Horton David Haight (June 20, 1832 – January 19, 1900) 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 ...

. He first came to

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

at age 14 in 1847 as a member of Daniel Spencer's immigrant company. He was in charge of a freight company that came to

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 st ...

in 1859 and led four down-and-back companies in the 1860s. These companies involved wagons and teams sent out from Utah to bring back new emigrants, their baggage, and their freight on the return trip.

Life and career

Haight was born in

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

Cayuga County Cayuga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,248. Its county seat and largest city is Auburn. The county was named for the Cayuga people, one of the Native American tribes in the Iroq ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He was the son of Hector Caleb Haight and his wife, Julia Ann (née Van Orden). The family moved to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in 1837 and joined

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 Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) in 1845, moving to Nauvoo. He was in the company sent to aid the

Latter-day Saint 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 b ...

s on the trail in coming into

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

in 1848. In 1857, he served with

Lot Smith Lot Smith (May 15, 1830 – June 20, 1892) was a Mormon pioneer, soldier, lawman and American frontiersman. He became known as "The Horseman" for his exceptional skills on horseback as well as for his help in rounding up wild mustangs on Ut ...

in delaying the approach of

Johnston's Army The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, the 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 ...

. Haight lived for many years in

Farmington, Utah Farmington is a city in, and county seat of, Davis County, Utah, United States. The population was 24,531 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The Lagoon Amusement Park and Station Park (Farmington, Utah), Station Park transit-oriented ...

. His wife Louise (''née'' Leavitt) Haight was a counselor to

Aurelia Spencer Rogers Aurelia Read Spencer Rogers (October 4, 1834 – August 19, 1922) was the founder of Primary, the children's organization and official auxiliary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Rogers was also a women's rights activist and ...

in the first

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

, which was organized in Farmington. Louise Haight also came from a family who had ties to the LDS church. Her father was Weare Leavitt, born at

Grantham, New Hampshire Grantham is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,404 at the 2020 census, an increase over the figure of 2,985 tabulated in 2010. The planned community of Eastman is in the eastern part of the town. His ...

, and his wife Phoebe (née Cowles) Leavitt of

Claremont, New Hampshire Claremont is the only city in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 12,949 at the 2020 census. Claremont is a core city of the Lebanon–Claremont micropolitan area, a bi-state, four-county region in the upper Connec ...

. Haight served as Davis County sheriff and in the

Utah territorial legislature The Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah was the legislative branch of government in Utah Territory, replacing the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret. The Act of Congress creating the territory in 1850 specified that the t ...

in 1861. In 1882, he was sent to Oakley,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar is the name of: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 * John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) ...

, the

president of the LDS Church The president of the church is the highest office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was the office originally held by Joseph Smith, the church's founder. The church's president is its leader and is head of the F ...

. Haight served there as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

until 1887 and then became president of the newly formed Cassia

Stake A stake is a large wooden or metal implement designed to be driven into the ground and may refer to: Tools * Archer's stake, a defensive stake carried by medieval longbowmen * Survey stakes, markers used by surveyors * Sudis (stake) (Latin for ...

. He served as stake president until his death in 1900. Haight also served as a county commissioner in

Cassia County, Idaho Cassia County is a county in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 Census the county had a population of 24,655. The county seat and largest city is Burley. Cassia County is included in the Burley, ID Micropolitan Statistical Area. Histor ...

. One of Haight's grandsons was David B. Haight, who became an

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

in the LDS Church.

References

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 ...

. ''

Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia ''Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' (abbreviated ''LDS Biographical Encyclopedia'') is a four-volume biographical di ...

'', vol. 1, p. 302 * C. Terry Warner
“Elder David B. Haight,”
''

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

'', October 1976, p. 5 *H. Dean Garrett
“The Honeymoon Trail,”
''

'', July 1989, p. 23

External links

Search page
for the "Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel" database - searching here will list pioneer companies in which Haight was involved {{DEFAULTSORT:Haight, Horton D. 1832 births 1900 deaths Utah sheriffs American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints County commissioners in Idaho Members of the Utah Territorial Legislature Mormon pioneers People from Oakley, Idaho People from Moravia, New York People from Farmington, Utah People from Hancock County, Illinois Latter Day Saints from Idaho Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Utah