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The latest timeline in the Lori and Chad Daybell murder case – East Idaho News

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The latest timeline in the Lori and Chad Daybell murder case – East Idaho News


Editor’s be aware: This timeline was initially printed Jan. 17, 2020. It has been up to date with the most recent occasions as of Could 29, 2022.

REXBURG — In December 2019, the world realized that two kids, Joshua “JJ” Vallow, and his sister, Tylee Ryan, have been lacking.

Since then, an advanced story spanning a number of states and legislation enforcement companies has unfolded. Here’s a timeline of occasions within the case.

RELATED | Police trying to find Rexburg kids believed to be in severe hazard

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Pre-2019

  • Chad and Tammy Daybell married on March 9, 1990, in Manti, Utah, in keeping with her obituary. The couple lived in Springville, Utah, the place they based Spring Creek Guide Firm, by which Chad printed lots of his books. The couple had 5 kids earlier than transferring to their dwelling in Salem, Idaho, in 2015. Tammy labored as a college librarian.
  • In 2006, marriage data present Lori Ryan married her fourth husband, Charles Vallow. Lori entered the wedding along with her son, Colby, and Tylee, the daughter along with her third husband, Joseph Ryan Jr. Relations say in 2014, Charles and Lori adopted Joshua “JJ” Vallow. He’s the organic grandson of Charles’ sister Kay Woodcock, who’s married to Larry Woodcock.
  • Social media posts point out that someday in 2014, the Vallows moved to the island of Kauai in Hawaii. The couple operated a small enterprise on the island, as indicated by enterprise data. The household then moved again to the mainland between 2016 and 2017.
  • Whereas the Vallow household lived in Arizona, Tylee’s father, Joseph Ryan, died on April 3, 2018. Based on a replica of the medical expert’s report, the reason for demise was dominated a coronary heart assault. He was cremated and little different info is offered about his demise.
  • Virtually one 12 months earlier than the general public announcement of the instances, Chad and Lori made their first look collectively on the Getting ready a Folks podcast “Time to Warrior Up.” The 2 appeared with others on a number of of the podcasts – many centered on the top of the world. Getting ready a Folks has since eliminated the podcast and publicly dissociated itself from the couple.
  • A felony indictment signifies that on Oct. 26, 2018, Lori and Chad started discussing their non secular beliefs to justify killing Tammy, JJ and Tylee. The couple is believed to have met round this time at a non secular convention in St. George, Utah
  • 2019

  • Arizona police physique digital camera footage exhibits Charles pleading for Lori to obtain psychological well being assist at Group Bridges on Jan. 31. Officers decided she had a traditional frame of mind and she or he was medically cleared by Group Bridges.
  • Charles information for divorce from Lori in February. He claims she views herself as a god making ready for the second coming of Christ, in keeping with courtroom paperwork obtained by Fox10 Phoenix. Charles claims his spouse would kill him if he received in her solution to carry out her mission. Divorce proceedings are later stopped after Charles says he desires to make the wedding work.
  • Throughout divorce proceedings, the household says Lori disappears to Hawaii in February for practically two months and leaves the youngsters with others.
  • Round June, Lori’s niece, Melani Boudreaux, calls for a divorce from her husband, Brandon Boudreaux, as first reported by Fox13 Salt Lake Metropolis. Brandon claims Melani affiliated herself with comparable beliefs as her aunt and joined “a cult.” The calls for for a divorce come as a shock to Brandon as he thought their marriage was high-quality.
  • On July 11, Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, shoots and kills Charles. Alex says the capturing was in self-defense. By the top of August, Lori, Tylee, JJ, Alex and Melani transfer to Rexburg, Idaho.
  • Simply days after Charles is killed, Chad sends a number of texts to Lori in what investigators name a “romance novel.” Chad, who continues to be married to Tammy, describes intimately a sexual relationship between James and Elena, the names he reportedly makes use of to substitute for himself and Lori.
  • On Sept. 8, Tylee, JJ, Lori and Alex go to Yellowstone Nationwide Park. Officers say that is the final time anybody noticed Tylee alive. The FBI later asks for assist from anybody who might have images of the household taken that day within the park.
  • Chad indicators an software with Tammy onSept. 8 to extend her LifeMap insurance coverage to the utmost quantity allowed on the coverage.
  • On Sept. 9, telephone data place Alex on Chad’s property within the basic space the place investigators would finally discover Tylee’s stays. That very same day, Chad allegedly texts Tammy saying he shot a raccoon and buried it of their pet cemetery.
  • Lori enrolls JJ at Kennedy Elementary Faculty in Rexburg on Sept. 3, principal Josh Wilson says. Lower than three weeks later, JJ attends class for the final time and his mom unenrolls him, saying he could be homeschooled. Tylee was by no means enrolled in any college in Idaho although Lori claimed her daughter was attending BYU-Idaho.
  • RELATED | Principal presents rationalization about why Joshua “JJ” Vallow wasn’t reported lacking in September

