BIOGRAPHY OF ELIJAH FUNK SHEETS

by
Richard Hyatt Davis

1987

Copyright (c) Richard Hyatt Davis 1987

All Rights Reserved

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

iv
1

INTRODUCTION

Chapter
I.

PENNSYLVANIA AND ILLINOIS YEARS

7 7 10 13 16
18

Early life in Pennsylvania Conversion to the Church Activities while in Nauvoo, Illinois Notes
II.

MISSIONS

Mission to Pennsylvania Mission to England Notes

III.

18 21 36
39

EMIGRATION TO AND ACTIVITIES IN UTAH

Sheets' Preparation and Departure for Winter Quarters Activities while in Winter Quarters Emigration to Utah Early Years in the Salt Lake Valley Iron County Mission Civic activities
Notes
IV.
LOCAL CHURCH LEADERSHIP

40 41 43 45 47 53 62

64 64
83 88

Bishop of the Salt Lake Eighth Ward Member of the Utah Stake Presidency Notes
V.

GENERAL CHURCH LEADERSHIP

Traveling Bishop Church Stock Agent Assistant Trustee-in-Trust

Notes
VI.
LATER LIFE ACTIVITIES

Arrest for Unlawful Cohabitation Final Days Notes

....... .....
90

. .

...

90 94 98 103

106

106 Ill 115

APPENDICES
A.

117
118 119

COUNSELORS AND CLERKS WHO SERVED WITH BISHOP SHEETS

BISHOPS IN THE SALT LAKE STAKE SERVING 29 OR MORE YEARS

B.

C.
D.

TRAVELING BISHOPS

TRUSTEE-IN-TRUST AND ASSISTANTS WHO SERVED DURING BRIGHAM YOUNG'S ADMINISTRATION

ACCUMULATION OF LAND AND PROPERTY
FAMILY LIFE

E. F.

..
120

121

122

124
128

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

iii

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1. 2.
3.

Elijah Funk Sheets on his eightieth birthday.

West Nantmeal Church

. .

v
12

City Creek Aqueduct, ca. 1875

4.

Bishops of the Salt Lake Stake

5.
6.

Bishop Elijah Funk Sheets

Elijah Funk Sheets in prison

.....
56

. .

68

69

110

Illustration 1

Portrait Collection, LDS Church Archives, Elijah Funk Sheets upon his eightieth birthday.
Source:

INTRODUCTION

Throughout the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints, many men and women have come to the

forefront as examples of stalwart, faithful, and dedicated
servants, leaders, and members.
Some of these dedicated men

and women became prominent, while others served just

as

faithfully, without public recognition.

Their feeling of

glory and achievement came from knowing they performed a'

service, which in their

their God.

beliefs, would be recognized by

Elijah Funk Sheets was a faithful, stalwart Latter-day

Saint

and a

dedicated member

from the

moment

of

his

conversion.

He was a very strong, capable, and effective

Church administrator.

It is important to know Elijah Funk

Sheets, his background, conversion to, and activities in the

Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints.

His near

half-century of local and general Church leadership, as well

as his participation in civic endeavors, allowed him the

privilege of being considered more than a common member of

the Church.

Elijah Funk ' Sheets was born in Charlestown, Chester

County, Pennsylvania on 22 March 1821.
He joined the Church

of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1840.

Four years

after joining the Church he served missions in Pennsylvania,

2
and Great Britain, where he converted many people.
He

assisted in building the Nauvoo Temple, emigrated to Utah, and helped in the initial settling of Iron County.
In 1856, Sheets was

called as the bishop of the Salt

Lake Eighth Ward, serving in that position until just before

his death in 1904.

handled the

As

bishop and spiritual leader he

the ward; such as

ecclesiastical affairs of

presiding at meetings and teaching

precepts

the membership

the

of

their

religion.

His responsibilities also

care of
the poor,

included temporal matters

such as;

collection of tithes and offerings, establishment of a ward United Order, water master, and counseling members in home
manufacturing, unemployment, idleness, and debt.
In 1868 he was

called to serve as a member of

the

presidency of the Utah Stake, an ecclesiastical governing

unit of
the
Church in Utah County, while continuing his

responsibilities as a bishop.
Provo he became

During his brief stay in

involved in the development of the Provo

He

Woolen Mills, Provo's contribution to the United Order.

also went into business with A. 0. Smoot and established a

cooperative company that helped build the Union Pacific

Railroad.

While in Provo he served as an alderman and city

councilman; and also as assessor and tax collector for Utah

County.
In April of 1871 Sheets returned to Salt Lake City to

accept a new position from Brigham Young, President of the

Church.

He was

called to serve as traveling bishop over

Juab, Millard, Sevier, Utah, Sanpete, and Tooele counties.

3
In August

he was appointed to be a Church Stock agent, a

position requiring that he take charge of all the Church

stock

and pasture

lands.

In 1873

he was

elected an

assistant trustee of

the Church,

serving with George A.

Smith, Trustee-in-Trust

Sheets' involvement in the temporal affairs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints went far beyond
that of a local ward bishop.
management of

His life was intertwined with

the

the finances, livestock, and lands of

Church.

These responsibilities showed the Church leaders

had great trust in him, and confidence he would serve well.

Elijah Funk Sheets is important in the history of Utah

and the Church because:

1.

His contributions as Church livestock agent, an

the Utah Stake

assistant trustee-in-trust, a member of

presidency, and a traveling bishop.
2.

He was a bishop for forty-eight years, longer than

any other bishop in the LDS Church.

His experience offers

insight
wards

into the

functions

of

nineteenth century urban

.
3.
He

served the community in civic positions and in

He is

the development of the railroad and other businesses.

a good example of how a nineteenth century Church leader

moved between and within multiple roles. This manuscript will focus on the life of Elijah Funk

Sheets, which culminated as a leader in the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I will discuss who Sheets was,

why he was

so involved in Church financial and temporal

affair's, and how his work helps us to better understand not

only the Church, but the community of which he was a part. Primary
documentation
for

this

project

came

from

records contained in the Historical Department of the Church

of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint.

Used were the diaries

of Elijah Funk Sheets, most which were written while he was

A

missionary in Pennsylvania and England.

They contain

valuable insight into his activities and thoughts.

After

recording his missionary experiences his journal writing

became sketchy.
events
of

While in Utah he recorded mainly the key

life

his

including,

births,

confirmations,
In this process he

baptisms, and marriages of his children.

omitted daily

activities and much of

his thoughts and

impressions.

In 1887 he wrote a brief sketch of his life

which added valuable information regarding the activities he

participated in.
Also used
were

diaries

and

papers
eighth

of

Sheets'
members,

contemporaries.

These

included

ward

counselors and clerks who

served with him, fellow ward

bishops in the Salt Lake Stake, members of the Salt Lake

stake

presidency,

the

presiding

bishopric,

traveling

bishops, and assistant trustee-in-trusts

While many of

these individuals did not leave any records, those that did
gave

the author

added insight into Sheets and the

time

period in which he lived.

Also used were manuscript histories of the Church.

These are regional accounts of areas in the Church such as;

histories of Church activities in Illinois, Pennsylvania,

5
and Winter Quarters.
Manuscript histories of each of the

local units of the Church such as the British Mission, the

Eighth Ward,

and several wards and stakes throughout Utah

were also used.

Manuscript histories, though compiled after

the events happened, contain copies of invaluable primary documentation. Minutes of meetings of the wards and stakes

were used to give insight into Sheets administration.

The Journal History of the Church was used as a guide

in finding references to Sheets.

Most of the accounts came

from clippings in the Deseret News, the Times and Seasons,

and The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star.

This source is

an ongoing collection of information on the daily activities

of the Church and helped the author pin point activities in

which Sheets participated.

The periodicals and newspaper

previously mentioned were

checked

in greater

detail.

Included were copies of letters he wrote while a missionary

in England
Secondary

sources were used to gather

information

needed to place Sheets in the larger context of LDS Church

history.

The sources used included contemporary works such

as Brigham H. Robert's Comprehensive History of the Church,

and Joseph Smith's History of the Church.

were modern scholarly works.

Also of benefit
for

What was

sought

when

perusing these works was a greater

insight in the time

period Sheets lived in.

Works on geographic locations such

as; Chester County, Pennsylvania, Nauvoo, Illinois, and Salt

Lake City, Utah added knowledge of where he lived and

activities around him.

Biographies of prominent men he

associated with were also of benefit.

While most of the

secondary works used were written from a Mormon perspective,

dealing with the LDS Church, its people and life style,
other sources were used to gain added insight.
It

is hoped that

by

reading

this

manuscript

an

understanding will be gained of Elijah Funk Sheets and the

way that his life was intertwined in the management of the
LDS

Church.

Sheets'

service was

as

constant

and as

instrumental in advancement of
desi re

the Church as any could

I. PENNSYLVANIA AND ILLINOIS YEARS

Early life in Pennsylvania Elijah Funk

Sheets was

born on 22 March 1821 at

1
Not much is

Charlestown in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

known about his father, Frederick Sheets, or his mother,

Hannah Page.
County

Frederick Sheets was not an original Chester 2 resident, being born about 1786 in Germany and
He did not appear on

3 coming to America when he was young.

census

records as a head of household in Chester County

until 1820 and may have arrived in Pennsylvania just prior

to marrying Hannah Page of Charlestown on 13 August 1812.

Nothing in Elijah's journals, or other genealogical records

reveal who Frederick's parents or ancestors were. Hannah Page was born in Chester County around 1787, the 4 Nathaniel daughter of Nathaniel Page and Barbara Rinker.
was a long time resident of Chester County appearing on census records from 1800 to 1830.
known of

Beyond this nothing is

his ancestry.

Genealogists and Sheets family

members have felt much of the same frustration as Elijah did g when he wrote: "As to the[ir] births I cannot find out."
In 1828 when Elijah was

seven he, his two brothers,

John Samuel, age 15 and Thomas, age 13, and his two sisters
Elizabeth, age 14, and Mary, age 12, were orphaned.
As

Elijah stated, "Fredrick Sheets My father Departed this life

March the 4th 1828

Also My Mother Hanna Sheets died August

the 25th 1828

And they ware boath Burried in Pikland Chirch

yard, Charlstown Township Chester Co. Pa."

Sheets mentions

nothing about the cause of their deaths and Chester County

vital records have no reference to the deaths of Frederick

O

and Hannah.
Elijah, and most likely his four brothers and sisters,
were
taken in by their
Page

grandparents.

Nathaniel and

Barbara Page were

responsibility of

in their

sixties and taking on the

raising a family would have been very

taxing.

Elijah remained with his grandparents until 1830

9

when he began working for Edward Hunter of Chester County.

Edward Hunter, son of Squire Edward Hunter and Hannah

Maris, was born on 22 June 1793.

He left school in 1803,

when he was ten years old, shortly after his mother's death,
to

apprentice

in a

tanning factory.

When Edward was

thirty-five years old he purchased an old farm in West

Chester,

Pennsylvania,

an area where

his ancestors had material

settled years before.

He had obtained an amount of

wealth and "wished to invest wisely; and in those days the

badge of a successful citizen was a large farm, a large

barn, and a large manor.
these requirements."
10

His new purchase satisfied all

By this time he was described by the

citizens

of

the

area

as

"a

prosperous merchant

and

farmer. m11
After

purchasing the

land Edward added additional

acreage until he had a farm of about five hundred acres.

Tending this amount of property was more than a one man job,
so he hired a tenant farmer and other workers as needed.

9
Sheets was one of the young workers on this farm. Of the

association between Edward and his workers it has been said:

His ability to claim the loyalty of those under him was already in evidence, for he later wrote of these men, 'Had good men in my tenant houses that worked for me. One man worked ten or twelve years for me, others four or five years; watched for my wellfare, never a thought of exacting anything unjust r>x oppressive, as they not earning their

wages

.'

Sheets and Hunter had a good relationship, and in future

years would work closely in leadership positions in the LDS Church.

Hunter became Presiding Bishop of

the Church and

Sheets was one of his local bishops.

Elijah lived with the Hunters for nine years where he

learned much about farming and stock-raising, skills which

would serve him well in the future. Like many, who were

raised on farms during this period of time, he had limited

opportunities to attend school "amounting to about six weeks 13 This lack a year from his eighth to his sixteenth year."
of formal education is evident in his personal writings, but

in no way reflect the practical knowledge he gained through

experiences in his life.

he

Though Elijah enjoyed the skills

he

learned

in farming,

was

naturally

inclined to

mechanical pursuits.
Hunter

At the age of seventeen he left the

farm

to

apprentice as a blacksmith with Taylor

At

Dilworth of West Nantmeal.

the Dilworth home young

Elijah learned more

than

the

blacksmith trade.

His

association with the Dilworths brought him in contact with

Mormonism.

10

Conversion to the Church

In the years

following the organization of the Church

of

Jesus

Christ

of

Latter-day Saints,

missionary work

progressed rapidly in the Eastern United States and many

people embraced the new religion.

Pennsylvania was no

exception as missionaries were sent throughout the state

eventually arriving in the Philadelphia area.
In the

spring of

1839, Lorenzo D. Barnes and his

companion,

Harrison Sagers,
and

labored as missionaries
people.

in

Chester

County

baptized many

The

work

progressed so well that at one point Barnes wrote:

A dozen Elders might well be employed in Chester Co. Pa. where I have been laboring the principal part of the past season, I can fill but a small part of the calls I have for preaching. 53 in that Co. have already embraced the fullness of the

gospel, and are organized into a branch of the The church called the Brandywine branch. Saints in that place appeeur determined to keep the commandments of God.

. . .

...

The Church continued to grow in Chester County under the efforts of Lorenzo D. Barnes, and other missionaries. The Brandywine branch grew from 80 members in May of 1840,
to 180 by April of 1841.

During this rapid growth, Sheets

came in contact with the missionaries and members of the

Church

and

began

an

investigation which journals

are

led to

his

conversion.

Sheets'

quiet

concerning any

religious activities prior to coming in contact with the LDS

Church.
It is not known whether his parents gave him any

formal religious training before their deaths, or

if he
It was

received this during his apprenticeship years.

11
during the
excitement and rapid growth of the Church in

Chester County, that Sheets became interested in Mormonism. Sheets first

heard Mormonism preached by Edwin D.

Woolley
Barnes.

and

Elisha H.

Davis,

companions

of

Lorenzo

D.

Woolley was a native of Chester County who was

He and

converted to the LDS Church while living in Ohio.

Davis left on a mission to Pennsylvania on 9 January 1839.

After

arriving

in Chester

County

in February of

1839,

Woolley began talking to all of his relatives and friends

about Mormonism.
At one point Edwin contacted his uncle,

Joel Dilworth, of West Nantmeal, who was

the

father

of

Taylor Dilworth, Elijah's employer.

great supporters of Edwin's cause.

The Dilworths became

They housed and fed him

and supplied him with a building to preach in, although

5 1 neither Joel nor Taylor ever joined the Church.

After

hearing Woolley

preach

Sheets

was

impressed with his

message.

Sheets later said of Woolley: "I first heard him

preach the gospel in the home of his uncle, Joel Dilworth,

in Chester Co. Pennsylvania.

His discourse was plain and

simple.

It riveted the truth upon the minds of many who It was the starting point of

heard them. branch of the

raising a good

Church.""'"

Even though Sheets first heard the Mormon missionaries

in the early part of 1839, it took until July of 1840 before

he joined the Church. Erastus Snow, an energetic missionary

and leader in the LDS Church, arrived in Chester County at

12

Illustration 2

Source: West Nantmeal Seminary, Pennsylvania, LDS Church Archives. This is where Edwin Woolley preached to people in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

13

that time.

Snow

is credited for finalizing Sheets' long

Snow wrote in his journal,
We

investigation into the Church.

"In Chester Co. were about 100 members of the Church.

tarried one week preaching in different places.
two on Sunday am.

I baptized

Monday July 6th went into the city of

Philadelphia.
Sheets' mentions nothing in his personal journals about

his activities from his baptism in July of 1840, until he

left for
Nauvoo,

Illinois late in the summer of

1841.
For

Undoubtedly he continued his work with Taylor Dilworth.

years
the
LDS

Church

had

stressed

the

importance

of

gathering to a central location so that its membership could

be both physically and spiritually close to its leading

officials.

In 1839 the Mormons were driven from their homes

in Missouri and purchased land in Western Illinois on the

Mississippi River.

After the settlement of this new city,

known as Nauvoo, Church officials again made a concerted

effort to encourage the membership to gather.

Sheets,

like

many of his associates, obeyed the call and left his home in

Chester County, arriving in Illinois in September of 1841.

8 1

Activities while in Nauvoo, Illinois

In 1841, when Sheets arrived in Nauvoo,

Illinois, it

was a well established city.

There was a bustle of activity

of

resulting from the

announcement

two

large building

projects; the Nauvoo House, and more importantly, the Nauvoo

Temple.

The purpose of the temple was explained to the

He

membership of the Church by their leader Joseph Smith.

14

said the temple was not an ordinary meetinghouse, but a

place
where the Saints will come to worship according to the order of His house and the powers of the Holy Priesthood, and will be so constructed as to enable all the functions of the Priesthood to be duly exercised, and where instructions from the Most High will be received, and from this place go forth to distant lands." The

. . .

. . .

temple

was

built

on

hill overlooking the

Mississippi River.

Excavation began in the fall of 1840,

The work

with the cornerstones being laid on 6 April 1841.

was
supervised by a temple

committee with Joseph Smith

The

retaining authority over the design and construction.

labor force came from the general membership of the Church who sold or donated their time.
Costs were met through

tithes, and donations of goods and money.

Sheets began working on the temple in April of 1842,

shortly after he was ordained an Elder.
He volunteered with

one hundred others to work six months on the temple without

pay.
20
He

was under the same obligation as all elders who

lived in Nauvoo, which was to help on the temple as much as

they could, even with outside constraints.

Being single, he

could donate all of his time to the cause with his daily

needs being supplied by members in Nauvoo who opened their

homes to the temple workers.
In October,

1841, Brigham Young, an apostle in the LDS

Church, addressed the men of the Church at a conference

counseling them on the importance of working on the temple
in

addition

to

teaching

the

gospel

to

the

world:

15
on the propriety of many of the Elders remaining at home, and working on the Lord's House; and that their labors will be as acceptable to the Lord as their., going abroad, and more profitable for the Church "

In December of

1841 Brigham Young reiterated the fact that

they needed workers on the temple:

We would remind some two or three hundred Elders, who offered to go on missions, some six months, other one year, and some two years, and had their missions assigned them at the general conference to labor on the Temple, that most of their names are still with us, and we wish them to call and take their names away, and give them up to the building committee.

Sheets'

dedication to this project was proof of his His life to this

commitment to the leaders of his faith.

point was made up of drastic changes both in his beliefs and

his physical location. His life was not one of ease or

luxurious living, nor

was

it of

undue hardship.

His

parents' death, his conversion to the LDS Church, and all

that

those

things entailed, brought about many changes.

These changes made it possible for him to move where he

could become of service, not only to his fellowmen, but to

his God as well.

NOTES

Chester County is situated in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania surrounded by Delaware, Montgomery, Berks, and Lancaster counties. Charlestown is in the northeastern part of the county, within five miles of Valley Forge and

the Skukyll River. Frederick Sheets family group sheet, Family History Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Hereafter cited, LDS Church Genealogical Department.
Elijah Funk Sheets, Diaries, fd. 5, MS, Historical Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Hereafter cited, LDS Church Archives.
3

4
5

Frederick Sheets family group sheet.

A family group sheet filed in the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides no marriage or death information on the Genealogical research from Sheets' references in his Pages. journals to the present have failed to come up with any more leads to both the Sheets and Page family lines. g Sheets, Diaries, fd. 5. The Frederick Sheets family (1) group sheet lists the Sheets children as; John Samuel (2) Sheets, born about 1813, died 27 August 1867. Elizabeth Sheets, born 28 January 1814, died 20 December (3) Thomas Sheets, born October 1814, died 16 June 1901. 1864. (4) Mary Sheets, born 2 October 1816, died September 1892. (5) Elijah Funk Sheets, born 22 March 1821, died 3 July 1904.

7
g

Ibid.

The author looked through the records at the Family History Department for Chester County including; cemetary, probate records, vital records, and histories, and could not find any reference to the death of Elijah's parents. Included in the cemetary records was a listing from the St. Peter's Lutheran Church, also known as the Pikeland Church cemetary. Their names were not included on this list. g Andrew Jenson, Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4 vols. (Salt Lake City, Utah: The Andrew

17
Jenson History Co. and the Deseret News, 1901-1936), 1:614.

William E. Hunter, Edward Hunter: Faithful Steward. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Publishers Press, 1970 ) , p~! 33"!
11
12

Ibid Ibid

., p .

