John W. Dawson
Encyclopedia
John W. Dawson was Governor of Utah Territory
in 1861.
Born on October 21, 1820, in Cambridge, Indiana he was a lawyer, a farmer and a newspaper editor before he entered politics, unsuccessfully running for a seat in the Indiana House of Representatives
in 1854, Secretary of State of Indiana
in 1856, and United States Congress
in 1858. He started as a Democrat
, but later became a Republican
. Abraham Lincoln
named him governor of Utah Territory
in 1861, but he left the territory and his post as governor after only three weeks due to tensions with the Mormon
residents. Dawson had made "grossly improper proposals" to the Mormon widow Albina Merrill Williams, who responded by thrashing him with a fire shovel. When he offered her $3,000 for her silence, she rebuked him and he quickly abandoned Salt Lake City on New Year's Eve 1861.
Taking a mail coach
eastward, he arrived at Ephraim Hanks
' Pony Express
station at Mountain Dell, Utah. There, Hanks assured Dawson he was now safe. However a group of young Mormon vigilantes named Jason Luce, Martin "Matt" Luce, Wilford Luce, Wood Reynolds, Moroni Clawson, Lot Hungtington, and Isaac Neibaur followed the retreating governor, and during a night of drinking, they plundered the governor's baggage, and attacked him, beating and kicking Dawon about the head, chest, and groin (and allegedly castrating one of his testicles). The thugs later claimed they were acting under direct orders of the Salt Lake Police Chief. Four of the youths were captured but the other three were gunned down trying to escape from police and sheriffs.
Dawson later became famous as the first biographer of John Chapman, the legendary Johnny Appleseed
. Dawson's 1871 article in the Fort Wayne News Sentinel of October 21 and 23 about Dawson's childhood friend is still considered the main source for biographical information on Chapman.
He died on September 10, 1877 and was interred at Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne, Indiana
.
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
in 1861.
Born on October 21, 1820, in Cambridge, Indiana he was a lawyer, a farmer and a newspaper editor before he entered politics, unsuccessfully running for a seat in the Indiana House of Representatives
Indiana House of Representatives
The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House members serve two-year terms without term limits...
in 1854, Secretary of State of Indiana
Secretary of State of Indiana
The Secretary of State of the U.S. state of Indiana is one of five constitutional officers originally designated in Indiana's State Constitution of 1816. Since 1851 it has been an elected position. The Secretary of State has authority of several state departments, and is considered to be the...
in 1856, and United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 1858. He started as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, but later became a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
named him governor of Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
in 1861, but he left the territory and his post as governor after only three weeks due to tensions with the Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
residents. Dawson had made "grossly improper proposals" to the Mormon widow Albina Merrill Williams, who responded by thrashing him with a fire shovel. When he offered her $3,000 for her silence, she rebuked him and he quickly abandoned Salt Lake City on New Year's Eve 1861.
Taking a mail coach
Mail coach
In Great Britain, the mail coach or post coach was a horse-drawn carriage that carried mail deliveries, from 1784. In Ireland, the first mail coach began service from Dublin in 1789. The coach was drawn by four horses and had seating for four passengers inside. Further passengers were later allowed...
eastward, he arrived at Ephraim Hanks
Ephraim Hanks
Ephraim Knowlton Hanks was a prominent member of the 19th-Century Latter Day Saint movement, a Mormon pioneer and a well known leader in the early settlement of Utah....
' Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
station at Mountain Dell, Utah. There, Hanks assured Dawson he was now safe. However a group of young Mormon vigilantes named Jason Luce, Martin "Matt" Luce, Wilford Luce, Wood Reynolds, Moroni Clawson, Lot Hungtington, and Isaac Neibaur followed the retreating governor, and during a night of drinking, they plundered the governor's baggage, and attacked him, beating and kicking Dawon about the head, chest, and groin (and allegedly castrating one of his testicles). The thugs later claimed they were acting under direct orders of the Salt Lake Police Chief. Four of the youths were captured but the other three were gunned down trying to escape from police and sheriffs.
Dawson later became famous as the first biographer of John Chapman, the legendary Johnny Appleseed
Johnny Appleseed
Johnny Appleseed , born John Chapman, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois...
. Dawson's 1871 article in the Fort Wayne News Sentinel of October 21 and 23 about Dawson's childhood friend is still considered the main source for biographical information on Chapman.
He died on September 10, 1877 and was interred at Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
.
See also
- Runaway Officials of 1851Runaway Officials of 1851The "Runaway Officials of 1851" were a group of three federal officers, Judge Perry Brocchus, Judge Lemuel Brandenbury, and Territorial Secretary Broughton Harris, who were appointed to Utah Territory by President Millard Fillmore in 1851...
- previous Utah Territory office holders who also literally ran away from their official duties