Comments about ‘Jerry Earl Johnston: 2013 has some interesting milestones, including Porter Rockwell's 200th birthday’

RE: Porter Rockwell Boulevard" The Utah town of Bluffdale is considering a proposal to honor a famous Utah killer, Orrin Porter Rockwell, known as the "Destroying Angel" because he used rough image and guns to take care of church justice. Bluffdale's leaders may name a major unbuilt thoroughfare after the man who served as bodyguard to both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Known by his deep-set, dark eyes and long, thin hair—Smith told him that he would be blessed by God if he did not cut it—Rockwell once lived in Bluffdale and sold whiskey to stagecoach inn travelers. Among other stories, Rockwell attempted to assassinate former Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs for having issued an order in the late 1830s to drive the Mormons out of his state. . Some historians estimate that Rockwell killed at least 100 people during his days before dying of old age at 65. "That's a historical identity, good or evil," the mayor of Bluffdale said. ." (Deseret News, 8/18/03)