3. Edmund Lovell Ellsworth

Edmund Lovell Ellsworth is my 4th great grandfather on my Dad's side. He was born on 1 July 1819 in New York and died the 29th of December 1893. He was someone heavily involved in early church events, ranging from prosecution in Nauvoo and Joseph Smith's presidential campaign to the settlement of Salt Lake and the handcart companies. His contributions to the beginning of the church and participation in many church historical events makes him an incredibly interesting person to study.

Edmund Ellsworth joined the church around the year 1840 after hearing that his mother had joined the church. At first he was surprised and confused and resistant to the church.

"I had heard many bad reports about this people. I, therefore, felt it my duty to try and save my mother from this supposed delusion. Accordingly, I prepared to go home. On the way I passed through the country where Joseph Smith found the plates and started the Church. I took all pains to collect all the evidence that I could against the people. Instead of obtaining anything against them I found much in their favor. When I arrived home I learned the truth relative to the gospel" (Biography of Edmund Lovell Ellsworth). 

He was later baptized and moved to Nauvoo in 1841 where he helped construct the new temple. After arriving in Nauvoo, he was rebaptized by Joseph Smith. At that time, the members of the church believed in rebaptism as a regular practice, which I found very interesting. In some ways, it is similar to taking the sacrament and re-cleansing yourself. However, I assume that later they realized that this was why the sacrament existed and it was not necessary to be rebaptized. It was also here that he married Elizabeth Young, the oldest child of Brigham Young. This is the wife I am descended from. However, he later took on three more wives in accordance with plural marriage.

One of the interesting things Edmund participated in was Joseph Smith's running for president of the United States. He went to New York on a lectioneering mission. I didn't know hardly anything about Joseph Smith's campaign before taking this class. I think it is interesting how much effort was actually put into this campaign for the purposes of advocating for the protection of religious Freedom and fighting against prosecution. Edmund worked there until the death of the prophet. Thus, he was also present for the sequence of events following the death of the prophet and the confusion about who would lead the church. About this, he said,

"I was informed of the tragedy in a letter from President Young, in which he called the Elders home. I was present at the meeting which heard President Sidney Rigdon. I plainly saw the mantle of Priesthood fall upon President Young with its power and spirit. The testimony of this was given to most of the congregation. The spirit of jealousy on the part of local citizens of Illinois began to increase towards the Saints. Threats of mobbing were frequent. President Young said that the temple must be built. We went to work as one. In poverty we watched and worked and prayed. When the Fourth Quorum of Seventy was organized I was attached to the quorum. In the winter of 1845-1846 my wife and I received our endowments and adoption into the family of President Brigham Young" (Biography of Edmund Lovell Ellsworth).

The Handcart Missionaries of 1855.

This quote displays the contention surrounding the decision between leaders after Joseph Smith's death. The fact that this is a firsthand testimony of someone who knew everyone at play is very powerful to me. It must have been a difficult decision. However, with the spirit, Edmund knew of the correct path for the church. In addition to this, this quote expresses the hardships the saints went through with the persecution of the locals in Illinois. I find it interesting that Edmund describes this as a spirit of jealousy. The prosperity of the saints along with their political power, was threatening. Finally, Edmund's story is an example of the law of adoption as it worked for people in the early church. Despite the fact that Edmund's father in law was Brigham Young, he and his wife were still sealed into the family by the principle of the law of adoption. This testifies to how they viewed sealings at this time as not up and down. Otherwise, they wouldn't have felt the need to be sealed in this way. Later after this, Edmund was present again for the transition of the saints to Salt Lake and heavily assisted in the migration of the saints.

In March of 1856, Edmund was placed in charge of the First Handcart Company. This was due to his experience in crossing the trail. The first company was relatively successful and made it across the plains with only three wagons. His record contains an entire log of this journey. Later in the year of 1856, Edmund obeyed the commandment of polygamy and took three more wives, Mary Ann Bates, Mary Ann Jones and Mary Ann Dudley. There is not very much information about how these relationships worked. However, he had many children with each of these women.

Edmund's life tells me a lot about the beginning of the church. He experienced many of the trails that many other saints did. He did so with an open heart, trusting in Christ. His testimony of Brigham Young is particularly important and interesting to me. Meanwhile, his descriptions of the law of adoption, Joseph's campaign and rebaptism are fascinating to learn about. Personal experiences with these events give context to them and help them make more sense to me. They allow me to see these events in church history as things which actually affected real people's lives. I can understand the difficulty and confusion of those times better through the eyes of ancestors like Edmond Ellsworth. Still, his dedication and immediate faith upon learning the gospel are inspiring to me. I can't imagine how much faith someone would need to leave their regular lives, face persecution and commit to doing all these things for a new religion.

Works Cited

"BIOGRAPHY of EDMUND LOVELL ELLSWORTH." Free Family History and Genealogy Records - FamilySearch.org. Family Search, n.d. Web. <https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/27711480?returnLabel=Edmund%2BLovell%2BEllsworth%2B%28KWNK-QMM%29&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffamilysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2FKWNK-QMM%2Fmemories>.