came from the First Presidency to take charge of the settlements in southern Arizona. Christopher Layton had been set apart to preside over a new stake to be named St. Joseph in honor of the martyred Prophet. He was sent south to colonize a desert whose occasional Mexican and white villages were isolated by Apaches and desolation. Leaving six wives behind in Utah, Layton moved south with his youngest wife, Elizabeth, and with $21,000 set to work building an empire in southeastern Arizona. He bought two thousand acres, called the place Thatcher, divided it into lots, and sold them to Mormon settlers. He bought a gristmill, built roads, canals, homes. By 1898 he was 76, ill, and close to death. On June 13, 1898, he left for Utah. References Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, p. 645-646. , (description from BYU Studies). 1821 births 1898 deaths Burials in Utah 19th-century American politicians American Latter Day Saints American city founders British Latter Day Saints Converts to Mormonism English Latter Day Saints English emigrants to the United States English leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Members of the Mormon Battalion Members of the Utah Territorial Legislature Mormon pioneers Patriarchs (LDS Church) People from Kaysville, Utah People from Northill