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Carole Mikita reporting On and off for more then 150 years, the descendants of Latter-day Saint apostle and missionary, Parley P. Pratt have tried to locate and bring his remains back to Utah from Arkansas. Though one final attempt failed this week, the family believes a different search was successful.
Fulfilling a dying request made in 1857, members of the Parley P. Pratt family traveled to Arkansas last weekend to complete a three-year search. With the help of archaeologists using ground-penetrating radar and electromagnetic surveys, they had hoped to find him.
Robert Grow, President of the Pratt Family Organization, said, "The family bought this land and bought a monument here in his memory, but it wasn't until about a year and a half ago with these scientific techniques, we were able to narrow down that probably the grave site is right here."
Parley P. Pratt was murdered while serving a Latter-day Saint mission. News reports have brought his descendants together with the descendants of the judge who cleared him of charges, the blacksmith who buried him and the man who donated a coffin.
Though three days of digging did not reveal any remains, the search brought members of four families of different faiths together. "We actually as a family have come here to say thank you to the good people of Arkansas who helped him in that dying moment," Grow said.
The Pratt family now numbers in the tens of thousands, scattered across the country. Many descendants signed requests, presented to the judge in Arkansas, to allow the remains of their beloved ancestor to return to Utah.
For 150 years, the family has reserved a special place in the Salt Lake City Cemetery for his remains. Instead, they will remember and honor him where he died.
Grow says, "This place in Arkansas where he has been buried, and where he gave his last full measure of devotion, will always be a sacred and special place to his family."
No one knows what happened to the blacksmith, Zealie Wynn, who cared for and buried Parley P. Pratt and then left Arkansas. The Pratt family is now helping the Wynn family in that search.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
