Biography

William Shanks Berry (1838-1884) was a early Utah pioneer and missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Tennessee.

William Shanks Bery was born on 3 February 1838 in Dresden, Tennessee, to Jesse Woods Berry and Armelia Shanks. While a young boy, his family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to join the Saints in Nauvoo. His father died in Nauvoo. William and his widowed mother and the rest of his siblings left Nauvoo for Utah, arriving in October 1849. They were called to settle in Palmyra, near Spanish Fork. Here he met Rebecca Rocena Beck, and they were married on 22 November 1860. Soon after William and Rebecca were called to settle in Kanarraville, Utah, and take up farming. Here they had a ranch with horses, cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens.

William was the second postmaster in Kanarraville for several years and helped organize the Kanarraville Cooperative Store. He was also president of the Kanarraville Cattle Company.

In April 1884, William left on a mission to the Southern States, where he served primarily in his home state of Tennessee. While on his mission, on 10 August 1884, he and three other missionaries were attacked by a mob, and William was shot and killed, along with Elder John H. Gibbs.

The body of William Shanks Berry eventually made its way back to Utah, where it was buried in Kanarraville.

Citation:

FamilySearch, via WWW, Mar. 6, 2020 (William Shanks Berry was born on 3 February 1838 in Dresden, Tennessee, to Jesse Woods Berry and Armelia Shanks. While a young boy, his family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to join the Saints in Nauvoo. His father died in Nauvoo. William and his widowed mother and the rest of his siblings left Nauvoo for Utah, arriving in October 1849. They were called to settle in Palmyra, near Spanish Fork. Here he met Rebecca Rocena Beck, and they were married on 22 November 1860. Soon after William and Rebecca were called to settle in Kanarraville, Utah, and take up farming. Here they had a ranch with horses, cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens. William was the second postmaster in Kanarraville for several years and helped organize the Kanarraville Cooperative Store. He was also president of the Kanarraville Cattle Company. In April 1884, William left on a mission to the Southern States, where he served primarily in his home state of Tennessee. While on his mission, on 10 August 1884, he and three other missionaries were attacked by a mob, and William was shot and killed, along with Elder John H. Gibbs. The body of William Shanks Berry eventually made its way back to Utah, where it was buried in Kanarraville.)

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