37

13

Jenson, Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:614

14
15

Times and Seasons (March 1840) 1:78-79.

Leonard J. Arrington, From Quaker to Latter-day Saint: Bishop Edwin D. Woolley. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 1976 ) , p. 73. Arrington states that Joel never joined the Church. Family group sheets of both Joel and Taylor Dilworth show that they both died while It may be that living in West Nantmeal, Chester County. they did not join the Church, or they joined and did not remain faithful, or they just never went West with the Saints

16

Deseret Evening News, 16 October 1881.

17 Erastus Snow, Journals, vol. 2, MS, LDS Church Sheets' journals are silent concerning his Archives. conversion and baptism in the Church. This is understandable since his journal writing began several years later as a missionary. He briefly states that he was baptized, but mentions nothing concerning the date or who did it. This information was obtained from Jenson' s Biographical Encyclopedia which is a compilation of brief
sketches. When Jenson was editing these volumes he wrote to the membership of the Church asking that they send in sketches of their lives and activities. Sheets undoubtedly wrote to Jenson with this information.
8 1
Jenson, Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:614.

Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ 7 vols. 2nd ed. of Latter-day Saints, B. H. Roberts, ed. rev. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 1964), 4:269.
20
Jenson, Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:614.

19

Smith, History of the Church, 4:427.

22

Ibid., 4:474.

II. MISSIONS

After

working on the Nauvoo Temple

for

six months,

Sheets, age twenty-one, left Nauvoo on a mission for the LDS

Church.
He had been a member for two years and was

ready to

proclaim his beliefs.

While in Pennsylvania he wrote, that

he and his companion had full "intention of preaching the

gospel in our weakness to the world, neither of us ever having preached before."
1

Sheets'

missions became

an

opportunity for him to share his beliefs, which he had come

to love with others, to grow in his knowledge in the Church, to become exposed to high ranking Church officials, and to

gain experience in leadership.

These three things played a

major role in developing his character.

Mission to Pennsylvania
Elijah Sheets, and his companion, Joseph A. Stratton,

began their

missionary labors 4

September

1842, in the
They

common manner of the time, without purse or scrip.

traveled on foot through Illinois and Indiana and found much

opposition to their message.

Many nights were spent without

shelter, and on several occasions they felt lucky to find a

barn or abandoned building for protection from inclement
At

weather.

times, full days went by when they received

One day they approached fourteen homes

nothing to eat.

19
before finding a place to stay.
As Sheets described it:

And the place that we got to stay at was a very I think that we would of been beter a poore one. long side of a hay stack Fore there was so many bed bugs & fleas & misketers (And to cap all there was 2 ore 3 drunken men came in and swore that we aut to be shot etc.) So that we could not sleap very well that nite. But in the morning we thanked the man fore his kindness & left. While en route Sheets contracted what he called "the Fevour
&

agor"

which impeded their progress for five days.

After

awhile they met up with some other missionaries who helped

them on their way:

litftle] [grove] of woods And we prayed. And then the 3 Bro[thers] Laid there hanse on my head & I

in the evening we

all went

down into a

was Emediatly healed throw the pawer of God. we all went on our way rejoicing.

And

Experiences such as this must have been a boost to his

morale after encountering so much opposition.
They continued through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
and

into Pennsylvania where Sheets had "connections living."

After arriving Sheets wrote:
we traveled twelve Hundred Miles with only one Bare peney & that Bro Stratton found in the Road as we walked a long And that we only had a very short time till we had to give it to get over a Brickje But we got a long much beter after

. . .

words
Many

of

Sheets'

activities in Pennsylvania were

in

Chester County.

He wanted all of his relatives and friends

to hear about the Church. to

It is likely that before moving

Illinois, Sheets did not spend much time trying to

20

convert his relatives.

As

a missionary he had much more

knowledge and confidence.

In June,

Sheets wrote to the leaders in Nauvoo that he

and Stratton had "baptized thirty-two, and many more are

convinced of the truth of the work."

After their arrival

in Chester

County

Elder

Stratton went

to

Bucks County

leaving Sheets alone with his relatives and friends. On

November eleventh he wrote of visiting his grandmother and

staying overnight at her house.
apparent lack of
His relatives showed an

interest which prompted him to go where

He further

there "has not been any preaching."

stated: "I

have been over in Montgomery County where there has never

been any of our Elders and I expect to go back there before

I return."

On

5 November

1843 Sheets

held a meeting where

heckler tried to interrupt.

Of the experience he wrote:

I brought them that was with me up to Mr. Gipsons & then I came up to Farefield where I had a meeting apointed & Preached in the afternoon & had a very full house &c. And also in the Evening in the same place & when I was don Ther was the young Mr. Bown who had atacked me before he began to spout. And I showed the congration where he told 2 or 3 lies & he got ml and picked up his coat and hat & away he went &c.

...

After

twenty

months

in Pennsylvania

and Delaware,

preaching the restored gospel and visiting relatives, Elders

Sheets and Stratton reported that they baptized "about one

hundred Betwene us
company of Saints."

And then we returned to Nauvoo with a

It was April fifteenth, 1844 when they

started back with the Saints from Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

21
On the trip to Illinois several of

the company became sick

and two children died.

arrival in Nauvoo:

In his

journal he described his

we landed there on the 4th Day of May Expecting to stay there During the summer 1844 But the Brethren told us that they wished us to go to England. That camegather unexpected to us, But we took corage & came.

. . .

Sheets

success

as

missionary

in

Pennsylvania

sharpened his skills in working with members of the Church

as well as helping convert others.
He showed his dedication

in obeying the will of his leaders, thus, obeying the will

of

his God.

An

entry from his journal

summed up his

feelings by stating: "And we have all been trying to do the

best that we

could.""'"''"
Mission to England

Mormons

first

taught

their

religion in the British

Isles in 1837 when Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Willard

Richards, Joseph Fielding and others arrived in England.

1839 missionary efforts expanded to encompass

In

the whole
sent to take

British Isles.

In 1844, Wilford Woodruff was

charge of the work in the British Isles.

Accompanying him

were Apostles Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Lyman

Wight and "about a hundred other Elders.

.among them were

Franklin D.

Richards,

Joseph A.

Stratton and Elijah F.

Sheets, going on missions to England."

12

On 21 May 1844 Sheets and his companions left Nauvoo on

the boat Osprey , which took them to St. Louis.

At St. Louis

22

they boarded a river boat called the Luis Phillip which took
them to Cincinnati, Ohio.
From there they traveled overland

to Pennsylvania where Sheets spent the month of June for the

"purpos of giting means to go on my jorney to England."

13

While there he and his traveling companions heard of the

deaths of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith, who were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois. he wrote on July fourteenth, Brothers Joseph
&
& Hyrum

With great emotion

"And we hird for Sirton that

was shot which made us feel sorowful

4 1
The apostles that were

heavy for the loss of them &c."

accompanying the group returned to Nauvoo to manage the

affairs of the Church because of the loss of their prophet.

The other elders continued on their missions.

Sheets again made contact with his family while

in

Pennsylvania.
Sisters
&

On 15 July he wrote,

"I went to see my t[wo]

bid them farewell."

15

He left on the sixteenth

for New York City and on 1 August 1844 he, along with Elders

Joseph A.

Stratton, Elisha H. Davis, and J.

B.

Meynell

sailed from New York City for Liverpool, England on the ship
Europe

.
twenty-fourth.
The Millennial Star, the

The four missionaries arrived after a relatively calm

trip on August

official publication of

the British Mission, wrote,

"We

rejoice to state that our hands have been strengthened by

the arrival of four brethren from America, to assist in our

labours in this land."

1 fs

Sheets expressed his joy on his

arrival, "And we ware very thankfull to the lord for his

protection over us while on our jorney

&c

And we now Pray

23

for his protecting care while on this far And distant land.
And also that we may reach our peasfull homes again &c."
17

After their arrival they spoke to the Liverpool Saints

concerning the

deaths of

Joseph and Hyrum Smith,

then

received their different assignments.

J.

Elisha H. Davis and

B. Meynell went

to Manchester and the surrounding area

with Davis eventually going to London to preside over a

conference there.

Sheets wrote a letter on 6 April 1844 to

Edward Hunter, wherein he reported that both he and Elder

Stratton were still in Liverpool:
I do not know for certain where Brother Stratton or I shall go yet as there are several places want

preaching in bad, but there will be a conference here next Sunday and then we will know. But I expect that one of us will stay in the Liverpool conference and the other will travel around amongst the different branches and hold conferences, but you will hear from us again and then we can .d.ve you a more correct account of what we are at.
Stratton eventually got the assignment to stay in Liverpool

and

Sheets

began

traveling,

holding

conferences

and

preaching at meetings.

Before leaving on this assignment he

He, along with

felt a special desire for additional help.

two

other

elders,

went

to

nearby hill to pray for

guidance :

Brothers Banks & Struthers & I took a walk out of the city about one mile to a place cauld Daffers hill. Wher the twelve [use] to go & Pray. For I thought it would prove a blessing to me if I could, even git to Pray Where they had. For I thought that they had even blessed that place for that And we all united in the same place & purpos prayed to the Lord to bless us as he had them &c.

24
Sheets had a great desire to serve his God and spread

the gospel message.

in his

For the most part he found much success

labors

and

gained

confidence

in himself,

and

knowledge of the teachings of the LDS Church.

He became a

respected and valuable missionary, and one that was loved by

those he came in contact with.

preached to members of

On 15 September

1844 he

the church,

telling them of their

duties and what they would have to do to "obtain a celestiel

glory."

After he was through he said: They all seamed to

20
Two days later he had a

rejoice in what I tolde them."

great experience preaching to

over a Thousand peopel. And their aperintley was much good don For the work had stood stile in this place for som time And the peopel did not know wether the saints was ded or not So we thought we would let them know that we ware not ded. And I think There is a-good many this Morning thinks that we are alive &c.
Some of his experiences were not always as pleasant as

...

the previous ones, but Sheets had a way of turning them to

his benefit.

Earlier in the day on the seventeenth he had a

man challenge his remarks:

And I Preached And the hous was crowded full & ther was some made a nois While I was Preaching And after meeting there was an Infidel who had been at Nauvoo And had brought back a grate maney lies & had toald them all around the cuntrey. And he wanted to speak & did & toald all that he had to tell. And then I shode him & the congration he lide & I think it don some good.

. . .

. . .

. . .were

25
In February of

1845 Sheets had a discussion with a man

who had been a member of the Mormon Church and was trying to

persuade investigators that Mormonism was wrong.

On

February Sheets held a meeting where the man tried to prove

Sheets' teachings were falsehoods.

Of the occasion Sheets

said:
I ansored some of his foolish questions that was worth ansoring And then [proceeded] to preach oure doctrine to the peopel And I never saw such good atenshon payed at any such a place before And the poeople all went away well satisfied with regard to oure doctrine being the doctrine of the scripturs And I think that it would be the means of doing much good Fore they aperentley seen his folley And the tru[th] of oure doctrine Fore he was the tool apose I ever saw this doctrine. that poo|st

Sheets'
when
he

first permanent assignment came late in 1844

assigned
as

was

president

of

the

Bradford

Conference.

In this assignment he had the

opportunity of especially

working closely with the mission leadership,

Wilford Woodruff, a member of the Church's leading Council

of the Twelve Apostles.
On 19 February 1845, Woodruff came

to Bradford and upon his arrival Sheets wrote:

My very hart gr[ea]t good to see him

"And it did

Fore it just

looked

like olde times to see him

And in the Evening we all

atended a prayer meeting

And had a very good time."

24

President Woodruff wrote the Star about his visit saying

that he was

delighted with the conference:

"Good order

generally prevailed, the chapel was filled through the day

and evening with the Saints and citizens." said:
Of Sheets he

"This is the conference in which the worthy Elder

26
Lorenzo D. Barnes was presiding over when he died; it is now

in the hands of our beloved brother Elijah F. Sheets, who,

though young, is pursuing the same wise and prudent course 25 that marked the life of Elder Barnes."
On

his birthday in 1845,

Sheets

reflected on his

situation and life up to that point:

And the first one that I Was My Birth Day have Ever Spent in oald England But wether it will bee the last one Not time will onley detirmene This 22nd day of March 1845 Findes Me 24 years of And many things strange and Marvelous have I Age And I do sean and hird since I can recolect I shall see many exp[ect] agan 24 years more more strange and [miraculous] things. Fore this is a day of wonders and sings Fore the Lord again has commenced his work on the Earth And his poer is made manyfested unto the children of Men &c.

...

Sheets'

leadership experiences

began when

he

was
As

assigned to preside over

conference

the Bradford Conference.

president

he

traveled
the

to

the and

different

congregations,

meeting with

members

the

local
On 7 May

leadership, and working out problems that arose.

1845 he wrote
to the presidency of

the British Mission,

telling them of his accomplishments in Bradford.

When he

arrived in the area he found the "prospects were not very

encouraging" but after awhile the members of

the Church
in our

became

"united

in love,

and

harmony

prevails

councils; and I can truly say, that I never saw a people

more willing to hearken to counsel, and to do the will of

the Lord, as far as they know it, than they are at present."
He

stated that many of the non-Mormons in the area were 27 listening to the missionaries message and being baptized.

27
While
in Bradford Sheets had the
responsibility of

obtaining a grave stone to mark the grave of Lorenzo D.

Barnes

who

had died while

Barnes

presiding over

the

Bradford

Conference.

was a very devoted and loved missionary

of the Church and it must have been an honor for Sheets to

help in this activity because of

Barnes had for

the

relationship that
The

Sheets and the Chester County Saints.

inscription on the grave stone read as follows:

In memory of Lorenzo D. Barnes. Who died on the 20th of December 1842, aged 30 years. He was a native of the United States, an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a member of the High Priests Quorum, and also of Zions Camp in the year 1834, and the first Gospel Messenger from Nauvoo who has found a grave in a foreign land. Sleep on Lorenzo, but ere long, from this, The conquered grave Shall yield his captive prey, Then with thy quorum Shalt thou rei,qji in bliss As King and Priest for an eternal day.
He wrote of the

occasion: "I helped to put it up in the

And I think it

Church yard And it looked very well indeed

will bee as good as a standing Preacher

Fore it stands Just

Before the church dore and all the people that gos into the
29 church can planly see it."
In April

of 1845 Sheets was appointed president over

the

Herefordshire Conference.

When the members of

the

Bradford Conference found out that he was leaving them they

"began to Scoald me for going to leave them.

was going on so well he [re]."
30

As the work

On Saturday the tenth of

May 1845 Sheets arrived in Herefordshire.

Upon his arrival

he discovered that there was some bad management on the part

of his predecessor and he immediately called a council to

28

straighten the matter out.

On May fifteenth Sheets wrote in

his journal explaining the problem. "Fore it apears as him and the officers when they met in council ginereley quarled

instead of counseling to gether in pease. shall soon get things in better order."
31

But I hope that I

When visiting a

branch of the church he found things in a poor state of

affairs because the "Elder seamed as if he was about halfe

Drunk when I first saw him

And any person can judge what

32
At a

the Branch would be like under such a teacher."

conference held at Mars Hill on June eighth Sheets wrote,

"The Elders represented the Diferent Branches of the Church
And they ware ginerley in a bad kind of a state but they had

hopes that they would get beter soon."

33

This part of England was a very low income area, and

the people struggled to make a living.

Sheets mentioned

the condition of the people but generally found them to be honest and hardworking "althow they are very poor
in a very hilly countrey."

And live

34

In further

describing the

condition of the members of the Church he wrote:

"Some of

them have flores in ther houses and some of them have Not
And the Most of them have straw roofs on ther houses
And

often times No

[partition] in the house but all in one

room. "

On 22 August

1845 Sheets and Stratton left their areas

While

of

labor to visit with Elisha H. Davis in London. there they visited the Bank of

they were

London, Saint

Paul's Cathedral, the London Bridge and

to that- city.
One day they visited the

other

places famous

"grate and noted

29

Tunnel under the river Thames.

And we went through it and

indeed it is a grate wonder fore it is about a quarter of a

mile long and that boats
&

rite under a grate river whare

steam

Ships runn (ore sail)

*3

it is also very hansomely

furnished."

They also went to several art museums, the

Queens palace, West Minster Abbey, and several other places.

At

the abbey Sheets expressed his feelings on the pomp and

circumstance that went into the British royalty when he told

of sitting in the chair that the Kings and Queens of England

had sat during their coronation.

was

He wrote

that the chair

"reconed to be an honore by some and if there is any

37

honore in it I supose we got a litel."

While

they were

there

they had the opportunity to

On one

preach to several congregations.

occasion Sheets

stated: "I think that this may be put down with one of the
Seven Wonders of the day

That is fore us to have preached

38

in the gratest City in the whole World."

Saint Pauls Cathedral Sheets wrote:

While visiting

And a splendid place it is indeed we went all throw the Church And up to the very top of the tower in to the Brass ball whare we could see ove[r] a grate And wh[i]le we ware up in the part of London. Brass ball We felt it in our harts to pray to oure Heavenly Father fore the prosperity of his grate work Such as the compleashin of the Tempel of the Lord And the Building of the City of Zion And the well fare of the heds of the Church. And also oure friends and Brethren in oure ow[n] native Land And that o[ur] lives mite be preserved to see oure friends in the land of Zion. Thus we all prayed fore thetse] things And many other also And then presented Each other a small gift to remember each other-,qAnd we had a very good time. & then came down

30
Both Sheets and Stratton continued their

visit

to

London until the first of September when they returned to

their areas of labor.

Of the visit Sheets said, "But suffer

it to say that we saw all that was to see.

And no one can

emagin how beautifull it is unless he see it fore him

Self e

." 40
While laboring in Herefordshire Sheets met his future
She was born 3 July 1819 at
a very
religious woman as
It

wife, Margaret Hutchinson.

Radnorshire, Wales.

She was

indicated from her

journal

composed from 1839-1842.

contained poetry and religious thoughts and she told of many occasion of study and prayer.
When Sheets talked to her she

was a member of the Wesleyn Methodist Church, was in charge

of a lady's school, and was in good standing in the society,
her

family being very well

to

do.

He

met

her while

preaching in Presteigne on the edge of South Wales on 12

October 1845:
And I preached out in the street all thow the Parson thretened to put me to [jail] ore prison if And after Meeting was I dared to preach. over there was a young lady that hird me preach And she sent me a Note requesting me to call And And talked to huir 2 ore 3 see hure wich I did. houres And She disired me to Baptise hurr wich I did

. . .

Sheets felt that because of her social standing and the

contempt

shown the elders by the wealthy people of

the

community,
the gospel.

she would have difficulty accepting and living

But in faith he wrote:

"But my prayer is that

42
Not only did

God will Bless hurr

And give hurr grace."

31
he teach the message of Mormonism to Margaret, he also told

her about members of the Church immigrating to America and

settling in Utah.
Was
In her journal

she wrote:

baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ, of I feel thankful Latter day Saints by Elder Sheets.

that the Lord had opened my heart to receive and His obey the fulness of the everlasting gospel. love had gently led me on even from my infant days. and I trust I My soul is in his mighty hand shall go from strength to strength t|ll I appear before him in Zion. Even to America.

. . .

Sheets continued on with his duties as president of the

conference and did not mention Margaret again until the

twenty-ninth of October when he told about writing "Sister

Hutchinson" a letter.

On the 14th of November he arrived in

Presteigne again and preached at her home and said "she is doing very well in the work of the Lord."
44

The people in the

the

Herefordshire area were

not very

receptive to

message that Sheets presented to them.

wrote :

Of the people Sheets

There are many of the peopell he[re] that will not come out to he [re] the trough Fore they Say that they are a feard of being bewiched. Fore they say every body that dos come are bewiched or else made more,, so that they cannot stay away from us, &c.
&c.

On

16 November 1845 he again arrived in Presteigne,

After the meeting "M
&

preaching at Margaret's house.

took a walk a round Prestign Church And talked over maters

things.

So thus ended the day."

46

---as

&

On this occasion they

probably started to discuss going to America together

husband- and wife.
On

December

fourth he

returned to

32

Presteinge to preach.

This time he talked to Margaret's

father and a Mr. Hall "but did not make very much of them as

thing ware rather unreasonabell

." 47

Sheets does not mention what ever came of the meeting

with Margaret's father

and it does not seem by Sheets'

previous journal entry that Margaret left her family with

their
blessings.
On

30

December

Sheets

arrived

in
He

Liverpool, followed later in the evening by Margaret.

wrote in his journal:

clock

at Night

"I meet with hurr about halfe past 8.0 48 He And my harte rejoices to see hurr."

took her to a Brother Browns in Liverpool to stay until the

ship left for America.

Before leaving England, Sheets was asked to write to

the Saints in England and tell about his activities while

there. The letter he wrote was printed in the Millennial
Here in part is what

Star on the first of February of 1846.

he said: dear brethren and sisters in the British Isles, I have been requested by brothers Woodruff and Ward to write a few lines for the STAR, before I leave this country for my own native land, though, I can assure you, it is quite a task for me to undertake to write anything to go before the scrutinizing eye of the public. I have now been in this land nearly seventeen months, during which time my labours have mostly been confined to Bradford conference, in Yorkshire, I and Mars Hill conference, Herefordshire. laboured about seven months in each place, and my labours have been blessed as much as I could reasonably expect, considering the condition of each conference when I first went to it. My motive has always been to do what little good I could, and I have found the as little harm as possible. Saints in these conferences good, honest-hearted people, humane, and very kind, also willing to hearken to the counsel of their brethren who were
My

33

placed over them, and I hope they will ever continue thus to act. They have all been very kind to me, for which I return them my hearty and sincere thanks, and to all others who have been kind to me, praying that my heavenly Father will bless them in this world, and give them eternal life in his kingdom. I have visited several other conferences, viz: Liverpool, Preston, Clitheroe, Manchester, Sheffield, Worcester, Cheltenham, Bristol, Bath, and London, where also I found the In short, my visit to Saints very kind indeed. this land has truly been one of interest to me, and I feel glad that I came, according to the counsel of my brethren the Twelve. Although it looked a great undertaking at first, through the assistance of the Lord I have been enabled to accompany my brethren, E. H. Davies, J. A. Stratton, and J. B. Meynell, to this lancL and now that I am about to return home,

....

During the time between when they arrived in Liverpool

and the time they left on 16 January 1845, Sheets traveled around the

Liverpool

area

preaching,

sometimes

taking

Margaret when the distance was short.

They spent several

evenings at the home of Wilford Woodruff, talking to him and

his wife.
on the

They sailed on the sixteenth at twelve o'clock

ship, Liverpool with a Captain Davenport, "a very

man"
50
as

nice

socibell

captain.

The

ship

had

seventy-seven people on board, which included forty-five

Saints.

The leader of the company was Hiram Clark, who was

returning from a mission to England. Also aboard were Phebe

Woodruff, wife of Wilford Woodruff and two of her children

who were returning to America.
Sheets was returning home
to

with a

group

of

missionaries who were

receive the

blessings of the Nauvoo Temple before the Church headed for

the west, but their arrival in America was too late for them
to participate with the rest of the Saints in this activity.

34

Comming

on

board

for

brief

stay

were

Wilford

Woodruff, Reuben Hedlock, Joseph A. Stratton and a few other

brethren from Liverpool.

miles.
Bro

They sailed with the ship for ten

Sheets wrote that before leaving the ship:

Woodruff married me and Miss Margaret Hutchinson of Prestiegn Radnorshire England on borde of said vessil. And I can asshore you that there was but very litel prepperation ore fuss made by eather one of us fore the wedding fore we ware married in the very same close that we wore on the pasage over the Sea yet we had a very comfortabell weding. And all things was don in [decency] and in order. be a day long to be Ani remembered.

The voyage across the Atlantic was the passengers became seasick.

rough and many of

After the weather cleared

On 22 March 1846, the

several meetings were held on board.

ship anchored off the mouth of the Mississippi River and the
next day a steamer pulled the boat over the sand bar but in

so doing the Live rpool collided with another ship breaking

its foremast and doing other damage.

On the

twenty-fifth
Once

the passengers were finally able to reach dry land.

landing in New Orleans they met a brother of the Church from

Nauvoo who told them of

the exodus of the saints from that

city due to the persecution created by the citizens of the neighboring areas.
to

Hiram Clark and Sheets made arrangements

St.

get

passage

to

Louis

for

about
52

thirty

of

the

immigrants on the

river boat Conway.

They arrived in

Nauvoo on the sixth of April.

It had been two months shy of two years since Sheets

have

viewed

Nauvoo,

and

the

sight

must

have

been

35

spectacular.

He wrote:

"Oure eyes soon coot sight of the

Temple of the Lord it looked grand to me after being away

fore near two years in England."

53

Nauvoo was a different

place than the one he left.

Hyram were

Joseph Smith and his brother

no longer with the Saints, and several thousand

"I say it did not seem much like

had already left the city.

home either

as

the

Saints ware
54

leaving dayle & making

preparations to do so."

A whole new part of his life was unfolding.

He was now

married, and brought his new bride to America just in time

to participate in a mass migration from Nauvoo.
He was

leaving the East were he had grown up and spent so much

time, and was starting to participate more in the activities

of

the

Church,

after

receiving much training while

missionary in Pennsylvania and England.

Within a few month

after landing in Nauvoo he and his new wife would be on the

trail to Winter Quarters, Nebraska and the West.

NOTES

1 Times and Seasons (August 1843) 4:281.

I 2,

'Sheets, Diaries, fd 4

Most likely he had ague, which is a fever accompanied by chills or shivering.

4

Sheets, Diaries, fd. 4.

Ibid .
6

Smith, History of the Church, 5:436.

Times and Seasons (August 1843) 4:282.
Sheets, Diaries, fd 1, 5 November 1843.

7
O

9Ibid . , 10Ibid. "L1Ibid .

13

fd 4.

"Journal

History, vol. 17, 21 May 1844.

Sheets, Diaries, fd 3.
14 July 1844.
15 July 1844.

14Ibid. , 15Ibid. ,
16

1844) vol

The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (September 5 pT 64

"Sheets,
8 1

Diaries, fd. 3, 24 August 1844.

British Mission, Manuscript History, vol. 13, 6 September 1844, Typescript, LDS Church Archives.
19

Sheets, Diaries, fd 3, 12 September 1844.

Ibid., Ibid., 22t1_. . Ibid.

15 September 1844.

17 September 1844.

37 23

Ibid., 7 February 1845.

24

Ibid., 19 February 1845.

Millennial Star (March 1845) vol. 5, p. 156.
Sheets, Diaries, fd 3, 22 March 1845.

25

26
27
28
29

Millennial Star (May 1845) vol. 5, p. 195.

Sheets, Diaries, fd 3, 27 April 1845.

Ibid

8 May 184 5.

30

Ibid.

14 April 1845.

. 32 Ibid. 33 Ibid.
31Ibid
34 35

15 May 184 5.

19 May 1845.
8 June 1845. 15 May 184 5.

Ibid Ibid

. 36 Ibid.
.
Ibid

26 May 1845.
fd 4, 23 August 1845.

37 Ibid 38

30 August 18 45.

. 39 Ibid. 40 Ibid. 41 Ibid. 42 Ibid.

43

24 August 1845.
28 August 1845. 25 August 1845.
12 October 1845.

Ibid Ibid

fd 7, 12 October 1845.

44

. 45 Ibid.
Ibid

fd 4, 14 November 1845

46

16 September 1845.
4 December 1845.

. 48 Ibid.
47 Ibid

30 December 1845.

49
50

Millennial Star (February 1846) vol. 7, p. 39-40.

Sheets, Diaries, fd 4, 13 January 1846.

38

51Ibid .
52

British Mission, Manuscript History, vol. 13, 16

Sheets, Diaries, fd 4, 6 April 1846.

January 1846.

53
54

Ibid

III. EMIGRATION TO AND EARLY ACTIVITIES

IN UTAH

The Sheets arrival in Nauvoo came at a very critical time

for

the

LDS

Church.

Efforts were

being made by

non-Mormons in nearby cities and counties to rid themselves

of

this

religious group.

By the

early part of 1846, it

became apparent to the Mormon leadership that they could no

longer live in their beautiful city, because of the bitter

feelings, and acts of violence leveled against them.
On 2

February 1846, despite cold weather, Church leaders decided

it was

time

to

leave.

February

fourth

signaled

the

beginning of the trek westward with the first small company

being ferried across the Mississippi River.

After arriving

on the west bank they struck out across the prairie and

established a camp nine miles into Iowa at a place called

Sugar Creek.

This camp became the rendezvous point for the

1

movement across Iowa.

From Sugar

Creek the migration across Iowa was a slow

process.

Many of the Saints were not well equipped for the

trip and becoming accustomed to the daily travel and the

weeks and months of living in a tent, wagon, or sleeping in
the

out-of-doors was extremely hard.

Iowa was

sparsely

settled and was available for planting crops, and because of

this, time was taken to plant crops and prepare better for
the march across the Iowa territory.

40
Nauvoo was a busy place during the Winter of 1845-1846

and through September of 1846 when the final push was made
by the non-Mormons to expel the Church.
Men hurried to

build or

repair wagons,

committees were

formed to

find

purchasers for the real estate, and people were flocking to

Nauvoo

to take

advantage of

the bargains in houses and

lands.

Upon their

arrival in Nauvoo Elijah and Margaret

were drawn into the commotion, the preparation, and eventual

departure

Sheetsf Preparation and Departure for Winter Quarters

Sheets purchased a wagon for sixty dollars and a pair of

oxen for

forty dollars in preparation for the journey

westward.

Joseph Stratton also lent him his oxen until the

following spring, since he was going to St. Louis to preside

over the branch of the Church there.

On May first, only twenty-five days after arriving in
Nauvoo

from

England,

Elijah and

Margaret

crossed the

Mississippi River.

They stayed near the river for three

weeks until Wilford Woodruff

arrived.

They started out

across Iowa, traveling "on when the wether would permit,

throw the swoulps & mud holes fore the road was very bad
part of the way.
But we meet with no ser[iou]s accedents."

On the fifteenth of June they arrived at Mt

Pisgah, a

temporary settlement along the trail and stayed there for

two weeks.

On July

fourth they went through an Indian

Sheets described the Indians

village in the Iowa territory.

as a very friendly group.

They continued on to Council

41

Bluffs, a Mormon settlement established on the east bank of

the Missouri River, arriving on July ninth.

ferry was

built to shuttle wagons acrossed the river, where the Saints settled an area in the Nebraska Territory, known as Winter

Quarters

It was here that Elijah and Margaret spent the Winter of

1846-1847.

Activities while in Winter Quarters

By the

time the body of

Saints reached the Missouri

River it was considered impractical to send a company any

further west that year.

Supplies were low, and the season

was late.

The 16,000 Mormons scattered across Iowa and on

the banks of the Missouri River and began preparations for the next year.
Houses were built very

close together and

the space between them was filled with pickets, to form a

fort.

The majority of the houses were covered with sod.

Each room had one door and a window with four panes of
glass.
Many had no floors.

Sickness prevailed in the fall

reported that
six hundred

and winter months and it was

people were buried before the cold weather brought the camp
relief

Among

the

sick was Margaret Sheets.

On

December

twenty-sixth she gave birth to a daughter, whom they named

Margaret

Hannah Sheets.

She never

recovered from the

pregnancy or delivery and on January twenty-fourth Sheets

wrote:
fore

"My Wife was very porly.

Not likly to live long,

shee had been sick and bed fast fore beter then tow

42
months, So that shee count hardley turn hire selfe."
On the

twenty-fourth Brigham Young was

called to

come

to

the

Sheets' home with Wilford Woodruff.

He and Wilford Woodruff

performed a Mormon ritual wherein they sealed, or married,

Elijah and Margaret together for time and eternity "withe
the Blessings of Abraham Isac & Jacob And to build up

kingdoms and rule over them &c"

On the

morning of

the 1 February 1846 Margaret died

leaving Sheets with his five week old baby: "Shee Died easy

without a strugel.

And hire happy spirit has gon to the

manshions of bliss where she will rest till the morn of the Resurection
of

the

Ritious,

when

I shall

have

the

unspeakebell joy of

seeing and having hire a gain, whare

Deth will never seperate us a gain."

After Margaret's death, Sheets took

the baby to the

Sister Malin

Malins, a family he had known in Pennsylvania.

took care of little Margaret who grew and remained strong

for three weeks,

and then became sick.

Sheets records in

his diary:
And about that time the Litel Deare took a bad And had it about five weaks Night coald & coff. and day And on the 14th (1847) of April about 2.0 clock in the after Noon she Died And went home to
I the world of spirits with hure Dear Mother. Disired fore the Deare littel thing to of lived. But it seamed other wise determened gSo I try to feell rickinsiled to the will of God.

Sheets was determined to carry on with his life in

spite of his grief.

On 6 April 1847 Sheets was married to

Susanna Musser of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania of whom he

43

said: "And althow my losses hase been grate I believe that

she will make me happy.

Bro Brigham Young Married us

...

fore time and fore all Etirnity."

Susanna
Musser

was born in Bart Township, Lancaster

County, Pennsylvania, on 2 September 1827, the daughter of

Samuel Musser and Anna Barr.

It is possible that Sheets met

Susanna during his missionary labors in Lancaster County, or

knew of

the Musser family and was introduced to Susanna

shortly after the death of his wife.

During this period of time preparations continued for
the trek west.
honeymoon.

Elijah and his bride had no time

for

Within a few short months, and after extensive

preparation, they would be part of the second emigrating

company to head toward the Salt Lake Valley.

Emigration to Utah

The

emigration of

the

large body

of

Mormons

was

accomplished much the same way as the exodus from Nauvoo.

On 14 January 1847, Brigham Young announced "The Word and

Will of the Lord" to the Saints in Winter Quarters.

This

revelation stated that groups were to continue under the

organization

of

the

previous year

wherein

there

were

captains of hundreds, fifties, and tens with Brigham Young

as

the

commander

and

chief

of

the

entire

migration.

Captains of each of the companies were to decide how many

could go west in 1847, and also which able bodied men could
go as a pioneer company to prepare the way for the rest of
the

Saints.

On April

seventh and eighth,

the pioneer

44
company of Saints, started out on their

journey west with

7 143 men, three women, and two children.

Elijah and Susanna left Winter Quarters on 5 June 1847

with the first of the large companies of Saints.

O

Sheets was

assigned to be captain of the first ten.

There were many

trying experiences along the way, as well as pleasant ones,

such as,
fun and dancing.

Both women

and men became

involved in the day to day activities of the camp, driving

the ox teams, getting and preparing food for the company,

and caring for the sick.

Patty Bartlett Sessions, one of

the women in the company, kept extensive records of their

journey.

She wrote about the first day:

"We left Winter

I drove a wagon

Quarters and started for

with a four

the mountains.

Ox-team and we encamped for

9

the night after

traveling 4 miles."
all together

The journey across the plains was not

unpleasant, but there were experiences that

Sheets

created some difficult times and tense situations.

said the trek was "a long and a [tedious] journey but we got
throw safe.
10 And we thanked the Lord fore it."

One of the most common mishaps was wagons turning over.

On August nineteenth Patty Sessions wrote:

turned over with Carlos in it Carlos not hurt into the water got his tings wet although he was under water all but his face and sacks of grain and trunks a top of him he cut the cover and got him out nd all the rest of the things loaded up again.
P G had his waggon

Susanna Sheets also kept an account of

their travels,

although it is very sketchy.

In July she said they "crost

45
the Look Fork; one Child was kild in crossing; the waggon

ran over it."

12

The frequent appearances of Indians in the

camp also created moments of

stress.

Susanna wrote
One

on

several occasions about their

wrote:

encounters.

time she

"0 painfull thought one Brother shot by the Omaha

Indians; his sufferings was soon over

he left two sisters

in our Camp to lament his loss not only them but the whole

camp."

On

other

occasions

she wrote of more positive

we had some
A

experiences: "The Indians visetted us again

music
&

Dansing

the trading was done out of Camp.

few

days later she wrote:

100

"Indians visited us in number about

In

they

left us

friendly."

September

she

stated:

the Snakes they are not as noble 13 looking as the Sues yet well."
"Indians visetted us of The

journey

from Winter

Quarters to the

Salt Lake

Valley

took
When

from June

fifth to September

twenty-fourth,

1847.

they arrived many

fields had already been

planted, streams had been diverted for

city was beginning to take shape.

irrigation, and a

It must have been an

exciting moment to view the valley and know that this was to
be the place they would live and raise their

families in

peace, away from the contention and hatred in the east.

Early Years in the Salt Lake Valley

Most of the Mormon pioneers that entered the Great Salt

Lake Valley had positive impressions of the area.

In their

view it was the place that the Lord wanted them to settle.
The Salt Lake Valley had good vegetation, fertile soil, a

46
favorable climate, timber in the mountains, abundant water

in the

mountain streams,

and the hope for

agricultural
the

success.

Sheets also had a positive impression of

valley as recorded in his journal:

Grate basin of North America

"Grate Salt Lake city

I arrived in this valley on

the 20th of

September

1847

And a beautifull valley it

is."14
The Sheets settled in a place called the Old Fort, a
western

style

fort

started by the pioneer company with

He tells

houses and other buildings made of logs and adobe.

of

his initial activities in the valley:

"I unloaded my

waggon and Started to the cannon to make roads and get out

logs to build a house fore my family. 15 for the winter."

And to get up Wood

The winter was a relatively mild one and spring brought

new hope for the Saints.

Winter wheat, that had not been

destroyed by cattle, came up with the promise of a good

harvest. the

Even after a

cricket infestation in May of 1848,

an influx of

Saints were able to prepare for

more

emigrants.
to over

By the end of the summer of 1848, the city grew

5,000 people.

The old fort was disbanded and the

supplies were used to build homes on other locations in the

city.
For the Saints in the valley helping out the emigrant

companies was of primary concern.

In October

of

1849,

Sheets was among several who helped George A. Smith and his company as they made their trek into the valley.
wrote : ,

Smith

47
'In the afternoon we met a recruit of cattle from the Valley with Brother Elijah F. Sheets and Wright Brother Glover, formerly of and in their care. Easton, Pa., that went out to California in the ship 'Brooklyn' in the year 1846, had come over to the Salt Lake a few weeks ago and sent me a yoke of cattle by Brothers Sheets and Wright to assist me into the Valley, asghe was informed by despatches that I was coming.'

Many of the new emigrants were housed in log cabins, tents,

and wagons

until permanent

housing could be

arranged.

Conditions during the winter of 1848-49 were bleak with the influx of arriving Saints, and a scanty harvest.

Private businesses began to grow and develop during the

first

two years

in the va:lley.

At

the

same

time work

continued on community projects such as; constructing walls and buildings, hauling lumber from the canyons, and working
on irrigation ditches, etc.
Sheets worked as a blacksmith

in a small business owned by Burr Frost in addition to doing

farm work.
He continued these labors until December of

1850 when he was called on a mission to help settle Iron

County.

Iron County
In July of

Mission

1850 articles from the First Presidency of

the

LDS

Church appeared in the Deseret News requesting

On 27 July 1850,

volunteers to colonize Iron County, Utah. the following article appeared:

Brethren of Great Salt Lake City, and vicinity, who are full of faith and good works; who have been blessed with means; who want more means; and are willing to labor & toil to obtain those

48
means; are informed by the Presidency of the Church, that a colony is wanted at Little Salt Lake this fall; that 50 or more good, effective men, with teams and wagons, provisions, and clothing, for one year. Seed, grain in abundance, and tools in all their variety for a new colony, are wanted to start from this place immediately after the fall conference (Friday, 4th of Sept.) to repair to the valley of the Little Salt Lake: without delay; there to sow, build and fence; erect a saw and grist mill; establish an iron foundry as speedily as possible; and do all other acts and things necessary for the presentation & safety of an infant settlement.

.. .

Brigham Young appointed George A. Smith, a member of

the Quorum of the Twelve to head this colonization effort.
On 27 October 1850, Smith asked for 100 men to accompany him

to Iron County.

On 16 November 1850, an article appeared in

the Deseret News, giving a list of the one-hundred men who had volunteered,
Sheets'
name was
on

the

list.

An

additional fifty men were asked to join the expedition and

were given a list of things needed for the journey:

Wanted one hundred men, ready to start on the first day of December, with 500 bushels of seed wheat, 30,000 pounds of bread stuff, or 300 pounds to each person; 34 ploughs, 17 set drag teeth, 1 ax, spade, shovel and hoe to each man; 1 mill wright, 5 carpenters and joiners; 2 blacksmiths, 2 shoemakers, and 1 surveyor, each with tools; 4 top and pit sawyers, with saws; 1 stone cutter, 2 masons; grain and grass scythes, sickles and pitch forks, 50 each; one gun and 200 rounds of ammunition to each man; 50 horses, 25 pair of holster pistols, 1 gun smith, 1 cow to two persons, 50 beef cattle; potatoes and seed of the ball; radish, beets, squash and garden seeds of all kinds; and also Hjgry Miller with his threshing machine next year.
Sheets wrote:
"On the 8th of December 1850 I left this

city

on'

a mission for Iron county in the mids of winter.

