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Samuel Bateman diary, book 1, 1886-1888

 Item — Box: 1, Folder: 1
Identifier: MSS 128 Item 1
Image of Samuel Bateman diary, book 1
Image of Samuel Bateman diary, book 1

Scope and Contents

Original handwritten diary of Samuel Bateman, including entries while he served as bodyguard for Latter-day Saint Church President John Taylor until his death in July 1887. Diary includes nearly daily entries of his work as a bodyguard, and includes details of the last days of John Taylor while living in the "Underground" for plural marriage. Bateman later served as bodyguard to President Wilford Woodruff as well. Much of the diary is his interactions and travels with various Church leaders and members during his duties as bodyguard. Dates from 26 August 1886 to 19 February 1888.

Dates

  • 1886-1888

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Condition restricted; permission to use items must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services. Patrons should use typescripts, microfilm, and CD reproductions.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Samuel Bateman papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Coordinating Committee.

Biographical / Historical

Samuel Bateman (1832-1911) was a Mormon polygamist who served as a guard to the third president of the Mormon Church, John Taylor, and who was a friend to the fourth president of the Mormon Church, Wilford Woodruff.

Samuel Bateman was born July 1, 1832, in Manchester, England to Thomas Bateman and Mary Street. His father joined the Mormon Church in 1838 and emigrated to Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1839. Bateman's family arrived in Utah in 1850, and Samuel volunteered to go on a mission to Iron County that December. On November 27, 1854 he married Marinda Allen. Bateman was called to raise a platoon of soldiers in September 1857 to confront Johnston's army, and the platoon joined others at Fort Bridger, Wyoming. Led by Lot Smith, these soldiers confronted the army wagon train, burned wagons, ran off livestock, and succeeded in stalling the army from entering the Salt Lake Valley. Later Bateman returned home, but was appointed to watch the army’s movements as the Saints prepared to move south. In the spring of 1861, he accompanied Brigham Young and others to visit the settlements of southern Utah. Bateman attended the "School of the Prophets" in 1868, and in 1870 he was asked to accompany Brigham Young on a trip to settlements in northern Utah. He married a second wife, Harriet Egbert, in 1871. Bateman later served as guard to John Taylor, third president of the Mormon Church, and was with him during the anti-polygamy raids and his death in July 1887 in Kaysville, Utah. He also served as a guard and friend to Wilford Woodruff, who succeeded John Taylor as president of the Mormon Church. From 1888-1889, Bateman served a term in the Utah penitentiary for plural marriage. For work, he was a brick and adobe maker, mason, miller, farmer, and had many other trades. Bateman served as superintendent of the Sunday School in the West Jordan Ward and later as senior president of the 33rd quorum of the Seventy. He died on January 23, 1911, of Bright's disease.

Extent

1 volume (unpaged) ; 21 cm

Language of Materials

English

Existence and Location of Copies

Typescript of entire diary, 1886-1909, created by BYU in 1945, is in Box 1, Folder 4-6. An edited and annotated edition of this typescript, by Mark Burkinshaw, is in Folder 2. Compact disc with digital images of the original diaries located in Box 1, folder 9.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States