Col William H Dame

http://www.1857ironcountymilitia.com/index.php?title=William_H._Dame

http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.org/appendices/appendix-c-the-militi...

William H. Dame (1819-1884) - Born in Stafford County, New Hampshire on July 15, 1819, Dame obviously made his way westward somewhere along the line and had at least one wife, Lovinia Dame. In 1857, he was a colonel and regimental commander of the Tenth Regiment and bishop of the Parowan Ward, Dame was administratively responsible for the actions of officers and soldiers under his command. Though under the ecclesiastical direction of President Isaac C. Haight, his religious superior was actually his military inferior, thus giving Dame more accountability and responsibility in the matters of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Though he did not participate personally in the massacre, he traveled to the site the following morning and when he saw the terrible carnage, he allegedly explained, "Horrible! Horrible!," as the color drained from his face. Isaac C. Haight, how had participated in the massacre, responded, "You should have thought of that before you issued the orders." Then Dame reportedly said: "I didn't think there were so many of them [women and children], or I would not have had any thing do with it." When Dame collapsed in distress, an angry Haight yelled at his military superior, "You throw the blame of this thing on me and I will be revenged on you if I have to meet you in hell to get it!" Both men would retain their militia commands and Dame would become the president of the Parowan Stake, a position he held until 1880. Years after the bloody massacre, Dame and Haight, and seven other men were served with indictments and warrants issued for their arrest in 1874. Though they went into hiding, Dame was found and apprehended. He was first jailed in Beaver, Utah before being transferred to the territorial penitentiary, where he remained until May, 1876, when he was released pending trial. In September 1876, as Lee's second trial was about to begin, Prosecutor Sumner Howard dropped the charges against Dame, apparently as part of the deal with church authorities allowing Howard to convict Lee. He died on August 16, 1884 and was buried in the Parowan City Cemetery.

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Col. William H. Dame, Stake President of the Parowan Ward and the military commander who ordered the Mountain Meadows Massacre. (Dame was the Stake President. See Explanation by Steve Harris | More Information from G.G.

The morning following the massacre when Dame, arrived at the site and saw the horrendous carnage, all color drained from his face and he exclaimed "Horrible! Horrible!"

"Horrible enough," Issac Haight said loudly, "but you should have thought of that before you issued the orders."

"I didn't think there were so many of them [women and children]," Dame is reported to have said, "or I would not have had any thing do with it." He then collapsed in distress, which infuriated Haight. Later Haight yelled at Dame, "you throw the blame of this thing on me and I will be revenged on you if I have to meet you in hell to get it!

William had several wives but never had any children. A family story has one of William's wifes and he having an argument about whose fault it is that there were no children. William blamed the wife. The wife divorced him and remarried and had several children. This ex-wife made a point to bring her children to Church while William was conducting a meeting and sit in the front row with her children. Lydia's history meets some of this story, but we have no reference that it was her.

Elder William Dame often visited with the Pass family, and became very fond of the children. When he was released to go home, he asked if he might take little eight-year-old Rachel to Utah with him. He and his wife had no children, so he said he would love and care for Rachel as he would a daughter. The parents had a heart-rending decision to make, but they finally decided to let Rachel go, since there would be one less to take when they were ready to leave about two years later. ~courtesy D. L. Velaquez~