Robert Taylor Burton (25 October 1821 – 11 November 1907) was a member of the presiding bishopric 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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) from 1874 until his death. He was also one of the principal officers in the

Nauvoo Legion The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States. With growing antagonism from surrounding settlements it came to have as its main function the defense of Nauvoo, and surrounding Latter Day Saint ...

during its Utah reconstitution (including during the

Utah War The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US go ...

) and led the territorial militia against the

Morrisites The Church of the Firstborn was a sect of the Latter Day Saint movement that formed as an offshoot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1861 and was involved in the Morrisite War. Its adherents were known as Morrisites, and schismat ...

during the 1862 Moriste War.

Biography

Born in

Amherstburg Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town is ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

, Burton was called by Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter to be his second counselor in 1874. Burton served in this capacity until Hunter's death in 1883. When

William B. Preston William Ballard Preston (November 25, 1805 – November 16, 1862) was an American politician who served as a Confederate States Senator from Virginia from February 18, 1862, until his death in November. He previously served as the 19th United S ...

was called to be the new Presiding Bishop in 1884, Burton was asked to serve as his first counselor. Burton served in this capacity until his death. Burton joined the LDS Church in Upper Canada in 1838. In 1856, Burton was part of the rescue party sent from Salt Lake City to assist the stranded

Martin Handcart Company The Mormon handcart pioneers were participants in the human migration, migration of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, who used Cart, handcarts to transport thei ...

near the Sweetwater River. In 1870, Burton was tried and acquitted for the murder of Isabella Bowman, a person who had been killed by Utah militia while surrendering in the Morrisite War. Burton practiced

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...

and fathered 27 children. He married his first wife, Maria S. Haven (1826–1920) in 1845. He married his other two wives, Sarah A. Garr and Susan E. McBride in 1856. He is the great-great-grandfather of a former presiding bishop of the LDS Church, H. David Burton. Burton died at his home in Salt Lake City on 11 November 1907, and was buried at

Salt Lake City Cemetery The Salt Lake City Cemetery is a cemetery in northeastern Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, that is one of the largest city-operated cemeteries in the United States. Description The cemetery is located above 4th Avenue and east of N Street in ...

Notes

External links

*
Robert Taylor Burton brass band drum score, Vault MSS 16
at L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gran ...

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-day ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Robert T. 1821 births 1907 deaths Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Canadian bishops Canadian general authorities (LDS Church) Converts to Mormonism Counselors in the Presiding Bishopric (LDS Church) Members of the Utah Territorial Legislature Mormon pioneers Nauvoo Legion People acquitted of murder People from Amherstburg, Ontario People of the Utah War Emigrants from pre-Confederation Ontario to the United States

Biography

See also

Notes

External links