  • On Oct. 1, Lori rents a ten×10 storage unit from Self Storage Plus in Rexburg. Surveillance video on the facility, completely obtained by EastIdahoNews.com, exhibits Lori and a person visiting the unit 9 occasions in October and as soon as in November. Usually the person, who seems to be Alex, comes alone. One other go to exhibits Alex and a person who seems to be Chad. Throughout one go to, Chad and Lori seem to go to the storage facility collectively.
  • On Oct. 2, Brandon returns from the gymnasium to his Arizona dwelling when he says he was shot at with the bullet lacking his head by inches. Arizona Central studies the shooter was driving a Jeep registered to then-dead Charles Vallow. That very same day, Lori purchases a marriage ring on Amazon, later seen on her finger at her seaside marriage ceremony with Chad.
  • On Oct. 9, Tammy calls 911 and says a masked man shot at her in her driveway with a paintball gun. She posts in regards to the expertise on Fb, saying she has no thought who the individual was or why they might shoot at her. Court docket paperwork later point out Alex tried to shoot and kill Tammy that day.
  • RELATED | Tammy Daybell reported a masked man shot at her with a paintball gun 10 days earlier than her ‘suspicious’ demise

    RELATED | Sheriff particulars what occurred when deputies responded to Tammy Daybell’s demise as Lori Daybell’s son makes a passionate plea

  • Ten days later, Chad calls 911 and says Tammy died in her sleep at their Salem dwelling. Detectives go to the house and investigators initially rule the demise as pure. The coroner declines to carry out an post-mortem. Tammy is buried on the Evergreen Cemetary in Springville on Oct. 22.. The household holds a memorial service in Rexburg the next day.
  • Two weeks after Tammy’s demise, Chad and Lori are married in Hawaii on Nov. 5. They then return to Rexburg. Over the approaching weeks, police say Chad instructed witnesses that Lori had no minor kids. Police additionally say Lori instructed folks Tylee died years earlier.
  • On Nov. 26, the Rexburg Police Division conducts a welfare verify for JJ on the request of his grandparents, Larry and Kay Woodcock. That they had not spoken with the boy in months. Police don’t see JJ on the townhome on Pioneer Highway and Lori tells police JJ was along with her buddy, Melanie Gibb, in Arizona. Police quickly decide that JJ was not with Gibb.
  • RELATED | Mom of lacking children is aware of the place they’re or what occurred to them, police say

  • The subsequent morning, Nov. 27, the Rexburg Police Division serves a search warrant. When officers arrive, they uncover Chad and Lori are gone.
  • Court docket paperwork point out that on Dec. 1, Chad and Lori catch an American Airways flight to Lihue, Hawaii. The kids should not with their mother and father.
  • On Dec. 6, Melanie Gibb contacts the Rexburg Police Division to say that Chad and Lori referred to as her on Nov. 26 and requested her to lie in regards to the location of JJ.
  • As deputies examine, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Workplace determines Tammy Daybell’s demise is “suspicious.” Tammy’s physique is exhumed on Dec. 11 and an post-mortem is carried out in Utah. The outcomes of the post-mortem should not launched.
  • On Dec. 12, Alex dies underneath mysterious circumstances in Gilbert, Arizona. His post-mortem later reveals he died of a blood clot.
  • On Dec. 20, the Rexburg Police Division publicizes JJ and Tylee are lacking. Police say their disappearance is probably linked to the suspicious demise of Tammy. The next day, police name Chad and Lori “individuals of curiosity.”
  • RELATED | Police launch images of mom, stepdad who at the moment are ‘individuals of curiosity’ in connection to kids’s disappearance

