Benjamin Gilbert Ferris (1802 – February 21, 1891) was a Secretary to the Territorial Government of Utah, a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, a

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

and leader in

Ithaca (town), New York Ithaca is a town in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The town's population was 22,283 at the 2020 census. The town is in the central part of the county, in the Finger Lakes–Southern Tier region of New York, and is part of the Ithaca ...

Biography

Ferris was born in 1802 in

Spencer, New York Spencer is a town in Tioga County, New York, United States. The population was 2,976 at the 2020 census. The town and its primary village are named after Ambrose Spencer. It lies on the western border of the county and is south of Ithaca. Insid ...

, where his father was a prominent citizen. He received his secondary education in Spencer and

Canandaigua Canandaigua () is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,576 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex in the adjacent town of Hopewell. ...

. He studied law at

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

Schenectady Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

and graduated in 1828. He began practicing law in 1829 in the Ithaca, New York offices of David Woodcock, whose daughter Elizabeth Cornelia (1809–1903) he married in 1830. He was District Attorney of

Tompkins County, New York Tompkins County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca, New York, Ithaca. The name is ...

from 1840 to 1845. He was President of the Village of Ithaca in 1841 and 1852. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

(Tompkins Co., 2nd D.) in

1851 Events January–March * January 11 – Hong Xiuquan officially begins the Taiping Rebellion in China, one of the bloodiest revolts that would lead to 20 million deaths. * January 15 – Christian Female College, modern-d ...

. He was Supervisor of the Town of Ithaca in 1855.

Mormon criticism

Ferris was appointed by President

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853. He was the last president to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House, and the last to be neither a De ...

as Secretary of the

Territory of Utah The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th sta ...

in 1852, replacing

Broughton Harris Broughton Harris (August 16, 1822—January 19, 1899) was a Vermont businessman and political figure. He was Secretary and Treasurer of Utah Territory, and became one of the Runaway Officials of 1851. Early life Harris was born in Chesterfield ...

. Ferris was a follower of

Swedenborgianism The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) can refer to any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed under the influence of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). The Swedenborgian tradition is considered to ...

and clashed with the

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...

during his six months in Utah. A biographer wrote: "He could not suppress his abhorence icof Mormonism nor tolerate its influences, nor accept its devotees as his neighbors, and resigned his high position, thus sacrificing great possibilities in his very promising public career." From his Utah experience, Ferris wrote the 1854 book ''Utah and the Mormons'', and his wife published her letters from this period in the 1856 book ''The Mormons at Home''. These books were influential in building opposition to Mormonism in the American public. Ferris died in 1891 at the age of 89.

''Female Life Among the Mormons''

Ferris or his wife were suspected to be the author of ''Female Life Among the Mormons: A Narrative of Many Years' Personal Experience'' under the penname "Maria Ward". Recent scholarship has shown that they were not the author.

''A New Theory of the Origin of Species''

Ferris was the author of ''A New Theory of the Origin of Species'' (1872 and republished 1883). The book advocated an unorthodox form of

creationism Creationism is the faith, religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of Creation myth, divine creation, and is often Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific.#Gunn 2004, Gun ...

. Paleontologist

Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontology, paleontologist, comparative anatomy, comparative anatomist, herpetology, herpetologist, and ichthyology, ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker fam ...

negatively reviewed the book in ''

The American Naturalist ''The American Naturalist'' is the monthly Peer review, peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society of Naturalists, whose purpose is "to advance and to diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles so as ...

'' stating that "his theory, that each new specific form is produced from the matrix of a pre-existent species by supernatural power, is only a form of the old belief in distinct creations, and is not a developmental theory in any sense. He produces no evidence in support of it, in fact, he does not appear to know what scientific evidence is."E. D. C. (1873)
''Reviewed Work: A New Theory of the Origin of Species by B. G. Ferris''
''

'' 7 (4): 231-232.

Published works

* *

References

External links

Review of ''Utah and the Mormons'' published in ''The New Englander'' in 1854.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, Benjamin G. 1802 births 1891 deaths American Christian creationists American Swedenborgians County district attorneys in New York (state) Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) lawyers Politicians from Ithaca, New York People from Spencer, New York State cabinet secretaries of Utah Critics of Mormonism 19th-century Utah politicians 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature