In 1881 Franklin Spencer returned home honorably from serving in the West Tennessee Conference of the Southern States Mission. For the last sixteen months he was president of the Conference. But his honorable service hides the fact that Franklin Spencer was not his real name. His real name was Nicholas Summers Perkins Jr.
He was born on 26 June 1838 in Augusta, Bracken County, Kentucky to Nicholas Summers Perkins and Sarah Jane Bradford. His mother died in childbirth in 1841. A couple of years later, Nicholas Sr. took his children and followed his extended family to Missouri. But when gold was discovered in California, Nicholas Sr. was bitten by the bug. Leaving his children in the care of his sister in Missouri, he went west where he died in 1850.
Although Nicholas stuttered badly when he spoke he was very intelligent. So his career interests led him into teaching school and he studied to become a lawyer. All this came to an end with the start of the Civil War. Very much a Southern man he went to Tennessee, joined the Confederate Army, and was given a commission. Because of his native intelligence he was quickly promoted, eventually achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In his role he was involved in a watershed event in his life: the destruction of a railway bridge which resulted in the death of “several” Union soldiers. [Later evidence shows he was falsely accused of the crime]
After the war Nicholas returned to Missouri, but eventually had to leave in fear of reprisals for his Confederate past. It isn't clear whether these were government officials, bounty hunters or just bitter relatives of those he killed. Regardless, he moved to Pueblo Colorado, where he had sisters, and bought some land. It wasn’t long before he was tracked down by a posse of 10 to 12 men led by J. H. Russell. In the fight Nicholas stabbed Russell who died three days later.
On the run once again, Nicholas took his new wife Sarah Jane Dodd, on the trail to Oregon. But along the way they stopped in Ogden, Utah to let Sarah recover from an illness. Impressed with the Mormons, Nicholas was baptized late in 1864. He changed his name to Franklin Spencer and the family settled in Manti. His devotion to his new faith was such that by 1874 he was asked to serve as the Bishop of Salina. He sat in the Utah State Legislature and was called to serve a mission to Tennessee, working in the area around Nashville. He ended his mission as president of the Tennessee Conference just after the Branch at Cane Creek had been formed.
Following his mission he stopped in Kentucky and gathered genealogical records. After his return to Utah he took a second wife, and eventually a third, which put him on the run again. He spent the rest of his life in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, where he died in 1915.
1 year ago
20 comments:
Oh, my goodness! I've never heard a word about this. What a dramatic biography.
You can't make up this stuff. And if someone did, they got enough (but not all)of the details right to make it believable. The source is supposed to be Laurel Elben, a grandniece of Franklin Spencer. She passed away in 1995 so I can't really ask her for more info.
For example, I wasn't able to verify the Civil War record. But it isn't an area of research I've spent a lot of time doing.
wow. that's a good story.
Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. As one relative said, "It would make a great movie."
Hello Bruce,
According to Ancestry.com's Civil War soldier's list, Nicholas Perkins enlisted as a private in Company D, 11th Cavalry Regiment Tennessee. However, his name does not appear in their collection of that regiment's history. There is another Perkins who appears to have made a name for himself in that same regiment, but his first and middle names are different. Don't know quite what to make of this, but at least this gives you a starting point should you wish to pursue it
Oh, spoke too soon. There is an "N. Perkins" who enlists as a second lieutenant in Company H,
13th Infantry Regiment Tennessee. He could also be your man. Ardis, is the one who could track this down for you. She can ferret out anything in genealogy.
Anonymous,
Thanks, I'll take a look at those. Maybe something in those records will provide me with a link.
Laurel Elben claimed he was a Lieutenant Colonel with the 11th Holmans Tennessee Cavalry. I didn't see him in the lists for that unit but I realized it isn't always that cut and dry.
Great story, thanks for sharing!
My mother, Laurel Elben Reed, had handwritten her family history, including this histry of Nicholas Summers Perkins, as she had remembered being told by her grandmother, Eliza Mary Perkins Elben, daughter, of NIcholas. Mother was born in 1906, and Eliza had died in 1928, so they'd had many years to know each other. I had typed verbatim, this history as written here. I have pictures of Eliza Mary Perkin before and after her marriage to John Elbin, my g. grandfather.
The anonymous above has an e-mail of preed648@aol.com
Paul Reed
Hello Franklin Spencer was my great great great (etc...) grandfather! Thank you for posting his story for all to see. I learned a bit myself :)
Email address for descendant above: erinforraz@yahoo.com
Thank you.
Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you liked it and I'm glad you learned something. I found Franklin Spencers story very imteresting
Hi Bruce
What were your sources for this story?
Franklin Spencer/Perkins is my g. g. Grandfather. I've heard this story told at family events so I read his personal history in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and he didn't mention any of this. He said he came west because he thought he killed his neighbor over some dispute and found out later the man survived.
So many sources, but probably the best source for this was his daughter, Minnie Spencer Gonzales, in her book "Franklin and Hannah Jane Spencer and Their Descendants" edited and published by her son Franklin Spencer Gonzales in 1983. I think I downloaded my copy from BYU archives.
FamilySearch has a scanned letter from the sister of Franklin Spencer. She verifies that he did not destroy the bridge and also that it was a neighbor attacking Franklin Spencer over water rights who was "killed" but apparently survived. Not a posse.
Several other interesting stories about Franklin Spencer: (all found on FamilySearch)
Franklin Spencer decided to "save" Brigham Young from the Mormons so he traveled to Salt T\Lake City to do so, but was instead converted.
Franklin Spencer had previously determined to learn Hebrew because he believed that the Bible was not translated correctly so he thought if he could translate it from Hebrew it would be correct. This project was derailed by the civil war.
Franklin Spencer nee Nicholas Perkins was the second president of the Sevier Stake (after Joseph A. Young); set apart July 15, 1877 by Orson Hyde. Succeeded by Albert K. Thurber in 1887, though he served in the Southern States Mission from 1879-81. A. Jenson, Biographical Encyclopedia 1:519. Jenson gives Sarah Jane Bradford as his mother but William F. Spencer as his father. (When/where did that name come from?)
According to an Ancestry.com page Franklin married his second wife, Hannah Jane Martin Feb. 8 1875 (before his return to the South), and his third and fourth wives in June 1884. (The Mexican colonies were established in 1885 and he was released as stake president in '87.) What did he do from 1885 to his death in 1915? That's thirty years!
There are so many wild stories about Franklin Spencer, as his 2nd great granddaughter I wonder how much is true. On the National Archives I found his compiled service record and it shows that he was only a Private. It does say that he was a prisoner of war. I would love to verify even a portion of his story as to why he fled and changed his name.
I really wish the names of the wives were included in these stories. I’m almost positive he was the first husband of my Great great grandmother, Eliza Dykes. Preliminary research says she was 12 years old when they married. One record by a bishop says she cried and begged to be released from the marriage because of cruelty. Biographies of 1 person help fill in the blanks of other people’s stories. Please consider as many names as you can. That being said, the name change was super helpful and interesting. Thank you
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