Almon Whiting Babbitt (9 October 1812 – c. 7 September 1856) was an early leader in the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

, a

Mormon pioneer The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...

, and the first

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

and

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

of the

Territory of Utah 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, the 45th state ...

. He was killed in a raid by

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

Native Americans in

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...

while travelling on government business between Utah and Washington, D.C.

Early life and church service

Babbitt was born in

Cheshire, Massachusetts Cheshire is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,258 at the 2020 census. History Cheshire was first settled in 1766 and officiall ...

A. Gary Anderson, "Almon W. Babbitt and the Golden Calf" in H. Dean Garrett (ed.) (1995). ''Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint Church History: Illinois'' (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, ) pp. 35–54. to Ira and Nancy Babbitt. He graduated from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and became licensed to practice law in six states. He married Julia Ann Johnson on 23 November 1833 and is thought to have joined the Latter Day Saint church sometime in 1833. In 1834, he was a member of

Zion's Camp Zion's Camp was an expedition of Latter Day Saints led by Joseph Smith, from Kirtland, Ohio, to Clay County, Missouri, during May and June 1834 in an unsuccessful attempt to regain land from which the Saints had been expelled by non-Mormon settle ...

, and on 28 February 1835 he was ordained as one of the first seventies in the church by Joseph Smith, Jr. Babbitt later became a high priest in the church. In 1837 and 1838, Babbitt was a missionary for the church in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

. He attempted to move to

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

in 1838 but was among the Latter Day Saints who were driven out by unfriendly residents, eventually settling in Nauvoo, Illinois. At a conference of the church in May 1839, Babbitt, Robert B. Thompson, and

Erastus Snow Erastus Snow (November 9, 1818 – May 27, 1888) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1849 until his death. Snow was also a leading figure in Mormon colonizati ...

were appointed to be a traveling committee that was charged with "gather ngup and obtain ngall the libelous reports and publications which had been circulated against the Church." In 1841, Babbitt was appointed as the president of the church's Kirtland Stake, where he was charged with shepherding the Latter Day Saints who did not have the financial resources to move to Nauvoo. In 1843, Babbitt's tenure ended in Kirtland and he began actively practicing law in Nauvoo; he was frequently employed to defend Latter Day Saints in legal disputes. While in Nauvoo, Babbitt was also selected by Joseph Smith, Jr. to become a member of two select groups: the

Anointed Quorum The Anointed Quorum, also known as the Quorum of the Anointed, or the Holy Order, was a select body of men and women who Joseph Smith initiated into Mormon temple ordinances at Nauvoo, Illinois, which gave them special standing in the early Latter ...

and

Council of Fifty "The Council of Fifty" (also known as "the Living Constitution", "the Kingdom of God", or its name by revelation, "The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and Power thereof, and Judgment in the Hands of His Servants, Ahman Christ") was a La ...

. In 1844, Babbitt was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. In February 1846, Babbitt, Joseph L. Heywood and John S. Fullmer were together given charge over the affairs of the church in Nauvoo after the departure of the church apostles. After the Battle of Nauvoo in September 1846, Babbitt and the two other men signed the treaty that "surrendered" the city of Nauvoo's charter.

Utah political leader

In 1848, Babbitt emigrated to

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, the 45th state ...

to join the gathering of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church), led by

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...

. In Utah, Babbitt, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, became involved in politics. In 1849, he was selected by the provisional General Assembly of the

State of Deseret The State of Deseret (modern pronunciation , contemporaneously ) was a proposed state of the United States, proposed in 1849 by settlers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Salt Lake City. The provisional stat ...

to travel to Washington, D.C. and petition for statehood on behalf of the Assembly. Milton R. Hunter (1946). ''Brigham Young the Colonizer'' (2004 reprint, Whitefish, Mont.: Kessinger Publishing, ) p. 126. Instead, the federal government created the

and in 1853 Babbitt was appointed secretary and treasurer of the territory. In this position, Babbitt had frequent clashes with

, the territorial governor and the president of the LDS Church.

Leonard J. Arrington Leonard James Arrington (July 2, 1917 – February 11, 1999) was an American author, academic and the founder of the Mormon History Association. He is known as the "Dean of Mormon History" and "the Father of Mormon History" because of his man ...

(1986). '' Brigham Young: American Moses'' (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, ) p. 234–235. These clashes have been attributed in part to Babbitt's tendency to view himself as a representative of the United States federal government rather than an enabler of Young's pro-LDS Church policies. Babbitt led a company of Mormon pioneers to Utah in 1851.

Conflict with Latter Day Saint leaders

In addition to his clashes with Brigham Young, Babbitt was involved in a number of conflicts with Latter Day Saint leaders from his early days in the church. On 27 December 1833, Babbitt and his wife were summoned before a

disciplinary council In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a church membership council (formerly called a disciplinary council) is an ecclesiastical event during which a church member's status is considered, typically for alleged violations ...

on an unspecified complaint; however, when the accusers failed to appear at the council, the charges were dismissed. On 19 August 1835, Babbitt brought before the church's high council on charges that included "not keeping the Word of Wisdom."Joseph Smith (1902, B. H. Roberts ed.). '' History of the Church'', vol. 2, p. 252. Babbitt admitted the offence of breaking the

Word of Wisdom The "Word of Wisdom" is the common name of an 1833 section of the Doctrine and Covenants, a book considered by many churches within the Latter Day Saint movement to be a sacred text. The section defines beliefs regarding certain drugs, nutritious ...

