PERRIGRINE SESSIONS OBITUARY

Contributed By

Last of the Three Pioneers of Bountiful Passes Away--Crossed the Plains Six Times. Fifteen Years Devoted to Missionary Labors, Traveling over 50,000 Miles--Father of

Fifty-Five Children.

Peregrine Sessions, last of the three pioneer settlers of Bountiful, passed away of old age last Saturday, June 3, 1893, after an illness of many months.

Peregrine was the son of David and Patty Sessions, the oldest of a family of eight children, and born June 15, 1814, in Newry, Oxford Co., Maine. His early life was spent

working on a farm of 400 acres with his father, attending the district school during winter. Sept. 21, 1834 he married Julia Ann Kilgore of Newry, Maine. Was baptized into

the church by the first bishop Partridge on the 17th of Sept. 1834. June 5th, 1837, he and his family started for Kirtland here they arrived in November of the same year.

Later the family moved to Far West with the Saints and after the family's arrival there he made a trip to Maine to attend to some business. Feb. 18th, 1839, he was ordained

a Seventy by Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, and on the 17th, of June of that year he went on his first mission, which was to the state of Maine, being absent from

home until June 14th of the following year. In April 1842, he started on his second mission to Maine arriving home again in June 1844. He served as Joseph's and Brigham's

body guard for three years. Lost his first wife, Jan. 5, 1845. Left Far West and moved to Nauvoo and in Feb. 1846, left the last named city for Winter Quarters, finding his

father and mother in Council Bluffs. He built a log house in Winter Quarters, and during the winger made a trip back to Missouri after provisions; also went out on several

hunting expeditions to supply the camp with meat and honey which he was very successful in getting.

June 5th, 1846 a traveling outfit was secured and the great journey across the plains commenced; in the way of provisions, three hundred pounds of flour was allowed each

individual. There were 600 wagons in the entire train, the first eighty-seven being in his charge.

P. G. Sessions and P. P. Pratt traveled ahead of the company to select camping places, suitable place to ford rivers, etc. He arrived in the valley of the great Salt Lake on

the 25th of Sept. of the same year. He made the first wagon track north of the Hot Springs, locating in Bountiful the same fall of of his arrival.

The following spring (1848) he sowed seven acres of wheat and planted fourteen acres of corn, but later that year, for about seven weeks, the crickets threatened their

crops, but still they had a good harvest; wheat being as high as $10 per bushel. This year he built the first house that was ever erected in this town, which was later named

after him.

On Oct. 15gh 1848, started back east after his sister Sylva, returning to Utah on the 26 of June 1850 with a company of 149 mean and were on their way to California to

hunt gold. These miners left considerable money with him for provisions which they bought to supply them on their journey, flour then being $50 per cwt.

In 1851, he built his large adobe house (57x57). Sept. 1852, left on a mission to England, returning three years later. The year of fifty-seven was spent in Nevada on a

mission. In sixty-nine and seventy-two he sent to Maine doing missionary work and gathering genealogies. Much of the latter part of his life was spent in laboring in the

temples for the dead and much means was used for that purpose.

Six wives and forty-one children are left to mourn his loss; two wives and fourteen children having preceded him.

Funeral Services.

Funeral services were held in the Tabernacle on Tuesday, June 6th, where an unusually large audience, composed of old and young, assembled to show their last respects

to the highly esteemed pioneer and leader.

David Stoker, E. B. Tripp, Apostle John Henry Smith and Prest. Joseph F. Smith were the speakers.

Utah Digital Collection, Davis County Clipper, 8 June 1893, 1