Archives West Finding Aid

David King Udall was born on September 7, 1851, in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of David and Eliza King Udall. David grew up in Nephi, Utah. He married Eliza Luella Stuart on February 1,1875. David King then went on a mission that same year to Great Britain. He returned in 1877 and moved his family to Kanab, Utah in 1878. He was called as bishop to St. Johns Ward in Arizona. David moved to Arizona in 1880. Eliza Luella "Ella" Stuart and David King had five children: Pearl, Erma, Luella, David K. Jr. and Levi S. In 1887, he was made stake president to preside over seven wards in Arizona. President David K. Udall testified in the case of Miles P. Romney and was later tried for perjury for that testimony. He was sentenced to three years in the Detroit House of Correction. He served time in Detroit from September 2, 1885 to December 17, 1885 when he received a presidential pardon. He served as stake president until 1922; he was then ordained patriarch for the St. Johns Stake. The Mesa Arizona Temple was dedicated in 1927, and David King was chosen to be temple president and served in that capacity until 1934. Eliza Luella died on May 28, 1937. David died in St. Johns on February 18, 1938.

Ida Frances Hunt was born on March 8, 1858 at Hamilton Fort (near Cedar City, Utah) in the back of a wagon to parents John Hunt and Lois Pratt. The family was on their way to Utah from San Bernardino. Ida grew up in Beaver, Utah. She kept books for Beaver Woolen Mills, sang in the choir, and held leading roles in socials and dramas in Beaver. She taught in the territorial school. The family moved to New Mexico where they hauled freight for the government for two years. Afterwards, the family settled in Snowflake, Arizona. Four years later, on May 26, 1882, Ida married David K. Udall in the St. George Temple. Since she was a plural wife, she spent much of her life between 1883-1892 living with relatives in Nephi, Utah and Snowflake to avoid the U.S. Marshal. She feared being forced to testify against her husband. They had six children: Pauline, Grover, John, Jesse, Gilbert, and Don. Ida died on April 26, 1915.