Ebenezer Bryce (November 17, 1830 – September 26, 1913) was a

Mormon pioneer The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...

, best known as the person for whom

Bryce Canyon National Park Bryce Canyon National Park () is a national park of the United States located in southwestern Utah. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon, which despite its name, is not a canyon, but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along ...

was named.

Early life

Bryce was born in the town of

Dunblane Dunblane (, ) is a town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Be ...

in the then

unitary council area A unitary authority is a type of local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed ...

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland (council area), Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus, Scotland, Angus, Dundee, and F ...

, which is today located in the

Stirling council area The Stirling council area (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and has an estimated population of (). It was created in 1975 as a lower-tier district within the Central region. The district covered parts of the historic counties ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He became a ship's carpenter, converted his faith to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, and left Scotland for

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

at the age of seventeen. Ebenezer was the only member of his family to convert to

, and was disowned by his father.

Pine Valley

Bryce married Mary Park in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

in 1854. They moved to southern Utah by 1862, and settled in Pine Valley where Bryce was responsible for designing and overseeing the building of the Pine Valley Chapel in 1868, the oldest chapel still in continuous use by

. The chapel is unique in that the roof was built like an upside down ship hull using a technique that Bryce acquired as a shipbuilder in Scotland. The walls of the chapel were assembled on the ground and hoisted up to the rhythm of a Scottish shipbuilding song sung by Ebenezer. The chapel is well maintained and is listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. While in Pine Valley, Ebenezer also ran a sawmill for lumber for the construction of the St. George Temple.

Bryce Canyon

Soon after, the family moved a short distance to the Paria Valley, south of Bryce Canyon, which became a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

in 1923 and a full-fledged

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

in 1928.

Arizona

In 1880, Bryce moved his large family to an area of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, about two miles north of Pima, where the settlement of

Bryce, Arizona Bryce is a census-designated place in Graham County, Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with C ...

is named in his honor. It was there that he died and is buried in a local cemetery. Ebenezer built two homes in Arizona, both currently under restoration by the Ebenezer Bryce Foundation.

References

“Ebenezer Bryce: Bryce Canyon National Park's Namesake”. Biography by Herb Bryce HB Books (January 23, 2023)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryce, Ebenezer 1830 births 1913 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries Bryce Canyon National Park Converts to Mormonism Mormon pioneers People from Dunblane Scottish Latter Day Saints Architects of Latter Day Saint religious buildings and structures Scottish emigrants to the United States People from Washington County, Utah People from Graham County, Arizona