49

With Brother Gorge A. Smith

the brethrn.
9 1

And bout one hundred and 20 of

Besides the 120 men in the camp there were

The

"30 women over 14 years and 18 children under 14 years.

company had 101 wagons, 2 carriages, 100 horses, 12 mules,

368 oxen and 166 head of

loose cattle."

20

In a list of

pioneers who left Salt Lake City in December of 1850, and

arriving at Center Creek in Utah County, 13 January 1851, no
mention is made of any of Sheets' family being with him.
On December

fifteenth the settlers made camp at Utah

Fort, later known as Provo, Utah, organizing and waiting for

the

rest

of

the

company

to

arrive.

George

A.

Smith

officially organized the group after the manner of the 1847

emigration.

Sheets was called as a captain of ten and a

first Lieutenant in the Iron County militia.

One

of

Sheets first assignments as Lieutenant in the

militia came on 26 December 1850 when several head of cattle and oxen were discovered missing from the camp.

Smith

ordered several men to go to a nearby Indian camp because it

was reported that a trail of two oxen and several Indians

lead into the mountains.
Twenty men on horseback were

ordered to follow and get the oxen, and if possible, the thieves.
Shortly after
the horsemen left a
report was

issued that the oxen were found, but there were more Indians than previously thought.
Smith sent Sheets, with twenty men

on foot, to support the cavalry previously sent out.

The

oxen were

returned, both being shot with several arrows

Sheets

apiece.

and his men arrived in the afternoon,

reporting that the Indians crossed the river and the horse

50

soldiers were in pursuit.

wrote:

Of the men in his company Smith

"The manner in which the officers and men in the

Iron Battalion performed their

duty,

and the promptness

manifested by them pleased me very much."

21
The

The traveling conditions were less than ideal.

group left in the winter so they could be in Iron County for

spring planting.
On Monday December

sixteenth John D. Lee,

the clerk of the mission reported, "Morning cold thermoneter

26

below Zero."

22

During the

trip

they had to cross

ravines, cut roads, and fix wagons, much like crossing the

plains a few years before.

Sat. 28th]

Lee reported: "Friday Dec 27th [

1850 clear and cold Thermometer stood at 3 deg.

&

below Zero about 8 o'clock the teams were gathered

camp on their march, traveled about 2 ms
&

the

crossed a deep
Capt A B

Ravine

at which

place

the

forward

irons of

. .
On

Cherry's waggon was broken but was soon repared by means of

a Bar of
Iron which was

23 lashed along side of it."

Monday 30 December 1850 Sheets and his company stopped for

repai rs :
Capt Andrew Love met with the misfortune of having the hind Exle of his waggon broken The breach cannot be repaired until coal could be burnt. capt E.F. Sheets with his co was ordered by the Pres. to stop & distribute his load among them & bring his waggon & effects on to the The next Encampment which is about 6 1/2 ms snow here now is from 1 to 2 inches deep, about dark Capts E.Fheets & Love with their cos arrived in camp.

. . .

. . .

....

Sheets experience as a blacksmith enabled him to be involved

in

some

of

the

activities

described

below:

51
31st 1850 Morning cloudy Ther stood at 22 above Zero About 7 the Capts of 10's called for 3 men from each co to dig down the banks of the creek in the mean time another & make a good crossing. portion of the camp were engaged in fitting up a Forge & rigings for Blacksmi thing & still another co were gathering the cattle & a few men with capt Newman descended the Creek some 3 ms in search of chalk.
Tues

. . .

While much of the trip was taxing to members of the

expedition, they did have moments of fun and relaxation.

29 December 1850 Smith wrote that the camp
in this snowey Desert presents quite a lively appearance, a number of Camp fires made of dry Ceadar surrounded by Companies variously engaged, some listening to violins, accordians, Hyms, relating anecdots, calling of Guards & all serves to ginerate a pleasant variety. The perfect good humour which prevails and good health in the company, notwithstanding the severe cold and deep snows which we have had to encounter whilst passing over high Mountains which would be no smalg obstacle even in Summer, is really remarkable.
On

On

...

31 December

1850 the Iron Mission was at Meadow

January brought a continuation of

Creek in Millard County.

cold temperatures and difficult travelling conditions.

The

expedition viewed their

destination on Friday 10 January

1851.

Before entering the valley, "Pres. Smith ascended to

the top of one of the highest dwarf pine trees at that place
&

from it had a view of the Little Salt Lake Vally."

27

Upon

their arrival they celebrated by firing their guns into the

The work to establish a settlement began by building a

fort, farming, making roads, exploring, etc.

The city that

was settled became known as Parowan, and was situated in the

52
south end of what was known as the Little Salt Lake Valley.

The name was given to this valley because of a small, mostly

dry salt lake situated about seven miles to the west of the
town

.
No mention is made of

Sheets' being elected to any

other

civil office,

or

serving in any

capacity than a

captain of ten.

His assignment was helping establish the

town before returning to his family in Salt Lake City.

Brigham Young visited Parowan from May tenth to the

sixteenth, and thirty men , returned with him to Salt Lake

City.
Sheets was

asked by President Young

if he was

returning to Salt Lake at that time:

In the Spring of 1851 Prest Brigham Young and company came to visite us And was much pleased with the Location & the Laboure we had performed. And quite a number of the Brethern that came down with Smith was going back with him. And one Prest G A day before he started back he asked me if I was I said no I had not thought going back with him. I told him if I wished of it. I expected to stay. For I had some Fence to to I could not got then. build and Some picketing to do around the Forte. He said to me to do that and then to return to S.L. City

. .

Sheets prepared to return to his family at the end of

May after finishing his fencing project.
A small group left

for

Salt Lake City on 4

June

1850 and George A.

Smith

appointed

Sheets

captain

of

the

company.

29

These

experiences with the

leadership of

the Church give the

impression that Sheets had proven himself a trusted leader

of men.

53
After returning to Salt Lake and finding "all things at

home as well as could be expected" Sheets resumed farming:

"And from that time till Now I have been busy a harvesting
and geting Wood and sowing grane
&c

&c"

30

Civic Activities
In 1853 Sheets became politically active in Salt Lake

City

elections.

He

participated on
He

city,

county,

and

territorial levels.

served on the Salt Lake City and

Provo City councils, was an alderman for both Salt Lake City

and Provo City, was an assessor and tax collector for Utah
County, and a senator for the provisional State of Deseret.

City Official
On

7 March 1853 and again in April of

1857 during

municipal elections, Sheets was elected to the Salt Lake

city council.

One of his responsibilities was

the public

safety of the city.

of

He was instrumental in the replacement

Salt Lake's inadequate jail.

It was

said of the old

structure,

that

it was

"very dangerous for men to stand

guard at it, as the grates on the back part of the prison

were

so that 31 prisoner."

revolver might be handed through to a

Sheets met with city officials to discuss

the new facility. These men visited Brigham
Young recommended usage of a

prospects for

Young to discuss the problem.

room in the Council House, which would alleviate the danger

of prisoners escaping.

54
Sheets was elected an alderman of the first civic ward

in Salt Lake City on 13 February 1860, which office he held

for twelve years.

His responsibilities included management

of water rights and building irrigation canals for the city.

Contention had risen over legislation involving water rights

in Utah because of the lack of rainfall.

the main source of water for crops. established
to

Irrigation became

Regulations had to be

control water

and ensure

that

everyone

received the proper amount of water needed for their land.

An

article

from

the

Deseret

News,

told

of

the

"unthankful task"

imposed on those who were

required to

govern the water flow in the city. of

Sheets established a set

regulations informing the citizens of the city "that no

water hereafter can be taken by any one without the direct

and positive instructions of the water-masters of the wards and that governed by well-defined law."
32

Those who did not

want to live by the regulations were "branded 'a thief,' and

forced to meet the penalties of

the law as such."

33

An

editorial in the Deseret News agreed wholeheartedly with

Sheets' regulations and counselled the citizens of the city:

After this; let us have no grumbling, no stealing of water, no inuendos about this one or that one using more or getting more than their share. Water-masters do your duty fearlessly , and the people will sustain you. Nobody wants any favor: nobody wants to dodge general afflictions. and everybody wants to share alike in abundance.
In 1864,

as his expertise

grew

in water

related

matters, Sheets headed up the construction of a canal from

the Jordan River, near the Jordan Narrows, to Salt Lake

55
City.
At a mass meeting held on 17 August 1864, a committee

of bishops from Salt Lake was formed to report to the city

council on feasibility of

such a project.

The committee

comprising Reuben Miller, William Hickenlooper , and Elijah

F.

Sheets, were

to physically examine the

river and the

canal area.

After their study they reported there would be

no serious obstacles in building a canal and estimated the

cost to be around $28,000.00.

At a mass meeting held on the twenty-sixth of November,

a canal company was organized to build the canal.

After the

work began the Deseret News wrote a favorable editorial on

the progress of the canal:

This work, then, which may be truly called a great one, is now going on, about four miles having been already let out, and the digging commenced. The spirit manifested by the citizens at the mass meeting, and the energy displayed by Bishops Sharp, Sheets, Gardner and Brinton, and J.W. Fox Esq., to whom the letting out to contractors has been entrusted, raise very sanguine expectations that it will not be long before the residue of the Jordan will be carried out of its former bed, bear on its bottom northward some of the cereal and mineral wealth of more southern parts of the Territory, and the thirsty pour its richness in gentle streams soil lying beneath it in its course.
Sheets was also involved in building an aqueduct down

North Temple Street in Salt Lake City to control the water

flow from City Creek where damage had previously taken place

during spring runoffs.

Sheets devised a plan for the city

to build a canal, or channel as it was referred to, in the

middle

of

North Temple. channel three

The

canal

was

made
feet

of

semi-circular

and one-half

deep and

56

Illustration 3

Source: Charles Roscoe Savage, Photograph, [City Creek aqueduct, ca. 1875]. LDS Church Archives.

57
fourteen feet wide at the top.
It ran five blocks west from

the northeast corner of the Temple block, jogged south for a

block and one-half, then back to North Temple to the Jordan River.
crossed

Bridges were built over the channel where the stream

the
streets.

36

On

January

1867 an article

appeared in the Deseret News giving details of the newly completed aqueduct:
The aqueduct on North Temple COMPLETED. Street has been completed in a substantial manner, and the waters of City Creek course quietly down it in a tame and gently gurgling style. The work is a credit to the city, and the early date of its completion speaks well for the energy of Supervisor Sheets, and the prompt liberality of the citizens who donated to increase the appropriation of the Those unsightly and gaping Legislative Assembly. holes, which disfigured North Temple Street and made traveling on it neither safe nor pleasant, having been filled up, and the surface made level on either side of the aqueduct, we may look for pleasant promenades there in the balmy air of summer evenings in the future. And there will be

f-

no dread of lots being washed away when spring floods make,7the now quiet stream turbulent and boisterous

Territorial Official

During the period of time Sheets was serving on the

Salt Lake City council and as alderman of the first ward in

the city, he also became involved on a territorial level

taking part in the elections for the State of Deseret.
The

State of Deseret was formed in March of 1849 and continued

until the United States Congress granted Utah territorial

status

in 1851.

It continued to

function as

"ghost

government" until the 1870s, with officials being elected

from the membership of the Church.

The organization of this

58

government gave

the membership of

the Church a voice in

civic

affairs.

They

had been poorly

represented by

federally appointed officials.

Nominations were
February of

held for

government

positions

in

1862.
Salt

Sheets was elected as a representative

from

Great

Lake, Tooele,

Summit,

and Green River

counties serving with Albert Carrington, Wilford Woodruff,

and John Taylor.
In April when the

Senate met for

their

first general assembly Sheets was appointed to the revenue,

roads, agriculture, and penitentiary committees.
Sheets was reelected to the Senate.
In 1865

Member of a Grievance Committee

At a mass meeting held on 16 January 1858, members of

the Church adopted an address to President James Buchanan,

president of the United States, expressing concern over the

way

territorial matters were

handled in their

behalf.

Troubles arose when federally appointed officials began to

manage the affairs in the territory.

Finding the Mormon

community a tight-knit and well organized group they left

Utah with reports that the Mormons were in defiance of the

laws of
respect

the United States, that

for

they had little if any

the

federally appointed officials, and that

In respect to these and other

their lives were in danger.

reports filtering the many miles from Utah to Washington,

D.C., Buchanan sent an army to investigate.
A committee was

formed to prepare the address to the

president with Elijah F. Sheets, Gilbert Clements, A.H.

59

Raleigh, William Moody and Dr. J.M. Whitmore as committee

members.

The

address

prepared by the

Sheets committee

answered several questions regarding the policies of

Buchanan administration in regards to Utah.

the

The main points

were :
1. The Mormon government never made treaties with the

Indians

2. The federal government provided people to preside

over them whose "very presence, it is widely known, was an

outrage on common decency."

3. The citizen of Utah wanted good men to be the rulers

and declared that they would be courteously received and

strictly obeyed, but those men were not sent.

4. Because the Legislators dared to exercise the right

of petition, they were denied mail facilities and branded as

traitors

.
the courts, the breaking up of rebellion of
the
Mormons

5. The reports of the returning officials about the

injustice of
court

the supreme "as base

and the

were

falsehoods as were ever hatched in hell or propaguted by the

devil
-i

. .

ii

38

They asked the president in their address;

Is we of If

the business of an army, peace? What laws have broken? Not the laws of the United States, nor this Territory; we dare proof to the contrary. they come to establish the common law of Great Britain, or the bye-laws of Bedlam, we have law enough without, and their presence is unnecessary. If they come to crush out from our bosoms that noble feeling American independence, hallowed by our father's blood and bequeathed to us as a sacred boon the task is greater than they can perform.

60
Your army will not be permitted to enter our valleys. We wish for peace, but we will sacrifice all the fruits of our labors, rather than rrender our domestic peace and inalienable rights.
In closing they stated:

And now, sir, at your hands we demand that Pay us justice which has ever been denied us. those just dues, which have been so long and illegally withheld, and appoint good men to rule us, who have discernment to perceive our wants and sufficient judgment to promote our welfare; withdraw your army, grant us our rights and receive the heartfelt gratitude of a whole people. Continue the injustice of your present course, and your grave will be pointed out as that of the man who broke the noblest of national compacts your name be consigned to future generations with lasting infamy. Elijah F. Sheets, A H Raleigh, Gilbert Clements, J. M. Whitmore, William Moody,

..

Committee on behalf of the citizens of Great Salt Lake City, Great Salt Lake County, Utah Territory. Great Salt Lake City, U.Tft, u Jan 16, 1858.
The army sent out by President Buchanan did go through
Salt Lake City, but no blood was

shed.

The Mormons had

abandoned the capital city and fled to the South, leaving

men to set the city on fire if the army strayed from their

ranks.

The

army

eventually

settled some

forty

miles

southwest of Salt Lake City, close enough for them to keep

an eye on the Mormons, but far enough away that they would
not run into conflicts.

With his activities in emigrating to Utah, serving with

the Iron County Mission, and civic endeavors in Salt Lake
City Sheets proved himself as a viable leader.
He gained

61

experience through hard work and in solving problems and

became an asset in Salt Lake City, not only in politics and civil

affairs,

but

in

management
forte

of

ecclesiastical
temporal

activities.

Sheets'

was

managing

areas building canals,

organizing work

crews,

stopping
As

flooding and became sought after

in this regards.

religious leader, he would again be sought after to use his

expertise in running temporal affairs.

NOTES

David E. Miller and Delia S. Miller, Nauvoo : The City (Salt Lake City, Utah: Pergrine Smith, Inc , of Joseph. 1974), pp. 186-188.

Swoulps probably refers to a Sheets, Diaries, fd 4. slough, a mud hollow or swamp.

Brigham Henry Roberts, A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. ( Provo , Utah : Brigham Young University Press, 1965 ) , 3:151.
3

Sheets, Diaries, fd 4, 24 Ibid., 1 February 1846. Ibid., April 1847.

7

January 1847.

Roberts, A Comprehensive History, 3:163.

History, vol 22, 21 June 1847.

Journal
Q

Patty Bartlett Sessions, Diaries, 1846-1866, Manuscript, Historical Department, LDS Church Archives.

"Sheets,

Diaries, fd 4, 20 September 1847.

11 Sessions, Diaries, 19 August 1847.

"Sheets, Diaries, fd 1, 1 July 1847. "Ibid., 20 June 1847-1 September 1847. "Ibid., fd 4, 20 September 1847.
Ibid. 1 December 1887. On this date he entered into his journal a brief sketch of his life from the time he arrived in Salt Lake City. Many of the events of his life were recorded as a reminiscence.
5 1

"Journal Deseret
1 ft

History, vol. 27, 27 October 1849, p. 22.

News, 27 July 1850, p. 50.

Ibid., 16 November 1850, pp. 154-55

Sheets, Diaries, fd 4, 19 November 1851.

19

Parowan Ward, Manuscript History, 1850-1851, Typescript, LDS Church Archives.

20

63
of the Iron George A. Smith, Papers, "Journal County Mission", vol. 1, 26 December 1850, MS, LDS Church Gustive 0. Larson, ed., "Journal of the Iron County Mission, John D. Lee Clerk : December 10, 1850-March 1, 18 51," Utah Historical Quarterly, 20(1952), p. 118. This is probably referring to 26 degrees Fahrenheit because later he so that it was not states: "Road soft & heavy wheeling," frozen solid. On the eighteenth Lee writes: "Thermometer 29." This is substantiated by the journals of George A. Smith, as kept by his clerk, Henry A. Lunt, who also records the temperature at twenty-nine degrees for December eighteenth. See, George A. Smith, Papers, LDS Church It was cold, however, because on 26 December Archives. 1850, both journal entries record the temperature dipping to sixteen below zero.

21

...

Archives 22

23lbid . ,
24Ibid.,

p. 129.
p. 133. pp. 133-134.

25Ibid . ,
2Smith,
27
28

"Journal.

.", vol. 1, 29 December 1850.

Larson, "Journal of the Iron County Mission," p. 266.

Sheets, Diaries, fd 4, 1 December 1887.

2Smith, "Journal. vol 2, 25 May 1851. The company was organized on 25 May but did not leave until 4 June. On 1 June, the company met at the home of George A. Smith, where he "had a pleasant interview" with them before their departure. "Sheets,
31

. .

Diaries, 19 November 1851.

Journal History, vol. 48, 24 October 1858.

News, 18 May 1864, p. 264.

32Peseret 33Ibid. 34Ibid.

3Ibid., 3Ibid., 3Ibid.,
3 ft 39

4 January 1865, p. 108.

12 September 1866, p. 325.
2 January 1867, p. 5.

Journal History, vol. 47, 16 January 1858.

Ibid

., 40T, Ibid.

IV. LOCAL CHURCH LEADERSHIP

Bishop of the Salt Lake Eighth Ward

After arriving home from Iron County, Sheets continued

his

activities
He

as

member

of

the

second quorum of

Seventies.

had been ordained to this quorum on 9 April

On 12 January 1853 he was set apart
A statement

1845, while in England.

as one of the seven presidents of that quorum.

from the minutes of a seventies quorum meeting held on 16

January

1853,

shows

the

dedication and commitment

He commented that

that
if the

Sheets had for the LDS Church.

quorum lived up to the Church's standards and kept

that spirit in our possession we will at all times, and upon all occasions be ready to do our duty, no matter what we are told to do whether to stay here and build houses, haul stones to build a temple,
or

raise grain to feed the poor, settle in new vallies haul grain to feed the poor emigrant which journey here, we will be willing and ready to do it.,,J-

Sheets was taken from the second quorum of Seventies

and ordained a High Priest in the LDS Church on 11 May 1856.
At

the same time he was ordained Bishop of the Salt Lake

Eighth Ward

by

his

old

friend

from

Chester
2

County

Pennsylvania , Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter.

Location of the Salt Lake Eighth Ward

The Salt Lake Eighth Ward was organized in 1849 when

65
Salt

Lake City was divided into nineteen ecclesiastical

Its boundaries were:

units.

Third South Street on the

north; Between Third and Fourth East Streets on the east;

Sixth South Street on the south; and Main Street on the

west.

The ward includes the block where the modern Salt

Lake City and County Building is located. Wards that surrounded the Eighth Ward were:
The ninth

ward on the east; The thirteenth ward on the north; The Third ward on the south;
The ward

and the Seventh ward on the west.

ten-acres

contained
897

nine

blocks

and

had

a were

population of
Mormons

in 1887, of which only one-half

.
in close proximity to the

The ward boundaries were

center of Salt Lake City and included Washington Square, one

of

the

temporary

camping

ground

for

arriving

Mormon

pioneers.

