the rise and decline of mormon san bernardino

BYU Studies Quarterly BYU Studies Quarterly

Volume 29 Issue 4 Article 5

10-1-1989

The Rise and Decline of Mormon San Bernardino The Rise and Decline of Mormon San Bernardino

Edward Leo Lyman

Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq

Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Lyman, Edward Leo (1989) "The Rise and Decline of Mormon San Bernardino," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 29 : Iss. 4 , Article 5. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol29/iss4/5

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected].

http://home.byu.edu/home/

http://home.byu.edu/home/

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol29

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol29/iss4

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol29/iss4/5

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq?utm_source=scholarsarchive.byu.edu%2Fbyusq%2Fvol29%2Fiss4%2F5&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol29/iss4/5?utm_source=scholarsarchive.byu.edu%2Fbyusq%2Fvol29%2Fiss4%2F5&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages

mailto:[email protected],%[email protected]

the rise and declineof mormon san bernardinomardinoBe

edward leo lyman

from the beginning of what was to be the latter day saintsettlement at san bernardinomardinoBe the spirit of cooperation andharmony was strikingly prevalent outstanding even amongmormon pioneers noted for success in planting new coloniesthrough the mutual efforts of their members yet while the firstthree years of the community were notable examples of success andcooperation the last three years the mormonscormons dominated therepresent a contrary picture of growing disenchantment and risingantagonisms the purpose of this essay is to suggest an explanationof why the successful mormon community of san bernardinomardinoBe sorapidly disintegrated

in 1849 apostles amasa M lyman and charles C rich weresent to california with a specific charge to determine the expedi-ency of influence in the 51I1 sinceor not holding an country brighamyoung and his associates had vivid recollections of mormoninability to live harmoniously among non mormon neighbors thiswas probably aimed at retaining or regaining influence withchurch members in california after associating with mormonbrethren in the mining camps and elsewhere for much of a yearelder lyman wrote to brigham young that to strike hands with aman having the spirit of god is a rare treat in california meaningthat there were but few in his judgment who had maintained theirfull commitment to the faith after coming into contact with what hetermed the poison of gold

nevertheless elder lyman advised that after careful consid-eration it was his conclusion that the interests of the churchrequired a resting place in the region he specified southerncalifornia which his associate elder rich had recently describedin detail as the only place available with the advantages they wereseeking one of these advantages may well have been distance fromedward leo lyman is social science department chairman at victor valley college victorvilleVic torvillecalifornia he is currently writing a book length social history oftheodtheof the san bernardinomardinoBe mormon communityin the 1850s this essay is a revised version of an essay that originally appeared in southern californiaquarterly 65 winter 1983 321 39 it is reprinted here by permission

1

Lyman: The Rise and Decline of Mormon San Bernardino

Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 1989

44 BYU studies

the corrupting influence of the gold fields the apostle reportedthat california mormonscormons generally including those cut offexcommunicated or otherwise disaffected were anxious for a

settlement comprised of church members he declared that he hadnot urged such to hasten to the lower country and frankly hopedthat the foundation of society may be laid with better material thanthose who are so light that they have floated over the sierra nevadato the gold mines lyman understood that brigham young hadfervently urged latter day saints to remain in their assignedintermountain settlements and only those who had specificallydisregarded such counsel were likely to be found residing incalifornia 2

in early 18511851 president brigham young reluctantlyauthorizedtheauthorized the planting of a southern california mormon colonyhe recognized the need for a snow free wagon route to the coastand control of its southern terminus both for freighting goodsfrom the outside world and a friendly way station or restingplace for converts arriving from abroad by sea on 23 februaryelders lyman and rich were officially commissioned to lead acompany of prospective settlers and preside over them as churchleaders aiming to establish a colony as a coastal stronghold for thegathering of the latter day saints several weeks later just beforethey departed for their mission president young and his counselorswrote to lyman and rich to specify other aspects of their assign-ment they were to search for other way station locationsbetween iron county utah and southern california and the newcolony was to become a source of such semitropical products asolive oil wine cotton and sugar the tone of this letter was cordialand supportive certainly displaying more interest in the venturethan has often been attributed to brigham young 3 yet it is truethat in fact he soon became less than supportive of the southerncalifornia enterprise

there are several possible reasons for the apparent alienationof president young from the colony the most obvious of these hasto do with the number of people seemingly anxious to leave theutah center of zion to participate in the venture other factorsmore difficult to document relate to brigham youngs growingperception that the california saints and perhaps some of theirleaders were failing to follow his direction carefully

it is now established that during the early mormon settlementof the greatbasin which brigham young is given so much acclaimfor directing there was actually much less consistency of methodthan was previously assumed still the typical pattern was for abishop to be selected and a dozen or so families called to

2

BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 29, Iss. 4 [1989], Art. 5


san bernardino 45

accompany him to settle the place designated by church leaders inthe case of san bernardinomardinoBe amasa lyman and charles C richpersonally selected families they wished to take to californiasometimes as in the case of william D kartchner extra incentivewas asserted kartchner claimed that when he initially declined tobe a part of the california colony apostle lyman said that if I1refused to go he would cause me to have a worse mission 1144

kartchner and a considerable number of mississippi saintswhom lyman would have met several years before at pueblocolorado participated with varying degrees of faithfulness inestablishing san bernardinomardinoBe

it is not certain just how many persons were recruited for thesouthern california colony but it is clear there was surprisemingled with the oft noted disappointment at the number whoappeared at payson utah prepared to depart with lyman and richfor the new settlement kartchnersKartch ners diary is again revealing on thispoint he noted it was seen a grate many more than was calledwas moving with us & prest B young and H C kimball called ameeting at this place & heber preached and discouraged manyfrom going since 437 individuals departed in the companyanyway the number who previously intended to go must have beeneven larger 5 brigham youngs manuscript history written byclerks close to him states that his original plan intended for sometwenty families to accompany his designated agents when hearrived at payson president young declared he was sick at thesight of so many of the saints running off to california in hismind they were abandoning the kingdom he was striving to buildand were succumbing to the enticements of the corrupt outsideworld he was so angered by this that he chose not even to addressthe company of pioneers as they departed from then on the sanbernardinomardinoBe colony seems to have held a place distant from theaffections of the highest church leader 6

en route south elders lyman and rich took every occasionto communicate to president young on their progress and possiblypersuade him his unfavorable assessment of the company wasunfounded before leaving the southernmost utah settlement theyreported that 111 men which must have been most of the men inthe company reported themselves as willing to obey counselmeaning willing to follow the direction of their ecclesiasticalsuperiors this was repeated while the emigrants were encampedin cajon pass just prior to the purchase of the san bernardinomardinoBeranch 7

during the first two years in southern california the commu-nity spirit in san bernardinomardinoBe could hardly have been stronger even

