William Jordan Flake diary

Digital Record

Identifier: MSS1453_F1

Staff Only

Dates

Creation: 1884-1885

Creator

Flake, William Jordan, 1839-1932 (author, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from William Jordan Flake diary must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.

Biographical History

William Jordan Flake (1839-1932) was a Mormon rancher and cattle man in Arizona.

William Jordan Flake was born on July 3, 1839 in Smith Creek, North Carolina to James Madison Flake and Agnes Haily Love. In the 1840s his family moved to Mississippi, where they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They migrated west with the Church, settling in San Bernardino, California by the 1850s. In 1858 Flake married Lucy Hannah Smith in Beaver, Utah, where he set up a cattle ranch. He later married Prudence Jane Kartchner in a polygamous marriage in 1868. In 1877 Brigham Young called Flake and his family to help settle the Arizona Territory. With other pioneers he settled Snowflake, Arizona in 1878. Under the Edmunds Act he was imprisoned for polygamy around 1883. He died on August 10, 1932 in Snowflake.

Extent

1 volume (64 pages)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Custodial History

Donated by Chad Flake in 1978.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated; Chad Flake; 1978.

General Note

Handwritten diary kept while Flake was kept in the Yuma, Arizona, prison for polygamy. Also included is a map of the lay out of the facility. The diary includes descriptions of the treatment of the Mormons by the guards, including work by the prisoners to repair and unload railroad cars. Also includes poetry and information from letters he received from his family.