MAY 2017 LESSON, ARTIFACT, AND MUSIC May 2017 DUP Lesson MUSEUM MEMORIES Julie Nichols Thompson, Ellen Taylor Jeppson, Maryann Ruben Jensen, and Lynnette Pieper Hanson As the series Museum Memories come to a close, the lesson committee wishes to honor the faith, fortitude, and accomplishments of our pioneer ancestors by sharing some of the more popular artifacts and histories. We will also celebrate the thriving organization that is International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Occasionally, members of DUP express concern that the organization is slowly dying. To the contrary, each month the number of new member applications exceeds the number of notifications of the passing of Daughters. As the final volume of Museum Memories is published this year, our organization has grown to include over 22,000 members in 47 states, with companies and camps in 22 states as well as Canada. We are proud to document our story with historical markers in 13 states and 11 foreign countries. We truly are an international society! Museums are one facet of the organization of Daughters of Utah Pioneers. The impressive effort and attention that the daughters have extended to collect, document, and tell the stories connected with every pioneer artifact is highly commendable. At the beginning of the year 2017, ISDUP had 132 museums scattered throughout the Intermountain West of the United States. The crown jewel of these museums is the Pioneer Memorial Museum which commands a view on the hilltop of Main Street in Salt Lake City, across the street and to the west of the Utah State Capitol Building. From October 2015 to October 2016, 27,355 people visited the museum, representing all 50 states as well as 40 countries. In January of 2017 alone, the docents of the museum welcomed 1,625 visitors from 30 states and 13 countries including Taiwan, Russia, Australia, and China. According to LeAnne Whitaker, docent director at the Pioneer Memorial Museum, one of the most common requests of visitors is to locate the framed photographs of their ancestors. It is also common for a patron to arrive with children or grandchildren, explain that they came to the museum in their youth and now want their own descendants to appreciate the history. This statement is followed up with the question, Can you direct us to the two-headed lamb? My grandchildren don t believe me. The raised eyebrows of the children bring a smile of satisfaction to the adult as the docent sends them to the basement to see this wonder for themselves.
Patrons of the museum are often struck by the number of pioneer portraits that line the walls of every room and corridor. More than 2,300 portraits are arranged in a historical mosaic comprised of various shapes and sizes, each a piece of the magnificent history which we, as their daughters claim. Many visitors rush past the portraits on their way to locate a specific artifact or history. In 2009, under the leadership of ISDUP President Bette F. Barton, the museum underwent a significant renovation. Artifacts and portraits were carefully moved during the nine-month project. Miraculously, no artifacts were lost or damaged during the project, and the museum was rededicated on its sixtieth anniversary, July 23, 2010. Though the renovation of the building was completed in 2010, DUP has combined efforts with the LDS Church to preserve our pioneer collection. Until two years ago, when the project began, the paper copies of the histories, which are packed tightly in envelopes and folders on the shelves that have been their home for decades, were vulnerable to misplacement or calamity with no means for immediate replacement. A fire or natural disaster would not only threaten the artifacts, but could easily completely destroy the paper records which document individual pioneer stories. The LDS Church has generously provided senior missionaries as part of the Family Search effort. These missionaries spent countless hours taking each history page by page to create a digital record of each and every pioneer history. When the histories were completed, the missionaries embarked upon the project of scanning and creating digital files of all the photographs. When the project is completed, backup copy of these records will be stored in the Granite Mountain Records Vault in Little Cottonwood Canyon. DUP will allow the LDS Church to link the index of histories and photos to their FamilySearch website. New photos and histories are added to the collections monthly, bringing the photo collection to nearly 50,000 photos. It is estimated that nearly 80,000 people entered, passed through, or died while trying to reach the State of Deseret between 1847 and 1869, qualifying them as Utah Pioneers. While our history department boasts more than 43,200 histories, it is a testament that the half of this great story s ne er been told. It is thrilling when family members submit a history about a pioneer that has not previously been included.
