# Charles Crismon

Charles Crismon (December 25, 1805 — March 23, 1890) was a miller, most notable for helping establish the city of Mesa, Arizona. He was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of 32 and went on to contribute much to the growth and development of the church. Crismon died on March 23, 1890, when he was 84 years old in Lehi, Arizona.

## Early life

Crismon was born as Charles Christman on December 25, 1805, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He had two sisters and 10 brothers, him being the 10th child born in the family. His parents were George Christman and Elizabeth Hagler, whose ancestors were from Germany and France. During Charles' upbringing, he learned from his father how to be a miller. Charles began to build and handle mills along with farming.
On December 28, 1828, he purchased an 80-acre homestead upon moving to Illinois. Many of Charles' siblings owned farms in Illinois along with him. There in Illinois is where he married his first wife Mary Hill.

### Conversion and early Church service

Around the year of 1838, Charles was baptized and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Following his conversion, Charles and his family moved further west to Missouri along with other members of their religion to settle there. Charles' father, George Christman, was not happy with his conversion to the new church. As a result, his father instructed him to change his last name so they would not be associated. Thereafter, he went by Charles Crismon. After migrating and spending approximately two years in Utah, building mills to support the growing church, he sought new opportunities for himself and members of his family. In April 1849, he and his family left Utah and moved to California. It was in California that Charles would start working as a miner. He and his family arrived there in early July. Around this time, certain leaders and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began to practice polygamy. Those instructed to do so complied because they believed it was instructed by God at that time. Because of these revelations, Charles began to practice plural marriage and later married four more women throughout his life. After living in California, Charles moved back to Utah in 1858 where he began to work in many new trades such as mining coal and precious metals, raising stock, and the railroad business. He remained working in these trades for a period of 12 years. Throughout his years of learning new trades, he would continue to build mills for grinding grain into flour. Charles' mills along with many other mills around his time, were run by water wheels that would slowly break down the grains by grinding them against stones in the mill.

## Family

Charles Crismon's parents were George A. Cristman and Elizabeth Hagler. George was born around the year of 1765 and died in the year of 1850. Elizabeth was born around the year 1772, and she later died in 1848.
Charles' siblings were Henry Chrisman, John Buchanan Chrisman, Michael Chrisman, George Crismon Jr, Jacob Chrisman, Barbara Maria Bobbit (formerly Chrisman), Catherine Craine (formerly Chrisman), Peter Crismon, David Chrisman, James Chrisman, and William Chrisman.
Charles Crismon met Mary Crismon (formerly Hill) while in Illinois and they were married shortly after on May 6, 1830, in Morgan, Illinois. After moving to Utah Charles became involved in polygamy and married four other women over the next 13 years. The first was Maria Gray Crismon (formerly Pearson) whom he married on July 16, 1854, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Louise Christina Crismon (formerly Bischoff) was his third wife, whom he married on May 10, 1862, in Salt Lake City, Utah. On the same day, May 10, 1862, he also married Ellen Wilcox in Salt Lake City Utah. Lastly, he married Cristiana Amelia Crismon (formerly Hessel) on October 12, 1867, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Charles Crismon is the father of a large family of 36 children.
* Mary Hill was the mother of the following 12 children. Martha Jane Lewis (formerly Crismon), George C. Crismon, James Crismon, Esther Ann Sirrine (formerly Crismon), Samantha Chase (formerly Crismon), Mary Ann Horne (formerly Crismon), Charles Crismon Jr., Emily Prescinda Weiler (formerly Crismon), Ellen Shurtleff (formerly Crismon), John Franklin Crismon, Cynthia Adeline Crismon, and Walter Scott Crismon.
* Louise Kristone Bischoff was the mother of the following 12 children. Alfred Charles Crismon, Ernest L Crismon, Oscar Hugh Crismon, Joseph Benjamin Crismon, Josephine Louvina Ellsworth (formerly Crismon), David Crismon, Nettie May Crismon, Hermon Eugene Crismon, Ada Amanda Byers (formerly Crismon), Louise Alexandra Harper (formerly Crismon), Charles B. Crismon, and George Franklin Crismon.
* Mary Gray Crismon is the mother of William Crismon.
* Ellen Wilcox is the mother of the following 10 children. Annie Eliza Crismon, Elizabeth Williams (formerly Crismon), Mary Adeline Johnson (formerly Crismon), Olive Crismon, Clara Louise Johnson (formerly Crismon), Frederick Wilcox Crismon, Herbert John Crismon, Della Gertrude Chapman (formerly Crismon), Nellie Williams (formerly Crismon), and Carl Crismon.
* Christine Amelia Hessel is the mother of Annie Telula Nelson (formerly Crismon).

