BOUNTIFUL—As the city celebrates its 175th anniversary this coming week, a local filmmaker has presented a new movie on the life of Perrigrine Sessions to the Bountiful History Museum. The movie, “Perrigrine Sessions: Bountiful's Founding Father,” was written, produced and directed by Bountiful resident Richard Hatch.

“The museum asked me to produce a short film in recognition of Perrigrine Sessions, his life and his founding of the city in 1847,” Hatch said. “It was an honor for me. I’ve been a filmmaker my whole career, and to make this film, I used the best resources available from the LDS Church History Library and other sources. It gives a brief (just over seven minutes in length) look at his life both before and after he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.”

Sessions was part of the second team of pioneers who came to Utah from Nauvoo, Illinois, following Brigham Young and his team. He’d joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1830s, left his home state of Maine with his first wife Julia Killgore and they moved to Nauvoo. He was a member of the Nauvoo police force and a bodyguard for church founder Joseph Smith. Julia passed away in 1845. When the Saints were forced to leave Nauvoo, he came across the plains to Winter Quarters, Nebraska, and eventually to the Salt Lake Valley.

Depending on which history you read, it was either three or four days after his arrival in Salt Lake in 1847 that he was sent out by Brigham Young to find grazing land for church cattle.

“There were about 400 head of cattle, but they were trampling the newly planted crops, so Brigham asked Perrigrine to find another place for them,” Hatch said. “His wagon cut the first tracks north to what became the Sessions Settlement.”

Sessions’ first few months here were spent living out of a covered wagon before he made a dugout at about 200 West 200 North, in what is now the parking lot of a chapel. He then built a small log cabin near that location, just the first of many homes he built in the city, which was first known as Sessions’ Settlement. It was also known as the North Canyon Ward, but in 1855, it was officially named Bountiful.

“I was able to get a shot of his journal from the Church History Library, which helped with my research on his writings,” Hatch said. “A lot of the footage I used in this film was from other projects I have done working with young missionaries in Nauvoo, and several musician friends helped with the soundtrack. I think it gives a flavor for his life.”

Sessions became ingrained in the history of Davis County, and also his church. Before coming to Utah he had served two LDS missions and several afterward. He passed away on June 3, 1893, at the age of 79, in Bountiful. He had eight wives and 55 children. λ