William Augustus Bingham

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 27 Sep 1827, Fowler, St. Lawrence, Jefferson, New York
• Alternate death: 29 May 1883, St. David, Cochise, Arizona

Notes:

A memoir of his daughter Mary Elizabeth Bingham, by her daughter Barbara Ann Phelps, calls him "Calvin Perry Bingham."

From The Bingham Family in the United States, citation details below:

Calvin and his family were with the earliest Mormon groups to move across America. The oldest child of Lucius Augustus, Calvin was born in NY, lived in Upper Canada as a child, and by 1840 when he was thirteen, lived with the Mormon group in Henderson, Knox Co IL. About 1848, probably in IA after the Mormons moved to Pottawattamie Co, Calvin married Elizabeth Lucretia Thorn. He, his wife and her entire family, mother and siblings lived in one household in 1850.

Between 1853 and 1867, Calvin and his family lived in several different UT settlements. They then lived for about ten years in Montpelier, Bear Lake Co ID before returning to Box Elder Co UT by 1880. After Calvin died in AZ in 1883, wife Elizabeth moved to Vernal, Uintah Co UT where she lived with grown children William and Alice in 1900.

Posted to ancestry.com by user NORDSEEKER, with the remark: "This account was written by their great grandson, Wes Martin. I don't know where he got all the information, but I found it typed on the back of a family group sheet in his genealogy book."

"Calvin Bingham was the son of Lucius and Sarah Stone Bingham. He was born Sept. 7, 1827 in Fowler, St. Lawrence County, New York. He was the oldest of eight children: four brothers--Benjamin, Augustus, Perry, and Prosper-- and three sisters: Emeline, Lucy, and MaryJane.

"His mother died about 1849. His father remarried but never came west to Utah. Calvin was baptized into the Mormon church at the age of seventeen in Bannock County, Illinois in 1844.

"Elizabeth Lucretia Thorn was the daughter of Ashael and Sarah Lester Thorn, born in Monrovia, Cayuga county, New York on March 25, 1832. She was the second child in a family of ten: three boys--William L., Richard, and Isaac, and seven girls--Maryann, Sarah, Nancy, Lydia, Abigale, Barbara Ann, and Elizabeth Lucretia. Her mother died about 1852 and her father re-married Elizabeth Lusk, a widow. They came west with his family.

"Calvin and Elizabeth were married December 18, 1848 in Pottawatamie, Iowa. Sarah and Calvin were born to them here. In 1853 they and several other members of the Thorn family moved west to Utah settleing in the West Weber area (now known as Uintah). Their third child, Mary Elizabeth, was born here. While living in Uintah, Calvin was called to serve in Col. Johnson's army. They were among the saints that made the move south--leaving their homes to be burned if necessary. On returning they settled in Farmington, Utah, where Lucy Melissa, their fourth child, was born. Later they moved to Three Mile Creek which is now known as Perry, Utah. In about 1857, the Ashael Thorn family moved here too and they built their homes near each other. Barbara Ann, their fifth child was born here. Three years later in 1860 they moved to Hyrum, Utah.

"Being among the first settlers in Hyrum, they took an active part in civic and church activities. Calvin became the first Bishop of Hyrum and was loved and remembered by people for a great many years. Two more children were born to them here, Anna Marie and Ashael.

"In 1865 they were called to settle the Bear Lake, Idaho area. They settled in Montpelier where due to very harsh winters, they lost their crops. Very discouraged, they returned to Hyrum, Utah. Their son, William Augustus, was born here in Montpelier.

"About 1868 they returned to Montpelier. Elizabeth taught the first school in town--teaching out of their small log home. Another daughter, Lydia Emeline, was born to them here. Later, they built a large home on the banks of the creek that ran through town. Their last two children were born here--Orissa Vilate and Alice. Orissa Vilate died at nine months old. Also at this residence, their daughter, Lucy Melissa Bigham Williams, died after giving birth to a baby girl. She was only eighteen years old. This two week old baby girl was raised by her grandparents, Calvin and Elizabeth.

"In 1878, the Binghams, their married son and daughters, and a large group of other people left Montpelier intending to go to Arizona and settle an area there. But upon reaching Salem, Utah, they decided to stop there for a year or so. The Perry Bingham family and the Robert H. Williams family were among those that settled in Salem for that short time. In 1880, with several other families including the Alonzo Bingham family, Calvin and Elizabeth headed for Arizona again. They stopped in St. Johns, Arizona where their daughter, Anna Marie and husband William were living. They stayed there until 1891 when they moved to St. David, Arizona. Arriving on Christmas Day, they joined others of the original group who had settled that area and started up a freighting business. This business engaged in the freight business between Benson, Tombstone and Bisbee. Although Calvin was a blacksmith by trade, he found freighting more profitable. So he bought a team of large horses to go with the team he already had, and followed this occupation for a little more than a year.

