“The Ship Brooklyn Story - Volume 2”

by Richard H. Bullock

The Kittleman Family

The Kittleman family consists of the father John Kittleman, his daughter Sarah, sonGeorge, Thomas, and son William, which also includes his wife Eliza Hindman Kittleman anddaughters Elizabeth Jane and Mary Ann, sons James H. and George, twin daughters Sara Emma,and Hannah Melinda Kittleman - twelve of the Brooklyn passengers in all. According to theHawaii passenger list John Kittleman is a farmer, Sarah is a weaver, Thomas is a millwright, andWilliam is a farmer.

Almost nothing is known about John Kittleman the father. He had been born someplacein the east about 1796, probably Downington, Chester County, Pennsylvania. His wife Sarah orElizabeth Dorerty had been born about 1781, also in Pennsylvania. The circumstances of theirjoining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is unknown. His son did purchase two ofthe building lots in San Francisco and the families probably lived there a short time. He and hissons kept the Portsmouth House for a while. He made his way to Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Countyafter the S. Brannan & Co. broke up and here he died in 1857. He may have been involved withMoses Meder in the sawmill business. The author has been unable to locate any specificsregarding his death or the location of his grave.

An article in the Daily Alta California, 29 May 1868 lists a court action against DelosAshley, Jesse Carr, and Henry Rice by James Cunningham to resolve the property dispute for a50 vara lot number Two Hundred and Fifty Four that had once been owned by John Kittleman.The property in San Francisco had become very valuable by this date and many “false claims’were filed in an effort to acquire properties that had ben abandoned. Many court battles ensuedover the years. Another example was a piece of property owned by Brooklyn passenger JohnEagar. He had gone to Utah in 1848 and his brother wrote him about the property held in hisname. The value had increased to nearly $30,000 and C. C. Smith had laid claim to it in John’sabsence. John never came back to claim his land and Smith acquired the valuable piece of groundand sold it.

Sarah KittlemanSarah Kittleman had been born 22 October 1806 in West Calico Township, Lancaster

County, Pennsylvania. Nothing is known of her early life but she probably received a general1

education until she started working in the trade as a weaver in the local mills. She accompaniedher father and siblings on the Brooklyn out of a need to be near her faith and family. When shegot the Yerba Buena she sought employment and succeeded in getting a job from John H. Brownwho operated the Portsmouth Hotel. When Brown sold the hotel to Elbert P. Jones, Sarah stayedthere to work for Jones. She became involved romantically with Elbert P. Jones and he marriedSarah Kittleman 18 September 1847.

Records of Swamp Reformed (Little Cocalico) Church, 1788 - 18221

1

Old City HotelBancroft Library

Elbert P. Jones, born 23 September 1814 in Kentucky, had come overland to Californiain early 1846 and made his way to Yerba Buena. Here he found work with Samuel Brannan astemporary Editor of The California Star until Edward C. Kemble came back from his adventureswith John C. Frémont. Elbert published several articles in the Star stating his position of beingtotally neutral in his reporting. Elbert Jones and Kemble didn’t see eye to eye on many matters2

and after a fisticuffs in the street Jones lost his position as Editor. This is when he bought thePortsmouth House from John C. Brown and met Sarah Kittleman.

Jones also placed a business card advertisement in The California Star announcing hisentry into the market as a practicing attorney in conjunction with four other attorneys that werelocated in New York City, South Carolina Missouri and Kentucky. Apparently past partnersbefore he migrated to California. He was also acting as an agent for John A. Sutter in acquiring a3

threshing machine for his wheat crop....A converted tavern became the city*s first real hotel, Vioget House, in August, 1846. Its

former bartender and first proprietor, John Henry Brown, providentially opened the hotel just

before the arrival in August of eight or ten whaling vessels for a four-month stay. He almost

immediately changed its name to the Portsmouth House after Captain Montgomery*s sloop of war,

then anchored in the Bay; its sailmaker and carpenter agreed to supply the hotel*s sign if the

premises were named for his ship.

The hotel*s first registrant was a Captain Simmonds, one of the officers from the whaling

fleet. His lodgings were furnished with articles made by various ship*s carpenters who had

The California Star, Vol. 1, # 1, 9 January 1847 and #4, 30 January 18472

The California Star, Vol 1, # 7, 20 February 18473

2

previously touched port; his bed, covered with thick flannel blanketing and calico quilts, may have

been mattressed with moss from the Sandwich Islands, or perhaps it was one of four feather beds

bought from a party of Mormons who had arrived in July.

After a short time, Brown sold the Portsmouth House to Dr. Elbert Jones. Brown then

briefly operated the more elaborate City Hotel, known familiarly as Brown*s Hotel, across the

Street on the corner of Clay and Kearny in the large adobe building owned by William

Leidesdorff. When the landlord upped the annual rent to $3,000, Brown sold out. With Robert

Parker, he started a new hotel which was still under construction in May, 1848, when Leidesdorff

died. Brown and Parker, though continuing the work on their own new building, re-leased the City

Hotel from Leidesdorff*s estate. With the discovery of gold, their daily profits, including the cut

from the hotel*s gambling tables, the bar, and the rent from the stores and offices on the premises,

produced an enormous income....4

Jones placed an advertisement in The California Star outlining his new business venture:Portsmouth House,

Kept by E. P. Jones,

This establishment, having been recently enlarged to double its former size, repaired

throughout and neatly fitted up, is now prepared for the reception of boarders and transient

persons. The Table will be constantly supplied with every variety to be had in the country. To the

establishment is attached Bar and Billiard Table; the Bar will contain, as heretofore, every variety

of the best wines and liquors brought to the market. August 3, 1847.5

Azariah Smith writes of his experiences with Elbert P. Jones in a somewhat flatteringway, in that he felt well treated by Jones.

I was on my way down the river in the launch. Among my fellow passengers was a Dr.

Jones, of San Francisco, he was keeping a hotel; his wife was Mrs. Sarah Kittleman, one of the

sisters who had arrived in California in the ship “Brooklyn”. This man treated me very kindly and

invited me to make my home at his house while in San Francisco.’ - ‘ The next day I called on Dr.

Jones and as his third bar-tender had left him a few days before, and he could not find one to take

his place, he urged me very hard to assist him a day or two until he could secure a man. As he had

treated me very kindly on the boat, and thus placed me under obligations to him, I consented;

besides there were no launches going up the river for a week. But bar-tending was a new and most

disagreeable business to me, so I quit as soon as I had an opportunity. The Doctor paid me very

liberally for my labor; and having by that time arranged all my business, I took passage on the first

launch which left for the mines. It belonged to Brother Mowry, who very generously gave me my

passage free.6

Another author described Elbert P. Jones in the following manner:The first editor, Elbert P. Jones, an intemperate Southerner, had migrated overland from

Kentucky in 1846, was, besides being the second proprietor of the Portsmouth House, a practicing

attorney, a large property holder, a politician, and at one time secretary of the town council. Jones

Street was named in his honor.7

Muscatine, Doris, Old San Francisco - The Biography of a City, G. P. Putnam and Sons, New York,4

page 134-5.

The California Star, 4 December1847, Vol. 1, # 485

Journal History, 26 June 18486

Muscatine, Doris, Old San Francisco - The Biography of a City, G. P. Putnam and Sons, New York,7

page 159.

