Of all the people to go down as villains in the history of the Latter-day Saints, perhaps none were as colorful as the infamous W. W. Drummond, Federal Judge of the Utah Territory in 1855. Arriving with a flamboyant woman whom he introduced as Mrs. Ada Drummond, the Judge immediately set out to cut away at the legal foundations of the Latter-day Saint settlements up and down the Utah territory - their probate courts, their water claims, timber claims, grazing claims, and their right to incorporate cities at all.
In this episode, we will explore how Judge Drummond abandoned his post and made his way to New Orleans, where he launched an all-out assault against the Latter-day Saints in the press, in lobbying Government officials, and angling to replace Brigham Young as Utah's Governor. Church Agents George A. Smith, Thomas Kane, John Taylor and William Appleby - noted with alarm that Drummond was fast becoming one of the most popular men in the country, and public opinion was quickly turning against the Mormon People. Thomas Kane then decided to conduct a gum-shoe investigation into Drummond's past. Who was the flamboyant woman that accompanied the Judge everywhere he went? Where did they meet? Was she really his wife? This investigation would take LDS Leaders into the seedy streets of Baltimore, where they would make contacts with the Madams of the city's numerous bordellos. But it was one thing to find the truth, another thing to convince the public it was true, and yet another thing to get the public to care. On today's episode, we conclude the colorful story of W.W. Drummond -- the Runaway Husband, Runaway Father, and Runaway Judge.
To learn more about the stories in and material in this podcast, please see these (excellent!) sources:
Ronald W. Walker, "Proud as a Peacock and Ignorant as a Jackass: William W. Drummond's Unusual Career with the Mormons," 42 J. of Mormon Hist. 3, 1 (July 2016), available at https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jmormhist.42.3.0001
At Sword's Point: A Documentary History of the Utah War to 1858, Vol I and II (ed. William MacKinnon), 2008.
* On a personal note, William ("Bill") MacKinnon was kind enough to correspond with me while I was deployed to Afghanistan in 2019. An Air Force Veteran himself, he very generously sent me copies of hitherto-unknown primary sources, topics of future interest, and thoughts on a wide array on early aspects and figures in Utah History. His enormous body of scholarly work on the Utah War is simply incredible.
Key Terms: William Drummond, Ada Carroll, "Skinny Ada," Brigham Young, John Taylor, John Burnhisel, Federal Judges, Utah Territory, Deseret, William "Wild Bill" Hickman, Levi Abrams, Cato, Posse, Native Tribes, Indian Wars, Jail, Writ, Habeas Corpus.
Note: This episode includes Drummond's line on first seeing Mary Fletcher, "You are the same person I saw a few nights since in a dream! Is it possible that I am going to love a [hussy?]" In the interests of our younger listeners, I substituted his actual word with the term "hussy." See Ronald Walker's excellent article to get the actual quote.