Jesse Nathaniel Smith
Encyclopedia
Jesse Nathaniel Smith was a Mormon pioneer
Mormon Pioneer
The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah...
, church leader, colonizer, politician and frontiersman. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was related to Joseph Smith Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement
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...
.
Early life
Smith was born the youngest of three sons to Silas Smith (1779–1839) and his second wife Mary Aikens (1797–1877) in StockholmStockholm, New York
Stockholm is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 3,592 at the 2000 census. The name was assigned by surveyors from Stockholm in Sweden....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His older brothers were Silas Sanford Smith (1830–1910) and John Aikens Smith (1832–38), but John passed away as a young child. Smith's father, Silas, married his first wife in 1806. She bore seven children, but passed away in 1826. Silas met Mary while she was teaching school in Stockholm and they married in 1828. Both of Smith's grandfathers, Asael Smith (1744–1830) and Nathaniel Aikens (1757–1836), served in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. According to Smith, his Grandfather Aikens served under General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
.
Smith's father was a younger brother of Joseph Smith, Sr.
Joseph Smith, Sr.
Joseph Smith, Sr. was the father of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translated by Joseph Jr. from the Golden Plates. In 1833 Joseph Sr...
, making him a first cousin of Joseph Smith Jr. Silas was converted when Joseph Sr. visited him in 1830, but was not baptized into the church until 1835 by his nephew Hyrum Smith
Hyrum Smith
Hyrum Smith was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....
. Smith's mother, Mary, would join the church a couple of years later. Jesse was an infant when his parents joined the church and a young boy when his father died of illness. Smith and his brother were considered well educated, for the time, by their mother since she had taught school.
Smith and his family followed the Mormons to Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and finally out west to the 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....
. Smith's cousin William
William Smith (Mormonism)
William Smith was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and one of the original members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Smith was the eighth child of Joseph Smith, Sr...
tried to persuade Mary Aikens Smith against following 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...
and the main body of Latter Day Saints west, but she informed him that this was her intention. The widow took Jesse N. and his brother, Silas S. across the plains with Young's group. At the age of twelve, Jesse N. drove his Uncle John
John Smith (1781-1854)
John Smith , known as Uncle John, was an early leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
's two yokes of oxen on the journey.
Church service
Smith served in many leadership positions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His cousin George A. SmithGeorge A. Smith
George Albert Smith was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as a member of the church's First Presidency.-Childhood:Smith was born in Potsdam, St...
, serving as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, sent a letter informing him he was to serve as a missionary
Missionary (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
in Europe. When he arrived in Salt Lake City for departure he was told he would serve in the Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
Mission. In the spring of 1862, at the age of 27, he was asked by Brigham Young to serve as Mission president
Mission president
Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . A mission president presides over a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission...
of that mission. He went home for a brief period, but returned again in 1868 to serve as the mission's president for a second time. He assisted almost 3,000 members of the church in emigrating to America. Smith learned to read and speak Danish on his missions.
Smith served as the first Stake President of the Eastern Arizona Stake from 1879–1887 and as the first president of the Snowflake Stake from 1887 until his death. In 1882, he predicted that a temple
Temple (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time...
would be built in Pima, Arizona
Pima, Arizona
Pima is a town in Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 1,965. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. The Gila Valley Arizona Temple
Gila Valley Arizona Temple
The Gila Valley Arizona Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the town of Central between the communities of Pima and Thatcher in Arizona...
is between Pima and Thatcher
Thatcher, Arizona
Thatcher is a town in Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town is 4,865. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Thatcher is located at ....
.
Colonizer
Smith helped colonize different Mormon settlements. The church leadership asked him, his mother and brother to help settle Parowan, UtahParowan, Utah
Parowan is a city in and the county seat of Iron County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,790 at the 2010 census.Parowan became the first incorporated city in Iron County in 1851. A fort that had been constructed on the east side of Center Creek the previous year was an initial in the...
in 1851. He also helped in creating the settlement of Minersville
Minersville, Utah
Minersville is a town in Beaver County, Utah, United States. The population was 817 at the 2000 census.-History:Minersville was settled in 1859 at the direction of Brigham Young so a lead mine could be operated on the site where Jesse N...
