5.Thomas Green Wilson, Helen Copley

Helene Copley

My ancestors Thomas Green Wilson (born in 1815) and Helen Copley (1822) were two saints, faithfully committed to the gospel. They experienced persecution and leaving Nauvoo as well as crossing the plains. Both lived faithful lives serving as a member of the seventy and as a councilor in the first ward relief society.

Thomas Green Wilson was originally married to Helen's sister, Sarah. They had two children together. However, after Sarah died around 1840, Thomas was left with two young children. He turned to Helen's sister who he had previously known as a sister-in-law and they were married a couple months after Sarah's death. It was said that their marriage was happy and that they grew to care for each other.

Thomas Green Wilson

Thomas and Helen joined the LDS Church in 1844 and afterwards moved to nauvoo. Thomas knew Joseph Smith personally. They experienced all the troubles that the rest of the saints did during the Nauvoo period. They were driven from Nauvoo to Iowa, where they had more children.

Eventually, they crossed the plains with an independent group led by Benjamin Stewart. Later, they moved to Provo where Thomas became a member of the first city council. He dealt with all sorts of interesting measures. 

He was also useful as an indian interpreter.

I find Thomas and Helene's story interesting because it describes Helene as part of the first relief society. In addition, it describes how the move to Salt Lake worked. Thomas was assigned to open up a tannery and led on the city council. Organization of the saints was critical in order for their move to Salt lake to be successful. Both saints were faithful examples of members who committed to the gospel and lived it in all facets of their lives. 

Works Cited:

"Thomas Green Wilson." Free Family History and Genealogy Records - FamilySearch.org. Family Search, n.d. Web. <https://familysearch.org/tree/person/KWVH-LZW/details?spouse=KWVH-LDT>.

"History of Thomas Green Wilson." Free Family History and Genealogy Records - FamilySearch.org. Family Search, n.d. Web. <https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/13962873?p=2819637&returnLabel=Helen%2BCopley%2B%28KWVH-LDT%29&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffamilysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2FKWVH-LDT%2Fmemories>.