Ephraim Hanks
Mormon pioneer and rescuer of the Martin handcart company.
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via Wikipedia: Ephraim Hanks · see source
Ephraim Knowlton Hanks (21 March 1826 – 9 June 1896) was a prominent member of the 19th-century Latter Day Saint movement, a Mormon pioneer, and a well-known leader in the early settlement of Utah. Born in Madison, Lake County, Ohio, to Benjamin Hanks and Martha Knowlton, he left home at 16 to work on the Erie Canal and serve in the United States Navy. After returning to Ohio, he learned his brother Sidney had joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Hanks himself became a member in 1845.
He left Nauvoo with Brigham Young's followers, joined Company B of the Mormon Battalion as a private, and marched to San Diego before rejoining the emigrants in the Salt Lake Valley. Hanks also volunteered in the Mormon militia during the 1850 campaign against the Timpanogos, taking part in the Battle at Fort Utah on February 8, where he helped charge a Timpanogos log house and participated in the pursuit and killing of around 100 Timpanogos people, many by execution.
Quick Facts
- Born
- 21 March 1826
- Died
- 9 June 1896
- Birthplace
- Madison, Lake County, Ohio
- Parents
- Benjamin Hanks and Martha Knowlton
- Joined lds church
- 1845
- Number of wives
- 4
- Number of children
- 26
Facts from the source article.
Rescue of the Martin handcart company
Ephraim Hanks was among the first to reach the 1856 Martin handcart company, providing buffalo meat to the starving emigrants. He killed many buffalo, noting that he had never seen so many in that area before. Hanks also cared for the sick and dying, washing frozen limbs with water and castile soap until the frozen parts fell off. For those with life-threatening frozen limbs, he anointed them, prayed, and amputated with a heated hunting knife; many reported feeling no pain.
Did You Know?
- Hanks served as a private in Company B of the Mormon Battalion, marching from the Midwest through Arizona to San Diego.
- During the Battle at Fort Utah on February 8, 1850, Hanks was part of a 16-man charge on a Timpanogos log house, and around 100 Timpanogos people were killed, many by execution.
- Hanks acted as a station master for the Pony Express, with Hanks' Station located on the Mormon Trail in Mountain Dell, now near Little Dell Reservoir.
- Hanks practiced plural marriage, having 4 wives and 26 children; his fourth wife, Hannah Hardy, never lived with him and the union was dissolved in 1856.
- A landmark in Capitol Reef National Park, EPH Hanks Tower, is named after him.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ephraim Hanks (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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