Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, p.733
BALLANTYNE, RICHARD (son of David Ballantyne, born 1748 near Roxburgh, Scotland, and died Dec. 12, 1831, and Ann Bannerman, born 1789 at Dundee, Scotland
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FAMILY OF BANNERMAN OF ELSICK
THE FOUNDERS OF THIS FAMILY ARE TO BE TRACED IN THE REMOTE AGES OF SCOTTISH HISTORY, IN COMMON WITH THOSE OF OTHER ANCIENT
Surnames, which in general took their rise, from some peculiarity of local or official situation or from some remarkable trait of character, or personal qualification. This, had its origin in the privilege, held by the progenitors of the family, of CARRYING the ROYAL STANDARD; or being, as the Name indicates, BANNERMAN to our Kings of old.
It is admitted by all our Writers on Genealogy, that the Ancestors of the Banner-mans enjoyed the Honour of carrying the King's Standard in time of War. - We are told they were Hereditary BANNER BEARERS, Equites Vexillarii (as it was termed) to our Kings, about the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. They were in fact KNIGHTS BANNERET; -the most Ancient, and the most Honourable degree of Knighthood, which was never conferred, but upon persons of extraordinary merit, and military renown. Whatever slur therefore might, justly or otherwise, have been cast upon one of the Chiefs of this family, in the days of Malcolm Caenmore, or of Alexander the First (as shall be afterwards noticed) the conduct of his immediate progenitors, and that of the Founders of the family, must have been highly distinguished.
In the Reign of Malcolm the 3d (according to Boetius and Buchannan) but if we follow others, in the succeeding Reign of Alexander the 1st, the Bannermans lost the honour of carrying the Standard. The cause is not clearly explained. For although some directly ascribe it to the misconduct of the chief of the family of that day, at the passage of the Spey, where the King gave it to Canon, the Ancestor of the Scrymgeours, who had accompanied him on that expedition, to quell a Rebellion in the northern part of the Kingdom; others say, that a principle of gratitude in the King, to that brave and distinguished Knight (Cannon) who had twice actually saved his life, (once in the field, and on another occasion when in more imminent danger at the Castle of Invergourie) induced him to constitute Cannon his Standard Bearer, in time to come.
Of this last, there can be no doubt. But whilst it is most readily admitted, that the Renowned Ancestor of the Constables of Dundee had every right to distinction and reward, it is by no means clear, that the Banner Bearer of that age merited the indignity, or that occasion, to have his office taken from him. At that early period, it is now impossible in matters of Historical importance to get at precise facts; in
* A title, according to Sir George Mackenzie, which was then higher than that of a Baron.
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those comparatively so insignificant, it is in vain to look for them. The only account of this transaction that is to be found, is in the Scottish Histories of Fordun, Hector
NoteD Boece, John Major, Buchannan, and of Leslie Bishop of Ross, whore narrations are copied in the Notes, in their own words. -Of these, the most respectable is undoubtedly, that of Fordun, from wham all the others have probably taken theirs, with such shades of difference however in the description, as that neither may seem
to have borrowed from the other. But the most remarkable difference among them is, that while Fordun and Major represent the transaction as having happened in the Reign of Alexander the xst, all the others refer it to that of Malcolm the 3d. - This appears very unaccountable; and shews, in a strong degree, the obscurity of the tradition on which it rests, and such a total want of authentic document, as would almost induce us to doubt the truth of the whole. In this situation, therefore, the safest course appears to be, to adhere to the Narrative offered by Fordun, the oldest of our Historians, who lived nearest to the time, and who must of course have been the best informed, of every traditionary circumstance regarding it, if such an Event really happened. He ascribes it to the Reign of Alexander the 1st, whom he names Fers (the Fierce) and it is better suited to the character of that Prince in the beginning of his reign, than to the latter end of his Predecessor, who in all probability would have acted more cautiously on such an occasion. It is by no means said, nor even hr the most distant manner hinted at by Fordun, that the Bearer of the Royal Standard was at all afraid, or shewed any backwardness to enter the river, but that from its being much flooded the King was disuaded, probably by all his Nobles around him, from attempting to ford it, until it should have subsided or fallen lower, 'dissuaswn est Regi, aquam, donec minueretur, tranwadare.' After which the King, like a rash violent man, as his name indicates, being provoked with rage, and not able to restrain himself 'ira succensus, et non sese prctvalens continere' gave the Standard tO Alexander Carron, the Officer of his Bed Chamber, and no doubt a great favo~rite, as the Historian bad just before related, how he had saved the King's life at Invergoury. There is no mention of his having taken the Standard out of the hands of any other person, but merely 'Contulit suo Cubiculario Alexandro prmisso 'jerendum,' and then that they two first tried the ford; 'et sic prius hi duo vadum 'pratentant,' and afterward the Army followed, 'exercitus sequitur.'
