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Thomas Samuel Bladen
Thomas' name on signature rock, House Rock Canyon, Arizona
Thomas Samuel Bladen
Born: 13 November 1852 at Cedar City, Iron, Utah Territory, USALIFE SKETCH THOMAS SAMUEL BLADEN
Thomas Samuel Bladen was the second baby born in the new settlement of Coal Creek, later to be renamed Cedar City, Just minutes after Stephen Walker on November 13, 1852.
His parents Thomas Erasterus Bladen and Mary Cattle, were natives of England who immigrated to Utah in 1851. They were Converts to the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints and heeded the call of the Prophet Brigham Young to settle the Iron Mission.
When Thomas Was four years old, his father was called on a mission to return to his native England. Thomas's mother worked diligently to raise her six children as a ribbon weaver. Often their meals were hard dry crusts of bread that he and his siblings would soften by dipping into a nearby ditch.
Thomas, was reared in a dirt cellar that had a small cupboard put in the dirt walls. He went barefoot until the procurement of his first pair of shoes at the age of sixteen. Thomas and his Younger Brother Cornelius were very close and worked together most of their lives to acquire land, cows and horses, but for many years they worked with ox teams. Over time the two young men earned enough to build a home over the dirt cellar which they gave to their mother.
In 1877 Thomas was one of a company of fourteen men called to work on the L.D.S. Manti Temple. For four months his job was quarrying rock. On April 15th 1879 Thomas was called in a company of nine others from Cedar City to explore San Juan County under the direction of Silas S. Smith. They traveled by way of Lee's Ferry into northern Arizona, and reached the San Juan River near Montezuma Creek. Thomas was gone for six months and helped build 330 Miles of new road altogether traveling 880 miles. He did not join the company which returned to San Juan during the winter of 1879-80.
On January 27th, 1882, Thomas married Eliza Ellen Adams in the L.D.S. St George Temple. They together became the parents of nine children. On July 31st, 1894 Thomas received a call to go on a mission to Great Britain. There he served a total of 26 months and eighteen days.
In 1896 Thomas Bladen was appointed a member of the main committee in charge of the building of the Branch Normal School which is now Southern Utah University. He worked at the saw mill hauling lumber on a sled to build the educational institution.
He was also a member of the first company to produce electricity for Cedar City and was one of the first to buy stock in the Bank of Southern Utah, today knows as the State Bank of Southern Utah.
He was a lover of music and singing and enjoyed dancing. He was known for being honest
in all his dealings and expected the same of others. He died February 7, 1920, at the age of 67.
Right-click [Mac Control-click] to open full-size image:
Thomas Samuel Bladen
Thomas' name on signature rock, House Rock Canyon, Arizona