David Fullmer
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David Fullmer | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | October 21, 1879 Salt Lake City, Utah | (aged 76)
Burial place | Salt Lake City Cemetery |
Occupation(s) | Religious leader, City councilman (Nauvoo), Territorial legislator (Utah) |
David Fullmer (July 7, 1803 – October 21, 1879) was an American politician, church leader, and farmer, born in Chillisquaque, Pennsylvania. He was the older brother of John S. Fullmer, another politician. Fullmer was a person of some importance in the early Latter Day Saint movement.
Early childhood and career
David Fullmer was born on July 7, 1803, in Chillisquaque Creek, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, to Peter Fullmer and Susannah Zerfoss.[1] He spent his childhood and early adult years on his family's farm in Chillisquaque.[citation needed] By 1820, the Fullmers had moved to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. In 1835, the family moved from Pennsylvania to Jefferson Township, Richland County, Ohio, where he learned about the Church of Christ.[2]
Fullmer was brought up on a farm and received a common-school education.[citation needed] In addition to farming, he also taught school and went into merchandising.[3]
On September 18, 1831, Fullmer married Rhoda Ann Marvin.[1] Fullmer was baptized September 16, 1836, by Henry G. Sherwood.[1]
Involvement in early Mormonism
In 1836, Fullmer traveled to
In September 1837, he removed to Caldwell County, Missouri,[1] to be near the site that Joseph Smith had revealed as the principal gathering place of the Saints.[citation needed] In the spring of 1838 he moved to Daviess County in the same state.[1] The following summer he had a severe attack of sickness which threatened his life, but his health was restored.[3]
With mounting opposition between the newcomer Latter-day Saints and the "old settlers" of Missouri, and after Missouri Governor
In 1844, Fullmer was appointed to be one of the electioneering missionaries in behalf of Joseph Smith's candidacy for President of the United States.
Plural marriage
After having been married for fourteen years to Rhoda Marvin, Fuller entered into polygamist marriages with Margaret Phillips and Sarah Oysterbanks in Nauvoo. On January 19, 1846, all three wives were sealed to him, for eternity,[1] in the then-newly completed Nauvoo Temple.
Fullmer divorced Margaret Phillips in 1848,[citation needed] without the two having had any known children. With his other two wives, however, Fullmer had twenty children altogether:[citation needed] eleven with Rhoda Marvin, and nine with Sarah Oysterbanks.[1]
Civic, theocratic, and ecclesiastical engagements
Fullmer was a member of the Nauvoo City Council, and later, after the
Expulsion and trek to Utah
In the winter of 1846, with the Saints threatened with expulsion from Nauvoo, Brigham Young led church members into the western frontier to find a new home for the Saints.[citation needed] Fullmer was appointed "captain" over a company of one hundred pioneers,[2] Brigham Young organizing the traveling Saints after the camp of Israel described in the Book of Exodus.
In 1846, it was decided that a temporary settlement was needed as a resting place for the rear company of Saints and all those who, from lack of means, were unable to proceed further. To this end, Garden Grove, Iowa, was established,[citation needed] with Samuel Bent appointed as president and Fullmer as his first counselor.[3] Here the exiled Saints made a large farm and worked together to raise grain. There were many poor among them who were destitute for food and clothing.[citation needed] When President Bent died shortly after the settlement was established, the presidency passed to Fullmer.[1] In his capacity, he sent "missionaries along the great rivers to solicit aid for the poor."[3]
The company moved to another temporary settlement called
After arriving to the main settlement then known as
Fullmer continued his overland travels in service to his church and people. For five months during the winter, he journeyed south with an exploring expedition, serving as counselor to
When the territory of Utah was created, Fullmer was elected a member of the legislature for Salt Lake County,
Stake president
In 1852,
When community problems arose they were often solved by the local church leaders. For example, a resolution of the brethren of the
During the three and a half years President Fullmer presided over Salt Lake Stake he organized two new wards: 5th Ward (previously authorized, but not made an active ward until 1853) and the
As the officers of Salt Lake Stake were presented during the semiannual conference of the Church held October 8, 1853, as was the usual practice, it was reported that there were three members of the First Presidency and nine members of the Council of the Twelve who resided and had their membership in Salt Lake Stake. Members of the Council of the Twelve attended the annual meeting of the 14th Ward on December 26, 1853. After certain matters of business were attended to and some spiritual talks given, dancing and social activities were enjoyed by all.
Later life, death
Several years before his death, Fullmer was ordained a patriarch.[1]
David Fullmer died in Salt Lake City on October 21, 1879.[2] He was 76 years of age.[3] His funeral was on Thursday, October 23, 1879, in the Salt Lake Sixth Ward Chapel, at 1 pm, with several prominent members of the LDS Church in attendance. He was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery in the Family Plot.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "BYU Studies - Biographical Registers". Byustudies.byu.edu. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "David Fullmer – Biography". The Joseph Smith Papers. Archived from the original on 2013-09-22. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
- ^ ISBN 9780890365182.
- Salt Lake Stake, "The Story of the Salt Lake Stake, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 150 Years of History 1847-1997, Salt Lake City.
- Lisle G. Brown, Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions: A Comprehensive Register of Persons Receiving LDS Temple Ordinances, 1841-1846 (Salt Lake City, UT: Smith-Pettit Foundation, 2006), 107.