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Sarah Lynch Survivor of the
Mountain Meadows Massacre
as written by Ed Sanders -
sanders.ed @ sbcglobal.net |
Across a corner from the Calhoun County Courthouse
in Hampton, AR, on
your left and behind the Church of Christ there is a cemetery. In
that cemetery are two grave markers of great historic significance.
In 1857 perhaps as many as 300 people left near Harrison, AR, in a
wagon train to go to California under the guidance of two experienced
leaders, Captain Piney Alex Fancher and Captain John T. Baker of
Carroll County, AR.
At Mountain Meadows, Utah Territory, all the adults in the train were
slaughtered by Mormons under the command of John Doyle Lee, an
adopted son of Brigham Young. One of the "Apostles" of the Mormon
Church, Parley Parker Pratt, had just been murdered in AR by an
enraged husband from CA. Pratt was shown nothing but courtesy and
kindness by any Arkansan.
In 1857, Hector McLean, had tracked Pratt from CA to OK, because his
wife, Elenore, had followed Pratt to Fort Gibson, OK, to become
Pratt's 12th wife. The husband insisted upon a trial of Pratt on the
ground that Pratt was a thief and had stolen the clothing of his
three children, if nothing else. Pratt was apprehended at Ft Gibson,
OK, and taken for trial to Van Buren, AR. He was acquitted but held
in jail overnight for his own safety. In the morning his horse was
brought to the rear of the jail and Pratt was released. He headed
for the town of Alma, but was overtaken by Mr. McLean who rode up
beside him and cut Pratt's throat in front of a blacksmith shop. The
blacksmith and his family rendered all the aid they could but Pratt
exsanguinated in a short while.
The blacksmith and his family prepared a casket of native walnut and
Pratt was buried in the blacksmith's family cemetery. Of course word
traveled to far distant Utah and the Mormons were furious. Word went
out that anyone assisting the approaching AR wagon train would be
severely dealt with. When the train arrived and encamped at Mountain
Meadows, they were attacked. After a 3-day shootout, the travelers
were told if they would stack their weapons in one wagon they would
be conducted to a city where they could buy food, feed for their
livestock and ammunition. As you would guess when the weapons were
safely in the wagon, Lee gave the order to kill them all. Very small
children were to be spared.
Prior to the destruction of the twin towers in NY on 911, Mountain
Meadows is the largest atrocity to have occurred on American soil.
Approximately 300 emigrants from AR and TN were killed. Seventeen
small children were spared.
Twenty years later, John Doyle Lee, adopted son of Brigham Young, was
tried and executed by a U.S. Army firing squad after writing a
book--"No Man Knows My History." In the book, he confesses to being
responsible for the atrocity, but upon the orders of Brigham Young,
President of the Mormons.
An Army Captain, James Lynch from Leavenworth, was sent to Utah to
recover the children who had been spared during the massacre. One of
the girls, Sarah Dunlap, now blinded, became a favorite of the never-
married Lynch on the long journey to AR, where he delivered her to
friends in AR. A short time later, Lynch married Sarah and built a
house and store for them in Woodberry, Calhoun Co., AR. He took
tender care of Sarah until her death. Being now an elderly man Lynch
arranged with a lawyer and his wife in Hampton to care for him until
his death and see that he was buried as close to Sarah as feasible.
All of that was done.
The federal government arranged to furnish a headstone for each of
the survivors of the Mountain Meadows Massacre on which would be
carved "Survivor Mountain Meadows Massacre" in addition to the usual
names and dates. Sarah's stone is still in place and Captain Lynch is
buried is buried next to her.
My interest in this is two-fold. 1. One of my uncles, also a veteran
and craftsman much like Lynch, purchased the Lynch property in
Woodberry and lived in the house and operated the store for several
years of my childhood. 2. The Mormons decided in 2006 to place an
appropriate monument at Mountain Meadows in southern Utah. The first
day of excavation they turned up so many bones and
other evidence that they immediately shut down and are now saying
they will allow the site to be excavated by experts and the
information shared with the public, so this 150th year anniversary of
the massacre has rekindled interest.
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Buried at the
Hampton Church of Christ Cemetery in
Calhoun County.
People
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