3

He ventured into the real estate speculation business, owning many fifty vara lots in SanFrancisco, became quite successful, making a small fortune. He purchased his first fifty varaproperty on 17 November 1846; twenty more lots in 1847 and another twenty-four in 1848. Hemay have been nearly as active as Samuel Brannan in San Francisco real estate. He was voted8

into the Town Council on 15 September 1847, along with five others and he performed his workdiligently, becoming responsible for the streets under construction, and even had Jones Streetnamed after him. He was also Chairman of the committee responsible for the collection of debtsdue the Town, licenses and taxes.

He and Sarah Kittleman enjoyed the arrival of a son they named Charles F. Jones on 25November 1849 in San Francisco.

An article appeared in the paper in 1891 that reminisced about the Odd Fellows inCalifornia. It mentions two of our Brooklyn passengers.

The ODD FELLOWSHIP OF CALIFORNIA – Dates its origin at a period anterior to the

gold discoveries. There was some years ago in this city a gentleman who attended the first

meetings of the order in San Francisco, then Yerba Buena, in the fall of 1847. In a paper of that

year (December 4 ) appeared a call for a meeting of Odd Fellows at the Portsmouth House, cornerth

of Kearney and Clay streets. The proprietor of the house, Dr. E. P. Jones, was mainly instrumental

in convening the assembly – a dozen members attended. It was resolved to establish a lodge, and

measures were taken to carry the resolution into effect.

One of the most active in bringing it about was Samuel Brannan of San Francisco. The

following notice in a local paper shows with what success their efforts were attended.

I. O. of O. F. Will hold their regular meetings every Monday evening at he Portsmouth

House. Brethren from abroad visiting this place are respectfully invited to unite with them. Dec.

11 .th

California Lodge No. 1, continued to flourish during the winter of 1847, until May, 1848,

when it was broken up by the stampede for the gold mines. Its officers were E. P. Jones, S.

Brannan, N. G. , V. G., John Joice, Secretary, and other old Californians, whose names are

forgotten. About thirty members were attached to it. A room was fitted up in a frame building on

Clark’s Point, and suitable regalia made. This was afterwards destroyed and the constitution and

by-laws lost in the confusion incident to the early gold scramble.9

Elbert decided to cash out his real estate holdings in 1850 and placed an advertisement inthe Sacramento Transcript stating it was the largest real estate Lottery ever held in the UnitedStates. Five hundred lots were to be auctioned off in San Francisco. Each lot includedimprovements. The lottery tickets would be $100 dollars each, with the choicest lots being heldback for the last ten tickets.. Each lot had a value ranging from $50,000 down. The drawing tookplace on the first Monday in November and was fully sold out, for a sum of $400,000.00. Thatwould be the equivalent of $16 million in today’s dollars. After the lottery took place Elbert andSarah were more than set for a life of ease.

From the Sacramento Daily Union it was reporting on the great fire in San Francisco. Dr. E. P. Jones’s house in California Street, and the two buildings above it, all of wood, escaped

narrowly. . . Jones’ Hotel was saved, contrary to the expectation of every one. The fire spread in

that direction with frightful rapidity. The buildings of Starkey Brothers & Co. were soon wrapped

San Francisco Land Titles of 1852, Schedule E Index.8

Sacramento Daily Union, 19 April 18919

4

in flames, and with two exceptions the block of fine brick buildings extending from Montgomery

street to Jones’ Hotel were consumed. The hotel is built of wood and covered with a thin zinc roof.

The flames from the surrounding buildings played over the hotel, and the heat was so great that the

cloth with which the upper stories are sealed frequently caught fire. Its safety is owing to the

extraordinary exertions of Mr. Jones and some of his inmates of the house inside, and the efforts of

the firemen, who did not ease their exertions in the least, even when it was thought by every one

that the safety of the house was impossible. The hotel was immediately re-opened, and is now

entirely full.10

Probably because of the close call in the fire, Elbert and Sarah decided to retire and travelto Charleston, South Carolina. Here he intended to practice law with Elbert’s former law partnerWilliam C. Preston. Sarah apparently left first with young Charles and nearly $100,000 in gold.She was pregnant at the time, expecting their second child. When their ship was making thejourney from Panama to Charleston, the Captain stopped at Cuba for supplies and Sarah and herson Charles got off. She delivered a baby girl in Havana that she named Elberta P. Jones, afterher husband. After recovering, she and the two children completed their journey to Charlestonand made temporary quarters until Elbert arrived from California. Elbert came after his affairswere settled in San Francisco, bringing $200,000 in gold dust with him in 1852.

Sarah Jones departed San Francisco on the ship Panama 18 February 1852 bound for

Panama.11

Elbert P. Jones had a reputation in town that indicated that most people had a dislike forhim because of his greed.

....On the north side, near Kearny St., in a two story house lived the rich and erratic Dr.

Jones, dressing like a grandee, and hoarding gold, it was said.12

Kittleman marker and burial plot atthe Magnolia Cemetery.

Photo courtesy Nancy McPhie 2012. Nancy standing inside burial plot.

Sacramento Daily Union, Vol. 1, Number #44, 8 May 1851.10

Carr, Peter E., San Francisco Passenger Departure Lists, Volume IV, The Cuban Index, Santa11

Barbara, California 1995

Bancroft, Hubert Howe, The Works - The History of California, Vol. VI, by The History Company,12

San Francisco, 1888, page 186

5

His success in real estate and otherventures left him with enough wealth that Sarahand he never had to work again. The authorcouldn’t verify that he made millions assuggested but certainly enough to care forthemselves. They purchased a fine home inCharleston, South Carolina. Elbert hadcontracted tuberculosis and after arriving at theirnew home in Charleston he died there on 1 April1852. His resting place is the MagnoliaCemetery burial grounds in Charleston, Lot 583,70 Cunningham Avenue, Charleston, SouthCarolina.

Sarah moved to West Chester, Pennsylvania with her children after Elbert died. Here shewould be near her brothers Thomas and George Kittleman. She later moved back to Charlestonand married a man named Lewis but there is no record of any children by him. She died 16February 1869 in Charleston and is buried in the Magnolia Cemetery next to Elbert under thename of Sarah J. Lewis, her marker just says Sarah J.. Elberta P. Jones and Charles moved inwith their aunt Angeline Kittleman after their mother died and are shown on the 1870 census,having considerable wealth between them - over $200,000. Elberta must have married before the1880 census as she can not be located under her maiden name. Sarah’s son Charles F. Jones isburied in the Magnolia Cemetery also, having died 10 November 1897 in Chester CountyPennsylvania. The author located a Transit Permit dated 12 November 1897 moving his remainsfrom West Chester to Charleston, South Carolina. The Permit indicated he had died ofconsumption.

Magnolia Cemetery, Charlestown, SC

6

Magnificent 20+ foot monument marks the grave of Sarah Kittleman Jones, Elbert P. Jonesand their son Charles F. Jones. Magnolia Burial Grounds, Lot 538 at 70 CunninghamAvenue, Charleston, SC.