3



46 BYU studies

on the initial journey undoubtedly one of the most arduous pioneertreks in american history they had to occasionally pool theirefforts in a high level of teamwork at least one steep mountainincline necessitated hitching the draft animals together to pull eachof the wagons to the top a process so exhausting that even the mostfaithful diarists made no entries during the days thus engaged afterthe san bernardinomardinoBe ranch was finally secured which allowed theentire company to remain intact the normal process of settlementwas interrupted by reports of indian uprisings this compelledconstruction of a stockade fortress accomplished through thealmost ceaseless labor of all available hands although the indianmenace rapidly dissipated almost all of the colonists lived inhouses within the fort for more than two years in a confined spacethat would test even the most neighborly with no evidencerecorded of anything but continuous harmony 8

one reason for the prolonged stay in the stockade was thecommunity effort at clearing planting and fencing a two thousandacre grainfield while much of the work was accomplished inunison the land was clearly apportioned among the participantson several occasions when elders lyman and richs crops neededattention and they were engaged on colony business the entirelabor force of san bernardinomardinoBe turned out to lend a hand thus wasspent the first independence day in the new settlement similarefforts accomplished construction of the storage facilities for theharvested grain and digging the millrace essential to the operationof a flour mill an even more demanding community undertakingwas the thousand man days required to build a road into themountains to the immediate north enabling some enterprisingcitizens to tap the timber resources and engage in a lumberingindustry and again when the sawmill of lyman and rich burneda voluntary requisition of labor was furnished to make rebuildingpossible most impressive of all community undertakings were thefinancial commitments and sacrifices many made to assist thecolony leaders in the purchase of the ranch 9

when the mormon agents first negotiated with the lugobrothers for the san bernardinomardinoBe ranch they hoped to accomplishthe purchase of between eighty and one hundred thousand acres ofgood land for between fifty and sixty thousand dollars but theproprietors drove a hard bargain and elders lyman and richeventually agreed to a price of 77500 they were compelled tojourney to northern california and through prosperous mormonscormonsthere secure loans for the seven thousand dollar down payment atgold rush interest rates of 3 percent per month the two apostlapostlesapostalespurchased the ranch in their own names without church aid with

4



san bernardino 47

the understanding that their fellow colonists would support themfinancially by purchasing individual plots after the property wassurveyed and in the meantime exert every effort to help meet thedifficult first years payments early in 1852 prior to any harvestin the new land the san bernardino saints agreed to sell livestockto buyers then in their midst to the extent necessary to meet theapproaching second payment by march sixteen thousand dollarshad been raised and the immediate obligation met much of theremaining balance of over fifty thousand dollars was also appar-ently refinanced at that time by the firmfinn of burgoyne and ness ofsan francisco payable in two years with the mortgage of the entireranch given as security

at the time this venture appeared to be financially sound butseveral developments soon occurred with rather disastrous conse-quencesquences first of all the economic boom accompanying the goldrush was rapidly subsiding and the san bernardino saints conse-quently had more difficulty selling their expected cash products offlour and lumber in quantity and at the price expected vastly moredevastating to the communitys future was the discovery that theoriginal san bernardino land grant had specified that the ownerswere to actually possess only eight square leagues of land less thanhalf of what the lugos had used as rangeland lyman and rich hadundoubtedly been negligent in not having the fine print of the docu-ments examined by someone more competent in spanish thanwilliam stout one of their brethren although they appealed to theunited states land commcommissionissionassion then substantiating old claimswhen that body made its final ruling the mormon leaders wereinformed that eight square leagues or thirty five thousand acres wasthe extent of the legal grant

elders lyman and rich were given the right to select from anyof the lands they assumed they had purchased but in a very realsense this was a blow from which the financial agents of thecommunity never recovered not only was there less land to sell torecoup the debt but there was also suddenly a very large amount ofgovernment land available at what would likely be a substantiallylower price than lyman and rich could offer it would be moretemptation than some could withstand to disregard promises topurchase lands through the church leaders and attempt preemptionof the adjoining public domain

in the first local church conference after the bad news fromthe land commission in october 1853 the proceedings werehighlighted according to lyman and rich by the participantsreaffirming that they would use their utmost exertions with all themeans they might be able to influence to meet promptly the next and

5



48 BYU studies

last payments for the rancho of san bernardinomardinoBe those presentalso displayed marked generosity in payment and pledges to theregular church financial obligations of tithing and contributionsto the perpetual emigration fund by this time division of sanbernardinomardinoBe into individual lots available for approximately onehundred dollars each was under way but the church leadersobserved that since the community intended to bind all ourenergies to the payment of what became known as the ranch debtfew individual improvements were expected to commence that

10yearmeanwhile the population of the colony was being enhanced

by latter day saints arriving from northern california utah andmissionary fields of the south pacific by the october conferenceof 1853 the official church membership in the area was just overone thousand with new additions coming regularly possiblyelders lyman and rich had received some hints of official dissat-isfactionis at the rapid growth at the expense of other mormoncommunities at any rate as the year began they wrote a letter tothe editor of the official church newspaper the deseret newsdenying reports that they had encouraged utah church members toemigrate to california they reaffirmed the principles of coloniza-tion strongly held by brigham young that the place for the saintsis wherever the counsel of the lord through the presidency of thechurch may place them they stressed it was the privilege andduty of all saints without thinking for a moment to go to whateverlocality church authorities sent them and to remain there untilreleased all of this it was stressed would be in the interest ofservice to jesus christ in the upbuilding of his kingdom on theearth they further stated they had been sent to california to buildthe same kingdom but they stressed they were not to accomplishthis by pulling down one part elsewhere they continued point-edly if any think to leave utah without counsel and think to befellowshippedfellow shipped by us they are mistaken they concluded byfrankly stating those who love not god sufficiently to serve himinin one place will not do it in another and expressed hope that suchpersons if interested in going to california would take the northernroute which they said would sooner bring them to the palace ofthe golden god and spare san BBeermardinonardino the curse of their faith-lessness I1

later that summer after the disappointments concerning theland grant were fully understood lyman and rich admitted theirfirst apprehensions of potential internal dissension after offeringcondolences over a recent conflict with indians in utah the sanbernardinomardinoBe proprietors ominously stated that the foes against

