Well now, settle down and let ol’ Clemmie tell you about the second time the good folks of Lehi went to the ballot box to choose their leaders. It weren’t quite as novel as that first time, but it was still a mighty important day for our little town.
Now, you recall how we finally got to elect our own Mayor and Council back on January 29th, 1853? Well, seems like them fellas only served for about thirteen months ’cause come March 6th, 1854, it was time for another election.
Now, this second go-round was a good bit quieter than you might expect, especially nowadays with all the fuss and speeches. Seems like there was only one ticket in the field, and no opposition to it was shown. That tells you somethin’ right there – either everyone was mighty pleased with how things were goin’, or maybe folks hadn’t quite gotten the hang of vigorous political debate just yet.
They still had to do things proper, mind you. Alfred Bell, Stephen H. Pierce, and Daniel Cox stepped up to act as the judges of the election, and Thomas Taylor was there again as the clerk. Seemed like Mr. Taylor was gettin’ to be a regular fixture when it came to countin’ votes.
And who did the folks choose to lead ’em this time? Well, David Evans was elected Mayor. He must have made a good impression in that first appointed stint and then the following partial term after the first election.
The folks also picked their Aldermen: John R. Murdock, Preston Thomas, William Burgess, and Alfred Bell. That’s a solid group of fellas right there.
And for Councilors, the voters selected Abraham Losee, Daniel Collett, Lorenzo H. Hatch, Ezekiel Hopkins, Joseph Skeens, Abel Evans, Thomas Ashton, Daniel Cox, and Richard Gibbons. Now, a bit of a kerfuffle arose later ’cause it turned out Abraham Losee hadn’t become a citizen of the United States, so he couldn’t rightly hold office. William S. S. Willes ended up taking his place.
This second election, even without any hullabaloo, showed that Lehi was serious about this whole self-governance thing. They were continuin’ to build their little city, electin’ folks they trusted to look out for their best interests. Even though Mr. Barnes, our first Mayor, hadn’t stayed long, the community kept on movin’ forward, establishin’ who would guide their path.
Bibliography:
- Gardner, Hamilton. History of Lehi: Including a Biographical Section. Published by the Lehi Pioneer Committee, The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1913.
Unofficial Historian, Front Porch Philosopher & Occasional Pie Judge
Clementine Wrenfield (but you can call her Clemmie) is a self-appointed keeper of curious stories, dusty diaries, and questionable facts. Born under a clothesline and raised on her grandmother’s tall tales, Clemmie believes every fence post has a story—and she’s on a mission to find it. When she’s not digging through old trunks or sipping sassafras tea, she enjoys hosting dramatic reenactments of historical events using only sock puppets and her neighbor’s goats.
She’s never met a mystery she didn’t want to solve or a pie she didn’t want to critique.