Mark Elbert Hamblin

Jacob Allred • December 6, 2018

Donated by Joan Hamblin

Mark Elbert Hamblin

March 14, 1907 – September 20, 1963


Mark Elbert Hamblin was born in Eagar, Arizona, on March 14, 1907, the son of Jacob and Sadie Hamblin. He was the 12th child of 14 children born to Jacob and Sadie. He had six older brothers and two older sisters. He later had two younger sisters. When he was just a little boy, his brother, Carl Maeser, got scarlet fever and went blind and deaf and finally died after Heavenly Father assured his mother that it would be best if he died.


The family moved to St. Johns when Mark was five years old. There he attended grade school and graduated from high school. He later attended the Gila Academy in Thatcher, Arizona and the Lambson Business College in Phoenix.


I only knew Elbert from what Mom and Dad told me about him and that wasn’t very much. As I was growing up, for a number of years we would get a package from Alaska at Christmas time from Uncle Elbert. It was usually smoked salmon which I loved. I learned later that he returned to Arizona about 1960 and married again and in 1965, he died. I was really quite taken with the story he told of his life in Alaska and I think it is one that everyone should hear. It is tragic, but inspiring.


When Elbert was 19 years old (1926) he married Maree Berry. They had four children: Joyce Cooper, Jeanie Larson, Markay Hamblin and Lei Lani Silvers. He loved them very much and was very proud of them.


Uncle Elbert and his family filled a two-year mission in the Hawaiian Islands in the late 1920s. He later went to George Washington Law School and graduated in 1937/ He was admitted to the Arizona State Bar in 1938. His father died in 1939 and his mother in 1940 and soon after that he left Arizona and went to Alaska where he spent 20 years of dramatic and adventurous living in a land he loved so much. Why he left his family, I personally do not know. From what I have been able to figure out, he had some very serious family problems that caused him to leave. I don’t know exactly what they were.

The ruggedness, the glamour, and the great drama of life going on in Alaska had a great influence on him. He left his loved ones, his friends, and all the people that he knew, and went to the country of the far north. It was a new life in a strange, beautiful, rough land.


Southwestern Alaska is a land of breath-taking beauty, a land of many beautiful lakes, beautiful waterfalls, and swift dangerous rivers. It is a land of majestic mountains, covered with eternal snows and many glaciers, a land of million so f beautiful trees and millions of beautiful birds. It is a fisherman’s paradise, a hunter’s dream, a land where the beauty of God’s handiwork is ever present. It is also a land that is rough, where danger and death are always near.

Elbert started traveling with two other young men, one from Wrangell, Alaska and the other from Ketchekan, Alaska. The latter owned a 32-foot fishing boat that they used to go from island to island and from village to village. They lived a life, for a few months, that all men dream of but few experience. They spent their time hunting, fishing and exploring. When they needed food for themselves or fuel for the boat, they stopped and worked for a few days then went on to another beautiful island, cove or inlet, any place that looked dangerous or exciting.

Time was running out for these three young men’s adventures however; it looked as though the United States would be drawn into the war against Germany. Hitler’s armies were running over Europe and soon would soon conquer all of Europe and Asia if not stopped. So thee three men parted company, each going his own way, never to see or hear from each other again.


Elbert went farther north to Seward, Alaska and from there on north to Anchorage. Upon arriving in Anchorage, he found himself without money or a job. However, jobs were plentiful as were credit and money. The most difficult thing was to find a place to sleep. Elbert finally found such a place. He and 46 other men slept in a basement with one side unfinished. It was December and the weather was cold and a considerable amount of snow would blow in on the cots. Within a couple of weeks, Uncle Elbert found a good job and a couple of weeks later, a warm, clean room with cooking privileges.


Life for Uncle Elbert during the next five years was rather exciting, violent and wasted. He got up in the turmoil of the war and wild, rough element that had drifted to Alaska, avoiding the draft. As he said, he was well on the road to destruction. Alcohol was more plentiful that food and so were the heartaches and tears than clean living and progress toward God.

Yes, five years of hard work and thousands of dollars found him in the kingdom of Lucifer, commonly called Hell. He had managed some of the best grocery stores in Anchorage at that time. He had bought and sold a home or two, made thousands of dollars, been in and out of the army, and at the end of the five years, he found himself broke and a pitiful slave to alcohol and tobacco. He knew that he could never return to his family or loved ones, not even to anyone who had known him in his youth. He also knew that he had to leave Anchorage and his friends he had there and go where he could get out into the hills and creeks, away from alcohol before he could regain his health and willpower.


Uncle Elbert said, “My dear brothers and sisters, never sneer at the man who is down, unless you have felt the blow that caused his fall, or felt the shame that only the fallen know because if the load he bears was placed on your back it might cause you to falter too.”

Uncle Elbert decided to go prospecting for gold. He also found his gold. In the fall, he returned to a small village nearer to the creek where his claims were. In this village, during the long winter months, he cut wood, trapped a little, helped the man who owned the trading post, and drank whiskey. Come spring, back to the creeks he went seeking and panning for his gold, until fall, so that he could return to his village and the long winter months of doing odd jobs and drinking whiskey with his alcoholic friends.