. In 1878 he went to explore an area in the Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
where Mormon settlements were being established. Smith returned to report his findings to John Taylor
John Taylor (1808-1887)
John Taylor was the third president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1880 to 1887. He is the only president of the LDS Church to have been born outside of the United States....
, who had succeeded Young. Taylor asked Smith to relocate there as a church leader. He settled his family in what is now Snowflake
Snowflake, Arizona
Snowflake is a town in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It was founded in 1878 by Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake, Mormon pioneers and colonizers. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 4,958....
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. In 1884, he was assigned to a committee for the church to purchase land in Mexico for Mormon colonization
Mormon Colonies in Mexico
The Mormon colonies in Mexico are settlements located near the Sierra Madre mountains in northern Mexico which were established by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints beginning in 1885. Many of the original colonists came to Mexico due to federal attempts to curb and...
.
Statesman
Smith was involved in local politics throughout his adult life. He served as Mayor of Parowan from 1859–1861, as a member of the Utah Territorial Legislature in 1856 and 1878–1879, and in the Arizona Territorial LegislatureArizona Territorial Legislature
The Arizona Territorial Legislature was the legislative body of Arizona Territory. It was a bicameral legislature consisting of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Council. Created by the Arizona Organic Act, the legislature initially consisted of nine members in...
's 19th session in 1897. He was elected probate judge of Iron County in 1866 by Utah Territory Legislators and again appointed by the Arizona territorial governor. He served as a captain in the local militia while in Utah Territory. He also held the positions of Deputy U.S. Marshal, Iron County District Attorney, surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
, city clerk, town councilman, city magistrate, stockman and established cooperative mercantiles in both Utah and Arizona.
Wives and children
Smith practiced plural marriagePlural 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 had five wives and forty-four children:
- Emma Seraphine West (1836–1910), m. 13 May 1852
- Emma Seraphine Smith (1853–1909)
- Mary Josephine Smith (1855–1894)
- Hannah Daphne Smith (1857–1939)
- Eliza Snow Smith (1859–1927)
- Jesse Nathaniel Smith Jr. (1861–1912)
- Sarah Elizabeth "Sadie" Smith (1866–1892)
- Silas Derryfield Smith (1867–1956)
- John Walter Smith (1871–1936)
- Samuel Francis Smith (1873–1954)
- Margaret Fletcher West (1838–1864), m. 27 January 1856
- Adelaide Margaret Smith (1857–1927)
- Joseph West Smith (1859–1944)
- Janet Mauretta Johnson (1848–1933), m. 9 October 1866
- Susan Janet Smith (1868–1960)
- Ellen Mauretta Smith (1871–1872)
- Sariah Anna Smith (1873–1922)
- Agnes Maude Smith (1874–1879)
- Julia Johnson Smith (1875–1956)
- Priscilla Smith (1877–1954)
- Editha Smith (1878–1931)
- Lucy Smith (1880–1951)
- Margaret Fife Smith (1882–1969)
- Ruth Smith (1884–1956)
- Esther Smith (1887–1975)
- Elias Smith (1889–1961)
- Leah Smith (1891–1976)
- Augusta Maria Outzen (1854–1932), m. 3 June 1869
- Georgiana Bathseba Smith (1870–1946)
- Augusta Gerhardina Smith (1872–1940)
- Robert Christian Smith (1874–1920)
- Martha Amelia Smith (1877–1931)
- Asahel Henry Smith (1880–1947)
- Anna Smith (1883–1910)
- Rebecca Smith (1886–1960)
- Rachel Smith (1889–1940)
- Sophronia Smith (1892–1953)
- Natalia Smith (1894–1978)
- Millie Smith (1897–1931)
- Emma Larson (1863–1943), m. 28 October 1881
- Hyrum Smith (1882–1971)
- Caroline Smith (1884–1924)
- Don Carlos Smith (1886–1967)
- Lorana Smith (1888–1979)
- Lehi Larson Smith (1891–1918)
- George Albert Smith (1893–1965)
- Aikens Smith (1899–1960)
- Myrtle Smith (1901–1977)
- Matthias Foss Cowley Smith (1905–1990)
Smith was eighteen years old when his oldest child was born and seventy when his youngest was born.
