Joseph L. Heywood was a local leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 19th century, and the founder of Nephi, Utah

Nephi, Utah

Nephi is a city in Juab County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,733 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Juab County. It was settled by Mormon pioneers in 1851, and is the principal city in Juab Valley, an...

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Heywood was born in Grafton

Grafton, Massachusetts

Grafton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,765 at the 2010 census. Grafton is the home of a Nipmuc village known as Hassanamisco Reservation, the Willard House and Clock Museum, and the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine...

, Worcester County, Massachusetts

Worcester County, Massachusetts

-Demographics:In 1990 Worcester County had a population of 709,705.As of the census of 2000, there were 750,963 people, 283,927 households, and 192,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 496 people per square mile . There were 298,159 housing units at an average density...

. In 1839 he moved to Quincy, Illinois

Quincy, Illinois

Quincy, known as Illinois' "Gem City," is a river city along the Mississippi River and the county seat of Adams County. As of the 2010 census the city held a population of 40,633. The city anchors its own micropolitan area and is the economic and regional hub of West-central Illinois, catering a...

 where he was a merchant. It was hear that he first met the Mormons, and latter joined The LDS Church on a visit to Nauvoo. Heywood was baptized by Orson Hyde

Orson Hyde

Orson Hyde was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles...

. While still in Nauvoo Heywood was called as a bishop.

In 1846 when the Latter-day Saints left Nauvoo, Heywood was appointed a trustee to sell property of the LDS Church along with Almon Babbitt and John S. Fullmer

John S. Fullmer

John Solomon Fullmer was an American politician and farmer, born in Huntington, Pennsylvania. He was the younger brother of David Fullmer, another politician.-Early childhood and career:...

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Later in Utah Heywood served as the first bishop of the 17th Ward in Salt Lake City. Heywood was the first US Marshall for the territory of Utah.

In addition to supervising the settlement of Nephi, Utah he accompanied Orson Hyde in setting up the first LDS settlement in the Carson Valley of Nevada. From 1861 Heywood lived primarily in Panguitch. He served as an LDS patriarch in that area. Heywood's house in Salt Lake City, which was on the block where the Conference Center

LDS Conference Center

The Conference Center, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the premier meeting hall for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Completed in spring 2000 in time for the church's April 2000 general conference, the 21,000-seat Conference Center replaced the traditional use of the nearby Salt...

 is today, was still identified with him after his move to southern Utah, and it was John Morgan's first residence on coming to Utah.