and stated "that he had taken the liberty to break the Word of Wisdom, from the example of President Joseph Smith, Jun., and others, but acknowledged that it was wrong." The council "reproved" him and "instructed him to observe the Word of Wisdom, and commandments of the Lord in all things". On 28 December 1835, Joseph Smith, Jr. submitted a complaint before the church's high council that Babbitt had been "misrepresenting" him to a number of Latter Day Saints."Minutes of December 28, 1835"
''Kirtland High Council Minutes (December 1832 – November 1837)''. Babbitt claimed that Smith was angry with him because he had bested him in a debate. The council decided that Babbitt had spoken falsehoods against Smith; Babbitt confessed that he had "done wrong", but refused to confess that he had lied, and the matter was closed. Later, Babbitt was disfellowshipped from the church four separate times, in 1839, 1841, 1843, and 1851, but each time was restored to fellowship shortly thereafter. In an 1841

revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

to Joseph Smith, Babbit is singled out for reproof for "aspir ngto establish his counsel ... ndsett ngup a golden calf for the worship of my people." This was likely a result of Babbitt encouraging Latter Day Saints to settle and remain in the old church headquarters of Kirtland, where he was stake president, as opposed to encouraging Saints to move to Nauvoo, which had been designated by Smith as the new gathering place. The day before Joseph Smith, Jr. was killed in

Carthage Jail Carthage Jail is a historic building in Carthage, Illinois, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It was built in 1839 and is best known as the location of the 1844 killing of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint mov ...

, Smith instructed his uncle John Smith to "tell Almon W. Babbitt I want him to come and assist me as an attorney at my expected trial". Upon delivering the message a few hours later, Babbitt told John Smith that "You are too late, I am already engaged on the other side."

Murder victim

In April 1856, Babbitt left

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

for Washington, D.C. on his twenty-second trip on government business from Utah to the capital. On August 31, 1856, Babbitt set out from Florence, in

, for Salt Lake City. When he arrived at Ft. Kearny (not to be confused with present-day Ft. Kearny), Babbitt learned that his freight train of personal property had been attacked and looted by

Native Americans;"Utah War Chronology"
, utahwar.org, accessed 2008-12-17.
babbitt.info, accessed 2008-12-17. two wagon drivers and a child were killed in the raid, and a Mrs. Wilson was taken hostage. Mrs. Wilson was killed almost immediately after being taken hostage because she was unable to ride horseback and keep up with her captors. Babbitt "stopped a week to gather up what could be found of the scattered property, purchased other teams, obtained drivers and start dthe train again". Babbitt traveled ahead of the team in a carriage with "two attendants", Frank Roland and a Mr. Sutherland. About 120 miles west of Ft. Kearny—at Ash Hollow on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

—the three men were attacked on about August 10.On August 4, 1856, and 12 miles east of Ash Hollow near Pawnee Swamp and Rattlesnake Creek, a group of defecting Latter-day Saints—the Margettses and Cowdys—had also been attacked and murder by Cheyenne. Zelphia Noble Sheffield Margetts was taken hostage and never redeemed. The Cheyenne claimed that they did not kill her, rather she escaped with a nearby government mapping party. Babbitt's obituary in the newspaper he had founded—the ''Council Bluffs Bugle''—described how he was killed by a blow to the head by a tomahawk swung by a Cheyenne Indian. Because all three of Babbitt's party were killed, the information regarding his death came only from the Cheyenne Peace Chiefs who visited Indian Agent Thomas Twiss several times at Dripp's Trading Post after the series of Platte River Road raids in September of 1856. Although rumors blamed Brigham Young, there is no shadow of any doubt that the Cheyenne killed Babbitt and his traveling companions. Fielding, Robert K, Unsolicited Chronicler (1993), p. 335. Upon hearing of his death,

commented that Babbitt had "lived like a fool and died like a fool", causing some to suspect that Young or the

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

Danites The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saint members in June 1838, in the town of Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri. During their period of organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took a ...

were somehow responsible for Babbitt's death.Norman F. Furniss (2005). ''The Mormon Conflict: 1850–1859'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, ) pp. 41, 53.Stuart Martin (1920). ''Mystery of Mormonism'' (2003 reprint, Whitefish, Mont.: Kessinger Publishing, ) p. 106. However, it is possible that Young was simply continuing to express his long-standing dislike of Babbitt: in October 1856, Young told the Utah Territorial Legislature, "If Almon Babbitt were here—thank God he is not—he would have found fault with everything."

Family

Babbitt and his wife Julia were the parents of six children, four of which survived to adulthood. Babbitt also practiced plural marriage.

Notes

External links

Biography
at Joseph Smith Papers Project website
Almon W. Babbitt estate record
L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gr ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

Almon W. Babbitt legal documents
L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
Almon W. Babbitt legal papers
L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
Almon W. Babbitt receipts
L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University {{DEFAULTSORT:Babbitt, Almon W. 1812 births 1856 deaths 1856 murders in the United States 19th-century American politicians 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in Canada American lawyers American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American murder victims Converts to Mormonism Doctrine and Covenants people Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Ohio Latter Day Saints from Utah Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Mormon pioneers People from Cheshire, Massachusetts People murdered in Wyoming Utah Democrats Utah Territory officials Harold B. Lee Library-related 19th century articles Deaths from head injury