Stillman Pond
Born 26 Oct. 1803 at Hubbardston, Worchester Co., Massachusetts.[1] Son of Preston Pond and Hannah Rice.[2] Baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Elias Harris, 28 Dec. 1841, at New Salem, Franklin Co., Massachusetts.[3] Married first Almyra Whittemore, 22 Dec. 1825, at Westminster, Worcester Co.; five children; wife died, 25 July 1833. [4] Married second Maria Louisa Davis, 4 Feb. 1834, at Hubbardston; six children.[5] Associated with EBW in Hubbardston; Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois; Winter Quarters, unorganized U.S. territory (later in Omaha, Douglas Co., Nebraska); and Salt Lake City.[6] During the journey from Nauvoo and while at Winter Quarters, nine of his children and his wife, Maria, died.[7] Migrated to the Salt Lake Valley with the Abraham O. Smoot and George B. Wallace pioneer company, arriving by 29 Sept. 1847.[8] Married third Abigail Thorn, 8 Feb. 1849, in Salt Lake City; eight children.[9] Participated in plural marriage.[10] Moved to Cache Co., Utah Territory, by 1860; lived in Logan and Richmond, 1860–1878.[11] Served as a lieutenant in the Utah territorial militia and the Richmond City Home Guard, beginning 1861.[12] Invested in the Richmond Co-op, a branch of the Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution, Oct. 1868.[13] Died 30 Sept. 1878 in Richmond.[14] Inspired the Primary children’s song “Follow the Prophet,” written in 1987.[15]
[1] Hubbardston, MA, Town Clerk, Vital Records, ca. 1746–1886, Births, p. 132, Stillman Pond, 26 Oct. 1803, microfilm 759552, DGS 7009553, image 76/374, FHL. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 20 Apr. 2020), Stillman Pond (KWNP-5VD).
[2] Hubbardston, MA, Town Clerk, Vital Records, ca. 1746–1886, Marriages and Intentions, Preston Pond and Hannah Rice, 7 Mar. 1802, microfilm 759552, DGS 7009553, image 371/374, FHL.
[3] Leon Young, Biography of Stillman Pond, p. 2, MS 20673, CHL. “A Tribute of Love,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 June 1899, 6.
[4] Hubbardston, MA, Town Clerk, Vital Records, ca. 1746–1886, Marriages and Intentions, p. 213, Stillman Pond and Almyra Whittmore, 22 Dec. 1825, microfilm 759552, DGS 7009553, image 121/224, FHL. Leon Young, Biography of Stillman Pond, p. 1, MS 20673, CHL.
[5] Hubbardston, MA, Town Clerk, Vital Records, ca. 1746–1886, Marriages and Intentions, p. 243, Stillman Pond and Mary L. Davis, 4 Feb. 1834, microfilm 759552, DGS 7009553, image 139/224, FHL. Leon Young, Biography of Stillman Pond, p. 2, MS 20673, CHL.
[6] EBW, Diary, 29 Mar. and 23 Apr. 1846. “A Tribute of Love,” Women’s Exponent, 1 June 1899, 6.
[7] Winter Quarters Sexton Records, 1846–1848, Record Book, LR 6359 24, images 14, 15, 18, 31/51, CHL. Richard E. Bennett, “The Mormon Exodus—as Seen through the Horace K. Whitney Journals,” in Far Away in the West: Reflections on the Mormon Pioneer Trail, edited by Scott C. Esplin, Richard E. Bennett, Susan Easton Black, and Craig K. Manscill (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2015), 135–159. Leon Young, Biography of Stillman Pond, pp. 2–3, MS 20673, CHL.
[8] “Stillman Pond,” Pioneer Database (https://history,churchofjesuschirst.org/overlandtravel/, accessed 31 Mar. 2020).
[9] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, line 76, Stillman Pond and Abigail Thorne, 6 Sept. 1852, microfilm 183393 (restricted access), FHL. 1860 U.S. Census, Cache Co., Utah Territory, p. 259, Stillman Pond. 1870 U.S. Census, Richmond, Cache Co., Utah Territory, p. 10, Stillman Pond. “In Memorium,” Women’s Exponent, 1 Apr. 1904, 7.
[10] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, line 761, Stillman Pond and Elizabeth Bessac, 26 Sept. 1852, microfilm 183393 (restricted access), FHL. “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. F, 16 Aug. 1867–30 Sept. 1870, p. 139, line 15445, Stillman Pond and Anna Regina Jacobson Christiansen, 28 Mar. 1870, microfilm 1149515 (restricted access), FHL.
[11] 1860 U.S. Census, Cache Co., Utah Territory, p. 259, Stillman Pond. 1870 U.S. Census, Richmond, Cache Co., Utah Territory, p. 10, Stillman Pond. Amos W. Bair, History of Richmond, Utah (Richmond, UT: Richmond Bicentennial Committee, 1976), 5.
[12] Amos W. Bair, History of Richmond, Utah (Richmond, UT: Richmond Bicentennial Committee, 1976), 16. Utah, Territorial Militia Records, 1849–1877, Cache District Muster Rolls, 1861–1877, Stillman Pond, 5 Sept. 1861, DGS 4319746, image 11/21, FHL.
[13] Leon Young, Biography of Stillman Pond, p. 6, MS 20673, CHL. Amos W. Bair, History of Richmond, Utah (Richmond, UT: Richmond Bicentennial Committee, 1976), 171.
[14] Leon Young, Biography of Stillman Pond, p. 7, MS 20673, CHL.
[15] “Follow the Prophet,” Duane Hiatt (http://duanehiatt.com/follow-the-prophet/#axzz3TRdMTFsD, accessed 24 Mar. 2020).