Charles H Wilckens

8/8/2019 Charles H Wilckens

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Hi Ya'll--

Most of all of you will probably find it interesting that Mitt Romneyhas not only polygamist ancestry but a distinct link to MormonFundamentalism. The recent Salt Lake Tribune article(http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4212788) about Mitt Romney's polygamistancestry showed that one of his great-great grandfathers was CarlHeinrich Wilcken (note that Wilcken was the middle name of his father,former Governor George Romney). Carl Heinrich Wilcken was one and thesame man as Charles H. Wilcken, one of the men charged in 1886 by Pres.John Taylor to keep plural mariage alive. His youngest wife, HaideeCarlisle, was the daughter he met while in hiding at the "Carlisleresidence" spoken of in the accounts of Pres. Taylor's on theunderground.

It is interesting that Charles was identified in the Tribune Article byhis German birth name Carl Heinrich and not by Charles Henry (orCharles H.) Wilcken, his Americanized name by which he was known inearly Utah. The Church's family history website lists two entries forhim on the Ancestral File: one as Charles Henry Wilcken and the other

as Charles Henry Or Carl Heinrich WILCKEN.

It is interesting also that on April 13, 1911, Charles H. Wilcken wasnamed a patriarch by Joseph F. Smith. He died in a Salt Lake hospitalon April 9, 1915, at age eighty-four. It is my sense that if he hadmuch longer, he would have been among those many patriarchsexcommunicated (like Patriarch Israel Barlow) by Heber J. Grant after1921 in an effort to stop them from performing plural marriages.

For your information I have listed links to (as well as cut and pastedbelow) several articles about Charles H. Wilcken available online.They are:

(1) a 1912 deseret news article, an autobiography by Charles HenryWilcken himself, titled A SOLDIER'S ADVENTUREShttp://www.hickmansfamily.homestead.com/Wilcken.html(2) 1995 Salt Lake Tribune Article (also cut an pasted below)http://historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/in_another_time/100895.html(3) part of a website dedicated to Charles Wilcken and his wife Elizafound athttp://helaman.pratt-family.org/wilcken.htm. This website has a numberof photos and individual histories that can be copied or "saved as" onyour own computer. Histories on the the Helaman Pratt family websiteinclude:

* Marched West with Johnston's Army." Transcript courtesy of

Maurine Colgrove.* William C. Seifrit, "Charles Henry Wilcken: An Undervalued

Saint," Utah Historical Quarterly 55:4 (Fall 1987), 308-321, used bypermission.

* Charles Henry Wilcken, A Soldier's Adventure, JuvenileInstructor, vol. 20, nos. 16, 17, 22, 23, pages 242-358. Transcriptcourtesy of Maurine Colgrove.

* "Charles Henry Wilcken: How He Won the Iron Cross." Transcriptcourtesy of Maurine Colgrove.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4212788http://www.hickmansfamily.homestead.com/Wilcken.htmlhttp://historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/in_another_time/100895.htmlhttp://historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/in_another_time/100895.htmlhttp://helaman.pratt-family.org/wilcken.htmhttp://www.sltrib.com/ci_4212788http://www.hickmansfamily.homestead.com/Wilcken.htmlhttp://historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/in_another_time/100895.htmlhttp://historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/in_another_time/100895.htmlhttp://helaman.pratt-family.org/wilcken.htm


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* Obituary of Charles Henry Wilcken. Transcript courtesy of MaurineColgrove.

Enjoy,

Marianne

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Marched West with Johnston's ArmyDeseret Evening News, Saturday, 21 December 1912

Incidents in the Life of a Sturdy German Jaeger Who Cast His Lot With"The Flower of the American Army," Marched West against the "Mormons";and Remained to Dwell with Them.

This is neither a biography nor a romance; it is only a glimpse at aportion of the interesting career of a man wellknow to nearly everybodyin Salt Lake City, and to thousands inhabiting other part of the

intermountain region.

He was born, a blue-eyed rolly-polly German baby, Oct. 5, 1830 in thevillage of Eckhorst, not far from Lubeck, in Holstein, Germany. Thecity of Lubeck by the way, is one of the three remaining free cities ofthe empire -- these three the last of that all mighty chain ofcontinental cities comprising

the famous and powerful Hanseatic league a commercial union whichduring the Middle Ages established and maintained open trade routes andprosperous traffic relation in spit of raiding robber knights, escapingpetty sovereigns and thundering spiritual potentates.

His fathers responsibilities as an "extensive" farmer were increasedby care of a popular tavern of which he was the generous host, and abrewery of which he was the jolly proprietor. His manifold dutiesimposed by these interests impressed him with the need of getting theservices of his son as soon as possible, so at a very early age littleCarl Heinrich was bundled off to private school in historic old Lubeck.Here as he waxed in years and as he also acquired at least therudiments of learning as dispensed in the through German fashion. Itwas also in established German custom, then as now, that each boyshould learn a trade and at the age of 15 the lad went into service tolearn to be a miller, his master operating one of the picturesque millsof that region with both wind and water, or either, as motive power.

The Lure of Busy Places

By the time the important year 1848 had come along, the top of youngCarl Heinrichs head projected itself six feet three inches above thesurface of the ground on which his feet rested, and he was slim andstraight as an arrow. He was in his eighteenth year that period in ayoung mans life when the droning of a grist mill could scarce beexpected to prove as alluring as a call from the busy, active, outsideworld; especially when, as was the case at this time, that world wasscreaming in the birth of larger liberty, and when an impending wave ofwar excited the patriotic impulses of every trued son of the Fatherland.


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The two provinces of Schleswig and Holstein had been under theprotection of the Danish crown for about 400 years, the considerationon their part being the furnishing of a certain number of solders forthe Danish army. Except in the northern part of Schleswig, contiguousto Denmark, the language spoken was German, and the natural leaning ofthe people was toward Prussia. The time could not have been moreunpropitious for any attempt at the extension of royal prerogative, yetthe Danish king, with singular lack of sagacity, chose this very momentto try to incorporate into his domain the northern province ofSchleswig. Both provinces sprang to arms to resist the aggression, andPrussia, lent aid to the extent at least of furnishing officers todrill the provincials and get them started in the stern business aheadof them; with the further understanding that she would not stand idlyby and see them overwhelmed.

Filled with the ardor and enthusiasm of youth and the love offatherland, our youthful miller shook the flour dust out of his clothesand hair, and went off to be a soldier. He enlisted in what was calledthe First Jaeger Corps mounted riflemen, in other wordsa picked body

of men of approved courage and marksmanship, designed for serviceeither mounted or afoot. The heavier cavalry were the dragoon, thelighter were lancers, "ablans," and hussars. The jaegers were armedwith muzzle loading rifles, slung over the shoulder, and bayonets whichcould be attached to their pieces when it came to be business at closequarter. They rode strong, active horses; and though in a charge theironslaught lacked the intimidating accessory of lashing sabers orfluttering lance, they nevertheless, when plunging forward withthundering mass, erect in stirrup and with the lust of battle gleamingfrom their eyes, delivered an attack which few troops were able towithstand.

