Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Lee, John D. (John Doyle), 1812-1877
- Abstract:
- A collection of diaries, letters, documents, and manuscripts of John Doyle Lee documenting early life in Utah and the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
- Extent:
- 5.7 Linear Feet (4 boxes, 6 volumes)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. John Doyle Lee papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
A collection of 99 items from 1841 to 1967; the collection consists of diaries, letters, documents and manuscripts primarily by John Doyle Lee. There is a letter by William W. Bishop that includes a list of names of persons in and present at the Mountain Meadows Massacre (mssHM 31237). There are also letters by and to several of John D. Lee's wives. There are six volumes of diaries by John D. Lee which span the years 1846 to 1876, as well as several facsimiles of Lee's diaries dating 1841 to 1860, and one diary of his wife, Rachel Andora Woolsey Lee, from 1856 to 1860. Many of the items in the collection are contemporary copies or facsimiles.
- Biographical / historical:
-
John Doyle Lee (1812-1877) was a Mormon pioneer who was born in Kaskaskia, Illinois. Lee was the leader of one of the Mormon wagon trains migrating to Salt Lake City in 1848. He helped colonize Southern Utah, was a probate judge of Iron County, and a member of the territorial legislature. Lee is best known for his part in the Mountain Meadows Massacre which was an attack by Indians and Mormons dressed as Indians against a wagon train of settlers passing through Southern Utah in 1857. He was excommunicated from the Mormon church in 1870 and sent by Brigham Young to a remote spot on the Colorado River, now known as Lee's Ferry. When he returned home for a visit in 1875, he was taken for trial, found guilty, and executed in 1877.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from Esther Nelson, May 1929; Gift of Rolla B. Watt, June 1939; Gift of Juanita Brooks, June 1949.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Brooke M. Black in 2011. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the electronic finding aid derived from an earlier finding aid.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Utah -- History
Mormon Church -- Utah
Mormons -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Mormons -- Utah -- History -- 19th century
Mountain Meadows Massacre, Utah, 1857
Diaries -- Utah -- 19th century
Documents -- Utah -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- Utah -- 19th century - Names:
- Lee, Rachel Andora Woolsey, 1825-1912
Young, Brigham, 1801-1877 - Places:
- Utah -- History -- 19th century
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
- Terms of access:
-
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. John Doyle Lee papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191