  • On Dec. 23, the lawyer representing the Daybells, Sean Bartholick, releases an announcement calling the mother and father loving and devoted. He says the allegations shall be addressed as soon as they transfer past “rumor and hypothesis.”
  • RELATED | Mother and father of lacking Rexburg kids subject an announcement, lawyer says they’re ‘loving’ and ‘devoted’

    RELATED | Regardless of a whole bunch of suggestions, investigators say they’re no nearer to discovering lacking Rexburg children

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  • On Dec. 30, the Rexburg Police Division points a information launch saying they’ve info indicating Lori is aware of both the placement of the youngsters or what has occurred to them. They name the mother and father’ lack of cooperation “astonishing” because the couple refuses to cooperate.

    2020

  • Native investigators and the FBI serve a search warrant on Chad’s dwelling in Salem on Jan. 3. Fremont County Sheriff Len Humphries says investigators recovered 43 gadgets, together with computer systems, cell telephones, journals, paperwork and drugs. These are despatched to an FBI lab for additional evaluation.
  • RELATED | Police conclude search at Daybell dwelling

    RELATED | Sheriff’s workplace collects 43 gadgets throughout raid at Daybell dwelling

  • Larry and Kay Woodcock journey to Rexburg from their dwelling in Lake Charles, Louisiana. On Jan. 7, they announce a $20,000 reward for info resulting in the restoration of the children.
  • RELATED | ‘All I would like is simply to see these kids.’ Grandparents announce $20K reward for JJ and Tylee

  • Chad Daybell’s brother, Matt Daybell, pleads for him to cooperate with the investigation on Jan. 10. Matt says his fast household had little affiliation with Chad attributable to considerations about his non secular claims and books.
  • RELATED | Chad Daybell’s brother points assertion ‘pleading’ for him to cooperate with investigation