Wins Sergeant Chevrons

The first jaeger corps was soon in the thick of the fighting, andbefore very long the men had all of it they wantedand more. At thesecond battle of Kolding, young Carl Heinrich, now a corporal, was oneof a small party which had become detached from the main body and wasthreatened with annihilation by the advancing Danes. They sought thebest protection their precarious position afforded, and prepared forthe worst, partially shielded on a side hill skirting the highway. Adashing body of Danish horses, composed of scions of noble andaristocratic families, gallantly hastened forward to make a spectacularcapture of the isolated remnants. These calmly awaited the onset, theirnerves steeled and their courage steadied by many previous baptisms offire. At length the command "fire" rang out and every Danish horseturned and galloped riderless off the field. Participation in this

exploit brought to our hero the chevrons of a sergeant.

Stubborn fighting characterized the taking, losing and recovering ofthe key to an important position in the next engagement in Jutland towhich country the scene of operation was now transferred. This covetedposition was a brickyard, from which the Danish defenders were driven,after heavy losses on both sides. Returning to the attack in reinforcednumber they retook the place in a desperate assault. Again theSchleswig-Holsteiners charged, and in hand to hand conflict made a goodtheir attack and held the ground. A third time the Danes rushed the


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position, and gained and held it. By this time there was not a singlejaeger officer left with the corps, all being either killed or woundedand the ranks of the men being nearly depleted. The ranking non-commissioned officer felt that further efforts would be suicidaltheslaughter already had been frightful. Of more determined mettle wasthis junior sergeant Carl Heinrich. He suggested, in fact commanded,one more charge,for the sakeof home and fatherland. It was brilliantly made, and was entirely

successfulthe decimated corps remained masters of the field.

The Iron Cross

Two months later there was a simple yet an impressive ceremony theentire force at the camp is paraded, with bands playing and colorsflying. At the commanding general advances and takes position in front,there falls a silence that is profound and almost painful. An adjutant,in a loud voice calls out a few names. Those responding to these namesstep forward forming a new thin scattered line several paces in frontof the main rank. Then accompanied by his staff, the general moves

along this scattered line halting a few seconds in front of each man,and passing on to the next, till the left of the line is reached.Finally the bands strike up again, the colors flutter more proudly thanever, the few men in front fall back into their places, the line oftroops wheels into column, the corps and regiments march away to theirquarter and the ceremony is over.

In the incident just described the First Jaeger corps held a place ofhonor. At the call of the adjutant, a tall straight 18 year-oldsergeant steps to the front. The grizzled general as he approaches thestripling says a few kindly words, and seems to be clumsily fumblingwith the button of his coat. The boy is too well-drilled to let hiseyes wander or deviate from the "straight ahead;" he stand like astatue. But when the order is given to take his place in the ranks hiseyes drop for a moment and proudly rest on the plain, black, griminsignia, most prized of all German decoration, the iron cross, castfrom the metal of captured cannon and given by the king "For Gallantryin Action."

After the battle at Itzoe in Schleswig, where the Danes werevictorious, Austria and Prussia stepped in as mediators, and peace wasdeclared, these two kingdoms taking the provinces under their wing.Austria exercising special protection over Schleswig while Prussiaperformed the same kindly office toward Holstein. Carl Heinrich wentback to his meal bags, this time as proprietor of a wind-driven gristmill purchased for him by his father: and soon thereafter took untohimself a wife. He might have lived and died in the calm obscurity of

the village of Dahma, where his mill was located, but for theaggressive determination of Denmark, in spite of the terms of therecent treaty, to draft recruits from the provinces for the standingarmy. The ex-jaeger when inside information came to him as to hisprobable conscription as a Danish life-guardsman in Copenhagen. Makingthe best disposition his business that was possible at short notice, hehastened to Hamburg, took shipping forHull, c


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rossed over to Liverpool, and railed from sailed from that port for thenew and free world to which so many thousands of his young country-menwere at this time bending their steps.

Hears of Johnston Expedition

This was in the spring of 1857. He reached New York in due time,disembarking at the famous old-time immigrant landing-place, CastleGarden. He was not less green than many another German whose entry wasthrough these portals, and like many another he was much disappointedin his expectations. He wandered around short time seeking employment,his small stock of money growing rapidly less. At his boarding houseand in German circles, which he frequented, he learned of the proposedexpedition against the "Mormons." He didnt know anything about the"Mormons," but he did know something about war and the soldierbusiness: so, rather than continue in idleness, he decided to enlist inthe U.S. army. A strapping fellow of his size and type was too good tobe allowed to get away, and the recruiting officer signed him on thespot. He was sent over to Governor' island in New York harbor, wherealready were assembled hundreds of "rookies:" receiving their first

instructionin the manual of a

rms and target-shooting, preparatory to transfer to the ranks of thearmy which was to bring the recalcitrant residents of Utah to terms.Many of his comrades thought the "Mormons" were a tribe of Indians, butfrom the better informed he gathered that there would be manyattractive features to the campaign, especially after the adult malepart of the rebellious element was disposed of.

In the course of a few weeks, a recruit detachment was made up anddispatched to Fort Leavenworth. Carl Heinrich being one of them. Herethe routine of drill was resumed with increased earnestness, the formerjaeger sergeant being enrolled as a high private in Phelps battery offield artillery. One day Captain Phelps was on the parade ground,watching the exercises of the awkward squad, when his eye fell upon thetall Holsteiner.

"You have been a soldier before?" said the captain.

"Ya," was the reply.

"Well, go to your quarters and turn out for drill only with thebattery; you neednt bother any more with these beginners."

This was the commencement of a friendship more intimate than is usuallyallowed to subsist between an enlisted man and a commissioned officer.But Captain Phelps had traveled in Europe, had made a study of the

German army, had some knowledge of the German language, and took agreat fancy to his particular German specimen. The battery clerk wasalso a German. As a result of these association, Carl Heinrich at alater day obtained many hunting and other unusual privileges and hadfree access to the maps and other documentation among the batteryspapers.

