The Wives and Crimes of Gilbert Clyde Beebe

The story of someone’s history may often be titled “The Life and Times of …,” but I am titling the story of Gilber Clyde Beebe “The Wives and Crimes of …” since Gilbert was married to multiple wives and was sent to prison for multiple crimes.

Gilbert Clyde Beebe is a very distant relative, since I believe he was married only briefly to my first cousin two generations removed, Florence Iona Carlston. However, I have a fondness for investigative reporting, so when I discovered another criminal in my family history, no matter how distant, I felt compelled to research it. Hence, my research into the wives and crimes of Gilbert Clyde Beebe.

Determining Who Was Who in the Story

Florence Iona Carlston, was the granddaughter of my second great grandparents, Johann Friedrich Fechser and Ida Christina Johnson. Florence, the third of nine children born to Josephine Fechser and her husband, Franklin Ernal Carlston, was born on December 31, 1897, in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah. She was married to Raymond A. Larson on April 24, 1924, in Salt Lake City. They were divorced shortly after the birth of their third child. At the time of the 1940 census, she was living with her parents in Salt Lake City, and their children were living with their father in McCammock, Bannock County, Idaho. At the time of her death on September 20, 1945, she was married to Frank A. Jones.

The three oldest surviving daughters of Franklin and Josephine Carlston in about 1900. Left to right: Florence Iona, Tressa Edith, and Josie Mae. Another sister, Ethel R., had died as an infant. Three more sisters, Affa Leora, Melba Louise, and Alta, and two brothers, Glenn Franklin and Jay R., were not yet born.

I have not yet been able to find any additional information about her last husband, Frank A. Jones, but while I was searching for more information about him, I discovered another marriage sandwiched between the other two. An item in the Salt Lake Telegram on July 31, 1940, page 19, showed a marriage license issued to Gilbert C. Beebe, 46, and Florence Ione Carlston Larsen, 41, both of Salt Lake; and the Utah Select Marriage Index documented a marriage between Florence Iona Carlston Larsen and Gilbert C. Beebe on July 30, 1940.

My search for Gilbert C. Beebe came up with newspaper articles about two different events: a Gilbert C. Beebe who was convicted of a brutal rape in 1926, and a Gilbert Clyde Beebe who was convicted of robbery in 1939. My next step was to determine whether these were the same person. Then, once it was decided that they were the same person, I needed to determine whether this was the Gilbert C. Beebe who was married to Florence Carlston.

Parole records following the 1939 conviction mentioned that Gilbert Clyde Beebe was the brother of the Piute County Sheriff Carl G. Beebe. That would indicate that Gilbert Clyde Beebe was the son of George Martin Beebe and Lilly Mae Crow. The Gilbert C. Beebe who was convicted in 1926 had a wife and three daughters. In the 1930 United States Federal Census, we can see Gilbert C. Beebe’s wife, who had been granted a divorce in 1928, living with her new husband and two of those daughters who had taken the new husband’s last name. The oldest daughter, however, can be seen living in the household of George and Lilly Beebe, listed as a granddaughter and using the last name Beebe. This would indicate that the Gilbert C. Beebe who was convicted in 1926 was the same person as the Gilbert Clyde Beebe who was convicted in 1939.

Before I made this connection, I was doubting that they were the same person, mostly because the article about the sentencing in the Deseret News on March 25, 1939, page 9, indicated that the judge in the 1939 robbery conviction “in view of Beebe’s past record … would be inclined to recommend leniency to the State Board of Pardons.” This would seem unlikely after Gilbert’s 1926 rape conviction. I have decided that either the judge was unaware of that record, or perhaps the newspaper reporters may have used the words “inclined to” when they really meant “inclined against.”

I could not find any documentation to prove that this Gilbert Clyde Beebe was the same Gilbert C. Beebe who married Florence Carlston in 1941, but circumstantial evidence seems to indicate that he might have been. I could not find evidence of any other Gilbert C. Beebe of the appropriate age and in the same area at the time. There is a discrepancy in Gilbert’s actual age (38) and the age given in the newspaper item about the marriage (46), but this could also be attributed to a misprint in the newspaper and would not absolutely rule out this being the same person.

The Wives and Crimes of Gilbert Clyde Beebe

Gilbert Clyde Beebe, the seventh of ten children born to George Martin Beebe and Lilly Mae Crow, was born December 30, 1901, in Circleville, Piute, Utah. The first five children in the family died quite young, so Gilbert was actually the second of the five children who survived past their twenties.

