Ira Nathaniel Hinckley was an early Latter Day Saint

Latter Day Saint movement

The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...

 leader who supervised the construction and maintenance of Cove Fort, a strategically placed fortification located about half-way between Salt Lake City and St. George, Utah

St. George, Utah

St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...

. He was the father of author Bryant S. Hinckley

Bryant S. Hinckley

Bryant Stringham Hinckley was an American author, religious speaker, civic leader and educator. He served as a prominent mid-level leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 20th century. His books were primarily designed for a Latter-day Saint audience.Hinckley was...

 and LDS apostle

Apostle (Mormonism)

In the Latter Day Saint movement, an Apostle is a "special witness of the name of Jesus Christ who is sent to teach the principles of salvation to others." In many Latter Day Saint churches, an Apostle is a priesthood office of high authority within the church hierarchy. In many churches, apostles...

 Alonzo A. Hinckley

Alonzo A. Hinckley

Alonzo Arza Hinckley was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1934 until his death....

, as well as the grandfather of LDS church president Gordon B. Hinckley

Gordon B. Hinckley

Gordon Bitner Hinckley was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death...

, and an acquaintance of Joseph Smith Jr.

Hinckley was born in Bastard Township, Leeds County

Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario

The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville are located Ontario, Canada. The population, as of the 2006 census, was 99,206. The United Counties have a land area of . Leeds and Grenville are located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Eastern Ontario, and front on the St. Lawrence River and...

, Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1844.

In 1867, Hinckley was living on his farm in Coalville

Coalville, Utah

Coalville is a city in Summit County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,382 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Summit County...

, Utah Territory

Utah Territory

The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....

, when Brigham Young

Brigham Young

Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...

 asked him to build a fortified way station at Cove Creek. Hinckley left for the area within days. The fort was restored in the early 1990s.

Hinckley practiced plural marriage

Plural marriage

Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...

. He was married to four wives, but never more than three at one time: Eliza Jane Evans, Adelaide Cameron Noble, her sister Angeline Wilcox Noble, and Margaret Harley, who was 31 years his junior. Hinckley was the father of 21 children. The last born, a daughter of Margaret Harley who was born when Ira was 61, never got to meet her father until she was almost two years old because he was afraid to visit the house and be arrested for cohabitation. Hinckley ultimately was arrested and fined $200.

See also

• Willden Fort
  Willden Fort
  Willden Fort was a wooden-palisade fort constructed on Cove Creek in Utah in 1860 by Charles William Willden and his son Ellott. It was occupied from 1860 to 1865, abandoned, then occupied briefly in 1867 during the construction of Cove Fort....
  
  
• Richard G. Hinckley
  Richard G. Hinckley
  Richard Gordon Hinckley has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 2005. In 2011, he became an emeritus general authority. He is the son of Gordon B. Hinckley, who was the fifteenth President of the Church.-Early life, mission, education:Hinckley was...
  
   : great-grandson
• Virginia H. Pearce
  Virginia H. Pearce
  Virginia Hinckley Pearce is an author and was a member of the general presidency of the Young Women organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1992 to 1997. Pearce is the daughter of Gordon B...
  
   : great-granddaughter
• Edwin S. Hinckley
  Edwin S. Hinckley
  Edwin S. Hinckley was one of only two men to hold the position of counselor to the president of Brigham Young University. He was a prominent educator and geologist....
  
  : son