Such is the whole of the story, as here re]ated, upon which Major very justly observes, that the King is to be blamed for his conduct, which was rather a proof of'
his Rashness, than his Courage, quia non fuit fortitudinis sed temeritatis actus. [n his narrative too, Major alone appears to have entirely followed Fordun as the best authority, using almost his very words-' Rex irarum plenus Cubiculario vexillum 'ferendum cantulit, quem trajicientem e toto exercitu Rex secgundus insequitur.' He likewise refers the action to the same King, Alexander the xst, translating Fordun's character of Fers into the corresponding Latin Audax; and like him takes no notice
* And surely this ancestor of the Bannermmns might hesitate to enter the most rapid of all Scotch rivers in a flood when the boldest of the Greeks, Diomed, is described by Homer in a similar situation, standing still on the bank of a river rushing into the sea.
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whatever of the former Standard Bearer having shewn any backwardness or want of courage-or of the King's having taken the Standard out of his hands.
Upon what authority then can Bocce, Buchannan, and Leslie have ascribed this action to Malcolm Caenmore, or where could they have learned the circumstances of 'Signifero expavente nec tam celeriter ut ante vexillun movente - Signifero 'cunctanti flumen ingredi signum ei ablatum Alexandro Carroni dedit.'-And Leslie's still stronger and more absurd expression 'Regius Miles tanta hostiun multitudine pene exanimatus substitit?'] These later Writers also impute the hesitation in passing the river, to the multitude of the opposing enemy, while Fordun much more naturally and simply says, that it was occasioned by the magnitude of the river, swelled by the rains, and that the King only was intreated to delay crossing, until the flood should have subsided, which, from the known rapidity of the current, must have very soon happened.
Upon the whole, if there is any truth in the story, the probability seems altogether to be in favour of what is stated by Fordun, and that the additional circumstances given by the other Writers, and other mistakes in their descriptions, are the pure offspring of their own imaginations. It is clear therefore, that no blame attached to the original Standard-Bearer, whoever he was; unless the blame that equally belonged to all the Nobles who were present-that of wishing and advising their rash and impetuous King, to postpone, for a few hours, his passage of the Spey, then flooded, and in the face of a numerous Army of Rebels. There are other discrepancies in the accounts of this transaction, as given by Boece, Buchannan, and Leslie, which are obvious on the slightest comparison, with that of Fordun or Major, from whom alone (so far as is known) they only could have derived their information.
-But it is sufficient for the purpose of this account, that it admits of no doubt, that the Bannermans had a root as Ancient and Honourable, as almost any Family, of the Lesser Barons, of Scotland. And it will appear in the sequel, if their posterity did not hold any great rank, or occupy offices of power under succeeding Monarchs, that they yet were a Family of respectability and consideration; which is evident, not only from the situations filled by their Descendents in that part of the Kingdom where they have long been settled, but also from their intermarriages with some of the oldest and most distinguished Families in Scotland.
Source: FHL film #994043, Item 7
Of Swedish ancestry according to Richard Ballantyne's diary.
Comments: Taylor, John (Male)At the age of fourteen John became a cooper's apprentice in Liverpool, England, and subsequently learned the turner's trade at Penrith, in Cumberland, England. He received his first schooling at the village of Hale, Westmoreland, where his parents lived on a small estate bequeathed to the head of the house by an uncle. In 1830 John emigrated to America, following his parents, who were then residing at Toronto, Upper Canada. Shortly after being baptized and ordained an elder (1836) John was set apart to preside over the Church in Upper Canada. In March, 1837, he visited Kirtland, Ohio, where he first met the Prophet Joseph Smith, and was his guest while sojourning there. He attended a meeting in the temple, at which Warren Parrish made a violent attack upon the Prophet. Elder Taylor defended the absent Prophet and endeavored to pour oil upon the troubled waters.