Of the ward square it has been written:

The famous Eighth Ward Square which is the central block in the Eighth ward, or Washington Square (now occupied by the City and County building) was for many years the camping grounds for arriving immigrant trains. It was on or near this spot where the advance company of Pioneers pitched their tents, July 23, 1847. Here William Carter did the first plowing, and here were planted the first potatoes in Great Salt Lake valley. Here, also, the Pioneer camp was organized for work, and Elder Orson Pratt called the camp together and dedicated the land to the Lord for the benefit of his Saints. In later years the city utilized the square for a stray pond, and still later a protion of it was enclosed with a high fence and turned into a ball park and skating rink, the city renting it to private parties, it a hay market, and here was also used in part for the visiting or traveling circus and other shows were held. It was finally set apart in 1809 as the site for the conjoint city and county building which notable structure now points its lofty spire

66

heavenward and adds due importance to this first camping ground of the Utah Pioneers.

Duties of a Bishop
Some of

the duties of a bishop in the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints and some of the activities and

responsibilities that were placed on Sheets when he accepted

the

assignment

to

serve,

are

found

in the Doctine and

Covenants

These revelations to the Church indicate there

1) President

are four main responsibilities for a bishop;

of the Aaronic Priesthood,
of the Church,
3)

2) Steward over temporal affairs

Minister of those in his care to teach

4) Literal them both temporal and spiritual things, and 4 judge over all members in his ward. While these revelations

give a general outline of the responsibilities of a bishop,

how they fulfilled their particular assignments was not

completly spelled out.
As Brigham Young once

said in an

1855 Bishops meeting: "'It is not for me to say what the 5 In 1862 he continued the thought, outlining bishops do.'"

some basic duties: "The office of a Bishop is to attend to

the temporal affairs of the Church to see that the poor are
taken care of

to

see that

the brethren judiciously

and

wisely conduct themselves in the capacity of a community."

As to specific activities he said,

"When we ordain a man to

officiate in a branch of the Church as a bishop, he does so g Robert T. Burton of the to the best of his knowledge."

Presiding Bishopric informed the Salt Lake Bishops, "'Nobody

can

point

out

the

detailed duties

of

Bishop,

for

67

circumstances are constantly arising in the various wards that need the wisdom of God to fathom and correct.'"
Some of

the responsibilities that many of the bishops

of the church participated in, were to:

take the lead 'in every domestic improvement'; establish and supervise schools; assist the farmers; supervise the cultivation of public property and the repair of ward fences; assign to new arrivals their farm and town lots; see personally to the distribution of irrigation water and the maintenance and construction of ditches; keep cattle out of the fields, imposing sanctions on uncooperative owners; assign men to work on community road crews; and direct construction of schools, meetinghouses ,and other The pioneer bishop's concerns public buildings. For the Sunday were overwhelmingly temporal. sermon he or a designated person might speak one week 'upon the Ditch to convey Water to the 18th Ward' and the next week on why the Lord's people Whatever the theme, were subject to persecution. it was regarded as an aspect of 'the restored Occupationally the bishops during the gospel.' nineteenth century were with few excpetions farmers effective and businessmen, practicalg-minded, motivators of men and women.
It was amid these numerous temporal activities, as well

as

counselling

on

spiritual

matters,

that

Sheets

was

involved in as bishop of the Eighth Ward.

Some of the basic

activities that Sheets participated in personally were: 1)

Local leader of the reformation movement of the church.
Caretaker
offerings.
of
4) 2)

the

poor.

3)

Collector

of

tithes

and

Counselor to the membership of his ward on

5)

temporal matters.

Literal judge of spiritual matters.

6) Organizer of the ward's United Order.

1.

Local leader of the reformation movement of the Church

The

reformation was an effort by Church officials to

68

Illustration 4

Source: Edward Martin, Photograph, Bishops of Great Salt Lake City, 1867 LDS Church Archives. Sheets is the second from the left on the third row from the bottom.

69

Illustration 5

Source: Edward Martin, Photograph, Bishops of Great Salt Lake City, 1867, Elijah Funk Sheets, Bishop of the Salt Lake Eighth Ward. LDS Church Archives

70
bring the membership back in line with official teachings

and doctrine.

Through all the trials members of the Church

had endured, through the travels from Europe and the East,
most

remained strongly

committed

to

teachings

such as
In

prayer, sabbath day observance, chastity, fasting, etc.

1856,

however,

as

the

people

began

to

settle

into a

lifestyle free of persecution and trials, many became lax in

regards to their committments.
At a conference held in Kaysville, Utah on 13 September

1856, the reformation movement was

officially instigated

under the leadership of President Jedediah M. Grant, of the

First Presidency of the Church.
Acceptance of a renewed

belief was usually signified by a member being rebaptized to

symbalize a washing away of their old sins and habits and a

rebirth of keeping the commandments. Under the leadership of Bishop Sheets, the Eighth Ward
also participated in this movement. While the reformation

was a
effort

renewal of
to

spiritual commitments,
the

it was

also an

have

saints

recommit

to

many

temporal

activities such as payment of

helping

debts and contributions,

and
refraining
from

the

poor

and

afflicted,

drunkedness and vulgarity.

Latter-day Saints believed that

obeying so called temporal laws was as vital as obedience to

spiritual laws.

In the Doctrine and Covenants it states:

Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam your father, whom I created.

71
The

reformation was

not only

taught

in the worship

meetings, where Sheets counseled the members of his ward "to

be more faithful and keep all of the commandments," but it

was

taught to the teachers of

the ward where

they were

instructed on what

to say to the families they visited.

Sheets expressed once that the ward membership as a whole

had not committed any great their
prayers,

sins, but many had neglected

heard to

had been found drunkened, were

blaspheme the name of God, had been caught in lies while

engaged in trading or conducting business,
and were not

paying their tithing.

Sheets relied heavily on the reports and advise of the

Ward Teachers to whom he had assigned to visit the homes of

the members of the ward.

Through their efforts the Eighth

Ward was able to come in line with the teachings of the church and reform their lives.
2

Caretaker of the poor

As part of the daily activities of a bishop, Sheets was

responsibile for taking care of poor members of his ward.

Each bishops had the sole responsibility for the individual
members of their wards, and to aid them, instructions were received from their

superiors counseling them on ways to

the

handle the affairs of

poor.

In 1887

the

First

Presidency of the Church sent an epistle to the Bishops with

the following instructions:
it is proper that each Bishop and his Counsellors should take the necessary steps to properly care for the poor who live in their Wards.

72

They should call the Relief Societies to their aid in this labor. The reasonable wants of the poor should be supplied and the pangs of poverty and God has greatly destitution should be a[voided]. and gardens, fields of our in the fruits blessed us in our flocks and herds, and in giving us comfortable habitations, and means to sustain ourselves.

...

While aid was given freely to the elderly and those who were
sick and could not work, it was never allowed to continue to
those that could work and support themselves.
From the same

letter the First Presidency advised:

It would be a great evil among us to encourage any class in living upon the benevolence of the community. No system of begging should be Those able to work should be furnished permitted. employment. Persons who are properly disposed will be glad to obtain it in preference to being fed with the bread of charity; and all should be encouraged to labor according to their strength. This policy, if wisely pursued,will prevent and develope pauperism, self-exeron and confidence, and produce self-respect.
In the minutes from the Eighth ward teachers meetings,

concern was expressed for those who had little if any means
to support themselves.
It was through the teachers that
He

Sheets kept in touch with the needs of the membership.

never asked for donations without first giving himself.

On

19 September 1861 it was recorded that donations were made

of wood for the poor.
Sheets,
Fifteen brethren, including Bishop

donated

one-half

cord

of

wood

to

the

cause.

Through the teachers Sheets provided wood, food, clothing,

and shelter to those that were in need, especially during

the cold winter months.
One of Sheets greatest concerns in regard to the poor

73
came in the form of new immigrants to the area.
ward with one
of

Being the newly

the

temporary camping ground for

arriving

immigrating

parties,

Sheets

was

constantly

bombarded with new arrivals that were without food or proper

shelter.

Though Sheets was a benevolent leader, and desired

to help as much as he could, he was also under obligation to

help them maintain their self sufficiency.

At a teacher's

meeting held on 29 September 1856, Sheets brought up the

subject

of

bringing poor

people

into

the

ward.

He

recommended that the teachers council them to "go into the

country and that no one bring them in the ward unless th[ey]

were able to support them so as not to burden the ward with more than our share of the poor."

12

His concern for the

rather
from a

poor did not stem from selfish means, but

genuine concern for the long range welfare of the people to

3 1 "take care of themselves and earn their own living."

At

times,

however,

the needs of
To

the numerous poor

must of

concerned him greatly.

lighten the tension that this

situation caused he joked to his teachers, "We must be doing

better to the poor than others; hence the reason why they
flock in."

14

But in all reality he knew that redistribution

was the only way to not only help the new arrivals, but to
keep from overtaxing the members of his ward.
3

Collector of tithes and offerings

Directly related to the care that was taken with the

poor, was the collection of tithes and offerings from the

membership of the Church.

To the LDS the payment of tithes

74
and offerings was a sign of faithfulness in keeping the laws

and commandments of the Lord.

The giving of offerings to

the Church was a responsibility that dealt with temporal

items but had great spiritual implications. The two most

common offerings

given by the people in the nineteenth

century were Fast Offerings and Tithing.

Fast Offerings.

This contribution was based on the

ability of those that had means to give of a portion of

their surplus to assist the poor.
One day during the month

was set aside as a day of fasting and prayer.

Members who

fasted were to donate the food they would have consumed to

the bishop. This food was then used to help sustain the
The leadership of the Church admonished

poor in the ward.

the Saints to live this law:

In some of our Wards there is not proper care taken

in the collection of the fast offerings of the The first Thursday in the month has been people. set apart in the Church as a day of fasting and of prayer. That day should be strictly observed.
Fast offerings should be brought with a liberal hand to the Bishop of each Ward, that he may be prepared to supply those who are dependent upon the ward for sustenance. Some Wards require considerable aid from the church to help sustain their poor, because their own fast offerings do not supply them; while sometimes in the same Stake there are other Wards where there are few, if any, dependent poor. Presidents of Stakes should make arrangments with the Bishops of these last named Wards to transfer their fast offerings to the Bishops of some contiguous ward which has more poor within its borders than its own fast offerings will supply. In this way all the people can have an equalcppportuni ty of doing their duty to the

Bishop Sheets also stressed the importance of obeying

this law that "he might have something to feed the poor."

75
As

we have already seen, caring for the poor was a major

concern for Bishop Sheets, and the donations received from

the membership of the ward would have greatly helped in this

concern

.16 .
An important contribution for

Tithing

members of the

Church was payment of ones tithing.

Tithing was a law of

the church instituted not only for the financial support of

the organization, but also for the spiritual benefit of the

individual member.

Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter

"for

once

remarked that tithing was

the benefit of those that

paid it."
to

17

To be in total harmony with the Church, one was

pay

one-tenth of

his increase to the bishops.

The

tithing was then used by the Church leadership as they saw

fit.

There were basically five different types of tithing

2)

used in the nineteenth century; 1) Property tithing. Labor tithing.

3)

Produce and stock tithing.

4)

Cash

tithing. 5) Institutional tithing.

The most common form to

pay was that of produce and stock due to the shortage of currency in Mormon communities.

Each bishop became an agent of the Trustee-in-Trust of the Church to collect the tithing, store it in the local
Bishop's
storehouse,
then distribute

it to

the

General

Church.

The tithing was used to aid in the immigration of

the membership of the Church to Utah, to build buildings,

and to help in the administrative cost of the organization.

In the general meetings of

the Eighth ward and in the

concern for

Teachers meeting, a common theme was Sheets' collection of the tithes.

At a meeting in 1856 he probed

76
for

commitments

from the

teachers

to

"square up their
On 7 January 1857 he

tithing by the 1st of January, 1857."

"urged the Teachers to pay their tithing also to teach it to

the people." His concern never seemed to focus on the need

of the Church for financial assistance, but on the need of

the

members

to

bless

their

lives

by

following

the

commandments of the
4

Lord."'"

Counselor to the membership on temporal matters

One of the important responsibilities of the nineteenth

century bishop was to counsel the membership of the ward in

daily activities.

Some of

the areas where bishops of the

time period, and Bishop Sheets in particular, helped in was

in raising funds
for

the building of

church houses and

schools, and counciling members to care for themselves.

Building projects.
Some of

the building projects in

which the Eighth Ward participated included helping haul

stone
for

the Salt Lake Temple, building a new meeting Each brethren in the

house, and repairing the school house.

ward was asked to donate means to help build, wagons for

helping haul, and time to do much of the work.
It was the

teachers, not the Sheets himself, that lined up the men for

these projects.

But as with donations and contributions,

Sheets was in the forefront and usually giving the most time
and means.

Projects that

involved the whole city usually meant

One of the projects

assignments of labor from the wards.

was hauling stone from the quaries

in Little Cottonwood

77
canyon for

the temple.

Also of

great concern to Sheets

during the 1860s was the building of a water canal to supply

water to the city.
of

Records kept in his journal indicated

members
of

the

amount

time

the ward

spent

on

the

project

.19
He

Sheets was generally pleased with the response his ward

gave on assignments, projects, and donations of goods.

was always conscious to thank and praise before attending to

counsel or asking for more help.

Counselling the Saints.
One of Bishop Sheets strong

points was the way in which he could counsel the membership

of

the ward to take care of themselves and be productive.

In 1856 he admonished the Eighth ward teachers to see "that

there was no idlers in the ward that they might

... be
for

busy while good weather lasted that none might suffer

want of food and fuel."

He was always

conscious of the fact

He told the

that many in the ward did not heed his counsel.

teachers to "wake up some of the mumblers of this ward that 20 had not walked in the line of their duty for a long time."
Most of the Eighth Ward teachers' meeting would begin

with the bishop asking for a report of the activities of his

teachers and find out if the needs of each individual member

were being met.
He was concerned that they had enough wood

to burn for the winter and enough food to help them survive.
At

a Teachers Meeting held on 31 October 1858 the Bishop

advised the brethren to get their bread stuff and prepare

for a time of scarcity.
He wanted the teachers to talk

to

the

people because

"he could see they were lacking."

21

78
After

that

winter

the

teachers

reported that

the

ward

survived the winter

though it had been hard to get wood.

reports but did not let the

Sheets was pleased with the

moment pass without counselling them to get their grain in

for the future.

Another area that he talked to ward members about was the way they treated one another.
Sheets, like many other

members of the Church at the time, had a strong dislike for

the Gentile or non-Mormon civil leadership they had.

During

a teachers meeting in 1861 it was reported that two members

had had a difficulty between themselves and to solve the
matter

had gone

to

the

civil courts.

Sheets

strongly

advised the Teachers to counsel the members that when "they

had difficulties to settle them in a proper manner and take

a course to make peace for

gentile courts did not make

peace
5

. ,.22 "
of Spiritual Matters

. Judge

As a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

Saints, Sheets was appointed to be a judge of the membership

of his ward over the spiritual activities of their lives.
In the Doctrine and Covenants it states:

And whoso standeth in this mission [the office of bishop] is appointed to be a judge in Israel.

And to judgfi his people by the testimony of the just.

...

The bishop as literal judge in Israel was to judge on

matters of

both spi ritual and temporal nature.

/

Classic

79

stories in the nineteenth century Church are of Bishops

judging on the water

corrals, etc.

rights, where to put houses, build

Of a more serious nature was the judging that

a bishop had to do on the

spiritual side of life, when

the

members were

not

living up to

standards of

Church

doctrine and practice.

At

a teachers meeting held on 21 February 1861, the

teachers reported that a brother in the ward was slack in

attending to his duties in the church and was not considered
to be in full fellowship.

Sheets remarked that he knew this

man was not doing his duties, that he did not pray or pay

his tithing.

He wished the

teachers to "wake him up if

possible" for he considered him to be "fast asleep."

then opened up a discussion on the matter.
He

Sheets

relied

heavily on the counsel of the brethren that attended the

Teachers

Meeting and listened closely to

their

advice.

Brother Woodward spoke and thought the reports were about

right on behalf of the individual, that it was "time to Trim

up the Tree for the health of the body."

?4

As the weeks went by reports continued to come in that

the

accused was

not

responding to

the

counsel of

the

Teachers assigned to his home.

Bishop Sheets took to heart

the counsel of Brother Woodward and invited him to the next Teachers
meeting to
"talk
to

him and

try

the

saving

influence and see if we could prevail on him to serve his

God if we could not we should have to disfellowship him."
25

On March twenty-first the brother in question arrived

at the Teachers meeting and was given the floor to discuss

80
the reasons that he had not been attending his meetings.
He

commented that he had some previous difficulties and that he

had some bitter feelings towards the bishop, thus the reason
for staying away from church activity.

The meeting was then

opened for the teachers to counsel with him.

They advised
full

him to

straighten out

his life and to

return to

fellowship.

The Bishop counseled him to clear up the old

He

mistakes and make his life right by being rebaptized.

stated that he did not feel he could do that and he left.

It was moved and carried by the brethren to cut him off.

Sheets then commented that he was thankful for the work the
brethren had taken in his behalf and that the decision was

right and would stand.

6

. Organizer
In the

of the ward's United Order

early

1870s cooperative

stores

were

being

instituted under

the auspices of

the ZCMI as a way of

Many Salt

creating outlets for home manufactured goods.

Lake Wards organized in the effort and created goods for the

public

.
19 May 1874 a branch of
the

On

United Order was

organized in the Eighth ward.

Bishop Sheets invited all who

wanted to join to vote for the organization and those who

could not, for business reasons,

would not need to.

It was

voted in favor of organizing a United order with Elijah F.

Sheets

as President, John D.T. McAllister as 1st vice

president, Isaac Brockbank, 2nd Vice President, John N.

Pike, secretary, and John Cartwright, treasurer.

81

The Eighth Ward United Order was organized as a Hat

factory.
In 1875 a

report in the Deseret News stated that

even though the hat factory only ran for a few years it did

turn out "ladies' and gentleman's hats of different shapes

and quality.

Feelings toward Bishop Sheets

To many members of

the Salt Lake Eighth Ward, Bishop

Sheets was the only bishop they ever knew. For forty-eight

years he presided over the ward, working directly with the

membership and counseling them in spiritual and temporal
matters.
A

question to ask ourselves is; after forty-eight

He had

years of service, how was Sheets liked by the ward?

numerous

opportunities

to

cause

offense,

as

bishops
But

manytimes do when called upon to counsel the members.

at the same time he had many chances to create close and

lasting friendships.
One occasion in particular shows the love and respect

that the ward membership had for their bishop.

On 11 May

1896 a party was held in honor of Bishop Sheets for forty

years of service as bishop of the Salt Lake Eighth ward. The

ward choir

sang his favorite

hymn then the prayer was

C. B.

offered by his first counselor, Joseph W. McMurrin.

Tuckfield presented to Sheets a silver mounted silk umbrella

as a token of the respect and esteem that the members of the

ward held for

him.

On the

handle of

the umbrella was

engraven the words,

"May 1, 1896, Presented to E.F. Sheets

by the members of the Eighth ward on his 40th anniversary as

Bishop.

'

Bishop Sheets

rose

to speak

and stated that he was

He

"almost

too

full

for

utterance."

spoke

for

awhile

thanking everyone for the occasion.

Release as Bishop of the Eighth Ward
In 1904

Sheets was affairs of

83

years

old and to continue

handling the

this urban ward would have been

extremely taxing.

Arnold H. Schulthese of the Liberty Stake

said that because of Sheets' advanced age he should not have

the
great

responsibility

of

the

bishopric

upon

his

shoulders.

When contemplating his release Sheets wrote, "I

hope my laboures have bin exceptable to the Lord and my

Brethern.

1,29

In the

teachers meeting held on 29 May 1904 Sheets

reported that

it was his last meeting that he would be

attending with the Teachers because in two weeks from that

date he would be released as bishop.
to thank
He took a few moments

the brethren for their assistance to him in his

"remain dilegent in thier
He stated that he

calling and admonished them to

labors to build up the kingdom of God."

felt that "the change would be all right."

30

At a sacrament meeting held on 12 June 1904, President

Arnold H. Schulthese of the Liberty Stake presided and told

the membership of the ward of the release of Bishop Sheets.

Sheets spoke and said the saints in the Eighth Ward were the

closest to him, next to his family, but he felt that his release was

"all right."

