Horton David Haight (June 20, 1832 – January 19, 1900) was a Mormon pioneer. He first came to

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 ...

at age 14 in 1847 as a member of Daniel Spencer's immigrant company. He was in charge of a freight company that came to Utah Territory in 1859 and led four down-and-back companies in the 1860s. These companies involved wagons and teams sent out from Utah to bring back new emigrants, their baggage, and their freight on the return trip.

Life and career

Haight was born in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

, Cayuga County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He was the son of Hector Caleb Haight and his wife, Julia Ann (née Van Orden). The family moved to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in 1837 and joined

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) in 1845, moving to Nauvoo. He was in the company sent to aid the

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

s on the trail in coming into

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 ...

in 1848. In 1857, he served with Lot Smith in delaying the approach of

Johnston's Army The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US go ...

. Haight lived for many years in Farmington, Utah. His wife Louise (''née'' Leavitt) Haight was a counselor to

Aurelia Spencer Rogers Aurelia Read Spencer Rogers (October 4, 1834 – August 19, 1922) was the founder of Primary, the children's organization and official auxiliary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Rogers was also a women's rights activist and ...

in the first

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

, which was organized in Farmington. Louise Haight also came from a family who had ties to the LDS church. Her father was Weare Leavitt, born at

Grantham, New Hampshire Grantham is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,404 at the 2020 census, up from 2,985 at the 2010 census. The planned community of Eastman is in the eastern part of the town. History Incorporated in 17 ...

, and his wife Phoebe (née Cowles) Leavitt of Claremont, New Hampshire. Haight served as

Davis County Davis County is or was the name of the following counties in the United States: *Davis County, Iowa, named in honor of Garrett Davis, a Congressman from Kentucky *Davis County, Utah, named for Daniel C. Davis, captain in the Mormon Battalion *Cass ...

sheriff and in the

Utah territorial legislature The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 state representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 state senators. There are no term ...

in 1861. In 1882, he was sent to Oakley,

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 ...

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar may refer to: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 *John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) (178 ...

, the president of the LDS Church. Haight served there as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

until 1887 and then became president of the newly formed Cassia

Stake Stake may refer to: Entertainment * '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game * ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film * "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams'' * ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...

. He served as stake president until his death in 1900. Haight also served as a county commissioner in Cassia County, Idaho. One of Haight's grandsons was

David B. Haight David Bruce Haight (September 2, 1906 – July 31, 2004) was an American religious leader and an elected official. Haight was the second oldest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

, who became an apostle in the LDS Church.

References

Andrew Jenson Andrew Jenson, born Anders Jensen, (December 11, 1850 – November 18, 1941) was a Danish immigrant to the United States who acted as an Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for much of the ea ...

. '' Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia'', vol. 1, p. 302 * C. Terry Warner
“Elder David B. Haight,”
'' Ensign'', October 1976, p. 5 *H. Dean Garrett
“The Honeymoon Trail,”
'' Ensign'', July 1989, p. 23

External links

Search page
for the "Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel" database - searching here will list pioneer companies in which Haight was involved {{DEFAULTSORT:Haight, Horton D. 1832 births 1900 deaths Utah sheriffs American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints County commissioners in Idaho Members of the Utah Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians Mormon pioneers People from Oakley, Idaho People from Moravia, New York People from Farmington, Utah People from Hancock County, Illinois Latter Day Saints from Idaho Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Utah