Death
Smith died at his home in Snowflake at the age of 71 after battling an illness. Four of his five wives survived him at his death.Notable relations
- Nephew of Joseph Smith, Sr.Joseph Smith, Sr.Joseph Smith, Sr. was the father of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translated by Joseph Jr. from the Golden Plates. In 1833 Joseph Sr...
, Lucy Mack SmithLucy Mack SmithLucy Mack Smith was the mother of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is most noted for writing an award-winning memoir: Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations. She was an important leader of the movement during...
and John Smith - 1st cousin of Joseph Smith, Jr.
- 1st cousin of Hyrum SmithHyrum SmithHyrum Smith was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....
- 1st cousin of Elias Smith
- 1st cousin of Samuel H. SmithSamuel Harrison SmithSamuel Harrison Smith was one of the younger brothers of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Samuel was a leader in his own right and a successful missionary. Smith is commonly regarded as the first Latter Day Saint missionary following the organization of the Church of...
- 1st cousin of William Smith
- 1st cousin of Don Carlos SmithDon Carlos SmithDon Carlos Smith was the youngest brother of Joseph Smith, Jr. and a leader, missionary, and periodical editor in the early days of the Latter Day Saint movement....
- 1st cousin of George A. SmithGeorge A. SmithGeorge Albert Smith was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as a member of the church's First Presidency.-Childhood:Smith was born in Potsdam, St...
- 1st cousin, once removed, of John Smith
- 1st cousin, once removed, of Joseph Smith IIIJoseph Smith IIIJoseph Smith III was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and Emma Hale Smith...
- 1st cousin, once removed, of Joseph F. SmithJoseph F. SmithJoseph Fielding Smith, Sr. was the sixth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
- 1st cousin, once removed, of Alexander H. SmithAlexander Hale SmithAlexander Hale Smith was the third surviving son of Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith. Alexander was born in Far West, Missouri and eventually became a senior leader of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints . Alexander served as an apostle and as Presiding Patriarch of...
- 1st cousin, once removed, of David Hyrum SmithDavid Hyrum SmithDavid Hyrum Smith was an American religious leader, poet, painter, singer, philosopher, and naturalist. The youngest son of Joseph Smith, Jr. and Emma Hale Smith, he was an influential missionary and leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was born approximately five months after the murder of...
- 1st cousin, once removed, of John Henry SmithJohn Henry SmithJohn Henry Smith was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
- 1st cousin, twice removed, of George Albert SmithGeorge Albert SmithGeorge Albert Smith, Sr. was the eighth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-Early life:...
- 1st cousin, twice removed, of Hyrum M. SmithHyrum M. SmithHyrum Mack Smith was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
- 1st cousin, twice removed, of Joseph Fielding SmithJoseph Fielding SmithJoseph Fielding Smith, Jr. was the tenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1970 until his death. He was the son of Joseph F. Smith, who was the sixth president of the LDS Church...
- 2nd great grandfather of Jake FlakeJake FlakeFranklin Lars "Jake" Flake was an American politician who served as a Senator in the Arizona State Legislature from 2005 until his death. Previous to his term as State Senator, he served as a Representative in the Arizona Legislature, including a stint as Speaker of the House...
- 3rd great grandfather of Jeff GroscostJeff GroscostJeffrey Smith Groscost was a Republican Speaker of the House at the Arizona House of Representatives from 1997 to 2001.-Career:He was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives for seven years, from 1993 to 2001...
- 3rd great grandfather of Jeff FlakeJeff FlakeJeffrey Lane "Jeff" Flake is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was featured in the documentary series How Democracy Works Now: Twelve Stories....
- Daughter Leah married John Hunt UdallJohn Hunt UdallJohn Hunt Udall was mayor of Phoenix, Arizona from 1936-38. He was a member of the Udall political family....
- Son Asahel H. married Pauline Udall, daughter of David King UdallDavid King UdallDavid King Udall, Sr. was a representative to the Arizona Territorial Legislature and the founder of the Udall political family. His great-grandsons Mark and Tom currently represent the Colorado and New Mexico in the United States Senate, respectively.-Childhood years:David King Udall was born in...