Eleanor Harris Taylor

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWJ6-95M
• Initiatory (LDS): 16 Aug 1963, SLAKE

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWN2-D7L
• Initiatory (LDS): 28 Oct 1872, EHOUS

Thomas married Emma Louise Harris on 28 Oct 1872 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States. Emma (daughter of Thomas Harris and Elizabeth Morris) was born on 22 Nov 1852 in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States; died on 23 Jul 1941 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States; was buried on 26 Jul 1941 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWJC-V79
• Initiatory (LDS): 28 Oct 1872, EHOUS

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWJC-VF5
• Initiatory (LDS): 10 Dec 1845, NAUVO

Notes:

3rd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He was an English-born religious leader who served as the third preside n t of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) fro m 18 80 to 1887. He is the first and so far only president of the LDS Chu rch t o have been born outside the United States.

Following Brigham Young's death in 1877, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostl e s governed the church, with John Taylor as the quorum's president. Tayl o r became the third president of the church in 1880. He chose as his cou ns elors Joseph F. Smith and George Q. Cannon, the latter being the nephe w o f his wife, Leonora.

As church president, Taylor oversaw the expansion of the Salt Lake commu n ity; the further organization of the church hierarchy; the establishme n t of Mormon colonies in Wyoming, Colorado, and Arizona as well as in Ca na da's Northwest Territories (now in Alberta) and the Mexican state of C hih uahua; and the defense of plural marriage against increasing governme nt o pposition.

While he was church president, Taylor also established Zion's Central Bo a rd of Trade to coordinate local trade and production, which was done la rg ely through the local stakes, on a wider basis.

In 1878, the Primary Association was founded by Aurelia Spencer Roger s i n Farmington, Utah Territory. For a time, the organization was place d und er the direction of Relief Society General President Eliza R. Snow . In 18 80, Taylor organized the churchwide adoption of the Primary Assoc iation a nd selected Louie B. Felt as its first general president. In Oct ober 1880 , the Pearl of Great Price was canonized by the church.

Taylor also oversaw the issuance of a new edition of the Doctrine and Co v enants. During his term as church president, the seventies quorums wer e a lso more fully and regularly organized.

In 1882, the United States Congress enacted the Edmunds Act, which decla r ed polygamy to be a felony. Hundreds of Mormon men and women were arres te d and imprisoned for continuing to practice plural marriage. Taylor ha d f ollowed Brigham Young's teachings on polygamy and had at least seve n wive s. He is known to have fathered 34 children.

Taylor moved into the Gardo House alone with his sister, Agnes, to avo i d prosecution and to avoid showing preference to any one of his familie s. [15][16] However, by 1885, he and his counselors were forced to withdr a w from public view to live in the "underground" and were frequently o n th e move to avoid arrest. In 1885, during his last public sermon, Tayl or re marked, "I would like to obey and place myself in subjection to eve ry la w of man. What then? Am I to disobey the law of God? Has any ma n a righ t to control my conscience, or your conscience?... No man ha s a right t o do it."

Many viewed Mormon polygamy as religiously, socially, and politically th r eatening. In 1887, the US Congress passed the Edmunds–Tucker Act, whic h a bolished women's suffrage in Utah Territory, forced wives to testif y agai nst their husbands, disincorporated the LDS Church, dismantled th e Perpet ual Emigrating Fund Company, abolished the Nauvoo Legion, and pr ovided th at LDS Church property in excess of $50,000 would be forfeite d to the Uni ted States.

For two-and-a-half years, Taylor presided over the church from exile. Du r ing this period, some Mormon fundamentalist groups claim that he receiv e d the 1886 Revelation. Photographs of the original document exist. It r es tated the permanence of the "New and Everlasting Covenant", which thes e f undamentalist groups consider to be a direct reference to the practic e o f plural marriage. The validity of the revelation is rejected by th e LD S Church, which does not consider it to be authentic, but it is use d by f undamentalist groups as justification for their continued practic e of pol ygamy.

John married Elizabeth Kaighin on 12 Dec 1843 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States. Elizabeth (daughter of John Thomas Kaighen and Elizabeth Garrett) was born on 11 Sep 1811 in Kirk German, Isle of Man; was christened on 15 Sep 1811 in Kirk German, Isle of Man; died on 31 Aug 1895 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States; was buried on 3 Sep 1895 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWVZ-7GB
• Initiatory (LDS): 25 Dec 1845, NAUVO

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KW89-CW8
• Initiatory (LDS): 6 Nov 1871, EHOUS

Thomas married Elizabeth Morris on 19 Jul 1844 in Bath, Somersetshire, England. Elizabeth was born on 2 Sep 1818 in Hereford, Herefordshire, England; was christened on 25 Oct 1818 in Hereford, Herefordshire, England; died on 4 Nov 1885 in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States; was buried on 5 Nov 1885 in Bellefontaine Neighbors, St. Louis, Missouri, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: LHDL-QF6
• Initiatory (LDS): 23 Jun 1898, SLAKE

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWV9-1Z7
• Initiatory (LDS): 16 Dec 1845, NAUVO

James married Agnes Taylor on 23 Dec 1805 in Kirkoswald, Cumberland, England. Agnes (daughter of John Taylor and Agnes Whittington) was born on 22 Aug 1787 in Barton, Cambridgeshire, England; died on 15 Nov 1868 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States; was buried in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWV9-1ZW
• Initiatory (LDS): 16 Dec 1845, NAUVO

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: 279H-S5V
• Initiatory (LDS): 2 Dec 1949, SLAKE

John married Elizabeth Garrett on 8 Apr 1810 in Kirk German, Isle of Man. Elizabeth was born about 1779 in Kirk German, Isle of Man; was christened on 13 Oct 1784; died on 5 Jun 1840 in Kirk German, Isle of Man. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: 2MG1-33L
• Initiatory (LDS): 11 Apr 1877, SGEOR