Peter Whitmer Sr.
Peter Whitmer Sr. | |
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Personal details | |
Born | Peter Whitmer April 14, 1773 Pennsylvania, United States |
Died | August 12, 1854 Richmond, Missouri, United States | (aged 81)
Resting place | Old Pioneer Cemetery 39°17′05″N 93°58′35″W / 39.2848°N 93.9763°W |
Spouse(s) | Mary Mussleman Whitmer |
Parents | George Witmer[1] Maria Sallome[1] |
Peter Whitmer Sr. (April 14, 1773 – August 12, 1854) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement, and father of the movement's second founding family.
Whitmer was born in Pennsylvania and married Mary Elsa Musselman. The Whitmers had eight children together: Christian, Jacob, John, David, Catherine, Peter Jr., Nancy, and Elizabeth Ann. In 1809, the family moved to Waterloo, New York, where they joined a German Reformed church and where Peter became a road overseer and school trustee. After 1827, they moved to Fayette.
In June 1829, Peter's sons and his son-in-law Hiram Page became witnesses to the golden plates; when the Latter Day Saint Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was organized on April 6, 1830, the Whitmers were among its first members. Their Fayette home is the traditional site of the church's organization. Oliver Cowdery, who had assisted Smith in the translation of the Book of Mormon from the golden plates, married Elizabeth Ann Whitmer in December, 1832.[2]
All surviving members of the Whitmer family broke with Smith in 1838 in Far West, Missouri, and were excommunicated from the church. Whitmer moved to Richmond, Missouri, where he lived until his death.[3]
Notes
- ^ a b Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/S1FJ-MH9 : accessed 2014-02-11), entry for Peter /Whitmer/.
- ^ Bushman, Richard (1984). Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism'. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-01143-0.
- ^ Jenson, Andrew (1901). Latter-day Saint biographical encyclopedia: A compilation of biographical sketches of prominent men and women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Vol. 1. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Andrew Jenson History Company (Printed by The Deseret News Press). pp. 282–283. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
References
- Keith W. Perkins, "True to the Book of Mormon—The Whitmers", Ensign, February 1989.
- Peter Whitmer Sr. at Find a Grave
- American Latter Day Saints
- Leaders in the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)
- 1773 births
- 1854 deaths
- People from Fayette, New York
- People excommunicated by the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)
- Whitmer family
- Doctrine and Covenants people
- Converts to Mormonism
- People from Waterloo, New York
- Religious leaders from New York (state)
- People from Richmond, Missouri
- Latter Day Saint movement stubs