came to Utah after the gold rush, what did he do? LT: He came to Ogden from Santa Fe with the pioneer and brought the six soldiers and women. And his uncle owned all of Weber County and was the founder of Ogden. And he went to where his uncle was. Captain James Brown, and stayed at Ogden and then moved and came to Salt Lake at the call of Brigham Young to come to Salt Lake and he bought the property where the front of ZCMI stands. After he had 5 children Brigham Young charged him 1,500 dollars and that property for the property on 2nd West where I grew up. And father went out to the mountain to get the supplies to build our home and Brigham Young came and said Brother James, I want your property, after he paid for the land. Father said, Brother Brigham, I have been moved twice at your call and now I'm building my home on my property here on 1st West and that's where I'm going to build my home and any man that gets my property has to pay my price. I'm not trading it for another place, pay me my price if I want to sell it and I don't. George Q. Gannon owned the property next to us on 1st West and said to father, Brother James, did Brigham Young ask you for your property? he owned the next 10 acres, father said, Yes, and I said nothing doing, I will sell at my own price if I want to sell and I don’t, so George Q. Cannon moved down to the Cannon farm. I just admired my father for standing his ground when Brigham Young came for the third to give up his property and he said I'm building my home on this land and you can buy my land at my price if I want to sell and I don't. KT: That was on 1st West and North Temple. LT: No, it was on 1st West between North and South Temple. 7 KT: He farmed this? LT: No, that was only ten by ten rods, he bought 100 acres by the Jordan river and we farmed the land that got us our living. KT: Can you think back and describe what your house look like? LT: Oh, it’s just like any other house. See, father there had 4 wives and each one had their own home. We had cattle, pigs, sheep and herd of mild cows and the stable on 1st West and the boys took the cows out to the pasture everyday on 5th South and Redwood Road, where our farm was. And every year we would kill the beef and eat the meat. 8