  • On Jan. 25, the Kauai Police Division serves Lori with a discover stating she should produce JJ and Tylee to the Idaho Division of Well being and Welfare or the Rexburg Police Division inside 5 days.
  • EastIdahoNews.com reporter Nate Eaton flies to Kauai and on Jan. 26, confronts Chad and Lori after police cease them on the Kauai Seashore Resort. Regulation enforcement seizes the couple’s rental automobile and search their rental townhome in Princeville, Hawaii. The mother and father refuse to say the place the youngsters are.
  • On Jan. 30, Lori misses the 5 p.m. deadline to provide JJ and Tylee. Kay holds a information convention expressing her disappointment.
  • On Feb. 3, EastIdahoNews.com visits the storage unit the place Lori deserted a number of of the children’ gadgets. Bikes, a scooter, winter clothes, a photograph album with photos of JJ and Tylee, sports activities tools, a backpack with JJ’s initials and a jersey with Colby Ryan’s title on it are left within the unit. There are additionally blankets exhibiting images of the youngsters – one centered on JJ with the opposite exhibiting images of Tylee.
  • On Feb. 12, Kay tells EastIdahoNews.com that in February 2019, Charles eliminated Lori from a $1 million life insurance coverage coverage. Kay was named the only beneficiary.
  • On Feb. 20, police in Kauai arrest Lori on a $5 million warrant out of Madison County. She is charged with two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent kids. She can be charged with arrests and seizures – resisting or obstructing officers, legal solicitation to commit a criminal offense, and contempt of courtroom – willful disobedience of courtroom course of or order.
  • On Feb. 26, Lori waives her extradition to Idaho after six days behind bars in Hawaii. The waiver comes after a number of makes an attempt to cut back bail fail.
  • Idaho authorities extradite Lori from Hawaii to Rexburg on March 5. They land in an airplane on the Rexburg airport and Nate Eaton makes an attempt to talk along with her earlier than deputies drive her to the Madison County Jail. She refuses to talk.
  • Lori makes her preliminary courtroom look in Rexburgon March 6. A whole lot wait in line hoping to catch a glimpse of the listening to the place Justice of the Peace Choose Faren Eddins reduces her bail to $1 million. She stays in jail unable to submit bond.
  • On April 9, EastIdahoNews.com obtains a letter from the Idaho Legal professional Normal stating Chad and Lori are underneath investigation for conspiracy, tried homicide and/or homicide by the Idaho Legal professional Normal’s Workplace.
  • On Could 1, Lori walks right into a Madison County courtroom to ask for a discount in bail once more. Her lawyer Mark Means argues the jail recorded a dialog between the 2 thus violating her constitutional rights. Choose Michelle Mallard denies the request, preserving bail at $1 million.
  • The Maricopa County Medical Examiner releases Alex’s post-mortem on Could 8. It says he died of pure causes – particularly blood clots within the lungs.
  • Melanie Gibb breaks her silence to EastIdahoNews.com and divulges explosive new particulars about their relationship and non secular beliefs.
  • Round 7 a.m. on June 9, the Rexburg Police Division, FBI and Fremont County Sheriff’s Workplace serve a search warrant at Chad’s dwelling. Inside hours, investigators uncover human stays and usher in a backhoe to dig deeper within the yard. Days later, officers affirm the stays are these of JJ and Tylee.
  • Round 11:30 a.m. on June 9, Chad is taken into custody a couple of mile from his dwelling, simply moments after legislation enforcement discover the stays. He’s booked into the Fremont County Jail on two felony expenses of concealment, distribution or alteration of proof.
  • Chad makes his first courtroom look on June 10 by way of video from the jail. Eddins units bail at $1 million.
  • Memorials are arrange alongside the fence of the property the place the youngsters have been discovered. A number of candlelight vigils are held of their honor.
  • On June 29, prosecutors file expenses in opposition to Lori together with two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of proof.
  • On July 2, prosecutors dismiss two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of youngsters in opposition to Lori. On July 15, she pleads not responsible to misdemeanor resisting or obstructing officers, legal solicitation to commit a criminal offense and contempt of courtroom.
  • On Aug. 3 and 4, Chad’s preliminary listening to is held in Fremont County. Pals, investigators and witnesses testify and Eddins concludes the prosecution has sufficient possible trigger to advance the case to the District Court docket.
  • Lori waives her preliminary listening to scheduled on Aug. 10 and 11 in Fremont County. The case mechanically advances to District Court docket.
  • Chad seems for his District Court docket arraignment on Aug. 21 earlier than District Choose Steven Boyce. He pleads not responsible to the felony expenses.
  • On Aug. 27, Chad’s lawyer John Prior asks Boyce to dismiss all the case in opposition to his consumer.
  • Madison County Prosecuting Legal professional Rob Wooden information a movement on Sept. 1 asking to mix the instances for Chad and Lori. He says having the instances collectively shall be extra environment friendly since he plans to current the identical proof and witnesses.
  • On Sept. 10, Lori is arraigned in District Court docket the place she pleads not responsible to the 2 felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of proof.
  • On Oct. 19, the anniversary of Tammy Daybell’s demise, her mother and father and siblings announce the creation of the Tammy Douglas Daybell Basis “to honor her legacy of service and love of literacy.”
  • On Nov. 5, EastIdahoNews.com obtains audio of Lori saying she “was going to homicide” her third husband, Joe Ryan, whereas talking at a gathering in Oct. 2018. She says she grew to become nearer to God and finally didn’t have to act in opposition to Joe.
  • 2021

  • In January, an audio recording between prosecutor Wooden and Summer time Shiflet, Lori’s sister, is launched. Wooden tells Summer time he plans to file conspiracy to commit homicide expenses in opposition to the Daybells.
  • LISTEN | New info revealed in recording between Lori Daybell’s sister and Prosecutor Rob Wooden