At length the grand column moved out from Leavenworth on its long marchacross the plains. It numbered about 1,500 men, infantry, cavalry andartillery, under command of Col. Alexander. Gen. Johnston, who was the


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titular commander, did not join the force until the troops hadestablished winter quarters at Bridger. The three arms of the servicewere separated by about a days march; the artillery, being in the van,the infantry 15 or 20 miles behind, and the cavalry bringing up therear. There were two batteries of artillery, each of eight pieces orordinance with six houses to the piece, and about 70 men. The latterhad as extra equipment short flintlock carbines. The force wasaltogether seen on this side of the Mississippi river, and was spokenof them and has been since as the "flower of the American army." But tothe eyes of the young soldier fresh from the battlefield of Schleswigand the severe discipline of the Prussian drillmasters there wasnothing of the floral or nosegayorder about it. To him it seemed an untrained horde, ragged in drill,

regardless of discipline, and ridiculous in its pretense at guard duty.There never was a time from the first day out of Leavenworth until themountaineers began to test their mettle near Green River, when anactive raiding party, either red men or white, could not have made offwith all the stock and left the command afoot and at the mercy of anyfoe. The personnel of the troops was also inferior, the newly enlisted

men especially being of the roving, shiftless class for whom the smallstipend them paid was less a temptation than was the opportunity foradventure.

Sees His First Indian

Naturally, the farther he journeyed, the less the German cannoneer wasimpressed with the fragrance or beauty of this "flower of the Americanarmy." His own duty had this spice of novelty, that he was usually oneof the hunting party, which furnished fresh meat for the mess. He tookpart also in infrequent and desultory target practice with which themonotony of the march was varied, and saw for the first time theAmerican Indian on his native heath, though these sons of the forestand plain had so wholesome a respect of Uncle Sams uniform that theyoffered no molestation. On approaching Green River, however, a morevigilant and aggressive attitude was made necessary, by the appearanceof little band of rough-riding mountain boys, who harassed the column,especially at night, by swooping down and stampeding the horses andmules, paying particular attention to the transport animals of theinfantry. Not only was the guard strengthened to meet this new menace,but it wasalso found n

ecessary to confine the animals to keep them on the picket line, inconsequence of which they soon became very thin. These mysterious anddaring forays implanted in the expedition a sort of impressive silentfear. Captain Van Vliet had been previously met, and had reported thefailure of his efforts to secure Gov. Youngs acquiescence in the

proposal for the troops to come peacefully into the valley. He assuredCol. Alexander that if he persisted in the forward march he would notonly have to fight all the waythe canyon passes being fortified buteven if he successfully made his way through he would find the citydeserted and desolate; there would be food for neither man nor beasteverything, even the city itself would be destroyed.

The army by this time had become pretty well demoralized anddispirited. The chief ration was mule meat, and thin mule meat at that.There was also much less talk than formerly about the good times that


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the officers and soldiers were going to have after their conquest ofthe rebellious "Mormons." Day by day the troubles and the anxietiesincreased. Clouds of smoke by day and pillar of fire by night markedthe efforts of the enemy to burn the grass so there should be no foragefor the stock. With painful frequency reports would come in of supplytrains being burned and the cattle driven off. In this perplexity theofficers held a council of war to decide as to whether to go intowinter quarter, as had been suggested by Capt. Van Vliet, or to try tofight their way on beyond the mountain barriers into the valley of thegreat Salt Lake. Gen. Johnston had not yet joined the command; so hisadvice could not be had, but at length the sentiments of the older andcooler heads prevailed, and it was decided to act on the defensive, moving on slowly and withcaution until a place suitable for winter cantonments could be found.

California Tempted Him

With the purpose of making his way to California, artilleryman CarlHeinrich, now thoroughly disgusted with the service, decided to take

"French leave." He asked for and obtained permission to go on a hunt,his captain dismissing him with the kindly admonition to be careful notto fall into the hands of the "Mormons." After hastily looking over themaps of the country, he set out taking his course westward, gun onshoulder; and after tramping all night and until nearly noon of thefollowing day he came in sight of Fort Bridger. Here he was kindlyreceived, and joined the party in charge of that station at theirmidday meal. While dinner was in progress a large herd of cattle wasseen approaching. As the animals were headed up near the stockade heobserved that the cattle were from the supply trains at Green River,and he learned that they had been captured by a raiding party which hadburned a large number of wagons. He effected a trade with a man named"Billl" Hickman for asaddlehorse, a disabled beast and--still intent on pushing westward

consented to assist in driving these cattle into the valley. Onentering Echo Canyon he was forced to approve the wisdom of Col.Alexanders decision to remain outside until peace negotiations shouldbe successful or at least until more favorable weather. The narrow passhad been so thoroughly fortified that a much smaller force than was inevidence would have been sufficient to hold it against a much largerforce than was in prospect. Every height bristled with works and theutmost activity was still being manifested in collecting huge boulderson the brink of the precipices ready to be hurled down upon anadvancing foe. At places where the two sides of the gorge came closetogether, formidable barricades had been erected, while at frequentintervals materials had been collected with which at short notice dams

could be constructed to back up the waters and submerge the road. Hewas also impressed with the energy and determination of the defenders, and conceived a wholesome respect fortheir valor, little as he knew or approved of the cause for which theywere contending. When he finally reached that point in Emigrationcanyon from which the city and valley and the Great Salt Lake itselfcould be seen and instantaneous change of heart seemed to come over himas to the further journey to California. Without knowing why or how hisresolution was fixed. He would make his home right here.


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His captain and comrades at first thought the stalwart young foreignerhad been captured or killed by the "Mormons." This suspicion wasstrengthened by an incident that came near bringing fatal consequencesto a brother of Hickmans, who was sent to the camp of the soldiers asa courier with dispatches. He happened to be wearing an army belt,which Carl Heinrich late associates recognized as his property. Theylaid violent hands on the messenger and were in the very act ofstringing him up when Col. Alexanders appearance on the scene put astop to the summary proceeding. He was detained as a prisoner, howeverfor several weeks being finally sent in to Salt Lake City withdispatches from Col. Alexander to Gov. Young.

The promise at the beginning of this story was that it was to beneither a romance nor a biography. As it is not intended to go intohistory either, no further allusion need be here made to the famousJohnston army or the "Mormon" war. To carry along further the detailedstory of Carl Heinrichs life would also be a violation of the promisereferred to. In hasty conclusion, therefore it is only necessary to saythat in course of time a statute of limitations freed him from his

offense against Uncle Sams army regulation; that he made Utah his homeand is still living here an honored and respected citizen, that hestill proudly wears on his manly breast his iron cross and that hisreal name (only two-thirds of which was appeared above) is Charles H.Wilcken.

-End-

In Another TimeThe Salt Lake Tribune Archhttp://www.sltrib.comFrenzied Mob Kills 'Murderer'Hal SchindlerPublished: 10/08/1995 Category: Features Page: J1

Sam Joe Harvey was a swarthy ex-soldier, about thirty-five, tall andwell-built, whose fondness for a scrap earned him the nickname of "U.S.Harvey." He was known to have spent some time in and around Pueblo,Colorado, and in the early fall of 1883 meandered from the plains toSalt Lake City.