6



san bernardino 49

whom we have to contend are not shut out by adobe walls theywent on to explain that such foes arise in the form of the spirits orattitudes that those who came here bring with them this it wassaid was the same spirit of discontent as caused them to come tosan bernardino in opposition to the counsel they should haverespected elsewhere though conceding the results of these prin-ciple troubles were not yet apparent they expressed hope that thecause they were striving to uphold would prevail certainly thefears thus expressed were well founded if such an elementunwilling to follow counsel of ecclesiastical leaders becamedominant in the san bernardino community the self sacrificenecessary to complete the land purchase would not continue 12

in a very real sense san bernardino was coming to serve asa means of escape from the physiographical harshness of utah andto some the theocratic despotism of brigham youngs mormonempire there is also some evidence that the california settlementbecame a haven for those becoming disillusioned with the faithbecause of the practice of plural marriage finally announcedpublicly in 1852 one contemporary observer H C rolfe des-cribing the relative attractiveness of residence in california com-pared to utah for some latter day saints suggested that thepresence of the san bernardino branch of their people gave thema plausible excuse for relocating there 13 apparently a significantnumber of utah church members were convinced they had hadenough of their present situation but may not yet have concluded tocompletely sever their ties with the church san bernardino couldserve as a means of transition where they could escape much ofwhat they recognized as unpalatable while maintaining at leastnominal ties to the religious movement to which they had previouslybously held strong commitments 14

members of the church hierarchy also regarded california asa haven for less faithful latter day saints brigham young publiclyexhorted those who could not abide the notably strict rules of hisregime to emigrate to california in the semiannual church confer-ence of april 1854 president young discussed the stream ofmormonscormons leaving utah for california in terms of the biblicalseparation of the sheep from the goats in an accompanyingdiscourse on the same occasion apostle orson hyde mentionedthe same subject in terms of the new testament parables of thesower and separation of the wheat from the tares the tares wereclearly those abandoning the mormon zion 15 that same yearbrigham young wrote to apostle parley P pratt then engaged inmissionary labors in latin america and the pacific islandsadvising him to carefully interview the latter day saints he came

7



50 BYU studies

into contact with and ascertain the extent of their commitment andobedience to authority president young frankly instructed elderpratt that those who were faithful and determined to remain soshould be encouraged to come to utah all others to remain incalifornia which would be a strainer to the streams from thatdirection leading into the reservoir of utah mormondom 16

early in 1854 brigham young inquired as to the identities ofindividuals suspected of being uncommitted to the cause of thecalifornia mission in answer elders lyman and rich mentionedthe good men who had come with their original company alongwith four of the brooklyn saints who had joined the colony fromthe north in a subsequent letter on the same subject they also listeda dozen brethren added to the community from the missions of thesouth pacific but that was the extent of the number of sanbernardinomardinoBe men the california apostles judged to be fully faithfulthey then clarified further the potential problem they perceived bysaying their present prospective troubles with the people arisefrom a clap ofhangers on who have no interest but to seek whateveradvantage may arise from the labors of others in building up thecommon cause in their exasperation they singled out a manprominent in early mormon history henry G sherwood forspecial criticism the offense they indicted him for sheds furtherlight on the type of behavior the church leaders perceived asoffensive they reported sherwood has totally failed to do what hepromised us when on the way here which was to operate in connec-tion with us in the accomplishment of our labors here thisundoubtedly alluded to his not participating in land payments andacquisitions through lyman and rich they also complained thathe considered himself too old to be managed by the relativelyyounger designated leaders 17

elders lyman and rich made this complaint near the timewhen another payment was due on the ranch mortgage they hadbeen optimistic they could raise the amount needed but when thetime came only eight thousand dollars had been raised locally andbut little obtained elsewhere this was nowhere close to the amountrequired and after further schemes aimed at raising funds failedthey were compelled to sign a new note for thirty five thousanddollars secured by a new mortgage

clearly many of the san bernardinomardinoBe saints were tiring of thetremendous burden of the ranch debt and were growing increas-ingly more inclined to get on with developing their individualproperty obtained in 1854 mostly on credit one of the mostdetailed contemporary descriptions of the city by visiting judgebenjamin hayes described construction of a hundred new

8



san bernardino 51

buildings along with other notable improvements during thatsummer alone such developments certainly drained considerablefinancial resources away from the mortgage assessments thechurch leaders were ardently seeking 18

at years end charles C rich was in salt lake city whereon 10 december 1854 he spoke at the tabernacle on the subject ofunity and obedience he was clearly referring to individuals of thesan bernardino community when he said that some persons get anidea they cannot work so well here for the building up of thekingdom of god so they go to california or some other placeaccording to their personal wishes this he declared was not thecorrect procedure he reiterated where the authorities put us is theproper place for us to be 19

such exhortations were too late to have any effect on just thattype of emigrant who arrived at san bernardino at about the sametime elder rich was delivering his address amasa lyman reportedthat they had come from cedar city and other settlements and butfew of them had in the first several months manifested a disposi-tion to renew their connection with the church through the methodthen in use ofofrebaptismrebaptism later in the year lyman learned that someof these new arrivals had written to friends in utah stating that sanbernardino church leaders had allowed them rights and privilegesin the church even beyond those they had enjoyed when in fullfellowship in their fonfonnerformerner congregations elder lyman denied thissaying that on the contrary he treated those who did not bringvouchers of good standing from their former bishop as if they hadbeen cut off from the church only those who subsequentlysignified desire to rejoin the church and were judged to be worthywere allowed to resume fellowship and be admitted into the sanbernardino congregation and even this lyman assured some hadattempted but failed to accomplish 2010

after his denials of leniency lyman philosophicallydescribed his situation in presiding over such people as were beingadded to his ecclesiastical charge by saying men come here fromother settlements in the mountain country to escape those hardshipstheir love of the truth would not strengthen them to endure andhe continued unfortunately for them their already overtaxedcapacity for practical righteousness does not undergo any improve-ment by their taking up residence in san bernardino 2

elder lymansclymans personal diary sheds further light on hisfeelings toward incoming saints such as those from cedar city hereported that some of them were contemplating settling in theyucaipa area this was a valley so distant from the center of the sanbernardino community and the current activities of the ranch

