Henry Martin Tanner -- a noble pioneer

My great-grandfather, Henry Martin Tanner, died on March 21, 1935 at the age of 82 years in Gilbert, Arizona. He was the father of seventeen children and seventy-eight grandchildren. At the time of his death, he had seventeen great-grandchildren. His grandchildren are almost all dead by now and his great-grandchildren are all at or approaching the traditional retirement age of 65. There is no way to estimate the number of his great-great-grandchildren or their descendants but the Sydney Tanner book (see reference below) estimated his descendants at 1025 in 1982. That number has increased considerably since then because my wife and I alone, currently have twenty-eight grandchildren. It is very common for me to encounter one of his descendants, my cousins in Arizona and elsewhere.

It is impossible to measure the impact that this one family has had on the history of the Southwest. If you thought that pioneers had to have been hard characters, Henry Tanner was the exception. George A. Parkinson, Henry's brother-in-law wrote to Henry's son George S. Tanner, in 1947, and said, "George, in regard to my appraisal of your father, words would fail me to give you my estimate of that wonderful soul. I think if ever a child of God will enter the Celestial Kingdom of God he will. Never in my life have I known a sweeter, purer person than he. I don't believe an unclean thought ever entered his mind. A lover of the beautiful things of life like flowers, and saying sweet things. God bless his memory. What more can I say of him?"

Again from George S. Tanner. "[Henry Tanner] was a great favorite with children of all ages. His quiet gentle ways quickly won them over and no one could compete with him for the affection of a little child. His interest in everyone led them to believe that they were his favorites and many a parent and child has been heard to make a statement to that effect. At his funeral service James M. Flake, one of his lifelong friends, stated that when the news of Henry M. Tanner's death reached them one of his sons remarked, "I always felt I was Brother Tanner's favorite."