William H. Dame Collection

William Horne Dame was born 15 July 1819 in Farmington, Stafford County, New Hampshire, to Jeremiah and Susan Horne Dame. He married Lovinna Andrews in 1838. Lovinna was a sister to Sophia Andrews, who was married to his uncle, Janvrin Hayes Dame. Janvrin and Sophia had been baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1835, and they introduced the church to William and Lovinna. In 1841, William and Lovinna were baptized by Elder Samuel H. Gurley. They moved to Nauvoo in 1844, then to Salt Lake City in September 1848. Known as an "expert surveyor" he helped with the survey and planning of Salt Lake City. In 1850, at age 31, William was called to colonize Southern Utah with the first company of the Iron Mission. He and Lovinna were present when Parowan was founded on January 13, 1851. He and Edward Dalton surveyed and laid out the town site of Parowan on January 22, 1851. Then became Mayor of Parowan on May 16, 1851. In November 1851, he surveyed the new settlement on Coal Creek which was called Cedar City. In April of 1852, he was President of the Company from Parowan which founded a settlement and established a tannery on Red Creek, known today as Paragonah. On August 3, 1953, he and the other residents of the community were forced to return to the safety of the Fort at Parowan because of problems with the Indians in central Utah. Dame was a member of the Iron County Militia (also known as the Nauvoo Legion). He became a First Lieutenant in June 1851, a Captain of Company A in November 1852, and a Colonel in 27 May 1854. Which was the highest military position in Iron County. In 1854, he was elected to his first term as a Representative to the Utah Territorial Legislature. Following the death of Calvin C. L. Smith, he was called as President of the Parowan LDS Stake on January 16, 1856. In November 1874, he was arrested in connection with the tragedy at Mountain Meadows and imprisoned for almost twenty-two months. He was tried at Beaver in May 1876, and acquitted of charges on October 10, 1876. He served as county recorder for Iron County from 1877 until his death. He was released as Stake President in March of 1880, and died at Parowan on August 15, 1884. His polygamous wives were Virginia Lovina Newman, Sarah Ann Carter, and Lydia Ann Killian. He was later divorced from Sarah Ann Carter and Lydia Ann Killian. He had no children, but with his wives, he raised Rachel Pass and his nephew, William Albert McBride, and niece, Mable McBride. He brought Rachel home from his 1860-62 mission to England. [Note: Special Collections and Manuscript Department, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University has a William Horne Dame Manuscript Collection. A register of this collection is available.]