The next five years went by in the same alcoholic haze the first five had gone. He defended himself many times in bitter fighting, sometimes with knives, sometimes with guns, and sometimes with clubs, but mostly with his bare fists. It was always in the same condition, pitifully drunk, so drunk that he came through with only a few scars. Others drowned in the swift, cold rivers, a few froze to death, but more died directly from the effects of alcohol.

There were times in the winter when the temperature was down to 40 or 50 degrees below zero. At such times, Uncle Elbert contemplated putting on his snowshoes and just starting out across the great white stillness to walk until he was exhausted, then lie down and go to sleep. Within a short time, this earthly existence would be over and his tortured alcoholic body could rest. Uncle Elbert knew that he could never take his own life because he had been taught the consequences of such an act. He also knew that that would not be an easy way out.


In the early spring of 1951, as Uncle Elbert was walking along beside a river, it suddenly dawned on him that the birch trees had green leaves. He looked at the river and the ice was gone. He looked at the ground and the snow was gone. A great fear came over him. The reason was because just last night when he and some of his friends had started drinking, it had been cold, snow had blanketed the ground, ice had covered the rivers, and the trees had been stiff and dead, without a sign of leaves.

Uncle Elbert went back to the village and found that the start of “last night’s” drinking had been some three months ago. For three long months, he had been in a blackout. He been to parties, dances, been in fights, worked here and there and could not remember one single thing that had taken place. So the sad moment of truth had arrived and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was an hopeless alcoholic and tht without the help of God, he was destroyed. He knew that he should pray but felt so unworthy, useless and dirty, he was unable to do so. His bush pilot friend flew him back to the creeks and left him. In a few days, with good food, hard work, and no alcohol, he had regained a good share of his heath and the will to live.


One exceedingly clear June day, he was walking along a beautiful little creek, searching for a place to pan for gold. The great and beautiful Mt. McKinley towered above him in all its glory, a larger and more beautiful mountain you will nevr see. Uncle Elbert was walking along with a cigarette in his mouth, looking at this majestic mountain and thinking, “O, Father of Heaven and Earth, How Great Thou Art…” when a clear strong voice said, “Throw down that cigarette!” At first he thought that his imagination was playing tricks on him and he kept on walking. A little farther on, this same clear, strong voice, said, “I told you to throw down that cigarette, it is dragging you down!”

Uncle Elbert had known fear many times before in his life, but never had he known what real fear was until now. He thought to himself, “Now, boy, you have lost your mind.” The voice came right back saying, “No, you have not lost your mind. There is no easy way out for you. Do you know who I am?”

The fear was so great that he dared not look to the right or to the left but walked straight ahead.

The voice said, “I am your brother who died when you were a small child.” The voice went along with him for over a mile, telling him he must repent or he would be destroyed and be lost to his loved ones forever. Maeser was his dead brother who told him of the tears and the heartaches he was causing his loved ones in the spirit world. Maeser promised him that if he would repent and leave tobacco alone, in time he would overcome his desire for alcohol and his other bad habits.

After talking for about 30 minutes, Maeser said, “Now I must leave you, so promise that you will throw away your cigarettes and never smoke again.”

“Sure, sure, I promise,” was the answer, and the voice took its leave.

Within one hour Uncle Elbert was smoking as usual. He could not believe that what had happened to him was true. He was so sure that it was the effects of alcohol that he forgot his promise and right on with his pitiful, sad, sickening way of life.

Six months later, on Christmas Eve, after he had returned from a dance in the village, for some strange reason he was partially sober. He had gone to bed and he noticed that it was a little after midnight. So he said to himself, “I’ll smoke my first cigarette on Christmas Day and then go to sleep. Then I’ll wake up in a few hours and go the rounds of all my friends, having a few drinks with each of them.
As he lit his cigarette and lay back on his pillow, he inhaled a big puff and thought how nice it was to go to a dance and return home half sober. Even so, his blood and body were saturated with alcohol.

Suddenly, that same clear, strong voice that he had heard six moths earlier, called him by name, saying, “Mark, you are a liar, aren’t you? You are a liar who is so weak that you cannot keep your word!”

When the fear had subsided enough, so that Uncle Elbert could think, his first question was, “Do I have another chance?”

The voice said, “Yes, you have another chance, but do not break your promise again.”

Uncle Elbert was then told that he was going to be given another chance because of his children. His loved ones in the spirit world told him that he would have been taken long before if it were not for his children. He was shown what his state would be if he did not repent. His fear was so great that he went into a state of shock.

The rest of the night he lay awake and the next morning, he took a gallon jug of water, an ax, and a cross-cut saw. He put on his snowshoes and went a little ways from the village and started to cut down trees and saw them into stove-wood length.

The first three days and nights he went through the tortures of hell. He would work a few minutes and that terrible desire for alcohol would take hold of him. His head ached, his eyes turned yellow, and his face was swollen and puffed. The sweat that poured from his body seemed to burn his flesh like fire. He would cut and saw until he was sure that death was near and then he would start toward town to get a few drinks to take away the torture. He never got far away from his work, however. He’d fall to his knees and try to pray. At first, he could only say, “Oh, God in Heaven” and then back to his sawing and cutting he’d go. Then he would drink water and become violently sick for a while. Again, he started towards town for a drink or two, but he fell to his knees and prayed again. Then back to cutting, then take a drink of water and become sick again. The first day, he could not ever hold any water on his stomach.

