Thomas Bullock (December 23, 1816 – February 10, 1885) was 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 a clerk in the

Church Historian's Office Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a Priesthood (LDS Church), priesthood Calling (LDS Church), calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to ke ...

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 ...

.Bullock worked in the

, but was not an official "

Assistant Church Historian Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of th ...

". The first "Assistant Church Historian" was

Wilford Woodruff Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...

called in 1856, after Bullock left in 1854. See these references: * *

Biography

Bullock was born in

Leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

, Staffordshire, England. Bullock worked as an excise officer for the British government. On November 20, 1841, Bullock and his wife Henrietta Rushton were baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In 1843, the Bullocks emigrated to

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its historic importance and its ...

, where the majority of

Latter Day Saint 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 ...

s were gathering. In fall of 1843, Bullock was employed as a private clerk to

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

. He was clerk at the April 1844 general conference of the church, an assistant to Church Historian and Recorder

Willard Richards Willard Richards (June 24, 1804 – March 11, 1854) was a physician and midwife/nurse trainer and an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as second counselor to church president Brigham Young in the First Presidency of th ...

from 1842 to 1854, and was the clerk to the

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 ...

from 1846 to 1882. While with the Church Historian's Office, Bullock was responsible for writing some portions of '' History of the Church''. Like many early Latter Day Saints, Bullock 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 ...

. In 1846 he married Lucy Clayton, the sister of William Clayton, another prominent clerk in the church. In 1852, Bullock married his third wife, Betsy Prudence Howard. In 1847, Bullock traveled with the initial

company that traveled to the Salt Lake Valley. In

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. ...

, Bullock was the clerk of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company, clerk to the Utah Territorial Legislature, and was an occasional clerk to

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

and the

Quorum of the 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 ...

. From 1856 to 1858, Bullock returned to England as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, 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.Tho ...

for the church. Bullock served in the church as a

Seventy 70 (seventy) is the natural number following 69 and preceding 71. In mathematics 70 is: * a sphenic number because it factors as 3 distinct primes. * a Pell number. * the seventh pentagonal number. * the fourth tridecagonal number. * the fif ...

and in a variety of secretarial positions. He died in

Coalville, Utah Coalville is a city in and the county seat of Summit County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,363 as of the 2010 census. Interstate 80 passes through the town, as wel ...

at the age of 68. Bullock was the father of 23 children, 13 of whom survived to adulthood.

Notes

References

*Jerald F. Simon
Thomas Bullock as an Early Church Historian"
30 ''BYU Studies'' (Winter 1990) 71–88 *

External links

Thomas Bullock letter, MSS SC 1820
at 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-day ...

Thomas Bullock papers, Vault MSS 772
at L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullock, Thomas 1816 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saints British Latter Day Saints Converts to Mormonism English Latter Day Saints English Mormon missionaries English emigrants to the United States English leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement Mormon missionaries in England Mormon pioneers People from Leek, Staffordshire Seventies (LDS Church)