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GARRETT WALLS MIKESELL By Jay Greaves Burrup (3rd great grandson) http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~reynaud/mikesell_history.htm Garrett W. Mikesell, born 18 May
1810, in Cynthiana, Harrison County, Kentucky, was the first son and second
child of John Aylor and Catherine Mikesell. Not much information is known about Garrett's
early life. The John A. Mikesell family moved from
Kentucky to Liberty, Montgomery County, Ohio, sometime before June 1812. At
Liberty, as in Kentucky, the Mikesell's operated a
tavern. Around 1820 the family moved to Clark County, Indiana, where
Catherine Mikesell's family was living. It was in Clark County that Garrett, at age 20 married
Ruth "Ruthey " Cunningham, the daughter of John and Frances Jones
Cunningham. The marriage took place on 20 June 1830, and was performed by
William Bullock, Justice of the Peace. It was not many years afterward that the Mikesell family was introduced to Mormonism. An L.D.S.
ward membership record notes that Garrett was baptized on January 1835 by
Perry Durfee. It is not known where this baptism
occurred - in Indiana, Ohio or Missouri. A subsequent L.D.S. church record
states that on 26 January 1839, Garrett was ordained an Elder along with
James Worthington, Henry W. Bigler, Levi Bracken,
Philo Dibble and Jonathon H. Hale. Another ordination apparently took place
on 8 March 1839; this ordination was performed by Brigham Young and Heber C.
Kimball and was perhaps ordained to the office of Seventy. It is not known when the Mikesell
families moved to Missouri, but they were among the thousands of Mormons who
were driven out by anti-Mormon mobs during the winter of 1838-1839. In November
of 1839 the Mikesell's, along with many other
Mormons who had lost their Missouri properties to illegal seizures, submitted
a billing to the State of Missouri for reparation. Garrett's losses amounted
to $850.00, a sizeable amount for that era. After being expelled from Missouri, the Mormons crossed
the Mississippi and settled temporarily at Quincy, Illinois. The Mikesell's lived near Quincy for several years. On one
occasion Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball stayed with the family for
several days while they regained their health prior to leaving for their
missions in England. As yet, Garrett's entry in the 1840 federal census has not
been located. It is entirely possible that the census taker missed the family
or that the family was not at home when the enumerator came by. Garrett's
father and brother (Hiram W.) are listed in the census schedules of the
"Half Breed Reservation" in Lee County, Iowa (1840). L.D.S. Church records indicate that Garrett belonged to
the 3rd Quorum of Seventies. He and Hiram are listed in the Seventies Hall
donation ledger (ca 1844) as subscribers to the building of a meeting hall
for Seventies Quorum members. Garrett and Hiram each subscribed for a $5.00
share. They were issued share receipts numbered 6 and 7 respectively.
According to a notation in the 3rd Quorum of Seventies records, Garrett was
living, ca 1844, at his residence 4 miles south of the Nauvoo Temple. In mid April, 1844, both Garrett
and Hiram were called by church leaders to return to Kentucky and preach the
gospel. Along with finding new converts, the Elders were to talk up the
candidacy of Joseph Smith for President of the United States and find
electors who would back the Smith ticket. Thirteen Elders were sent to
Kentucky; the president of the group was John D. Lee, later an instrumental
figure in the infamous massacre at Mountain Meadows. At the martyrdom of
Joseph and Hyrum Smith in June of 1844, the Elders returned to Nauvoo. The anti-Mormon sentiment in Illinois eventually caused
the Mormons to flee Nauvoo. The first organized group to leave followed
Brigham Young across the frozen Mississippi River in early February 1846. The
initial vanguard company was soon followed by thousands of evicted Mormons.
The Mikesell families again found themselves on the
move. They joined up with the main company and encamped with their neighbors
and friends near Council Bluffs located in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. At
this time Garrett and Ruth's family consisted of 8 children, the oldest of
whom was 15 years old. Four more children would later be born in this
vicinity. On 22 September 1846, Brigham Young and the Council of
Twelve Apostles decided to build a water powered flour mill for the Mormon
body. The estimated cost was $800.00 with an output capacity thought to be
equal to one barrel of flour per hour. Willard Richards was appointed by the
council to write to Garrett and Hiram Mikesell and
advise them to "leave the ferry and boat in care of John Higbee and William Empey and
prepare for sawing lumber for the flour mill." While encamped on the Iowa plains, Garrett was chosen to
serve the Mormon community as one of the "Regular Standing Police."
Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball attended the organizational meeting of the
Standing Police which was held in November 1846. Hosea Stout, who recorded
the event in his diary, was chosen as Police Head. More than once the police
were called upon to calm both upset pioneers and hostile indians.