  • On Feb. 4, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Workplace publicizes Tammy’s post-mortem is full however particulars should not launched. That very same day, newly elected Fremont County Prosecuting Legal professional Lindsey Blake requests Tammy’s demise investigation case be despatched again to her workplace from the Idaho Legal professional Normal. The AG transfers the case.
  • On March 22, Wooden provides veteran murder lawyer Rachel Smith, of Missouri, to his crew to help within the case.
  • On Could 24, a grand jury indicts Chad and Lori on a number of new felony expenses, together with first-degree homicide and conspiracy to commit homicide. Prosecutors announce the costs throughout a Could 25 information convention, releasing the indictment containing further info surrounding the homicides of Tylee, JJ and Tammy.
  • On June 8, Lori is dedicated to the Idaho Division of Well being and Welfare. A psychologist deems her not match for trial and a choose agrees she can’t help in her protection.
  • Chad pleads not responsible to all counts within the indictment on June 9. His kids sit behind him within the courtroom.
  • On June 24, a grand jury in Arizona indicts Lori for conspiracy to commit homicide within the demise of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow. Prosecutors decline to press expenses in opposition to Chad saying there may be “no affordable probability of conviction.”
  • On July 29, prosecutors drop the destruction, alteration or concealment of proof expenses in opposition to Chad and Lori.
  • Prosecutors announce on Aug. 5 they’ll search the demise penalty in opposition to Chad saying “the character and magnitude of those crimes warrant the potential of the best attainable punishment.”
  • By Aug. 30, Lori continues to be incompetent to face trial and extra competency hearings are scheduled. In September, prosecutors ask if Lori must be pressured to take drugs because the Idaho Division of Well being and Welfare counsel she ought to.
  • In an interview with “48 Hours,” Chad’s kids say their father was framed and their mom died of asphyxiation.
  • Following a change of venue listening to on Oct. 5, Boyce guidelines the Daybell trial shall be moved from Fremont County to Ada County. The Idaho Supreme Court docket approves the transfer to Idaho’s most populous county.
  • On Oct. 7, Chandler, Arizona police launch their complete case file for the investigation into Charles’ murder. Included are gigabytes of by no means earlier than seen video interviews, audio recordings, textual content messages and police studies.
  • On Dec. 28, , Boyce orders that Mark Means, Lori’s lawyer, can now not characterize her. Boyce cites the battle of curiosity in Means representing each Chad and Lori in addition to considerations over his authorized competency and effectiveness.

2022

  • In March, Arizona prosecutors announce they won’t file conspiracy to commit homicide expenses in opposition to Chad within the tried capturing case of Brandon Boudreaux. They cite “no affordable probability of conviction” as the explanation. Prosecutors don’t announce if Lori will face expenses
  • Boyce denies a request from John Prior on March 21 to sever Chad’s case from Lori’s.
  • On April 11, Boyce points a written order saying Lori is now competent for trial and match to proceed. She is ordered to be launched from a Division of Well being and Welfare facility and an arraignment date is about.
  • Lori is arraigned on April 19. She stays silent and her lawyer Jim Archibald asks Boyce to enter a not responsible plea on her behalf.
  • On April 28, Boyce denies a request from John Previous to have the indictment in opposition to Chad dropped. The choose additionally denies a request from prosecutors to have a jury transported from Ada County to Fremont County for the trial and re-affirms proceedings will occur in Ada County.
  • On Could 2, prosecutors announce they’ll pursue the demise penalty in opposition to Lori and ask Boyce to maintain her trial along with Chad’s. Boyce points a response on Could 26 reaffirming the trials shall be held collectively in January 2023.



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Moscow Home Damaged By Fire

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Moscow Home Damaged By Fire


MOSCOW – A Moscow home was damaged by fire on Wednesday night.

City of Moscow Volunteer Firefighters were called to the blaze on North Almon Street around 11:00. Crews quickly extinguished the fire which burning primarily under the home.

The flames did burn into a first floor bedroom. One adult and two children were at home when the fire started and tried to put out the flames. Two Volunteer Firefighters suffered minor injuries. Officials believe it was discharged fireworks discarded in a trash can that sparked the blaze. The Red Cross was brought in to assist the residents of the home.



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Callous Idiots with Fireworks Burn Idaho Business

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Callous Idiots with Fireworks Burn Idaho Business


Morons disregard the warnings.  A military surplus store burned overnight in Sandpoint.  The owner, Cornel Rasor, posted pictures on his Facebook account, explaining his business was a total loss.  Rasor is a Republican Party activist and somewhat of an institution in the panhandle.

