Thomas Levi Whittle (May 21, 1812 – July 3, 1868) was a Canadian farmer who joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1837, later crossing the American

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 ...

in 1848 among the first company of pioneers to enter and settle near

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 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. ...

. He was also a 49er, having been one of a small group of men called by Brigham Young to seek gold in California soon after its discovery in 1849, and one of the first missionaries for the Church to the Sandwich Islands, now Hawaii.

Early life and conversion

Whittle was born to Thomas Whittle and Elizabeth Levi in Mersea Township, Essex County,

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

. Whittle married Mary Amelia Fullmer in 1833, and after a few years, moved to Detroit,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Whittle and his family heard

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of t ...

preached by early Latter Day Saint missionaries, and on November 22, 1837, Whittle and his wife were baptized 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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

by Zera Pulsipher. As was common in the early days of the

Latter-day Saint movement 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 Jo ...

, Whittle was re-baptized by William Clayton on June 3, 1849 into

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) after Whittle and his family had reached the Salt Lake Valley. Whittle's wife witnessed the important event in Latter Day Saint history when

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 ...

spoke to a large group of Latter Day Saints during the succession crisis and reportedly took on the appearance and speech of the recently martyred

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 ...

. This event signified to many that Young should be the next leader of the church. Shortly before making the trek west, Whittle and his wife Mary received

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

ordinances in the

Nauvoo Temple The Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.''Manuscript History of the Church'', LDS Church Archives, book A-1, p. 37; reproduced in Dean C. Jessee (comp.) (1989). ''The Papers of Jose ...

on January 1, 1846.

Journey West

Whittle and his family made the journey to

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 ...

to what is now the state of

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 ...

among the first pioneers to enter the Salt Lake Valley. The family traveled with the 2nd Company, 2nd Division under the leadership of

Heber C. Kimball Heber Chase Kimball (June 14, 1801 – June 22, 1868) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Church of the Latter Day Saints, and as first counselor to Brigham Young ...

. They arrived September 20, 1848.

Mission

Whittle was called on a mission in 1849 and headed to California. The following year, Whittle was assigned to the

Sandwich Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Ku ...

, now called the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

. Whittle arrived in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

on December 12, 1850 with nine other

LDS missionaries Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and commun ...

: Henry W. Bigler, Hiram Blackwell,

George Q. Cannon George Quayle Cannon (January 11, 1827 – April 12, 1901) was an early member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and served in the First Presidency under four successive pr ...

, Hiram Clark, John Dixon, Wm. Farrer, James Hawkins, James Keeler, and Thomas Morris. The small group of missionaries arrived aboard a small whaling vessel called the ''Imaum of Muscat''. The mission to the Sandwich Islands did not last long for Whittle and some of his companions as the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...

and reception proved very difficult. Whittle returned home and the Whittle family moved to

Herriman, Utah Herriman ( ) is a city in southwestern Salt Lake County, Utah. The population was 55,144 as of the 2020 census. Although Herriman was a town in 2000, it has since been classified as a fourth-class city by state law. The city has experienced rapi ...

. Later, the Whittle family helped settle

Richmond, Utah Richmond is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,733 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Logan metropolitan area. History Agrippa Cooper was the first settler in Richmond in the mid-1850s. In 1859, surveyors vi ...

. Whittle died July 3, 1868. To pay tribute to Whittle, the Utah Territorial flag was flown at half-staff on July 4, 1868.Letter written by Henry Standage 1868-07-04
/ref>

Notes

References

*Thomas Levi Whittle; ancestral file number 1BJX-FG, Ancestral File,

Family History Library The Family History Library (FHL) is a genealogical research facility in downtown Salt Lake City. The library is open to the public free of charge and is operated by FamilySearch, the genealogical arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

. *Thomas Levi Whittle. (1997, July). Retrieved July 1, 2007, from http://www.jnjtreeclimbers.com/index.cgi?ThomasLeviWhittle *The Polynesian Mission. (1898, July 30).

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

. Retrieved December 8, 2007, from http://udn.lib.utah.edu/u?/deseretnews5,25888 *Published Letter to

by Henry Standage. (1868, July 22).

. Retrieved December 8, 2007, from http://udn.lib.utah.edu/u?/deseretnews2,38445

External links

Trail Excerpt: Hale, Aroet Lucious, Diary of Aroet Lucious Hale, 1828-1849, 194-?, 12, 16-17
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110607101354/http://lds.org/churchhistory/library/source/0,18016,4976-5511,00.html Trail Excerpt: Jacob, Norton, Reminiscence and journal 1844 May-1852 Jan., 110-15.br>Trail Excerpt: Kimball, Heber C., Journal, in Autobiography ca. 1842-1858, in Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837-1866, reel 1, box 1. written by William ClaytonFarrer, William vol. 1, 1850-1851 in special collections Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University (Whittle mentioned in missionary companion Farrer's journal)Farrer, William vol. 2, 1851 in special collections Harold B. Lee Library, BYU (Whittle mentioned in missionary companion Farrer's journal)Farrer, William vol. 4, 1851-1852 in special collections Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University (Whittle mentioned in missionary companion Farrer's journal)Farrer, William vol. 5, 1852-1853 in special collections Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University (Whittle mentioned in missionary companion Farrer's journal)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittle, Thomas Levi 1812 births 1868 deaths Canadian Latter Day Saints Converts to Mormonism Mormon missionaries in Hawaii Mormon pioneers People from Richmond, Utah People from Salt Lake City Canadian Mormon missionaries in the United States 19th-century Mormon missionaries People from Leamington, Ontario American expatriates in the Hawaiian Kingdom People from Herriman, Utah Pre-Confederation Canadian emigrants to the United States