Fanny Gardner, a girl who was born on the Weber River, was purchased by Ithamer Sprague and given to Archibald Gardner’s family

Copied from The Life of Archibald Gardner, pg 68. Written by Delila Gardner Hughes, 1939.

At that time [of the 1857-58 Utah War], Archibald [Gardner]’s family consisted of nine wives, fifteen children, seven step-children, and one little Indian girl named Fanny, who had been adopted. She was given to Aunt Abby [Abigail Sprague] by her brother, Ithamer Sprague. It seems the dusky maiden had been stolen from her home by a warring tribe who sold her to Sprague for a pony. She was born on the Weber River and was about ten years old when he purchased her. Her brother, named Muchikee, came to see her at different times in after years, but she would slip away and hide if she saw any other Indians coming. She did not wish to go back to her own people.

A collection of documents, excerpts, and photographs relevant to the so-called Weber Ute people of Northern Utah. Not a complete history — research aid only.