Algernon Sidney Gilbert

Algernon Sidney Gilbert (December 28, 1789 – June 29, 1834) was a merchant best known for his involvement with Latter Day Saint history and his partnership with Newel K. Whitney in Kirtland, Ohio. He is mentioned in seven sections of the LDS Doctrine and Covenants.[1] He was ordained as a high priest in the state of Missouri and served as a missionary in the United States.[2]

Personal life

The N. K. Whitney & Co. store in Kirtland, Ohio.

Gilbert was born at New Haven, Connecticut to Eli Gilbert and Lydia Hemingway. He married Elizabeth Van Benthusen, September 30, 1823 in Chagrin (later Willoughby), Ohio.[2]

Gilbert moved to Kirtland, in 1826 and was a partner with Newel K. Whitney in the N. K. Whitney & Co. store by 1827. In 1831 he moved to Independence, Missouri, opened a store there, and was appointed bishop's agent.[2]

Latter Day Saint

Gilbert was baptized into the Church of Christ in the spring of 1831 and church founder Joseph Smith ordained him an elder on June 6, 1831. He was ordained a high priest by Smith on April 26, 1832, in Kirtland and appointed one of seven high priests in the presiding high council in Missouri. He served as a missionary in the eastern United States from June to December 1832.[2]

The Latter Day Saint church leadership and members began moving to Jackson County, Missouri as soon as word of the August 1831 dedication ceremony was published. Open conflict with earlier settlers ensued, driven by religious and cultural differences, and the perception by pro-slavery Missourians that the "Yankee" "Mormons" were abolitionists.[3] Vigilantes in the public and private sector used force to drive individual Latter Day Saints from Jackson to nearby counties within Missouri; eventually, Latter Day Saints were given until the end of November 6, 1833 to leave the county en masse. Mormon residents left Jackson County for Clay County, Missouri on November 7, 1833.

On November 4, 1833, Gilbert was arrested and imprisoned for seven days at Independence and was among the Latter Day Saints driven from Jackson into Clay County, Missouri later that month. He died of cholera near Rush Creek, Missouri on June 29, 1834.[2]

See also

Sources

  1. ↑ See Sections 53, 57, 61, 64, 82, 90, and 101.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Biography of Algernon Sidney Gilbert, The Joseph Smith Papers (accessed January 6, 2012)
  3. ↑ "The Manifesto of the Mob" (From History of the Church, Volume 1, pages 374-376) Black Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. BlackLDS.com. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/31/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.