Ada Mansor

Although she was never married to Gilbert, Ada Mansor was the mother of Glbert Clyde Beebe’s first daughter, when Gilbert was just sixteen years old. Ada died on February 7, 1922, from complications following an operation for appendicitis a week prior. Their daughter was adopted into a local family whose last name she adopted for the rest of her life.

Elizabeth Goulding

Gilbert Clyde Beebe married Elizabeth Goulding on April 5, 1820. They had three daughters together, born in 1921, 1923, and 1926. Elizabeth was granted a divorce from Gilbert on January 18, 1928, in Salt Lake City. She remarried in December of that year and had two additional children with her new husband. She died on August 23, 1992, in Bountiful, Davis County, Utah.

1926 Rape Conviction

On October 9, 1926, Gilbert C. Beebe was sentenced in the Third Judicial District Court in Salt Lake County by Judge Chris Mathison. He had been convicted of the criminal assault of a 24-year-old girl. According to the case presented by the district attorney, E.A. Rogers, Gilbert and his co-defendant, Alvin Mecham, met two girls at a dance and took them for a drive in an automobile. There is no mention of what happened to the other girl, but the victim of the assault was said to have been attacked by both men. Mecham knelt on her arms and placed his hands over her mouth to keep her from resisting or crying out. The girl bit Mecham’s hand, at which point he beat her in the face, knocking her unconscious and causing severe injuries.

This headline from “The Sale Lake Tribune” on October 10, 1926, page 24, highlights the fact that the judge ignored the district attorney’s recommendation of life in prison.

Beebe’s defense seemed to be that Mecham had initiated the attack, that it was Mecham and not he who beat the girl and knelt on her arms, that the girl had not resisted his advances on the dance floor or later in the car and “was willing to go to the limit except to the point of extreme immorality,” and that the girl had taken a drink of liquor while in the car.

The judge sentenced Beebe to an indeterminate sentence in the State Prison, recommending to the Board of Pardons that he serve at least fifteen years. The district attorney made a separate recommendation to the Board of Pardons that he be kept in the State Prison for the rest of his life.

Gilbert was denied parole in 1927, 1928, and 1929. His parole was granted in August 1930. I have determined this date from an item in the Salt Lake Tribune, January 23, 1934, page 9, concerning the termination of his parole, stating that he was on parole at the time and had served three years, ten months.

Una Armanita Heaps

Gilbert Clyde Beebe married Una Armanita Heaps on March 30, 1931, in Tooele, Tooele County, Utah. They had two daughters together, born in 1932 and about 1937. They were divorced shortly after the birth of their second daughter, at which time she remarried. She divorced her second husband after less than three years, and was married two additional times before she died in March 1990.

1939 Robbery Conviction.

On March 25, 1939, Gilbert Clyde Beebe was sentenced in the Third Judicial District Court in Salt Lake County by Judge P.C. Evans. He had been convicted on a charge of robbery. Gilbert and his co-defendant, Martin Romero, were accused of taking W.E. Bettinson into an alley, slugging him, and robbing him of ten dollars.

Beebe maintained his innocence and claimed the prosecution was due to animosity over the fact that his brother, Piute County Deputy Sheriff Carl George Beebe, had arrested the alleged victim’s son several times.

The judge sentenced Beebe to an indeterminate sentence in the State Prison. An article about his sentencing in the Deseret News on March 25, 1939, said the judge “advised the pair that in view of Beebe’s past record, the court would be inclined to recommend leniency to the State Board of Pardons.” It is hard to imagine that the judge would not have seen Beebe’s previous conviction for rape, so I am assuming this was a misstatement by the newspaper.

Beebe was paroled effective July 21, 1941, after serving two years, three months. It was understood at his parole hearing that his brother, Piute County Sheriff Carl G. Beebe, would assist him in finding employment as a barber.

Florence Iona Carlston

I don’t have any absolute confirmation that Gilber Clyde Beebe was the same Clyde C. Beebe who married Florence Iona Carlston on July 30, 1940, in Salt Lake City, merely one week after his parole, but I believe the evidence makes it possible. Florence had been previously married to Raymond A. Larsen, which whom she had two sons and one daughter.

Florence and Gilbert seem to have divorced prior to 1942. Florence appears in the 1942 Salt Lake City Directory living under her maiden name at the same address as her parents. Gilbert’s World War II Draft Registration card gives his employer, Ray Peterson of Ray’s Barber Shop, as the person who would always know his address, and does not mention a wife.

Florence went on to marry Frank A. Jones, and she died on September 20, 1945, in Salt Lake City.

Helen Van Wagoner

Gilbert Clyde Beebe married Helen Van Wagoner on December 7, 1944, in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. Helen had been previously married and divorced, and had one daughter.

