Edward Francis Mailon Guest appears to have been christened in the Cobh (Queenstown) Catholic Cathedral, Cork, Ireland on 25 May 1828, so nof Francis Guess and Johanna Mullane. Other family records give his birth as 24 May 1830, and 5 May 1830. William James Guest's records show his birth in Northumberland England, which is where he was living when he was first baptized, and the branch record at the time of his baptism give his birth place as #13 Havant Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. His father was believed to have been a sailor, so the family may have lived for a time in Portsmouth before moving to Northumberland. Family records give his parents names as Francis Guest and Johanna Mailon, phonetically close enough to the names in the church register for this christening entry to most likely be his christening record.
Although the histories indicate he was the oldest son, the church records show a sister Johanna christened 25 September 1825, older than Edward, and a younger sister, Ellen, christened 20 February 1831. There was no christening found for his brother John or another possible sister named Mary, who is listed in the Ancestral File.
His father apparently died when he was a young man. He went to sea, perhaps as a cabin boy or other seaman's apprentice, to relieve his mother of supporting him. After his apprenticeship or time of service was complete he went home, but found his family gone. A friend told him his mother and brother, John, had died; one sister married and moved to America; and the other sister moved to Wales.
Edward was first baptized "opposite the New Docks Ltd. " on 23 April1848, in the Sunderland Branch. He was baptized and confirmed by W. Knox. He would have been 20 years old at this time, if the christening entry is in fact his. Later Sunderland Branch Records show that he was "cut off" or excommunicated from the church on 22 Jan 1853, though no reason is given in the records for this action. A year later he was baptized again "in the River Where [Wear]" on 23 Feb 1854 by John Hare and confirmed by James Robson. An additional entry then shows his emigration to America on 26 Feb 1854.
After coming to Utah he settled in the Millcreek portion of Salt Lake County. He lived with the Miller family and met and married Jane Walton, daughter of Thomas Walton and Jane Colley. She was the ninth and last child of this marriage. She and Edward had twelve children. Jane died the day the last baby was born, 26 April 1882, and the baby died four months later, leaving Edward with nine children to raise, as two other children had died as infants. There is no indication that he ever remarried. The oldest daughter, Mary Ellen, must surely have been a great help to her father. The oldest son, Edward Francis Guest, had married just the year before, and it may be that he and his wife, Rebecca Butterworth, may have helped with the younger children as well, though there is no history written of this. He is said to have been grief stricken with the loss of his wife and this last baby and the responsibility of the surviving children. It seems he had a nervous breakdown before he died fourteen years later on 4 August 1896. His son, Edward F. Guest, is said to have cried when recounting his father's condition.
Edward F. M. Guest was supposedly the first constable/deputy-sheriff of Salt Lake. [This is still being verified. ] He was away from home quite a bit and when the Indians would come to their home on South West Temple Street, his wife, Jane, would run outside and yell, "Smallpox, smallpox!" and the Indians, who were hungry would ride away. They were very frightened of that disease, because in those days, it was so deadly.
Edward F. M. Guest was one of those recruited in Utah in 1862 by Captain Lot Smith during the Civil War to help protect the mail and telegraph lines. [A Bryson direct-line ancestor, Alley Stephen Rose, was also in this company. ] Indian raiders had "destroyed all the mail stations between Ft. Bridger, Wyoming and the North Platte. They frequently attacked and robbed the mail coaches and ruthlessly murdered white people. The situation became very alarming, for the line of communication was cut of from Omaha, Nebraska, to San Francisco, California" (Margaret M. Fisher, Utah and the Civil War, Deseret Book, 1929, Preface). The commission to recruit men came from President Abraham Lincoln through Adjutant-General L. Thomas to Brigham Young and then to Lot Smith. [See letter from Brigham Young to Lot Smith. ] Adjutant-General Thomas' telegram dated 28 April 1862 had the following request:
You are requested to muster into the service of the United States a company of Utah volunteer cavalry, to arm and equip them immediately and send them East for the protection of the mail and telegraph lines extending from North Platte river below Independence Rock on the old Mormon pioneer trail to Fort Bridger (Fisher, p. 21).
One hundred and six men were mustered in just two days to answer the call. They were sworn in on 30 April 1862 on the grounds at Temple Square and left Salt Lake City on 1 May. "The men furnished their own horses, bridles, saddles, and all equipment necessary for the service, at their own expense, something otherwise unknown in the history of the Civil War (Fisher, p. 22). "The expedition was no pleasure trip. The men encountered rough roads and rougher weather. They were called upon to endure almost unbearable hardships and bitter privations. Upon one occasion early in the march, they encountered ten feet of newly fallen snow. In many places the roads were almost impassable and had to be rebuilt. A number of bridges were washed out and had to be reconstructed. Wash-outs, floods, and storms impeded their progress and added to their distress and discomfort. But they did not complain. With cheerful hearts and brave souls they slowly but steadily marched to their destination. They reached Independence Rock from the North Platte twenty days after they left their homes" (Fisher, p. 26). The company returned to Salt Lake on 14 August 1862, serving a total of 106 days, one for each man in the original company.
Utah and the Civil War contains the diaries of a several of the men who served in the company. However, only one reference to Edward Guest was found. In the diary of Dr. Harvey C. Hullinger, who was the physician and surgeon for the company, is the following entry:
Salt Lake City, Wednesday, April 30. Removed to the southwest part of the city and camped. Here we were sworn in and organized. Ed Guest and I were appointed cooks for a mess of ten. The mess consisted of John P. Wimmer, John Neff, Edward F. M. Guest, Hiram B. North, James H. Gragun, Eph Williams, Leander Lemmon, Reuben P. Miller, Ben Neff and myself (Fisher, p. 39).
His entry dated Tuesday, 6 May states: "The morning was bright and clear. We moved down across the Weber. We went to Chalk Creek and built a bridge. I quit the job as cook the day we camped on Chalk Creek"(Fisher p. 40). This presumably left "Ed Guest" to cook for their mess of ten men, possibly on his own!
It should be noted that he left behind his wife, a 3*-year-old son, Edward Francis Guest, and a two-week-old baby, James Reuben Guest when he left on this 3-month assignment.
During his life he was noted for his exceptional memory for the poems and songs he wrote. [We are trying to locate his poems] Both he and his wife Jane are buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.