| Show WHO WAS EARLIER andrew andre w jenson of this city who hasteen baa been on lin the old folks folk committee for ft a long time and who la Is engaged la in obtaining historical information relating to utah and her ber people writes to the NEWS as aa follows upon ft a very innervating subject A few years ago the old folks committee of bait ait lake city offered asa prize ft a gold modal medal to tb the e wait man who dad the arst in utah according cording to the belp information then ut at hanu the medal adal was af awarded added to mr carter of st george one ODB ot oi the of 1947 1847 since then however bp devor several beveral othere also algo pioneer plon eera have claimed to be the first to plow in the valley of the great salt bait loke and to the number of the is in now added mr luvi levi N endall Kec dall of mapleton utah county abo during my recent visit to that place signed elgner the following affidavit marleton utah co utah august 1 1893 1 I levi nowell newell kendahl Ken dail one of the utah pioneers of 1847 ano and now a resident of mapleton precinct county of utah territory ot of utah being first duly sworn do goeb ively say aay that I 1 arrived on the present resent site of salt lake city on the gay day of july 1847 in what is generally g ene rally known in history as orson pratts advance compan yand that soon af after ter having formed our encampment on or near what was waa subsequently known as an the eighth ward square preparations preparation a were made to plow some land in order to plant potatoes and late vegetables I 1 aked joked yoked up three ypke of oxen which I 1 hitched to the first plow that was gotten ready for service and drove a short distance north of our encampment when I 1 turned the team eastward and john S eldredge at stuck u c k the low in the be ground and held it w while hile I 1 slow grove rove the team and thus we two plowed the firt t furrow which was ever made by white men on the he present bite of salt lake city after going about one hundred yards we broke our plow while endeavoring deavo ring to pull through a patch of wire grass grace I 1 am positive that this was the very first attempt made by any of the pioneers to plow and that thac none were ahead of us up but I 1 remember that one or more teams started to plow directly after we bad commenced LEVI N KENDALL subscribed Subscribe dand and sworn to before me aaron johnson a justice of the peace in and for mapleton pr precinct utah county count utah territory this let day of august in presence of the following named w witnesses aneses JOHNSON li leonard iza both C packard elizabeth M bird charles M bird edwin L whiting S B D P fullmer richard L Mendenhall Herbert Manwaring John mendenhall ball A 8 fullmer Pu llmer eva bird gertrude Gor trude perry andrew jenson in the interest of accurate history I 1 would suggest that all ali the other pioneers if cf 1847 who are yet alive alire and acquainted with the facts I 1 in U the case furnish a briten statement similar to the one given eo by mr kendall Ke udall in order that due dire credit may to ie given iven to the parties the question having once been sprung anil partly ventilated eda for oneal anxious that it should be thoroughly investigated until a plain and definite answer can be given an answer that will leave the historian without doubt as to which of the men who first pioneered the way to these valleys belongs the honor of turning the first sod in ID what Is now the territory of utah |