9



52 BYU studies

proprietors that those anticipating which lands lyman and richwould finally select as their allotted holdings considered yucaipaa safe place to locate in hopes of a subsequent land purchase at areduced price from the federal government lyman had recentlyreferred disdainfully to those similarly engaged in the area asnothing more than trespassers 22 in the later period of markedantagonism between church leaders and dissidents inside and out-side the church opposition was clearly centered in the yucaipaarea

this opposition has generally been said to have begun withpolitical developments during the san bernardinomardinoBe county super-visorialvi elections of 1855 while this was certainly a catalyst thatbrought the conflict into the open mormon leaders had beenworried about the lack of internal unity and commitment for morethan a year previous and were particularly sensitive to signs ofdisunity because of implications for disposition of the lands withwhich they were so heavily burdened

As the 21 april 1855 county elections approached amasalyman followed the common mormon practice of the highestranking church leaders in the vicinity nominating the candidatesthey deemed most desirable for office in this case daniel starksand william crosby were chosen as supervisor candidateshowever several other church members including benjaminF grouard and frederick M van leuven acting independentlyalso decided to contest for those offices in the election theseunapproved candidates were soundly defeated with van leuvengaining only nineteen votes and grouard only thirteen whilecrosby garnered one hundred votes and starks ninety nine 23

elder lyman simply noted at the time there was someopposition from a faction headed by V J herring F M vanleuven and B F grouard henry G boyles more detailed diaryaccount further states these men came out in opposition toamasasamadas nominations contrary to counsel and exhibited a regu-lar mob spirit 1124112124 there are no contemporary accounts of the localelection campaign but reference to a regular mob spirit probablymeant simply defiance of vested authority this was however aserious offense at the time in mormondom and thus grouard vanleuven and herring were summoned before the church leadersto make satisfaction or be disfellowshippeddisfellowshipped at the appointed

time they arrived with a group of supporters who it was notedI1 twere9werewere not in the habit of meeting at the church headquarters elderlyman proceeded to explain the nature of their offense and theserious consequences he anticipated might accrue from a course ofindependent political conduct the defendants replied that the

10



san bernardino 53

latter day saints were slaves and not men because they followedthe counsel ofecclesiastical leaders in political affairs they furtherargued that under such circumstances individual citizens weredenied the privilege of thinking for themselves since theaccused had no intention of confessing wrongdoing or retractingprevious statements they were disfellowshippeddisfellowshipped when theysubsequently accelerated their opposition to church authority theywere excommunicated 2515

these actions on the part ofofamasaamasa lyman and his associatesappear to be an overreactionoverreaction to political activities americancitizens were clearly entitled to the harshness of the punishmentsfurther exacerbated the internal dissension in the community yetelder lyman was acting in the accustomed manner practiced andexpected by brigham young and other high church officials inutah the church hierarchy in the intermountainintelmountain region in theirisolated circumstances could demand and receive politicalsubmissiveness until 1891 although frequently criticized by out-siders for such actions but in san bernardino as elsewhere in thenation there was no toleration for such ecclesiastical interferencein political matters and thus the mormon actions only provokedfurther alienation 26

by august 1855 the community clerk historian richardhopkins could write the spirit of dissentionsentiondissectiondis is becoming moreevident some men who have occupied prominent positions in thechurch here are very violent against the local church authoritieshe noted that this spirit was becoming both more open and morewidespread he then observed that this situation fulfilled a predic-tion by lyman early in the colonyscolcolonsonys existence that if there weretrouble at san bernardino it would be started by those in ourmidst 112727 later that fall hopkins reported the spirit of apostasyis daily becoming more evident with former church membersverbally abusing the presiding authorities and swearingvengeance on all saints later he described conditions in sanbernardino as the antithesis of those that had prevailed in the earlydays of the settlement saying it is almost impossible to insure aconcert of action upon any object of public interest instead thegrand object appears to be the aggrandizement ofprivate interestshe concluded that by that time in a city still comprised mainly ofindividuals who at some time had espoused mormonism to be alatter saint is 1128112128day becoming quite unpopular

early in 1855 brigham young wrote a letter to amasa lymanwhich is most significant in revealing his attitude toward sanbernardino and many of the church members located there heobserved that it often times occurs that men and women are

11



54 BYU studies

tolerable good saints anywhere else except with the saints presi-dent young confessed to thinking that such halfheartedhalf hearted latterday saints were the only ones which this generation of the worldare worthy to meet since they preferred to be with the worldwhere they can see hear and feel the continued profanity andabomination of the wicked while the pure minded and strictlyvirtuous so abhor the wickedness of this generation that if theycould have their desires granted would never again behold a devilin any form 2919 clearly brigham young had categorized churchmembers into two basic classes and only the less faithful typeshould live in contact with the corrupt outside world it is impos-sible to ascertain whether his conclusions were based primarily onthe reports of lyman and rich or whether his attitude influencedthem certainly all agreed to some extent and such assumptionswould figure markedly in the future of the san bernardinomardinoBe colony

by mid 1855 elders lyman and rich were candidly express-ing doubts about the future ofsan bernardinomardinoBe to president brighamyoung lyman asserted that if the colony could not be made useful64asas a home and resting place for the saints it was hardly worththe toil and anxiety it was costing 3010 rich confided that he wouldbe glad if he could report that righteousness was on the increasein the area but he went on to complain that a few more immigrationseions such as had recently arrived from utah would place thebalance on the wrong side he once again concluded that menwho will not be governed in one place will not be governed inanother at this time rich confessed he looked forward to onceagain living in the relatively harmonious environs of utah 31I1

in answer to one of these letters brigham young revealed alack of confidence in the colonyscolcolonsonys future stating we cannot affordto spare good men enough to sustain such a place as that is soonlikely to be 32 in another letter addressed to rich at the end of 1855president young cited a brother lewis as comparing currenttroubles in their midst to the bitter anti mormon conflict in illinoisat the time of joseph smiths assassination saying san bernardinomardinoBewas just half way between carthage and warsaw the highestchurch leader predicted that either the san bernardinomardinoBe churchmembers would incline to the ways of their neighbors and thespirit of the world or else the past history of cupidity hate and

violence would repeat itseil33itself 33

by the beginning of 1856 the growing number of mormondissenters labeled by elder lyman factionalists was fully unitedwith the considerable number of non mormonscormons who had settledin the vicinity and had become increasingly disenchantedenchanteddisenchanterdis withLDS church domination while the political opposition became