In expressing a

reserved, "all

right" to the public, he showed how difficult this occasion

83
was.
In his journal he wrote:

This day I was honorbly released from being bishop of the Eight Ward of the Liberty Stak of Zion which I had bin Bishop over for over 48 This was don upon the acont of my age as I years. am now over 83 years old And I feel that there is quite a burdon token off my solders And may God bless the., new Bishop and council. And the Ward wich I love.

While the release of Bishop Sheets may not have been a

total shock to those in attendance, many of whom knew a
change would soon take place, because of Sheets' age, it was
an emotional moment knowing that they would not work closely
with him again.

Speakers commented on the longevity and

faithfulness of his service.

President John R. Winder of

the stake presidency noted the tears of sadness in the eyes

of the saints to part with Bishop Sheets and stated, "There

will always be pleasure in the hearts of the Saints when the

name of Bishop Sheets is mentioned."
33

Member of the Utah Stake Presidency

In February of 1868 Sheets was called by Brigham Young

to serve a

"mission" with Abraham 0. Smoot,

in the Utah

Stake Presidency.

At the same time Sheets was elected to

serve as an alderman for the city of Provo, and in 1870 an assessor and collector in Utah County.

Circumstances
local authority.
prity hard place.
there was
some

in Provo, Utah, demanded a change of

As Sheets put it: "Provo had got to be a

And Prest. Young wished to reform it As

33
Many of

hard cases lived there."

the

84
leading men in the Church were called to "reside there and
act

in

different

civil

capacities,

and

labor

as

missionaries

34 ."

During a meeting held on 9 February 1868, the newly assigned brethren spoke, several commenting on the condition
of the area.

Joseph F. Smith, a member of the Quorum of the

Twelve apostles stated:

What advantage will it be to us, if we gain the whole world and neglect to cultivate honesty, integrity, uprightness andrthe sanctif ication of ourselves before the Lord.
George A. Smith, also of the Quorum of the Twelve, discussed

the need to be one because divisions existed and needed to

be

closed.

36

Sheets

spoke

on

the

importance of

never

forgetting their prayers, or their God who had helped them

gather to Utah.

He counseled that it was important to bring

the poor, and all those who believe in the Church, from the

nations of the earth to Utah.

goal he stated:

In order to accomplish this

The man who raises a bushel of wheat more than he needs for his own consumption has done so much for He must be a slothful servant the general good. The who produces nothing more than he consumes. Saints are well fed, well clad, and well housed and they are greatly blessed in the valleys of these mountains, and should be united. Our blessings will be increased more ancLjnore if we make a good use of that which we have. The leadership continued to emphasize the importance of

reforming lives and staying close to the teachings of the

Church during the following weeks.

One of Sheets'

favorite

85

gospel subjects to preach about was tithing.

that the members should keep their

He stressed

"word good with our

brethren" by paying their tithing and that "we will receive

blessings in [payment]
Lord.

of

tithes which we bring to the

1,38
Of general importance to Sheets was the establishment

of the United Order in the city, the Provo Woolen Mills, and

construction of roads in Provo Canyon.

In a meeting held on

12 April 1868, Sheets admonished the members by saying:

true Saint desires in every way to build up the which consists in home Kingdom of God: Relief Societies, and making high manufactures, ways through the Mountains such as the Provo Kanyon Road "
A

Raid on Provo
On the

night of 22 September 1870, a party of forty

soldiers from the Camp Rawlins, situated near Provo, came into the city and began to riot; smashing doors and windows,
tearing down signs and yelling throughout the town.
determined
It was

that

the

soldiers

were

disgruntled

with a
McDonald,

decision made by one of the city councilmen, A F

. .

who refused to let them rent a hall in the city where they

could hold a party and sell whiskey.

It was known that the

bishops in the city had counseled their young people not to

associate with the soldiers.
The soldiers' intent was to damage the leading citizens houses the
four

White houses as they were

called A F

. .

McDonald's, E.F. Sheets', A.O. Smoot's, and Brigham Young's.

At

the McDonald's home they demolished every outside door

86

and window

on the

first

floor,

then entered the house

scattering furniture and bedding over the yard and sidewalk.

Next they went
to Sheet's house and did similar

damage.

Fortunately both the McDonalds and Sheets' were not at home. They went to the center of the town prepared to burn the
Church but were stopped by a group of Provo citizens.

When Sheets returned to Provo he was put in charge of

obtaining depositions

from

witnesses

of

the

incident.

Thomas Fuller, who was captured by the rioters, testified

that while the

soldiers broke the windows out of

these

homes,

"they were firing guns and pistols, and filling the

40

air with yells and oaths."

Richard Breherton told that he

was dragged out of his house by two soldiers and as they

went over to the MacDonald's and Sheets' homes he heard them

say they would "pull down Sheet's house and hang him."

41

Sheets' long tenure as bishop would be hard to follow

in any great detail.

During his years of service he saw the

Eighth ward go from a pioneer ward with a large influx of immigrants to an established twentieth century city ward.

His length of service is still hailed as the longest in LDS 42 While serving as bishop he accepted calls Church History.
to serve in other capacities as well, such as;

a member of

the Utah stake presidency, a missionary to Pennsylvania, a

traveling

bishop,

church

stock

agent,

and

assistant
in great

trustee-in-trust.

His leadership skills were

demand and even with the responsibility of the bishopric, he

was

sought for

and called to

respond to many needs and

challenges in the Church.

His character was one of willing

87

submission,

never

complaining of being overworked by the

Church leadership.
He was never timid when preaching to congregations and

reminding them of

their duties in the Church, especially

when it came to the donations of tithes and offerings and

helping to

sustain the Church in a temporal way.

His

leadership was one of kindness and love, with a dedication

to the truth.
He cared for

the individual more than the

institution, and by preaching exactness to Church laws, felt

that he was helping members reach their full potential.

NOTES
i

Seventies quorums, records, 1844-1975, MSS, Second

Quorum, Minutes, 16 January, 1853.

One of the first assignments Sheets had to undertake See appendix A for a complete was calling his counselors. list
?

Ward, Manuscript History, 1856-1904, Typescript, LDS Church Archives, 1890.

Eighth

Dale Floyd Beecher, "The Office of Bishop: An Example of Organizational Development in the Church," Task Papers in LDS History, 1978, No. 21, p. 2.
Ibid. Quoted from the Salt Lake Bishops, Minutes of Meetings, 1849-1884, 7 April 1855, LDS Church Archives.
5

Brigham Young, 7 May 1861, Journal of Discourses, Lithographic reptrint, (London: LDS ' Book Depot, 1854-1886 ; Salt Lake City, 1966), 9:90.
7
O

Beecher, "The Office of Bishop", p. 2.

Arrington and Bitton, The Mormon Experience, p. 209.

Doctrine and Covenants 29:34.

Council of the Twelve Apostles, General epistle, 1887, Manuscript, Historical Department, LDS Church Archives

0 1

Eighth Ward, General Minutes, 29 September 1856, Manuscript, LDS Church Archives.

12

"Ibid.,
14

3 October 1861.

Ibid., 3 January 1889.

5 1

Council of the Twelve Apostles, General epistle,

1887.
1 fs

Eighth Ward, General minutes, 20 September 1860.

1 February 1857.

"Ibid,

89
1 ft

Ibid, 7 January 1857.

19

Ibid., 20 September 1860.

22 October 1856.

20Ibid. ,
21

Ibid., 31 October 1858.

27 February 1861.

22Ibid.
23
24

Doctrine and Covenants 58:17-18.

Eighth Ward, General Minutes, 21 February 1861.
7 March 1861.
News, 27 May 1874, p. 268.

25Ibid. ,
Deseret

2Ibid.,

13 October 1875, p. 591.

History, vol. 323, 11 May 1896.

2Journal
29

Sheets, Diaries, fd. 4.

Eighth
Sheets,

Ward, General Minutes, 29 May 1904. Diaries, fd 4, 12 June 1904.

Eighth
33

Ward, General Minutes, 12 June 1904.

Sheets, Diaries, fd 4, 1 December 1887.

Star, 30:156.

Millennial

Journal
Utah

History, vol. 69, 9 February 1868.

Stake, General Minutes, 8 February 1868. LDS Church Archives.

37
qo

Journal History, vol. 69, 9 February 1868.

Utah Stake, General Minutes, 13 March 1868.

39Ibid . ,
40

16 April 1868.

Journal History, vol. 82, 23 September 1870.

Ibid

41

See appendix B for a list of the longest serving bishops in the Salt Lake Stake.

42

V. GENERAL CHURCH LEADERSHIP

Traveling Bishop

Sheets was called to serve as a traveling bishop on 28

April 1871.

In this assignment he was directed to supervise

the donation of tithing in Utah, Juab, Sanpete, and Millard

Counties
A

traveling bishop in the LDS Church was assigned to

supervise temporal matters in the settlements he visited and

whose jurisdiction was not limited to a particular ward or

stake.

While it is known that traveling bishops existed in

the pre-Utah era of Mormon history, not much is known of the

duties, or who officiated in the office.

Local leaders were
not

2
to

always

able

handle

the

complicated procedures relating to temporal matters such as

the collection of tithes and other offerings, surveying of

Church crops and herds, and the distribution of such items

to the general storehouses.

It was for the benefit of the

In

local leadership that traveling bishops were called.

1880,

Elder

Orson

Pratt,

of

the

Quorum of

the Twelve,

explained the purpose of the traveling bishops:

it would be his duty if so called and appointed to travel through the various Stakes of Zion to exhort the people to do their duty, to look after the temporal interests of the Church, to humble the rich and the proud and lift up the low and the meek of the earth."

. . .

91

Brigham Young

stated:

"'Travelling Bishops

. . .

will

enquire into each man's conditions and his facilities for

living.'"

At the September conference of 1851, three men

were called to the office with five additional men being

called in
In a

1852.
letter dated 28 April 1871 Sheets received his

official call to this office and recorded it in his journal.

This letter gives

insight into what his responsibilities

were :
Salt Lake City U.T 28 Aprile 1871 Elder Elijah F. Sheets.
You are hereby autherized and Brother apointed to act as a Travelling Bishop throughout the Settlements in Utah, Juab, San Peete and Millard Counties, and Such other places as the First Presidency Shall Direct to take a general Supervison of all Tithing Donated in the District to which you are or may be assigned. And to see that all tihing Butter, Eggs, Cheas Cash etc. be forwarded to the General Tithing Store in kind as received as well as all Grain vegetables, Stock, etc. unless otherwise Directed by the First Presidency. You will also counsel and advise with the Elders and Saints where you are or may be appointed in Such mannor as the Holy Spirit may to travel, inspire, and advices from us from time to time may Direct in temporal matters pertaining to the well being of the Saints and the upbuilding of the Kingdom of God upon the earth. That you may be constantly guided by the Spirit of the Lord to be as a father to the peopele, that your labors may prove a blessing to them, and to youself, and that you may be an instrement in the hands of the Lord in doing a good work in the misshen to wich you are assigned.

Dear

Is the Prayer of youre Brethern Brigham Young Geo. A. Smith fi Daniel H. Wells

92
Sheets' specific activities, as outlined by this letter

were:

1)

General supervision of

all tithing donated and

2)

forwarded to the general tithing store.

advise the members on temporal matters.

Counsel and

General supervision of all tithing donated and forwarded to the general tithing store. Sheets wrote in his journal about several trips he took
to

visit

settlements

throughout

Utah,

some

of

which he

accompanied President Brigham Young.

In 1871 he wrote,

"Prest B. Young Invited me to take a trip with him and his

company to Cache Valley & Bare Lake & Soda Springs, Which I

did

&

seen to the Tithing &c."

On 11 December 1872 he took

a trip with President Young and a number of the brethren to

St. George visiting many of the settlements along the way.
On this latter

trip, Sheets was in company with Thomas L.

Kane and his wife,

Elizabeth Wood Kane.

Thomas Kane, though

a non-member of the LDS Church, had long been a friend and

associate with its leadership.

an arbiter

He helped out many times as

in disputes

between the

LDS

Church and the

government

of

the

United States.

In 1872

the

Kanes

accompanied Brigham Young and his party through the southern

portion of the Utah Territory.

Mrs. Kane kept extensive

records of the trip and her traveling companions.

never

Although

calling Sheets by name

g

she described him as the

"blue-eyed, white-headed bishop from Pennsylvania a Mormon

bishop, Imean."

Counseling and advising the members on temporal matters.

A large part of

Sheets' counseling was done from the

93

pulpit in Sabbath day meetings to several gatherings.

June

In

of

1871, Sheets

spoke

to

the Provo Saints on the

importance of

contributing means to aid in bringing LDS

immigrants to Utah from the "world" and donating whatever

they could to help build a temple to the Lord.
He said:

the Lord whom ye seek shall come suddenly to his temple, but where would he find a Temple today hence we must go to w<ork and build the same by tithes and offerings."
In October

. . .

of

1871 Sheets was

in Millard County
He told

speaking to the membership of the Millard Stake.

them that now was the time to show they are on the "right

side of the fence"

George A.

in doing their duties in the Church.

and endorsed what
Sheets

Smith arose

said by

reemphasizing the need for

the membership to

"attend to

their prayers, pay their tithing and their offerings and God would bless us as his people."
In August

10

of

1875,

Sheets

was

in Summit

County

accompanying Elder Wilford Woodruff.

At meetings held in

Wanship, Sheets spoke to those assembled on the importance

of tithing and other temporal matters.
On another occasion

he visited the members of the Church in Summit and Morgan

Counties,

accompanied by Elder Joseph F.

Smith.

They

attended to meetings in Coalville, Wanship, Kamas and Heber

City where they assessed the damage the people had sustained

by a grasshopper

infestation.

Of

the situation it was The

reported: "Grasshoppers have visited Morgan county.

grain crops there do not have a very promising appearance,

94
but there will be a fine yield of potatoes."
In August

11

of 1877 Sheets was released from his duties

system was

as traveling bishop when a new administrative

introduced by the Church leadership, involving a network of

bishop's agents.

In 1881

Sheets was called on a temporary

assignment, which resembled his activities as a traveling

bishop.

In a

letter

from

President John Taylor

and

Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter, Sheets was called to

proceed to Utah and other Stakes, and in connexion [sic] with the Bishops Agents and Bishops to Ascertain the condition of the Tithing hay, potatoes and other vegetables, and so far as possible make such disposition of the same as well be the -most beneficial in the interest of the church

. . .

Even

with

the new organization of

the

bishops agents,

Sheets' past experience was being sought.

While Sheets did not expound about his activities in this position, he did write about how he felt in serving. He
stated :
I continued to act in theas collings, and many others, untill the Death of Prest Young wich And x I believe I gave Gineral accored in 1878. Satisfaction in all of my Leabors to the First , Presidency. And all that was appointed over me.

Church Stock Agent

While Sheets was acting as traveling bishop, he was called to take charge of the Church stock and pasture lands.
He

replaced Briant Stringham who had been the previous

95
Church stock agent.

14

In many

cases it is difficult to

determine whether his activities fell in the realm of Church stock agent, or traveling bishop, both being concerned for

temporal activities.

In all likelihood, the performance of

his duties with the Church stock could have been carried out
in either capacity.
April
of
To

make things more complicated, in

be

1873 he was

called to

one

of

the

twelve

assistant trustees-in-trust for the Church, which position

dealt with many of the same activities as the previous two

positions
A

.
1878 from President John

letter dated 19 October

Taylor, successor to Brigham Young, gives an indication of

what some of Sheets' responsibilities were:

Salt Lake City U[tah] T[erritory] October 19, 1878
To whome it may concern

Elder E.F. Sheets has bin autherized and appointed by us to investigate the condishon of the horse, Sheepe and live Stock interests of the Church in all cooperative or other herds, ore in the hands of Bishops or other officers Wherever Such intrests may exist, And to take charge of the Same and direct there disposal or removel as he Shall deem most consistent with the good of all concerned

John Taylor Trustee and Trust Latter day Saints.

Sheets

the Church of Jesus Christ of

responsibility
To

as

Church

Stock

agent

were

twofold:

1)

investigate the condition of

2)

the Church
Church

livestock;

and

Direct

the

disposal

of

the

livestock

96
Investigate the condition of the Church livestock.
From the

time of his call in 1871 to his release in

1887, Sheets kept an accounting of

Church stock.

the increase of

the

On one occasion he wrote:

"Oure cattle and

And the

sheepe increased to the thousands during this time.

blessing of

the Lord was upon them."

Then in reporting

activities since 1878: "Oure stock have increased untill at

times we have had from 3 to 5 thousand head of cattle."
On a
16

trip in 1877 to Bear Lake and the surrounding

area,

Sheets visited with local leaders; C.C. Rich, and

William

Budge,

"and

found

everywhere

good

feeling

prevailing among the people, who have been rejoicing in the

mildest winter ever experienced in that region since its

settlement."
Of

the cattle under his charge he

".

examined the church stock

well,

. . .

and found the animals doing

thus far having been so favorable as to 17 necessitate but little feeding comparatively." In May and the winter

again in July of 1878 he visited Cache and Bear Lake Valleys

taking note of the progress the people were making with the dairy herds, the crops, and the cattle.
Sheets reported on a trip he made to Southern Utah in a

bishops meeting held on 28 November 1878.

church stock for the most part was well taken care of. From 15 to 30 teams passed daily through the southern settlements on their way to Arizona, where, in many parts, good crops could be raised without irrigation. In St. George and-other places he had visited, the Saints felt well."
In

...

. . .

1879

Sheets

reported

that

97
about 1100 head were in Idaho, a number in Castle Valley, some in nearly all the co-op herds The aggregate of church stock was in the country. about 5,000 head of homed stock, between 9000 and 10,000 sheep, besides $15,000 worth in the hands of Feed this year was scarcer than for co-op herds. many years, also water, which increased very materially the difficulty of herding, because necessity compelled moving the stock from place to place "

. . .

Direct the disposal of the Church livestock.

Sheets'

duties included more than just

investigating

the condition of

the livestock. Some trips were for

the

purpose of distributing the livestock throughout the Church

as needed. Sheets returned to Salt Lake City in June of 1874
after putting "a large head of cattle in the Tithing Office

. . .

to herd in the mountains up Blacksmith's Fork."

20

He

also reported:
We have Supplyed the hands in building the Logan Temple & the Sanpete Temple in beffe and And also the Publick works in Salt Lake Mutton.

City, a grate maney of theas cattle are from the increas of oure herds and some from the Tithing of And we have sold during this time the Saints. several thousand head to diferent pairties. And this last season we have sold some 15 thousand head of Sheepe. And have still got over 15 thousand sheep left. And oure birds and flocks are in good condition at the present, time, I have had my son Moroni asisting me fore about tow ears since he returned from his mishon in England.

Telegraphs received while Sheets was Church Stock Agent

give insight into some of the dealings that took place.
From Erastus Snow,

in St. George, Utah, Sheets received a

telegraph with technical information concerning the stock in

that area:

"Our stock numbers about thirty per cent cows

98
22 rating about twenty six fifty, but few old ones."
And,

"It is worth Seventy five cents on the dollar and not likely
to decline, Range good and Stock rising."
From

23

William B. Preston of the Utah Tithing Office in received a telegraph in 1879 Sheets

Logan,

Utah, Sheets

stating: "The Temple has no Beef will you let Tithing office
hands
here
Have

two

hundred

dollars

worth

from

promontory. "
In a

24

letter to Sheets on 5 September

1881 Preston

stated :
Dear Bro. We are owing the Temple Meat Market Seven Hundred Dollars ($700.00) for Meat furnished persons employed at the Church Farm, Logan Temple,

and Tithing Office, please forward us an order to take that amount of Beef Stock from Church Herd. There are a good force of men busily engaged (Haying) on the farm. All goes well. I remain. Your Bro in the Gospel, -r
Wm B

Preston

."

Sheets was very proud of the activities he performed

while in this position, and the increase in stock under his

care.
In October

of 1887, Sheets was released as Church

Stock Agent.

Of his activities he stated:

I held this posisionl for about 16 and halfe years. And I beleave I have given gineral satisfaction to all concerned. And as for my selfe I am satisfied with my labours knowing that I have don my yty faithfully before the Lord and all concerned.

Assistant Trus tee-in- Trust

Financial affairs in the Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints were handled by the trustee-in-trust, who

99

is usually the president of the Church.

27

The president had

supreme

financial

authority

over

the

Church

and

its

resources, and the collection and distribution of tithes and

offerings

.28
succeeded
time
by

Joseph Smith, as first president of the Church, was the

first
Young.

trustee-in-trust,
During the

President

Brigham

period of

from 1873-1875,

the

trustee-in-trust was George A. Smith, counselor to Brigham

Young in the first presidency.