Harvey was thought to be Negro, Creole, Mexican, "or a mixture,"according to the Salt Lake Herald, and for a few weeks at least heestablished himself as a bootblack in front of Hennefer & Heinau'sbarber shop in the city. For reasons never quite clear, Sam Joe Harveywas on the prod. He complained of having been robbed in Ogden, and he

was suspicious of everyone. Even those who knew him couldn't explainhis behavior on the morning of August 25, 1883. A few said he wasinsane.

Whatever it was that set him off, Harvey wound up gunning down acaptain of police and severely wounding the city watermaster; all thisin broad daylight. It so infuriated the citizenry that a mob formed andwithin a half-hour lynched the shooter. A somber Salt Lake Tribuneeditorialized that the lynching "was done under the noon day sun and inthe shadow of the temple of the Saints. We do not believe there has
http://www.sltrib.com/http://www.sltrib.com/


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been a parallel to the case in American history. Mobs have hung menrepeatedly, but never before what we remember of have the policemen whohad the prisoner in charge, first beaten him into half insensibilityand then turned him over to the mob. This is not a question betweenMormon and Gentile; it is one I which the good name of the citygovernment is at stake."

Events began with a telephone call to police at city hall from F.H.Grice, owner of a restaurant on the east side of Main Street betweenFirst and Second South, next door to the old Salt Lake House hotel.City Marshal Andrew Burt was the only officer on hand at the lunch hourwhen Grice complained that this fellow Harvey had threatened him with apistol at the restaurant and disturbed his patrons. He wanted himarrested. Burt was also captain of police and had been talking toCharles H. Wilcken, the watermaster, when Grice's telephone call came;Wilcken went with Burt to collar Harvey.

As watermaster, Wilcken was also a special police officer. This largegruff German had an interesting background. He came to America in 1857and was persuaded by a persistent New York recruiting officer to join

the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the Fourth Artillery and marched westthat fall with Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston's Utah Expedition.However, being snowed in for the winter at Fort Bridger didn't appealto the young emigrant and he deserted, only to be captured by Mormonson October 7, turned over to Orrin Porter Rockwell, and escorted alongwith a herd of liberated government cattle to Great Salt Lake Valley.

It happened that Wilcken would find the Mormon way of life suited himjust fine. He converted, was baptized that December, and became adevout Latter-day Saint, eventually serving a foreign mission. Hebecame a confidant of church authorities George Q. Cannon and WilfordWoodruff and for a while acted as a bodyguard to Brigham Young duringthe bitter anti-polygamy crusades of the 1870s. Now in 1883,Watermaster Wilcken was ready to help his friend Andrew Burt arrest andjail what they thought was merely a drunken transient making a publicdisturbance.

Burt, a fifty-three-year-old Scot, was a determined Mormon who earnedthe rank of captain of police in 1859, was named chief in 1862, and inFebruary 1876 was elected city marshal. He was a lawman almost from theday he arrived in Utah in the fall of 1851. Those who knew him swore hewas absolutely fearless; "a braver man never lived--he had the courageof a lion," was the way the Deseret News put it.

>From city hall, the two officers strode up First South, crossed StateStreet, and turned down Main. Grice, meanwhile, had walked up the eastside of the street until he encountered the lawmen. Sam Joe Harvey, he

told them, had frightened Mrs. Grice and some luncheon customers withhis revolver, then pushed his way through the kitchen and out into theback alley.

As Burt and Wilcken scanned the noon crowds along the city's busieststreet, Grice recounted the events of the morning. Harvey was lookingfor a job, he said, and Grice had offered him work as a laborer aroundhis farm on the outskirts of town. Grice would pay two dollars a dayand provide Harvey transportation to and from the place. When he wastold the farm was twelve miles from the city, Harvey "belched out in


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profanity" and began insulting the restaurant owner and his patrons. "Ipushed him out the door and he pulled a pistol on me," Grice said, asBurt and Wilcken reached the corner of main and Tribune Avenue (today'sSecond South).

The three turned left to check the stores as far as the corner ofCommercial Street (today's Regent Street) before turning around. Asthey again approached the Main Street corner, Grice spotted Harvey justoff the sidewalk-but now he was armed with a .45-caliber rifle and a .44 pistol!

It was later learned that after Harvey had fled the Grices' caf?he wentto a general store and bought a rifle he had seen earlier in the day.He paid the proprietor, Thomas Carter, twenty dollars for the repeateralong with two boxes of cartridges. "He was nervous and dropped one ofthe cartridge boxes, spilling some of the ammunition," Carterremembered. Harvey had scooped up the bullets, put them in his pocket,and hurried away.

Minutes later, he would encounter Grice, Burt, and Wilcken coming up

the street, directly for him. According to the Deseret News, as theyneared the corner, "Grice pointed to a colored man who was standing onthe edge of the side walk and said: 'That is the man, arrest him!'"

Burt was carrying a heavy cane which doubled as a nightstick. As hemoved closer, Harvey raised his rifle and taking aim said, "Are you anofficer?" In the next heartbeat, the ex-soldier fired; the marshallurched to one side and stumbled into A.C. Smith & Company drugstore afew feet distant. He slumped to the floor just behind the prescriptioncounter.

Outside, Wilcken, who was immediately behind and to the side of Burtwhen the shot was fired, sprang forward and caught hold of Harvey,wrenching the rifle free. He grabbed Harvey by the throat and the twolocked in a desperate struggle, but Wilcken couldn't stop Harvey fromusing his revolver. Harvey fired again and the .44 slug tore throughthe fleshy part of the watermaster's left arm between the shoulder andelbow. The cowardice of the crowd was appalling, snarled the DeseretNews, "they scrambled away in terror in every direction. Finally Mr.Wilcken threw Harvey in a ditch, and after he was overpowered the crowdreturned to the scene to his aid."

Actually, Harvey had pressed the pistol against a Wilcken's body andwas squeezing the trigger for another shot, when Elijah Able jumpedinto the fray, twisted the pistol away, and helped throw the desperadodown. With blood pouring from the ugly wound in his arm, Wilcken heldhis own until finally Homer J. Stone rushed in to subdue the shooter.

By this time other police reached the scene and took Harvey intocustody. Wilcken's arm was treated at the drugstore as the officershustled their prisoner to police headquarters.

Then things got nasty. A swarm of spectators followed the tight knot ofconstables as they made their way up the street. Back at Smith'sdrugstore, meanwhile, attention turned from Wilcken's gunshot wound tothe figure of the marshal slumped behind the counter. Burt had beenable to make his way from the sidewalk to the inside of the store underhis own power, but he was a dead man. Harvey's bullet had pierced his


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left arm, penetrated his heart and lungs, exited his body and lodged inhis right arm. As he fell he was bleeding from five large wounds.