12



san bernardino 55

full blown and continued the most bitter confrontations of 1856stemmed from disagreements over land ownership

here again the mormon leaders appear in an unreasonablelight they delayed several years before finally designating whichlands would ultimately be claimed from within the larger domainthey originally thought they had purchased they were entirelywithin the law in this delay but it certainly did nothing to promoteharmony and understanding among those already inclined in theopposite direction part of the problem was entirely beyond controlof the church proprietors since the first days of the settlementmost agricultural activity had been at the big field situated on highground adjacent to the mountains and foothills these fields hadbeen notably productive during the first two years largely as itturned out because these were years of unusually heavy precipita-tion whenmorewhetmorewhen more normal weather patterns resumed production atthe big field dropped drastically after several poor harvests therethe san bernardino leaders realized they needed to look to theirrigable lands clocioclosersertoto the santa ana riverbottomriver bottom to the south andthe more naturally moist soil of the yucaipa valley to the east fora productive future since these were areas where those leastinclined to cooperate with lyman and rich in their land dispositionschemes had gravitated conflict was bound to ensue

A few individual examples sufficiently illustrate the details ofthe lands dispute the most oft cited case involved jerome bensona former mormon who arrived from provo well after the colony wasestablished and after estrangement from the church because ofdisagreements with some of its leaders in utah being a mandescribed in even the most favorable account as of rather agressiveegressiveagres sivedisposition often at odds with his neighbors benson was notregarded by the church proprietors as the type of citizen theywished to welcome into their community therefore they quotedhim a significantly higher price for land than most of the moredesirable purchasers were accustomed to paying upon learning ofthis slight the newly embittered benson left the mormon city andtook up land several miles south across the santa ana river in anarea commonly expected to be designated as public domain assoon as lyman and rich made their final land selections but afterhe had made considerable improvements on the property the ranchowners notified him he was trespassingtrespassing on their lands withencouragement from other opponents of the landowners bensonrefused to leave fortified his home lot with breastworks and acannon and defied the mormon leaders to remove him althoughthe initial court proceedings for eviction favored lyman and richthe stubborn benson remained on the land until bargain prices for

13



56 BYU studies

unencumbered property enticed him to relocate on land some of thelatter day saints would abandon within less than two years of thedispute 3414

frederick M van leuven was another mormon who arrivedin san bernardinomardinoBe after its initial settlement he immediatelylocated on land east of bensons near present loma linda alsobelieving it was beyond the holdings of lyman and rich eventu-ally sometime after coming into conflict with the church authori-ties through his political independence he was notified that the landhe was occupying would be included in the eight leagues ofproperty the church proprietors were designating as their finalholdings van leuven submitted rather quietly and withdrew toyucaipaYucaipa where he arranged with john brown for a portion of theland he was using there subsequently he and brown would beevicted from this area also 35

john brown had moved to yucaipa sometime after diegosepulveda a relative of the lugo family vacated that portion of theranch upon its sale to lyman and rich previously associated withthe mormonscormons in colorado utah and northern california brownwas baptized into the church soon after arriving in san bernardinomardinoBein 1852 he cooperated fully with his latter day saint neighborsduring his first years in the area playing a prominent role inseparating san bernardinomardinoBe county off from los angeles countyand in attempts to curb indian raids on livestock in the valley yetfor some reason whatever ardor he had possessed for mormonismfaded and he gravitated into the faction most opposed to thechurch leaders and ranch proprietors he was undoubtedly one ofthe individuals amasa lyman referred to as trespassingtrespassing at yucaipaYucaipa

elder lymansclymans feelings probably stemmed from the fact thatbrown had neither paid rent nor purchased any of the land he hadoccupied for several years and sometime thereafter when apaying tenant vincente lugo offered to reoccupy the yucaiparanch rich informed brown he would have to either pay the backrent purchase the ranch or promptly vacate the premises afterseveral conferences on the matter brown promised to move hislivestock and family as requested if all outstanding debts werecanceled brown later alleged that as he returned home that eveningin april 1856 someone he believed to be a monmormonmonnonnon fired shots athim from ambush thereafter he changed his stance on the ranchoccupancy and summoned his friends for consultation A dozenmen including some of the most prominent non mormon neigh-bors and the most vocal apostate mormonsmonnonsmormansMonMormonsnons signed a remonstrancesupporting browns refusal to leave charging he was being forcedout under duress they stated we believe the land upon which he

14



san bernardino 57

lives to be public domain and firmly insist that he john brownshall remain where he is without further molestation until thegeneral government shall determine the outcome of the casealthough their legal position was weak these men were fullydetermined to stand against the mormon leaders seeming arbitrari-ness brown subsequently vacated the disputed land but theantagonisms between the clearly divided factions on occasionduring the ensuing year reached the verge of armed confrontation I136I1

elders lyman and rich had long understood they wereexpected to go to england to assume leadership of the europeanmissions whenever they could make the necessary financial disengagementsgagements and arrangements in san Bbernardinoernardino neither apostle isknown to have offered anything but encouragement of the assign-ment change yet there is in the subsequent developments aperceptible difference in attitude toward the california colonybetween lyman and rich at the end of 1855 brigham youngcomplied with a previous inquiry and instructed rich to move hisfamily back to utah several unforeseen complications causedmore than a year of delays but there is every indication the juniorapostle remained anxious to make the intermountainintel mountain area homefor himself and all his families on the other hand elder lymanapparently intended to maintain his direct association with sanbernardino planning for several of his wives and families toremain there while he was on his mission and doubtless expectingto return himself when his present assignment was completed 3717

