A Twenty-Thousand-Dollar Kiss
In 1864, twenty-one-year-old Matilda Field left her covered wagon train to explore an opportunity in Salt Lake City, Utah. After being caught in a compromising situation, she was never seen again.
News journalists feasted on Matilda’s scandal when one display of affection sent her mysterious male companion to prison on an impossible bail. Was Matilda a ‘damsel in distress,’ or was this all part of her plan? We’ll get into that in a moment, but first…
In 1864, Utah Territory was NO PLACE to be smooching…
On anyone or anything, at least, in public. In a September 16 article in the Daily Union Vedette, a reporter stated:
“The city of Great Salt Lake City is a pretty rough place to go a’courting in. … It does seem sometimes as though it were only necessary for somebody to prefer a complaint to insure the infliction of extremely heavy fines.” (Daily Union Vedette, Sept. 16, 1864)
The reporter pointed out the Judge’s motivation to convict any and all who are accused:
“…the Judge… cooly remarked that if there were other cases and the defendants were convicted, they paid pretty well.” (Daily Union Vedette, Sept. 16, 1864)
These preceding factors led up to the paper’s scintillating tale in the “Courting in Utah” article about an “amorous swain” who was recently arrested. His alleged crimes: 1) abducting, 2) seducing, 3) and coming on rather strong. This man was identified as C. M. White and the woman of his infatuation was Matilda Field, “a young miss en route for the Golden State.”
Who Was This Woman?
Matilda Field, born approximately 1843, joined the Pella Company Wagon Train from Iowa as a personal aid to Mrs. Sarah Jane Rousseau (a pianoforte instructor from England and 3rd Great-Grandmother of the author). Sarah was wheelchair bound due to rheumatism and required extra help during the arduous journey. Her husband, James, was a seasoned physician, but propriety dictated that a woman tended to Sarah’s daily needs (at least, in a public forum). By working for the Rousseaus, Matilda received coverage for her travel expenses.
The Pella Company left from Pella, Iowa on Friday, May 13th. Travel companions included three other local families: the Curtises, the Hamiltons, and the Earps (yes, as in the legendary Wyatt Earp — he was sixteen during the trip).
Matilda is one of Sarah’s top subjects written about in her travel diary. As a single woman of her age, Matilda might be an unwed spinster or war widow. I don’t know, though, because Sarah never discusses her past. “Mattie,” as Sarah calls her, seems to get along wonderfully with Elizabeth, the diarist’s fourteen-year-old daughter, and the two are collectively referred to as “the girls.”
Sarah applies a proper dose of discretion and delicacy in her discourse that never permit the remarks to fall into the category of gossip. But Matilda’s storyline is plain enough for any woman to see through the veil of appropriateness.
Two months into the journey, Matilda becomes sick… regularly… and it passes… regularly. At first, Sarah seems concerned, but then her mentions become more or less like medical notations in a nurse’s log (a task she may have performed on more than one occasion). The doctor, who specialized in matters of women and children, offered to examine Matilda and help diagnose her discomfort. She declined his generosity, likely denying what she and the Rousseaus may have already known to be obvious.
So now, the question is…
What (or Who) Got Matilda “Sick” While Traveling West?
The answer appears to reveal itself in July when the Rousseau’s teamster, Thomas J. Ellis, gets into an all-out row with Matilda (a loud argument). This happens at the Alder Creek campsite in Glendo, Wyoming. Sarah Rousseau wrote:
“Our trip has been made exceedingly unpleasant on account of Tom Ellis… A more wicked man I never saw, and one more ungentlemenly. I believe he will leave this morning as Mattie won’t do his washing anymore, he has treated her so unmanly, cursing her all the time.” (July 10)
Another family camped in the area also endured the shouting match and diarist Martha Roe was a tad less discerning in her comments:
“Camped with some duck that swore awfully!” (July 10)
(For context, a “duck” is an English slang term for a mate or lover.)
With that remark, Martha confirms that Matilda’s tantrum and Tom’s spat is a lovers’ quarrel. But what might make Tom livid enough to leave the protection and employ of the Rousseaus mid-journey? Is it possible that after two months on the trail, Matilda has finally realized the obvious and shared that news with Tom?
Tom, the son of Pella’s former mayor, made good on his promise to leave and Matilda was left with an urgency to solve her new problem. When the Pella Company arrives in Utah a month later, her situation is harder to hide.
At the Crandall Settlement in present-day Rockport, Sarah becomes especially protective of Matilda around the Mormons:
“Got to the Mormon settlement. … One of the Mormons let us camp in their enclosure[.] After we stopped[,] a Mormon woman came to the carriage, asked if Mattie was sick. I told her she was not very well. She said they had a first rate doctor with them. I told her my husband was a Doctor.” (August 17)
In Salt Lake City, Matilda decides to tour the area with a very specific purpose, and without a chaperone:
“She did not feel well enough to travel any farther. … She wanted to stay at Salt Lake and teach school through the winter without a female acquaintance or any person she knew…” (August 24)
Mattie Comes up with a Plan
At that time, unmarried women were a good fit for schoolteacher positions, though she’d only be able to keep the job until her personal situation became more apparent… and without a good explanation. Back in camp, Matilda considered the opportunity and possibly crafted a cover story. She also thought about a particularly helpful man she met in town who offered to get her better settled in.
Sarah noticed Matilda starting to act strange and distancing herself from the Rousseaus. Matilda left their employ and went to work for Mrs. Mary Hays who, after twenty-two hours in labor, delivers her first child near Utah Lake, on August 27th.