Dr. J. M. Benedict pronounced the police captain dead at the scene andcalled a wagon to take the body to an undertaker. When the throng sawBurt's sheet-covered form lifted in to the wagon bed, a long, low moanerupted and the first cries of a lynching were muttered. "I say hang!Who goes with me?" Shouted one man, and from the crown a chorus of "I!"It was a belated threat.

Sam Joe Harvey was pushed into the marshal's office at city hall andsearched. Officers found $165.80 in gold, silver, and greenbacks in hispockets as well as a large number of rifle and pistol cartridges. Itwas then an unidentified man stuck his head in a shouted Captain Burthad been shot dead. As one, the police turned on Harvey, "One of theofficers [struck] him violently between the eyes, felling him," theHerald reported.

>From outside the building could now be heard excited shouts of "Get arope! Hang the son of a b--!" The officers dragged the semi-conscious

man to the back door, which opened to a yard in front of the city jail.The crown on First South in front of city hall had become an uglyenraged mob of two thousand or more. Sensing that the prisoner wasbeing moved, they ran to a State Street alley that opened on the jailyard and demanded Harvey be turned over.

An officer named William Salmon came to the jail door and was greetedby jeers when he ordered the mob to disband. There was a brief tussleand Salmon was shoved aside; then, Harvey, his face a bloody mask,pitched out the door into the frenzied gathering. He was swarmed over,stomped, and beaten while men ran about yelling for rope. Harnessstraps cut from teams in front of city hall were passed forward and,when they were found too short, used to whip the wretched prisoner.Still he struggled to break free. His efforts and the momentum of thesurging crowd carried them east-ward in the jail yard until Harveyfinally toppled, fifty or so feet from the jail door; at the same timea long rope made its way to the spot.

A crudely made noose was pulled roughly over Harvey's head as hesquirmed to wrench free. Hands reached out to drag him another hundredfeet to a stable shed west of the yard. The rope was tossed over a mainbeam. Men grabbed the rope and hoisted Harvey by the neck several feetfrom the ground. As his writhing body swung to view above their heads,the crowd gave out an excited roar of approval. Still the doomed manfought. From the moment he was pulled up he reached above his head forthe rope as if to ease the noose that was strangling him. One of thecrowd leaped to a carriage nearby and kicked first one hand, then the

other until Harvey let go. He gasped, his body jerking in a final spasmbefore his arms dropped limply to his side.

Twenty-five minutes had elapsed since the fatal shot at Burt was fired.In that time the outraged crowd at Smith's drugstore also was seized bya mob fever and had marched to the city hall, swelling the throng evenlarger. So hysterical was the atmosphere that it was dangerous forothers. W.H. Sells, son of Colonel E. Sells, a prominent Utahn wasriding past a hall in a buggy and happened on the scene. Unaware thatHarvey was already dead Sells tried to reason with the mob, arguing


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that lynching was no answer: "let the courts handle it." In that momentSells came close to joining Harvey on the stable beam. Only the quickthinking of Salmon, the police officer, saved him. Salmon pulled Sellsin to the jail and pushed him into a cell. Several other citizens whourged calm and justice were handled roughly and "came near beingmobbed," according to the Tribune. The Herald said "Officer Salmon'sdiscretion and prompt action saved Mr. Sells' life."

The horror still was not over, for the mass of angry citizens continuedto clamor vengeance. Harvey's body was cut down and dragged out of thealley a short distance down State Street. There the crowd wasconfronted by a furious mayor William Jennings, who demanded theydisperse. Events moved quickly. The mob broke up, an inquest wasconvened that afternoon, and a coroner's jury comprising W.W. Riter,Joseph Jennings, and John Groesbeck heard the evidence and returned averdict that the deceased "came to his death by means of hanging with arope by an infuriated mob whose names were to the jury unknown."

Joe Sam Harvey was buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery that very night.Funeral services for Marshal Burt were conducted a few days later; much

of the city turned out in his honor. Watermaster Wilcken recovered andcontinued to serve in various capacities until his death in 1915.

That ordinarily would have ended the story of that black August 25,1883, in Salt Lake City, but there is an epilogue. Two months after thelynching, two workers loading sand from an area just went of thecemetery made a grisly discovery; a pine box. In it was a humanskeleton. The cemetery sexton was notified and later explained thatwhen the murderer Harvey's remains were buried, the gravediggersmisunderstood their instructions and buried the body "near" thecemetery instead of in it. The remains were those of the lynchedassassin, the Herald reported. No one, including the city's newspapers,questioned how Harvey's body was reduced to a skeleton in just twomonths.

Then, in the spring of 1885, Officer Thomas F. Thomas was brought totrial on charges of assaulting the prisoner. After two days ofconflicting testimony concerning use of clubs and brass knuckles,Thomas was acquitted.

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Charles Henry Wilcken,an Undervalued SaintBy William C. SeifritUtah Historical Quarterly 55:4 (Fall 1987), 308-21Used by permission

Charles Henry Wilcken was born in Echorst, a small village in Holstein,Germany, on October 5, 1830. (1) Apprenticed to a miller whose trade heapparently mastered, he later distinguished himself as a soldier in abattle with Danish forces over control of the Schleswig-Holsteinprovinces and was decorated with the Iron Cross by the [p.309] PrussianKing, Frederick William IV. Wilcken's military prowess was also noticedby the Danish king, Frederick VII, who let it be known that he wishedto conscript the hero. But young Wilcken apparently had other ideas.After consulting with family and friends and collecting whatever cash


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was available, he left Echorst for South America to try to find anolder brother who had emigrated several years earlier. In Liverpool hesomehow managed to board the wrong ship and found himself, severalweeks later, in New York.

Running short of cash and possibly suffering from a physical ailment,Wilcken listened to the pitch of a recruiting officer who was enlistingmen to go to the western desert to put down a tribe of rebellious"Indians" called Mormons. (2) Upon his enlistment he was sent to FortLeavenworth for training and ultimately assigned to Capt. John WolcottPhelps of the Fourth Artillery Battalion that became part of Johnston'sArmy.

Charles H. Wilcken in his Prussian uniform.Photograph of a painting in the Deseret News,December 21, 1912.

Marching westward with the army in the summer and fall of 1857,Wilcken, in the early days of his twenty-seventh year, made a momentous

decision, faced a close brush with death, and changed his life [p.310]forever. During the afternoon of October 7, 1857, he deserted andheaded west. Within a few days he was captured by one of the Mormondefenders, Jonathan Ellis Layne, who had been out rabbit hunting. AsLayne described it:

Just then I heard a slight noise at my right hand. I did not turn myhead, but drew my gun around toward the noise and there stood a largesoldier. [I] dropped the muzzle of my gun and pointed it directly athis heart, he threw up his hands and said "Don't shoot, I am unarmed."I told him to come up to me still holding my gun pointing at him, andhe surrendered himself to me.

