John Milton Bernhisel
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2013) |
John Milton Bernhisel | |
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William H. Hooper | |
Succeeded by | John F. Kinney |
Personal details | |
Born | Independent | June 23, 1799
Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
Occupation | Doctor |
Signature | |
John Milton Bernhisel (born John Martin Bernheisel;[1] June 23, 1799 – September 28, 1881) was an American physician, politician, and early member of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was a close friend and companion to both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Bernhisel was the original delegate of the Utah Territory in the United States House of Representatives (1851–59, 1861–63) and acted as a member of the Council of Fifty of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Early life and education
Bernhisel was born at Sandy Hill,
Career
After becoming affiliated with the Latter Day Saint movement, he moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1843. Bernhisel served as the personal physician to Joseph Smith, and lived in his home. He delivered some of Emma Smith's children.
In June 1844, Bernhisel accompanied Joseph Smith to the
After Smith's death, Bernhisel followed Brigham Young and moved west with the majority of the Latter-day Saints. He settled in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 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. He was selected to the Thirty-second and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1859). Longtime Washington journalist Benjamin Perley Poore described Bernhisel during those years as "a small, dapper gentleman, who in deportment and tone of voice resembled Robert J. Walker":
It was very rarely that he participated in debate, and his forte was evidently taciturnity. In private conversation he was fluent and agreeable, defending the peculiar domestic institutions of his people.[3]
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.
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
See also
- United States Congress Delegates from Utah Territory
- Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible: Publication and use
Notes
- ^ a b Richard S. Van Wagoner and Steven C. Walker, A Book of Mormons (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1982) s.v. "John M. Bernhisel".
- ^ "Penn and the U.S. Congress Roster of Alumni, Faculty and Trustees 1774 to the present Surnames beginning A through C". Penn Notables. University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- ^ Poore, Ben. Perley, Perley's Reminiscences of Sixty Years in the National Metropolis, Vol.1, p.455 (1886). (Poore gave the name as "John N. Burnhisel".)
- The Salt Lake Herald. September 30, 1881. p. 8. Retrieved March 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
References
- Barrett, Gwynn W. (1968). "Dr. John M. Bernhisel: Mormon Elder in Congress". Utah Historical Quarterly. 36 (2): 143–167. S2CID 254431123. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
- "John Milton Bernhisel", Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868, Church History Library, LDS Church, retrieved August 19, 2013
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ignored (help) - Hilton, Lynn M.; Hilton, Hope A. (1994), "Bernhisel, John Milton", in Powell, Allan Kent (ed.), Utah History Encyclopedia, Salt Lake City, Utah: OCLC 30473917, archived from the originalon November 1, 2013, retrieved October 30, 2013
- United States Congress. "John Milton Bernhisel (id: B000412)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Further reading
- Fox, Ronald (October 9, 2011), "Little-known John Bernhisel did much for Utah", Deseret News