- Hosea Stout
Hosea Stout (
September 18 ,1810 –March 2 ,1889 ) was a leader in theLatter Day Saint movement , aMormon pioneer , and a lawyer and politician inUtah Territory .Stout was born in Pleasant Hill,
Kentucky into the large family of Joseph Stout and Ann Smith, both strictQuaker s. As a child, Stout was temporarily put in aShaker school due to his family's financial hardships. However, after four years in the school, his father's circumstances improved and removed him from the school.In 1832, Stout enlisted with a group of rangers to fight in the
Black Hawk War . During this time, he became acquainted withMormonism and was taught by later apostleCharles C. Rich . In 1837 he sold his business and move toCaldwell County, Missouri where the Latter-day Saints had gathered after their expuslsion from Jackson County, Missouri andKirtland , Ohio. Here he married Smanatha Peck. Shortly after this he was baptized a member of theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .During the Mormon War of 1838, Stout was a member of the
Danite s, a Mormon militia, and fought in theBattle of Crooked River . After theLatter Day Saint s were forced to leave Missouri and moved toNauvoo , Illinois, Stout served as a bodyguard forJoseph Smith, Jr. During this period he was also a commander in theNauvoo Legion and the Chief of Police of Nauvoo. He was further set apart as President of the eleventh Quorum of Seventies and made a member of theCouncil of Fifty , an organization created by Joseph Smith in preparation for theSecond Coming of Christ.Shortly after the murder of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum in 1844 at the hands of a unit of the Illinois State Militia, their brother Samuel H. Smith also died under allegedly suspicious circumstances. Samuel Smith's daughter and William Smith, who was the only surviving Smith brother, later claimed that Stout had poisoned Samuel under orders from
Brigham Young andWillard Richards , members of theQuorum of the Twelve Apostles . [Jon Krakauer (2003). "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" (New York: Doubleday) p. 194.] [D. Michael Quinn (1994). "The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books) pp. 152–153.] [William Smith, [http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/NY/miscNYCa.htm#052857a "Mormonism: A Letter from William Smith, Brother of Joseph the Prophet"] , "New York Tribune ",1857-05-19 .] However, Stout was never tried for this alleged crime and Smith's claims are disputed. [Smith's obituary states that after returning to Nauvoo with the bodies of his brothers Joseph and Hyrum, he came down with "bilious fever" and soon died. History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 7:222. Samuel's widow and children traveled to Utah Territory under the direction of Brigham Young, while William Smith chose to stay behind after being excommunicated from the church.]After the Mormons were forced to leave Nauvoo in 1846, Stout served as the chief of police in
Winter Quarters ,Nebraska when theLatter Day Saint s migrated there.Carver, James A. "Hosea Stout" in Garr, Arnold K.,Donald Q. Cannon andRichard O. Cowan , eds. "Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History". (Salt Lake City, Utah:Deseret Book , 2000) p. 1193–1194.] An earlyMormon pioneer , Stout arrived in theSalt Lake Valley as a memberHeber C. Kimball 's company in September 1848.In Utah, Stout started a long career in both law and politics. He was elected to the Utah Territory's House of Representatives in 1849 and was a part of the delegation to create a constitution for the proposed
State of Deseret . Stout served as the firstAttorney General of Utah Territory, and in 1851, he was one of the first lawyers admitted to the bar of Utah. From 1856 to 1857, he served as the speaker of the House. Later, he was chairman of the code commissioners, a territorial prosecutor, andU.S. Attorney . In 1852 Stout was called on the first Mormon mission toChina along with three other individuals: Chapman Duncan, James Lewis, and Walter Thompson. However, these missionaries did not meet with much success and soon returned home.In November 1856, Stout helped rescue a snowbound handcart company caught in Wyoming. During the
Utah War of 1857-1858, Stout helped build and maintain fortifications in Echo Canyon meant to deter federal forces from entering Utah Territory. In later years,"Wild Bill" Hickman admitted to murdering one Richard Yates during this period at the mouth of Echo Canyon. In a deal for immunity from prosecution, Hickman implicated Stout and other Mormon leaders in the murder. Stout was arrested for the crime in 1871 and was incarcerated for six months at Fort Douglas before being released and acquitted. [Utah History Encyclopedia, Hosea Stout] In 1877, he retired from public life due to poor health and died 11 years later near Salt Lake City.One of Stout's greatest contributions was as a diarist. The "Diary of Hosea Stout" has become an invaluable resource for historians of the Latter-day Saints in the nineteenth-century.
Publications
*Stout, Hosea, "Autobiography of Hosea Stout, 1810–1844"
*——, "Crossing the Plains"
*——, "On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1844–1861"Notes
External links
* [http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/HStout.html Diary of Hosea Stout, (1810-1889)]
* [http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/s/STOUT,HOSEA.html Hosea Stout: Utah History Encyclopedia]
* [http://mormonlit.lib.byu.edu/lit_author.php?a_id=350 Works by Hosea Stout]
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