Layne confirmed the absence of weapons and then

. . . with the big soldier went to the camp. While going he offered toexchange clothing with me as he was afraid if he was caught with thesoldiers clothing on he would certainly be shot. I did not wish to swapwith him, but when we came to the camp he soon got rid of his soldiersclothing. I turned the prisoner over to Porter Rockwell. . . . (3)

Layne gave half of his cooked rabbit to Wilcken.

Several days later Wilcken arrived in Salt Lake City, accompanied byseveral sick Mormons and some one hundred fifty cattle that the Mormonshad liberated from the army's stock herds. His presence was noted by anumber of persons, including Hosea Stout:

The deserter a long slab sided Dutchman reports that many of thesoldiers would desert if they believed they would be well treated here,also that they were dissatisfied with their officers and that theofficers were divided in their councils what to do. (4)

Unaware that an enduring friendship with this man would develop someyears later, Wilford Woodruff also noted Wilcken's presence:


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The Brethren Came in from the East & brought in 153 head of Cattle. 3teamsters & one deserter from the Army helped drive them in. Thedeserter reported that Neither Johnson nor Harney nor the Governor orJudges or any of the Territorial Officers had arrived at the Armyneither any females. He said the soldiers were only allowed 3 buiscuit2 Cups of Coffee & a small piece of Beef per day that they were nothalf fed. They had 75 waggons burned & the Contents of 76. 2 waggonssaved. (5)

[p.311] Wilcken's arrival brought the Mormons more hard informationthan they had had for some time. In addition to the severe conditionsof the soldiers recorded by Woodruff, Hosea Stout noted something ofthe army's capability: "The deserter who passed yester laughed with thejoy that he had the priviledge of passing here in peace for he said wecould destory the enemies' whole army here in a short time." (6)

Placed in the care of Provo Bishop Elias Hicks Blackburn, Wilcken musthave found his new environment congenial, for he was baptized into theMormon faith in December 1857. Then, for more than two years heeffectively dropped from sight. From the winter of 1857-58 to 1860 or

1861 he may well have been living in Heber Valley, probably in or nearCenter Creek. He had assisted R. T. Burton in organizing a militia unitin Heber, operated a grist mill, assisted in planning a July 4celebration in Heber, and served as adjutant in the county militiacommanded by Maj. John W. Witt. (7)

Thoroughly at home in his adopted land and religion, Wilcken wasformally called to fill a mission for the church in 1869 but wasdelayed in fulfilling that assignment. One reason for the delay isobvious: he had deserted from the U.S. Army, and traveling across thecountry may have been a most unattractive prospect. Traveling toGermany, especially northern Germany near Denmark, may have beenequally unattractive. Whatever the reason, his mission was delayed fornearly two years until after a curious document-believable if notprecisely true-was written, signed, and attested to in Fillmore, Utah,on March 2, 1871:

I hereby certify that in the year 1857 I held a Commission of Colonelof the militia of the Territory of Utah, and in the fall of that yearin the month of October was with said detachment in the vicinity ofHam's Fork in Said Territory, and that said detachment did there atthat time arrest and take prisoner one Charles Wilkin a German (who wasthen a soldier in the U. S. Army in the command of Gen A. S. Johnson)and convey him to the Mormon Camp at Echo Kanyon and there deliveredhim up to the Officer in Command at that place to be by him forwardedon to Salt Lake City.

The document was signed by Thomas Callister and attested to by Hiram B.Clawson. Two months later to the day Wilcken left Salt Lake [p.312]City for New York where, on May 10, 1871, he and a company of Saintsleft for Europe on the ship Liverpool. (8)

After spending the summer in England, Wilcken "was assigned to labor asa traveling Elder in the Swiss and German mission under the directionof Bro. [Eduard] Schoenfeld" with whom he and Johannes Huber co-authored a forty-six-page pamphlet titled Der Morrnonismus (Bern,1872). By the spring of 1873 Wilcken was back in England serving as


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president of the Birmingham mission. He was released from that officeon June 3, 1873, and left the following day for Utah in charge of acompany of 246 Saints on board the Nevada. Among the passengers werehis brother August, his widowed mother Annie, and three nieces-Wilhelmine, Emily, and Christine Damke-orphaned daughters of his oldersister Anna Catharina Christine Damke. Wilcken and his relativesarrived in Salt Lake City on June 26, 1873. (9)

He labored as a home missionary and earned a modest living working inthe ZCMI produce department until November 1873 when he was engaged tooperate "the lower B. Y. mill, on Kanyon Creek [later called LibertyPark]." His family was nearly burned out within a week or so of movingto the mill and farm, but Wilcken persevered and by the end of the yearhis white flour was being praised in the local press. (10)

During the next several years Wilcken established many connections inthe community and took on additional responsibilities as a kind ofknight errant for the First Presidency of the LDS church and forWilford Woodruff of the Quorum of the Twelve. His duties for churchofficials included driving them and/or their wives to various

functions. For example, he drove Elizabeth, a wife of Brigham Young,Jr., to the St. George Temple for the dedicatory ceremonies there inDecember 1876; he spoke for twenty minutes in the temple on ChristmasEve and later went quail hunting with Brigham Young, Jr., and WilfordWoodruff. In August 1879 he accompanied "Prest [John] Taylor . . . A.M. Cannon, . . . R. T. Burton, & Jas Jack . . . to the Penitentiary tosee Elder Geo. Q. Cannon at his request. . . . (11)

Isaac Chase mill in Liberty Parkwas later owned by Brigham Young.

[p.313] By early 1879 Wilcken had begun his first term as Salt LakeCity watermaster and was active in developing and maintaining the watersystem for an ever-increasing population. He helped plan for a canalfrom Parley's Creek in what is now Sugar House to the North or DryBench, and he saved the Salt Lake and Jordan Canal from sustainingserious damage by riding out to determine the cause of a sudden drop inthe water level. After locating a blockage on the dam he enlistedseveral neighbors to assist with repairs and thereby insured anuninterrupted flow of water. Following the municipal election of 1884,Wilcken found himself without regular employment. The church newspapertook editorial notice of his absence from city service:

We see no position awarded to the late Watermaster Mr. Chas H. Wilcken,but suppose that our City Fathers will find a post for him, so that hisvaluable services will not be lost. . . . He is a brave and reliable

public officer, and we shall look for his appointment to some positionof honor and trust within the gift of the municipality. (12)

[p.314] The Deseret News had reason to cite Wilcken's bravery. InAugust 1883 he had been one of the principals in a most tragicincident. Marshal Andrew Burt and "Special Police Officer" Wilcken hadbeen summoned to subdue and take into custody a violent man, drunk, whowas causing a disturbance and threatening citizens with a gun. Duringthe fray Burt was shot and killed and Wilcken suffered a seriousgunshot wound but nevertheless managed to subdue the gunman. He was


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unable, however, to prevent a mob from taking the prisoner from jailand lynching him. (13)

By May 1884 Wilcken was on regular duty with the Salt Lake City PoliceDepartment. In that capacity he was called upon to arrest two drunkenIdaho politicians who had been causing a disturbance in the Salt LakeTheatre. Wilcken and several others were sued by the political figuresfor defamation of character, among other things, but Wilcken's attorneysuccessfully pled that he had simply been performing his lawfullyprescribed duties and was therefore immune from suit. (14)

Wilcken continued to protect the weal of the community, both public andSaintly. In January 1885 he, L. John Nuttall, H. C. Barrell, andPresident John Taylor took the Mormon church "underground" as thefederal campaign against the church entered its most intense phase.This began one of the most exciting periods in his life. The duties heperformed, the risks he took, and the success of his efforts are proofof his devotion and loyalty to his church and its leaders.

