John Milton Bernhisel (born John Martin Bernheisel) Richard S. Van Wagoner and Steven C. Walker, ''A Book of Mormons'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1982) s.v. "John M. Bernhisel". (June 23, 1799 – September 28, 1881) was an American physician, politician, and early member 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 J ...

. He was a close friend and companion to both

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, ...

and

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

. Bernhisel was the original delegate of the

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 ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

(1851–59, 1861–63) and acted as a member of 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 ...

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 ch ...

(LDS Church).

Early life and education

Bernhisel was born at Sandy Hill, Tyrone Township, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His name at birth was John Martin Bernheisel, which he changed as an adult. He earned a degree in medicine from the

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine The Perelman School of Medicine, commonly known as Penn Med, is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the oldest medi ...

in 1827 and began practicing medicine in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Career

After becoming affiliated with the Latter Day Saint movement, he moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1843. Bernhisel served as the personal physician to

, and lived in his home. He delivered some of

Emma Smith Emma Hale Smith Bidamon (July 10, 1804 – April 30, 1879) was an American homesteader, the official wife of Joseph Smith, and a prominent leader in the early days of the Latter Day Saint movement, both during Smith's lifetime and afterward as ...

's children. In June 1844, Bernhisel accompanied Joseph Smith to the

Carthage Jail Carthage Jail is a historic building in Carthage, Illinois, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It was built in 1839 and is best known as the location of the 1844 killing of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint mov ...

and spent some time with Smith and his brother Hyrum in the jail, but Bernhisel was not present at the time of Joseph Smith's death at the hands of a mob. After Smith's death, Bernhisel followed

and moved west with the majority of the Latter-day Saints. He settled in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, in 1848 and continued the practice of medicine. Bernhisel was selected by Young to represent the interests of the Latter-day Saints before Congress when the Mormon settlers began to consider an application for statehood as the

State of Deseret The State of Deseret (modern pronunciation , contemporaneously ) was a proposed state of the United States, proposed in 1849 by settlers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Salt Lake City. The provisional stat ...

. He was selected to the Thirty-second and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1859). After returning briefly to his medical practice, he also ran and served in the Thirty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863). Bernhisel also served as regent of the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

Personal life

Bernhisel was a bachelor until he was 46 years old (March 1845), when he married Julia Ann Haight, the widow of William Van Orden and mother of five children. The couple had one child, also named John Milton Bernhisel (born in 1846). Like many early LDS Church members, Bernhisel went on to practice plural marriage. He was married to seven women, but by 1850, all of them but Elizabeth Barker had left the family for various reasons. He died in Salt Lake City on September 28, 1881, and is interred at the

Salt Lake City Cemetery The Salt Lake City Cemetery is a cemetery in northeastern Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, that is one of the largest city-operated cemeteries in the United States. Description The cemetery is located above 4th Avenue and east of N Street in ...

Notes

References

* * * *

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

Notes

References

Further reading