A crucial development in the attempt to resolve the ranch debtobligations still hanging over lyman and rich was enlistingebenezer hanks a faithful latter day saint who had met withconsiderable financial success in the northern california goldfields as an equal and eventually most active partner in the affairsof the san bernardino ranch even with the pressure of high interestrates and the constant harassment by impatient creditors the ranchproprietors could well contemplate substantial economic rewardsfor their pains once the debts were repaid outstanding landpayments owed the company on approximately one quarter of theranch land already sold would virtually cancel the remainingfinancial obligations whatever land was disposed of thereafterwould be largely profit undoubtedly hanks understood there wererisks in the undertaking andjoinedand joined the partnership partly as his ownmission to relieve his apostle partners from such temporal caresbut the fact remains that there still existed much potential for richeconomic rewards from the enterprise 38

in march 1857 prior to his departure from san bernardinoamasa lyman addressed the latter day saints assembled there at

15



58 BYU studies

a church conference he reminded his congregation that they hadcome to build the kingdom of god in the area saying if thatconsists in planting vineyards fruit trees making farms andbuilding houses they had accomplished their purpose but the realtask had been to improve the lives of individuals in their dailyapplication of the principles of their religion some of the listenerswere undoubtedly succeeding in this realm too but compared to thenumber of potential latter day saints in the area the success ratewas far from outstanding another major thrust of this farewelladdress and a similar one by elder rich focused on the continuingobligations of the san bernardinomardinoBe saints to comcompletepletepiete payments onthe ranch the apostles requested the community members topledge their support to hanks and william J cox who as stakepresident would be the presiding church authority in the area 39

during the next several months president cox was hardpressed to hold his brethren to their ranch commitments whetherintentionally or not elder rich had seriously undermined sucheffort by discouraging a brother durfee from purchasing additionalsan bemardinomardinobelardinoBe land counseling him to save his means so that hewould be prepared to move his family away when the time camewhen cox heard reports of this he counseled the brother to keepsuch stories to himself but the word had already spread the stakepresident soon addressed the saints at the regular sunday worshipservices and reminded them they had recently covenanted tosustain brother hanks in his exertions to redeem the pledges thathad been made to build up the cause in this land he went on toadvise his listeners that latter day saints should prepare to livehere or go where called but he continued for the present theywere in their proper field of labor they were called to stay hereand when a different call came they would know it by continuingsuch meetings and exhortations throughout the summer cox wassuccessful in maintaining a good deal ofcooperation in the commu-nity effort to lift the ranch mortgage 40 in fact in early augustebenezer hanks wrote his absent partners to report that theirbusiness was increasing so rapidly that it appeared to be more thanhe could handle A large portion of this activity was land salesincluding sales to mormonscormonsMormons although by this time a considerablenumber of san bernardinomardinoBe saints hoped to return to utah there isno solid evidence that church officials intended to totally abandonthe southern california settlement 41

during the summer of 1857 california newspapers were fullof the kind of reports that were leading president james buchananto send US army troops to quell the so called mormonmonnon rebellionthese were rapidly eroding what for several years had been a most

16



san bernardino 59

cordial relationship between the citizens of san bernardino andthose throughout the rest of the state of california amongthe subsequent news items were many details of the movementsof the military and their monmormonmonnonnon opponents no one was certainwhat the final outcome would be but ebenezer hanks wasprobably correct in observing that a clash of arms or somethingclose to it would cause the faithful latter day saints to hasten toutah much faster than anything else might in the meantimethey could be of immeasurable assistance to their beleagueredbeleaguerbeleaguereredbrethren by gathering much needed arms ammunition andsupplies for possible use against the invading army should such

42prove necessaryit was lurid reports of the mountain meadows massacre and

other subsequent mistreatment of overland emigrant trains in thefall of 1857 that ultimately caused the demise of san bernardino asa haven for practicing members of the church of jesus christ oflatter day saints until the alienation of the non mormon commu-nity of southern california in the wake of those events there isevery indication the colony was to continue if not flourish it wasonly after anti mormon hostility mounted in the late autumn morethan four months after brigham young received notice of theapproach ofofjohnstonsjohnstons army that the church leader summonedthe faithful to abandon their california homes to return to utah 43

late in 1856 the presiding apostles had instructed the sanbernardino high council and bishopric upon the necessity of areformation in the san bernardino branch similar endeavorswere underway elsewhere in mormondom besides vocal encourenczuragementargement to individual church members to renew their commit-ments to the faith through rebaptism there was also considerableinterest in eliminating from church standing those whose liveswere notjudgednot judged to be in conformity with latter day saint standardsof behavior thus a number of people were disfellowshippeddisfellowshipped andexcommunicated at this time elders lyman and rich reportedfrequently to brigham young on the progress of the reformationbut they were never able to state the number fully recommitted hadreached beyond five hundred souls this was probably only onefifth of the number residing in the vicinity who on some earlieroccasion had been baptized as members of the church 44

by the summer of 1857 it was no longer any secret thatmany of those who had remained most committed to the LDSreligion and its leaders were contemplating removal back to zionin the mountains of utah brigham young had made numerouspublic and private comments to that effect for more than a yearwhen the official call to return arrived in early november 1857 the

