- John Ortell Kingston
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John Ortell Kingston Born 1919
United StatesDied 1987 (aged 67–68)
United StatesJohn Ortell Kingston (1919–1987) was the leader of the Kingston Clan of Mormon fundamentalists in Davis County, Utah, from 1947 until his death in 1987.
Contents
Latter Day Church of Christ Membership
J. Ortell Kingston was the son of Charles W. Kingston, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was previously excommunicated from the LDS Church on March 4, 1929. Ortell joined his brother's (Elden Kingston) Church shortly after its establishment. When Elden Kingston died unexpectedly in 1947, leadership of the Kingston Clan formally passed from Elden to his Brothers Ortell and Merlin Kingston, but Ortell made most of the day-to-day decisions and he was eventually recognized as the leader of the group.
In 1977, Ortell formally organized the Latter Day Church of Christ, the church of the Kingston Clan.[1]
Finances
Unlike his brother Elden, Ortell aggressively pursued a financially expansive agenda for the Davis County Cooperative Society Inc and the wealth of the Kingston clan grew.[2]
Despite the wealth of the Kingston Clan leaders, the plural wives of leaders have been sometimes found living in almost inhumane conditions.[3] Often wives homes consisted of only small rundown clapboard houses, with peeling paint and broken windows.[4] Connie Rugg (a former member) stated: "The men in the Kingston group do little or nothing to support their many wives and children".[4] Sometimes wives will "go gardening" (scrounging through garbage cans to find food) for themselves and their children.[4]
Ortell evaded taxes and fraudulently obtained welfare by having his wives clam to be ‘single’ mothers.” and that he was not the father of their children. Ortell's holdings were estimated at $70 million. In 1983 the State of Utah sued Ortell Kingston for welfare subsidies his alleged wives had received. While admitting no wrongdoing, Ortell paid the state $250,000 and the case was dropped.[5]
Controversial Practices
Ortell was living plural marriage until his death; he had married at least 25 wives and had dozens of children.
Like Elden Kingston, Ortell believed he came from genetically superior ancestry and that he was a direct literal descendant of Jesus Christ. Ortell had worked on a dairy farm owned by the co-op at Woodscross, Davis County, Utah where he reportedly developed theories on genetics that he later decided could be used to purify his own family pedigree.[6][7] Using these theories he implemented practices which encouraged intra-family marriages of close relatives, in order perfect his own bloodline.[6] Those marriages, if discovered, would be considered incestuous under Utah consanguinity laws.[8] Connie Rugg, one of Ortell’s daughters, stated "Ortell Kingston experimented (with) inbreeding with his cattle and then he turned to his children."[7][9]
Ortell also taught child marriage to girls just attaining puberty. Ortell and other members of the Kingston clan, having a "Pure Bloodline", had an advantage over almost any outsider in convincing teenage women, sometimes as young as fourteen, to join their bloodline as part of the polygamous family.[7][10]
Death
Ortell died in 1987 and was living plural marriage until his death. Ortell accumulated at least thirteen wives and dozens of children.[7] Ortell's seven sons from his first wife comprised most of the members of the highest echelon of leadership within the financial conglomerate as well as the primary focus of plural marriage activity within the group.[2]
See also
- 1890 Manifesto
- 1904 Second Manifesto
- Big Love HBO series about a fictional independent polygamous Mormon fundamentalist family
- Under the Banner of Heaven, a history of the LDS and fundamentalist LDS movement by Jon Krakauer
Notes
- ^ In 1941, Elden Kingston formally registered the "Davis County Cooperative Society Inc" with the state of Utah. In 1977 J. Ortell Kingston registered "Latter Day Church of Christ" with the state of Utah
- ^ a b Hales, Brian C. "John Ortell Kingston". MormonFundamentalism.com, accessed 2009-06-06
- ^ Ana Breton, "Polygamist's home found in squalor" Salt Lake Tribune, 11 August 2007
- ^ a b c D. Michael Quinn, "Plural Marriage and Mormon Fundamentalism", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 31(2) (Summer 1998): 1–68, accessed 06 Jun 2009.
- ^ Ray Rivera “Utah Attorneys Key Figures in Polygamist Kingston Clan” Salt Lake Tribune, July 19, 1998
- ^ a b Greg Burton, "When Incest Becomes a Religious Tenet", Salt Lake Tribune, 25 April 1999
- ^ a b c d Moore-Emmett , Andrea. God's Brothel. San Francisco, CA: Pince-Nez Press, 2004, pages 28, 67, 88, 146 & 146
- ^ Utah Code: Title 30 Husband and Wife: Chapter 1 Marriage: Section 1 Incestuous marriages void.
- ^ Also quoted as, "My father experimented inbreeding with his cattle and then he turned to his children."
- ^ Tracy, Kathleen. The Secret Story of Polygamy. Chicago, IL: Sourcebooks, 2001, page 95.
Preceded by:
Elden KingstonLeader of The Latter Day Church of Christ
1947 - 1987Followed by:
Paul Elden KingstonLeaders in the Mormon fundamentalist movement Recognized Mormon leaders1 Joseph Smith, Jr. • Brigham Young • John TaylorDisputed Mormon leaders2 Early Mormon fundamentalist leaders Leaders of the AUB Leaders of the FLDS Church Leroy S. Johnson • Rulon Jeffs • Warren Jeffs • William E. Jessop (appointed successor) • Merril Jessop (de facto leader)Leaders of the Latter Day Church of Christ Elden Kingston • John Ortell Kingston • Paul Elden KingstonIndependents and other leaders Notes 1. Mormon leaders prior to the start of the fundamentalist movement and recognized by most fundamentalists as legitimate church leaders.
2. Mormon leaders that made changes to church policies on plural marriage; recognition of legitimacy of leadership varies by fundamentalist group.Categories:- 1919 births
- 1987 deaths
- American Latter Day Saints
- Mormon fundamentalist leaders
- People from Davis County, Utah
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