Dates

• Existence: 1820 - 1891-12-23

Parallel Names

• Sharp, John VI

Biography

John Sharp (1820-1891) leader of the John Sharp Company traveling to Utah and prominent railroad businessman in the Utah territory.

John Sharp VI was born on November 9, 1820, in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, to John Sharp V and Mary Hunter. He was married on January 13, 1840, in Tillicoultry, Scotland to Jane Patterson. Together they had ten children. He converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 30, 1847, and immigrated to Utah with his family in 1850 with the John Sharp Company. John married his second wife, Ann Wright Gibson, on April 30, 1854, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Together they had ten children. He married his third wife, Sophia Smith, in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 5, 1861. Together they had nine children. John represented the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in negotiations about the First Transcontinental Railroad and was present at the driving of the final spike at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. He went on to become an officer for the Utah Central Railroad and the Utah Southern Railroad. John was also the director for the Union Pacific Railroad, Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution, Deseret Telegraph Company, and Deseret National Bank. He also filled the role of city councilor in Salt Lake City. He was prosecuted in 1885 for unlawful cohabitation under the Edmund's Act, for which he pled guilty. John died on December 23, 1891, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Citation:

Journal of Mormon history, fall 2001:p. 197, etc. (John Sharp, member of the Board of Directors of Utah Central Railroad; b. 1820; d. 1891)

Wikipedia, June 28, 2016(John Sharp (9 November 1820 - 23 December 1891) was a 19th-century leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Utah Territory. Sharp was the LDS Church's representative in negotiations regarding the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad through Utah Territory. He represented the LDS Church and its president, Brigham Young, at the driving of the final golden spike of the railroad on 10 May 1869 at Promontory Summit, Utah. Born in Clackmannan, Scotland; converted to Mormonism in 1847 and in 1850 he immigrated to Utah Territory. In 1856, Sharp became the first bishop of the Salt Lake Twentieth Ward. Sharp was also involved in politics and was a city councilor in Salt Lake City and was the territorial chairman of the People's Party, a party backed by the LDS Church to counter the non-Mormon Liberal Party. Sharp is also the great-great-grandfather of writer Anne Fadiman)

FamilySearch, April 11, 2024 (John Sharp VI; b. November 9, 1820, in Clackmannanshire, Scotland to John Sharp V and Mary Hunter; m. January 13, 1840, in Tillicoultry, Scotland, to Jane Patterson; ten children; m. April 30, 1854, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Ann Wright Gibson; ten children; m. January 5, 1861, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Sophia Smith; nine children; d. December 23, 1891, in Salt Lake City, Utah; representative for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in negotiations about the First Transcontinental Railroad; present at the driving of the final golden spike at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869; converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 30, 1847; immigrated to Utah in 1850; arrived in Salt Lake City on August 28, 1850; officer for the Utah Central Railroad and the Utah Southern Railroad; director for the Union Pacific Railroad, Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution, Deseret Telegraph Company, and Deseret National Bank; city councilor in Salt Lake City, Utah; prosecuted for unlawful cohabitation under the Edmund's Act in 1885; plead guilty)

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