During the period John Taylor was in hiding it was Charles Wilcken who

ran the mail between the safe house, or "Do" as it was called, and SaltLake City, arranged transportation for other General Authorities whohad business with each other and with Taylor, and stood guard whilethey met. In fact, Wilcken lived on the underground with Taylor duringthe last two years of his life, commuting as necessary between the "Do"and Salt Lake City or elsewhere when not actually on duty. Most days hewould make a trip to Salt Lake with the day's communications and returnbetween 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. When Taylor died in July 1887 Wilcken tookhis son Joseph E. Taylor, in the middle of the night, to his father'sbody. (15)

[p.315] With President Taylor dead, Wilcken's services were even morein demand. For example, he confirmed to Abraham H. Cannon that rumorsof a new "cohab" case against him were true and offered to keep himapprized of the case's developments. He was much concerned with thesafety of church leaders and on one occasion drove George Q. Cannon andJoseph F. Smith from the Cannon farm to the tithing office yard under aload of hay and farm implements. The two men then slipped into the LionHouse without being seen. Another time, Wilford Woodruff was hidden byWilcken in his own home one night. Indeed, Wilcken was responsible forsecuring Woodruff's safety on several occasions. This account istypical:

President Woodruff, at half past 9 o'clock a.m., had an interview withMarshal Dyer. Dyer stated to him in their conversation that he had nopapers whatever against President Woodruff, but after Dyer left he[Woodruff] began to think that maybe it was a trap, and so did Bro

Cannon and J. F. Smith and B. Young [Jr.], so C. H. W. [Wilcken] wentand got our team and took them away, and in about a half hour afterthey had gone, Deputy [Bowman] Cannon came to the office to subpoenaPresident Woodruff and to search for the other brethren. . . . [I]found C. H. W. and he told me President Woodruff was at his farm. [I]took him some medicine and 2 letters that C. H. W. had given me. (16)

Over the years Wilcken developed especially strong ties to the Cannonfamilies and to Wilford Woodruff. His closeness to the Cannons is nobetter illustrated than by this entry from Abraham H. Cannon's journal:


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"Father started today in company with Chas. Wilcken for Logan; he wentby team and will there meet Aunt Carlie and her children. The latterwill be adopted to him as will Chas. Wilcken." Wilcken's "adoption" byGeorge Q. Cannon was more than a formality; it acknowledged a caringrelationship. In early May 1888 when Abraham's daughter Emma died aftera lengthy illness, Wilcken took the bereaved father for several ridesto help him deal with his grief, offered the closing prayer at Emma'sfuneral, and later visited Abraham in company with George Q. Cannon andanointed Abraham. (17)

On Saturday, September 15, 1888, Wilcken performed yet another servicefor the Cannons; he and H. B. Clawson testified against George Q.Cannon before a grand jury as part of a previously arranged pleabargain. Then, on the following Monday, Wilcken and Cannon's [p.316]attorneys accompanied George Q. as he surrendered to Marshal Dyer.Later that day Wilcken drove Cannon to the penitentiary and made asecond trip with additional bedding. While George Q. was in thepenitentiary Wilcken visited him almost daily. A typical entry inCannon's prison diary reads: "Brother C. H. Wilcken brought out a wagonload of my children today . . . William also came out and brought with

him Emma Wilcken, a daughter of Bro. C. H. Wilcken." Typically, whenCannon was released from prison, it was Wilcken who drove him away toWilford Woodruff's home. (18)

George Q. Cannon, seated on chair, with other imprisoned polygamists atthe territorial penitentiary in Sugar House. Charles H. Wilckentransported Cannon to and from the prison to serve his term-one of manyduties he performed for LDS church leaders.

[p.317] Early in 1889 new charges of polygamy and/or cohabitation werepushed by federal officials against church leaders, especially GeorgeQ. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith. Wilcken took that message to L. JohnNuttall who communicated it to Smith. Smith agreed that Wilcken shouldlook out for the Smith families, and Charles made appropriatepreparations. (19)

Wilcken's life was not all hiding families, midnight messages andmeetings, or confidential warnings; he enjoyed pleasant, sociableexperiences as well. In April 1889 he accompanied Wilford and EmmaWoodruff, George Q. Cannon, H. B. Clawson, and daughter Mamie on apleasure trip to California. They stayed initially at the Grand Hotelin San Francisco and then journeyed to Del Monte and visited geysersnear Cloverdale. At the latter tourist attraction Wilford Woodruffneeded some assistance: "I leaned upon the arm of Brother Wilcken whoaided me greatly by assisting me up the mountain. It gave BrotherWilcken a good sweating to do so." Wilcken was fifty-seven years old at

the time and Woodruff was eighty-two. (20)

By 1890 Wilcken was spending more and more time with Wilford Woodruff,a relationship that was probably based more on collegiality andcompanionship than on the necessity for a bodyguard. He beganaccompanying Woodruff on many of the church president's trips. Forexample, he joined Woodruff on a journey through Wyoming, Colorado, andNew Mexico, occasionally speaking at meetings along the way. That sameyear, Woodruff "attended the Dedication of Charles H. Wilcken House &took supper. We had beautiful Music & Singing." (21)


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turned on his benefactors and became virulently anti-Mormon in hisnewspaper. It became Wilcken's duty to close up the publication andadvise Dietrich that his attitude and actions no longer enjoyed churchsupport. Sometimes his counseling was less radical. In September andOctober 1891 he and L. John Nuttall visited Beck's Hot Springs in aneffort to talk the manager, Lehi Pratt, out of his abuse of alcohol.(25)