Imagine celebrating a joyous Independence Day, and then some careless jerk wipes out your life’s work in hours.  The owner stated that investigators believe a bottle rocket was set off in an alley, ignited a pole, and then flames spread to his store.  As of this writing, we don’t know if there have been any arrests.

This is another example of self-centered people showing a reckless disregard for others and the property of others.  These people are always going to be with us.  It’s no different than the guy who gets a snoot full and then gets behind the wheel of a car or truck, careens across a dividing line, and kills a family of five.

In these types of cases, we need long prison sentences as a deterrence, and not just for others.  After a decade in jail and claiming you didn’t mean to hurt others, you will likely learn some respect for their livelihoods and lives.

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If there’s no contrition, then tack on another 10 years.  I would be fine with paying for the three hots and a cot to ensure we keep these dangerous people off the streets.

The way I see it, stupidity is a choice.  Most of us know that playing with fire close to buildings, or in a hot dry forest is a bad thing.  There can’t be any excuses.





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Remembering Idaho's founding fathers and the controversial debate in the road to statehood – East Idaho News

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Remembering Idaho's founding fathers and the controversial debate in the road to statehood – East Idaho News


IDAHO FALLS – There was a “pensive and awful silence” as John Hancock took pen in hand and became the first of 56 delegates to sign the document Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the committee had drafted.

It was Aug. 2, 1776 and after months of debate, the Second Continental Congress now felt the magnitude of what they were doing.

The final draft of the document now known as the Declaration of Independence had been approved on July 4 after the written text had passed with a 12-0 vote two days earlier.

The words expressed what the colonists had been fighting for nearly a year and a half after the start of the Revolutionary War.

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“We, therefore … solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved,” the document said. “With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Each delegate approached the table to sign the document in large, bold ink, knowing full well it was an act of treason against the British Crown.

It “was believed by many at that time to be our own death warrants,” Benjamin Rush, a delegate from Pennsylvania, wrote of that historic moment.

John Trumbull’s oil painting portraying the first draft of the Declaration of Independence being presented to the Second Continental Congress on June 28, 1776. | Courtesy Architect of the Capitol

It would be another 11 years before the Constitution was ratified and the United States of America, with its system of laws and democratic republic form of government, was born.

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RELATED | Bonneville County Republicans commemorating Constitution Day with community celebration

Two hundred and forty-eight years later, the Declaration now sits in the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. Americans gather every July 4 to celebrate its existence and the accomplishments of the nation’s founding fathers.

RELATED | How Idaho got its name and became the nation’s 43rd state

Wednesday, July 3, was another historic occasion for Idahoans. On that day in 1890, Idaho became the nation’s 43rd state. It also had a contentious beginning. Here’s a look back at some of the Gem State’s founding fathers and the issues of the day.

Idaho’s Constitutional Convention and the ‘anti-Mormon’ Test Oath

It was Benjamin Harrison, America’s 23rd president, who signed the act that created the state of Idaho. He later paid a visit to the Gem State and planted a tree at the Statehouse in Boise.

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George Shoup, for whom Shoup Avenue in downtown Idaho Falls is named, was integral in getting the Constitutional Convention to assemble and begin the process of debate that would lead to statehood.

“As territorial governor, Shoup guided the convention until they produced a constitution,” F. Ross Peterson writes in the book “Idaho’s Governors.”

RELATED | These early Idaho settlers left a major mark on U.S. history and you’ve likely never heard of them

William Clagett, an attorney who practiced law in several territories, including Idaho, served as president of the convention.

Between July 4 and August 6, 1889, representatives throughout the Idaho territory met in Boise to debate every important topic covered by the Constitution, according to the Idaho State Historical Society.

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One of the most controversial issues was the Test Oath, a bill passed by the Idaho Legislature in 1884 and written into the Constitution that prevented members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from voting or holding public office.

The church practiced polygamy at the time, which the general public opposed. The increasing amount of Latter-day Saints coming to Idaho caused concerns about their voting power, which prompted the legislation.

Fred Dubois, a Republican delegate at the convention from whom the eastern Idaho town gets its name, was one of the legislation’s most ardent supporters. He’d previously served as a U.S. Marshall for Idaho who “became absolutely obsessed with the Mormon problem.” In that capacity, he felt it was his duty as a government agent to make sure Latter-day Saints obeyed the laws of the land, which outlawed polygamy.