Smith had twelve assistants

called to aid him in the work.

At a general conference held on 8 April 1873 Sheets was
29 elected as one of the assistant trustees of the Church.
On 7 May 1873 a statement was signed signifying that Sheets

was duly elected and able to serve:

Know all men by these presents. That Elijah F. Sheets was duly elected an Assistant Trustee in Trust of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at a General Conference of said Church, held at Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, on the 8th day of April A D Eighteen Hundred and Seventy Three. And I do hereby certify that the said Elijah F. Sheets has been duly qualified, and has given bonds which have been approved by said Conference, at an adjourned session of the same, held at Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, on the 3rd day of May A D 1873. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this Seventh day of May A.D. 1873. George Goddard Clerk of Conference.

..

. .

Sheets agreed to the

conditions of his election by

signing the following statement:

Now, therefore, if the said Elijah F. Sheets shall well and faithfully do and perform the duties

100
of such office, according to his best judgment, skill and ability, and shall not do nor consent to the doing of any matter or thing relating to the business of said Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, with intent to defraud any member therein, or creditor therof, or the public; then this obligation to be void, otherwise to be and remain in full force and virtue. Signed sealed and delivered in presence of
Angus M. Cannon [signed] James Jck [signed]

Elijah F. Sheets [signed] Wm Hooper [signed]

Edwd Hunter [signed]
As

with his previous positions of

general

church

service, it is hard to determine where one begins and the

other, one

ends.

His duties as assistant trustee-in-trust

were of a broad financial nature, dealing with livestock and

pasture

lands,

and
Some

financial
of

dealings

including

cash

transactions.

the

letters relating to these

responsibilities give insight into the work he did:

Dear Sir.

Enclosed please find check on Thatcher Brothers and Co Bankers, Logan City for $204.05 amount of taxes due on Church Herd for 1884. Your letter of the 24th inst was the first notice I had of the amount. Yours very truly E.F. Sheets, per S.
A letter delivered on 11 April 1877 to Elijah F. Sheets

stated :
Dear Brother, I have purchased a home for

brother John L. Smith who is to stay here and attend to labors in the temple. The cost is Fifteen hundred dollars ($1500.00) We have paid here $815 15 leaving a balance of $684.85

101
This purchase is from Wm. J. F. Mcallister This balance he is to draw as follows: 200.00 Wagon and Harness and Cash Span of mules, or ponies, order 484.85 on J. Haslam and grain
Get a team on Tithing if you can, and see Bro. Chas Crabtree he may be able to furnish something The team and outfit should be towards the above good and servicable, suitable for use on a mission to Arizona, Mexico or elsewhere. The interest as computed on an obligation forming part of the amount stated as being paid we have here is at the rate of 2% per month. decided to charge Bro Mc allister but 1% per month which will make a difference of one hundred and fifty one 50/100 dollars in his favor and which you will see that Bro John Haslam pays in cloth. Your brother in the gospel 3 Brigham Young [signed]
A

receipt shows some of the things he participated in:

Received from Bp E.F. Sheets, agent of Trustee in Trust the sum of four hundred and ninety three dollars and forty three cents. $493.43 in sundries, and also from John R. Haslem, for Prest B. Young, the sum of three hundred and forty two dollars and ninety two cents $342.92 in Cloth etc. Total eight hundred and thirty six dollars and thirty five cents $836.35 being the amount in full of all dues and demands against Prest B. Young Trustee in Trust on the purchase of my house and Lot in St. George, Washington Co. Utah Territory.
W. J. F.

Mcallister.34

Sheets carried out his responsibilities on a general

Church level the same way he did on the local level, with

willingness to follow the leadership and obey their counsel

and direction.
He

had keen interest

in the

temporal

management of the Church.

He knew that in the remote areas

of

Utah,

the

Church's

strength was

derived

on

the

transferral of commodities to the general storehouse, and

the dispersal of those commodities either to the poor, or

102
for
use

to

purchase

items

in need.

Sheets was

most

interested in the welfare of the individual member, knowing that their donation of tithes, offerings, and labor, was a
direct result of their commitment to the Church and its

leaders.

His willingness to leave his home and family for

extended periods of time to help in this cause is a sign of his commitment to the church and its leaders.

NOTES

Donald Gene Pace, "The LDS Presiding Bishopric, 1851-1888 : An Administrative Study" (Master of Arts, Brigham Young University, 1978), p. xi.

Ibid., p. 12. Pace mentions the revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1830 which is found in Doctrine and Covenants 20:65-66, wherein it mentions the office of the traveling bishop. No duties are mentioned. He also states that "no complete list of traveling bishops has yet been compiled. Nevertheless, there is at least one known pre-Utah traveling bishop, and perhaps a second." The known men were Dr. John M. Bernhisel and John Murdock, serving between 1844-1845.
3

Journal of Discourses, 22:35.

Dale Floyd Beecher, "The Office of Bishop: An Example of Organizational Development in the Church," Task Papers in p. 21. LDS History, No. 21.
The first Pace, "The LDS Presiding Bishopric," p. 23. three men called were John Banks, Alfred Cordon, and Nathaniel Felt. In addition to being called and ordained as a traveling bishop they were also sustained as assistant Presiding Bishops and were sustained in General Conferences until October 1853. The five men called in April of 1852 were Seth Taft, David Pettegrew, Abraham Hoagland, David Fullmer and Daniel Spencer. From that conference on they were never sustained by the general membership of the Church as General Authorities. See appendix C for a complete list of the traveling bishops.
5

6Sheets, Diaries, fd. 4, 1 December 1887. Sheets included this letter in his journal "in order that my mishon and apointment Given me by Prest Brigham Young, Gorge A. Smith & Daniel H. Wells, the first Presidency of the church, May be beter understod then I have Discribed here to fore."

7Ibid .
O

Elizabeth Wood Kane, Twelve Mormon Homes: Visited in Succession on a journey through Utah to Arizona. Introduction and notes by Everett L. Cooley, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Tanner Trust Fund, University of Utah Library, 1974), p. 7. Kane hardly ever mentioned names, and when she did she changed them to protect the identity of those whom

104

she wrote about. In his journal Sheets told of being in company with the Kanes. He stayed in St. George for a month, returning to Salt Lake City with A. M. Musser. President Brigham Young stayed for the winter.
9

Utah Stake, General Minutes, 4 June 1871. Millard Stake, General Minutes, 28 October 1871.
Deseret News, 9 July 1872, p. 347.

10

11

Pace, "The LDS Presiding Bishopric," p. 29. Letter found in the Edward Hunter Letterbooks, Presiding Bishopric Collection. Letter dated 1 March 1881.
13

12

Sheets, Diaries, fd 4, 1 December 1887.

In the book, Briant Stringham and His People, ed. by Nathaniel George Stringham, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Stevens & Wallis Press, 1949) pp. 53-57, it tells that Briant Stringham performed his duties as Church Stock agent by living on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. There were large herds of Church cattle, sheep, and horses on the island. His death came as a result of exposure and exhaustion while trying to remove sheep from the island during a heavy storm.

14

Sheets, Diaries, fd. 4, 1 December 1887. This letter may have been drafted for a specific mission that Sheets was going on to the southern part of the territory. he may have included it is his journal because it was the only written set of instructions he received.

15

16Ibid.
Deseret
1 ft

News, 17 February 1877, p. 40.

Journal History, vol. 125, 28 Nov 1878. vol. 128, 12 June 1879. vol. 103, 1 June 1874.

"Ibid.,

20Ibid . ,
22

21 Sheets, Diaires, fd. 4, 1 December 1887.

Erastus Snow, Telegraph, 5 December 1879, to Elijah F. Sheets, LDS Church Archives.

"Ibid., 15 September 1883, to Elijah F. Sheets, LDS Church Archives.

William B. Preston, Telegraph, 31 March 1879, to Elijah F. Sheets, LDS Church Archives.
Preston, Letter, 5 September 1881, to Elijah F. Sheets, LDS Church Archives.
?4

25

105
? ft

Sheets, Diaries, fd. 4, 1 December 1887.

27 Leonard J. Arrington in his book, Great Basin Kingdom, states: "The term 'trustee-in-trust, ' which seems to have currency only among the Latter-day Saints, may have been a corruption of the common legal phrase, 'trustee, in trust for. This phrase, in Mormon literature, would .' become 'trustee-in-trust, in trust for. .' The position of trustee-in-trust, was created at a general conference of the church held at Nauvoo, Illinois, on January 30, 1841. Joseph Smith, then president of the church, was the first trustee-in-t rust 11 (p. 431)

..

. .

28

Pace, "The LDS Presiding Bishopric," p. 3.

For an additional list of the assistant trustees that served during this period of time, see appendix D.

29

Elijah F. Sheets, Bond, 7 May 1873, LDS Church Archives

30

Ibid.,
32

11 April 1873, LDS Church Archives.

Ibid., Letter, 29 November 1884, to William F. Fisher, LDS Church Archives.

Bngham Young, Letter, 11 April 1877, to Elijah F. Sheets, LDS Church Archives.
W. J. F. McAllister, Receipt, 7 May 1877 between Elijah F. Sheets, LDS Church Archives.

33

34

VI.

LATER LIFE ACTIVITIES

Arrest for Unlawful Cohabitation

Plural marriage was

introduced into the LDS Church

during the Nauvoo period by its leader Joseph Smith, but was
never openly acknowledged by the Church until 1852.
Not all

members of

the Church practiced this principle of

their

religion, many were not in a financial position to do so,

and others were just not inclined to follow this practice. Those who did, were usually the

leading members of
1

the

church, and some of them followed it reluctantly.

Sheets entered into plural marriage when he married

Elizabeth Leaver on 8 February 1857. His second wife,

Susanna, died on 11 May 1861, leaving Sheets again with only

one wife.

On 7 December 1861 he married Emma Spencer and

remained a polygamist, supporting three families, Susanna's

as well as

the

living wives,

until 26

July 1892 when

Elizabeth died.

Emma died in 1900 leaving Sheets alone for

the remaining four years of his life.

Mormon polygamy was a matter of great importance in the

United States Congress, with laws being enacted making that

form of marriage illegal and punishable by fines.
By the

end

of

the

nineteenth

century

polygamists

were

being

arrested by federal marshals and Sheets was one of many

hiding from them.

He wrote:

107
And I am still endevering to carey out the councill of my Brethern, That is to keepe out of the hands ofmy persecuters who would cast me into prison if they could catch me as they have got an indictment against me of 4 counts. This thing of being hid up Makes it very uncomfertable for me. And also fore my family. But throw the blessings of the Lord we all stand it prity well. Knowing it is for the gospel Sake that And knowing it will not be a we are presecuted. grate while till the Kingdom of God will prevail upon the Earth. And the Saints will receve there rest & reward. When the wicked will seas to trembel, And the ritious will dwell in pease upon the Earth. That my Selfe and Family may contine faitfull to the End of oure Days And be Saved in the ~ Celestial Kingdom of God is my dayle prayer Amen
On 11 October

1888 after four years of dodging the

marshals Sheets finally gave himself up to the law:

I gave my Selfe up the marshels had bin after me for over four years but throw the blessing of the Lord I had bin enable to keepe out of there way. But it had bin very warering on me during this I should of gave my Selfe up soone if I time. could of got a just trile But there was 4 counts againste me And the courts ware very Predg against oure peope untill the present time. They also wanted me as a witness on the church case Which finley was cared up to the Supream court of the United States then I gave my selfe up and got a li sentance As Judge Sanford was a fare minded

man

te3 .

The
Sandford.

trial was held on 13 October 1888 before Judge

During the trial the lawyer defending Sheets

argued that Bishop Sheets was sixty-eight years of age and

that he had never been convicted of anything before.

He

also stated that he had married his second wife in 1861,

before there was any ariti-polygamy laws in effect and that

he should not be tried. The lawyer for the federal government countered that it

108
was true that Sheets gave himself up willingly but previous

to that time put the officers "to great trouble and expense

4 and they had been unsuccessful in finding him."

The lawyer

then stated his case against Sheets, that whether or not he

had taken a wife since 1861, he was a man of prominence in the Church and a bishop and therefore totally in favor of and living in a polygamous situation.

Judge Sandford reminded the prosecutor that the court

would not take into consideration the fact that he was a

member of any Church, that it was not a crime to be a member
of the Mormon Church.

The trial was reported this way:

Court The not take Court will into consideration the fact that he is a member of any Church. Do you think I ought to? He is a Mr. Peters Yes, I do think so. member of the Mormon church Court Is it an offense against the law to be a member of the Mormon Church? Mr. Peters Yes, sir; to be a member of a church that teaches and encourages violations of the law. Mr. Richards He is not here accused of being a member of any church, but of unlawful cohabitation. Court Can the court go behind the record and punish a man for that of which he has not been If so, I desire some instruction on convicted? that point. Mr. Richards I assume that the court is bound by the record. Court I supposed so too, till the counsel for government suggested that he might be punished for something else. Mr. Peters If a man is convicted of larceny the court may consider the circumstances Court Larceny is a crime, but membership in a church is not. Mr. Peters The court may consider a man's character But I don't propose Court Yes, that is true. to punish a man because he is a member of any I have nothing to do with his leanings to Church. I may become better advised later, any religion but now I am convinced that I should punish only

109
for the offense committed, and giot religious inclinations of any man. After
for

the

the debate the court sentenced him to serve in the

As it was reported:

territorial prison.

To Bishop Sheets the Court said: I would not send you to the penitentiary if I was satisfied That is a that you would not repeat the offense. As the prisoner made no matter for you to decide. response, the court imposed a sentence of 80 days' imprisonment and a fine of $150 and the costs of the prosecution. Bishop Sheets was conveyed to the bastile later in the day.

Sheets served until the thirty-first of December 1888.

He reported that his health was

good during the time he was

in prison and he wrote: "I enjoyed my Selfe as well as any

man could, to be in prison.

God blessed me with his grase

7

&

gave me patience to endure my trile."

At the same time he

was serving, George Q. Cannon of the First Presidency of the

Church and about 150 other brethren were there.
was

Though he

in advanced years, he wrote

that the experience was

generally a pleasant one:

We had a good time together in talking and singing And having Sunday Schooles, etc. I must Say that Warden Arther Pratt and the officers ginerly ware very kind to us. And gave us all the priveleges that they could reasunebley do. Altho the rules of the prison ware Strict. As they of necccary had to be. As we ware confined amongg Murders, Robers, Black logs, And men of all kinds.

When he

arrived home he

found his family in good

condition, grateful for his release.

The Eighth Ward had a

big banquet in honor of their bishop and several others from

110

Illustration 6

Source: Charles Roscoe Savage, Polygamists in Prison, ca. 1889. LDS Church Archives. Sheets is the short, white-haired man in the middle behind George Q. Cannon who is sitting.

Ill

the ward who were released.

After the dinner Brother Joseph

McMurrin,

Sheets'

first

counselor

in

the

bishopric,

presented him with a gold headed cane as a token of love and

respect.
and wrote:

Sheets seemed to enjoy himself on this occasion

There was eight of us on the stand that had bin to prison because we would not promis to obey the Law, and cast of oure famileys And deny oure wives Each of the Brethern made a Shorte and aproprate And there was maney songs, and speach. resitations. And we had a joyeful time to gether wich will never be forgoten. And about gll 0 colck we dismised, And all went home rejosing.
Even after

serving six months in the territorial prison,

Sheets did not seem the least bit sorry for what he had

done.

He had defied the law at the time because he was not

willing to abandon his family, or the principles which he

believed in.

Final Days
Sheets had served as a bishop of the Salt Lake Eighth

Ward for forty-eight years, and was eighty-three years old

upon his release, having been a member of the LDS Church for

sixty years.

Upon his release in 1904 he decided to take

some time off and visit his family.

Reports of his health were good and he felt that he

could make a trip to Rexburg, Idaho, to visit one of his

sons, even though it would be on some very rough roads.

His

health was

so good that he was at the Salt Lake Temple

attending to his duties there until July first when the

temple closed for repairs.

Sheets had participated in the

112
rites of the temple since its dedication in 1894.
At a

meeting held in Brigham City on the twenty-fifth of June

1894

Sheets

was

given

five

minutes

to

describe

his

activities in the temple.

He commented that

the last year

had been the most joyful of his fifty-three years in the

Church because

he had the

opportunity

to

serve

in the

temple.

10

Many who entered the temple noted his pleasant,

smiling face and his constant desire to administer to the

needs of the afflicted.

being performed under
them.
11

Many reported of cases of healing

his hands as he administered to

After

leaving the temple on Friday the first of July,

he visited the First Presidency of the Church to tell them

of his trip and bid them good bye.

President Joseph F. but Sheets

Smith was concerned about him making the trip,

seemed confident that he would be fine.

On this occasion

Sheets was given a blessing and ordained a Patriarch, one

who bestows special blessings, by the First Presidency, with

President

Joseph

F.

Smith

officiating.

After

this

ordination he was reported to say, "'This is the proudest

and happiest moment of
my life.'"

12

He

never had the

opportunity to give any Patriarchal blessings.

The bestowal

of the office of Patriarch in the late nineteenth and early

twentieth centuries was one of honor and was done frequently

as

commendation for
13

faithfulness and years of dedicated

letter was
sent,
from the

service.

In 1903 a

First

Presidency of the Church, to the stake presidents directing

them:

113
We have reason to believe also that some stake presidents recommend to this office as a reward of faithfulness, and that the idea obtains to some extent at least that men released from presiding offices on account of age or infirmity, or both, ought to be ordained patriarchs; and the consequence is that a great many of our par iarchs are men of extreme age and waning powers."

They told the leadership of the church that just because a

man honorably filled positions in the Church was no criteria
for making a good patriarch.

They encouraged the leadership

to only recommend men who

"have developed within them the

spirit of the patriarchs;

. . .

and they should be men of

wisdom,

possessed of
This

the gift and spirit of blessing as criteria

well."

5 1

must have been the

the

First

Presidency used when ordaining Sheets as a patriarch, even

in his advanced age.

Sheets, along with other members of his family, left

Salt Lake City on the railroad bound for Pocatello.

At

Pocatello he complained of feeling ill and was given some stimulants. The party continued the journey
to Rexburg

where he was met by one of his sons who took him to a hotel.

Within a halfhour after arriving at the hotel he passed

away.

The cause of death, pronounced by a physician in

Rexburg, was due to heart failure caused by exhaustion and

old age.

His body was brought back to Salt Lake City where a

funeral was held on Wednesday, July seventh in the Assembly

Hall on Temple children and

a

Square.

He

was survived by twenty-one

of

large

posterity

grandchildren

and

114

great-grandchildren who honored him.

At the funeral it was said of Sheets:

Bishop Sheets was a man of unflinching integrity to the truth. He was always ready to obey any call made upon him and could be depended upon to carry it out to the very letter. His was a life of uninterrupted activity and devotion, and by his good deeds and charitable disposition he endeared himself to all who ever had the pleasure of his acquaintance.
Sheets was
Mormon Church."

buried with
17

"the highest honors of

the

The meeting was presided over by the

acting president of the Liberty Stake, Arnold H. Schulthies.

The singing was by the Tabernacle Choir and speakers were; President
John
R.

Winder,

Joseph

E.

Taylor,

J.D.H.

Mcallister, John Cartwright, Angus M. Cannon, William B.

Preston, and President Joseph F. Smith.

The pall bearers

were his six sons.

cemetery.

He was

buried in the Salt Lake City

It was written of Sheets:

As a missionary abroad,

a pioneer of the west, a presiding Church officer, a Temple worker and a business man, his noble characteristics and unflinching integrity has become thoroughly established and universally known, and there are but few men in the church who are more extensively and favorably taiown among the Saints of God than Bishop Sheets.

NOTES

Arrington and Bitton, The Mormon Experience, pp. 199-200. Arrington and Bitton state: "Usually a man did not merely decide to take an additional wife; he was asked to do so by church authorities after being selected on the basis of religious and economic qualifications. Then, in theory at least, the first wife was to give her permission before her husband named anyone else, and generally this sensible procedure was followed. Sometimes the first wife flatly refused "

Sheets,
'ibid.
4

Diaries, fd. 4, 1 December 1887.

Deseret News, 13 October 1888

Ibid .
Ibid.
7
1889]

Sheets, Diaries, fd. 4, [December 1888 or January

Ibid,

Ibid

10 Deseret News, 25 June 1894.

"In a Salt Lake Temple, Administrations to the sick record, 1893-1899, LDS Church Archives, there is a list of Though this administrations performed by Elijah F. Sheets record is restricted and the author could not see it, the catalog entry states: "Record of administrations performed by Elijah F. Sheets [and others] who were set apart for the special purpose of blessing the sick who came to the temple " 12 Deseret Evening News, 4 July 1904

11.