The second day was much like the first. By night, he could hold down a little soup but could eat nothing like solid food. The third day, he took a bottle of milk along with the jog of water. The milk would not stay down, but he knew he would live. All this time, he had a package of cigarettes in his pocket, but never put one to his lips. He could have gone to town at any time and had all the whiskey he could drink, but he has never drunk a drop of any type of liquor nor has he ever touched a cigarette to this day.

At the end of the third day, before returning to town, he took an inventory of himself. For three days, he had worked and sweated and cut enough wood to last one person through a day and a night, if they were careful. For three days, he had been unable to hold food on his stomach, but he felt like he could soon eat food and enjoy it. For three days, he had not touched a cigarette or a drop of liquor and most of the time, all he would say was, “Oh, God My Father.” But this night, he knew he had won his battle with liquor and tobacco. The sky and trees were never so beautiful, but he had a long way to go. For the next seven or eight weeks, he cut about 30 cords of wood and regained his health. Not only was this man’s life changed, but the whole village changed for the better. Everyone had been so sure that this man could not leave tobacco and liquor alone. Without realizing it, the old trappers and miners developed the desire to do better and to help their children to do better.


In the yeas to follow, Uncle Elbert sent his boy on a mission and put him through college. He also helped his daughter and their families. Within four years, he had bought an inn and had paid for it. The people who had owned the inn wanted to sell. They came to Uncle Elbert and asked him to go in with a friend of theirs and take the hotel off their hands.

They said, “We know you’re broke and we know how you have lived in the past. We have been watching your struggle the past weeks. We do not know what has caused you do this, but we believe you are honest, and if you will do this, we will not ask for a down payment. You just pay so much a month. You do not even need to sign the papers unless you wish to.”

As soon as the inn was paid for, the man owning the trading post came to Uncle Elbert and offered him the same deal on the trading post.

Soon he owned and operated the power and electric plant. Then he was the postmaster and had many other interests and holdings. Due to the influence and trust the people placed in him, he came to act as the unofficial law and order. The closest official law was in Anchorage, 200 miles away.

He was not active in the church there because there was not even a branch there. He served his fellowmen in sickness and in death. In time of death, he helped dig the grave, make the casket, prepare the body for burial and deliver the graveside sermon. He acted as their legal counselor, their trusted advisor. He never betrayed their trust.


Uncle Elbert finally decided to come back to the lower 48. and in the early 60s he came to Arizona. Soon after, he renewed some old friendships and married LaVel Whiting DeSpain and lived with her and her family and became a father to her children. Then after a short illness, he died September 20, 1963. I’m sure the many years of hard living finally caught up with him.


Uncle Elbert said he would always feel very humble, very thankful and yes, very unworthy when he kneels to pray to his Father.


Uncle Elbert then quoted the story of the old violin.

The Auctioneer picked up the old violin and held it with the bow. “What am I bid?” said the auctioneer in a voice that was soft and low. “One dollar, two dollars. Two dollars, who’ll make it three? Three dollars, three dollars once, three dollars twice, going, going…”

But , no. From the room far back, a gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow. Brushing the dust from the old bow and tightening the loose strings, he played a meoldy pure and sweet, as sweet as the angel sings.

“One thousand dollars, two thousand, two thousand, who’ll make it three? Three thousand once, Three thousand twice, going, going and gone.”

The people cheered, but some of them cried. They could not quite understand the change of the worth. But quick came the reply, “The touch of the master’s hand.”

So it is in the ways of life, those who are scarred with sin are auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd much like the old violin.

A bowl of porridge, a game of cards, a drink, and he travels on. He’s going once, he’s going twice, he’s almost gone. Then the Master comes and the foolish crowd cannot quite understand. The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought by the touch of the Master’s hand.

Help us Father of Heaven and Earth to love our fellowmen and always be willing to help those who need help. Blind us to the faults of others and reveal unto us our own is this man’s constant prayer.


***


This story of Uncle Elbert was copied and rewritten and edited by Ellis W. Hamblin, July 6, 1996 from his story collected by Uncle John Hamblin and given at Uncle Elbert’s funeral and taken from a talk given by Uncle Elbert for church telling about himself.


Jake remembers when Elbert was back in Arizona. He was working at a Circle K store in Mesa. Jake went in and asked for a pack of gum. It had been at least 20 years since they had seen each other; Jake had been only about seven or eight years old. Elbert looked at Jake and said, “Are you that snot-nosed son of Stan Hamblin?” Jake said, “I sure am.”


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Jacob Hamblin Improves Indian Affairs

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Plymouth colony was established in 1620. By 1675 pioneer settlers had clearly established procedures for handling conflict between Native Americans. Two extremely different cultures would become fearful of each other and communication would break down resulting in armed conflict. The pioneer settlers backed by a larger population and superior weapons conquered and subjugated the Native American populations. This pattern held true until the end of the Indian wars and the surrender of Geronimo in 1886. However, there is one great exception to the normal procedure of establishing peace through domination, massacre, and bloodshed. The exception was led by a missionary by the name of Jacob Hamblin. During the Indian wars in Colorado, nine federal forts were established for the protection of the pioneer settlers. In New Mexico another nine forts were established. In central and southern Arizona a total of 16 federal forts were built to control the Apache.  Jacob Hamblin's influence began in the Santa Clara/St. G...

