Peter Maughan
Encyclopedia
Mormon Pioneer
The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah...
who settled the Cache Valley
Cache Valley
The Cache Valley is an agricultural valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre.-History:...
of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
under the direction of Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
.
Life
Peter Maughan (1811-1871) was the sixth child of William Maughan and Martha Wilson and was born at Milton, CumberlandCumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. As a youth, he worked in the lead mines at Alston, England
Alston, Cumbria
Alston is a small town in Cumbria, England on the River South Tyne. It is one of the highest elevation towns in the country, at about 1,000 feet above sea level.-Geography:...
. He married Ruth Harrison on October 1, 1831 and six children were born to them.
Peter and Ruth were baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Alston in 1838 and were active in the branch. Ruth died on March 26, 1841, shortly after the birth of their sixth child. Following the counsel of Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
, who was on a mission
Mormon missionary
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
in England, Maughan and his children set sail on the Rochester for America, arriving May 19, 1841. Sailing with them were seven of the nine apostles who had been serving in England. The trip also was a sad occasion for Maughan, as he had to bury his baby daughter, Ruth, at sea.
Maughan and his family went to Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
for a few weeks where he met a young widow, Mary Ann Weston Davis. When he decided to travel to Nauvoo
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Mrs. Davis and her companion were in the same wagon train which allowed them to become more acquainted. After arriving in Nauvoo, they decided they would be married on November 2, 1841. To them were born eight children.
In Nauvoo, Maughan found work as a stonemason on the Nauvoo Temple
Nauvoo Temple
The Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons. The church's first temple was completed in Kirtland, Ohio, United States in 1836. When the main body of the church was forced out of Nauvoo, Illinois in the...
. The family lived in Nauvoo for about two and a half years before Maughan was sent to Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
to mine coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
for the families in Nauvoo. When trouble developed in Nauvoo and the Saints were abandoning the city, the family was told to close up the mines in Rock Island and prepare to travel to the West.
The family moved to New Diggings, Wisconsin
New Diggings, Wisconsin
New Diggings is a town in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 473 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated communities of Etna and Jenkinsville are located in the town.-Geography:...
in April 1846 where Maughan and the two older sons worked in the lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
mines. Money was very scarce and the expense of living with such a large family and outfitting the two wagons needed caused the family to stay in New Diggings until April 1850. After finding lead ore on their own property, they were able to raise the final $800 in 8 weeks and buy the needed equipment and supplies for the long trip to the Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Murray, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010...
.
They arrived in Salt Lake City on September 15, 1850, and after resting a week, they were sent to Tooele
Tooele, Utah
Tooele is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 22,502 at the 2000 census, and 30,708 as of the 2009 estimates. It is the county seat of Tooele County...
. Challenges and discouragement filled the next five years. Poor soil, along with lack of water, plagues of grasshoppers, and Indian problems made survival difficult. During this time, Maughan was involved in the government as county clerk and assessor.
In the July 1856, Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
directed Maughan to lead a party of men from Tooele
Tooele, Utah
Tooele is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 22,502 at the 2000 census, and 30,708 as of the 2009 estimates. It is the county seat of Tooele County...
to Cache Valley
Cache Valley
The Cache Valley is an agricultural valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre.-History:...
for the purpose of locating a permanent settlement. After surveying the area, the decision was made to settle the valley, and Maughan was chosen to lead the group. They arrived at what is now called Wellsville
Wellsville, Utah
Wellsville is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The population was 3,432 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Wellsville is located at ....
on the September 15, 1856 and began the development first called Maughan's Fort. The settlement of Wellsville was soon enlarged, and other communities in the area were founded. Maughan was called as presiding bishop of Cache Valley
Cache Valley
The Cache Valley is an agricultural valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre.-History:...
, overseeing the wards and branches of the valley. In 1860, following directions from Brigham Young, he moved his family to Logan
Logan, Utah
-Layout of the City:Logan's city grid originates from its Main and Center Street block, with Main Street running north and south, and Center east and west. Each block north, east, south, or west of the origin accumulates in additions of 100 , though some streets have non-numeric names...
. He served as president of the Cache Valley Stake, as probate judge of Cache County, and as a member of the territorial legislature. He also held the rank of colonel in the Nauvoo Legion
Nauvoo Legion
The Nauvoo Legion was a militia originally organized by the Latter Day Saints to defend the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, . To curry political favor with the ambiguously-political Saints, the Illinois state legislature granted Nauvoo a liberal city charter that gave the Nauvoo Legion extraordinary...
in Utah.
For a time Maughan served as the regional presiding bishop in Cache County.
Maughan took a third wife, Elizabeth Francis Preator, in the Endowment House
Endowment House
The Endowment House was an early building used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to administer temple ordinances in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. From the construction of the Council House in 1852, Salt Lake City's first public building, until the construction of the Endowment...
on December 8, 1866. Peter and Elizabeth had three children: Frances Mary, Heber Chase, and Ada Lucille. Peter contracted pneumonia and died on 24 April 1871. His body was buried in the Logan cemetery.