Salt Lake City Cemetery

Oh ye mountains high, where the clear blue sky 

Arches over the vales of the free. 

Where the pure breezes blow and the clear streamlets flow, 

How I've longed to your bosom to flee! 

O Zion! Dear Zion! land of the free! 

Now my own mountain home, unto three I have come; 

All my fond hopes are centered in thee.

—Oh Ye Mountains High, by Charles W. Penrose. Included in LDS Hymnal.
 

During July of 1847 the first Mormon wagon trains began rolling down Emigration Canyon of the Wasatch Mountains into the Salt Lake Valley. They had been driven from their homes by mobs in Illinois and Missouri and sought a refuge where they could worship in peace. 

These were hardy and faithful pioneers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a religion formed just 15 years earlier by Joseph Smith, a man they revered as Prophet. The young man, Joseph, visited with angels and translated an ancient record that became known as the Book of Mormon. Thousands of converts from the eastern United States and Europe joined the young religion. 

Old church on the south side of the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Flanked by snow-capped mountains on their eastern edge, they began to build a city. They laid out streets, built small adobe or log homes, diverted water and planted crops. They also began construction of a magnificent temple. This would be a place where the Saints could gather and gain strength. This would be their Zion. 

But as sure as the sun comes up, it didn't take long before the first deaths occurred in the valley. On August 11, three-year old Milton Therlkill drowned in a pond that had been dammed along City Creek. In September, Caroline Grant died of cholera 75 miles east of Salt Lake on her trek west. Her body was brought to the valley for burial. Two weeks later Nancy O'Neil Rich, mother of Charles Rich, died of pneumonia. She is memorialized as the first white woman to die in the valley. They were buried in a field outside the new fort. 

A year later on September 27, 1848, the young daughter of George and Melisssa Wallace passed away. Instead of burying her down by the fort, her father chose to inter her body in a place more secluded on the east bench. The lot was owned by a relative, Daniel Wallace. A month later, an infant son of the Wallace's died and was buried next to his sister. Other people followed suit and soon there were several burials at this site in the foothills. 

In 1849 a committee was selected and it was decided that this site in the foothills would become the permanent city cemetery. George Wallace was appointed sexton. All burials from that time forward were to be interred in the new cemetery. With exception of a few, many of the previous burials were exhumed and relocated to the new burial ground. 

Graves of Francis Armstrong and his family.

Nowadays the Salt Lake City Cemetery is mammoth in size and is one of the largest city-owned cemeteries in the United States. It covers 150 acres and has 9 ½ miles of roads. 

To an outsider, the Salt Lake Cemetery may seem average. But to anyone who has an inkling of the history of the Mormon Church, this cemetery is dense with prominent figures. From Apostles to Prophets, to poets and architects, this cemetery is a treasure trove. 

Until now, I had only been to the cemetery once. That was twenty years ago and I longed to return. On a recent trip to the city, my wife was kind enough to let me visit again. 

The cemetery is located in “The Avenues” of Salt Lake. It's a beautiful area with many old homes and a few steep roads. My father-in-law grew up here. It is a place where people of all faiths, or no faith, can take walks and enjoy the peace. 

I parked on the side of the road and began walking randomly toward the north. The first thing that struck me was how many burials were from the 1800's. A lot! I knew that all these people were pioneers, contributing to the cause in their own special way. 

It didn't take long to find the first familiar name: Truman O. Angell. Anyone who knows just a smidgen of Church History knows that Truman O. Angell was the architect of the Salt Lake Temple, which is probably the most historical structure in Utah. Born in Rhode Island, Angell joined the church at age 23. He quickly immersed himself in the work of the church by serving a mission and helping the construction of some early church buildings. He came west with the Saints, having buried three children along the way. He arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 and Brigham Young appointed him as the church architect. It is interesting that during the construction of the temple, Young sent him to Europe to study the designs of buildings over there. Consequently, the Salt Lake Temple looks more like a European cathedral than any other temple. Additionally, Angell designed several other buildings and temples for the church. 

Truman O. Angell.

To understand Mormon culture is to understand the reverence that is paid to their leaders. The highest of those leaders is the President of the Church, also known as Prophet, Seer and Revelator. There have only been 17 of them since the founding of the church in 1830. The majority are buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. 

As I walked through the stone grave markers I came across several Prophets. The first was Wilford Woodruff, the fourth President of the church, serving until his death in 1898. He was noted for issuing “The Manifesto,” the document which ended plural marriage in the church. 

Grave of Wilford Woodruff, fourth President of the church.

I also passed by the graves of several members of the Smith family, including Joseph F. Smith, his son Joseph Fielding Smith, and a distant cousin, George Albert Smith. All of these are related, but not directly descended from church founder Joseph Smith. 

The tomb of George Albert reads: “He understood and disseminated the teachings of Christ and was uncommonly successful in putting them into practice. He was kindly, patient, wise, tolerant, and understanding. He went about doing good.” 

Graves of Joseph Fielding Smith and family.

George Albert Smith.

With great joy I came across the grave of Thomas S. Monson, sixteenth president of the church. Of all the familiar burials I encountered this day, his was the only one I had seen or met in person. He didn't pass away until 2018. As a friend of my wife's grandmother, he came to her husband's funeral and it was there that I shook his hand. He was a very personable man. 

Graves of Thomas Spencer Monson and wife, Frances.