## Trek with the Latter-day Saints

Early Latter-day Saint Pioneers journeyed west from Illinois and Missouri to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah. From there, these pioneers began settling in other areas such as California, Nevada, Wyoming, and Canada. In the western United States, they are considered one of the largest as well as the most successful organized groups of settlers. After Charles was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he joined the pioneer movement as well. Charles assisted in moving Joseph Smith, the founder and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at that time, to Missouri from Ohio. After doing so, Charles brought his family there as well. From 1846 to 1847, he went to Mississippi to help more pioneer families move west after being called on a church mission by Brigham Young. Those families then met up at Fort Laramie with the other saints there to prepare to travel to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah. Charles brought all of his milling equipment with him so that once they made it to the Salt Lake Valley, he could start building mills. He successfully did so, building the first mill in that region. Shortly after, Charles built an additional mill and sold both to Brigham Young in 1848. Charles built the first flour mill that aided in grinding wheat for the Saints who trekked west in the Salt Lake Valley. After spending a short time in California, he spent 12 more years in Utah before being asked to help the Saints settle Arizona. In 1876, thirteen families were called to settle Arizona. This began a larger movement of people going from Utah to Arizona. Later, two more companies (First Mesa Company and Second Mesa Company) would join them in southern Arizona, the first of which would include Charles and his family.

## Founding of Mesa

Approximately two thousand years before pioneers arrived, the land in the Salt River Valley that would later become Mesa, Arizona was inhabited by a Native American tribe called Hohokam, meaning “the departed ones”. They created canal and irrigation systems that are still in use today. There has been much speculation as to why the Hohokam left the Salt River Valley. It could have happened as a result of a long period where food and water were very scarce, another tribe compelled them to leave, or their water system didn't have pumps causing the land to become saturated, killing all life and other minerals that were in the soil. Pioneers were asked to come from Utah to establish a settlement in Arizona in 1876. Daniel Webster Jones and Henry Clay Rogers along with 83 others were the first to arrive. They settled the area and named it “Fort Utah”, which was changed to Jonesville, and later to Lehi by the direction of Brigham Young. Charles left for Arizona on September 26, 1877, and arrived in early 1878 with the First Mesa Company which consisted of 25 wagons and a large herd of livestock. Despite being invited to join the pioneers in the Lehi settlement, the First Mesa Company settled just south on a mesa that contained the old canal systems. The Second Mesa Company followed shortly and joined them on the mesa, which would later take the name of the landform, Mesa. Due to Lehi being flood-prone, Mesa quickly outgrew Lehi. Charles not only helped establish Mesa but also assisted in agricultural advancements with his mills. Even at the end of his life, he was still engaged in this work as he was promoting a plan to transport water south of Mesa through a canal system.

## Legacy

In addition to helping settle Mesa, Arizona, Charles served 3 missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the ages of 34, 38, and 71. Charles died at the age of 84. He was then buried in Maricopa County, Arizona. To commemorate his accomplishment of helping travel to “settle” and develop the Mesa area, a statue was built in Pioneer Park in Mesa, Arizona. It serves as a reminder to all who visit of the legacy of the founders of Mesa including, Charles Crismon, Charles I. Robson, George W. Sirrine, and Francis M. Pomeroy, and their sacrifices.
In 2024, his descendant Mark Freeman was elected Mayor of Mesa.