Death of Green Flake, African-American slave who drove Brigham Young into the Salt Lake Valley on Jul 24, 1847. Green was owned by Mormon James M. Flake who lent him along with a wagon and two mules to the Church for the 1847 trek west. Upon the death of James M. Flake in 1850 his widow moved to California, a free state, but before leaving gave her "Negro slave Green Flake" to the Church as tithing. Green worked two years for Brigham Young and for Heber C. Kimball, and was then granted his freedom. After his wife's death he moved to Idaho. He returned to Salt Lake in 1897 to attend the 50th anniversary "jubilee" celebration of the arrival of the pioneers, where he received a certificate honoring him as a surviving member of the Brigham Young pioneer company. He is one of three slaves listed on the plaque on the Brigham Young monument in downtown Salt Lake City under the category of "Colored Servants."
[Source: http://www.advent-adam.com/jakestand.html (cached, based on http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies)]
The other two "Colored Servants" listed on the plaque are Oscar Crosby and Hark Lay.
ReplyDeletealso known as William Crosby (Born Sep.19, 1808 in Indiana. Died 1882 in Kanab, Utah).
ReplyDeleteHowever, Andrew Jenson's LDS Biographical Encyclopedia 4:697 has Oscar Crosby (born about 1815 in Virginia; died 1870 in Los Angeles, California).
ReplyDeleteSource for comment no.2 is Encyclopedia of LDS History (Garr, Cannon, Cowan, Holzapfel), p.266 which uses as its source a Kate B. Carter book).
ReplyDeleteJenson's LDS Biog.Encyclo. 4:711 has Hark Lay (born c.1825 in Mississippi - died c.1890 at Union, Salt Lake Co., Utah).
ReplyDeleteWilliam Crosby obviously is not one of the 3 on the plaque and is someone else.
ReplyDelete