Provo MTC's Jacob Hamblin Building

By Jacob Allred • December 22, 2018
One exciting fun fact about the church's new Provo MTC expansion is the church named one of their most popular buildings after Jacob Hamblin.  The east wing of the new Jacob Hamblin building will be used for the MTC mailroom, bookstore, and resource training center.  Now our family can send off missionaries proud to say they are a descendant of Jacob Hamblin every time the building is mentioned.

Potential new Jacob Hamblin Photo

By Jacob Allred • December 10, 2018
Original article can be found below at Deseret News: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/700028163/Dead-ringer-or-dead-on-Jacob-Hamblin-photo-mystery.htm... CEDAR CITY — Family history is wearing many faces, from the new FamilySearch to a barrage of television shows geared at the rediscovery of roots. But some of the greatest family history adventures still happen under your own roof, sometimes by accident, sometimes through a moment of inspiration. Kathryn Ipson's son, James, was doing research on Jacob Hamblin, best known in LDS church history as a liaison to the Native Americans when the pioneers settled in the West. A Google search yielded a solitary photo of Hamblin: His mouth pulls down at one corner, his chin is nestled in a thick goatee, and his hair is smoothed back from a broad, square forehead. James shared the photo with his mother. Something about it made Ipson, 74, take pause. "Let me show you an old daguerreotype I have," she told James. She pulled a photo from a box and the two huddled over it. The image of a striking man with a thick goatee, his hair smoothed back from a broad, square forehead, stared up at them … and they stared back in amazement. "We suddenly realized it could be an earlier photo of Jacob Hamblin," Ipson said. The real research, and a real mystery, began for Ipson and her family. More than 20 years ago, Ipson's sister, Carol Dodds, 77, had given her the photo. Neither sister was familiar with it — Dodd merely knew that Ipson liked old trinkets. Ipson tucked the photo safely away, attaching a note to it that read: "I have no idea who this is a picture of." She promptly forgot about it. Upon its rediscovery, Ipson found out the photo is actually an ambrotype — an early type of photograph made by imaging a negative on glass backed by a dark surface. The technique became popular in America in the 1850s. One of Ipson's first questions was, "Did they even have ambrotypes in Utah that early?" She was able to talk to Nelson B. Wadsworth, author of "History of the Mormons: In Photographs and Text, 1830 to the Present," who confirmed that the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers have ambrotypes from the late 1850s and early 1860s. Ipson showed the ambrotype to Brent Ashworth, document expert and owner of B. Ashworth's bookstore, which is dedicated to rare books, manuscripts and other collectibles. "To me, it looks just like Jacob Hamblin," Brent Ashworth wrote via e-mail. "I believe it is a wonderful new view of this great pioneer (and) 'apostle to the Lamanites.' " "I took (the photo) to the Jacob Hamblin home in St. George and showed it to them," Ipson said. "I also took it to the BYU Library, the Church History Library … Most people believe this is of Jacob Hamblin." Ipson and Dodd have stewed over the ambrotype's origin. Their family is from Panguitch, where Hamblin had relatives settle. Dodd is also related by marriage to Ira Sterns Hatch, one of Hamblin's mission companions. Dodd wonders if she acquired the photo years ago when a friend was cleaning out an abandoned storage shed in St. George. He left a box full of papers and old photos on Dodd's doorstep since he knew of her enthusiasm for family history. Thanks to such enthusiasm, Ipson and Dodd have at the very least enjoyed the research. Ipson has even compiled possible dates the photo could have been taken, based on reading various books on Hamblin. "For me, the best thing that has come from this is getting to know (Jacob Hamblin)," Ipson said. "What a peacemaker and dedicated man he was. I hope that more people will visit his home in Santa Clara and read some of the books available about him." Ipson also hopes others will be inspired to start combing through their old papers or photos. You never know what — or who — you might find. -- During the 2019 Jacob Hamblin Family Reunion in St. George, Utah, hosted by the Jacob Hamblin Legacy Organization, Wade Wixom, Hart Wixom's son spoke and also shared this picture. Wade's opinion was this photo is a genuine photo of Jacob Hamblin. He felt it in compairing the verified photo the church has and this new one that the new one was Jacob before he fell out of a tree and injured himself and was taken when Jacob was younger. See the reunion footage from the Jacob Hamblin Legacy Organization for more details.