An item in the Los Angeles Times on May 3, 1950, page 20, shows their divorce being granted there at that time.

Helen died on December 29, 1966, in Salt Lake City. Her obituary mentions her marriage to Gilbert without mentioning their divorce, and it lists his daughters as her step-daughters.

Another Elizabeth?

Finally, there was a newspaper item carried in both the Deseret News, May 10, 1946, page 25, and The Salt Lake Tribune, April 14, 1946, page 8B, showing a divorce granted to “Elizabeth Beebe from Gilbert C. Beebe, conviction of felony. Plaintiff awarded custody of minor children, $40 per month alimony and support money.” This is very confusing, because Gilbert Clyde Beebe was still married to Helen Van Wagoner at that time, but it makes me wonder whether there was another wife named Elizabeth and another felony conviction. Most likely, the newspapers were accidentally given a record of his 1928 divorce that got mixed in with the contemporary divorce records. I could find no records of another Gilbert C. Beebe of the right age in the area at that time, nor any records of a marriage between a Gilbert C. Beebe and an Elizabeth other than that to his first wife, Elizabeth Goulding.

The End of the Story

Gilbert C. Beebe seemed to spend the remainder of his days living sometimes in Utah, sometimes in California, and sometimes in Nevada. He died in December 1976 and is buried in Henderson, Clark County, Nevada. The Social Security Death Index shows his last known address as San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, and his last benefit having been sent to him in Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada.

The saddest part of this story is the effect these kinds of events can have on the children involved. Although most of his children went on to live fairly normal lives, his oldest daughter from his first wife seems to have had some troubling times. She had gone to live with Gilbert’s parents after his rape conviction and subsequent divorce, and probably had more contact with Gilbert than the other daughters did. Perhaps she lacked a strong paternal figure to help her learn to make good choices in male partners. By the time she was twenty-two years old she had already been married four times, and she had a total of six husbands during her lifetime. Her fourth husband was convicted of polygamy, as he was already married to two other women at the time he married her.

It seems to me that someone who lives a life like Gilbert’s not only hurts his victims, but his actions also affect nearly everyone else in his life. It is not my judgment to make, but the district attorney in his original rape trial was probably right, and Gilbert probably should have stayed in prison for the remainder of his life. One has to wonder how he wound up on parole less than four years after committing such a horrific crime.

Romance Interrupted: Ida and Jep

[Update March 30, 2020: This narrative has been amended to change the names of Johann Friedrich Fechser’s second and third wives. The reasoning for this change can be found in “Elizabeth and Cathrine Amalie.”]

As I was growing up, my paternal grandparents used to tell what seemed to be a rather romantic story about my second-great-grandfather, Johann Friedrich Fechser, and how long he had to wait to marry the girl he loved. According to the story they told, Johann had a girl he wanted to marry, but the church leaders told him he first needed to marry an older widow who needed support, and that when he could afford a second wife he could marry the girl he wanted. Then, when he could finally afford a second wife, they told him he needed to marry a second older widow who also needed support, and he wasn’t allowed to finally marry his first choice until his third wife.

That may be an endearing tale, but when I researched this branch of the family, I discovered that this is not exactly how it happened.

The Wives of Johann Friedrich Fechser

Johann Friedrich Fechser had six wives that I know of, but there may have possibly been more. These six are all documented in some way, and are probably the only ones, but some family histories say there might have been more. I will enumerate these six wives one at a time here.

Rosina Frederica Keyser

Johann Friedrich Fechser married his first wife, Rosina Frederica Keyser, in 1850 in Hamburg, Germany, before travelling to the United States. They had a son in Hamburg who died as an infant. After coming to the United States, they had a daughter born to them in Saint Louis, Missouri. During their overland journey to Utah, both the wife and the daughter died, and Johann Friedrich arrived in Salt Lake City alone.

Cathrine Amalie Borresen

Johann Friedrich Fechser married his second wife, Cathrine Amalie Borresen, in 1855 in Salt Lake City. Cathrine, also known as Trine, was from Denmark, and had been widowed on the journey to Utah. She had one surviving daughter at the time she married Johann. Neither Trine nor her daughter can be found on the 1860 census. Trine can be seen living with Johann in the 1870, 1880, and 1900 census records. She died in 1902.

Elizabeth Rasmussen

Johann Friedrich Fechser married his third wife, Elizabeth Rasmussen, also from Denmark, in 1857 in Salt Lake City. She is said to have been widowed, but I could not find any information about her first husband or any children they might have had. Johann and Elizabeth had two daughters. Elizabeth can be seen living with Johann in the 1860, 1870, and 1880 census records. She died in 1888.

