George was converted in England and traveled to America with his widowed mother at the age of 13. However, soon afterwards, at the age of 14, his mother died, leaving him alone. He eventually came to Salt Lake along with many of the members. He eventually did many things, including becoming a minuteman, and fighting in the Black Hawk war. He is also known for building a canal in Weber by himself.
It was there is Weber that George married Anna Margretta Christensen, from Denmark in 1859. A couple of years later, George followed the prophet and entered into polygamy with Catherine Juliane Johanna Paasch and later to Karen Marie Sorenson. Both lived in his home.
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| George Thomas Peay Sr. |
"He had a horse called Pomp", he often told his children how Pomp saved his life when the Morrisites tried to capture him. He realized an ambush was set for him so he lay down on his horse and said "Home Pomp", the horse carried him safely through their lines. They said he was possessed of the Devil because he could go through their lines unharmed" (Biography of George Thomas Peay).
The biographical account of George also includes some background information on the Morrisites themselves.
Joseph Morris was a member of the church who after a history of troubled marriages and getting into trouble for his "unorthodox doctrines," received revelations declaring that he was a prophet. He organized his church in 1861 and baptized 500 new members in the next year.
"Everyone's assets were turned into the church. He claimed to be called of the Lord, reincarnated with the Spirit of Mosses, and had the calling to preside over the church and set order in those things in which the church had strayed.. He was to be the President and Brigham Young his counselor. He claimed the coming of Christ was eminent, setting dates, when they didn't materialize, he would have another revelation blaming the members for not being faithful enough. They did not plant crops and even the ones which some planted were trampled down, as not being necessary" (Biography of George Thomas Peay).Morris even once dressed in regal clothes on a white horse. However, despite his best efforts, many became disenchanted as the amount of food for the Morrisites dwindled. Eventually, pressures led to armed action between the Morrisites and other Utahans. The Morrisites were both threatening and dangerous to the mormons. A couple of fights led to a submission on the Morrisites side. However, they would eventually cause more issues later.
By 1867, George had married his third wife, Karen Marie Sorensen. She was another Danish girl and was related to his first wife, whose parents had both died. Karen stayed with them for a while before finding her own part of the house with Hannah. According to his biography, George learned to love her and when United States officials came around, it was still said, "He was very proud of his family and would not disown any of them. Rather, he served six months in prison for polygamy" (Family Search).
Instead of running to Mexico in the way that some of my ancestors did, George chose to stay and go to prison. The prisons these men were put in were tough and brutal. Prison reforms were lacking and discrimination was heavily present. However, George eventually did survive the process and did come home.
George's life story is interesting because it allows us to see how the Church handled side groups and branch off. Also, the willingness that George had to go to jail for polygamy was impressive to me because even in the face of opposition, he valued his family and the commandments more. In this way, it seems to me that he was a faithful saint trying to do what was right.
Works Cited:
"Biography Of George Thomas Peay." Free Family History and Genealogy Records - FamilySearch.org. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/9506088?returnLabel=Karen%2BMarie%2BSorensen%2B%28KWXS-6L7%29&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffamilysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2FKWXS-6L7%2Fmemories>.
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