John Rowe Moyle
John Rowe Moyle (22 February 1808, Wendron, Cornwall, England – 15 January 1889, Alpine, Utah Territory)[1] was a Mormon pioneer and a settler of Alpine, Utah. He was a master stonemason for the Salt Lake Temple, and was the carver of the inscription "Holiness to the Lord" on the temple's east side.[2][3]
Biography
[edit | edit source]Moyle was born in Cornwall, England, to James and Elizabeth Rowe Moyle.[1][4][5] In his youth he worked in the tin mines of Cornwall, and later became a stonemason, learning the trade from his father.[1][6] He and his family converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1851. Moyle travelled to Utah Territory with the first handcart company in 1856, settling in Alpine two years later.[1][6]
Both a farmer and a stonemason, Moyle traveled to Salt Lake City frequently to serve on the temple construction.[3] Moyle installed the Temple's circular staircase and carved the inscription "Holiness to the Lord" on the east side of the Temple.[1][3] In 1863, Moyle built a chapel in Alpine. He also built an Indian fort to protect his family during the invasion of Salt Lake City by federal troops.[7]
Moyle suffered a compound fracture of the leg when he was kicked by a cow, necessitating the leg's amputation by his family and friends. Moyle subsequently carved a wooden leg for himself and learned how to use it. After the accident, he would again walk to Salt Lake City and work on the temple.[1][2][3]
Moyle was married to Phillippa Beer, who was born in Devonshire, England,[1] and (polygamously) to Mary Ann Williams.[1][3] Moyle's son, James Moyle, became foreman of the builders and stone-cutters on the Temple Block in 1875 and general superintendent of the temple in 1886.[8] Moyle was the grandfather of James Henry Moyle, a prominent Utah politician, and the great-grandfather of Henry D. Moyle, an apostle of the LDS Church.[6][9]
Legacy
[edit | edit source]Torleif S. Knaphus used Moyle's likeness (along with several others) as the inspiration for the father's face on the Handcart Pioneer Monument on Temple Square.[10] Moyle is the subject of the 2008 short film Only a Stonecutter, directed by T. C. Christensen and starring Bruce Newbold.[11][12]
References
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- ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).[unreliable source?]
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- ^ Some sources give the name of John Rowe Moyle's father as Stephen. See:
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- ^ Uchtdorf erroneously refers to Henry D. Moyle as John Rowe Moyle's "grandson".
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- ^ Only a Stonecutter at IMDbLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 30: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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External links
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- Family website at JohnRoweMoyle.org
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- 1808 births
- 1889 deaths
- American amputees
- Farmers from Utah
- American stonemasons
- People from Wendron
- Farmers from Cornwall
- 19th-century English farmers
- Mormon pioneers
- People from Alpine, Utah
- American people of Cornish descent
- British emigrants to the United States
- American Latter Day Saints
- British Latter Day Saints