Ida Christina Johnson

Johann Friedrich Fechser married his fourth wife, Ida Christina Johnson, from Norway, in 1864 in Salt Lake City, and she is the main subect of this story. They were living in Mount Pleasant, Utah, at the time, but they traveled to Salt Lake in order to be married in the temple. They had thirteen children together, at least ten of whom survived to adulthood (the only record of their youngest daughter is in the 1900 census, so it is not known what happened to her; she must have either died or gotten married prior to the 1910 census). Ida can be seen living with Johann in the 1870, 1880, and 1900 census records. Widowed in 1908, she was living with her daughter Ella in the 1910 census; in the 1920 census she was living alone; and in the 1830 census she was living with her daughter Elizabeth and her family. She died in 1931.

Anna Katherina Hafen

Johann Friedrich Fechser married his fifth wife, Anna Katherina Hafen, in 1867 in Salt Lake City. She had arrived from Switzerland the year before with her eleven-year-old daughter. Johann and Anna had one daughter who died very young. Anna and her daughter cannot be found in the 1870 census, but Anna can be seen living with Johann in the 1880 and 1900 census records. She cannot be found in the 1910 census. She died in 1914.

Benta Nielson

Johann Friedrich married his sixth wife, Benta Nielson, from Sweden, at some time between 1880 and 1900. Benta was widowed first in 1864, from Andrew Johnson, and for the second time in 1873, from Andrew Peterson. In the 1880 census, her name is listed as Benta Peterson, and her marital status is listed as widowed. In the 1900 census, her name is listed as Benta Fechser, and her marital status is listed as married. She died in 1908 and is buried in a plot in the Mount Pleasant City Cemetery along with three of Johann’s children and one of his granchildren.

The Story of Johann and Ida’s Marriage

Ida Christina Johnson was born August 13, 1846, in Risør, Norway, to Christopher Johnson and Maren Evenson. She was the second of eight children in the family. In 1857, the Johnson family is recorded as leaving the state church of Norway as dissenters. At some time during this period, they joined the Mormon church and made plans to sail to America and settle in Utah. According to an autobiographical sketch by Ida, the family sailed to Quebec, Canada, in 1860, where they lived until 1863. In 1863, they travelled in the John F. Sanders Company, leaving Florence, Nebraska, on July 6, and arriving in Salt Lake City on September 5.

By the time Ida arrived in Utah, Johann Friedrich Fechser was already married to two wives, so the story about him not being able to marry the woman of this choice the first two times did not seem to work. Futhermore, Ida was twenty-one years younger than Johann Friedrich, and was not even a teenager when he married his other two wives, so that also contradicts the story of two young lovers being unable to marry when they wanted. I needed to find out more about this relationship.

Memories of Ida C. Johnson Fechser, written by Ida’s granddaughter Ina Fechser, relates stories that Ida told her children and grandchildren. One of the stories repeated in that memoir tells of Ida falling in love with a young man who had been sent by Brigham Young to help guide the immigrant company headed for Utah. When they reached Utah, the young man was sent back to help guide another company of immigrants, and they planned to reunite when he was finished with that task. Before he was able to return, however, Johann Friedrich Fechser decided he wanted a younger wife, and he was fond of Ida, who sometimes came to Johann’s flour mill with her father, so he asked her father for her hand in marriage. Ida’s father felt that he owed Johann, who had helped them through their poverty during their first year in Utah, and agreed. Ida did not want to marry Johann, but obeyed her father and got married. Later, the young man she had fallen in love with returned from guiding the other company of immigrants across the plains, and learned of her marriage. According to her, he threw up both of his hands in sorrow and surprise and grief. Ida grew to love her new family, but constantly related this sad experience to her children and grandchildren.

Ida and Jep in their later years. Were they young lovers separated by Ida’s marriage to Johann Fechser?

Who Was That Young Man?

There was no mention of the young man’s name in the memoir, so I wanted to do more research to determine who he might have been. I cannot say that I have solved the mystery, but I think I have a pretty good case for who he was.

My first clue to the identity of the young man came from the journal of Lars Christiansen Nielsen, who was another immigrant in the John F. Sanders Company. Lars wrote, “On July 6, we began our journey over the desert in John F. Sanders Company. They were from Sanpete. Our wagon master was Jep Sumager from Manti. He was a very fine young man, he was so good to the children. On mornings when I walked ahead with my two oldest sons, Peder and Jens Christian, to entertain them a little Jep would say ‘You can let them sit by the side of the trail and I’ll pick them up to help in the wagon.’”