In 1838 John removed to Kirtland, proceeding thence in the general exodus of the Saints to Missouri. At DeWitt, Carrol Co., Missouri, he and his party of 24 were confronted by an armed mob of one hundred and fifty, led by Abbott Hancock and Sashiel Woods, the former a Baptist, the latter a Presbyterian minister. After some parleying the armed mob retired and permitted them to continue on to Far West, Missouri. John was a witness to the outrages perpetrated by the Missourians upon the new settlers, and a participant in the scenes of peril and disaster ending in the imprisonment of the Prophet and other leaders and the expulsion of the Mormon community from the state. John bravely and unflinchingly bore his part of the general burden of sorrow and trial; he knew no fear and shirked no responsibility or sacrifice that his duty entailed.
In the fall of 1837 John was told by the Prophet that he would bechosen an apostle, and at a conference in Far West, October, 1838, it was voted that he fill the vacancy occasioned by the apostasy of John S. Boynton. The High Council at Far West took similar action and on December 19 John was ordained an apostle. He was one of the committee appointed to memorialize the Missouri Legislature for redress of grievances, and was also appointed with Bishop Edward Partridge to draft a similar petition to the general government. John assisted President Young to superintend the exodus of the Saints from Missouri, and was with him and others of the Twelve when they made their famous ride from Quincy, Illinois, to Far West, Missouri, prior to starting upon their mission to Great Britain. John started upon this mission August 8, 1839. At Nauvoo, Illinois he was joined by Wilford Woodruff, and these two were the first of the Twelve to sail. They landed at Liverpool, England, on January 11, 1840, and at a council held at Preston, it was decided that John Taylor should labor in Liverpool with Elder Joseph Fielding. He was appointed a member of the committee to select hymns and compile a hymn book for the Latter-day Saints. In July, 1840, he passed over to Ireland and preached in the court house at Newry, County Down. This was the introduction of Mormonism in the Emerald Isle, the first convert being Thomas Tate. John next went to Glasgow. After preaching to the Saints in that city he returned to Liverpool and delivered a course of lectures at the music hall in Bold street. On September 16th, he, with Elders Hiram Clark and William Mitchell, sailed for the Isle of Man. He delivered a course of lectures, baptized a goodly number, organized a branch, and then returned to Liverpool. He returned to America with President Young and other apostles, arriving at Nauvoo on July 1, 1841.
At Nauvoo, John was a member of the city council, one of the Regentsof the University, Judge Advocate with the rank of Colonel in the Nauvoo Legion, associate editor and afterwards chief editor of the "Times and Seasons." He was also editor and proprietor of the "Nauvoo Neighbor," in the columns of which paper, in February, 1844, he nominated Joseph Smith for the Presidency of the United States.
John, with Willard Richards, voluntarily shared the imprisonmentwith the Prophet and Patriarch. While in prison he sang a hymn to raise their drooping spirits, and soon after the jail was assaulted by the mob who shot to death the Prophet and Patriarch. In the midst of the melee John stood at the door with a heavy walking stick, beating down the muskets of the assassins that were belching deadly volleys into the room. After Joseph and Hyrum were dead, John was struck by a ball in the left thigh while preparing to leap from the window whence the Prophet had fallen. Another missile from the outside, striking his watch, threw him back into the room. This was all that prevented him from descending upon the bayonets of the mob. In his wounded state he dragged himself under a bedstead that stood near, and while doing so received three other wounds--one a little below the left knee, one in his left hip, and another in the left forearm and hand. The Prophet's fall from the window drew the murderers to the yard below, which incident saved the lives of John Taylor and Willard Richards, the latter the only one of the four prisoners who escaped unharmed. As soon as practicable John, who had been carried by Doctor Richards for safety into the cell of the prison, was removed to Hamilton's hotel in Carthage, and subsequently to Nauvoo.
John accompanied the exodus, February 16, 1846, to Council Bluffs, Iowa, from where he was sent with Parley P. Pratt and Orson Hyde to set in order the affairs of the British mission. After accomplishing their purpose they returned, arriving in 1847. Apostle Taylor brought with him a set of surveying instruments, with which Orson Pratt, a few months later, laid out Salt Lake City.
