Pioneer's Information
Type of Pioneer: Early Pioneer
Pioneer's Name: Gleason, JohnStreator (more stories about this Pioneer)
Birth Place: Livonia, Livingston, NY, USA
Date of Birth: Wed, 13 Jan, 1819
Date of Death: Wed, 21 Dec, 1904
Father: (more stories with this pioneer)
Mother: (more stories with this pioneer)
Spouse: Desdemona Chase (more stories with this pioneer)
Other Spouses: (more stories with this pioneer)
Arrived in Utah: Thu, 22 Jul, 1847
Education:
Profession: Farmer/Miner
Honors: Early Miner
Civic Activities:
Church:
Authentic Mormon Pioneer: Yes
Excerpt from Pioneer Story
John S. Gleason did indeed own the Mountain Lion mine, or parts there-of, but also the Blue Wing mine listed above and much to our surprise, at least seventeen other lodes shown in Figure 13.0.
Two miles north of Ophir is Jacobs City in Dry Canyon. Some of the richest lodes of the Ophir Mining District came from this location. John S. Gleason owned in part the Iris(Ira) and Jacobs Hill lodes (Shoo Fly) in Dry Canyon. Millions of dollars of rich metals were taken from the Ophir and Jacobs City locations.
The date of sale of the Mountain Lion Lode no. 2 was 4 March 1871. It was sold with the webster and women rights lodes for $2,000 dollars. The Mountain Lion Lode and thirteen other lodes were sold on 10 June 1871 for the combined sum of$5,000 dollars.
Full Pioneer Story
JOHN STREATOR GLEASON, MINER
Submitted By: S. John Bennett (more stories by this author)
Mining In Rush Valley
One of the premier days of my life is the day I took my Mother (Marie Gleason Bennett) to Ophir City in the County of Tooele. It was here where family tradition has it that John S. Gleason sold his "Million Dollar" gold mine, the Mountain Lion Mine, in the year 1873 and used the proceeds to purchase the family farm in Pleasant Grove City. She had relived this story over and over, and was delighted to see the City of Ophir.
What information could I find by searching the Internet? The Goshuite Indians lived in the area before the white man came. They had some ornaments and bullets made of silver which they had mined from local exposed ore. General Patrick Connor and his troops, led by the Goshuites to the East Canyon of the Qquirrh Mountains, made some of the first claims. This area was known as Rush Valley and then Ophir in 1865. The Ophir Mining District was organized in 1870 and by 1871 more than 2,000 mining claims had been staked. The chief metals were lead, silver, zinc, and very small amounts of gold. The Ophir mines were the Kearsage, Mountain Lion, Petalume, Silver Chief, Tampico, Blue Wing, Velocipede, Shamrock, Miner's Delight, Wild Dilirium, Montana, and the Silveropities (Ophir Utah-Northern Towns). Wondering what aspects of the family tradition could be substantiated my wife, Marilyn, and I visited the County Recorder in Tooele. We spent a delightful and informative day at the Tooele County Recorder's office browsing through the mining records. We were able to confirm that John S. Gleason did indeed own the Mountain Lion mine, or parts there-of, but also the Blue Wing mine listed above and much to our surprise, at least seventeen other lodes shown in Figure 13.0.
Two miles north of Ophir is Jacobs City in Dry Canyon. Some of the richest lodes of the Ophir Mining District came from this location. John S. Gleason owned in part the Iris(Ira) and Jacobs Hill lodes (Shoo Fly) in Dry Canyon. Millions of dollars of rich metals were taken from the Ophir and Jacobs City locations.
The date of sale of the Mountain Lion Lode no. 2 was 4 March 1871. It was sold with the webster and women rights lodes for $2,000 dollars. The Mountain Lion Lode and thirteen other lodes were sold on 10 June 1871 for the combined sum of$5,000 dollars.
Finding 19 lodes partly owned by John S. Gleason raised the question; why was he mining in the Ophir District and was he an original claimant. Ore was "discovered" in the Rush Valley in the year 1865. John had returned from a mission in England the fall of 1863 and he had time to explore new finds. John had been a Selectman in Tooele County and was familiar with the terrain. As an officer in the Davis County Militia, he may have had contact with Army personnel who had "discovered" ore in Rush Valley. No matter the history, his interest in mining was extensive and spread much beyond the Mountain Lion Mine.
Recording mining claims was not Federally required until 1870, however, the Rush Valley Mining District kept records of many claims prior to 1870. The Ira Lode and the Red Pine West Lodes show John S. Gleason as one of the original claimants over his own signature dated June 20, 1870 at 7 0 clock a.m. and May 24, 1870 at 8 0 clock a.m, respectively. The Mountain Lion Lode was filed June 11, 1870. John sold his interest in mining in the years 1871/72.
MINE TRANSACTIONS OF JOHN STREATOR GLEASON
From Whom To Whom Date Paid Description
John S. Gleason Jacob Ornstein 6 Jan 1871 200 Dollars gold Iris Lode Rush Valley District
now Ophir District
in Dry Canyon
John S. Gleason Edward Dixon 4 Mar 1871 2000 Dollars Mountain Lion Lode #2
Mountain Lion Hill
Ophir Mining District
Webster lode 200 ft
North of ML Lode
Women Rights Lode
100 ft E of ML lode
L.W. Clark John S. Gleason 15 Mar 1871 3000 dollars Blue Wing Lode
Ophir Mining Dist
one ninth part
of entire mine
John S. Gleason Edward Dixon 17 Apr 1871 500 dollars Blue Wing Lode
Tooele Co, one fourth
of my interest
Great American Lode
Ophir Mining District
one fourth of my interest
John S. Gleason Joseph 10 Jun 1871 5000 dollars Mountain Lion Lode
Desdemona Gleason Woodmanses Webster Lode
Alvirus H, Gleason Henry Blue Wing Lode
Woodmanses Key of the West Lode
Mormon Bill Lode
Great American Lode
Gleason Lode
Union Lode
Black Bird Lode
Womans Rights Lode
Bun or Chase Lode
Lyon Tunnel Lode
Rising Sun Lode
Lynk or Lynx Lode
John S. gleason H.S. Jacobs 17 Dec 1872 150 dollars Red Pine Lode
Jacobs Hill or Shoo Fly
in Dry Canyon
Sources:
Personal Research
Virtues: Courage, Testimony