Newel K. Whitney

Whitney was born in Marlborough, Vermont to Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. ==Early trading career==

In 1814, Whitney worked as an army sutler, selling supplies to American soldiers near Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. Whitney lost all of his possessions in the Battle of Plattsburgh, but continued to work as a sutler for the army until they disbanded around Monroe, Michigan. Whitney traded furs and other goods with Native Americans between the Great Lakes, often stopping in Monroe for supplies, where Algernon Sidney Gilbert had a store. According to Orson F. Whitney, when Whitney refused to sell alcohol to an alcoholic, the customer threatened his life, but a Native American woman named Modalena saved him. Gilbert and Whitney may have traveled together to New York, and they were friends. In 1817, Whitney moved to Painesville, Ohio and worked as a clerk for Gilbert, who taught him bookkeeping. ==Kirtland==

1820–1831: Early business in Kirtland and conversion During his travels, Whitney met Ann Smith, who lived in Kirtland. Whitney moved to Kirtland in 1819 to court Smith, Sometime after their marriage, N.K. and Ann joined the Disciples of Christ or Campbellites. Sidney Rigdon was a bishop in the movement and baptized members. Ann worried about how Campbellites did not claim to have the authority to give members the Holy Ghost. N.K. served in the community as an elector and as a vice president of the Tract Society, part of the Grand River Bible Society. N.K. and Ann joined the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) in 1830 without having read The Book of Mormon. Many of their neighbors joined the church around the same time, including the Gilberts in 1831. The Whitneys provided their home for at least one congregational meeting, and donated wine for the sacrament. The prophet Joseph Smith and his family came to stay with the Whitneys for several weeks in 1830 before moving to Isaac Morley's house and soon a new house on his property. 1832–1833: Joseph Smith lives in the White Store Joseph Smith and Whitney were good friends. 1831–1838: Whitney as Bishop and member of the United Firm In 1831, Whitney was appointed as a bishop in the church. At the time, Edward Partridge was the only other bishop who had been called. Whitney made personal decisions about how a bishop should support his local community. He continued to operate his store as normal and offered limited support for the poor in an early bishop's storehouse. Two men accused Whitney of being overbearing and disrespectful. In 1833, the Overseers of the poor made a warning list of 22 unemployed families that might be expelled from Kirtland for being too dependent on their community. At the time, this was a fairly common practice, although such a long list was unusual. Such a list shows the extent that the church (and Whitney) must have been supporting its members, many of whom were working to construct the temple. The United Firm was dissolved in 1834, with Whitney paying the debts members owed to each other. The United Firm then wrote off over $3,000 of debt, and members decided to do business individually. The same year, Sidney Gilbert died of cholera, and N.K. Whitney and Company was dissolved in 1838. Whitney's ashery probably burned in 1834. In 1835, Whitney and Hyrum Smith went to New York to borrow money and buy goods. These goods helped supply new stores established by other church members. Whitney helped Joseph Smith establish a store in Kirtland, but it was disbanded a year later, probably because the town was already well-supplied by Whitney's store. On October 31, 1835, Whitney brought his parents to visit Kirtland, where they met Joseph Smith and were subsequently baptized. By 1836, Whitney was giving food to the poor and needy. The Whitneys moved to Missouri in 1838, where Whitney was appointed as a bishop, but persecution drove them to Illinois shortly after their move. ==Nauvoo==

in the Deseret News While in Nauvoo, Illinois, Whitney was involved in some important developments within the Church. He was part of the Quorum of the Anointed and also joined in the practice of polygamy. On May 4, 1842 when Whitney, along with a group of nine others, met in the upper story of the Red Brick Store. Those who were there, including Whitney, became part of Joseph Smith's Quorum of the Anointed. Later, Whitney's wife, Elizabeth Ann, was added to the quorum. The Whitneys and the other members of the Quorum of the Anointed were "some of the highest ranking and most trusted leaders of the LDS church." Two years later, Whitney married Olive M. Bishop as a plural wife. Whitney's "First Bishop" title was changed to "Presiding Bishop" in 1847. Later Emmeline married Daniel H. Wells and became a president of the Relief Society. Whitney also was sealed to Isabel Modalena and Melvina C. Blanch. He died in 1850 of "bilious pleurisy". LDS Church president Gordon B. Hinckley compared Whitney's role in the early church to a Presiding Bishop who oversees the Church's physical assets. ==See also==