John Riggs Murdock (September 13, 1826 – November 12, 1913) was a

Mormon pioneer The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...

, Utah politician, and leader of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

Beaver, Utah Beaver is a city in, and county seat of, Beaver County in southwestern Utah, United States. The population was 3,112 at the 2010 census. History Indigenous peoples lived in this area for thousands of years, as shown by archeological evidence ...

. He is sometimes credited as the leader of the most down-and-back companies in

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and 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 death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

history, as he directed multiple ox-drawn

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...

s sent from Utah to bring back both merchandise and emigrating church members from back East. Murdock also served several missions in the

eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

Biography

Murdock was born in

Orange, Ohio Orange Village is a village in Cuyahoga County and an affluent eastern suburb of the Greater Cleveland area in the US state of Ohio. The population was 3,323 at the 2010 census. History Orange Township was settled in 1815 and established as ...

John Murdock John Murdock may refer to: *John R. Murdock (politician) John Robert Murdock (April 20, 1885 – February 14, 1972) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Arizona. Born in homestead near Lewistown, Missouri, Mu ...

and Julia Clapp Murdock. When he was five years old, his mother died and he was then raised in the home of Philo Judd. In Nauvoo Illinois, Murdock worked on the farm of

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...

. During the exodus from Nauvoo to the west, Murdock lived with the Cornelius Lott family in Nauvoo; Murdock fell in love with and later married Lott's daughter Almira Henrietta Lott. The marriage of Murdock and Lott happened after the arrival in the Salt Lake Valley.

Andrew Jenson Andrew Jenson, born Anders Jensen, (December 11, 1850 – November 18, 1941) was a Danish immigrant to the United States who acted as an Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for much of the ea ...

. '' LDS Biographical Encyclopedia''. vol. 1, p. 304. Murdock later married Mary Ellen Wolfenden and May Bain as plural wives. In 1846, Murdock joined the

Mormon Battalion The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history in federal service, recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation. The volunteers served from July 1846 to July ...

and arrived in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

in 1847. After marrying, he settled in Lehi,

Utah Territory 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 state ...

, in 1851. From 1861 to 1863, served as Mayor of Lehi. In 1856, Murdock was one of the rescuers of the Mormon pioneer handcart companies. In 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, and 1864, Murdock led down-and-back companies across the plains. For a time Murdock served as the regional presiding

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Beaver County, Utah Beaver County is a county in west central Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 6,629. Its county seat and largest city is Beaver. The county was named for the abundance of beaver in the area. History Expl ...

. Murdock was called to this position in 1864 and it was then that he first went to Beaver. Murdock was the first

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of the Beaver Stake when it was organized in 1869. He served in this position until 1891. He was later ordained a

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. As stake president, Murdock essentially ran the government operations in Beaver County while the Mormon-backed People's Party was in control. For example, in the 1870s, John Hunt was appointed as sheriff of Beaver County largely because he was a People's Party supporter. Murdock served eight terms in the

Utah Territorial Legislature The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 state representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 state senators. There are no term ...

. In 1895, he was a representative to the Utah State Constitutional Convention and was a member of the convention's apportionment and boundaries committee. Murdock also served one term as a member of the Utah State House of Representatives. Murdock was closely involved with the movement to start a secondary school in Southern Utah, so when it was finally begun at Beaver, it was named the Murdock Academy. This institution functioned as a branch of Brigham Young Academy, the predecessor of

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

. Jenson, Andrew. ''Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints''. (Salt Lake City:

Deseret News Press Deseret may refer to: Places * Deseret, Utah, an unincorporated community ** Fort Deseret * Deseret Ranches, Florida, US * State of Deseret, a provisional US state, 1849-1851 Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Deseret'' (film), a 1995 experiment ...

, 1941) p. 555. Murdock died in Beaver at age 87. His is the largest grave marker in Mountain View Cemetery in Beaver. Immediately adjacent are markers for Mary Ellen Wolfenden Murdock and May Bain Murdock, two of his plural wives. At the behest of their second wife, Wolfenden, the location is some distance away from the grave of Almira Henrietta Lott Murdock (d. 1878), her bitter rival who preceded her in death.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murdock, John R. 1826 births 1913 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in the United States Brigham Young University people Mayors of places in Utah Members of the Mormon Battalion Members of the Utah House of Representatives Members of the Utah Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians Mormon pioneers Patriarchs (LDS Church) People from Beaver, Utah People from Cuyahoga County, Ohio People from Lehi, Utah