After the departure of President Young and the pioneers in April, Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor exercised a general superintendency over the affairs at Winter Quarters, Nebraska. With Isaac Morley and Newel K. Whitney they organized the immigration that crossed the plains that season. It was about the 21st of June when these apostles, with six hundred wagons and upwards of 1500 people began the journey from the Elk Horn. John Taylor's division arrived at Salt Lake City on October 5, 1847.
In 1849 John was called to head a mission to France. In companywith Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, and Franklin D. Richards, who were on their way to Italy, Denmark, and England, respectively, he set out on October 19 to re-cross the plains. After a very successful mission, where he organized a branch and made arrangements for translating the Book of Mormon into Gallic, John returned. He arrived at Salt Lake City August 20, 1852. He brought with him the machinery for the beet sugar plant, manufactured in Liverpool at a cost of $12,500. He also brought with him the busts of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, prepared under his personal direction by one of the artists of England.
Two years later John was called to preside over the Eastern Statesmission and to supervise the emigration. Resigning as a elect of the legislature, he, accompanied by his son George J. Taylor, and by Elders Jeter Clinton, Nathaniel H. Felt, Alexander Robbins and Angus M. Cannon, set out in the fall of 1854 for New York City, where the first number of "The Mormon" was issued February 17, 1855. In 1857, at the outbreak of the "Utah War," John returned to Salt Lake City.
John Taylor was a member of the Utah legislature, 1857-76. For thefirst five sessions of that period he was speaker of the house. From 1868 to 1870 he was probate judge of Utah county. In 1869 he held his celebrated controversy with Vice-President Colfax through the columns of the New York press. From 1871 to 1875 he published a series of letters in the "Deseret News," reviewing the situation in Utah, denouncing territorial government as un-American and oppressive, but warning the people against violent resistance to Judge McKean's high-handed and exasperating course. In 1877 John was elected territorial superintendent of schools, and served as such for several years.
The next important event in his history was his elevation to theleadership of the church, to which he virtually succeeded at the death of President Young, August 29, 1877. He had been serving as President of the Twelve Apostles. He continued to act in that capacity until October, 1880, when the First Presidency was again organized with John Taylor, George Q. Cannon, and Joseph F. Smith as its personnel.
President Taylor's last appearance in public was on Sunday, February 1, 1885, when he preached his final discourse in the tabernacle at Salt Lake City. He had just returned from Mexico and California, after a tour through the settlements of the Saints in Arizona. That night he went into retirement and was never again seen in life except by a few trusted friends. He died July 25, 1887, at the home of Thomas F. Rouche, in Kaysville, Davis, Utah. His funeral was held four days later at the tabernacle in Salt Lake City.
Comments: #21. In 1860 John had a household of seven, a real wealth of $2,000, and a personal wealth of $2,000.
Comments: #31. John emigrated to Canada where he was converted to the Gospel. He presided over the Saints in Upper Canada. He visited the Prophet Joseph in Kirtland, Ohio, moved to Missouri in 1838; was called by revelation July 8, 1838 to be one of the Twelve Apostles. He filled a mission to England in 1839-41, after which he filled a number of missions for the Church. He crossed the Plains in 1847 and came to Utah. He filled a mission to France and Germany in 1849-52, and later presided over the mission in the Eastern States where he published the "Mormon" in the interest of the Church. After President Brigham Young's death in 1877, he presided over the Church, first, as President of the Twelve and later as the third regular President of the Church. He filled a successful mission to Great Britain, after preaching in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and New York. He introduced the Gospel into Liverpool, England, the Isle of Man and Ireland.
Comments: #41. Taken from the Journal of John Taylor--Family background. Schooling. Apprenticed to cooper in Liverpool, 1822-23. Apprenticed to a turner in Cumberland, 1823-28. Rest of family emigrated to Upper Canada, 1830. Author followed them, 1832. Religious background. Became a Methodist because it "seemed to me more of a matter of fact, personal thing than the church of England," 1824. Methodist exhorter or local preacher at age seventeen. Continued preaching in Toronto area. More interested in teaching "the leading doctrines of the christian religion, rather than the peculiar dogmas of Methodism." Belonged to group seeking after true church. Missionary visit of Parley P. Pratt. Wrote first letter to minister in England on the subject of Mormonism. Presiding elder in the district. Experiences with Sampson Avard in Canada, 1837. Made three visits to Kirtland. Spirit of apostasy there. Presiding elder again. Raised funds to "relieve the Presidency in their embarrassment." Informed by letter that he had been called to Quorum of Twelve and should proceed to Far West via Kirtland, 1838.
