Chancey Whiting, Sr. (19 August 1819 – 7 June 1902) was a Latter Day Saint leader who served as the second president of

The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri, United States. The church derives its epithet from its founder, Alpheus Cutler, a member of the Nauvoo High ...

from 1864 to 1902, following the death of Cutlerite founder Alpheus Cutler. During his tenure, the Cutlerites (as they had come to be called) relocated from

Manti, Iowa Shenandoah is a city in Page and Fremont counties in Iowa, United States. The population was 4,925 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Once referred to as the "seed and nursery center of the world," Shenandoah is the home to Earl May Seed Compan ...

to Clitherall, Minnesota in response to an alleged vision seen by Cutler prior to his death.

Early years

Whiting was born on 19 August 1819 in

Portage County, Ohio Portage County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,791. Located in Northeast Ohio, Portage County is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Cleveland–Akr ...

, the fifth child and second son of Elisha Whiting, a wagon maker and veteran of the War of 1812, and Sally Hulet. His family were early converts to the

Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) The Church of Christ was the original name of the Latter Day Saint church founded by Joseph Smith. Organized informally in 1829 in New York and then formally on April 6, 1830, it was the first organization to implement the principles found in S ...

, founded by Joseph Smith, who had founded the church after publishing the Book of Mormon in 1830. Accompanying his family and other Latter Day Saints to

Caldwell County, Missouri Caldwell County is a County (United States), county located in Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the county's population was 9,424. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Its county seat is King ...

in 1836, Whiting was expelled from the state with other Mormons in 1838, following the issuance of the so-called " Extermination Order" by governor

Lilburn Boggs Lilburn Williams Boggs (December 14, 1796March 14, 1860) was the sixth Governor of Missouri from 1836 to 1840. He is now most widely remembered for his interactions with Joseph Smith and Porter Rockwell, and Missouri Executive Order 44, known b ...

Following Alpheus Cutler

Setting in

Adams County, Illinois Adams County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,737. Its county seat is Quincy. Adams County is part of the Quincy, IL– MO Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Adams Coun ...

, Whiting and his family initially followed the leadership of Brigham Young and the

Quorum of Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

after the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

of Joseph Smith in 1844. However, once Alpheus Cutler made the decision to leave Young's organization, Whiting chose to follow him and settled in

with other Cutlerites. Here he became Second Counselor in Cutler's newly formed Church of Jesus Christ, which Cutler "reorganized" in 1853.

Cutlerite leadership

Following Cutler's death in 1864, preceded by the defection of his designated successor Thaddeus Cutler to the rival " New Organization" headed by Joseph Smith's son Joseph Smith III, Chancey Whiting was chosen to succeed as president of Cutler's Church of Jesus Christ. He presided over the Cutlerites' move from Iowa to Clitherall, Minnesota, near Battle Lake, where they established the first permanent white settlement in

Otter Tail County Otter Tail County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, its population was 60,081. Its county seat is Fergus Falls. Otter Tail County comprises the Fergus Falls micropolitan statistical area. With 1,048 lakes in it ...

on 6 May 1865.The Coming of the Latter Day Saints to Otter Tail County
/ref> With the

Dakota War The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...

having ravaged the region only three years before, and being warned of possible trouble with the Native Americans remaining in the area, Whiting and other church leaders met with local chiefs and made a private treaty to preserve the peace, which neither side ever broke. Though he was unable to prevent the loss of several church members to RLDS

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

during the 1870s and '80's, Whiting managed to hold the remnant of his church together until his death in 1902. He supervised construction of a church and other buildings in Clitherall, and established a church corporation in 1873 to hold and manage church properties.Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite)
from Shields, Steven: ''Divergent Paths of the Restoration''. Whiting died in Clitherall on 7 June 1902. He is remembered today as one of Otter Tail County's leading early residents.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiting, Chancey 1819 births 1902 deaths American Latter Day Saint leaders Converts to Mormonism Leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) People from Portage County, Ohio People from Adams County, Illinois People from Shenandoah, Iowa