17



60 BYU studies

scene was described by henry boyle as the obedient busy sellingout or rather sacrificing their property to their enemies and fittingup for the return trip he reported the apostates and mobocratsare prowling around trying to raise a row trying to stir up the peopleto blood shed and every wicked thing continuing most gloomilyhe declared 0 is it nothellbothellnothellheliheii to live in the midst of such spirits theyfirst thirst for and covet our property our goods and our chatelschanelschatelsthen they thirst for our blood he concluded 1I think I1 shall feellike I1 had been released from hell when I1 shall have got away fromhere san bernardinomardinoBe 114545

probably the most telling commentary on the individualscomprising the citizenry of mormon san bernardinomardinoBe after a halfdozen years ofdevelopment was their reaction to Brighambrighambigham youngyoungs s

recall the year 1857 had seen perhaps the best harvest yet andflour prices were double what they been several years before manywho remembered the colder climate the less productive soil andthe greater personal restrictions prevalent in utah chose not to heedthe request to return in the words of the late eugene campbell theychose to forsake the church rather than leave their homes in san

bernardinomardinoBe 46

at the end of 1856 san bernardinomardinoBe was estimated to haveabout three thousand inhabitants george beatties careful study ofthe makeupmake up of this population concluded that at the time 84 percentof the residents of the area were or had been mormonsmonnonsmormansMorMonmonsnons of theseabout 55 percent which would be almost fourteen hundredresponded to Bbrighamrighambigham youngs call to return to utah since in thenext several years some of these went back to san bernardinomardinoBe indisillusionment it would be fair to estimate that approximately halfof the latter day saints proved committed enough to heed theorders of their ecclesiastical leaders and the other half did not incomparison with the near unanimity still prevailing in the mormonsettlements of the great basin this was an extremely high percent-age of individuals unwilling to meet the requirement to sacrificetheir homes or whatever else was asked of them a basic tenet of thelatter day saint religion 4741

even though it appears that the church leaders hoped tomaintain at least nominal ties with the san bernardinomardinoBe colony untilthe bitterness surrounding the mountain meadows massacreshattered any such possibilities it seems likely that conscious ofthe declining proportion of fully committed mormonscormons in sanbernardino they chose to remove those yet faithful from thatnegative environment sad experiences in ohio missouri andillinois had proved that life among unbelieversbelieversun particularlyapostates was next to impossible although one of the initial

18



san bernardino 61

purposes for the settlement was apparently to attempt retrieval ofsome who had strayed from the paths of obedience to churchteachings and authority in coming to california in the firstplace experience with the large number of nominal saints whohad flooded to san bernardinomardinoBe had proved disappointing withthe abundant evidence of lack of success inin this endeavor theadvantages of further efforts at maintaining a direct influence incalifornia was not deemed by church leaders to be worth the cost

brigham young had alluded to the california settlement as a64 strainer screening out those of weak faith prior to their moving onto the center ofofzionzion in the mountains but to a greater extent thesan bernardinomardinoBe settlement acted as a magnet for attracting uncom-mitted church members from throughout the other mormon settle-ments thus occurred the reverse of the church leaders intendedgathering those whose common bond was their weakening

attachment to the principles of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and an unwillingness to follow counsel of the churchleaders congregated in the settlement that was most distant bothphysically and spiritually from the center of mormondom 4841

NOTES

amasa M lyman and charles C rich to brigham young 23 and 30 july 1850 brigham youngpapers library archives historical department the church of jesus christ of latter day saints saltlake city hereafter cited as LDS church archives

ibid3firsttirstbirst presidency to amasa M lyman and charles C rich 17 march 18511851 amasa M lyman

papers LDS church archiveswilliam decatur kartchner autobiography 35 photocopy of holograph archives harold

B lee library brigham young university provo hereafter cited as lee librarybidibid 35 36 eugene E campbell establishing zion the mormon chuichchurch inin the american

west 1847 1869 salt lake city signature 1988 70 716 manuscript history of the church brigham young period 1844 1877 20 march 18511851 LDS

church archivesamasa M lyman to brigham young 22 april 18511851 young papers LDS church archivesparley8parleysparley P pratt autobiography ofparleyof parleyparify parker frattprattpi artalt 1938 reprint salt lake city deseret

book co 19763711976 371 8811 isis one oftheodtheof the best accounts ofthejoumeyof the journey andrew jenson comp history ofsan bernardinomardinoBe california MS LDS church archives apparently based primarily on the record of sanbernardinomardinoBe clerk historianhis tonan richard hopkins isis a major primary source for day to day events george Wbeattie and helen P beattie heritage of the valley san BernarBemardinodinoss firstfust century 1939 reprintoakland calif biobooksBiobooks 1951 170 237 isis the best overall account oftheodtheof the mormonscormons inin san bernardinobemardinobelardinoBemardinojoseph S wood the mormon settlement inin san bernardinomardinoBe 1851 1857 phdph D diss university ofutah 1967741967 74 167 isis a good work on the subject as isis leonard J arringtonamrffoicharlescharlescharies C rich mormongeneral and western frontiersman provo brigham young university press 1974 153 213

jenson history of san bernardinomardinoBe 25 november 15 december 1851 and 23 february23 apnlapfflannlapffel 12 may 8 june 5 july 1852 amasa lyman reported to church headquarters it isis our feelingsthat the spintspirit of the gospel isis on the increase inin this branch of the church the best evidences of which areexhibited inin the disposition of the people to observe and be governed by the council ordained for their edi-ficationfication they still manifest a disposition to unite their efforts with ours to accomplish the payment forthe place and to defer until that time the receiving of their private inheritances or improving the same

19



62 BYU studies

so our improvements until that time will be the creation of those public conveniences such as mills grainhouses such as will suit our convenience best and favor the payment for the place which whenaccomplished will allow us the privilege to locate our inheritance and improve the same without thechances of their being swept away from us for the indebtedness against the place our presentarrangements plan this in the spring and summer of 1854 will give us the full and undisputed right andpossession of the land of san bernardinomardinoBe and in addition to this the most of our brethren connected withus in this labor will by the appropriation of their labour and means have secured to themselves a creditthat will go far toward the payment for their places amasa M lyman to brigham young I111I1 september1852 young papers LDS church archives

amagaamasa M lyman and charles C rich to brigham young 21 october 1853 young papersLDS church archives

I1 amasa M lyman and charles C rich to editor of news 27 february 1853 deseret news5 march 1853 entered in journal history oftheodtheof the church ofjesusof jesus christ oflatterof latter day saints 27 february1853 LDS church archives

amasa M lyman and charles C ririchch to brigham young 31 october 1853 lyman papersLDS church archives

horace C rolfe the early political history of san bernardinomardinoBe county in H C rolfescrapbook san bernardinomardinoBe county library

john brown jr and james boyd history ofsanof san bernardinomardinomardinaBe and riverside counties 3 volsmadison wis western historical association 1922 148 states for the most part the san

bernardinomardinoBe mormonscormons did not believe in polygamy the author who with his father had lived amongthe mormonscormons since early in the settlements history should have known whereof he spoke eugeneE campbell A history oftheodtheof the church of jesus of christ of latter day saints in california 1846 1946phd diss university of southern california 1952 observes the main objections these disaffected

members of the church whom missionary henry bigler visited at san bernardinomardinoBe in 1858 made togathering to utah were 1 the climate and the difficulty of making a living 2 the wifescifes objection to

plural marriage and 3 a rebellion against brigham youngs highhandedhigh handed authoritarianism 282811 seealso rolfe early political history of san bernardinomardinoBe county 11