In July 1889 Wilcken had entered upon what was probably the mostambitious business project of his life. With the backing of Mormonchurch leaders, a number of men organized the Deseret and Salt LakeAgricultural and Manufacturing Company. Wilcken was elected one of thetrustees. Other principals included the First Presidency, John Q. andAbraham H. Cannon, B. Y. Hampton, and others. Their plan was to build adam on the Sevier River to provide irrigation water for thousands ofacres of land in Sevier County. As the 1890s opened Wilcken becameincreasingly involved in trying to make a success of the company, butit was tough going. He made frequent trips to Deseret to inspect thedam-building progress, survey town and home sites, and occasionallyspeak to groups of Saints in the area. By January 1892 the company

directors were preparing to sell off some of the assets of the companyto relieve their debt load, and because of an administrative mix-up thecompany was in danger of losing its water rights on the Sevier River. Following a reorganizationduring the winter of 1891-92, Wilcken had been made vice-president andgiven the responsibility of securing uncontested water rights andsettling all the company's debts. Despite his efforts the project wouldultimately be plagued with problems severe enough to thwart itscomplete fruition. His involvement with the company continued untilMarch 25, 1903, when he resigned. (26)

[p.320] As if the trouble-ridden canal company were not enough for asixty-year-old church coachman, bodyguard, and policeman, Wilcken foundhimself involved in May 1892 in the construction of the SaltairRailroad. He and L. John Nuttall negotiated a right-of-way agreementwith Archibald Gardner that allowed the line to pass near Gardner'scandy factory "over Jordan." Wilcken purchased the right-of-way asagent for the railroad and also became involved in negotiations for thepurchase of railroad ties for the line. In 1894 his railroad interestsincluded some exploring for the proposed Salt Lake and Los AngelesRailroad. (27)

Wilford Woodruff.Charles H. Wilcken served as his companion and nurse.

The final twenty-five years of Wilcken's life that have beendiscoverable show only gradual diminution of activity. He spent a greatdeal of time with Wilford Woodruff, generally as a companion and nurse.His relations with the several Cannon families also matured. He was oneof those in charge of the remains of Wilford Woodruff and George Q.Cannon when those gentlemen died. He also served as a [p.321]pallbearer during the funeral of Lot Smith. He was reappointed SaltLake City watermaster in 1896 and also served as assistantsuperintendent of the Deseret Telegraph Company. On April 13, 1911, hewas named a patriarch by Joseph F. Smith. He lived out his days as a


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guide on Temple Square and died in a Salt Lake hospital on April 9,1915, at age eighty-four. (28)

The focus of this paper has been on Wilcken's public life, especiallyhis many services to the LDS church and its leaders. Space does notpermit an examination of his home and family life, his two failedmarriages, his various employments, his career as an unsuccessful realestate speculator, or the nature and value of his published writings,of which there are several. Rather, the aim has been to fit Wilckeninto the rich tapestry of Utah history. No church doctrine carries hisname. He authored no legislative act. There are no schools, streets, orcommunities named for him. The only public notice of his presence onearth is his name on a plaque and a seat in Pioneer Memorial Theatre atthe University of Utah. Why then pay so much attention to an obscure,barely known nineteenth-century Saint?

Wilcken and perhaps scores of men like him made it all work. Whileothers whose names are much more familiar dealt with questions of Godand man, law vs. religion, statehood vs. subservience, Wilcken wentabout the business of caring for his own families, assisting and

protecting others as necessary, and simply doing what had to be done.He was not necessarily a great man, but he was a worker bee in Zion'shive. He may have saved some lives-especially in the incident that ledto Marshal Burt's death-and he certainly shielded fellow and sisterSaints from arrest and imprisonment. He improved the environment inwhich he lived, and he lived a lawful, respected, and undervalued life.

*Dr. Seifrit is a historian living in Salt Lake City.

1. Much of the biographic information concerning Wilcken was extractedfrom unpublished MSS prepared by descendants, including Amy WilckenPratt Romney, "Stories from the Life of Charles Henry Wilcken";"History of Caroline Christine Eliza Reiche Wilcken"; and "Sketch ofDora W. Pratt" all in the Utah State Historical Society Library, SaltLake City. These accounts, based as they presumably are on family oraltradition, contain factual errors discovered by recent research.Wilcken himself provided some background information in his lateryears. See "Eighteen Hundred Fifty-seven, " Young Woman's Journal 18(1907): 393-97, 495-96. Additional information was obtained from hisobituary in the Deseret Evening News, April 10, 1915, and from WilckenFamily Group Records, LDS Genealogical Library, Salt Lake City.

2. The enlistment record described Wilcken as six feet one inch inheight, with grey eyes, brown hair, and fair complexion. Registers ofEnlistments (Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1956), vols. 51-52,microfilm roll no. 25, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City.

3. Jonathan Ellis Layne Journal (undated, after the fact accountinserted in the Journal History [LDS Church Library-Archives] afterDecember 7, 1857). The journal entries of other Mormon defenders forOctober 7 and 9 confirm the presence of the "large soldier" in camp.See for example the journals of Andrew Jackson Allen, Henry Ballard,and Newton Tuttle in the Utah State Historical Society Library.

4. On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout, ed. JuanitaBrooks, 2 vole., (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1964):2:641.


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5. Wilford Woodruff, Journal, ed. Scott Kenney (Midvale, Ut.: SignatureBooks, 1985), 5:107. This entry is repeated almost verbatim in theJournal History of the same date.

6. On the Mormon Frontier, 2:642.

7. Wilcken, "Eighteen Hundred," pp. 393-94; Elias Hicks Blackburn,Journals and "A Summary Sketch," Utah State Historical Society Library;Wilcken Family Group Records; John Crook, Journal, 1:41, 42, andWilliam Lindsay, Autobiography, p. 16, both in Special Collections, LeeLibrary, Brigham Young University, Provo; Journal History, July 4,1865; How Beautiful upon the Mountains, ed. William James Mortimer(Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1963), p. 109.

8. Deseret Evening News, April 7, 1869; Military Records, Utah Militia,Utah State Archives; Journal History, May 22, 1871.

9. Journal History, September 21, 1871; Deseret Evening News, October10, 1871, June 26, 1873.

10. Deseret Evening News, November 3, 12, December 31, 1873. Wilckenwas severely injured on the farm in 1878 when he was tossed by a bullowned by John W. Young. He suffered lacerations and bruises on his headand face that took several months to heal. See ibid., August 13 andDecember 9, 1878.

11. Woodruff, Journal, 7:296, 297; L. John Nuttall, Journal, August 27,1879, Special Collections, Lee Library.

12. Deseret Evening News, March 28, 1879; June 13, July 16, August 1,1883; March 19, 1884.

13. Ibid, August 25, September 4, 15, 1883, Abraham H. Cannon, Journal(hereafter AHC Journal), August 25, 1883, Utah State Historical SocietyLibrary.

14. Herbert L. Gleason, "The Salt Lake City Police Department, 1851-1949: A Social History" (Master's thesis, University of Utah, 1950), p.61; Deseret Evening News, December 24, 1884, January 14.

Documents

Charles H Wilckens