Draft:Moroni Clawson
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Moroni Clawson (1 January 1837 – 17 January 1862) was a resident of Utah Territory in the mid-19th century. He was killed by police in Salt Lake City in January 1862 while resisting arrest. His death became notable after his grave was exhumed and robbed by Jean Baptiste, a cemetery worker later revealed to have desecrated numerous graves in Salt Lake City.
Submission declined on 27 October 2025 by Carolina2k22 (talk).
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| Submission declined on 21 September 2025 by DoubleGrazing (talk). This draft is not adequately supported by reliable sources. Wikipedia's verifiability policy requires that all content be supported by reliable sources.
Declined by DoubleGrazing 6 months ago.
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Moroni Clawson | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1837 |
| Died | January 17, 1862 (aged 25) |
| Cause of death | Shot by law enforcement |
| Resting place | Draper City Cemetery, Utah |
| Known for | Being the victim of a widely publicized grave robbery and for his crimes. |
| Spouse |
Eliza Manhard (m. 1859) |
| Children | 1 |
Early life
Clawson was born on January 1, 1837, in Caldwell County, Missouri, to Moses Clawson and Cornelia Brown. He married Eliza Manhard in Draper, Utah Territory, in 1859.[1]
In January 1862, Clawson was fatally shot by police officers in Salt Lake City. His funeral expenses were covered by police officer Henry Heath, who arranged for his burial.
Grave Robbery
In January 1862, shortly after his death, Moroni Clawson was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Within days, his family arranged for the body to be exhumed and reinterred in a family plot; when the coffin was opened the corpse was found without its burial clothing.[1]
An investigation traced the thefts to the cemetery gravedigger Jean Baptiste. Officers searching his house found boxes of burial clothing, shoes, and other items taken from the dead; contemporaneous accounts estimate that Baptiste had robbed hundreds of graves. The discovery produced widespread public outrage in Salt Lake City.[2]
Brigham Young addressed the incident publicly and condemned the desecrations. In the Journal of Discourses, he described the conduct as
a mean, contemptible, damnable trick
and said the community should punish the offender; he also reassured residents that the resurrected would appear clothed despite such thefts.
Authorities ultimately banished Baptiste to Fremont Island near the Great Salt Lake, never to be seen again.[2]
In media
- Clawson is featured in the 2011 American indie film, Redemption: For Robbing the Dead, which shows his grave robbery by Jean Baptiste.[3]
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