Who was this "Guy"?

Guy Messiah Keysor


(He would have been 192 this week!)

Born: October 6, 1816 in Black Rock, New York



Guy Messiah Keysor is my 3rd Great Grandfather.
He is the father of Ruth Susan Independence Keysor. She married William Morris McCullough. Ruth & William McCullough are the parents of Raymond Verne McCullough. Raymond Verne & Irene Callister McCullough are the parents of Beth McCullough who married Jay Harold Henderson.

Guy Messiah Keysor was converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and baptized April 1, 1843. He helped to build the temple in Nauvoo and participated in the exodus with the Saints in 1845.

When they reached the Missouri River in July 1846, he enlisted in the Mormon Battalion (see http://www.mormonbattalion.com/history/roster.html) and marched as a private in Company B (Jesse D. Hunter, captain) to San Diego, California.

It was on this march that he lost 90% of his eye sight. His journal tells of marching as long as one week without any water. Yet they would dig wells every day trying to find water. In most cases this work was in vain, for very few of the wells came in, in time to be of use to them. He also tells of building roads over trails which mountain goats could scarcely travel. They had nothing but hand tools to work with. Because of all these hardships that he endured, he lost his eye sight.

He was at Sutter's Fort in 1848 when gold was discovered (see http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=10303510), and remained in California until 1850, when he came to Utah and settled in Salt Lake, where he lived for many years. During this time he petitioned the Government many times without success for some compensation for the loss of his eyesight.

He worked on the Salt Lake Temple in spite of his blindness as a stone mason.

He went to Richfield about 1878 at which place he died October 3, 1885, a faithful Latter-day Saint.

There is a marker for him at the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

He is buried in Richfield, Utah.

If you know more about this wonderful man please let me know! I would like to hear what you know about him! E-mail me at funseekerfamilyhistory@gmail.com.