Although the Prophet Brigham Young was buried separately in a location downtown, one of his plural wives, Harriett Amelia Folsom Young, is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. She died 33 years after her husband and bears a large tombstone over her grave. Tributes describe her as tall, queenly, intelligent, of a fair complexion, and an accomplished pianist and vocalist. 

Another wife of a a famous pioneer was Mary Garn, the wife of Lot Smith (no relation to Joseph). I don't know much about Mary, but Lot was a leader of the Militia and fought in battles against the Indians. He was killed by a Navajo near Tuba City, Arizona in 1892. 

Harriett Amelia Folsom Young, plural wife of Brigham Young.

Buried relatively close to each other are Apostles Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow. It is interesting how the path of these two men intertwined throughout the history of the church. Orson Pratt was the first to join the church. He was ordained an elder and served a mission where he met and taught Erastus Snow. Pratt became an apostle first, being one of the original twelve ordained under the hands of Joseph Smith. He was also a writer, historian, philosopher, and mathematician. In 1847 he used his math skills to design an “odometer” that would measure the distance traveled on the trek west, via the rotation of the wagon wheel. He and Erastus Snow were the first Mormons to enter the Salt Lake Valley, arriving three days ahead of the vanguard group. In 1860 they served a mission together in the Eastern States.

Orson Pratt, one of the original twelve apostles ordained by Joseph Smith.

Erastus Snow.

Another Apostle buried in the Salt Lake Cemetery is George Q. Cannon. The Q stands for “Quayle” and even today in Utah you will occasionally find the same middle name, usually given in honor of George Q. He was one of the first missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands and became an apostle after the murder of Parley P. Pratt. 

In addition to church leaders, there were many headstones honoring those of lay members. One such person that stood out was Moses Deming, who died in 1871. It was obvious that a newer headstone had replaced the older one. His obituary in the Deseret News stated: “He embraced the gospel in Michigan, and has been in Utah about eighteen years. He died in full faith in the gospel and leaves a large family and a numerous circle of friends to deplore his death.” 

George Q. Cannon.

Moses Deming, an ordinary pioneer buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

But of all the graves I sought the most to find in the Salt Lake City Cemetery, it was that of my great-great-great-great-grandfather, John Workman. The only other time I came to this cemetery—20 or so years ago—I came across his grave, feeling lucky to find it out of the thousands. Back then it had the original headstone, falling apart and nearly illegible. Since then they have replaced it. 

John Workman was the first in his family to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They were living in Overton County Tennessee when two Mormon Elders sought to lodge in their home. Never turning away a traveler in need of food and rest, they welcomed the Elders. John found the message taught by the Elders had struck a familiar chord. 

They were baptized and eventually moved to Nauvoo to join the Saints. There they were persecuted strongly by the mob and eventually his wife, Lydia, succumbed to the persecution and died. She was buried in the Nauvoo Cemetery. 

After being driven from Nauvoo by the mob, John Workman and his family migrated west to the Salt Lake Valley where he died just three years later.  His new headstone lists all 20 of his children! 

Graves of John Workman, Mary Chidester (great-granddaughter), Abram (grandson) and Julia (granddaughter-in-law) Workman.

Salt Lake Temple icon is a popular engraving on LDS headstones.

I continued to wander the cemetery. There was too much to take in and too little time. It was interesting to note that many of the modern headstones had engravings of the Salt Lake Temple, whose designer, Truman O. Angell, was buried just a short distance away. 

Not too far beyond the graves of Mormon pioneers there is a Jewish section. Technically, I believe, it is a different cemetery, named the B'nai Israel Cemetery. There were no fences and no signs to distinguish it from the grander Salt Lake City Cemetery. Here the headstones were marked with different symbolism, usually the Star of David or menorah. Gravestones tended to be placed closer together, similar to those I had seen in pictures of Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe. Writing on these markers came in English, Hebrew, and sometimes Arabic. 

It seems like the Jews make their mark just about everywhere, and Utah was no exception. The first Jewish families came to Salt Lake during the 1850's. They built buildings and contributed to the community. In 1869, Brigham Young offered them land for the purpose of constructing a cemetery. From 1917 to 1921, Simon Bamberger, a Jew, was Governor of Utah. He is buried in the B'nai Israel Cemetery. 

The B'Nai Israel Cemetery is located next to the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Headstone with various languages, including Arabic and Hebrew.

Like I stated earlier, the Salt Lake City Cemetery is huge. I could come back every day for a year and find something new each time. There are other Jewish sections, as well as a Catholic cemetery. An hour and a half was certainly not enough time to see all I wanted. 

Toward the end of my wanderings, I came across the large headstone of another familiar name: Charles W. Penrose. If you recall, at the beginning of this writing I included the first verse of his beloved hymn, Oh Ye Mountains High. Penrose was born in London and joined the church in 1850 at the age of eighteen. He was immediately called to serve a mission in England and it was there that he penned this hymn—before he even set foot in the Salt Lake Valley. He later emigrated to Utah and in 1904 was ordained an Apostle. 

As I left the cemetery, I envisioned it laid out like a giant quilt. It was a patchwork, with everyone faithful and diligent in their own little section, but when sewn together, helping to create something bigger than themselves. I was only able to identify a few of the bigger “patches.” I knew that this cemetery was full of smaller, anonymous patches who came to Zion and did their part, but would never be known but to a few of their own descendants. ♠

 

Grave of Charles W. Penrose.