“Mrs. Hays is doing well. Mattie Field is working for them. She talks something of going back to Salt Lake.” (Sept. 1)
Two days after she witnessed a childbirth:
“Mr. White came in a waggon for Mattie Field, from Salt Lake. Mattie went back with Mr. W. … I hope she may do well.” (Sept. 3)
After Mr. White picked her up, he offered to defray her expenses while she looked for work and she accepted his kind generosity.
Days Later, Mr. C.M. White is Arrested
News of his alleged crimes spreads through the city and beyond. After a series of articles in the Union Vedette, the story gets picked up by the New York Times! As the case develops, the entire nation buzzes over what will happen to the maiden and her man.
“This case has excited considerable interest… It appeared that the young lady had found a friend to whom she confided her troubles…” (Daily Union Vedette, Sept. 16, 1864)
“It appears that Miss FIELD looked upon Mr. WHITE as a friend, and in that relation accompanied him about the city searching for a situation as school-mistress…” (New-York Times, Oct. 23, 1864)
Alleged Crime #1: Abduction
It helps if we revisit the timeline for this... After Matilda’s initial time spent with Mr. White on a city tour, the Pella Company continued south to Utah Lake/Provo where they stayed for about a week. While there, the reporter claims Matilda was already putting some of her plan into motion.
“[Matilda] wrote back to her friend a most dolorous [emotionally distressing] letter, in which she expressed her determination to return to Salt Lake, if she could get back. Amorous swain [suitor] aforesaid, hitched up a buggy, went after, and brought her back to the city.” (Daily Union Vedette, Sept. 16, 1864)
Apparently Matilda had told C. M. White that she was “dissatisfied” with her travel companions. The attitude directed toward the Rousseaus was not warranted and it was more likely was a reference to the wagonmaster Nicholas Earp, who had become especially difficult to get along with in recent days. There is also a theory that Tom Ellis may have been preparing to rejoin the Pella Company since his Provo-bound employers had reached the end of their journey.
Regardless, the news reporter took a jab at the Rousseau’s reputation with this comment:
“We suspect that the imprudence of the young lady’s friends has got her in a pack of trouble most unnecessarily.” (Daily Union Vedette, Sept. 16, 1864)
(More on this matter will come in part 2 of the story.)
Alleged Crime #2: Seducing
This one’s not what you think. Seduction laws at this time were more about big, powerful men taking advantage of or asserting their dominance over young, helpless females in a variety of demonstrations, regardless of consent (an entirely different concept). Consideration would be given to that kiss being demanded through coercion, intimidation or manipulation long before consent was introduced to the equation… because Matilda is a very tiny lady who would be unable to stop him. (For a reference point, scroll up to revisit the newspaper image of her with the same slight frame as the fourteen-year-old she traveled with).
It’s possible that the Aldermen considered C. M. White’s generosity as a way to put Matilda in his debt; a favor given for a favor taken. Perhaps Matilda played the part of a confused damsel who just needed some sound advice and a little help to find work… not a kiss.
“The young lady appears to be a modest, unassuming virtuous person of twenty-one, and of estimable character. We suspect that injudicious friends [lacking judgment] and advisors are giving her a notoriety which she would gladly shrink from.” (Daily Union Vedette, Sept. 16, 1864)
But there is also this little nugget as shared in the Utah Historical Quarterly: “Seduction is always a difficult thing to prove, and under almost all criminal seduction statutes, including the one enacted by the Utah Territorial Legislature in 1852 … the woman seduced must be unmarried and of a previously chaste nature.”
Chances are, Matilda didn’t want this charge to be investigated.
That same law called for a minimum jail sentence of one year (up to twenty) and fines, but some zealous Mormons supported the idea of “Mountain Common Law” as the most efficient way to handle these situations (ie, shotgun, no wedding). And, there was historical precedence for this method escaping Lady Justice’s watchful eye.
Alleged Crime #3: Coming On Rather Strong
I couldn’t find any official definition for this crime, but I welcome the research assistance. The newspaper actually reads: “coming it strong.”
Anyway, the reporter finally turned their attention (or rage) on C. M. White.
“Things were going swimmingly till the other day — this devourer of unsophisticated innocence — this wolf in sheep’s clothing — this roaring lion going up and down the earth seeing whom he might devour…” (Daily Union Vedette, Sept. 16, 1864)
(Are you getting the picture?)
“…was absolutely seen to throw his arms around his charmer, and horrible, most horrible, actually tried to kiss her.” (Daily Union Vedette, Sept. 16, 1864)
(This last line changed my prior opinion that it was a male reporter…)
The charges were brought to the Aldermen’s Council and before Judge Aurella Miner (the robed thief introduced at the start of the story, who is also the son-in-law of Mormon apostle Orson Hyde). While the Aldermen suggested that Mr. White’s charges be dropped and for him to be released from prison, the Judge saw this case as big, fat payday.
Judge Miner maintained the prison sentence with a $1,000 bail (that’s $20 thousand dollars in 2024). The criminal case was then escalated to a trial by Grand Jury.
What Happens Next?
Click here to read Part 2: The Abduction of Mattie Field
About the Author:
Janelle Molony, M.S.L. is an award-winning freelancer and nonfiction author from Phoenix, Arizona. She has a particular interest in women-centric stories and local history. Her writing has been featured in magazines and journals such as History Nebraska, The Michigan Historical Review, Minnesota Genealogist, Annals of Wyoming, the Tombstone Epitaph, and more.
The 1864 Diary of Mrs. Sarah Jane Rousseau has won multiple awards, accolades from critics and academic praise since the 1950s.
Click here to watch the video trailer for the diary.
See more from the author by following on Medium and on social media. More publications by Molony can be found on her official author webpage.
