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Smith, John, 1781-1854

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1781 - 1854

Biographical History

John Smith (1781-1854) was a farmer and an early leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, and the Utah territory.

On July 16, 1781 in Derryfield, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, John Smith was born the eighth of eleven children to Asael and Mary Duty Smith. He was the younger brother of Joseph Smith, Sr. and uncle to Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. John spent his youth and adult life as an occupational farmer. John married Clarissa Lyman on September 11, 1815 and together they had 3 children: George Albert, Caroline, and John Lyman Smith. On January 9, 1832, John Smith and his family were baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1833 they moved to be with the Saints in Kirtland, Ohio. In 1836, John was appointed president of the Kirtland high council, the first of many duties he would preform for his religion. That same year he and his brother, Joseph Smith, Sr., left for a mission to the eastern states. On September 3, 1837 John was than appointed assistant counselor in the First Presidency, and a member of the Kirtland Stake Presidency in 1838. That same year, the saints were forced to leave and John moved with the saints to Far West, Missouri where he was called to be President of the Adam-ondi-Ahman Stake. A short while later, John moved once again to Illinois and presided as the President of a branch in Lee County in 1839. On January 10, 1844 John was than appointed a patriarch. He also moved again with the Saints to Salt Lake City in the Utah Territory in 1847 where he preside over the Salt Lake Stake and than was appointed the patriarch of the church on January 1, 1949. John Smith participated faithfully in the church and practiced polygamy.

John Smith died on May 23, 1854 in Salt Lake City in the Utah Territory.

Citation:
Wikipedia, via WWW, April 10, 2018 (John Smith; Uncle John; July 16, 1781 – May 23, 1854; Smith was the younger brother of Joseph Smith, Sr., uncle of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith, father of George A. Smith, grandfather of John Henry Smith, and great-grandfather of George Albert Smith; member of the first presiding high council in Kirtland, Ohio, an assistant counselor in the First Presidency under Joseph Smith, and as Presiding Patriarch under Brigham Young; Smith practiced plural marriage; stake president in Illinois and Salt Lake City, Utah; died in Salt Lake)

The Joseph Smith Papers, via WWW, April 10, 2018 (Smith, John; b. July 16, 1781 in Derryfield (later Manchester), Rockingham Co., New Hampshire; son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty; Married Clarissa Lyman, Sept. 11, 1815; Baptized into LDS church by Solomon Humphrey, Jan. 9, 1832; Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, 1833; Appointed president of Kirtland high council, Jan. 21, 1836; mission to eastern states with his brother Joseph Smith Sr., 1836; Appointed assistant counselor in First Presidency, Sept. 3, 1837; member of Kirtland stake presidency, 1838; Left Kirtland for Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri, Apr. 5, 1838; president of stake in Adam-ondi-Ahman, Daviess Co., Missouri, June 28, 1838; Illinois, Feb. 28, 1839; president of branch in Lee Co., Iowa Territory, Oct. 5, 1839; patriarch, Jan. 10, 1844; Nauvoo stake president, Oct. 7, 1844; Arrived in Salt Lake Valley, Sept. 23, 1847; Presided over Salt Lake stake, 1847–1848; Ordained patriarch of church, Jan. 1, 1849; d. May 23, 1854; Occupation farmer)

Patriarchal Bridge, via WWW, April 10, 2018 (John Smith; born July 26, 1781 as the eighth of eleven children to Asael and Mary Duty Smith; married Clarissa Lyman Sept. 11, 1815; together had 3 children: George Albert, Caroline, and John Lyman Smith; sealed to Mary Aiken, widow od his brother, in Nauvoo; seven weeks before his death he married Mary Frankly)

Found in 17 Collections and/or Records:

Arthur Kimball Bullock patriarchal blessing by William J. Smith

 Digital Record
Identifier: VMSS772_S3_F7_I8
Dates: 1871 August 27

Betsy Bullock patriarchal blessing by John Smith

 Digital Record
Identifier: VMSS772_S3_F7_I6
Dates: 1869 October 31

Betsy Bullock patriarchal blessing by William J. Smith

 Digital Record
Identifier: VMSS772_S3_F7_I7
Dates: 1879 September 1

Martha Coray notebook

 File — Multiple Containers
Identifier: Vault MSS 230
Scope and Contents Notebook includes Coray's interview notes used in compiling of Lucy Mack Smith's history of Joseph Smith.Smith family history notes contain John and Clarissa Smith's account of visit by Joseph Smith Sr. to Smith family members, including his father, Asael Smith, in Lawrence County, New York, in 1830; John Smith's account of his and Joseph Smith Sr.'s reunion with their mother, Mary Duty Smith, at Kirtland, Ohio, and their subsequent journey eastward to visit Church branches and...
Dates: 1845

John L. Smith journals, 1846-1895

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 680 Series 1
Scope and Contents

Includes journals and photocopies of journals created by John L. Smith, from 1846 to 1895. Journals discuss early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, personal history, and the missionary service of John L. Smith in Switzerland, Italy, and England. Also includes letters and photocopies of letters.

Dates: 1846-1895

John L. Smith personal and family papers, 1792-1950

 Series — Box 5: Series 2 [Barcode: 31197232563210], Folder: 1-3
Identifier: MSS 680 Series 2
Scope and Contents

Contains priesthood blessing transcripts, legal documents, articles, letters, and other Smith family papers, dated 1792 to 1950.

Dates: 1792-1950

George Mumford patriarchal blessing

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230334093]
Identifier: MSS 1112
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a handwritten patriarchal blessing given to George Mumford on December 9, 1845. The item was recorded by Albert Carrington. Mumford is promised blessings for obedience to the Mormon faith.

Dates: 1845 December 9

Patriarchal blessing of Joseph F. Smith

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230244771]
Identifier: MSS SC 585
Scope and Contents

Holograph copy of a patriarchal blessing given to Joseph F. Smith by John Smith.

Dates: 1852

Asael and Mary Duty Smith

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230334606]
Identifier: MSS 1135
Scope and Contents

Typewritten biographies of Asael Smith and Mary Duty Smith, the grandparents of the first president of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith (1805-1844). Also included are genealogies relating to the genealogy of Asael and Mary Duty Smith. The biographies are largely compilations of sources by Smith family members. The date of the composition of the item is uncertain.

Dates: 1950

John L. Smith papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 680
Scope and Contents Contains seven journals of John Lyman Smith, and other autobiographical manuscripts, as wells as a bound typescript volume of an autobiography/journal. The journals include accounts of persecutions in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, pioneering in Utah, Lyman's two missions to Europe, and his service as president of the Swiss-Italian and the Swiss-Italian-German missions. There is also a contemporary account of the cricket-and-seagull episode in Salt Lake in 1848, Lyman's service as a member of...
Dates: 1792-1950; Majority of material found within 1846-1900

Additional filters:

Type
Digital Record 8
Collection 6
Archival Object 3
 
Subject
Patriarchal blessings (Mormon Church) 11
Letters 5
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 4
Home and Family 3
Latter Day Saints -- Illinois -- Nauvoo -- History 3