1832–1923

James Lovett Bunting was born 5 October 1832 in Attleborough, England to Thomas and Early (Lovett) Bunting. In 1853, twenty-year-old James joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as a Latter-day Saint missionary in England for five years before immigrating to Salt Lake City, Utah, leaving behind all immediate family in England. James eventually returned to his native land to serve two additional missions.

James married Harriet Dye, also an English convert to the Church, shortly after his arrival in Salt Lake City in 1858 in the John W. Berry Company. He worked for Brigham Young for a time, served in the Black Hawk War, and in 1870 left Salt Lake City to help colonize southern Utah. He was a prominent citizen in the Kanab area where he resided for more than fifty years.

The Bunting’s youngest child, Emily, was only two years old when Harriet, the mother of twelve children, died in 1893. James married his second wife, Hester Mayer, in 1895, although the marriage ended in divorce ten years later.

An active Latter-day Saint, James held numerous positions within the Church during his lifetime and served as an ordinance worker in the St. George Temple. He was also involved politically, serving on the St. George city council and as a probate judge.

James died 20 November 1923 at the age of ninety-one in Kanab, Utah, having outlived five of his children. The Washington County News wrote that he “filled many positions of honor and trust in the Church. . . . He was strictly honest, an indefatigable worker, and a man who would never betray a trust.”

Bibliography

1880 Utah Census (James Lovett Bunting, Kanab, KaneCounty, 442D).

1900 Utah Census (James Lovett Bunting, St. George, Washington County, E.D. 175, sheet 13).

1920 Utah Census (John Thomas Eager, St. George, Washington County, E.D. 231, sheet 19).

Carroll, Elsie Chamberlain. History of Kane County. Salt Lake City: Kane County Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1960.

Carter, Kate B., ed. Heart Throbs of the West. Vol. 3. Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1941.

_____. Our Pioneer Heritage. Vol. 2. Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1959.

History of Kane County. Salt Lake City: Kane County Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1970.

Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. Andrew Jenson History Company, 1920.

Washington County News, “A So. Utah Pioneer Dies at an Advanced Age.” Dec. 6, 1923, p. 4.