The Blankets of Honesty

By Jacob Allred • December 7, 2018
 The Blankets of Honesty Discover the joyful true tail of Jacob Hamblin and the Blankets of Honesty from Perry Tales. This book from Perry Tales can be purchased on Amazon.com by clicking " here ". Learn more about this true tail in The Friend Magazine, July 1987 on lds.org by clicking “ here ”. Jacob Hamblin, Trustworthy Pioneer By Pat Graham Print Share They were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted ( Alma 53:20 ). Jacob Hamblin was a brave pioneer who showed his courage by always telling the truth. The Indians knew that he was fair and honest, that they could trust his word. On one occasion Jacob was confronted by twenty-four Indian warriors who believed that the Saints were responsible for the deaths of three Indians. They wanted to take Jacob’s life, but he told them that his people had not betrayed them. After eleven hours of debate, the Indians decided to settle the matter peacefully because they knew that Jacob Hamblin had never lied to them. (See Valiant B Manual, page 140.) Here are pictures for another true story that shows how Jacob Hamblin could be trusted. Cut out the characters and mount them on flannel. Place them on a flannel board as you read what each one says. You could give the story as a play for family home evening and have family members read assigned parts. The characters could be attached to tongue depressors or Popsicle sticks and held by each person. The Trade Jacob, Jr.: I am the son of Jacob Hamblin. My name is also Jacob. One day my father sent me to trade a horse for some blankets with an old Navajo Indian chief. Jacob Hamblin: I am Jacob Hamblin. I told my young son to be sure to make a good trade. Jacob, Jr.: I rode on horseback, leading the horse that was to be traded. Navajo Chief: I am the Navajo Indian chief. Young Jacob told me that his father wanted to trade a horse for some blankets. I brought out a number of handsome blankets. Jacob, Jr.: I shook my head and said that I would have to have more. Navajo Chief: I brought out two buffalo robes and quite a few more blankets. Jacob, Jr.: Thinking that I had done quite well, I bundled all the blankets and robes into a roll behind my saddle, mounted my horse, and started for home. Jacob Hamblin: When my son arrived home, I undid the roll of blankets and robes. I looked at them and began to separate them. I put blanket after blanket into a pile and then rolled them up. I told young Jacob to take them back and tell the chief that he had sent too many. Jacob, Jr.: I rode again to the Indian chief, returned the blankets to him, and told him that my father thought that he had sent too many. The old chief smiled and said: Navajo Chief: I knew that you would come back; I knew that Jacob would not cheat me. (Adapted from Valiant B Manual, page 139.) Sharing Time Ideas 1. Scramble letters of word pioneer. Ask children to think of word that describes someone who is brave, prepares the way for others, or does something new. Then tell true story “The Trade,” using flannel board figures. For large group, cutouts could be prepared for overhead projector. 2. Prepare copies of figures for each child to cut out. (Older children could cut out figures for younger ones.) Divide children into groups of four to six. Have each child choose figure; each group then retells story among themselves. 3. Three people could dress as characters of story. Use blankets for props. 4. Sing “Whenever I Think About Pioneers” ( Sing with Me, E-2, verses 1, 2, 5, and 6). 5. Discuss situations in which people show trust. Make chart listing examples from scriptures, examples of people whom children trust, and examples of people trusting children.