In recent years, unique artifacts have been donated to the museum: 2011 - a kilt belonging to John Alexander Cameron (1819-1903) was donated by Beverly B. Reed. A detailed history of John Alexander Cameron was included in Volume 7 of Museum Memories. 2012 - the Mt. Nebo Camp of Daughters of Utah Pioneers donated one of the original keys to the Nauvoo Temple. This key previously belonged to Alice Ionia Young Kay, great-granddaughter of Henry I. Young, who brought the key to the Salt Lake Valley with him in 1850. 2014 - LeeAnn Nelson donated a pump organ which belonged to her great-grandmother Jennie Pickering Douglass Brown, a native pioneer. Annie Taylor Hyde photograph - Hanging in the main foyer of the museum is a photograph of Annie Taylor Hyde. On April 11, 1901, the birthdate of her aged and beloved mother, Annie called together a number of daughters of pioneers and organized them into a society to be known as Daughters of Utah Pioneers. At that time she was elected president and was later given the title of Founder General of Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Salt Lake Theatre curtain - Many people regard the Salt Lake Theatre curtain that hangs on the north wall of the Main Floor as the finest relic in the museum. The Return of the Victorious Fleet, an ancient Grecian scene, was painted by Henry C. Tryon, and was donated to Daughters of Utah Pioneers after the closing of the theatre in 1928. When it was removed from the theatre, it was treated with oil, rolled on a pole, and hung in a storage room in the Utah State Capitol Building basement. Hilda Anderson Erickson, an active DUP member, died on January 1, 1968, at the age of 108. She was known as the last living pioneer, having come to Utah from Sweden in 1866 at the age of six. The Hilda Anderson Erickson case (first Floor case 50), contains many interesting items that belonged to Hilda and her family. Among them are a gray leather mask used for protection from the sun while crossing the plains, jewelry, hair accessories, an embroidered black dress, medical instruments, a collection of rattlesnake rattles, and a colorful Swedish scarf. Theatre Room/Brigham Young Room This room contains many items used by Brigham Young and his family in the Lion House. Case 8 holds the prayer bell used by Brigham Young to call his family to prayer. Tree Hair Picture An unusual hair art design made in the shape of a tree displays the hair of 38 people including Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, and other early Apostles and prominent men and women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The weeping willow hair tree was made by Harriet Critchlow Jensen, granddaughter of Captain James Brown and William Fuller Critchlow, pioneers of 1847. The hair art was originally displayed in the main entrance of the Salt Lake Temple until the temple was remodeled in 1967, when it was donated to Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
Dolls - After her mother died following childbirth and when not helping her father grub the land with an axe and hoe, nine year old Susanna Elizabeth Preece Allen spent hours with her dolls. Later on her stepmother got a group of ladies together to spend an afternoon making clothes for Susanna s dolls. Two other dolls displayed in the museum were purchased in 1875 in Scotland by Thomas Cunningham and his wife, Agnes Bell Cunningham, for their daughters Susan and Elizabeth. Both girls contracted scarlet fever. Susan died, but Elizabeth recovered. Their mother kept the dolls in a case to avoid the spread of illness. They were later given to Elizabeth, but remained in the case for 60 years. Displayed in a glass cabinet on the Third Floor of the museum is an artifact unrecognizable to most visitors. It is an odd-shaped piece of metal handcrafted by George Washington Bean as a fork and knife combination. As a young man of 18 years, he lost his left hand in a cannon explosion and invented the tool to help him cut meat the table and convey it to his mouth. A Quilt of Many Pieces Pioneer craftsmanship is evidenced throughout the museum in artifacts of the settlers own making. For example, a quilt comprised of over 10,500 diamond-shaped pieces can be seen on the Third Floor of the museum. Visitors are drawn to admire the detail of this work created by Elizabeth Jane Rogers Shepherd. Her husband, John Worlock Shepherd, made a brass pattern for her quilts, from which she cut one-inch pieces of paper to be covered with squares of calico or other cotton material. The quilt on display in the museum is made of pieced cotton of many colors. She began making it in England and completed the blocking after her arrival in Utah. A granddaughter and great-granddaughter finished the piece by quilting it. Brigham Young s Council Wagon The wagon Brigham Young used when he crossed the plains in 1847 is one of the most popular artifacts in the Pioneer Memorial Museum. The wagon is said to have been made by the father of Horace S. Eldredge in Nauvoo, Illinois, for James M. Flake, a wealthy Mississippi planter and a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Flake had moved his family to Nauvoo along with his Negro slave, Green Flake (also a convert), who had taken his master s name. When Young was organizing the first wagon train to cross the plains and needed the best teams, James M. Flake loaned this wagon to Brigham along with a team of white mules and his trusted slave.