"President John Taylor's Dictation." A sort of oral history done in 1884. Answers questions about trip across the plains to Utah, crime in Utah ("we were a good deal imbued with the old Hebraic ideas-a good deal like the Puritans, yet we never enacted blue laws, neither had we witches to kill, even if we had been disposed to do so"), early voting practices, manufacture of liquor, a trip to England in 1846, city planning, Kirtland Bank bills and the Danites.
Comments: #51. John joined the Methodist Church about 1823; subsequently appointed preacher. Emigrated to Toronto, Canada, 1828-29. Visited Kirtland March 1837. Appointed by revelation July 8, 1838 to be ordained apostle. Moved to Missouri in fall of 1838. Located temporarily in Quincy, Illinois, 1839. Accompanied others of Twelve to Far West, Missouri, April 26, 1838. Located family at Montrose, Iowa, 1839. Mission to England 1839-41. Left Montrose on August 8, 1839. Arrived in Liverpool on January 11, 1840. Left Liverpool for United States on April 20, 1841. Arrived in Nauvoo on July 1, 1841. Elected member of the Nauvoo City Council and Nauvoo Legion, and regent of Nauvoo University. Appointed associate editor of the Times and Seasons on February 3, 1842. Initiated into masonry on April 22, 1842. Editor-in-chief of Times and Seasons, 1842-1846. Editor and proprietor of Nauvoo Neighbor, May 1843-October 1845. Member of Council on March 10, 1844. Accompanied Prophet to Carthage Jail in June, 1844. Received four balls into body from guns of mob on June 27, 1844. Sealed for time to Lydia Dibble January 30, 1846. He left Nauvoo for West in spring of 1846. To Winter Quarters, 1846. Mission to England, 1846-1847. Arrived in England on October 3, 1846. Elected associate judge of provisional State of Deseret on March 12, 1849. Called on mission to France in October, 1849. Arrived in Liverpool in May 27, 1850. Arrived in Boulogne, France on June 18, 1850. Left England for United States on March 6, 1852. Arrived in Salt Lake City on August 20, 1852. Appointed to preside over branches of Church in eastern states and publish paper 1854. Published "The Mormon" in New York City, February 1855-May 1857. Returned to Salt Lake City on August 7, 1857. Member of the Utah Territorial Legislature, 1857-76. Speaker of house for five successive sessions, beginning in 1857. Probate judge of Utah County 1868-70. Elected territorial superintendent of district schools in Utah in 1877. Elected director of ZCMI on October 7, 1877. Elected president of ZCMI on October 5, 1883. President of Church from October 10, 1880 to July 25, 1887. He was sealed to Mary Rainsbottom on January 23, 1846.
Souces: Revelations of Joseph Smith. Cook, Lyndon. 1981
Page: 234-235
Married the 3rd President of the LDS Church.
Comments: Taylor, John (Male)At the age of fourteen John became a cooper's apprentice in Liverpool, England, and subsequently learned the turner's trade at Penrith, in Cumberland, England. He received his first schooling at the village of Hale, Westmoreland, where his parents lived on a small estate bequeathed to the head of the house by an uncle. In 1830 John emigrated to America, following his parents, who were then residing at Toronto, Upper Canada. Shortly after being baptized and ordained an elder (1836) John was set apart to preside over the Church in Upper Canada. In March, 1837, he visited Kirtland, Ohio, where he first met the Prophet Joseph Smith, and was his guest while sojourning there. He attended a meeting in the temple, at which Warren Parrish made a violent attack upon the Prophet. Elder Taylor defended the absent Prophet and endeavored to pour oil upon the troubled waters.