LDS.ORG:  Friend and Brother Jacob Hamblin, Man of Peace

By Jacob Allred • December 6, 2018
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1984/10/friend-and-brother-jacob-hamblin-man-of-peace?lang=eng “Friend and Brother”: By Marlene Bateman Sullivan Print Share November 1863. Jacob Hamblin had just left his home in Santa Clara to get supplies in nearby Cedar City, Utah. Two Indians rode up to the Hamblin home and angrily demanded: “Where is Jacob?” When they learned he had gone to Cedar City, they dashed off in that direction with their horses. Overtaking Jacob, they called for him to stop. “We have come to kill you!” they called angrily. For a few moments there was silence. Then Jacob climbed down from the wagon seat, looked at the Indians, and pulled his shirt open—as if to say, “Shoot, I am unarmed.” The Indians stared a moment in silence. Then one muttered: “Can’t Jacob, you’ve got my heart.” They rode away. 1 Jacob Hamblin. At a time when few white people were trusted, the Indians looked upon Jacob as a true friend. Today he is considered the most influential and successful peacemaker and missionary among the Indian people in the territorial period. 2 He was a man totally committed to God and to the building up of God’s kingdom among the Indians. “Although Jacob Hamblin generally carried a gun of some sort,” writes historian John Henry Evans, “his dependable weapon was prayer and the most absolute trust in God. … He ate with the Indians, he slept with them, he talked their language, he prayed with them for the rains to save their crops … , he thought their thoughts, … till he knew more perhaps than any other American ever knew of the native, and exerted far more influence with them.” 3 Jacob Hamblin was born in Salem, Ohio, on 2 April 1819 to Isaiah and Daphne Haynes Hamblin. He married Lucinda Taylor in 1839 and they made their home in Spring Prairie, Wisconsin. Three years later, in February 1842, he attended a meeting where the missionary Lyman Stoddard was preaching. “I shall never forget the feeling that came over me when I saw his face and heard his voice,” Jacob relates. “He preached that which I had long been seeking for; I felt that it was indeed the gospel.” 4 He was baptized 3 March 1842. Jacob served as a missionary for a short time, but was called home when the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred. When word came from Church leaders to move west, his wife refused to go. But she told him to go and take the three children with him. Needing help with his motherless family , Jacob relied on the Lord. In a dream he saw a widow and two children in a log cabin. At the same time a widow, Rachel Judd, had a feeling that her future husband would soon call at her cabin. Jacob went to her home, introduced himself, and explained that he had been impressed to ask her to be his wife. She agreed; they were married on 30 September 1849, came to Utah the next year, and were later sealed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Jacob was directed to settle his family in Tooele, Utah. At that time the Latter-day Saints had developed a policy of feeding the Indians to avoid fighting with them. However, the settlers barely had enough provisions for themselves—and giving food to the Indians proved to be a hardship. The settlers also found that their grain and livestock were often stolen. To combat the increasing thievery, a military company was formed, with Jacob as a first lieutenant. “I asked for a company of men,” he relates, “to … hunt up the Indians. … One morning at daybreak, we surrounded their camp. … The chief among them sprang to his feet, and stepping towards me, said, ‘I never hurt you, and I do not want to. If you shoot, I will; if you do not, I will not.’ I was not familiar with their language, but I knew what he said. Such an influence came over me that I would not have killed one of them for all the cattle in Tooele Valley.” Jacob wanted some of the Indians to accompany his group back to the settlement. Afraid, but confident in his assurance of safety, they went. When they arrived, a superior officer decided to ignore Jacob’s promise and have the Indians shot. “I told him I did not care to live,” writes Jacob, “after I had seen the Indians whose safety I had guaranteed, murdered, and … if there were any shot I should be the first. At the same time I placed myself in front of the Indians. This ended the matter and they were set at liberty.” 5 On a later occasion, the Spirit made it known to Jacob in a dramatic way that he was to be a friend and brother to the Indians—a peacemaker—rather than an enemy. “I … secreted myself behind a rock in a narrow pass. … I had not been there long before an Indian came within a few paces of me. “I leveled my rifle on him, and it missed fire. He sent an arrow at me, and it struck my gun. … ; he sent the second, and it passed through my hat; the third barely missed my head; the fourth passed through my coat and vest. As I could not discharge my gun, I defended myself as well as I could with stones. … “I afterwards learned … that not one [of our company] was able to discharge his gun when within range of an Indian. … It appeared evident to me that a special providence had been over us … to prevent us from shedding the blood of the Indians. The Holy Spirit forcibly impressed me that it was not my calling to shed the blood of the scattered remnant of Israel, but to be a messenger of peace to them. It was also made manifest to me that if I would not thirst for their blood, I should never fall by their hands.” 6 In the October 1853 general conference, Jacob was called to be a missionary among the Indians in Washington County. The next spring he left for the southern Utah settlement of Harmony, and then in December, he was selected, with other missionaries, to settle Santa Clara. The Indians in the area were somewhat nomadic, wandering about in search of food. The settlers had scared their game away, they said, and the white man’s cattle ate the grasses, roots, and grains that the Indians depended upon for food. Since the land was theirs, they maintained they were entitled to part of the crops and cattle the settlers produced. The conflict led to a great deal of trouble. But Jacob had much compassion for the Indians. He developed a great love for them and set about to help them improve their conditions. Blessed by the Lord, he found a measure of success. He and the other missionaries taught the Indians farming techniques so they would not suffer from hunger. “The patient and industrious Jacob Hamblin … may truly be designated ‘the Indians’ friend,’” wrote Thomas Brown, an early settler. “Under his industrious care, I doubt not they will soon be able to raise their own wheat, stock and other edibles, also cotton.” 7 Jacob completed this mission in June of 1855. But when he met with Brigham Young, the prophet told him to take his family, which by then included an adopted Indian boy, back to southern Utah—and he admonished Jacob not to neglect his mission among the Indians. On 4 August 1857 President Young appointed Jacob president of the Santa Clara Indian Mission. He urged Jacob to “continue the conciliatory policy toward the Indians … and to seek by words of righteousness to obtain their love and confidence.” 