| TIDBIT OF HISTORY |
| Taken from the Feb. 2007 MMMF Newsletter. |
| Bob Jowett shared an interesting letter that relates to William Twitty Baker who was one of the 17 survivors of the massacre. It is a plea to Utah for some needed financial help for William Twitty in his senior years. The response from the State of Utah is most interesting in that they deny any responsibility for killing and the robbing the wagon train. |
| Read the letter written by Mr. Baker's Attorney. pdf. |
| The State of Utah was very brief in responding to the needs of the 76 year-old man who was orphaned from the richest family on the ill-fated wagon train. According to the depositions in the National Archives, his father, George Baker, lost two wagons, 136 cattle, 3 horses, 16 oxen, and five family member in the massacre and had a total worth of $4320. That was an awful lot of money during the Panic of 1857 and in the Great Depression in 1933.All of that propery was absorbed into the coffers of Brigham Young and his followers. It seems that a compassionate society could have given some help to William Twitty Baker who was orphaned by their actions and cast into of life of poverty. As usual the State of Utah denied any reponsibility for the massacre. Please note the language "so-called massacre" HAS ANYTHING CHANGED IN THE 73 YEARS SINCE THIS REQUEST WAS MADE? |
| Read the response letter from the State of Utah. pdf. |
| The Mountain Meadows Monument Foundation, Inc. placed a permanent marker on William Twitty Baker's grave in the Leslie Cemetery in Leslie, Arkansas. We hope this marker reminds the LDS Church of the horrible massacre committed by the followers of Brigham Young. The marker will also serve to remind the general public that William Twitty Baker was part of the first 9/11. He spent his life as a driver of freight wagons and was reportedly robbed by Jesse James while carrying the mail. |
| Contibuted by Burr Fancher |
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| "Billy's" parents George and Manerva Baker were murdered by the Mormons at Mountain Meadows. He and his two sisters Martha "Betty" and Sarah "Sally" (below) were among the 17 children surviving the bloodbath. |
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