Sarah Kittleman marker on monument at the Magnolia CemeteryCourtesy of Nancy McPhie 2012

7

A nice tribute was placed on the large headstone that reads:E. Greble, Phila, Lee Archt. (The designer and fabricator of the headstone.)A tribute of affection to a beloved husband

Elbert P. JonesBorn in Kentucky Sept. 23, 1814Died in Charleston South CarolinaHe had been a resident for the last six years of San Francisco CA“I know thou hast where thy forehead is star’d with the beauty that dwelt in thy soulWhere the big light of thy loveliness cannot be marred.Nor thy heart be flung from its goal, in thy far away dwelling were ever it be, I believethou hast visions of mine and thy love that made all things a blessing to meI yet have not learned to resign”

To our sonCharles F. Jones November 25, 1849 – November 10, 1897

To our MotherSarah J.Relict of Elbert P. JonesDied Feb. 16, 1869age 51

8

George KittlemanVery little is known about

George. He had been born in 1812 inDownington, Chester County,Pennsylvania to John and SarahKittleman. He accompanied the rest ofthe family aboard the Brooklyn andsettled in Yerba Buena. Georgepurchased a fifty vara lot on 4 March1847, Lot # 222. A tavern was builtthere called “The Rising Sun.” There is no evidence in the list of those in the “Gold Train” thatGeorge came to Salt Lake with the rest of his family. He returned to the East as he is located onthe 1860 census living in West Goshen, Chester County, Pennsylvania with his sister Sarah Jonesand next door to his brother Thomas Kittleman. He is also shown as having died, under the nameof Kitselman, on 28 July 1860 and is buried in the Oakland’s Cemetery on Route 100, WestChester, Pennsylvania at location D-21.

Oaklands Cemetery Views

9

Thomas KittlemanThomas had been born in 1819 to John Kittleman and his wife Sarah at Downington,

Chester County, Pennsylvania. He received a modest education as a young man and entered intoan apprenticeship while a late teen. He became a master millwright before they sailed from NewYork City and that is the trade he practiced in California. He met Angeline M. Lovett while onboard the Brooklyn and they were married by Samuel Brannan on 19 December 1847. He hadpurchased a fifty vara Lot for them to build on the day before on 18 December 1847. Some say13

this may have been the last official ordinance performed by Samuel Brannan before his apostasyand excommunication. Here is what young Edward C. Kemble, editor of The California Star,wrote about the marriage ceremony:

Mr. Thomas Kittleman married Angelina Lovett, all of this place. Here is what our devil

thought of the matter, after assisting us to dispose of a bountiful share of the cake.:

The angel line of Love, here we find

A Kittleman to Love it, half inclined,

He woos and wins him one, as he can,

Ah! The name, she will not love it, but the man.14

A cute play of words on the part of the editor.They had their first child just before leaving California and they named her Mary A.

Kittleman.The young couple came to Salt Lake Valley in the fall of 1849 as part of the “Gold Train”

and made their home near the Old Fort, where Angeline taught school for a time. She andThomas were likely unhappy with the practice of polygamy and the family left Utah about 1855,along with his brothers William and his family, and older brother George. They traveled to theiroriginal home in West Goshen, Chester County, Pennsylvania and appear on the 1860 census.Here Angeline gave birth to two more daughters, Anna A. Kittleman in 1856 and JosephineKittleman in 1858. Thomas took up the trade of farmer and invited his sister Sarah Jones to movenext to them after her husband Elbert P. Jones died in 1852. On the 1860 census the family isshown entirely along with two servants. A record is show for the death of a Thomas Kitzelman 7December 1862. Buried in the Oakland’s Cemetery, Route 100, West Chester, Chester,Pennsylvania in location D-21.

After the death of Sarah Jones her children moved in with Angelina making a householdof Angeline, Mary A., Anna A, Josephine Kittleman, Charles A, and Elberta P. Jones, along withthree servants. Angelina M. Kittleman died of pneumonia 26 September 1876 and she is buriedby her husband and brother at location D-24/23. By the time of the 1880 census Anna A. hadmarried a man by the name of Lewis Hayden from Upper Canada and she invited her sister MaryA. to live with them. Anna had also given birth to a little girl they named Rose Hayden in 1879.

William Kittleman and Eliza Hindman KittlemanWilliam had been born to John Kittleman and his wife Sarah 1 February 1807 in

Downington, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Little is known about his early childhood inPennsylvania. He married Eliza Hindman about 1830 in Downington. Eliza Hindman is the

San Francisco Land Titles of 1852, Schedule E Index.13

The California Star, Vol. 1, #5114

10

daughter of James Hindman and Rachel Hood of Chester County and she had been born 14January 1811 in Chester County. Again we know little of her early history.

In 1838 William was working for a railroad company. One day he was preparing to eat

lunch and two Mormon Elders came and talked to him. They had not eaten, so he shared his lunch

with them. They asked if they might call at his home and hold a cottage meeting. He told them they

would be most welcome, and that he would like to invite his parents and some of his friends. His

friends told their friends and the word spread, and several came to hear the message from the

Elders. That evening they convened grandfather and grandmother (John and Sarah), their sons,

Thomas, George and William and his family. They soon met the Prophet Joseph Smith, and

brother Hyrum, whom they invited into their home. After that many meetings were held there, and

many more converts joined them.15

William and Eliza had a strong interest in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsand were visited by William I. Appleby as the following entry shows:

27 January 1844. Walked to Downington, about 8 miles – two or three of the Saints from

Youngsville accompanied me. Preached to the Saints there in the afternoon at Br. W. Kittleman’s.

[Downington, Pennsylvania]16

If the missionaries were using William and Eliza’s home as a place to preach they musthave been in good standing at the time, especially if Joseph and Hyrum Smith had visited theirhome.

William and Eliza had the following children: Elizabeth Jane, born 26 May 1831 atDownington, Chester County, Pennsylvania; Mary Ann Kittleman, born 8 December 1833 atPhiladelphia; James H. Kittleman, born in 1839 in Pennsylvania; George Kittleman, born about1841 in Downington; and identical twin girls Sara Emma Kittleman and Hannah MelindaKittleman, born 20 September 1845 in Downington.

One thing to note about the twins on the journey is their experience in Hawaii.During the ship Brooklyn layover in Honolulu, several natives came aboard and when

they saw the 9-month old Kittleman twin girls, Sally and Hannah, they were delighted and

immediately wanted permission to take them ashore and show them to their Queen. The request

was granted, but after they had been gone more than two hours, the mother Eliza became alarmed.

The ship’s crew organized a posse and were ready to start the search when two young native girls

came running toward the ship with the infants. They brought numerous gifts from the Queen for

their mother.17

After their arrival at Yerba Buena the Kittleman girls were paid a compliment by the menof the Portsmouth by way of the sailors apparent observation of the young girls among theMormons. This quote also contains an interesting description of the men that were beingrecruited to fight with Frémont in the south.

Certain it is that had the service allowed of it, and our stay had been prolonged much

longer, some of the most susceptible of ours would have been seduced from their duty and joined

Gertsch, Audrey, THE STORY OF THE “SHIP BROOKLYN” - Some Went by Water, unpublished15

typescript provided to author by Audrey Gertsch 10 July 2000.

Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, MS 15183, Autobiography and Journal16

of William I. Appleby 1846-1856

Bullock, Richard H., and Jones, Lu Markham, Ship Brooklyn Passengers - Grave Site Location17

Project, Ship Brooklyn Association, 2006

11

‘giblets’ with some of these Yankee Mormons. Oh, the Misses Kittleman’s, and Misses Robbins

and Miss Petch have many a sore heart to answer for, to say nothing, of the destruction among the

hearts of some reefers, made by the Eagar family. ‘No importe,’ we are clear of you now, and

perhaps it is better for all hands, for had matrimony ensued from any of those flirtations, somebody

would have been made unhappy for life.