8 Jacob worked steadily alongside the Indians and won their trust and confidence. He talked with them in their language, always spoke the truth, and honored all his promises. As a result, he had tremendous influence with them. In later years his personal code of ethics in dealing with the Indians was distributed to all missionaries and others who dealt with the Indians. He taught his children well by his example. One biographer records: “A son of Jacob Hamblin says that when he was a very small boy his father called him one day and said, ‘Son, take this horse over to my friend, Chief Frank, and exchange the horse for some blankets.’” The boy, eager to prove himself a good trader, returned with an excessive number of blankets. Jacob, seeing the uneven trade, sent him to give back the excess blankets, “whereupon the chief said, ‘I knew my friend Jacob would send you back; he is our father too.’” 9 Jacob continued to work mightily to keep peace between the Indians and the settlers, and to ensure the safety of the many emigration companies that were passing through the area. He had long been curious about a group of Indians called the Moquis. After receiving approval, he organized an expedition and left with a group of twelve men on 28 October 1858. They traveled in a southeast direction, crossing the Colorado River at the eastern end of the Grand Canyon, known as the Crossing of Our Fathers. After a ten-day journey they arrived at the Indian village in northeastern Arizona. Their visit appeared to fulfill a prophecy: “A very aged man [a member of the Moqui tribe] said that when he was a young man his father told him that he would live to see white men come among them, who would bring them great blessings … and that these men would come from the west. He believed that he had lived to see the prediction fulfilled in us.” 10 After sending a report of their trip to Salt Lake City, Jacob received a letter from President Young. The letter told him to take a second expedition to the Moquis and “as soon as they become sufficiently familiar with our language, present to them the Book of Mormon and instruct them in regards to its history and the first principle of the Gospel.” 11 Jacob did visit the tribe again the next year, staying with them several weeks. In 1864 a group of Indians made raids upon the settlers by the Colorado River. Jacob settled these difficulties and then made two more trips to the Moquis. His second trip extended into March of 1865. In 1866 Jacob started out on another missionary expedition but became ill and turned back. He sent word to his family, and his wife came and took him home to Santa Clara. He remained in very poor health for a year—his friends believed he was dying. He relates that he was willing to die. But when he heard his little children crying around him, the question came into his mind, “What will they do if I am taken away? I could not bear the thought of leaving my family in so helpless a condition.” 12 He asked for a blessing and afterwards felt a new desire for food. After this he made a slow recovery. After some settlers were murdered by Indians, Jacob was called to act as a guide and interpreter for a company of soldiers. In 1867 he was called to visit the Indians to the east of the Rio Virgin. “I had many long talks with them,” he relates, “which seemed to have a good effect. Although some of the bands were considered quite hostile and dangerous to visit, I felt that I was laboring for good, and had nothing to fear.” 13 Indeed, Jacob was fearless in the face of danger. For this quality he was much respected, especially among the Indians. He had a way of winning the hearts of the Indians by his honest ways and with his remarkable courage. For example, on one occasion, wrote an associate, “Jacob Hamblin … was captured by the Indians, and was tied to a stake and faggots and other dry wood piled up around him. The purpose then being to fire same and finish him for all time. The Indians then danced about and uttered their war cries with the blood-curdling emphases, but could in nowise shake his inherent bravery, for he smiled and bade them finish the job. The Chief of the Indians was so astonished at his utter lack [of fear, that] they ever after proved themselves in many ways to be his friends and he ever their brother.” 14 Keeping a watch on the eastern frontiers of southern Utah often kept him away from Santa Clara and home, so Jacob decided to move his family closer to him. They moved to the unfinished fort at Kanab, Utah, in September of 1869. Jacob continued to do much to settle disputes between the Indians and the settlers. He went to Kanab and helped the Paiutes plant corn and vegetables, and they held peace parleys together. 15 When President Brigham Young visited the region in April 1870, he told Jacob to continue visiting the Indian camps, maintain peaceful relations, and prevent the shedding of blood. At that time Jacob was relieved of his previous responsibility of guarding the frontier. A few months later, Major John W. Powell of the United States Geological Survey sought Jacob’s assistance as an interpreter and guide. On September 19 a peace council was held in the Mt. Trumball area. Major Powell relates: “After supper, we hold a long council. A blazing fire is built, and around this we sit—the Indians living here, the shivwits, Jacob Hamblin and myself. This man, Hamblin, speaks their language well, and has a great influence over all the Indians in the region round about. He is a silent, reserved man, and when he speaks, it is in a slow, quiet way, that inspires great awe. His talk is so low that they must listen attentively to hear, and they sit around him in deathlike silence. When he finishes a measured sentence, the chief repeats it, and they all give a solemn grunt.” 16 Jacob explained to the council the reason for Major Powell’s visit, reassuring them that they meant no harm. He told them that the Indians should be friends and help Major Powell find water. The chief of the Shevwits responded, “Your talk is good and we believe what you say. We believe in Jacob and look upon him as a father. When you are hungry you may have our game … We will show you the springs, and you may drink; the water is good. We will be friends, and when you come we will be glad.” 17 Major Powell, aware of the great abilities of Jacob as a peacemaker, asked him to accompany him to Fort Defiance. At that council Jacob again spoke to the Indians: “I have now gray hairs on my head, and from my boyhood I have been on the frontiers, doing all I could to preserve peace between white men and Indians. “I despise this killing, the shedding of blood. I hope you will stop this, and come and visit, and trade with our people.” When Jacob finished speaking Barbenceta 18 , the principal chief of the Navajos, stood up and walked over to Jacob. Tears started up in his eyes and he put his arms around him, saying: “My friend and brother, I will do all I can to bring about what you have advised.” 