Chauncey Walker West (February 6, 1827 – January 9, 1870) was a Mormon pioneer and was a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Utah Territory. He was among the church's first

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 ...

to preach in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. West was born in Venango (possibly in the town of Pleasantville), Crawford County, Pennsylvania. He and his family joined the LDS Church when he was 16. In 1844, he moved with his parents to Nauvoo, Illinois to join the gathering of Latter Day Saints. In 1846, West's company of Mormon pioneers]left Nauvoo for

Winter Quarters, Nebraska Winter Quarters was an encampment formed by approximately 2,500 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they waited during the winter of 1846–47 for better conditions for their trek westward. It followed a preliminary ten ...

. There were three parts of the migration from Nauvoo to Winter Quarters that year. The first was the "winter exodus" from March to June. The second was the "spring exodus", and the finally the "fall exodus". West and his family were almost certainly part of the winter or spring exodus groups. The following year, in June 1847, he joined the Hunter/Horne Company on their journey to the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total po ...

, arriving on September 29, 1847. Prior to his final journey to the Salt Lake Valley, both of West's parents died during the winter of 1846–1847 at Winter Quarters (Florence), Nebraska. West, now married and the father of one, traveled westward with his wife, Mary, his infant child, Margaret, and younger sister, Adelia Marie. His older brother, Ira, followed them a year later to Utah Territory. In 1852, West was sent on an LDS Church mission to Asia. West preached in India,

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, and Hong Kong. With his companion, Benjamin F. Dewey, West was the first LDS missionary to preach in Sri Lanka (Ceylon).''2007 Deseret Morning News Church Almanac'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2006), s.v. "Sri Lanka". Chauncey W

When he returned to Utah Territory in 1855, West was appointed the presiding bishop of Weber County, Utah Territory and moved to Ogden. West was involved in co-ordinating the employment of Latter-day Saints in the construction of the

First transcontinental railroad North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...

for Central Pacific in Utah Territory, and on May 10, 1869 he was present as a representative of the LDS Church at the driving of the "Last Spike" at

Promontory Summit, Utah Promontory is an area of high ground in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, 32 mi (51 km) west of Brigham City and 66 mi (106 km) northwest of Salt Lake City. Rising to an elevation of 4,902 feet (1,494 m) above sea ...

. West practiced

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 ...

and had nine wives and 35 children. West died during a business trip to San Francisco, California, and is buried in Ogden, Utah. The city of

Farr West, Utah Farr West is a city on the northern edge of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah. The population was 5,928 at the time of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield metropolitan area. The mayor as of 2022 i ...

, was named to honor West's contributions to Weber County, Utah.

References

Sources

* Franklin L. West (1965). ''Chauncey W. West: Pioneer—Churchman''. (Salt Lake City, Utah) {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Chauncey W. 1827 births 1870 deaths People from Crawford County, Pennsylvania American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 19th-century Mormon missionaries Converts to Mormonism American Mormon missionaries in Hong Kong American Mormon missionaries in India Mormon missionaries in Sri Lanka Mormon pioneers People from Ogden, Utah People from Weber County, Utah American expatriates in Sri Lanka Latter Day Saints from Pennsylvania Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Utah

See also

References

Sources