Mayor of the Month ~ October 2010 ~ George Christensen ~ He served as Mayor 1900 - 1902

John Carter ~ Mayor of the Month ~ September 2010. He served 1885 - 1887

Among the original pioneers of Sanpete County, were the following men, some being accompanied by their families: Isaac Morley, Seth Taft, Charles Shumway, D. B. Huntington, Barney Ward, John Lowry Sr., Titus Billings, C. W. Bradley, Albert Petty, C. S. Cox, Albert Smith, Jereel Shoemaker, Cyrenus H. Taylor, Azariah Smith, Abraham Washburn, John D. Chase, Isaac Chase, Sylvester Hewlett, Wm. Potter, Gardner Potter, James Brown, Joseph Allen, Madison D. Hambleton, Wm. Richie, Harri­son Fugate, Sylvester Wilcox, Gad Yale, John Carter, Isaac Be­hunin, Wm. Mendenhall, Edwin Whiting, Wm. Tubbe, John Hart, John Baker, John Elmer, John Butterfield, Amos Gustin, John Cable, and W. K. Smith.

Mt. Pleasant History by Hilda Madsen Longsdorf p 16

C.N. Lund ~ Mayor of the Month ~ August 2010

 

John H. Seely, Mayor of the Month ~ July 2010

John H. Seely was born in San Bernardino, California on April 29, 1855.  He was the son of Justus W. and Clarissa.  The family moved to Mt. Pleasant in 1859, where he was educated and grew up a farmer.



At the age of 21 he had nothing and made a start at hauling mine timbers in Bingham.  He secured about 3,800 sheep on shares and at the end of three years had about 10,000 head.  He also raised cattle, hogs, thoroughbred Scotch collie dogs and Plymouth Rock chickens.  He also raised grain and hay.



He was a stockholder in the Mt. Pleasant Roller Mill Company, the Electric Light Company and Wool and Live Stock Commission Company.  He owned a sawmill in the canyon and a planing mill in the city.  A member of the A.O.U.W. and a member of the city council for six years.  He served as Mayor of Mt. Pleasant from 1900 to 1902.



He married Margaret, daughter of Peter M. and Christina Folkman Peel, born in Lehi on March 1, 1858.  They were married in Salt Lake City January 15, 1880 and had eight children:  Ethel, Zella, Earl, John, Leonard, Arbretia, Lucretia and Chesley.



John Seely died on July 31, 1920 at Fish Lake.



Additional Information ~ excerpts from Seely Family History



He was not born rich, though his parents were not poor, but they were pioneers, coming to Mt. Pleasant in 1859 when John was only 4 years old, and he grew up in a pioneer community with all its limitations, its primitiveness but also its opportunities.  That he realized these opportunities, that he made good use of them by applying his strength and his talents that God had given him to the best of his ability is to his credit and that he used the means thus acquired by his honest efforts not only for his own good but for the benefit of his fellow men, his community, state and church that is his everlasting honor.

~~~

He was well and favorably known as a breeder of pure bred livestock, especially Rambouillet sheep and Shorthorn cattle, a farmer and also prominent in business and public affairs, holding many offices of trust and responsibility during his active and useful life.

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As a pioneer in the livestock line he originated, not merely initiated, his methods and the means he employed were his own, but he had no monopoly on them and there were plenty of others who profited by following the paths he had made.



When he went into the sheep business, first he took the old Mt. Pleasant Co-op herd on shares.  His contracts in those days called for payments in kind, not in money; so many pounds of wool per head and so many lambs per hundred sheep per year.  By the way, that old sheep account book is in existence yet and will be kept as a relic.  That kind of contract was good as far as they went.  But, of course, the sheep that he took on shares in those far off times were nothing like the sheep of our days. 

~~~

 In the meantime he bred up his share sheep until he had  a couple of well graded herds of his own, which enabled him to quit the shares business and go on his own hook entirely.



And last but not least, this man was a Mormon.  Yes born and raised and died a Mormon, never ashamed of it, no matter where he went.  And like all good Mormons, he performed a mission, only his was different, he did not go to foreign lands and spend a couple of year or so to preach the Gospel.  The mission that the Lord had evidently chosen for him wa at home: to build up the country, to develop and increase its resources, to spread its fame as a fair and goodly place.



His life work is done, but his spirit lives on, and we that knew him here, live in hope that we may see him again, and so we say to him in faith and all sincerity ....Au Revoir until Eternity.



This was written by Will C. Clos, Personal Secretary to Mr. Seely for over 20 years.



Submitted by his grandson, Edwin M.G. Seely

Mayor of the Month ~ June 2010 ~ Ferdinand Ericksen

Ferdinand Ericksen, son of Lars and  Stena, was born in Mt.  Pleasant, September 30, 1863.  He attended the district schools and took a two year course at B.Y. Academy at Provo.

