PAYSON PIONEERS ~ Payson Historical Society: James Pace

James Pace was born in Double Springs, Rutherford County, Tennessee, on June 15, 1811. In his early manhood he met and married Linda Strickland, a daughter of Judge Strickland of North Carolina. In 1840, the Pace family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Ill. James Pace was a bodyguard for the Prophet Joseph Smith and served on the police force there from 1840 to 1846 when the Mormons were driven out of Nauvoo. Pace was one of the 19 adopted sons of John D. Lee. Since it was a common practice to adopt grown men younger than yourself, these men took the name of their adopted father. Thus he became known as James Pace Lee.

Read about his key role in the founding--and naming--of Payson, and the events leading up to his arrival here in the next edition of The Payson Chronicle.