The tragic affair at Mountain Meadows, a blot on early Latter-day Saint history in Utah, created more victims than those who died in the massacre. Innocent families on both sides of the fatal confrontation felt the aftermath for years.
Hannah H. (for Henry) Creemer Klingensmith was nowhere near the southern Utah meadow where members of a wagon train of emigrants from Missouri and Arkansas were killed by Indians and Mormon men. Nevertheless, repercussions of the event reached into her home, ultimately destroyed her marriage and added to the already onerous burdens of her pioneer life.Hannah's husband, Philip, was a member of the Nauvoo Militia and one of those who went to Mountain Meadows in August 1857, despite her pleas that he avoid the pending confrontation.
In the mid-1850s, pioneering Latter-day Saints were understandably paranoid. They had been on the receiving end of severe persecutions throughout the short history of the church and had come to Utah Territory specifically to escape their tormentors. Now there were reports that the United States was sending troops to the territory to subdue a rumored defection of the Saints.
Ute Indians who feared they might be caught in the middle of a conflict between white factions believed the wagon train of Southerners was bound for California to send more soldiers to Utah Territory.
Out of all this paranoia, rumor, confusion, misguided zeal and mutual fear, the bloody Mountain Meadows massacre erupted. Only 18 children survived from the 140-member emigrant train.
Philip Klingensmith and other attackers returned to their homes, but the event would hound them for the rest of their lives. For 18 years, he spent most of his time in exile in various areas of the West while the territorial legal system tried to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Ultimately, prodded by his conscience, he became the chief witness for the prosecution during the trial of John D. Lee, the only member of the group to be prosecuted.
For Hannah, the events at Mountain Meadows became a dark chapter in her lifetime of sacrifice for the church she had joined as a young woman. Eventually, the stress led to her divorce from Philip, leaving her with a large family to rear.
She was born April 14, 1826, in Ohio. Her parents named her Hannah because she was a girl and Henry because they had promised a friend that their new baby would bear his name - regardless of gender. She was only 14 when she married Philip, who made his living as a blacksmith. They followed the church through its early migrations, sharing in its persecutions, and joined the exodus from Nauvoo as the Saints headed west. The couple's third daughter, another Hannah Henry, was born Oct. 30, 1847, the same day Brigham Young arrived in Winter Quarters to report on the first settlement in the Salt Lake Valley.
The Klingensmiths made the journey to Utah Territory in 1849. On July 17, 1849, a week away from their destination, the family welcomed a fourth daughter, Nancy, as their wagon bumped over a mountain trail.
Their stay in Salt Lake Valley was brief. With others, they were sent to settle Manti, suffering the brutal first winter on the San Pitch River. After just a year, they moved on to Parowan, where she was left alone while Philip went to help establish the Iron Mission in Cedar City, 20 miles away. She later joined him in a small cabin at Cedar Fort.
When Philip was named bishop of the small community, she became his helpmeet in new ventures, serving as cook and hostess to visiting church authorities and serving the needy in the area, including Indians. She was fire-builder, milkmaid, soap-butter-and-cheese-maker, seamstress, quilter, spinner and weaver, according to a great-granddaughter, Anna Jean Backus, who has written a family history.
Besides their own constantly growing family, she mothered an adopted Indian son. In all, Hannah had 15 children of her own, including two sets of twins. Several of the children died during childhood, a common circumstance for the era. The oldest son, Moroni, lived to be an adult, but was killed when a freight wagon ran over him. He had been married two months earlier.
Hannah gave up much to serve the church, but she wouldn't give up her pipe. And she suffered understandable qualms as Philip took another two wives and as one of her daughters, at age 12, was wed to a much older man during the polygamy era.
The Klingensmiths had a hand in establishing several southern Utah communities, including To-quer-ville and Pocketville (known also as Adventure). In January 1862, a violent storm struck Adventure and the family barely escaped with their lives. Their house, cane mill, blacksmith shop, stored food, barrels of molasses, hay, grain, furniture and everything else they owned were destroyed by the rampaging water.
Much of the time, Philip was away on church jobs. He was among those sent on an expedition to find lead ore when it looked as if the metal would be needed to manufacture bullets to fight U.S. troops. He also explored for new colonization sites and spent time with Jacob Hamblin proselyting among the Indians, leaving Hannah to care for the home front. Often, he would return from such expeditions footsore and with his clothing in tatters.
In 1864, Hannah was settled in Parowan while he went to explore Long Valley. The family also helped to settle St. Joseph on the Muddy River in southern Nevada in 1865.
After Mountain Meadows, she was often alone as Philip dodged the law. They spent some time in Meadow Valley (Panaca), Nev., while he operated a mine. But most of the time he was on the run - in California, Arizona or even down into Mexico. Finally, he was caught and brought back to become a witness in the Lee trial. He signed an affidavit and appeared in 7th Judicial Court in Lincoln County, Nev., where the trail was held.
The trial reopened old wounds as newspapers rehashed the events of the massacre and Philip was driven deeper into exile to avoid harassment and embarrassment. On May 22, 1871, Hannah gave up on the marriage, divorced Philip and operated a boarding house in Bullionville, Nev.
In 1878, her married daughter, Donna C. Butler, died, leaving four children. Hannah took three of them to rear. Sometime between 1875 and 1880, she married Adolphe Londrush, who helped her rear the grandchildren.
An influenza epidemic in the southern colonies in 1891 took the life of her daughter, Eliza Ann, and six days later the disease also claimed Hannah, ending a life of faithful service amid significant trials.
Backus has recounted the events from the lives of her great-grandparents in a book titled "Mountain Meadows Witness, the Life and Time of Bishop Philip Klingensmith."