He taught school for four years in Mt. Pleasant and then entered the Ann Arbor Law College, studying one year.  He was admitted to the bar of Michigan, June 5, 1890 and opened an office in Mt. Pleasant.


He was elected County Prosecuting Attorney in August, 1890 and County Collector in 1892.  In 1897 he was elected mayorl.  He was cashier of the Mt. Pleasant Bank from January 1893 to July 1895, and was a member of the board of directors.  He also had an interest in the Ericksen Meat and Grocery Company.


In 1894, he was elected Major of the National Guard of Utah, and in 1896 was appointed Judge Advocate, with the rank of Major, on Brigadier-General Willard Young's staff.  He was appointed a school trustee in 1896, to fill a vacancy, and in 1897 was elected to that position.

Addendum

He was one of the influential persons to bring about the construction of the Pioneer Monument that stands in front of the Carnegie Library today.



His Speech

"Judge Ferdinand Ericksen, in his presentation speech, gave a brief history of all that had been done by the committees and the source of obtaining the necessary funds for the erection of the monument on the beautiful spot on which it stands, and thanked the ecclesiastical authorities for the privilege of locating it there without cost or consideration for an indefinite period of time. He explained in brief, the inscriptions upon the Monument, the names of the persons inscribed, he said, being representative of many nationalities, and among them were names of noted scholars.. musicians, artists, teachers, etc. Men who would, because of their skill and ability, have achieved distinction in any community. He stated in brief that this determined band of fearless and God-fear¬ing men, together with their wives, who shared their labors and who had come here under most adverse conditions; he said that the now vast rich fields with growing crops, were then covered with sage brush, and that the roads, bridges and canals were yet to be constructed, the churches and temples of learning had not then even been planned. The Opera Houses and Amusement houses were unknown. In fact, there were none of the attractions, or features of civilization to induce those pioneers to come, but on the contrary, the existing conditions at that time were such as to discourage."

"Not only were the elements to be subdued and the arid soil made to produce a livelihood, but the roving and uncivilized Indians had to be met and conquered. In conclusion he stated that it was indeed fitting that we perpetuate the names and deeds d such worthy ancestors, and that this was the underlying and controlling thought and desire in erecting the Memorial. He said that he took great pleasure in performing the duties his commission imposed, and presented the Monument to the community in behalf of all those who had in any manner aided in its construction, to honor of all the pioneers, both men and women, who settled in Mt. Pleasant, as a memorial of the esteem in which the pioneers who had made the present Mt. Pleasant possible, were held."

from Mt. Pleasant History pp 188-189; Hilda Madsen Longsdorf
He died on April 20, 1927 in Salt Lake City.
He married Clementina Marion Morrison in December of 1885, a daughter of William and Mary Margaret Farquhar Morrison. New Family Search shows them to be the parents of three children, Clementina Beatrice, William, and Clementina Marian.  His wife, Clementina died while giving birth to Clementina Marian.

He was also a partner to Henry Ericksen in the Ericksen Meat and Grocery for short time.  Henry was a brother-in-law.  Ferdinand had a law office on the second floor of the grocery business.


"In 1898, during the time Ferdinand Ericksen was mayor of the city, the city purchased the north brick schoolhouse, (the now mortuary) corner First North and First West, and in due time, after remodeling it, placing in a heating plant, vaults and cells, suitable furniture, etc.,it became an up-to-date and creditable city hall, and was the first real home the Mt. Pleasant city council had ever known.

The north Public Square was cleared of the brush and burrs, and trees and grass were planted for a city park".  from Mt. Pleasant History pp 179-180 by Hilda Madsen Longsdorf

Picture taken at the dedication of the Mt. Pleasant Pioneer Monument

N. S. Neilson ~~~ Mayor of the Month ~~~May 2010

N.S. Neilson, son of Neils and Beuta Swenson, was born in Sweden, September 5, 1848.  In 1868 he came to Ut5ah with a sister, Hannah, locating in Moroni, where he engaged in farming, mining and railroading.



Aout 1869 he moved to Mt. Pleasant, and in 1872 became a stockholder in the Sanpete County Co-op Store.  In 1877 he engaged in the cattle business in a small way.  He started in the sheep business in 1883.  When the Mt. Pleasant Commercial and Savings Bank was organized, he became one of the largest stockholders and was elected president.  He also carried a small stock of agricultural implements and conducted a meat market for several years.



He was a stockholder in the Electric Light Companyh, had stock in both the roller mills, being president of the Mt. Pleasant mill.  He was a member of the city council for two terms and elected mayor in 1895.  He was a member of the I.O.O.F.



He married Beuta, daughter of Neils and Karn Neilson in Mt. Pleasant on October 3, 1883.  She was born in Sweden, June 5, 1860.  They were the parents of three children:  Irene, Beatrice, and Adie.

Abram Johnson - - - Pioneer of the Month of April 2010