The Church Historian's PressThe Church Historian's Press

Septimus Wagstaff Sears

Mr. Sears

8 March 1844—7 April 1903

Born 8 Mar. 1844 at Caldecot, Bedfordshire, England.1 Son of John Sears and Sarah Wagstaff.2  Son-in-law of EBW.3 Served as president of the Liverpool conference, 26 Mar. 1864–Jan. 1866.4 Married first Anna Cushing, 29 Jan. 1866, in Shipdham, Norfolk, England.5 Emigrated from Liverpool aboard the SS John Bright; arrived in New York City, 6 June 1866.6 Migrated to Utah Territory with the William Henry Chipman pioneer company; arrived by 16 Sept. 1866.7 Wife died, 30 July 1866, while en route to Utah Territory.8 Married second Isabel M. Whitney, daughter of Newel K. Whitney and EBW, 10 Apr. 1869, in Salt Lake City.9 Participated in plural marriage.10 Arrested in Chicago for unlawful cohabitation, 25 June 1885.11 Served as secretary of the chamber of commerce and as the commissioner of the transportation bureau in Salt Lake City, 1892.12 Served in the Utah territorial House of Representatives, 1894.13 Died 7 Apr. 1903 in Salt Lake City.14

Footnotes

  1. 1 Register of Births in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England, Septimus Sears, 8 Mar. 1844, as found in “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 21 Dec. 2017), Septimus Wagstaff Sears (KWJZ-Y96), Memories. “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake Temple, vol. F, 1866–1868, p. 64, line (1) 745, Septimus Wagstaff Sears, 8 Dec. 1866, microfilm 183405 (restricted access), Special Collections, FHL.  

  2. 2 Register of Births in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England, Septimus Sears, 8 Mar. 1844, as found in “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 21 Dec. 2017), Septimus Wagstaff Sears (KWJZ-Y96), Memories. 

  3. 3 Carol Cornwall Madsen, Emmeline B. Wells: An Intimate History (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2017), 504–505.

  4. 4 London Conference Manuscript History and Historical Reports, 1837–1961, vol. 2, 1861–1880, LR 5006 2, CHL. “Correspondence,” Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, 13 Apr. 1867, 29:236.

  5. 5 “Norfolk, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754–1940,” database with images, Ancestry.com (https://ancestry.com, accessed 20 Dec. 2017), Septimus Sears and Anna Cushing, 29 Jan. 1866, p. 125, no. 249; from Church of England Parish Registers, Norfolk Record Office, Norwich, England.

  6. 6 “Septimus W. Sears,” Saints by Sea (https://saintsbysea.lib.byu.edu, accessed 26 Dec. 2019.)

  7. 7 “Septimus Wagstaff Sears,” Pioneer Database (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel, accessed 20 Dec. 2017).

  8. 8 William H. Chipman, Notebook, 1866, MS 915, image 8/104, CHL.

  9. 9  “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. E, p. 273, Septimus Wagstaff Sears and Isabel Modalena Whitney, 10 Apr. 1869, microfilm 1149515 (restricted access), FHL.

  10. 10 “Endowment House, Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. D, 1861–1866, p. 671, line 9092, Septimus Wagstaff Sears and Mary Ann Needham, 8 Dec. 1866, microfilm 1149514 (restricted access), Special Collections, FHL. 

  11. 11 “Local News,” Deseret News, 1 July 1885, 377.

  12. 12 “Great Salt Lake Sensations,” Standard (Ogden, Utah Territory), 31 Aug. 1892, 1.

  13. 13 “Members Elect of the Utah Legislature,” Journal (Logan, Utah Territory), 30 Dec. 1893, 5. Territory of Utah Legislative Assembly Rosters, 1851–1894, p. 62, Utah State Archives.

  14. 14 “Utah, Salt Lake County Death Records, 1849–1949,” p. 207 (1903), Septimus W. Sears; Salt Lake County Management and Archives, Salt Lake City. “Death of S. W. Sears,” Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Apr. 1903, 5.