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Dudley Leavitt (August 31, 1830 – October 15, 1908) was an early
Leavitt was born in Hatley, Quebec, Canada. Although born in Canada, he came from a long line of early New Englanders. He was named for his ancestor Thomas Dudley, the founder of 
Later in his life, Leavitt became pivotal in dealing with the Indian tribes of southern Utah on behalf of the Mormon settlers. He was credited by Brooks for having intervened with the Indians in Southern Utah, preventing an attack on non-Mormon settlers. Leavitt married several wives and spent a decade hiding from federal officers seeking to apprehend polygamists.''Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography'', Dan L. Thrapp, University of Nebraska Press, 1991
/ref> One of his wives Jeanette Smith was native American. Leavitt died in Bunkerville, Nevada, near Mesquite, in 1908. Although polygamy had been outlawed, he never abandoned his several families, according to historians.
Dudley Leavitt (August 31, 1830 – October 15, 1908) was an early patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
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 ...
(LDS Church), a Mormon pioneer and an early settler in southern 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 ...
.
Biography
Leavitt was born in Hatley, Quebec, Canada. Although born in Canada, he came from a long line of early New Englanders. He was named for his ancestor Thomas Dudley, the founder of Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, and second colonial governor of Massachusetts. His ancestor John Leavitt, an early Massachusetts Puritan, was deacon of Old Ship Church
The Old Ship Church (also known as the Old Ship Meetinghouse) is a Puritan church built in 1681 in Hingham, Massachusetts. It is the only surviving 17th-century Puritan meetinghouse in America. Its congregation, gathered in 1635 and officiall ...
in Hingham, Massachusetts, when it was built in the 17th century.
Leavitt crossed the Great Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
on the Mormon trail
The Mormon Trail is the long route from Illinois to Utah that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled for 3 months. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, known as the Mormon ...
as a young man. He was a member of the 1850 Milo Andrus
Milo Andrus (March 6, 1814 – June 19, 1893) was an early leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Biography
Andrus was born in Wilmington, New York, to Ruluf Andress and Azuba Smith. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat ...
Company, which left the outfitting post at Kanesville, Iowa (present day Council Bluffs) on June 3 and arrived in 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 ...
on August 30, 1850. He is credited as one of the founders of settlements in Washington County, Utah.
While Leavitt is cited in Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American writer and mountaineer. He is the author of bestselling non-fiction books—'' Into the Wild''; ''Into Thin Air''; ''Under the Banner of Heaven''; and '' Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat ...
's bestseller, '' Under the Banner of Heaven'', as a participant in the Mountain Meadows massacre of 1857, Leavitt is said to have never discussed the massacre, except to have remarked later in life, "I thank God that these old hands have never been stained by human blood." His granddaughter Juanita Brooks later investigated the Massacre, writing the seminal '' The Mountain Meadows Massacre''. On the role of her grandfather, Brooks seemed ambivalent. "We can only wonder as to Dudley's relation to the Massacre," Brooks wrote of him. Brooks also devoted a book to her ancestor entitled ''On the Ragged Edge: The Life and Times of Dudley Leavitt''.
Later in his life, Leavitt became pivotal in dealing with the Indian tribes of southern Utah on behalf of the Mormon settlers. He was credited by Brooks for having intervened with the Indians in Southern Utah, preventing an attack on non-Mormon settlers. Leavitt married several wives and spent a decade hiding from federal officers seeking to apprehend polygamists.''Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography'', Dan L. Thrapp, University of Nebraska Press, 1991/ref> One of his wives Jeanette Smith was native American. Leavitt died in Bunkerville, Nevada, near Mesquite, in 1908. Although polygamy had been outlawed, he never abandoned his several families, according to historians.
Notable descendants
* Juanita Brooks *Mike Leavitt
Michael Okerlund Leavitt (born February 11, 1951) is an American politician who served as the List of Governors of Utah, 14th Governor of Utah from 1993 to 2003 in the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, as Administrator of the E ...
* David O. Leavitt
* Cliven Bundy
See also
*Ira Hatch Ira Hatch (5 August 1835 – 30 September 1909) was a prominent Mormon missionary. He spoke 13 languages and spent most of his life working with the Native Americans of Southern Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. One of Hatch's wives was Miraboots, ...
References
* Brooks, Juanita. (1942). ''Dudley Leavitt: Pioneer to Southern Utah''. St. George, Utah: privately printed. * Brooks, Juanita. (1973). ''On the Ragged Edge: The Life and Times of Dudley Leavitt''. Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah State Historical Society. .External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leavitt, Dudley 1830 births 1908 deaths American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Pre-Confederation Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Leavitt family Mormon pioneers Patriarchs (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Nevada