Jep Sumager didn’t seem to be a name that matched an actual person of the time, so I began searching for names that were similar, and I finally came up with Jeptha Shomaker, who had arrived in Utah with his parents in 1847.

Jeptha (sometimes spelled Jephtha) Shomaker (sometimes spelled Shoemaker), was born July 25, 1838, in Adams County, Illinois, to Jezreel Shomaker and Nancy Golden, the fifth of nine children. His parents had moved to Illinois from Kentucky about 1828, where they homesteaded and owned one of the largest farms in the Adams County. They gave up everything in 1847, when they joined the Mormon church and journeyed to Salt Lake City in the Charles C. Rich Company. They were among the first pioneers to settle in Manti, Sanpete County, Utah, in 1849, where they built a stone house and raised sheep for wool.

According to a history written by Jeptha’s granddaughter, Alice Larson Day, Jeptha went back more than once to help lead other immigrants to Utah: “Several years later, Jephtha went back to Winter Quarters for more of the Saints. This company was comprised of all Danish people, and they had quite a time making each other understand what they were talking about. He enjoyed the trip immensely. He sent his team back again, and on the trip one of his oxen died.” This leads to the conclusion that he was the wagonmaster from Manti mentioned in Lars Christiansen Nielen’s journal, and that he might possibly be the young man Ida fell in love with during her journey to Utah.

After returning from helping the other immigrant companies, Jeptha settled in Manti, where he was a farmer. He served for six months in the Utah Territory Militia before marrying Ann Marie Bailey, an immigrant from England, on October 2, 1867, in Manti. In 1881, they were among the first pioneers to settle in Ferron, Emery County, Utah. They had eight children together. Jeptha died March 1, 1893, in Ferron. His wife died a little more than a year later on July 6, 1894.

Conclusions

The first conclusion that can be drawn from this story is that family tales that have been passed down might not always be accurate. More study needs to be done before anything can be accepted as fact. The story passed down by my grandparents was not entirely accurate, and the story that I am telling here is still a mere conjecture and also might not be accurate.

Although it starts with sadness, this story does have a happy ending. Ida and Jep, after being forced to go their separate ways, each raised a large happy family. Nevertheless, we have to appreciate the tragedy of two young lovers being forced by family to separate. It reminds me of Romeo and Juliet, or Tony and Maria, a love that was meant to be but could never reach fruition.

The Indictment of Frederick Fechser

[Update March 30, 2020: This narrative has been amended to change the names of Johann Friedrich Fechser’s second and third wives. The reasoning for this change can be found in “Elizabeth and Cathrine Amalie.”]

Since all of my ancestors in the second half of the 1800s were Utah Mormons, it would seem logical that I have a number of polygamists in my family tree. There were five that I know of: 4th-great-grandfather Thomas Foster Rhoads (1796–1869), 4th-great-grandfather John Lowry Sr. (1799–1867), 3rd-great-grandfather George Peacock (1822–1878), 3rd-great-grandfather Edwin Cox (1838–1895), and 2nd-great-grandfather Johann Freidrich Fechser (1825–1908). The first three of these died prior to the passage of the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882, which was used to prosecute Utah polygamists for “unlawful cohabitation.” I could not find any documentation showing whether Edwin Cox had ever been arrested under this act, but in the years before his death, he could be seen in records with only one wife, Jane Butte (the second wife that he had married); his first wife, Harriet Barrow, could be seen as having married Charles Wilkins, who had been widowed in 1891.

While researching my latest story about Johann Friedrich Fechser’s mother (Single Mothers in Nineteenth Century Germany: the Kiesseckers), I discovered some court documents indicating that Johann Friedrich had been indicted for “unlawful cohabitation” in 1888, and I decided that should be the subject of my next story.

Johann Freidrich Fechser was born July 19, 1925, in Nassau, Württemberg, Germany, to Johann Georg Fechser and Anna Maria Kiessecker. He married Rosina Frederica Keyser on December 26, 1850, in Hamburg, Germany. Their son, Georg Frederick Fechser, was born March 1, 1852, in Hamburg, but died as an infant. Later that year, Johann Freidrich and Rosina Frederica joined the Mormon church, and came to the United States aboard the ship Rufus K. Page, leaving Liverpool, England, on August 24, 1853, arriving in New Orleans on October 28, 1853. Their daugher, Emma, was born December 28, 1853, in Saint Louis, Missouri, prior to their leaving on their overland journey to Utah. On June 18, 1954, they left Westport, Missouri, in the James Brown Company headed for Utah. Much of the company was taken ill with cholera on the journey. Johann Freidrich’s wife died of cholera on June 21, and his daughter died of cholera on June 24; they were buried outside of Leavenworth, Kansas. Johann Freidrich arrived in Salt Lake City on September 28, single and childless. At some point after arriving, he Americanized his name to John Frederick Fechser, and was sometimes known simply as Frederick Fechser.

