Joseph Coulson Rich was born 14 January 1841 in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, United States to Charles Coulson Rich (1809-1883) and Sarah De Armon Pea (1814-1893) and died 17 October 1908 Centerville, Davis County, Utah, United States of unspecified causes. He married Ann Eliza Standley Hunter (1844-1930) 14 January 1869 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States.
Biography
Joseph Coulson Rich was a Mormon settler of Idaho Territory and an Idaho state politician and judge.
In 1847, the family traveled with Mormon pioneers from Nauvoo to the Salt Lake Valley. In 1849, Charles Rich became an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
In 1860, Joseph Rich traveled to England and Wales, where he was a missionary for the LDS Church until 1863. During that time, his father was the president the LDS Church's European Mission, which was based in England. Returning to Salt Lake City, Charles and Joseph Rich were recruited by Brigham Young to participate in the settlement of the Bear River Valley in Idaho Territory. Under the leadership of Charles Rich, the settlers founded Paris, Idaho. On January 25, 1867, Joseph Rich became a member of the Council of Fifty.
In 1868, Rich wrote a famous article in the Deseret News in which he claimed that a group of settlers had seen "monsters" swimming in the waters of Bear Lake.[1] This was the beginning of the popular legend that the Bear Lake monster inhabits the lake.
Rich was a Democrat and was twice elected to represent Bear Lake County in the Idaho Territorial Legislature. He presided over the Democratic Party's Idaho state convention in 1894 and was elected to the Idaho State Senate in 1896. In 1898, he was elected as the judge of Idaho's fifth judicial district.
Marriage and Family
In 1886, Rich married Ann Eliza Hunter, a daughter of Edward Hunter (1793-1883), then presiding bishop in the LDS Church.
Rich died in Centerville, Utah, and was buried in the Paris Cemetery in Paris.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Sarah Ann Rich (1870-1870) | |||
| Edward Charles Rich (1871-1942) | |||
| George Standley Rich (1872-1872) | |||
| Susanna Lenore Rich (1874-1949) | |||
| Sarah Jane Rich (1876-1971) | |||
| Libbie Hunter Rich (1878-1909) | |||
| Joseph Coulson Rich (1881-1967) | |||
| Standley Hunter Rich (1883-1975) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Sarah Jane Rich (1839-1926) | |||
| Joseph Coulson Rich (1841-1908) | 14 January 1841 Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, United States | 17 October 1908 Centerville, Davis County, Utah, United States | Ann Eliza Standley Hunter (1844-1930) |
| Artimissia Messeniah Rich (1843-1843) | |||
| Charles Coulson Rich (1844-1890) | 2 September 1844 Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, United States | 8 June 1890 Vernal, Uintah County, Utah, United States | Jane Susanna Stock (1846-1925) |
| John Thomas Rich (1846-1893) | |||
| Elizabeth Rich (1849-1932) | |||
| David Patton Rich (1853-19300 | |||
| Benjamin Erastus Rich (1855-1913) | |||
| Frederick Carmel Rich (1857-1941) | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Mary Bratton Rich (1846-1931) | |||
| Eliza Ann Rich (1848-1849) | |||
| Frances Phoebe Rich (1850-1932) | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Laura Esphena Rich (1848-1849) | |||
| Mary Ann Rich (1850-1935) | |||
| William Lyman Rich (1852-1928) | |||
| Morris Marion Rich (1854-1855) | |||
| Minerva Marium Rich (1854-1939) | |||
| Amasa Mason Rich (1856-1919) | |||
| Pauline Phelps Rich (1859-1860) | |||
| Ezra Clark Rich (1864-1948) | |||
| Eward Israel Rich (1868-1969) | |||
| Jacob Phelps Rich (1874-1874) | |||
Vital Records
See Also
- wikipedia:en:Joseph C. Rich
- Joseph Rich
- Rich in Hancock County, Illinois
- Rich in Davis County, Utah
Notes
- ^ D. Robert Carter, "The meandrous monster migrates to Utah Lake", Daily Herald (Provo, Utah), May 6, 2006.
References
- An Illustrated History of the State of Idaho (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1899) pp. 693–695.