On May 9, 1885, Dubois raided Paris, Idaho, where a large number of church members lived. He rounded up several polygamist men who were arrested and sent to prison.

“In December 1887, five Mormon men from southeastern Idaho, convicted of plural marriage, were sent to the United States Penitentiary at Sioux Falls, Dakota Territory, probably because the territorial penitentiary in Boise was overcrowded. They were the first Mormon men from Idaho sent to another territory to serve their time, and no doubt felt that they were martyrs to their religious beliefs,” a 2015 Idaho Statesman article reports.

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This led to a rising anti-Mormon sentiment among the general population.

Dubois and others adamantly attached the Test Oath to the new Constitution. Shoup avoided any personal involvement in the issue, according to Peterson.

Shoup issued a proclamation on Oct. 5, 1889 calling for a November 5 election to ratify the Constitution. Voters ratified it 7 to 1.

“Shoup signed the document and it was forwarded to Washington,” Peterson writes.

It passed the House of Representatives in April 1890 and the Senate in June.

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Dubois paid a visit to President Harrison at the White House on July 3, 1890. Harrison hadn’t yet signed the statehood bill and Dubois wanted it to be signed on July 4 so Idaho could celebrate its birthday on Independence Day.

benjamin harrison final

President Benjamin Harrison | Courtesy Wikipedia

Harrison explained stars were added to the flag on July 4 for all states admitted in the previous year. If he signed then, Idaho wouldn’t get its star on the flag until 1891.

Despite overwhelming support for a July 4 signing, Dubois reversed course.

“The responsibility is all mine and I ask you to sign the bill now. I want the star of Idaho on the flag tomorrow,” Dubois responded, according to the Idaho Statesman.

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“I think you have chosen well,” Harrison told him.

After signing the bill, Harrison presented the 39-year-old delegate with the gold pen and a holder, saying, “There is no honor which can come to a young man greater than that of bringing your state into the Union.”

The LDS Church abolished polygamy that same year. The anti-Mormon clause was later appealed and ultimately upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Idaho Legislature removed the restrictions against church members in 1893, but the constitutional provision remained on the books until 1982.

A territorial governor’s role in Idaho’s creation

Twenty-seven years earlier, on March 4, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln created the Idaho Territory as America was at the height of the Civil War.

At the time of its creation, the territory “sprawled across an area one-quarter larger than Texas,” as reported on the state’s website, encompassing all of present day Idaho, Montana and most of Wyoming. Lincoln’s close friend, William Wallace, whom he appointed to serve as Idaho’s first territorial governor, came up with the design.

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RELATED | Local group commemorating Idaho’s 160th anniversary with annual celebration

It was President Grover Cleveland who appointed Edward Stevenson to serve as Idaho’s first and only Democratic territorial governor in 1885. Stevenson was also the first Idaho citizen to serve as governor.

A native of New York, Stevenson lived in Michigan before heading west with the California gold rush in 1849. He was active in state politics, serving in multiple positions, including four terms in the state legislature. He settled in the Boise Basin in 1863.

A 2016 Idaho Falls Magazine article calls Stevenson “Idaho’s best territorial governor” because of his non-partisan and moderate approach to controversial issues, including the anti-Mormon legislation. It isn’t clear where he stood on the issue.

He is best remembered for preventing a measure that would’ve placed the northern part of the territory in Washington and the rest in Nevada.

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Stevenson strongly objected to this move and requested an audience in Washington to be heard on the matter.

“He was denied the trip, but gained his point,” Robert Sims and Hope Benedict write in “Idaho’s Governors.” “Cleveland wanted to discourage absence of territorial governors from their posts of duty, and Stevenson was promised that if he would only stay home, the bill would not be signed.”

Cleveland’s prediction proved correct. Congress refused the plan in its next session and Governor Stevenson “took personal credit for having saved Idaho.”

He went on to be a huge supporter of Idaho’s application for statehood. Though he was replaced as governor after Benjamin Harrison took office, he continued to “work vigorously” to that end.

Though he was unsuccessful in a second bid for governor in 1894, he is regarded today as “one of Idaho’s most influential pioneers.”

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