Roosevelt Steam Fire Engine A horse-drawn steam engine that was manufactured in 1902 by the American Fire Engine Company of Seneca, New York. Christened Roosevelt in honor of U. S. President Theodore Roosevelt and pulled by three horses, this engine responded to fires from Salt Lake s Fire Station One on East First South, from 1904 until 1917, by which time the fire department had become entirely motorized. Scheduled to be scrapped for iron during World War II, the engine was saved by Fred Pepper, a junk dealer who recognized its historic value and donated it to the Daughters of Utah Pioneers. After being displayed at Liberty Park for years and the external parts of the engine became almost entirely stripped, the engine was partially restored in 1958 with the help of the Tooele Army Depot Fire Department. As the Carriage House was under construction, it was noted that the engine would be moved into the basement of the Carriage House. In 1996, the Utah Statehood Centennial Project for International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, in cooperation with the Bountiful City Fire Department, restored the steam-powered fire engine. Bountiful Fire Chief Brent Palmer fell in love with the engine and convinced DUP President, Louise Green and DUP Museum Director, Edith Menna, and the DUP Board to let him restore Rosie. The Gardo House Paper Model On display stands a large three-dimensional paper model of the Gardo House. Visitors can also see dresses that belonged to Utah s Silver Queen, and learn stories and history associated with one of Salt Lake City s most elegant and awe-inspiring pioneer homes. The amazing one-inch scale paper-model of the Gardo House was crafted by Churchill Junior High School teacher, Judy Dykman, her 12-year-old history students, professionals, and volunteers. Construction on the actual Gardo House began in 1873 on the corner of South Temple and State Street, directly south of the Beehive House. March 1, 1877, marked the completion of the home. President Brigham Young, who was fond of naming his homes, had a number of residences for his use and for the benefit of his wives and children: the White House, Beehive House, Lion House, Farm House, log row houses on 1 st Avenue in Salt Lake, and his St. George home. As membership in the LDS Church increased, it was necessary not only to welcome but also accommodate an increasing number of travelers who arrived in the city. There was a need for the Church to have an official residence where General Authorities could receive distinguished guests and other visitors. The legend of the Gardo House, also known as Amelia s Palace, tells the story of one of Brigham Street s (South Temple) most elegant homes. It is also a tale of conflict, power, and wealth in early Utah. According to President Young s daughter Clarissa, the name Gardo came from a Spanish book that her father particularly enjoyed. Brigham Young Jr. had commented that the house towered over the neighboring homes as if it were on guard and thus the name Gardo was appropriate.
May 2017 DUP Artifact Wooden Rolling Pin Margery Stewart Camp DUP Artifact Collection Where: Kanab Heritage House 115 South Main Kanab, Utah 84741 Open M-F in the summer months from 1-5 pm. (435)644-3966 When the Chamberlain family lived in the Victorian Mansion, the life of the family took place in the kitchen. The lady of the house, Elinor Chamberlain, baked, cooked and preserved food on the wood stove. The large kitchen cabinet was built for Elinor by her son Justin while he was taking a high school woodworking class. The children did their homework at the kitchen table and quietly played and read in this warm room in the winter. Donated by the Clark and Dora Veater Family This rolling pin belonged to Tabus Lewis and Bellesora Cladoniya McPherson Benson. When they prepared to travel across the plains to Utah, they decided the oak table was too heavy for a covered wagon. Bellesora s husband Tabus, sawed off and saved a leg of the table. From the leg he carved this wooden rolling pin so his wife would have a piece of her beloved table. May 2017 DUP Song The Lives That They Lived Sung by Dr. Karen Bruestle on the 2016-2017 Music CD The music is by Jeanmarie Nash Bassett. Putting music to the poem Sherryl Crockett wrote in honor of her husband s grandmother was a delightful experience. I felt the spirit of the words. I said a quick prayer and the basis of this song was written in an hour. This does not happen often. I worked to keep the integrity of the poem, describing the day after day life of a pioneer. The repeating bass line is like a wagon wheel turning over and over, mile after mile. The chorus music rises to proclaim how noble those mundane tasks were. The CD, Pioneer Song Contest Collection, and Pioneer Songs hardbound music book, are available for purchase at the Pioneer Memorial Museum in Salt Lake City or from our online shop at isdup.org.
Music CD: Water mills used moving water as a power source and were essential for pioneer development of farms and towns. A community depended upon the mills to survive and meet daily needs. This old water mill wheel now resides at Mill Creek Hollow in Kaysville, Utah, courtesy of the Carver family. It is a memorial to the legacy of Michael Carver who was noted for his extraordinary kindness and service to others. He touched our hearts and his legacy lives on in each of us. Photo by Morris Lee. Pioneer Songs music book: compiled by Daughters of Utah Pioneers and arranged by Alfred M. Durham, was first published in 1932. It is a compilation of songs used by the Pioneers en route to and in the early settlements of the West. Pioneer Song Contest Collection: To commemorate Pioneer Day of July 24, 2013, ISDUP had a song writing contest of modern-day composers and lyricists. They wrote in honor of a rich pioneer legacy of faith, fortitude, courage, freedom and industry. Eighty-nine entries, representing over eleven-hundred DUP Camps, were divided into six categories for assessment. The songs of all the winners and twenty "close contenders" entries are published in this collection. This volume represents the first modern-day song collection ever printed in the history of DUP other than the original book of Pioneer Songs published in 1932. Dorothy Matern, Music Chairperson, ISDUP Michael Smurthwaite & Jane B. Dye, Pioneer Songs Arrangers Dr. Morris F. Lee, Instrumental Accompaniment