Austin Cowles (May 3, 1792 – January 15, 1872) was a leader and hymnwriter of the early

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...

. Over the course of his life, Cowles, an ardent anti-polygamist, was affiliated with

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...

(later 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 restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded dur ...

William Law William Law (16869 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, George I of Grea ...

's True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,

Sidney Rigdon Sidney Rigdon (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Early life Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793. He ...

James Strang James Jesse Strang (March 21, 1813 – July 9, 1856) was an American religious leader, politician and self-proclaimed monarch. He served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 1853 until his assassination. In 1844, he said he ...

, James C. Brewster's

, and

Joseph Smith III Joseph Smith III (November 6, 1832 – December 10, 1914) was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith (founder of the Latter Day Saint movement) and Emma Hale Smith. Joseph Smith III was the Prophet-President of what became the Reorganized Chu ...

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Community of Christ, known legally and from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement ...

Early life

Cowles was born on May 3, 1792, in

Brookfield, Vermont Brookfield is a New England town, town in Orange County, Vermont, Orange County, Vermont, United States. It was created by Vermont charter on August 5, 1781. The population was 1,244 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Brookfield is ...

, to Timothy and Abigail (Woodworth) Cowles. As a child, he lost an eye when one of his brothers accidentally shot him with an arrow.Cowles, Calvin D. ''Genealogy of the Cowles Families in America,'' vol. 1 (New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse, and Taylor, 1929), 503-504. Despite minimal education, Cowles became a schoolteacher as a young man and a

Methodist Episcopal The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

preacher at age twenty-one. In the latter capacity, he held the first formal religious services in

Bolivar, New York Bolivar ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Allegany County, New York, Allegany County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 2,051 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Simón Bolívar. Bo ...

, in a barn in 1820. In pioneering the Bolivar area, Cowles and his brother Asa taught at the first schoolhouse, kept the first store, and built the first sawmill and gristmill. Cowles married Phebe Wilbur on January 14, 1813, and by her had eight children, five of whom survived to adulthood. Phebe died on May 1, 1826, whereafter Cowles remarried to Irena Hix Elliott on October 21, 1827. Cowles and Irena had six children. Around 1828, Cowles contracted a disease affecting the bones of his feet, which he suffered from throughout his life.

Latter Day Saint movement

Cowles became a "fervent believer" in the teachings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ shortly after

was established in 1830. He was baptized a member of the church in 1832 in New York and was made an Elder on September 28, 1836, in

Kirtland, Ohio Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 1837 and the site of ...

. By 1840, Cowles was living in

Hancock County, Illinois Hancock County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it has a population of 17,620. Its county seat is Carthage, Illinois, Carthage, and its largest city is H ...

, near the Mormon headquarters of Nauvoo. In February 1841, he was elected "supervisor of streets" in Nauvoo. Cowles became a member of the Nauvoo high council on February 6, 1841. A month later, on March 30, he was appointed counselor to Nauvoo stake president William Marks. On June 1, 1843, Cowles's daughter Elvira married

as a plural wife. Six month earlier, on December 1, 1842, Elvira had married Johnathan Holmes. On September 12, 1843, Cowles resigned his seat in the high council. Afterwards, Cowles "was far more outspoken and energetic in his opposition to polygamy than almost any other man in Nauvoo." Afterwards, he "was looked upon as a seceder." On April 18, 1844,

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

member

and his wife Jane were

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

from the church, along with his brother Wilson Law, a Major General in the

Nauvoo Legion The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized Latter-day Saints Militias and Military Units, militia of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States from February 4, 1841 until January 29, 1845. Its main function was the defense of Nauvoo and surrounding Latte ...

. Also cut off were Robert D. Foster and Howard Smith. On May 18, Cowles was excommunicated for apostasy, along with James Blakesley, Francis M. Higbee of the Nauvoo Legion, and Charles Ivins. On May 29, the high council published document purporting to show Higbee's brother

Chauncey L. Higbee Chauncey Lawson Higbee (September 7, 1821 – December 7, 1884) was a member of the Latter Day Saint movement in Nauvoo, Illinois, and a brother to fellow Latter Day Saint Francis M. Higbee. He later successfully ran for office, serving in the I ...

had also committed misdeeds. In 1844, Cowles swore an affidavit accusing the church of teaching the doctrine of plural marriage. This statement was published along with others, in the first and only issue of the ''

Nauvoo Expositor The ''Nauvoo Expositor'' was a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, that published only one issue. Its publication, and the destruction of the printing press ordered by Mayor Joseph Smith and the city council, set off a chain of even ...

''. After the publication, Joseph Smith ordered the press destroyed, ultimately resulting in his arrest and death. After Smith's death, Cowles accepted the succession claims of

. In 1847, Cowles was appointed by Strang to be the presiding

high priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious organisation. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many god ...

. Cowles died in Hamilton Township, Decatur County, Iowa, on January 15, 1872, aged seventy-nine. He was affiliated with the

led by

, and his obituary was published in the church's periodical, the ''Saints' Herald''.Obituary for Austin D. Cowles, ''Saints' Herald'', March 1, 1872, 160.

Hymns

* "But Hark and Hear the Joyful Sound" (1841) * "O God, Thou Great, Thou Good, Thou Wise" (1841)

References

External links

*
Austin Cowles
at the

Joseph Smith Papers ''The Joseph Smith Papers'' (or Joseph Smith Papers Project) is a documentary editing project to collect, research, and publish all documents created by, or under the direction of, Joseph Smith (1805–1844), the founder of the Latter Day Saint m ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowles, Austin 1792 births 1872 deaths American Latter Day Saints Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) members Nauvoo Expositor publishers People excommunicated by the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)