19 A treaty was signed as the result of this council. Sadly, this was broken by a tragedy during the last part of 1873. Four young Navajo braves were returning home when a blizzard arose. They took shelter in an empty home nearby. The storm continued, and, since they had no food, they killed a cow. When the owner heard that Indians had camped in his house and killed his cow, he gathered his friends and attacked the Indians. They killed three and wounded the fourth, who managed to escape. Jacob, upon learning of the incident, knew that to the Navajos it would appear as a flagrant violation of the treaty. The offenders were not Latter-day Saints but they were in “Mormon territory.” The Indians would consider it a Mormon treachery. Brigham Young sent word to Jacob to go immediately to the Navajos and explain that Latter-day Saints were not the perpetrators of the Grass Valley incident. Jacob was unable to find a single man willing to go with him on such a dangerous trip and was advised by many to stay home and prepare for war. “I left Kanab alone,” Jacob writes. “My son Joseph overtook me about fifteen miles out with a note from Bishop Levi Stewart, advising my return.” 20 Jacob, however, went on. Remaining overnight at Mowabby he received a second note from Bishop Stewart, saying he would surely be killed if he went on. But Jacob stoutly says of that occasion, “I felt that I had no time to lose. … My life was of small moment compared with the lives of the Saints and the interests of the kingdom of God. I determined to trust the Lord and go on.” 21 On his journey Jacob met two Smith brothers, who accompanied him. Upon arriving, Jacob found that Chief Hastile, the arbitrator, was not there. The young braves were set upon a blood revenge, but the older ones agreed to talk. One of the Smith brothers relates the following: “Into this lodge was crowded twenty-four Navajos, four of whom were Counselors of the Nation. The Council opened [the second day of talks] by the spokesman asserting that what Hamblin had said the previous night concerning the killing, was false, … that Hamblin was a party to the killings.” The spokesman then recommended death by fire for Jacob. The other two could return after witnessing the torture. Fully aware of the danger, Jacob “behaved with admirable coolness, not a muscle in his face quivered.” Then he spoke: “I have been acquainted with your people many years, and I have worked many moons to bring about peace … I hope you would not think of killing me for a wrong with which neither myself nor my people had anything to do.” He “challenged them to prove that he had ever deceived them; ever spoken with a forked tongue.” After his words, which began to soften the feelings of the elder Indians, the wounded brave was brought in and his wounds were exposed. According to one of the Smith brothers, “The sight of the wounded brave roused their passions to the utmost fury. … It seemed that our hour had come. … It was a thrilling scene; the erect proud form of the young Chief as he stood pointing at the wound in the kneeling figure before him; the circle of crouching forms; their dusky and painted faces animated by every passion that hatred and ferocity could inspire, and their glistening eyes fixed with one malignant impulse upon us. … “The suspense was broken by a Navajo … who once again raised his voice in our behalf, and, after a stormy discussion, Hamblin finally compelled them to acknowledge that he had been their friend; that he had never lied to them, and that he was worthy of belief now.” The council finally adjourned after a tense eleven hours and let the case go before the arbitrator. Jacob later said in his wry way, “For a few minutes I felt that if I were permitted to see friends and home again, I would appreciate the privilege.” At the closing of the investigation a month later, Chief Hastile said, “I am satisfied; I have gone far enough; I know our friends, the Mormons, are our true friends.” 22 At the end of 1874 Jacob was placed in charge of the Church’s livestock on the frontier and traded often with the now peaceable Navajos. A happy event occurred on the last of March 1875 when nearly two hundred Indians were baptized. During the winter of 1875–76, Jacob “had the privilege of remaining at home [in Kanab]. My family was destitute of many things. Some mining prospectors came along, and offered me five dollars a day to go with them, as protection against the Indians. … It seemed like a special providence to provide necessities for my family, and I accepted the offer.” 23 He continued in his labors and met with Brigham Young in 1876. At this time President Young gave Jacob a blessing in which he was given special status as an emissary to the Indians. President Young said to him: “You have always kept the Church and Kingdom of God first and foremost in your mind. … You can have all the blessings there are for any man in the temple.” Jacob says of this meeting, “The assurance that the Lord and his servants accepted my labors … has been a great comfort to me.” 24 At this time he was fifty-seven years old. Jacob moved his family to Arizona in 1878, but he visited Utah regularly to report on his labors in Arizona, and later in New Mexico, where he moved in 1884. During one trip to Utah in 1885, Jacob met with Wilford Woodruff, who was president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. President Woodruff recognized Jacob’s unusual abilities with the Indians and wrote him a special certificate. The certificate called him to be a missionary among the Lamanites and gave him the right and authority to go into any part of the United States and Mexico to preach the gospel. The next summer he paid a visit to the home of his son Lyman in Alpine, Arizona. While there he caught the chills and fever. He felt better after two weeks and wanted to go home. On the way back, he and his grandson camped out in the rain in a leaky shelter. Jacob became soaked and suffered a relapse. They camped out another night, and when they arrived home—now Pleasanton, New Mexico—they found everyone ill with malaria. After three days of illness he died, on 31 August 1886. His wife, the only one able to get out of bed, was assisted by some strangers in burying him. His body was later reinterred at Alpine, Arizona. On his gravestone are the words “Peacemaker In The Camps Of The Lamanites.” Jacob’s devotion to the Church was unfaltering. His faith and trust in God was absolute. And throughout the years, his love and dedication to his family was always a motivating force. Life was never easy for them. But their sacrifices and their loyalty to one another made it possible for Jacob to accomplish all that he did. Pearson Corbett, one of Jacob Hamblin’s biographers, says of him: “He loved President Brigham Young and the Prophet Joseph Smith and accepted them as direct emissaries from God. … His devotion and loyalty to his Church, his God, his family and fellow associates places his name high among his contemporaries and will be remembered among his people for generations to come.” 25 Frederick S. Dellenbaugh, an explorer and member of the Powell Colorado River Expedition, said of him: “Old Jacob was a remarkable character, and must hold a place in the annals of the Wilderness beside Jedediah Smith, Bridger, … and the rest of that gallant band. But he differed in one respect from every one of them; he sought no pecuniary gain, working for the good of his chosen people. … Old Jacob was one of the heroes of the Wilderness, and one of the last of his kind.” 26 Illustrated by Don Seegmiller Show References Notes Marlene B. Sullivan, a free-lance writer and mother of five, is a member of the North Logan Fifth Ward, North Logan Utah Stake.