On January 15, 1855, John Frederick married Cathrine “Trine” Amalie Borresen, from Denmark, stepdaughter of Peder Christian Borreson. Her first husband, Peter Henrick Christensen, had died in Saint Louis as they were preparing make the journey to Utah, and her youngest daughter, Jensine Sophie Christensen, had died at sea en route to the United States. She had another daughter, Anna Christine Christensen, who had crossed the plains with her.

In October 1857, John Frederick married Elizabeth Rasmussen, from Denmark. She is said to have been widowed on the journey to Utah. John Frederick and Elizabeth had two children. Elizabeth died March 11, 1988, and would not have been a part of this indictment.

On January 2, 1864, John Frederick married my 2nd-great-grandmother, Ida Christina Johnson, from Norway. She had made the journey to Utah with her parents and siblings the previous year. John Frederick and Ida Christina had thirteen children.

On September 24, 1867, John Frederick married Anna Katherina Hafen, from Switzerland. She had arrived the year before with an eleven-year-old daughter. Johann and Anna had one daughter who died very young.

The dates of these marriages come from the diary of Johann Friedrich Fechser. I have not been able to find any other documentation of the dates. Cathrine Amalie Borresen, Ida Christina Johnson, and Anna Katherina Hafen are the only wives mentioned in the indictment, but John Frederick had at least one additional wife, possibly more.

The indictment of Frederick Fechser, as submitted by the Grand Jury.

The Documents

Following are transcriptions of the documents pertaining to the indictment. In these documents, he is referred to as Frederick Fechser.

Cover Page

United States of America,
District of Utah.
PAPERS AND FILES IN CASE No. 759
OF
UNITED STATE OF AMERICA,
PLAINTIFF,
vs
Frederick Fechser,
DEFENDANT.
FROM
First District Court,
Utah Territory.
1888
[number added with an ink stamp] 809
FILED
IN THE OFFICE OF CLERK OF
The United States District Court,
District of Utah,
AT SALT LAKE CITY,
This 15th day Mar, 1898
[signed] Jerrold R. Letcher
CLERK.

Subpoena for Ida Fechser

U.S. vs Fetchler [sic] — Adultery Mt Pleasant
In the District Court of the First Judicial District of the Territory of Utah.
Utah County
The People of the Territory of Utah Send Greeting to
Ida Fetchler [sic]

We Command You, That all and singular business and excuses being laid aside, you appear and attend before the Grand Jury of the First Disctrict Court of the Territory of Utah, at the Court House in Provo City, on the 27 day of September A.D., 1888, at 10 o’clock A., M. and disobedience will be punished as a contempt by said Court.

Given, under my hand and the Seal of said Court, this 11th day of June 1888
[signed] H.H. Henderson
Clerk.
By [signed] B. Bachman Jr.
Deputy Clerk.

Service of Subpoena for Ida Fechser

U.S. Marshal’s Office, Ogden, Utah,
TERRITORY OF UTAH,
County of Utah.
ss.

I, Frank H. Dyer, U.S. Marshal for Utah Territory, do hereby certify and return that I served the within subpœna upon the therein and hereinafter named persons by reading the same to them personally, in their presence and hearing, as follows:

To Ida Fechser at Mt Pleasant on May 23, 1888

FRANK H. DYER
U.S. Marshall
By [illegible signature]
Filed on return Sept 25 1888
[signed] H.H. Henderson
Clerk.
[signed] B. Bachman Jr.
Deputy Clerk.

Arrest Warrant

TERRITORY OF UTAH,
FIRST DISTRICT COURT.
U.S.
vs.
Frederick Fechser
WARRANT.
Territory of Utah
County of Utah.
ss.

I hereby certify that at Mt. Pleasant on the 26th day of November 1888 I served the within Warrant upon the within named Frederick Fechser By arresting him and now have him in my custody before the Court.

[signed] Frank H. Dyer
U.S. Marshal
By [signed] R. Clawson
Deputy.

Witnesses Examined

Witnesses examined before the Grand Jury.
Ida Fechser
Additional Witnesses
Trena Amelia Fechser
Catherine Fechser
No. 759
First DISTRICT COURT,
TERRITORY OF UTAH.
THE UNITED STATE OF AMERICA,
Against
Frederick Fechser
INDICTMENT FOR
UNLAWFUL COHABITATION.
A TRUE BILL.
[signed] Alvin L. Robinson
Foreman of the Grand Jury.

