Thomas Bullock letters and other materials, 1848-1892

Series

Identifier: Vault MSS 772 Series 6

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Contains an assortment of papers relating to Thomas Bullock including letters to and from family members, song lyrics, poetry, and a certificate. Dated 1848-1892.

Dates

1848-1892

Creator

Bullock, Thomas, 1816-1885 (creator, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Thomas Bullock papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Coordinating Committee.

Biographical History

From the Collection:

Thomas Bullock (1816-1885) was a Mormon pioneer who worked as a clerk for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois and Utah.

Thomas Bullock was born on December 23, 1816 as the youngest of nine children to Thomas and Mary Bullock in Leek, Staffordshire, England. At age thirteen, he began apprenticing as a clerk at a law office. In 1838, he began working in the government's excise department and married Henrietta Rushton. They were baptized as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in November of 1841. By 1843, Bullock and his family traveled to the United States to join the other Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois.

Thomas's clerkship skills enabled him to serve as Joseph Smith's personal clerk up through Joseph's martyrdom. He later stayed behind to record the saints' final days in Nauvoo before their mass exodus to Salt Lake City, Utah and then recorded their consequent pioneer trek west to Utah. He held numerous clerkship positions in Utah for the duration of his life, including clerking for Brigham Young and various projects for the Church.

Bullock practiced plural marriage. In addition to Henrietta, he married Lucy Clayton in 1846 and Betsy Prudence Howard in 1852. Thomas Bullock died in Coalville, Utah on February 10, 1885 leaving behind twenty-three children and a legacy laced with multiple influential clerical undertakings.