Thus much for matters on shore. On board all was hurry and bustle from morn till night:

we had received our orders from the Commodore to enlist all the emigrants who should come over

this year to serve as volunteers for 3 months at $25 per month, and boats were despatched every

day up the Sacramento, to bring them down to the General rendezvous as fast as they were

enrolled. And they did come down, and such a mass was never seen before by mortal man. They

were literally the rag tag and bobtail of all Creation. Here they came, some with coats and some no

coats—some with deer skin trousers and some with awful looking things in the shape of trousers,

some with moccasins, some with Boots, some with shoes, and a great majority with no covering to

their feet. In one thing however they were uniform: they had good rifles and shocking Bad Hats.

They had all come across the mountains, and could blow awful strong wind about the way they

could shoot, and what they could do to the Mexicans.18

William and Eliza built and operated a boarding house in San Francisco at the corner ofBush and Montgomery Streets where they made their living caring for travelers and a fewpermanent boarders.

William Kittleman and his family went to the gold mines in May 1848 and probably weredigging in the vicinity of Salmon Falls. Salmon Falls had been located on the banks of the SouthFork of the American River, at the mouth of Sweetwater Creek in el Dorado County. The area isgenerally now under water as part of Folsom Lake. Early in 1849 very rich diggings had beendiscovered by the Mormons at Higgins Point, just below the town, named after the first person tosettle in the area.

William felt sympathy for the needs of the Church in Salt Lake Valley and when CharlesC. Rich came through the gold mining area asking for tithing William gladly gave his share.

On the 2nd [October] Rich ... then proceeded to Salmon Falls where he stayed with

Ebenezer Hanks, and collected $150 in tithing from Francis M. Pomeroy and William Peacock.

On October 5th they received $353.50 in tithing from Jeptha Condit, James Oakley, William

Kittleman, and James Seaton.19

William gathered enough gold to purchase the needed supplies for his family to travel tothe Salt Lake Valley, and at some point the entire family sold all their properties in San Franciscoand joined the rest of the Saints in Salt Lake. They traveled with the group known as the “GoldTrain” arriving in Salt Lake in the fall of 1849. They spent the winter at the Old Fort in SaltLake and then ended up settling in the Centerville, Utah area. Here William purchased land for afarm and spent the rest of his life, dying in 1855, leaving a widow and the six children.

Judson Stoddard was appointed administrator of William Kittleman’s Estate, James

Downey, Joseph T. Cruise of the Portsmouth, 1845-1847,” edited by Lamar, Howard, Yale18

University Library, New Haven, Connecticut, 1958, page 154

Davies, J. Kenneth, Mormon Gold - The Story of California’s Mormon Argonauts, Olympus19

Publishing Company, Salt Lake City, UT, 84105, 1984, page 266

12

Brinkerhoff and William R. Smith were chosen as appraisers.20

Eliza continued living on the farm in Centerville, finished raising her family and helpingto build the community. She remained active in Church affairs the rest of her life and she passedaway on 5 November 1885. Her obituary reads:

KITTLEMAN – In Centerville, Davis County, November 5 , 1885, of old age andth

general debility, Eliza Kittleman, aged 74 years; born Chester county Pennsylvania; went to

California in the ship Brooklyn in 1846; came to Salt Lake City in 1849; moved to Centerville in

the fall of 1851; where she remained until her death. She was a kind and affectionate parent, and a

good friend, and died in full fellowship in the Church.21

The cemetery sexton in Centerville said both William and Eliza are buried there but theyhave no record card for the burial locations.

Elizabeth Jane KittlemanElizabeth Jane had been born 26 May 1831 at Downington, Chester County, Pennsylvania

and had only reached the age of fourteen when she sailed with her family and grandparents forYerba Buena. She probably helped to care for the younger children on the voyage, especially hertwins sisters. After arriving at Yerba Buena she helped her mother in the struggle for daily livingduring those early days of hunger by searching out roots and herbs that the family could eat.

When the Mormon Battalion men were mustered out of service on 17 July 1847 at LosAngeles, a veteran Private of Company B, by the name of Henry Simon Dolten, later changed toDalton, walked north to San Francisco with many of his companions, a distance of some fourhundred miles. Soon after he arrived there he took a room at the Kittleman boarding house andhere he spotted a young fifteen year old girl of striking beauty. He asked her name and shereplied Elizabeth Jane Kittleman. He next asked her father for permission to court the younggirl. William gave his permission and Henry fell head over heals in love with this little beauty. They were married 12 March 1848, a rainy evening in San Francisco - the same day themembers of the ex-Battalion met to make plans for traveling to Salt Lake City.

Henry Simon Dolten had been born 3 April 1827 at Shinango, Broom County, New Yorkto parents Henry Dolten and Elizabeth E. Green. He had mustered in with the MormonBattalion on 17 July 1846 and made the march to San Diego, a distance of over 2,000 miles,where he mustered out on 16 July 1847.

They left San Francisco in May and went to Mormon Island where Elizabeth panned goldalongside her husband, even though she had become pregnant. When the weather turned coldthey traveled back to San Francisco to spend the winter months.

Their first child, a boy, arrived on 16 December 1848 at San Francisco and they namedhim John George Dalton, after his grandfather and uncle. The family decided to travel to Utahwith the rest of the family and they left Sacramento on 14 July 1849 with the Thomas RhoadesCompany - also known as the Gold Train, arriving in Salt Lake City in October. They spent thefirst winter at Old Fort and then purchased land near the rest of the Kittleman’s in Centerville. Here their next child arrived on 5 May 1851, a girl they named Sarah Elizabeth Dalton after her

Sheriff, Marilyn, and Smoot, Mary Ellen, The City In-Between - The History of Centerville, Utah,20

Carr Printing Company, Bountiful, Utah, 1975, page 110.

Deseret News, December 23, 1885, page 78421

13

great-grandmother and mother. Next to arrive, also a girl, on 3 May 1853 received the name ofEliza Jane Dalton, after her grandmother. The fourth child, born 17 June 1855, a boy, receivedthe name of William Henry Dalton. The last child, their fifth, arrived on 2 February 1859 andgot the name of Mary Maria Dalton. All but the first child had been born in Centerville, DavisCounty, Utah.

Between the fourth and fifth child the family traveled to Carson Valley, Nevada, to helpsettle the area but only stayed until 1857 when they again returned to their home in Centerville. They must have been fairly wealthy from the gold rush days as they had two servants that camewith them from California and in the 1860 census they had an eighteen year old servant namedWilliam Leow living with the family. He may have been a hired hand but the census showedhim as being a servant. Henry took part in community activities and helped when called.

