Duncan Spears Casper

Duncan Spears Casper
Born	8 December 1824(1824-12-08) Bellville, Ohio
Died	20 May 1898(1898-05-20) (aged 73) Holladay, Utah
Spouse	Matilda Allison Elizabeth Ann Clark

Duncan Spears Casper (December 8, 1824 – May 20, 1898) was an early Mormon pioneer and one of the first settlers of Holladay, Utah, the United States.

Casper was born December 8, 1824, in Bellville, Ohio, the son of William and Avarilla Durbin Casper. His mother joined the Campbellites when he was eight years old, and a year later, after Mormon missionaries came through their area, his older brother William Wallace joined the Mormons. Casper's parents joined two years later and in 1837 they moved the family to Missouri, where they purchased a home.^[1]

Mobs drove the Latter Day Saints from Missouri, and Casper's parents had to leave their home behind. They rented a farm near Fairfield, Illinois, then moved on to Carthage, Illinois. In 1841 they moved to Nauvoo, where Duncan was finally baptized at age 16.

In May 1845, 20-year-old Casper married 24-year-old Matilda Allison, a fellow Ohioan and a descendant of Thomas Miner.^[2] The next year, Casper and all of his brothers left Nauvoo for Missouri as mobs were preparing to drive the Latter Day Saints from Illinois. His parents stayed behind with the two unmarried children because someone had stolen his father's horses. That summer, his father fell ill and died at age 62.^[3] Casper returned to Nauvoo and brought his mother and two siblings back to Missouri, where they stayed for nine years.^[1]

In 1855, Casper crossed the plains with his wife, children, and mother in Captain Hindley's Company. In Utah, they settled in Big Cottonwood (present-day Holladay), where they owned a home and land. Casper also raised stock and sheep on land he purchased in Idaho. He served as a trustee in the Big Cottonwood School District.^[1]

In 1867, Casper was called to help the struggling Muddy Mission.^[4] Due to his wife's poor health, she stayed behind and died in 1871. They had nine children together.

Casper married Elizabeth Ann Clark, English immigrant, in 1872. She had two children from a previous marriage. Casper adopted her children and the couple went on to have seven more together. Casper did not practice plural marriage. He died on May 20, 1898, and is buried in Holladay, Utah.^[1]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Biography of Duncan Spears Casper. [1]. Accessed 26 August 2007.
2. ^ Allison was endowed February 7, 1846, in the Nauvoo Temple before she married Casper. They were sealed in the Endowment House in 1856.
3. ^ Pioneer Chronology. [2]. Accessed 26 August 2007.
4. ^ Youngberg, Florence C. Conquerors of the West: Stalwart Mormon Pioneers. National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers, Agreka Books, 1999, p. 491. ISBN 188810631X.

Persondata
Name	Casper, Duncan Spears
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 8, 1824
Place of birth	Bellville, Ohio
Date of death	May 20, 1898
Place of death	Holladay, Utah