"Calvin Bingham left his home with a wagon loaded with freight for Bisbee, about 56 miles from St. David. On the following day, May 27,1883, while going down a steep grade, his freight wagon upset pinning him under the wagon and causing his death.

"His body was brought home by three men from his ward. Funeral services were held in the ward at St. David May 29, 1883. Speakers were Patriarch P.C. Merrill, President David P. Kimball, J.H. Martineau, Bishop Henry Horn, and S.B. Merrill, who all spoke highly of the integrity, faithfullness and honesty of Calvin. After the death of her husband, Elizabeth Lucretia Bingham, with her family consisting of the younger children Ashael, William, Emeline, Lucy Jane, a grand-daughter, and Alice moved to Mesa, Arizona where her three oldest children, Clarinda, Mary Elizabeth Phelps, and Calvin Perry Bingham lived. She had only been there a short time when another sorrow came into her life. Ashael, then 23 years old, had an appendicitis attack and died just four months after his father's death.

"The family spent three years in Mesa and then returned to their former home in Montpelier, Idaho. Then in 1888 they moved to Vernal, Utah where Lucretia spent the remainder of her life. She was a faithful LDS woman and worked in the Relief Society organization. While in Montpelier she had been called to work among the sick and dying. She helped make burial clothes and to dress and lay out the dead. She underwent many hardships of the early pioneers. She learned to be thrifty and to economize so she could feed and clothe her family. It is said that when she bought a piece of calico, she would tear a quilt block from it for the quilt she was making. She made very nice quilts that were the envy of her friends and neighbors. Thread was expensive, so she would ravel out cloth to sew her blocks together with. She taught her 11 children to be thrifty and industrious too. She passed away at her home in Vernal Nov. 28, 1903 as a result of a heart attack."

Calvin married Elizabeth Lucretia Thorne on 18 Dec 1848 in Big Pigeon, Pottawattamie, Iowa. Elizabeth (daughter of Ashal Enoch Thorne and Sarah Lester) was born on 25 Mar 1832 in Moravia, Cayuga, New York; died on 28 Nov 1903 in Vernal, Uintah, Utah; was buried in Vernal Memorial Park, Vernal, Uintah, Utah. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1 Sep 1804, Vergennes, Addison, Vermont
• Alternate birth: 7 Sep 1804, Vergennes, Addison, Vermont
• Alternate birth: 27 Sep 1804, Vergennes, Addison, Vermont
• Alternate death: 11 Apr 1857, Iowa

Notes:

From The Bingham Family in the United States, citation details below:

With his brothers Reuben and Jeremiah 2nd Jr., and his mother and her second husband, Abner Whipple, Lucius Augustus and his family moved west to near Brockville, Upper Canada about 1829. None of them appeared on the NY 1830 Federal census. The group remained in Canada until the late 1830s when they decided to embrace the Mormon religion and moved to Henderson, Knox Co IL, near Nauvoo. They may have passed through Oswego Co NY where brother Aaron lived. Lucius, Reuben, and Jeremiah 2nd Jr. were all enumerated on the IL 1840 U.S. census. By 1850, part of the group had moved on to near Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie Co IA, but it is not clear what happened to Lucius Augustus. He was not named on the IA 1850 Federal census, but his oldest son was. There is also a record of a child born to him and second wife Rebecca White at Harrison Co IA in 1853. Instead of going on to Utah, Lucius Augustus remained in IA and died in 1857.

Lucius married Sarah Stone in 1826 in Fowler, St. Lawrence, Jefferson, New York. Sarah (daughter of Josiah Stone and Sarah Darby) was born in 1804 in Londonderry, Rockingham, New Hampshire; died in 1849 in Pottawattamie, Iowa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 21 Apr 1804, Londonderry, Rockingham, New Hampshire
• Alternate birth: 21 Apr 1805, Londonderry, Rockingham, New Hampshire
• Alternate birth: 21 Apr 1806, Londonderry, Rockingham, New Hampshire
• Alternate death: 1850, Pottawattamie, Iowa

Notes:

Also called Sarah "Sally" Stone.

The database "Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1848" states that her parents were Josiah Stone and Sarah Darby/Durby/Daby.

Lucius Augustus Bingham and Sarah Stone were great-great grandparents of TNH's third cousin twice removed, Harold Bingham Lee (1899-1973), eleventh president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, after whom the main library at BYU is named.

Notes:

Headstone says "Ashal (Asahel)".

Listed in the 1850 census at "South Fork of the American River, El Dorado, California", as Ashel Thorn, born abt 1808, New York.