In 1861 Henry Stoddard and George D. Chase were appointed administrators of the Isaac

Chase estate. Henry Dalton and Zacheus Cheney were appointed as appraisers.22

They always remembered the Mormon Battalion that Henry had marched with and hetook part in all their celebrations. This one in 1870 is described in the Deseret News:

The surviving members of Zion’s Camp and the ‘Mormon Battalion’ and a few invited

guests met at the Social Hall at 3 o’clock. Dinner was served at 4 p.m., and it was nearly 9 o’clock

before the three hundred and fifty three persons who partook of the meal were finished. The First

Presidency and the Twelve Apostles were present, and Presidents Joseph Young, Sen., and George

A. Smith addressed the veterans. The members of Zion’s Camp who were present were called out

on the floor and their names recorded. Afterwards the members of the Battalion were mustered,

and those who answered the roll call included: H.S. Dalton, Z. Cheney, H. W. Brizzee and Isaac

Harrison. ‘Though crowded there was a universal spirit of enjoyment in the party. - Dinner was

excellent and was served in fine style.’23

Henry Simon Dalton lived until 10 November 1886. His body is laid to rest in theCenterville Cemetery where the headstone shows his original named of Dolten. His wifeElizabeth Jane lived another thirty-one years as a widow in Centerville. She took joy in herfamily, neighbors and Church and especially the Relief Society. She finally passed away on 13December 1917 at Centerville. Her obituaries read as follows:

Mrs. Elizabeth Dalton, Aged Pioneer Dies

Centerville - Dec. 14 – Mrs. Elizabeth Dalton, widow of H. S. Dalton, died Thursday at

her home here, where she has lived since 1850. The funeral will take place in the Centerville

Chapel Monday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m.24

Died

Mrs. Elizabeth K. Dalton – At the age of 86, Mrs. Elizabeth K. Dalton, widow of Henry

S. Dalton, died at her home. The funeral service will be held Monday at 2 p.m. in the Centerville

ward chapel.25

Her remains were laid to rest beside her husband in the Centerville City Cemetery in Plat

Sheriff, Marilyn, and Smoot, Mary Ellen, The City In-Between - The History of Centerville, Utah,22

Carr Printing Company, Bountiful, Utah, 1975, page 111.

Deseret Evening News, 11 October 1870.23

Ibid, 14 December 1917, Friday24

Deseret News, Saturday, Dec. 15, 191725

14

A, Block 17, Lot 5, Space 7, Centerville, Davis County, Utah.

Henry Simon Dalton

15

Centerville City Cemetery Plat A, Block 17, Lot 5, Space 7Photo by Author

Mary Ann KittlemanMary Ann Kittleman is the second born of William and Eliza Hindman Kittleman and had

been born 8 December 1833 at Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She had reached the ageof thirteen when she boarded the Brooklyn and helped take care of the tiny twins sisters. Shemigrated to Salt Lake Valley with her family in 1849 and witnessed the difficult journey overlandfrom California to Utah by way of the Carson Pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains and theHumboldt River through Nevada.

She had been living in Salt Lake City and then Centerville when she met John Leavitt inabout 1855. John felt struck by her youthful beauty and courted her for some time before sheagreed to marry him. They were married about 1856 when he would have been twenty-nine andshe would have been about twenty three. John and Mary Ann made their home in Ogden, WeberCounty, Utah where all their children were born.

John Leavitt had been born on 18 March 1827 at Hatley, Stansta, Quebec, Canada toparents Nathaniel Leavitt and Deborah Delano. Deborah Delano’s family had originated inEngland and they had fled to Holland because of religious persecution. President Franklin DelanoRoosevelt is also from this line. Nathaniel Leavitt’s family line came also from England andsettled in Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Nathaniel moved over the border intoCanada in about 1819 and then as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had beenintroduced into Quebec over fifty-two of the Leavitt related family moved from Canada andheaded for Kirtland, Ohio. John Leavitt and the rest of the Leavitt family next migrated toNauvoo and then on to Salt Lake valley with the John Tidwell wagon train. The Leavitt family

16

name has become influential in Utah over the years, with one of them, Michael Okerlund Leavitt,becoming first, Utah’s fourteenth Governor since Statehood and then, U.S. Secretary of Healthand Human Services as of this writing.

John and Mary Ann had seven children born to them in Ogden, all of whom grew toadulthood and had families of their own. The first child born to this couple is Mary Ann Leavitton 5 September 1857 followed by Eliza Deborah Leavitt, 23 December 1859; John WilliamLeavitt, 10 September 1862; Nathaniel James Leavitt, 23 December 1865; George Henry Leavitt,8 April 1870; Charles Lyman Leavitt, 8 January 1873; and Eugene Leavitt on 30 August 1877.

They made their home in Weber County near John’s brother Nathaniel Leavitt Jr. andtheir sister Flavilla. John apparently became an educator in the District for we read this from1861:

There was a celebration held in Weber County on this date where all the school children,

between six and seven hundred, dressed in their Sunday attire and marched in procession through

the city to a beautiful box elder grove on the Weber River. The celebration was to show the

educators and principals how successful the teachers had been with educating the pupils. The pupils

from the first three school districts were led by John Leavitt.26

In later years John became a Court Clerk in Farmington, as a lengthy child custody proceeding took place beginning in March 1864 and took ten months to resolve. He recorded theproceedings. He also took part in the eradication of an infestation of grasshoppers.

Elder Arthur Stayner wrote the following from Farmington: ‘Being determined not to give

up our attempts to destroy the ‘destroyers,’ [grasshoppers] on Wednesday last we held a mass

meeting in Farmington of men, women and children, and after having come to a unanimity of

feeling on the necessity of our laboring to preserve our bread, organized our forces with Bro.

Thomas S. Smith as commander-in-chief, the Bishop and his council as aides-de-camp, Bros. Job

Welling, Philander Brown and John Leavitt as captains of fifty; and on Thursday morning at 6:30

o’clock, Farmington on legs marched to the field of battle, full of determination and fight, and left

nobody in the town but one ‘Gentile,’ a funeral party, and the tax collector. The first day was spent

in cleaning out our water ditches, and turning in and surrounding our fields of grain, with, running

streams of water as much as possible. The next day was spent in digging ditches about two feet

wide and two and a half deep, in the midst of shoals of ‘hoppers,’ and driving them on both sides

into the ditches, then dealing with them as seemed unto us good. We also used straw in some

places; and in others the children ran about in pairs, holding between them sacks with the mouths

distended by a willow in a circular shape, and did a great deal of execution. Two smart boys would

catch half a peck in ten minutes. On Saturday we continued the above, and also caught a great

many in the water with baskets. We destroyed a great many bushels in this way. We find plenty of

ways to kill; all that is needed is the energy and perseverance to do it. We do not know whether we

can kill all that come, so as to be able to save our crops; but we most assuredly intend to try.’27

John continued living in the area and doing what work he could to support the communityand his family. He had been assigned to serve on the Committee of Celebrations for the July 4th

event held in Farmington in 1868 and by June of 1869 he had been engaged in helping to build theUtah Central Rail Road. John later obtained employment as a conductor on the Rail Road. TheLeavitt’s moved back to Ogden and remained there the rest of their lives, with John Leavittpassing on 1 August 1899 and being buried in the Ogden City Cemetery. His wife Mary Ann

Journal History, 30 September 186126

Ibid, 18 May 186827

17

Kittleman Leavitt lived another thirteen years, enjoying her many grandchildren and delighting inthe successes of her children. She died on 6 June 1912 in Ogden, Weber County, Utah, andreceived her burial in the Ogden City Cemetery at Plat F, Block 1, Lot 3, next to her husbandJohn. She had no headstone for many years until one of her descendants had one placed on thegrave in 2001.

James H. KittlemanJames Kittleman had been born in 1839 in Pennsylvania to William Kittleman and Eliza

Hindman Kittleman. He had only reached the age of seven when the Brooklyn sailed from NewYork City. He had an adventurous childhood in San Francisco and in the lively gold fields ofMormon Island and vicinity. He then came with his family on the “Gold Train” of ThomasRhoades that brought so much wealth to the Salt Lake Valley in 1849.

After living in Centerville, Davis, Utah for a few years he became restless to be on his ownand ended up settling in Bullion City, Piute, Utah in 1869 where he filed a mining claim alongwith Jacob Hess.