Presented in open Court, by the Foreman of the Grand Jury, and in its presence filed by me, the 27 day of September 1888

[signed] H.H. Henderson
Clerk
[signed] Benjamin Bachman Jr.
Deputy Clerk
[signed] Ogden Hiles
Asst. U.S. Att’y

Grand Jury Charges

United States of America
TERRITORY OF UTAH,
1st JUDICIAL DISTRICT.
ss.

In the first Judicial District, in and for the Territory of Utah, within the United States of America, of the term of September in the year of our Lord on [sic] thousand eight hundred and eighty-Eight

THE UNITED STATE OF AMERICA,
Against
Frederick Fechser

The Grand Jurors of the United States of America, within and for the district aforesaid, at the term and in the Territory aforesaid, being duly empanelled, sworn and charged, on their oaths do find and present that Frederick Fechser late of said district, heretofore, to-wit: on the first day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-Six, in the said district, Territory aforesaid, and within the jurisdiction of this court, and on divers days thereafter, and continuously between the day last aforesaid and the first day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand, eight hundred and eighty-Eight then and there, did unlawfully claim, live and cohabit with more than one woman as his wives, to-wit: with Trena Amelia Fechser with Ida Fechser and with Catherine Fechser against the form of the statute of the said United States, in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the same.

[signed] Alvin L. Robinson
Foreman of Grand Jury.
[signed] Ogden Hiles
Asst. U.S. District Attorney.

Charges

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF THER TERRITORY OF UTAH.
Mt. Pleasant
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

To the U.S. Marshal for Said Territory, Greeting:

An Indictment having been found on the 27th day of September A.D. eighteen hundred and eighty-eight in the District Court for the First Judicial District in and for the Territory of Utah, charging Frederick Fechser with the crime of unlawful cohabitation

You are therefore commanded to forthwith arrest the above named Frederick Fechser and bring him before that Court, to answer said indictment, or if the Court has adjourned for the term, that you keep him or cause him to be safely kept in custody until the further order of this Court; or if he require it, that you take him to be admitted to bail in the sum of $1000.

[signed] J.W. Judd
Judge.

WITNESS my hand and seal of said Court, affixed at Provo City, this 27th day of September A.D. 1888

[signed] H. H. Henderson
Clerk.
[signed] B. Bachman Jr.
Deputy Clerk.

Conclusions

I was not able to find any additional court records to discover whether he was convicted and sentenced. The Deseret News seemed to carry good summaries of court proceedings, so I searched through their archives for the three months following the indictment, but was not able to find a mention of Frederick Fechser’s case. More than a thousand Mormons did prison time for “unlawful cohabitation,” but I don’t know whether he was one of them. It is disappointing not to be able to end this story with the final outcome.

I have always been troubled by the practice of polygamy in my ancestry. When I was growing up, I was given the rationale that so many women were widowed on the journey to Salt Lake that there needed to be plural marriages in order for them to be taken care of. I feel that if they had the resources to take care of these widows in marriages, they must have had the resources to take care of them with more kind and charitable means that didn’t involve ordering someone to enter into a marriage they didn’t really want. Also, when I read the narratives of young women being forced to forsake the young men they were engaged to because an older man with some influence in the church wanted to have another young wife, I realize that this practice caused a great deal of pain and heartbreak.

I realize that as the descendant of several plural wives, I wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the practice of plural marriage, but I wonder sometimes whether it is worth the heartache it caused so many people.

Padding the Census with the Fechsers

One of the problems that can be encountered when researching one’s ancestry is the discovery that you have placed incorrect information in your family tree due to the fact that one of your ancestors had given incorrect information on the U.S. Census. I recently had this happen with my second great grandmother’s data on the 1900 census.

In a previous post, Finding Peter Christian, I had mentioned that many of the early Utah Mormons would pad the census records in order to help Utah qualify for statehood. However, since Utah was already a state in 1900, it’s difficult to imagine why Ida Christina Johnson Fechser’s 1900 census shows so many of her children living in the house who were either dead or married and living elsewhere. Perhaps after gaining statehood they continued to pad the census hoping for more Congressional representation.

Ida Christina Johnson Fechser (center), with her sisters, Josephine Maria Johnson Day (left) and Inger Elizabeth Johnson Allred (right).

This would have been Ida’s first census as head of the house. When Utah gained statehood, the federal government was fighting polygamy by enforcing laws against “cohabitation,” so her husband, my second great grandfather Johann Friedrich Fechser, was living with (and officially married to) one of his other wives. It must be difficult for a woman who has spent her entire life in a strongly patriarchal society to suddenly be the one in charge, giving this information to the census takers. One must wonder if she really understood what the census was.