Departed Six Mile Grove (near Winter Quarters, Nebraska) 9 Jun 1853; arrived Salt Lake Valley 9 Sep 1853. (Pioneer Immigrants to Utah Territory, at ancestry.com)

From "A Biography of Asahel (Ashel) Thorn," credited as "written by a great-grandson Enoch Thorne 'in the first person'", reproduced on "Crapo-Hegsted Family Tree" on ancestry.com by tree owner "Jerrirud":

"In 1800, my father, RICHARD, and mother, MARY ANNER ARMSTRONG, with their 10 children migrated west to Pennsylvania. While there I married a beautiful young girl named SARAH LESTER. All of us, but my father, joined the Mormon Church and began to gather to Nauvoo, Illinois. Before we were driven from Nauvoo, 8 of us were endowed in the Nauvoo Temple. We were fortunate to escape with our lives and, as a family, pressed on to Pottawattamie, Iowa and camped at Six Mile Grove, about six miles west of Winter Quarters. I built a house there for Sarah, and I, now also, had ten children.

"At Pottawattamie, my eldest son, WILLIAM, and I decided to go to California to participate in the gold rush. While in California, I was called home because of the serious illness of my wife, SARAH, and I left by boat home, leaving my teams, wagons and son, WILLIAM, in California. My California venture was a financial aid to me for the rest of my life.

"At Pottawattamie, Iowa we organized a company of Saints and started for the Salt Lake Valley on June 9, 1853. We were part of a company consisting of 202 souls and 70 wagons with Daniel C. Miller and John W. Cooley in charge. My uncle JOSEPH THORN was one of the Captains of 50. While on the plains of Iowa my wife passed away, and I buried her while on the move to Zion. That day I shall never forget. The Company divided soon after leaving Elkhorn, and my children and I arrived in the Salt Lake Valley September 9, 1853 in the Captain Thorn Company."

Ashal married Sarah Lester on 3 Aug 1829 in Clinton, Dutchess, New York. Sarah (daughter of John Lester and Nancy Appleby) was born on 15 Jun 1809; died on 9 Aug 1853 in Pottawattamie, Iowa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 14 Jun 1809, Albany, Albany, New York

Notes:

Death location on (modern) memorial marker says "ON THE PLAINS, POTTAWATTAMIE, IOWA". [Find a Grave entry for Sarah Lester]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 17 Apr 1760, Norwich, New London, Connecticut

Notes:

From The Bingham Family in the United States, citation details below:

Jeremiah was born in the Franklin section of Norwich, New London Co CT where his parents, Joseph and Rachel Ween Bingham, then lived. Based upon his date of entry into military service, he was probably born on 17 Apr 1760, but the Norwich records cite the name James, and not Jeremiah. [PNH: see note below.] By 1776 Jeremiah was apprenticed to Henry Baldridge in Bennington VT, but when the army recruiting sergeant came to Bennington, Jeremiah broke his apprentice agreement and joined the army. He served his first thirty-four months in Maj. Allen's company of Col. Rufus Putnam's MA regiment of the Continental Line, 20 Feb 1777 to 31 Dec 1779. He signed up for another year and a month, consequently, his final date of service was 31 Jan 1781. He would have been almost twenty-one when he was discharged. Jeremiah returned to Bennington where he stayed until about 1784 and then followed his uncle Jeremiah to Cornwall, Addison Co VT.

Jeremiah married in Cornwall, Mary Ives, 27 Nov 1786. The next month, they purchased nearly four acres adjoining their house lot. Near the end of 1788 when Jeremiah received his back military pay, he bought twenty-five acres from Edward Harris. This deed is most intriguing as it also recorded Harris's gift of five acres to Joseph Bingham. Joseph could have been Jeremiah's father or brother.

The births of Jeremiah and Mary's first three children were recorded in Cornwall, but not the births of the other children. The 1800 U.S. census for Cornwall credited the family with three boys under 10, one girl under 10, and one girl 10-16. The family was also enumerated in Cornwall in 1810. Several Cornwall deeds between 1789 amd 1793 indicate that Jeremiah sold portions of his twenty-five acres. In 1794, he bought thirty-four acres from Jared Ives, but sold it five months later in 1795. That deed was the last record for Jeremiah in Cornwall. His pension application file contains a statement by his uncle Jeremiah of Cornwall that he lived "here" in 1806 and his son, Aaron, stated that he died in 1813 during the late war with England.

Mary, his wife, married second, Abner Whipple, about 1820. Jeremiah's sons Reuben, Lucius and Jeremiah lived in Ontario, Canada in the late 1820, but by 1840 they had returned to the U.S. and all three lived in Knox Co IL. Son Jeremiah moved on to IA in 1845 where his mother Mary died.