1868: First mining location filed in Piute County, located by Jacob Hess 23 March 1868

and filed for record 7 September 1868: ‘Golden Curry Lead or Lode located in Ohio District North

of Virginia City and running 3000 feet north west from north in the Curry Canyon. One hundred

feet from the Curry dump pile south. Claiming all privileges granted by the United States Mining

laws.’ Claimants include James Kittleman, claiming 100 feet.28

James held the property that he called the Daniel Webster, until 17 August 1871 when he sold hisinterests to John Sevenoaks of Salt Lake City and William H. Searz of San Francisco for OneThousand Dollars, ($1000.00). He sold his building to Jacob Hess of Piute County for Twenty-five dollars ($25.00). James apparently hadn’t lost his love of mining as we next find that on 23March 1872 he purchased another claim in the Ohio Mining District from Miles Durkee for TwoHundred-Fifty, ( $250.00), he also bought a building lot in Bullion City from Jacob Hess foranother Twenty-five dollars ($25.00). He also made three purchases of claims from PeterKaufman in the Jesse Freeman lead, the Daniel Webster lead, and Lady Gay lead. EventuallyJames Kittleman sold all his mining claims in the various districts and lodes and settled down tobecome a rancher.

He filed for one-hundred twenty acres under the homestead act, and full ownership finallycame from the President of the United States after James’ death. He had also filed for anadditional forty acres under what is called preemption land. Thus with one hundred sixty acres ofland he began his ranching career. His land is located near the mouth of Circleville canyon andnext to the Max Parker family. This Max Parker family is the same whose son is Leroy Parker, orbetter known as Butch Cassidy!

Parshall, Ardis, Historian for Piute County, Utah. Furnished to author May 2002:28

18

This is the cabin James Kittleman lived and died in near Circleville, UT. Cabin is now gone.View is looking North. Photo by Author 2003

Same cabin looking West. Sleeping quarters were on the right in a lean-to attached room.Photo by Author 2003

19

James Kittleman seemed to be doing well in the ranching business according to theinventory of animals he owned when he died. His death in January 1897 has become a mystery oflocal legend and embellishment over the years. The news article that Ardis Parshall quoted to theauthor reads:

An Excruciating Death

Flames Kill James Kittleman

An Old Rancher Near Circleville Burned in His Cabin

Suspicious Circumstances

On the night of Thursday, Jan. 21st, James Kittleman, a bachelor ranchman who lived at

the mouth of Circle Valley about four miles south of the hamlet of Circleville in Piute County and

fifty-five miles south of Richfield, received injuries from the burning of his clothing that resulted in

his death on Sunday morning, Jan. 24th. Deceased was a wealthy dealer in livestock and was about

sixty years old. Soon after the tragedy, Max Parker, a neighbor, drove down to Monroe, the nearest

telegraph station, to wire the news to Kittleman’s relatives living in Centerville, Davis county.

From them no answer has been received in person or by wire or mail. To the operator, Mrs. N.J.

Bates, Parker related substantially the story printed below:

On the ranch was a good house which Kittleman had leased to Marvin Dalton, a man of

family, retaining a part of the dwelling for his own use. Kittleman and Dalton quarreled about this

room and the former left the residence and went to his camp house a few yards away.

Kittleman was a heavy drinker at times. He was in the habit occasionally of buying ten

gallons of whisky, taking it home alone and remaining in a state of intoxication two or three weeks

until the sprits were all gone. He was drunk on the night of Jan. 21st.

On that night a little boy who had been in the camp house with Kittleman, left about ten

o’clock and fastened the door on the outside. Later Dalton came from his dwelling and found

Kittleman lying outside the camp house his coat and vest on fire and his breast and arms frightfully

burned. Kittleman had been unable to escape by the door and had so torn nailed boards from the

window which proved his means of egress. All over the floor straw was strewn to the depth of six

inches but none of it was burned; neither was the bed upon which Kittleman was last seen reclining.

Dalton carried the victim back into the camp house, stripped him and tossed his clothing

into the fire that was burning on the hearth. Then Dalton left the injured man alone and went home.

Later William Applegate came to the camp house and found Kittleman in fearful agony, his intense

suffering making his mutterings unintelligible. His clothing was still smouldering in the fire place

where Dalton had thrown it.

Parker stated that when Dalton was disrobing Kittleman the latter said: ‘Don’t pour any

more grease on me.’ Dalton’s answer, according to Parker, was: ‘You d----d fool, who’s pouring

grease on you? There’s no grease on you except what is frying out of you.’

Among the intelligible things Kittleman was heard to say shortly before death was: ‘It is

pretty bad to be forced out of my own house and then burned up.’

Deceased was buried without the preliminary formality of a coroner’s inquest.(RA)29

I have done extensive research on this incident and have driven to Circleville and the PiuteCounty records office twice. It is a strange tale that many remember and those that should do not. I will examine some of the details that are described in the news article.

The “good house” described in the article was standing along the side of Highway 89 fourmiles south of Circleville proper. The log cabin was well built and many had offered to buy it andremove it to some other location, but the present owner had refused to sell. In examining the log

Richfield Advocate, 3 February 1897. Courtesy of Ardis Parshall29

20

cabin it had a door in the middle that faces south, looking toward Kittleman’s fields, a couple ofcrude windows, what used to be a fireplace or cast iron stove in the west side wall with a chimneyor stove pipe coming out the roof. An opening on the north side opened into an attached sleepingquarters. An irrigation ditch is just outside the north side of the sleeping room and a breakdownof the ditch bank would allow the entire cabin to be flooded.

Apparently Kittleman had agreed to let Dalton use the sleeping room, but on a cold nightKittleman had argued that he wanted to use the bed instead of the floor or the stables outside. Kittleman gave up on the argument and went to the stables about one hundred yards south of thehouse. These stables still stand.

Stables on James Kittleman property, south of his cabin. Still standing in 2011. Photo byAuthor

21

The news article says that Kittleman frequently bought whiskey in ten gallon barrels andhad been drunk the night of the incident. In researching all the records of what Kittleman left inthe way of debts to be paid. The author could find no reference of his purchase of a large amountof whiskey. I do find that he had purchased a small amount the day of the incident, but it wouldnot have been enough to make him intoxicated as inferred in the article.

In the Matter of the Estate }

of } Bill of Peacock & Kesler

James Kittleman, deceased } Filed Aug. 2, 1897 W. H. Luke -

Clerk

In the District Court of the Sixth Judicial Dist.

State of Utah,

County of Piute

In the matter of the Estate of James Kittleman, Peacock & Kesler humbly presents their

claim against the above named estate, Thomas C. Smith, administrator, as follows at wit:

Jan. 20, 1897 to ½ pint whiskey 40 cents

Jan. 21, 1897 to 1 pint whiskey 75 cents

Jan. 21, 1897 to 1 pint whiskey 75 cents

Jan. 22, 1897 to 1 pint Brandy $1.00

Jan. 23, 1897 to 1 pint whiskey 75 cents

For Medical purposes Total $3.65

Peacock & Kesler whose foregoing claim is herewith presented to Thomas C. Smith,

administrator of said estate being duly sworn, say that the above amount thereof to wit the sum of

Three and 65/100 dollars is justly due to said claimants, that no payment has been made thereon

which are not credited and there are no offsets or counter claims to the same to the knowledge of

said claimants.