She was a fifty-three-year-old, single mother of thirteen, still raising the five youngest. Originally from Norway, she had been in America for forty years and was a month and a half shy of becoming a naturalized citizen. My theory is that when the nice young census taker came to the door asking about her family, she responded by telling him about all of her children, whether they lived there or not. She may have also been somewhat confused, perhaps with a bit of early senility, as she gave the birthplace of the children’s father as Norway, when actually he was born in Germany.

The 1900 census shows Ida C. Fechser having seven daughters, four sons, and two daughters-in-law living in her household.

The Deceased Children

The first two children listed in the census are a daughter, Fredricka Fechser, age 36, and a son, Joseph F. Fechser, age 34. In reality, her first two children died at a very young age. Frederike Amalie Fechser was born on November 9, 1864, and died the following day. Joseph Frederick Fechser was born on January 29, 1866, and died at the age of two on May 27, 1868, when he drowned in the creek that ran by their house.

Frederike Amalie Fechser and brother Joseph Frederick Fechser share a headstone in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, Utah. Photograph by Penne Magnusson Hannum.

The “Daughters-in-Law”

The next two children listed in the census are two daughters-in-law, Sarah M. Jensen and Ida C. Coliston. In reality, these were daughters who were married and living elsewhere.

Sarah M. Jensen was actually Sarah Marie Fechser (2/8/1868–10/2/1946), who was married to Niels Hansen Jensen (6/30/1845–12/25/1906), and they were also listed at their own address in the 1900 census. Since Ida’s census listed Sarah and named her as a daughter-in-law directly beneath Joseph’s listing, I had originally mistakenly assumed that Sarah was Joseph’s wife. It took more research to discover that Joseph had in fact died as a toddler and that Sarah was a daughter rather than a daughter-in-law.

Ida C. Coliston was actually Ida Christine Fechser (10/26/1869–6/29/1916), who was married to Henry Jarmond Carlston (4/4/1864–5/10/1946; also known as Henry Jeremy Carlston), and they were also listed at their own address in the 1900 census.

Two More Married Daughters

The next two children listed in the census are two daughters, Josephine Coliston and Rosina Madsen. Finally, she has two of her children somewhat correctly identified; but, then again, they were not living in her house and shouldn’t have been listed at this household in this census.

Josephine Coliston was actually Josephine Fechser (9/21/1871–6/18/1950), who was married to Franklin Ernal Carlston (3/14/1868–1943; the brother of her sister Ida’s husband Henry), and they were also listed at their own address in the 1900 census.

Rosena Madsen was actually Rozena Evena Fechser (8/6/1873–3/29/1951), who was married to Andrew Oscar Madsen (4/30/1870–7/19/1929), and they were also listed at their own address in the 1900 census. She and her husband have some extra significance in my family tree, as they were the family that my grandfather, Theodore Angelo Christensen, went to live with at the age of sixteen after his mother, Maren Regina Fechser Christensen, died during the influenza epidemic of 1919.

Andrew Oscar Madsen and wife, Rozena Evena Fechser Madsen. My grandfather went to live with them after the death of his mother.

The Rest of the Children

There are seven more children listed in the household in this census: Fred, James C., Mary R., Lizzie, Hyram, Ella, and Anna. I am assuming that all of these were still living in the household at this time and actually did belong on this census.

Fred was John Frederick Fechser (8/17/1875–1/3/1952). During the summer of 1900, he was attending the Teacher’s Institute in Manti, Utah, but would have been living at home. He probably did not leave home until his marriage in 1902.

Mary R. was Maren Regina Fechser (6/10/1880–3/28/1919). She probably did not leave home until her marriage to Peter Angelo Christensen in 1902. She was the mother of my grandfather, Theodore Angelo Christensen.

No photographs can be found for my great grandmother, Maren Regina Fechser Christensen. This photo of her headstone is courtesy of Becky Dawn.

Lizzie was Elizabeth Inger Fechser (8/29/1882–2/15/1977). She probably did not leave home until her marriage in 1907.

Hyram was Hyrum Fechser (1/7/1885–6/17/1962). He probably did not leave home until his marriage in 1910.

Ella was Ella Mennetta Fechser (2/5/1887–3/11/1986). She probably did not leave home until her marriage in 1911. She also is listed as living with her mother in the 1910 census.

The only information I can find about Anna is what is given in this census, that she was born in March 1890. She is not in the 1910 census, so she probably died or married before then.

Epilogue

If nothing else, this story helps emphasize the importance of putting correct information on public documents. It can save your descendants a great deal of frustration when they try to research their roots.