Hosea Stout also mentions in his diary that Garrett W. Mikesell
was skilled at dressing buffalo skins. Stout purchased 4 of them from Garrett
in 1846. According to the 1850 U.S. Census, Garrett and family were
still living in Pattawattamie County, Iowa
(District # 21). On October 5th, the same day as the census enumerator
visited the family, Ruth and Garrett received Patriarchal Blessings at Driggsville under the hands of Patriarch William Draper. While Garrett's parents and other family members left Iowa
for Utah - as early as 1848 - Garrett and family remained behind for several
more years. It is not understood why they remained in Iowa for so many years
after all of the other Mikesell's had pressed on to
Utah. When the enumerator of the 1860
U.S. Census visited Iowa he found Garrett's family living in Silver Creek
Township, Pottawattamie County. Garrett was listed in the census schedules as
a farmer with his personal estate valued at $330.00. Years later, Garrett and family decided to leave Iowa and
join the main body of Mormons in Salt Lake City, They traveled to Utah in
A.H. Patterson's independent wagon train and arrived on 4 September 1863. The
Deseret News commented on the train's arrival and noted that the company's
cattle looked "quite poor, indication that they had seen hard times in
crossing the plains." The news placed blame for the cattle's condition
on "overdriving, and for the want, at least, of requisite care and
attention." Mention was also made of the fact that many of the company
members had experienced illness enroute to Utah. By the time Garrett arrived in Utah both his mother and
father had been dead many years. Catherine Mikesell
died in Salt Lake City on 20 July 1851, as the result of a massive hemorrhage
of the lungs. She died while leaving the Bowery after having listened to a
Sunday sermon by Brigham Young. John A. Mikesell
and his two other wives moved to Payson, Utah County, Utah, in the mid
1850's. He married once more (1833) and died in Payson on 2 December 1858. It
is not known if Garrett knew of his parents' deaths before he arrived in Salt
Lake City. Garrett's life and activities after his arrival in Utah in
1863 are, strangely enough, more difficult to trace than his earlier life in
Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa. From 1863 to 1869 the
record is sadly blank; his whereabouts and dealings remain undiscovered. On 10 November 1869, Ruth Cunningham Mikesell
died of "neuralgia" in Richville, Morgan
County, Utah. Her body was taken to Salt Lake City to be interred in the Mikesell family burial plot in the city cemetery. A small
death notice printed in the Deseret News noted that she died on the 10th and
was aged "59 years, 9 months, and 20 day's." The next recorded event in Garrett's life occurred on 21
September 1879; on that date both he and Mary Ann Carter Mikesell
(his second wife) were re-baptized, apparently in Richville.
It has not yet been determined when Garrett and Mary Ann were married. There
do not appear to have been any children born in this marriage. The 1880 Richville, Utah, Census
show that the Mikesell household consisted of 3
members - Garrett, aged 70, farmer; Mary A., aged 48, laundress; and Willard
R., aged 26, farm worker. Another gap of information exists from 1880 to 20
April 1888, when church records state that Garrett died. His death apparently
took place in Richville and he was buried in the
vicinity. He would have been nearly 78 years of age at the time of his death. It is regrettable that so little is known about Garrett
and Ruth Mikesell. These intriguing ancestors were
among the early members of the Mormon Church and witnessed some of the most
exciting and traumatic events in the church's history. Unfortunately, they
didn't take the time to record their memories. It appears that few of their
large posterity have found it worthwhile to record the family's heritage. The author, Jay G. Burrup, is a descendant of Garrett and
Ruth C. Mikesell through their daughter, Cynthia
Ann Mikesell Green Walker; her daughter, Margaret Florenza Green Fox; her daughter Elizabeth Fox Burrup,
and her son, Clyde L. Burrup (the authors' father). GARRETT WALLS MIKESELL was born 18 May 1810 in Cynthiana,
Harrison, Kentucky, and died 20 Apr 1888 in Richville,
Morgan, Utah. He married (1) RUTH CUNNINGHAM 20 Jun 1830 in Clark Co.
Indiana, daughter of JOHN CUNNINGHAM and FRANCES JONES. She was born 09 Jan
1811 in Cincinatti, Hamilton, Ohio, and died 10 Nov
1869 in Richville, Morgan, Utah. He married (2)
MARY ANN CARTER 11 Feb 1881. She was born Feb 1833, and died 18 Feb 1921. More About GARRETT WALLS MIKESELL: Burial: Unknown, South Morgan Cemetery, Morgan, Morgan Co.
Utah. Military service: Civil War Veteran Residence: Garret & Ruth and 6 children left Florence
Nebraska by wagon train 29 June 1863 and arrived in Great Salt Lake City 4
September 1863. More About RUTH CUNNINGHAM: Marriage: 20 Jun 1830, Clark Co. Indiana Burial: Unknown, The Mikesell
family plot, Salt Lake City Cemetery. Cause of Death: Neuralgia More About GARRETT MIKESELL and MARY CARTER: Marriage: 11 Feb 1881 |