Brian D. Reeves, "Hoary-Headed Saints: The Aged in Nineteenth Century Mormon Culture" (Master of Arts, Brigham Young University, 1987), pp. 67-68. First Presidency, Circular letters, 29 June 1903. LDS Archives. Church
14,

13

116

15Ibid.
1

Deseret Evening News, 7 July 1904.

17Ibid.
8 1
Jenson, Biographical Encyclopedia,

1:615.

APPENDICES

118
APPENDIX A
COUNSELORS AND CLERKS WHO SERVED WITH BISHOP SHEETS

1st Counselor: From 1856-1860 From 1860-1864 From 1864-1866 From 1866-1876 From 1876-1896 From 1896-1904

2nd Counselor: From 1856-1861 From 1861-1864 From 1864-1866 From 1866-1869 From 1869-1890 From 1890-1896 From 1896-1904
Clerks :
From From From From From From From From From From

1856-1857 1857-1866 1866-1867 1867-1873 1873-1876 1876-1877 1877-1882 1882-1900 1900-1904

....................

....................

.................... .................... ....................

George Woodward Alex C. Pyper Robert Daft John T.D. McAllister Joseph McMurrin John D.H. McAllister

Jacob Houtz Robert Daft Levi Stewart H.W. Lawrence Isaac Brockbank John D.H. McAllister John Cartwright

George Woodward Robert Daft William Bringhurst William Shires Isaac Brockbank John N. Pike Royal B. Young Samuel H. Leaver Charles B. Tuckfield George H. Sims

Source: Eighth Ward, Manuscript History, 1856-1904, Typescript, LDS Church Archives.

119
APPENDIX B
BISHOPS IN THE SALT LAKE STAKE SERVING 29 OR MORE YEARS

Dates of

Years
Ta7 a y <*"1 WalU

Service
Name

Called Released

Served as Bishop

Elijah F. Sheets
Jacob Weiler
Wm. H. Hickenlooper

1855 1856

1904
1895

8th
3 rd

50

40
40

1849
1870
1864

1888 1909
1900

6th 1st
9th
E. Mill.

Joseph Warburton
Samuel A. Wooley
John Neff

40
37

1877 1865 1877 1856

1912
1900

36 36 35 35

Ishmael F. Phillips Fred W. Schoenfeld

Isaac M. Stewart

Union

1911
1880

Brighton
Draper

William Thorn Alex McRae

Fred Kesler

1870
1857 1856

1904 1891
1889 1906

7th
11th
16th

35
34 34

Harrison Sperrv
Reuben Miller

1875
1851 1884

4th
Mill

32

1882

32

Daniel McRae Adam Speirs

John Sharp
Orson F. Whitney

1914
1904
1886 1906

Granger

31 31
31

1874
1856 1878 1886

10th 20th
18th
Farmers

29

Henry F. Burton

1914

29

Adapted from a table in, Lynn M. Hilton, ed., The Story of Salt Lake Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 125-Year History, 1847-1972. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Salt Lake Stake, 1972), p. 33. Note: He puts Sheets at fifty years of service which is off by two years.

120
APPENDIX C

TRAVELING BISHOPS
Name
Tenure

Banks, John 2 Jan 1806-15 Jun 1862

Cordon, Aldred 28 Feb 1817-

8 Sep 1851-7 Apr 1853-?

6 Oct 1851-7 Apr 1853-?

Sep 1851-7 Apr 1853-?

Felt, Nathaniel H. 6 Feb 1816-27 Jan 1887 Fullmer, David 7 Jul 1903-21 Oct 1879
Hoagland, Abraham 24 Mar 1798-14 Feb 1872 Pettigrew, David 29 Jul 1791-31 Dec 1863
Sheets, Elijah F. 22 Mar 1821-3 Jul 1904
Spencer, Daniel 20 Jul 1794-8 Dec 1868

?-ll Apr 1852-?

?-ll Apr 1852-?

?-ll Apr 1852-?
28 Apr 1871-29 Aug 1877

?-ll Apr 1852-? ?-ll Apr 18 52-?

Taft, Seth 11 Aug 1790-23 Nov 1863

Adapted from; Donald Gene Pace, "The LDS Presiding Bishopric, 1851-188 : An Administrative Study. Thesis, Brigham Young University, p. 183 Appendix B.

121
APPENDIX D

TRUSTEE-IN-TRUST AND ASSISTANTS WHO SERVED DURING BRIGHAM YOUNG'S ADMINISTRATION.

Trustee in Trust

Assistant
Trustees

in Trust
None

Duration of Service
7 Oct 1854- 9 Oct 1872

Brigham Young
George A. Smith

8 Apr 1873-10 Apr 1875 John Sharp fl Joseph W. Young If John L. Smith ft LeGrand Young If Elijah F. Sheets ff Joseph F. Smith ff Moses Thatcher ff John Van Cott
Amos M. Musser James P. Freeze F A. Mitchell
ff
ft

Thomas Taylor

ff ff

Brigham Young

None

9 Oct 1875- 7 Apr 1877

Adapted from: Donald Gene Pace, "The LDS Presiding Bishopric, 1851-188 : An Administrative Study. Thesis, Brigham Young University, p. 189 Appendix E.

122
APPENDIX E
ACCUMULATION OF LAND AND PROPERTY

During his activities in Salt Lake City, and in the

other

cities

he

briefly

lived

in or

visited,
On the

Sheets

accumulated a large amount of land.

fifteenth of

April 1872 a deed appeared from Isaac Aldredge conveying to

Sheets and his heirs a tract of land, "The North East one fourth (1/4) of Section, Twenty six (26) of Township One (1)
South of
Sixty
Range One
(1)

West,

containing One Hundred and

1872, between Isaac

(160

acres."

(Deed,

15 April

Aldredge and Elijah Funk Sheets, LDS Church Archives.)

On

16 August

1875, a statement was made by Sheets

As of that date the following is

declaring his possessions.

a list of what he owned:

1.

2.
3.

One City Lot in Block 54 Plot A Salt Lake City Survey. One new Brick House on said Lot containing Eleven Rooms partially furnished and in which my family

reside

4.
5.
6.

One old adobie House, also on said Lot containing Seven Rooms which is rented part of the time. One Barn, Stable, Corrall, outhouses, Fences, etc.,

7.
8.

9. 10.

on said lot. City Lots in Block one Salt Lake City now occupied as pasture. One Five acre grass lot 16 Block 21 Plot A. Five acre Plot. One five acre grass lot 20, Block 22, Plot A Five acre Plot. Twelve and a half acres of Tillable Land in Block 18, being lots 7, 9 and half of lot 10. Plot A. Five acre lots. Five acres Tillable Land, Lot 11 Block 14. One four roomed House with yards, Sheds and Orchard of some Twenty ' five bearing trees, and thirteen acres of tillable land in Herriman, Plot Salt Lake
Two

11. 12.

County. Lots 7 and 8 Block 20, Plot B. Provo City, Survey, containing 144 square rods. One Concrete House containing Seven Rooms with sheds outhouses, fences, etc. on said lots 7 and 8.

123
13.
One half share undivided in the First Ward pasture Provo City. Provo Five Acre One Five acre Lot in Section 12.

14.
15.

16.

17.
18. 19.
20.

Horses. Thirty head of Cattle. Forty three Sheep and Six Pigs. Castle Two hundred dollars in the Windsor Cooperative herd. Nineteen hundred and fifty dollars in Provo Branch

Lots. Tillable Land. Three One Span Mules.

Z.C.M Institution. Two hundred and forty one County cooperative herd.

97/100 Dollars in Utah

Eight hundred dollars, paid up Stock in Provo Woolen Factory. One wagon, Farming Utensils, Household Furniture, etc. (Statement of property holdings of Elijah F. Sheets, LDS Church Archives.)

124
APPENDIX F

FAMILY LIFE

Wives

Mention has already been made of

Sheets'

first two
He also had

wives, Margaret Hutchinson and Susanna Musser.

two other wives, whom he was married to at the same time in

a polygamous marriage.
Leaver and Emma Spencer.
Susanna Musser

These two wives were,

Elizabeth

Sheets bore seven children before her Sheets explained the cause of

early death on 11 May 1861.

her death:
I am again caled to record a painfull thing to me. The Death of my beloved wife Susanna Who Died on the 11th of May 1861 at 9.0 Clock in the Evening. The ninth day after she was confined with the Inflamation of the Bowels. (Sheets, Diaries, fd. 4, [May] 1861.)

On February 21,

1868, Sheets took his third wife Elizabeth

and in
a

Leaver,

to the Endowment House and she acted for

of
Susanna

behalf

in getting her

second annointings,

sacred ordinance for a few selected members of the Church.

Elizabeth Leaver was born in New York City, 31 August
1839, the daughter of Samuel Leaver and Mary Ann Hartlett.
On

the

eighth of

February 1857 Sheets took

her

to

the

Tithing Office in Salt Lake City and had her sealed, or

married to him for time and eternity by Daniel H. Wells, a

member of the First Presidency of the Church.

It was at

125

this time that Sheets followed the counsel of the Church leaders and entered into the order of marriage known as the
new

and

everlasting

covenant

of

eternal

marriage,

or

polygamy.

Elizabeth eventually bore ten children.

She died

26 July 1892 at 2:15 a.m. of paralysis. (Journal History,

vol. 137, 1892 July 26.)

Sheets fourth wife was Emma Spencer, born 23 Sep 1845

in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, England.

of Edwin Spencer and Hannah Wardle.

She was the daughter

Elijah and Emma were

They had ten

married on the seventh of December of 1861. chi ldren

Children
The following is a list of the children of Elijah Funk

Sheets from his different wives J

Margaret Hutchinson:
Margaret Hannah
Susanna Musser Sheets

2 Dec 1845

d. 14 Apr 1847

Anna Elizabeth Musser

Elijah Musser

Nephi Musser md. Ellen McAllister

Moroni Musser md. Annie Musser
Amos Musser

. b. b.
b b b

26 Apr 1848
1 Oct 1849 24 Aug 1850 1 Jan 1873
1 Jul 1853 22 Mar 1878

d d

.
.
.

9 Oct 1848
2 Oct 1849

d. 28 Dec 1905
d d
9 May 1902

Susanna Musser

md. Thomas R. Wilson

. b.

7 Mar 1857
10 Sep 1858 1 Dec 1881

.
.

7 Mar 1857
1 Apr 1933

b. 3 May 1861 Martha Musser md. David Franklin Davis 26 Mar 1885
Elizabeth Leaver

d.

7 Feb 1959

126
Samuel Leaver md Annie Weiler

.
.

29 Jan 1860

13 Mar 1921

Elizabeth Leaver b. 13 Mar 1862 md. Mathoni Wood Pratt 17 Nov 1880
Mary Ann Leaver b md. William J. Wright

d. 20 Jul 1918
d. 21 Apr 1940 d. d

27 Dec 1864 24 Oct 1865

Fredrick Leaver md. Elizabeth Bitner

4 May 1911

Edward Leaver b. 24 Sep 1867 md Gershom B.F. Wells

10 May 1947

Brigham Leaver
Milton Leaver md. Martha Ann Tonks
Eva Leaver

b. 20 Jun 1872
b

d. 30 Sep 1873

. . .

24 Mar 1874 4 Jun 1902

d. 25 May 1941
d

b. 14 Jan 1877
b

Joseph Leaver
Spencer

13 May 1879

. d.

5 Jan 1951

15 Jun 1950

Jedediah Spencer

30 Mar 1863

d. d

1 Jan 1906
3 Jul 1936

Emma Spencer b. 18 Sep 1865 md. James Lister Rigby 30 Jan 1889

. .

William Spencer

. 18
. .

Sep 1865

4 Sep 1869

Heber Spencer b. 21 Oct 1869 md. Mary Esther Bitner 27 Oct 1892

d. 10 Dec 1948

Elijah Spencer md. Nettie Mcllvain

Edwin Spencer md. Alice Taylor Blanche Spencer md. John Edward Emms

b
b b

15 Mar 1873 14 Jan 1905

23 Jan 1875 27 Dec 1899
6 Nov 1876 25 Mar 1897

d.
d

8 Mar 1947

9 Jan 1919

. . . .

d. 19 May 1949

Eliza Spencer b md. Charles W. Reeder

1 Nov 1878 21 Dec 1899

20 Nov 1880 18 Nov 1904

d. 22 Feb 1925 d. 21 Nov 1942 d

Bertha Spencer md. Hyrum Bull

Ray Spencer

b
b

1 Feb 1887

24 Jun 1915

Sheets'

journals

do not contain many references to

127
family

life, or

activities with his children.

He

does

mention important dates such as their births, naming and

blessings, their baptisms and confirmations into the Church,
and missionary calls of his sons.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Periodicals and Newspapers

Arrington, Leonard J. "The Mormon Tithing House: A Frontier Business Institution. 11 The Business History Review March 1954, pp. 24-57.

_.

"Paying the Tenth in Pioneer Days." The Instructor November 1963, pp. 386-387.

Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah).

Larson, Gustive 0. ed., "Journal of the Iron County Mission, John D. Lee Clerk: December 10, 1850-March 1, 1851." Utah Historical Quarterly 20 (1952).

The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star. London England).

(Liverpool and

Times and Seasons.

(Nauvoo, Illinois).

Published sources
Alexander, Thomas G. Mormons and Gentiles: A History of Salt Lake City. Boulder , Colorado : Pruett Publishing Co., 1984.

Arrington, Leonard J. Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints, 1830-1900. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1958.

_.

From

Wool ley"! 1976

Quaker to Latter-day Saint: Bishop Edwin D. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company,

Arrington, Leonard J. and Bitton, Davis. The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-day Saints. New York City, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1979.

130

The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah : The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981.
Esshom, Frank. Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah Pioneers Book Publishing Company, 1913.
Flanders, Robert Bruce. Nauvoo: Kingdom on the Mississippi Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1865

Hilton, Lynn M , ed. The Story of Salt Lake Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 125-Year History, 1847-1972!! Salt Lake City, Utah : Salt Lake Stake , 1972

Hunter, William E. Edward Hunter: Faithful Steward. Lake City, UtahT Publishers Press, 1970

Salt

Jenson, Andrew. Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encylopedia: A Compilation~of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Me"n and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 4 vols. Salt Lake City, Utah : The Andrew Jenson History Co. and the Deseret News, 1901-1936.

_.

Church Chronology: A Record of Important Events pertaining to the History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News, 1914.

Journal of Discourses. 26 vols. Lithographic reprint. London : Latter-day Saints's Book Depot, 1854-1886; Salt Lake City: 1967.
Kane, Elizabeth Wood. Twelve Mormon Homes: Visited in _
ijuulc

Oil rt

C! f obiOn
1

\ *

/*

uii

t~

3 a

T f\ 11V* uuui

r-\ T T

4" K

uuj. uun

/y

*1 utqn

4-

Zung m illi

"

Introduction and Notes by Everett L. Cooley. Salt Lake City, Utah: Tanner Trust Fund, University of Utah Library, 1974.
McGavin, E. Cecil. The Nauvoo Temple. Deseret Book Company, 1962.
Salt Lake City, Utah:

Miller, David E. and Miller, Delia S. Nauvoo: The City of Joseph. Salt Lake City, Utah: Pergrine Smith, Inc., 1974.
Pace, Donald Gene. "Elijah F. Sheets: The Half-century Bishop" in Cannon, Donald Q. and Whittaker, David J., eds., Supporting Saints: Live Stories of Nineteenth-Century Mormons. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1985.

131

Poll, Richard D., ed. Utah's History. Young University Press, 1978.

Provo, Utah: Brigham

Roberts, Brigham Henry. A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols Provo , Utah : Brigham Young University Press, 1965.

. .

Smith, Joseph. History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, B H~! Roberts , ed 7 vols. 2nd ed Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 1964. rev

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. The Second Census of the United States, Census of Population: Index. Washington, D C : Government

Printing Office.

. .

Theses, Dissertations, and Unpublished Papers

Beecher, Dale Floyd. "The Office of Bishop: An Example of Organizational Development in the Church," Task Papers in LPS History, No. 21, 1978.
Colvin, Don F. "A Historical Study of the Mormon Temple at Nauvoo, Illinois." Master of Science, Brigham Young University, 1962.
Hartley, William G. "Early development of the office of Bishop as it relates to wards, stakes, and to the general Church." Prepared for the Historical Department of the LDS Church.

Kimball, Stanley Buchholz. "The Nauvoo Temple: An Essay On

T 4-

TT n

*** niaiQiy

4>

a v

** nj.Ciinc;CLULCr

7\

4*

** auu ucSiluCixuu

i\

v*

If

Edwardsville, Illinois: Submitted as a historical foreward to the formal Archaeological report of the 1962 Summer's Excavation of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple Site, 1962.
Quinn, Dennis Michael. "The Mormon Hierarchy, 1832-1932: An American Elite." Doctor of Philosophy, Yale University, 1976.
Pace, Donald Gene. "The LDS Presiding Bishopric, 1851-1888 : An Administravtive Study." Master of Arts, Brigham Young University, 1978.

132
Unpublished sources
Salt Lake City, Utah. The Family History Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Family Group Sheets.

Salt Lake City, Utah. Historical Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

British Mission. Typescript

Manuscript

History,

vol.

13.
[ca.

Conover, Peter Wilson. Reminiscences 1880 ]

Typescript,

Council of the Twelve Manuscript. 1887

Apostles.

General

epistle.

Eighth Ward. Manuscript History. Typescript. 1856-1904

_.

General minutes. Manuscript. 1856Circular Letters, 1889-1985.

First Presidency.

Historical Department. Manuscript. 1891-

Biographical

Sketches.

_.

Missionary Index.

Microfiche.

Hunter, Edward, Papers. Manuscript.

Journal History of the Church of Jesus Latter-day Saints. Typescript.

Journal [1850] 1860. Manuscript.

Christ

of

Lee, John Doyle. Journal. Manuscript. 1850 Dec-1853 Nov.

Millard Stake. Microfilmed.

General Minutes. Manuscript. 1868-1887; 1960-1977.

Parowan Ward. Manuscript History. Typescript. 1850-1851.

[Portrait collection,

ca. Elijah Funk Sheets.

1840-

.] Photograph of

Savage,

Charles Roscoe. aqueduct, ca. 1875].

Photograph.
[Polygamists

[City

Creek

1889]

Photograph.

in prison, ca.

133
Seventies quorums. Records, Second Quorum. Minutes.

1844-1975.

Manuscript.

Sheets, Elijah Funk. Diaries. Manuscript. 1843-1904. Smith, George A. Papers. "Journal of Mission". MS. 1850-1851

the Iron County

Snow, Erastus. Journals, Vol. 2. Manuscript.

Manuscript Histories Collection. [Manuscript history of 1930] in Illinois, ca. Church activities Typescript

_.
__. _

[Manuscript history of Church Activities in Pennsylvania, ca. 1925] Typescript.

[Manuscript history of Nauvoo, Illinois, ca. 1937-1971] Typescript.

[Manuscript history of Nebraska, 1930] Typescript.

Winter

Quarters,

Sessions, Patty Bartlett. Diaries. Manuscript. 1846-1866

Utah Stake. General Minutes. 1852-1923; 1956-1975.

Manuscript.

Microfilmed.

_ . Manuscript

History.

Typescript. 1849-

Illustration 1

RSEi

3J''tf;

Source: Portrait Collection, LDS Church Archives. Elijah Funk Sheets upon his eightieth birthday.

#>

12

Illustration 2

a
; . ;*.
'

:&$
V&vlv?
>

ill

figs

ill

f'-'i, '::
''' -v -'V/V:
-v..

Source; West Nantmeal Seminary, Pennsylvania, LDS" Church Archives. This is where Edwin Woolley preached to people in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

r.'!

-yrr.

;<:': .

l;l-.ily.

'

56

Illustration 3

Source: Charles Roscoe Savage, Photograph/, [City Creek ' aqueduct, ca. 1875]. LDS Church Archives.

Illustration 4

Edward Martin, Photograph, Bishops of Great Sheets is the Salt Lake City, 1867. LDS Church Archives. the bottom. from row second from the left on the third
Source:

69

Illustration 5

Source: Edward Martin, Photograph, Bishops of Great Salt Lake City, 1867, Elijah Funk Sheets, Bishop of the Salt Lake Eighth Ward. LDS Church Archives.

110

Illustration 6

Source: Charles Roscoe Savage, Polygamists in Prison, ca. 1889. LDS Church Archives. Sheets is the short, white-haired man in the middle behind George Q. Cannon who is sitting.