Peacock & Kesler

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 18 day of June 1897.th

Gilbert R. Beebe

Notary Public

The entire bill is allowed this 2 day of August 1897nd

T. C. Smith

Administrator

Approved Aug. 2 , 1897nd

Wm. M. McCarty

Judge.30

If the burning took place on the 21 and James laid on his death bed, who purchased morest

brandy and whiskey on the 22 and 23 ? There were two other general stores in Circleville andnd rd

their records for all of 1896 were presented as Court documents, but they showed no purchases ofalcohol of any type. In fact the only items shown as being purchased in 1897 were the items thatwere used for his casket and burial preparations.

Dalton tells the story of a little boy that had been at the house and had left at 10 .p.m.,locking Kittleman in the house. Didn’t the article say earlier that Dalton and Kittleman had anargument and that Kittleman had left? How did he get outside, catch on fire, and then had been

Documents obtained by the author from the Sixth District Court, County of Piute, Junction, Utah.30

Obtained in October 2002

22

found by Dalton. Why had the little boy never been identified or called to testify in court? I thinkthe argument continued outside and that Dalton threw hot grease on Kittleman and set fire to him. Dalton then panicked and dragged Kittleman back to the cabin, took off his burning clothes, threwthem into the fireplace or hearth. The neighbor Max Parker must have heard the argument orseen the fire as he apparently is present when Dalton removed the burning clothes. The Parkerresidence is only a short distance to the west from the Kittleman cabin. Parker heard Kittlemansay “Don’t pour any more grease on me,” and Dalton’s response of “You d—d fool, who’spouring grease on you? There’s no grease on you except what is frying out of you.”

James Kittleman remained on his bed for three more days under the care of Thomas M.Dobson and James Applegate before he finally died. Dobson stayed another two days getting thebody and casket ready for burial as Dobson filed a claim against the estate of James Kittleman for$7.50 for caring for James. During this time is when James Kittleman uttered the words “It ispretty bad to be forced out of my own house and then burned up.”

While James lay suffering his last few days on earth his neighbor Max Parker rode hishorse to Monroe, Utah - the closest town with a telegraph - and wired the Kittleman family inCenterville about the accident. He heard no immediate response so he returned to Circleville andhis family. He also charged the estate for his time, seems like just about everyone that couldcharged the estate for some thing or other. James had not been a wealthy man as the articleimplied, in fact the entire estate appraised at about $1,498.15, which is what T. C. Smith, theAdministrator received when he agreed to be executor.

Thomas Thomas had dug the grave for the burial of James and charged the estate only$3.00 for his work. Thomas picked out a place on the Kittleman Ranch and James’ body andcasket were laid to rest about 26 January 1897 at a location near the mouth of Circleville Canyon,but now cannot be located. The author visited the area in the fall of 2000 and could find noevidence of a grave. I visited the cabin, now being restored, of Max Parker, James’ next doorneighbor. There are some local legends floating around about a special area near the Parker cabinwhere the ground is not to be disturbed. The legend infers that Butch Cassidy may be buriedthere, perhaps it is James Kittleman? There is also a legend that Butch Cassidy had beenpurchasing fresh horses from James Kittleman over the years. There is no proof of this at all, butJames did own a total of some sixty-seven head of horses - forty-nine of whom were located inKane County under lease to O. B. Foremaster.

The Kittleman family engaged a prosecutor from Piute County by the name of Samuel L.Page to file formal murder charges against Marvin B. Dalton and seek justice for the death of theirbrother. This action occurred on 26 August 1897. The charges read:

In the District Court of the Sixth Judicial District of the State of Utah, Piute County

August Term 1897

State of Utah }

vs. }

Marvin B. Dalton }

Marvin B. Dalton the said defendant is accused by the Grand Jury of this Court, in and for

said County of Piute, State of Utah, by this indictment of the crime of murder committed as follows:

The said Marvin B. Dalton did, on the twentieth day of January A.D. one thousand eight hundred

and ninety-seven in the County of Piute in the State of Utah, then and there feloniously, willfully,

deliberately, premeditatedly, and with malice aforethought kill and murder one James Kittleman, by

then and there, feloniously, willfully, deliberately, premeditatedly and with malice aforethought

23

setting fire to and causing to be burned and consumed the clothing and other inflammable materials,

then and there being on and upon the body of the said James Kittleman, inflicting thereby, and by

means of the flames thereof upon the said James Kittleman, on his breast, neck, arms and other parts

of his body, divers mortal burns, sores and wounds, of which said mortal burns, sores and wounds

the said James Kittleman thence continually languished until on the twenty-fifth day of January A.D.

one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven he then died: and as so the said Marvin B. Dalton did

in manner and form aforesaid feloniously, wilfully, deliberately, premeditatedly and with malice of

aforethought kill and murder the said James Kittleman contrary to the form of the statute in such

case made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the State of Utah

John Mc Edwards

Foreman of the Grand Jury

Samuel L. Page

County Prosecuting Attorney

By Chas. W. Jones

Assistant County and Prosecuting Attorney

Names of Witnesses examined before the Grand Jury on finding the foregoing indictment.

James Applegate, Thomas Dobson, Dr. J. J. Steiner, Jesse Applegate, E. J. Tollin, Bert

Hall, William May, John Goulding, S. P. Anderson, and J. H. Fox31

The same day friends and relatives of Marvin B. Dalton arranged to bail him out of jail. Thisreads:

State of Utah Sixth Judicial District Court, County of Piute

The State of Utah

vs.

Marvin B. Dalton

Crime Charged – Murder

Indictment filed August 26, 1897

W. H. Luke

Clerk

State of Utah }

vs. } Bail Bond - Pending Examination

Marvin Dalton }

Defendant Marvin Dalton having been brought before Mr. Joseph Meeks, a Justice of the

Peace of the Circleville Precinct of Piute County, State of Utah having been arrested on a warrant

received from the District Court of the Sixth Judicial District of the State of Utah and charged with

the crime of murder was admitted to Bail in the sum of Five Thousand Dollars.

Now, Therefore, we, J. E. Whittaker $1,000; M. C. Dalton $1,000; Edgar Fullmer $750; F.

P. Fullmer $750; M. P. Dalton $1,000; and Myron Dalton $500, do hereby undertake and promise

that the above named Marvin Dalton defendant will appear and answer the charge above mentioned

before the said Justice, or in whatever Court it may be presented, and at all time hold himself

amenable to the orders and process of said Justice’s Court, and, if held for trial will appear and

render himself in execution of said orders and process and not depart without leave, or until

discharge according to law; or if he fail to perform either of the conditions, we will pay to the State

Documents obtained from the Utah State Archive files for the Sixth Judicial Court. The case was31

identified as No. 30 in the record but many pages are missing from the microfilm. A few cases later there was a

criminal case brought against the Court Clerk for destroying records in his possession. These destroyed records

probably included the details of the Kittleman case as well as others. In talking with a local historian she indicated

that she had never been able to find out the details either because of the missing pages of transcript, but there was a

rumor floating around that James Kittleman had been selling horses to the Butch Cassidy gang. Kittleman lived next

door ( 1/4 mile) to the Parker ranch.

24

of Utah, in lawful money of the United States the sum of Five Thousand Dollars.

Signed: M. D. Dalton, Myron Dalton, J. C. Whittaker, Edgar Fullmer,

M.C. Dalton, F. P. Fullmer

Executed and acknowledged before me, and approved, this 31 day of August A.D. 1897st

Joseph Meeks

Justice of the Peace32

Over the next year there were many witnesses who were called to testify for and againstMarvin Dalton and the courts continued to try and find an answer to the murder charges. Finally atrial by jury, held 19 October 1898. The results were:

In the District Court of the Sixth Judicial District, County of Piute, State of Utah

State of Utah }

Plaintiff }

vs. } Verdict

Marvin B. Dalton }

Defendant }

We the Jury empaneled in the above entitled cause find the defendant not guilty of the

crime charged in the indictment.