*****

We are a little skeptical about Donna Bingham Munger's assertion that "[b]ased upon his date of entry into military service, he was probably born on 17 Apr 1760", since, as Munger observes, "the Norwich records [for a Bingham birth on that date] cite the name James, and not Jeremiah." It seems clear from records cited by Munger herself that James Bingham was a separate individual. We find it entirely plausible that Jeremiah was born in 1761, was an apprentice at fifteen, and ran away to join the army at approximately sixteen.

*****

Some online sites state that this Jeremiah Bingham fought in the War of 1812 as well as in the Revolution. We believe this is based on a misreading of son Aaron's 1849 statement, referred to in our entry for Jeremiah Bingham's wife Mary Ives, that Jeremiah "died during the late war with England in 1813." It seems clear that Aaron was merely noting the period of history during which his father died, not claiming that he father actually fought in that war. Most notably, after their mother's death, Aaron Bingham and his brothers Jeremiah, Joseph, and Lucius Augustus Bingham put a great deal of energy into proving their father's Revolutionary War service in order to obtain their portions of their mother's pension. If their father had also fought in the second war with England, this surely would have been mentioned in their various statements about his military history.

Jeremiah may, however, have been a recruiter during the war of 1812. Via Barbara Nielsen, we have a photocopy of a Federal Bureau of Pensions form, undated but clearly produced between 1900 and 1909, since the pre-printed date line on top of the document reads "Washington, D.C., 190__". The top of the document is a form letter aimed at persons who have written to the Bureau in search of information about an ancestor's service in the Revolution or the War of 1812, and it requests that the correspondent please fill out the form at the bottom of the page and return it. The form at the bottom has been filled out by one Perry P. Young, requesting information about the service of this Jeremiah Bingham, and in the "additional information" space, Young writes that "family tradition" says that Jeremiah Bingham was a recruiter for the war of 1812. Young also states as a matter of fact that three of Jeremiah's sons, Calvin, Perry, and Joseph, fought in that war.

Jeremiah married Mary Ives on 27 Nov 1786 in Cornwall, Addison, Vermont. Mary (daughter of Enos Ives and Anne Cook) was born on 25 Apr 1766 in Wallingford, New Haven, Connecticut; died on 15 Feb 1845 in Pottawattamie, Iowa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 25 Apr 1766, Norwich, New London, Connecticut

Notes:

On 15 Oct 1849, in Oswego County, New York, Aaron Bingham testified in open court that his father was Jeremiah Bingham who fought in the Revolution "for such a term as te entitle him to bounty land"; that this Jeremiah died in 1813; that this Jeremiah's widow (who was Aaron's mother) Mary then married Abner Whipple "about 1820"; that Abner Whipple died "in 1825 or in 1824"; that Mary died a widow on 15 Feb 1845, leaving the following married children over the age of twenty and all alive at the time of Aaron Bingham's testimony: Lucius A. Bingham, Jeremiah Bingham, Joseph Bingham, and Aaron Bingham himself. The record of Aaron Bingham's testimony also notes that the court has received a "judge's certificate" from probate court in Pottawattamie County, Iowa as proof of Mary Whipple's death. A copy of this handwritten document, annotated by Barbara Allen Crandall, was provided to us by Barbara Crandall Nielsen.

Notes:

Or Jesiah.

Josiah married Sarah Darby on 13 Sep 1797 in Harvard, Worcester, Massachusetts. Sarah (daughter of John Daby and Sarah Hopgood) was born on 7 Feb 1772 in Harvard, Worcester, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also known as Sarah (or Sally) Daby.

Notes:

The tombstone at Santa Barbara depicted on his findagrave.com page says "RICHARD THORN / DIED / JUNE 1883 / AGED 97 YEARS." Which if correct, and if this is our Richard Thorn's grave, would mean he was born in 1776, not 1786. On the other hand, his age could well have been exaggerated at his death.

Richard married Mary Anner Armstrong on 6 Sep 1806 in Clinton, Dutchess, New York. Mary (daughter of Asahel Armstrong and Elizabeth Nelson) was born on 22 Sep 1784 in Dutchess, New York; died on 7 Mar 1856 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Mary Anner Armstrong is currently the earliest-born direct ancestor of TNH for whom we have a photograph, albeit an obviously-retouched one.

Family records say she was born in "Philipstown, New York." Which is currently adjacent to Dutchess county, but in Putnam county. Was it in Dutchess county in 1784?

The metadata attached to her portrait in the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers database at the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU says: "Mary Ann Armstrong Thorn was born 22 Sept 1785 at Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York. She married Richard Thorn 6 Sept 1806 at Clinton, Dutchess, New York and was the mother of ten children. They came to Utah 9 Sept 1853 with the Captain John Bigler Company. She died 7 Mar 1856 at Salt Lake City, Utah."

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 1847, Cayuga, New York

John married Nancy Appleby. Nancy (daughter of Abraham Appleby and Sarah Travis) was born on 11 Jan 1784; died after 1850. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]