Charles William Kingston (June 26, 1884 – November 29, 1975) was a member of the

Latter Day Church of Christ The Latter Day Church of Christ, is considered a Mormon fundamentalist denomination by some in the Latter Day Saint movement. Also known as the LDCJC, the Kingston Clan, and The Order, it is a religious organization created by members of the Dav ...

and the

Davis County Cooperative Society Paul Elden Kingston is an accountant and attorney who has served as the Trustee-in-Trust of the Davis County Cooperative Society (DCCS), a Mormon fundamentalist denomination, since 1987. The DCCS is a financial cooperative established by his uncle ...

Early life

Kingston was born in Croyden,

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. ...

, the eldest son of Mary Priscilla Lerwill Tucker and Charles Kingston (an emigrant from

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

). Kingston's parents were members 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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

, and Kingston's father would become a prominent leader of the LDS Church in southwestern

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. At the age of eight, Kingston was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

into the LDS Church. In 1899, Kingston's father, in the vest of the registrar at Evanston, talked with

George T. Beck George Washington Thornton Beck (June 26, 1856 – December 1, 1943) was a politician and business entrepreneur in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Life George Washington Thornton Beck was born on June 26, 1856 in Lexington, Kentucky to Senator Jame ...

, then politician in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

, as well as business entrepreneur, and with

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

, and offered a settlement of Mormons in the areas irrigated by the

Bighorn Basin The Bighorn Basin is a plateau region and intermontane basin, approximately 100 miles (160 km) wide, in north-central Wyoming in the United States. It is bounded by the Absaroka Range on the west, the Pryor Mountains on the north, the Bighor ...

, built in

Big Horn County, Wyoming Big Horn County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 11,521. The county seat is Basin. Its north boundary abuts the south boundary of Montana. History Big Horn County was created by ...

. There was no outcome from these talks, however they prompted, in 1900, talks between

Fenimore Chatterton Fenimore Chatterton (July 21, 1860May 9, 1958) was an American businessman, politician, and lawyer. He was the sixth Governor of Wyoming from April 28, 1903 until January 2, 1905. Biography Chatterton was born in Oswego County, New York, but ra ...

and the president of the LDS that later prompted further Mormon settlements in the area. In 1906, Kingston married Vesta Minerva Stowell in the

Logan Utah Temple The Logan Utah Temple (formerly the Logan Temple) was completed in 1884, and is the fourth temple built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Logan, Utah, it was the second temple built in the Rocky Mountain ...

. Shortly after being married, Kingston began a

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

for the LDS Church in the Eastern States

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

of the church. In 1908, he finished his mission and moved to a farm near

Idaho Falls Idaho Falls (Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: Dembimbosaage) is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state's largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Un ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, where he was employed by the

Oregon Short Line Railroad The Oregon Short Line Railroad was a railroad in Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Montana and Oregon in the United States. The line was organized as the Oregon Short Line Railway in 1881 as a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railway. The Union Pacific int ...

. As part of his employment, Kingston made frequent trips to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, where he would attend the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth temple ...

Involvement in plural marriage and excommunication

On one of Kingston's trips to Salt Lake City, he met

Charles Zitting Charles Frederick Zitting (March 30, 1894 – July 14, 1954) was a Mormon fundamentalist leader of the community in Short Creek, Arizona. Life Zitting's ancestors came to the United States from Sweden, Denmark, Canada, and Britain. Fundamentali ...

, a Latter-day Saint who was married to three plural wives but had not been excommunicated by the LDS Church. Zitting introduced Kingston to

John W. Woolley John Wickersham Woolley (December 30, 1831 – December 13, 1928) was an American Latter Day Saint and one of the founders of the Mormon fundamentalism movement. Most Mormon fundamentalist groups trace their origin directly or indirectly to Woolle ...

, who had performed Zitting's

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...

s. In 1928, Kingston was barred from entering the Salt Lake Temple when

temple president Temple president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A temple president's primary responsibility is to supervise the affairs of an LDS temple in both an administrative and spiritual ...

George F. Richards learned that Kingston did not agree with the LDS Church's

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...

and 1904 renunciations of

. Kingston was initially opposed in his beliefs by his wife, children, and parents, all of whom tried to convince him to abandon a belief in plural marriage in order to prevent his excommunication from the LDS Church. However, in time he gained the support of his wife and children. Kingston was excommunicated from the LDS Church on March 3, 1929. The

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 ...

wanted to give him six months to reconsider his position before excommunicating him, but Kingston insisted that the council make an immediate decision. Kingston said that seven days later, on March 12, he had a vision of

God the Father God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, God the Son Jesus Christ, and the third person, God t ...

and

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, which reassured him that he had made the right decision.

Mormon fundamentalist

In 1931, Kingston and Jesse Burke Stone published ''Laman Manasseh Victorious'', a book justifying the continued Mormon practice of plural marriage.Kingston wrote under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

“William K. Ray". Kingston supported the leadership of

Lorin C. Woolley Lorin Calvin Woolley (October 23, 1856 – September 19, 1934) was an American proponent of plural marriage and one of the founders of the Mormon fundamentalist movement. As a young man in Utah Territory, Woolley served as a courier and bodyguard ...

, and J. Leslie Broadbent. The Church had soon been individually established by Charles's son Elden before Broadbent died in 1935 and founded the

of polygamists in

Davis County, Utah Davis County is a county in northern Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 306,479, making it Utah's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Farmington, and its largest city is Layton. Davis County ...

. Charles joined the Church soon after its creation and supported his son Elden Kingston who actively led the

until his death in 1948. In 1935, Kingston, along with his family and 1,200 members formed the Davis County Coop in

, which, over time, became a diverse business empire, and, later, received a great deal of scrutiny for child allegations and abuse, which ended up with convictions of high-ranked officials of the coop. Upon Elden's death, Charles Kingston designated his son

John Ortell Kingston John Ortell Kingston (May 19, 1919 – August 25, 1987) was the Trustee of the Davis County Cooperative Society in Davis County, Utah, from 1948 until his death in 1987. Davis County Cooperative membership John Ortell Kingston was the son of Ch ...

as the leader of the Kingston Clan. Charles W. Kingston died in Salt Lake City, Utah. Shortly after Charles's death, Ortell formally created the

Notes

References

*Brian C. Hales (2007). ''Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto''. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Greg Kofford Books) *Charles W. Kingston, ''Autobiography of Charles William Kingston''

External links

Charles W. Kingston
: online biography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston, Charles W. 1884 births 1975 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saint leaders American Latter Day Saints American Mormon missionaries in the United States Mormon fundamentalist leaders People excommunicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints People from Davis County, Utah People from Morgan County, Utah People from Rock Springs, Wyoming Latter Day Church of Christ