David W. Stoker

Foreman

Dated 19 October 1898

[There is no explanation as to why the case continued on for over a year in the written

records]33

The family felt terrible disappointment that justice had not been served in the death oftheir beloved brother. They had spent most of what they might have received from the estate onthe prosecution of the case to no avail. The belongings and property of James had been sold overa period of months and his ranch property, some 150 acres were sold as well. From this, after allthe expenses and fees were deducted, the family received a distribution of less than a thousanddollars. So much for being a man of wealth. The final decree reads:

In the District court of the Sixth Judicial District, County of Piute, State of Utah.

In the Matter of the Estate of }

James Kittleman, Deceased } Decree of Distribution of Estate.

Thomas C. Smith, administrator of the Estate of James Kittleman deceased, having on 7

day of May 1900 filed in this Court his petition setting forth among other matters, that his accounts

have been finally settled and said Estate in a condition to be closed and that a portion of said Estate

remains to be divided among the heirs of said deceased, said matter coming on regularly to be heard

this 26 day of May 1900, and the said Thomas C. Smith, the said administrator appearing byth

Gilbert R. Beebe counsel, this Court proceeded to the hearing of said petition and it appearing to the

satisfaction of this Court that the residue of said estate consisting of the property hereinafter

particularly described is now ready for distribution and that said estate is now in a condition to be

closed.

That the balance of said estate is personal property consisting of money. That the said

James Kittleman died intestate on the 24 day of January 1897 at Circleville, Piute County, Utah,th

having real and personal property.

The sum of five dollars has been expended by said administrator as necessary expenses of

administration, the voucher whereof together with receipts are now presented and filed and the

Ibid32

Ibid33

25

payments are approved by his Court; and that the estimated expenses of closing said Estate will

amount to the sum of five dollars.

That the said heirs entitled to a distribution of the residue of said estate are fully set out

herein and consist of a brother and three sisters of said deceased and the heirs to Sarah E. Miller,

deceased, a sister of the deceased herein.

Now on the 26 day of May, 1900, on Motion of Gilbert R. Beebe Esq., counsel for said

administrator

It is hereby ordered, adjudged and decreed that the residue of said Estate of James

Kittleman deceased, hereinafter particularly described and now remaining in the hands of said

administrator and any other property not known or discovered which may belong to the said estate

or in which the said estate may have any interest be and all the same is hereby distributed as follows

to wit:

To George Kittleman $170.92; to Elizabeth K. Dalton $170.92; to Hannah Kittleman

$170.92; to Mary Ann Levett $170.92; to William K. Miller $34.18; to James W. Miller $34.18; to

Mary C. Miller $34.18; to Arthur L. Miller $34.18; to Fredric C. Miller $34.18.

The following is a particular description of the said residue of said Estate referred to in the

decree, and of which distribution is ordered, adjudged and decreed as aforesaid to wit:

The sum of $854.59 in money,

Done in Chambers this 26 day of May, 1900

Wm. McCarty, Judge34

George KittlemanGeorge Kittleman had been born in 1841 at Downington, Chester County, Pennsylvania to

William and Eliza Kittleman. He had only reached the age of five when the Brooklyn sailed forYerba Buena. Undoubtedly his older sisters Elizabeth and Mary Ann helped care for him and seethat he kept out of trouble while aboard the ship. He must have also enjoyed looking in thewindows and doors of the saloons in San Francisco at all the pretty lights and hear all the noise ofthe gamblers.

He had been named after his uncle George, and like his uncle he never married. Heprobably lived with his mother in Centerville, Davis, Utah and when his father William died in1855 he stayed with his mother and operated the farm. He lived until 27 October 1902 when hepassed away in Centerville. He is buried in the Centerville City Cemetery and the cemeteryconfirms his burial but they don’t have a burial location for his body and the author could notlocate a headstone for him in the entire cemetery.

Sara Emma (Sally) KittlemanSara is an identical twin to her sister Hannah Melinda and had only reached the age of four

months when the Brooklyn sailed. She and her sister were born 20 September 1845 atDownington, Chester County, Pennsylvania. She had a wonderful adventure while the shipBrooklyn lay at anchor in Honolulu.

During the Ship Brooklyn layover in Honolulu, several natives came aboard and when

they saw the 9-month old Kittleman twin girls, Sally and Hannah, they were delighted and

immediately wanted permission to take them ashore and show them to their Queen. The request was

granted, but after they had been gone more than two hours, the mother Eliza became alarmed. The

ship’s crew organized a posse and were ready to start the search when two young native girls came

running toward the ship with the infants. They brought numerous gifts from the Queen for their

FHL Film 484613 Minutes of District Court, Sixth Judicial District Court, Junction, Piute County,34

Utah.

26

mother.35

After reaching Yerba Buena the twin girls were kept close to home under the watchful eyeof their mother Eliza. She traveled with the “Gold Train” to Salt Lake City and then went withher family to live in Centerville, Davis County, Utah. She grew into young womanhood and feltattracted to a young man named James Wilson Miller who had traveled overland from the East. They courted for a time and were married in the Endowment House on 3 September 1868.

James Wilson Miller had been born 13 November 1842 in New York and migrated toNauvoo with his parents and then on to Great Salt Lake, arriving there in 1850 at age of eight. James is the son of Frederick Miller and Mary Mason Miller. They made their home in what hadthen been called the Weber River Valley, or Ogden where their first child William Miller hadbeen born in October of 1869. The 1880 census shows them living in Centerville, Davis, Utah. By this time they had additional children of James, born 1873; Leslie, also a son, born 1875 and adaughter named Mary that had been born in 1877. The 1890 census is lost and the 1900 censusshows James Miller living as a boarder in Sugarhouse, Salt Lake, Utah. In the intervening yearsJames’ sweet and faithful wife Sara had died on 26 July 1892 and the children had apparentlygrown and were on their own.

Sara Emma (Sally) Kittleman Miller had been buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery buther remains were removed and re-buried in the Centerville City Cemetery, Platt A, Block 16, Lot5, Space 7 at Centerville, Davis, Utah. Her home had been located at the area currently just westof the Family History Library and on the same block, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

James W. Miller re-married a woman named Martha Ray. They are shown on the 1910census in Salt Lake City and have two children, Mabel E. Miller, age 2, and a son named JosephWilson Miller age five months. James continued living until 16 March 1935 when he died at theage of ninety-two. He is buried next to his first wife Sara in the Centerville City Cemetery at A-16-5-5.

Hannah Melinda KittlemanHannah Melinda is the twin sister to Sara Emma, having been also born on 20 September

1845. For some reason Hannah never married in her lifetime and spent most of her time with hermother, father and brother George. During her life she acquired the nickname of “Pinky.” Shemay have been a school teacher at one time and she died in Salt Lake City on 8 June 1919 at theage of seventy-four. Her remains are buried in the Centerville Cemetery but the sexton has norecord of the location and the author could not locate a headstone.

Bullock, Richard H., & Jones, Lucretia Markham, Ship Brooklyn Passengers - Grave Location35

Project, unpublished manuscript, Ship Brooklyn Association, 2006

27

28