Udall Family - Pioneer Generation

Pioneer Generation

David King Udall can be considered the family's founder. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to David Udall and Eliza King, recent Mormon converts from England. They immigrated to the United States in 1851. The family travelled across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains by ox cart and settled in Nephi, Utah. The elder David later became a Mormon bishop.

In this environment, the younger David grew up to be a fervent Mormon as well. He married Eliza Stewart and they settled in Kanab, Utah. Shortly after their marriage, David left to serve as a missionary in England for two years. In 1880, he was called by his church to move with his family to St. Johns, Apache County, Arizona, in order to become the local bishop and facilitate further Mormon migration into that community. This made David unpopular with established residents of St. Johns, who didn't want the Mormons there, but it did make him instantly prominent in the community.

David took a second wife, Ida Hunt, in 1882. She was a granddaughter of Jefferson Hunt. David was prosecuted for, but not convicted of, bigamy in 1884. In 1885, he was indicted for perjury stemming from a sworn statement he made backing a land claim for Miles Romney (grandfather of George W. Romney). His bail was posted by Baron Goldwater (father of Barry Goldwater). The trial and its aftermath received heavy regional press coverage. David was convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment at a federal penitentiary in Detroit, Michigan. Later, both the prosecutor and presiding judge at the trial wrote letters to President Grover Cleveland supporting a pardon, stating they believed that David had misunderstood the law and that he lacked any criminal intent. President Cleveland issued a pardon after David served just three months of his sentence.

In 1887 David was made a stake president, a higher position in the Mormon hierarchy. In that position, he oversaw Mormon affairs over a broad portion of Arizona.

That same year, Tommy Stewart, David's double brother-in-law, was elected to serve in the Utah Territorial Legislature. David's wife, Eliza, was Tommy's sister, and Tommy was married to David's sister, Mary, making Tommy a member of the Udall family by marriage. Tommy would later become mayor of Kanab.

In 1890, the LDS Church officially declared it opposed its members from entering into polygamous marriage. After this, hostility toward Mormons in many communities outside of Utah decreased. Between improved relations with non-Mormons, and an ever-growing Mormon population in eastern Arizona, David's popularity improved such that he was elected to a single term in the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1899, as a Republican. He died as a widely respected member of his community in 1938, living long enough to see several of his sons elected to public office.

David's younger brother, Joseph Udall, also settled in Arizona, and became active in local politics. He served as chairman of the Apache County Board of Supervisors from 1906–1920.