Timothy Bradley Foote

Question: What town in Utah did Timothy Bradley Foote help settle in 1851?

Answer: Timothy Bradley Foote was born December 29, 1799 in Litchfield, Connecticut. His parents were Stephen Foote of Waterbury, Connecticut and Rhoda Hand of Litchfield, Connecticut.

Timothy was strictly a Yankee. Those who remember him cannot forget how he used to dance Yankee Doodle whenever the band struck up that tune. He learned to dance it on the battle field in 1812. At the age of fourteen in 1813, hand in hand with his father, he enlisted in the second war with England. He served four months in the New York Militia, Major Benjamin Forsythe’s Cavalry.

His first marriage was to Jane Ann Russell, born on July 31,1800, in Oswegatchie, New York. Her parents were William Russell and Mary Morgan. They were married in her home town on February 17, 1823. They had seven children born to their union, two girls and five boys; six of the children lived to be adults.

We don’t know the circumstances of Timothy and Jane’s contact with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but Timothy and Jane Ann were baptized members in September 1833. Later they moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, and lived there from 1839 to 1846. Their sixth child, Victoria, was born in Nauvoo in 1841, and their seventh child, Eliza Jane, was born August 18, 1843 in Nauvoo. Timothy’s wife, Jane, died in Nauvoo on December 7, 1843.

Timothy’s parents also joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They had moved to Nauvoo, Illinois by 1844, as his father, died in Nauvoo in July 1844, and his mother died there in October 1845.

Timothy remarried on July 23, 1847 in Quincy, Adams, Illinois to Nancy Jane Riley, and they became the parents of eight children, all born in Utah. Timothy immigrated to Utah with his new wife, and children from his previous marriage, in June 1848, with Brigham Young’s Company. They arrived in Utah in September 1848. Nancy’s first little baby was born on September 16, 1848, just as they entered the Salt Lake Valley. Timothy’s little daughter, Eliza Jane, died at age five on December 7, 1848, in Utah.

Timothy lived in the Salt Lake area for a few years and then in 1851 moved to Nephi, Utah. The area was known as Salt Creek before being named Nephi. Here he helped lay out the town and built a home for his family. During the first week after the settlers arrived, Timothy was appointed captain of the guard. His duties included watching over the cattle, seeing that the men had firearms in good working order and calling them to drill.

Timothy was appointed by Brigham Young to supervise the building of the Juab Stake Tabernacle and served on a five-man committee in charge of building the Fort Wall. They were exposed daily to Indian attacks, but Timothy had no fear of the Indians. However, after the Fort was built, the settlers made him move into the fort where they felt he and his family would be better protected. Timothy served as second counselor in the Nephi Branch in 1854.

Timothy served as the first postmaster in Nephi and his office was in his home. It also served as a hotel. He presented a petition for the right to work the road to his salt works and to claim a toll for its use. Timothy was one of the men who built the first road into the canyon and was one of the first to manufacture salt from the salt springs. The first road was paid for by charging a toll from those who used it. Timothy paid for his toll in salt to the City. Timothy was the Treasurer of Juab Company Cooperative Commercial Association in Nephi, Utah.

Timothy died at age 86 on April 18, 1886, in Nephi, Juab, Utah Territory, and is buried in the Vine Bluff Cemetery in Nephi.

Source: FamilySearch.org, Excerpts from “Timothy Bradley Foote,’ by Robert Perry; FindAGrave.com; Documents on life of Timothy Bradley Foote, FamilySearch.org