George W. Robinson

George W. Robinson (May 14, 1814 – 1878) was the first secretary to the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was also a Danite leader and an official church recorder in the 1830s and was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Rigdonite church established in 1845.

Born in Pawlet, Vermont, Robinson was a son-in-law to prominent Latter Day Saint leader Sidney Rigdon, having married Athalia Rigdon in 1837. Robinson also became the recorder of the church in 1837. [Joseph Smith (B.H. Roberts ed.) 1902. "History of the Church" 2:513.] On April 6, 1838, Robinson was appointed the first clerk or secretary to the church's First Presidency. [Joseph Smith (B.H. Roberts ed.) 1902. "History of the Church" 3:13–14.] Robinson was imprisoned in Liberty Jail with Joseph Smith, Jr. at Liberty, Missouri for a period of time.

In 1839, Robinson became the first postmaster in Commerce, Illinois, which was later renamed Nauvoo. Robinson was released from his recorder and secretarial duties in 1840 when he moved from Nauvoo across the Mississippi River to Iowa.

In 1842, Robinson became disaffected with the leadership of Joseph Smith, Jr.. During the 1844 succession crisis, Robinson supported the leadership aspirations of his father-in-law Sidney Rigdon. In 1845, when Rigdon created a rival church to the church led by Brigham Young, Robinson was selected as a member of the Rigdonite Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In 1847, Robinson followed the advice of Rigdon and moved from Nauvoo to Friendship, New York, where in 1864 he founded the First National Bank.

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