In 1838 John removed to Kirtland, proceeding thence in the general exodus of the Saints to Missouri. At DeWitt, Carrol Co., Missouri, he and his party of 24 were confronted by an armed mob of one hundred and fifty, led by Abbott Hancock and Sashiel Woods, the former a Baptist, the latter a Presbyterian minister. After some parleying the armed mob retired and permitted them to continue on to Far West, Missouri. John was a witness to the outrages perpetrated by the Missourians upon the new settlers, and a participant in the scenes of peril and disaster ending in the imprisonment of the Prophet and other leaders and the expulsion of the Mormon community from the state. John bravely and unflinchingly bore his part of the general burden of sorrow and trial; he knew no fear and shirked no responsibility or sacrifice that his duty entailed.
In the fall of 1837 John was told by the Prophet that he would bechosen an apostle, and at a conference in Far West, October, 1838, it was voted that he fill the vacancy occasioned by the apostasy of John S. Boynton. The High Council at Far West took similar action and on December 19 John was ordained an apostle. He was one of the committee appointed to memorialize the Missouri Legislature for redress of grievances, and was also appointed with Bishop Edward Partridge to draft a similar petition to the general government. John assisted President Young to superintend the exodus of the Saints from Missouri, and was with him and others of the Twelve when they made their famous ride from Quincy, Illinois, to Far West, Missouri, prior to starting upon their mission to Great Britain. John started upon this mission August 8, 1839. At Nauvoo, Illinois he was joined by Wilford Woodruff, and these two were the first of the Twelve to sail. They landed at Liverpool, England, on January 11, 1840, and at a council held at Preston, it was decided that John Taylor should labor in Liverpool with Elder Joseph Fielding. He was appointed a member of the committee to select hymns and compile a hymn book for the Latter-day Saints. In July, 1840, he passed over to Ireland and preached in the court house at Newry, County Down. This was the introduction of Mormonism in the Emerald Isle, the first convert being Thomas Tate. John next went to Glasgow. After preaching to the Saints in that city he returned to Liverpool and delivered a course of lectures at the music hall in Bold street. On September 16th, he, with Elders Hiram Clark and William Mitchell, sailed for the Isle of Man. He delivered a course of lectures, baptized a goodly number, organized a branch, and then returned to Liverpool. He returned to America with President Young and other apostles, arriving at Nauvoo on July 1, 1841.
At Nauvoo, John was a member of the city council, one of the Regentsof the University, Judge Advocate with the rank of Colonel in the Nauvoo Legion, associate editor and afterwards chief editor of the "Times and Seasons." He was also editor and proprietor of the "Nauvoo Neighbor," in the columns of which paper, in February, 1844, he nominated Joseph Smith for the Presidency of the United States.
John, with Willard Richards, voluntarily shared the imprisonmentwith the Prophet and Patriarch. While in prison he sang a hymn to raise their drooping spirits, and soon after the jail was assaulted by the mob who shot to death the Prophet and Patriarch. In the midst of the melee John stood at the door with a heavy walking stick, beating down the muskets of the assassins that were belching deadly volleys into the room. After Joseph and Hyrum were dead, John was struck by a ball in the left thigh while preparing to leap from the window whence the Prophet had fallen. Another missile from the outside, striking his watch, threw him back into the room. This was all that prevented him from descending upon the bayonets of the mob. In his wounded state he dragged himself under a bedstead that stood near, and while doing so received three other wounds--one a little below the left knee, one in his left hip, and another in the left forearm and hand. The Prophet's fall from the window drew the murderers to the yard below, which incident saved the lives of John Taylor and Willard Richards, the latter the only one of the four prisoners who escaped unharmed. As soon as practicable John, who had been carried by Doctor Richards for safety into the cell of the prison, was removed to Hamilton's hotel in Carthage, and subsequently to Nauvoo.
John accompanied the exodus, February 16, 1846, to Council Bluffs, Iowa, from where he was sent with Parley P. Pratt and Orson Hyde to set in order the affairs of the British mission. After accomplishing their purpose they returned, arriving in 1847. Apostle Taylor brought with him a set of surveying instruments, with which Orson Pratt, a few months later, laid out Salt Lake City.
After the departure of President Young and the pioneers in April, Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor exercised a general superintendency over the affairs at Winter Quarters, Nebraska. With Isaac Morley and Newel K. Whitney they organized the immigration that crossed the plains that season. It was about the 21st of June when these apostles, with six hundred wagons and upwards of 1500 people began the journey from the Elk Horn. John Taylor's division arrived at Salt Lake City on October 5, 1847.
