Question: What town in Utah did Edward Dalton help settle after having served in the Mormon Battalion in 1846?
Answer: Edward Dalton was born March 23, 1827, on a farm called Dalton Hollow in the Township of Wysox, Bradford County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of John Dalton, Jr., and Rebecca Cranmer. About 1838, the family moved to Wisconsin.
Edward’s parents joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the summer of 1838. In June 1843, their new faith caused them to sell their land and house and move to Nauvoo, Illinois, where the Saints were gathering. Having good horses and wagons, John helped haul materials for the building of the historic Nauvoo Temple. The family purchased two plots of land, where they built an abode house. Edward would have been a sixteen-year-old young man when they arrived in Nauvoo.
Edward was baptized shortly after their arrival in Nauvoo, on June 4, 1843, just a year before the Prophet Joseph Smith was killed. Edward assisted in the building of the Nauvoo Temple and according to family tradition all the other temples up to the time of his death.
As persecution continued after the Prophet Joseph’s death, the Saints were driven out of Nauvoo. The Dalton family along with many other Saints went to Winter Quarters, Nebraska. Edward and his brother Henry, and a cousin, Henry Simon Dalton, joined the Mormon Battalion at Council Bluffs and became part of the Santa Fe detachment. At Santa Fe, Edward was sent with the main body of the Battalion toward California, but shortly after leaving, he and his brother Henry, became sick. They returned to Santa Fe and joined Lieutenant Willis’ sick detachment and headed for Fort Pueblo, Colorado. They spent the winter of 1846-47 in Pueblo. After wintering at the fort, they migrated in the spring to the Salt Lake Valley, arriving July 29, 1847.
Edward was called by Brigham Young to assist surveyors to plan the city of Salt Lake. On March 6, 1848, Edward married Elizabeth Meeks, daughter of Dr. Priddy Meeks. Their two oldest children were born in Salt Lake City and Mill Creek, Utah. Edward and Elizabeth were then asked to move to Parowan, Utah, where Edward assisted in the development of this area and served on the Parowan High Council. During his years in Parowan, he served as president of the first Parowan Dramatic Organization, Mayor, Probate Judge, Alderman, County Surveyor, and one term in the Utah Legislature. He was a leader in the military operations in the Mormon War, 1857, and the Blackhawk War with the Indians.
He and Elizabeth had eight children. In June 1883, Edward took a plural wife, Lizzinia Elizabeth Warren. The two of them and their small child left Parowan to live in Manassa, Conejos County, Colorado in February 1885. The Edmunds Act became law, and they may have had to leave Parowan to prevent Edward from being arrested for polygamy.
Three of Edward and Lizzinia’s seven children were born in Conejos. Edward was set apart as First Counselor to President Silas Sanford Smith in the San Luis Stake Presidency. He remained there until 1892. Elizabeth died in Parowan on 3 October 1892 at the age of 69. Edward and Lizzinia moved back to Parowan in 1893. They lived in Parowan until his death on April 6, 1896, following a two-month fight with stomach cancer. Edward was a Patriarch at the time of his death. He was buried in the Parowan City Cemetery.
Source: Excerpts from “Edward Dalton’ by Shauna Dalton Hart, FamilySearch.org; Sources in FamilySearch.org; FindAGrave.com
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