Peter Maughan

Peter Maughan (May 7, 1811 – April 24, 1871) was an early Mormon pioneer who settled the Cache Valley of Utah under the direction of Brigham Young.

Maughan was the sixth child of William Maughan and Martha Wilson and was born at Milton, Cumberland, England. As a youth, he worked in the lead mines at Alston, England. He married Ruth Harrison on October 1, 1831 and six children were born to them.

Peter and Ruth were baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Alston in 1838 and were active in the branch. Ruth died on March 26, 1841, shortly after the birth of their sixth child. Following the counsel of Brigham Young, who was on a mission in England, Maughan and his children set sail on the Rochester for America, arriving May 19, 1841. Sailing with them were seven of the nine apostles who had been serving in England. The trip also was a sad occasion for Maughan, as he had to bury his baby daughter, Ruth, at sea.

Maughan and his family went to Kirtland, Ohio for a few weeks where he met a young widow, Mary Ann Weston Davis. When he decided to travel to Nauvoo, Illinois, Mrs. Davis and her companion were in the same wagon train which allowed them to become more acquainted. After arriving in Nauvoo, they decided they would be married on November 2, 1841. To them were born eight children.

In Nauvoo, Maughan found work as a stonemason on the Nauvoo Temple. The family lived in Nauvoo for about two and a half years before Maughan was sent to Rock Island, Illinois to mine coal for the families in Nauvoo. When trouble developed in Nauvoo and the Saints were abandoning the city, the family was told to close up the mines in Rock Island and prepare to travel to the West.

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