In 1849 John was called to head a mission to France. In companywith Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, and Franklin D. Richards, who were on their way to Italy, Denmark, and England, respectively, he set out on October 19 to re-cross the plains. After a very successful mission, where he organized a branch and made arrangements for translating the Book of Mormon into Gallic, John returned. He arrived at Salt Lake City August 20, 1852. He brought with him the machinery for the beet sugar plant, manufactured in Liverpool at a cost of $12,500. He also brought with him the busts of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, prepared under his personal direction by one of the artists of England.
Two years later John was called to preside over the Eastern Statesmission and to supervise the emigration. Resigning as a elect of the legislature, he, accompanied by his son George J. Taylor, and by Elders Jeter Clinton, Nathaniel H. Felt, Alexander Robbins and Angus M. Cannon, set out in the fall of 1854 for New York City, where the first number of "The Mormon" was issued February 17, 1855. In 1857, at the outbreak of the "Utah War," John returned to Salt Lake City.
John Taylor was a member of the Utah legislature, 1857-76. For thefirst five sessions of that period he was speaker of the house. From 1868 to 1870 he was probate judge of Utah county. In 1869 he held his celebrated controversy with Vice-President Colfax through the columns of the New York press. From 1871 to 1875 he published a series of letters in the "Deseret News," reviewing the situation in Utah, denouncing territorial government as un-American and oppressive, but warning the people against violent resistance to Judge McKean's high-handed and exasperating course. In 1877 John was elected territorial superintendent of schools, and served as such for several years.
The next important event in his history was his elevation to theleadership of the church, to which he virtually succeeded at the death of President Young, August 29, 1877. He had been serving as President of the Twelve Apostles. He continued to act in that capacity until October, 1880, when the First Presidency was again organized with John Taylor, George Q. Cannon, and Joseph F. Smith as its personnel.
President Taylor's last appearance in public was on Sunday, February 1, 1885, when he preached his final discourse in the tabernacle at Salt Lake City. He had just returned from Mexico and California, after a tour through the settlements of the Saints in Arizona. That night he went into retirement and was never again seen in life except by a few trusted friends. He died July 25, 1887, at the home of Thomas F. Rouche, in Kaysville, Davis, Utah. His funeral was held four days later at the tabernacle in Salt Lake City.
Comments: #21. In 1860 John had a household of seven, a real wealth of $2,000, and a personal wealth of $2,000.
Comments: #31. John emigrated to Canada where he was converted to the Gospel. He presided over the Saints in Upper Canada. He visited the Prophet Joseph in Kirtland, Ohio, moved to Missouri in 1838; was called by revelation July 8, 1838 to be one of the Twelve Apostles. He filled a mission to England in 1839-41, after which he filled a number of missions for the Church. He crossed the Plains in 1847 and came to Utah. He filled a mission to France and Germany in 1849-52, and later presided over the mission in the Eastern States where he published the "Mormon" in the interest of the Church. After President Brigham Young's death in 1877, he presided over the Church, first, as President of the Twelve and later as the third regular President of the Church. He filled a successful mission to Great Britain, after preaching in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and New York. He introduced the Gospel into Liverpool, England, the Isle of Man and Ireland.
Comments: #41. Taken from the Journal of John Taylor--Family background. Schooling. Apprenticed to cooper in Liverpool, 1822-23. Apprenticed to a turner in Cumberland, 1823-28. Rest of family emigrated to Upper Canada, 1830. Author followed them, 1832. Religious background. Became a Methodist because it "seemed to me more of a matter of fact, personal thing than the church of England," 1824. Methodist exhorter or local preacher at age seventeen. Continued preaching in Toronto area. More interested in teaching "the leading doctrines of the christian religion, rather than the peculiar dogmas of Methodism." Belonged to group seeking after true church. Missionary visit of Parley P. Pratt. Wrote first letter to minister in England on the subject of Mormonism. Presiding elder in the district. Experiences with Sampson Avard in Canada, 1837. Made three visits to Kirtland. Spirit of apostasy there. Presiding elder again. Raised funds to "relieve the Presidency in their embarrassment." Informed by letter that he had been called to Quorum of Twelve and should proceed to Far West via Kirtland, 1838.
