Arthur Stayner
Encyclopedia
Arthur Stayner was an English
horticulturist who emigrated to the United States and became important in the founding of the sugar beet
industry in Utah
.
pioneers in the early 1850s, who used machinery shipped from Liverpool
, England, but their attempts to produce granulated sugar failed because they could not overcome the problems created by growing beets in alkali soils
.
Stayer studied the sugar industry in California. He was energetic, and using his property he conducted experiments with sugar cane, sorghum
cane, and sugar beets in Utah
. In 1887, he produced the first 7,000 pounds of commercial sugar in Utah and received a $5000 award from the legislature for doing so. With the support of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and other business leaders, he formed the Utah Sugar Company in 1889 with 20 stock holders. This company was ultimately instrumental in the building of a $400,000 beet sugar factory, constructed by E. H. Dyer
in 1891 at Lehi
. The company was so successful that it encouraged the building of other factories in Utah and Idaho that resulted in great economic growth in the two states from the research and the manufacturing of sugars and sugar syrups.
which became embedded in his heel, causing irritation throughout the day and poisoning his blood (sepsis
). Although amputation of his limb was considered by a physician, the lead had permeated his body and it was too late to save him.
Although Stayner was not interested in financial gain from sugar manufacture, because of his energetic work he is regarded as the "father and founder of the movement that made the manufacture of sugar in Utah a success."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
horticulturist who emigrated to the United States and became important in the founding of the sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
industry in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
.
Beet sugar
The first entrepreneurs to try to make sugar from beets in Utah were the MormonMormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
pioneers in the early 1850s, who used machinery shipped from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England, but their attempts to produce granulated sugar failed because they could not overcome the problems created by growing beets in alkali soils
Alkali soils
Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH , a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico-chemical properties mainly to the dominating presence of sodium carbonate...
.
Stayer studied the sugar industry in California. He was energetic, and using his property he conducted experiments with sugar cane, sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
cane, and sugar beets in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. In 1887, he produced the first 7,000 pounds of commercial sugar in Utah and received a $5000 award from the legislature for doing so. With the support of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and other business leaders, he formed the Utah Sugar Company in 1889 with 20 stock holders. This company was ultimately instrumental in the building of a $400,000 beet sugar factory, constructed by E. H. Dyer
E. H. Dyer
Ebenezer Herrick Dyer was an American businessman who established the first successful commercial beet sugar mill in the U.S., and as such was called the "father of the American beet sugar industry"....
in 1891 at Lehi
Lehi, Utah
-Attractions:Lehi Roller MillsLehi Roller Mills was founded in 1906 by a co-op of farmers. George G. Robinson purchased the mill in 1910, and since then it has remained in the family. It is run today by grandson R. Sherman Robinson....
. The company was so successful that it encouraged the building of other factories in Utah and Idaho that resulted in great economic growth in the two states from the research and the manufacturing of sugars and sugar syrups.
Death and legacy
Stayner became a prominent citizen of Salt Lake City. He died on September 4, 1899, from blood poisoning stemming from a lead pelletLead shot
Lead shot is a collective term for small balls of lead. These were the original projectiles for muskets and early rifles, but today lead shot is fired primarily from shotguns. It is also used for a variety of other purposes...
which became embedded in his heel, causing irritation throughout the day and poisoning his blood (sepsis
Sepsis
Sepsis is a potentially deadly medical condition that is characterized by a whole-body inflammatory state and the presence of a known or suspected infection. The body may develop this inflammatory response by the immune system to microbes in the blood, urine, lungs, skin, or other tissues...
). Although amputation of his limb was considered by a physician, the lead had permeated his body and it was too late to save him.
Although Stayner was not interested in financial gain from sugar manufacture, because of his energetic work he is regarded as the "father and founder of the movement that made the manufacture of sugar in Utah a success."