5journal history 19 february 29 october 1853 6 april 1854 apostle george A smithfollowed brigham young and orson hyde saying the men that have left for california and complainof stringent measures etc wentbecausewent because theirheartstheir hearts were corrupt andtheyand they did not love the gospel ofjesusof jesuschrist

history of brigham young 19 august 1854 copied into journal history of same dateamasa M lyman and charles C rich to brigham young 11 march 1854 young papers LDS

church archivesI1 judge benjamin hayes to southern californian 19 october 1854 quoted in beattie heritage

ofodtheofthethe valley 225 26quoted in arrington charles C rich 182amasa10amasa M lyman to brigham young 8 january and 3 may 1855 young papers LDS church

archives in the former letter lyman reported in relation to our strength here we are rather weaker inrighteousness than in numbers the constant influence of discordant feelings is but calculated to increasean evil already in existence to increase a great extent compared to the union that should mark the laborsof the saints

amasa M lyman to brigham young 3 may 1855 young papers lyman recounted asking onedisaffected sister from cedar city why they were again locating in a church settlement to which shecandidly and prophetically replied that she and her husband had concluded that it would not be morethan 2 or 3 years before that a mob would drive the mormonscormonsMormons away and then they could get land andimprovements cheaper than elsewhere

22 amasa M lyman journal 21 november 1853 and 7 december 1854 LDS church archivesbeattiebeattle heritage of the valley 228 37 lyman journal 21 22 26 april 1855 and 20 may

185524 henry G boyle diary of henry G boyle 1832 1855 21 22 april 1855 lee library21ibid21 ibid 22 april 1855 ironically some years later amasa lyman was defendant before other

church authorities in a case also involving freedom of conscience at that time lyman too wouldchoose freedom over church membership see loretta L hefner from apostle to apostate thepersonal struggle ofamasaofamasa mason lyman dialogue A journal ofmormonof mormon thought 16 spring 1983

90 104

rolfe political history of san bernardinomardinoBejenson san bernardinomardinoBe 17 august 1855

211bidibid 28 november 1855brigham young to amasa M lyman 29 january 1855 lyman papersamasa30amasa M lyman to brigham young 3 may 1855 young paperscharles C rich to brigham young I11 november and 2 december 1855 young papersbrigham young to charles C rich 29 november 1855 rich papers LDS church

archives3113righarnbrigham young to charles C rich 31 december 1855 rich papers

20



san bernardino 63

rolferoife political history ofsanofsan bernardinomardinoBe according to this contemporary observer by thistime the apostolic owners of the ranch who were selling off their lands in small parcels to settlers mostlyof their own faith had become somewhat cautious as to whom they sold and thereby enabled to becomemembers of the community particularly guarding against granting facilities to any who might make themtrouble or be antagonistic to their influence in the community or disturb the peace and hantlhanTiharmonyony thereof

beattie heritage oftheodtheof the valley 239 it is not certain how long the van leuven family was awayfrom the loma linda area but they did eventually return to occupy much of the land for a long time afterthe departure of lyman and rich

16 ibid 240 jenson san bernardinomardinoBe 13131818 april 1856 and richard R hopkins to amasa Mlyman 2 may 1856 lyman papers

charles C rich to brigham young I11 november 1855 acknowledges mission call and makesrequest that he be permitted to movehismove his families back to utah see also arlingtonarrington charles C rich 202 6amasa M lyman to brigham young december 1856 lyman papers LDS church archives

hanks paid 25383 for his third interest in the ranch along with apparently raising another10000 among fellow northern california church members arrington charles C rich 202

jenson san bernardinomardinoBe 23 march 1857hopkins to amasa M lyman 7 may 1857 lyman papersebenezer hanks to amasa M lyman and charles C rich 7 august 1857 lyman papershopkins to amasa M lyman 5 november 1857 lyman papers the san francisco daily alta

california 12 november 1857 reported arms and ammunition continue to be forwarded from sanbernardinomardinoBe to utah the report specifically mentions five hundred revolvers powder and duck fortents

4dailyaltadallydaliydaily alraaltaatra california 1214 october 1857 the los angeles star 9 may and 31021 october1857 listed at least three other alleged attacks on emigrants passing through utah for the recall to utahsee brigham young to william cox 7 november 1857 young papers LDS church archives

44loslaslos angeles star 2 9 16 30 november and 17 20 22 december 1856 1 february 1857amasa M lyman and charles C rich to brigham young 7 february 1857 young papers

boyle diary 16 17 november and 4 december 1857 brigham young was also inclined todescribe the situation in terms of hell in a june public address in salt lake city referring to sanbernardinomardinoBe he stated hell reigns there and it is just as much as any mormon can do to live thereand that it is about time for him and every true saint to leave that land deseret news 10 june 1857

41 campbell history of the church in california 282811

41jenson san bernardinomardinoBe 27 december 1856 population estimate citing western standarda mormon weekly published in northern california apparently drawing on a report from the los angelesstar beattie heritage of the valley 331111 14 beattie cites several newspaper notices of mormonscormons whohad answered the call to return to utah but who had subsequently returned to san bernardinomardinoBe see journalhistory 10 may 1858 for brigham young virtually browbeating former san bernardinomardinoBe stake presidentdavid seeley into returning to california

after4aftercafter 1857 58 there was no organized branch of the church in san bernardino for more thana half century agents of the reorganized church of jesus christ of latter day saints did establish abranch in the area campbellcampbelicampbelestahlishingzionestablishing zion has suggested an exodus of ofperhapsperhaps thousands from utahin the 1850s a subject that needs much further study

21



the rise and decline of mormon san bernardino

Documents