"President John Taylor's Dictation." A sort of oral history done in 1884. Answers questions about trip across the plains to Utah, crime in Utah ("we were a good deal imbued with the old Hebraic ideas-a good deal like the Puritans, yet we never enacted blue laws, neither had we witches to kill, even if we had been disposed to do so"), early voting practices, manufacture of liquor, a trip to England in 1846, city planning, Kirtland Bank bills and the Danites.
Comments: #51. John joined the Methodist Church about 1823; subsequently appointed preacher. Emigrated to Toronto, Canada, 1828-29. Visited Kirtland March 1837. Appointed by revelation July 8, 1838 to be ordained apostle. Moved to Missouri in fall of 1838. Located temporarily in Quincy, Illinois, 1839. Accompanied others of Twelve to Far West, Missouri, April 26, 1838. Located family at Montrose, Iowa, 1839. Mission to England 1839-41. Left Montrose on August 8, 1839. Arrived in Liverpool on January 11, 1840. Left Liverpool for United States on April 20, 1841. Arrived in Nauvoo on July 1, 1841. Elected member of the Nauvoo City Council and Nauvoo Legion, and regent of Nauvoo University. Appointed associate editor of the Times and Seasons on February 3, 1842. Initiated into masonry on April 22, 1842. Editor-in-chief of Times and Seasons, 1842-1846. Editor and proprietor of Nauvoo Neighbor, May 1843-October 1845. Member of Council on March 10, 1844. Accompanied Prophet to Carthage Jail in June, 1844. Received four balls into body from guns of mob on June 27, 1844. Sealed for time to Lydia Dibble January 30, 1846. He left Nauvoo for West in spring of 1846. To Winter Quarters, 1846. Mission to England, 1846-1847. Arrived in England on October 3, 1846. Elected associate judge of provisional State of Deseret on March 12, 1849. Called on mission to France in October, 1849. Arrived in Liverpool in May 27, 1850. Arrived in Boulogne, France on June 18, 1850. Left England for United States on March 6, 1852. Arrived in Salt Lake City on August 20, 1852. Appointed to preside over branches of Church in eastern states and publish paper 1854. Published "The Mormon" in New York City, February 1855-May 1857. Returned to Salt Lake City on August 7, 1857. Member of the Utah Territorial Legislature, 1857-76. Speaker of house for five successive sessions, beginning in 1857. Probate judge of Utah County 1868-70. Elected territorial superintendent of district schools in Utah in 1877. Elected director of ZCMI on October 7, 1877. Elected president of ZCMI on October 5, 1883. President of Church from October 10, 1880 to July 25, 1887. He was sealed to Mary Rainsbottom on January 23, 1846.
Souces: Revelations of Joseph Smith. Cook, Lyndon. 1981
Page: 234-235
Marriage Notes for Thomas Charles Hall and Annie BALLANTYNE-109
Temple Index Bureau (TIB)
Source: "The History of the Brigham Family" 2nd Vol. by Emma Elisabeth Brigham
Source: "The History of the Brigham Family" 2nd Vol. by Emma Elisabeth Brigham
Given name may be Sarah
One of the early settlers of Worchester MA
Source: Lorin Farr Pioner by T Earl Pardoe page 3
The Trowbridge family derives its name from its ancient inheritance, Trowbridge, in the Parish of Crediton, Devonshire, England. This property was the estate of Peter de Trowbridge, in the reign of Edward I. It was sold by the Trowbridge family, in 1720, to Samuel Strode. The Trowbridges, of Taunton, Somersetshire, were of the Devonshire family, as shown by the coat of arms found in the windows of St. James Church, at Tauton, which is identical with that borne by the Devonshire Trowbridges. The name Trowbridge appears in Taunton as early as 1541. Source: Library of Congress "Genealogy of the Trowbridge Family" Page 157.
Birth was found in "History of Chesterfield, N.H." it also mentions that Joshua Farr was a Revolutionary soldier in 1775.
Marraige found in "The Farr Genealogy" by the Rev. Charles N. Sinnet. Molly was the daughter of Zerubbabel Snow. Death date was also given in this book. They had no children.
Marraige found in "The Farr Genealogy" by the Rev. Charles N. Sinnet. Molly was the daughter of Zerubbabel Snow. Death date was also given in this book. They had no children.