Ira Nathaniel Hinckley (October 30, 1828 – April 10, 1904) was an early

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 ...

leader who supervised the construction and maintenance of

Cove Fort Cove Fort is a fort, unincorporated community, and historical site located in Millard County, Utah. It was founded in 1867 by Ira Hinckley (the paternal grandfather of Gordon B. Hinckley) at the request of Brigham Young. One of its distincti ...

, along with his brother Arza Hinckley, a strategically placed fortification about halfway between

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 ...

and

St. George, Utah St. George or Saint George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The cit ...

. He was the father of author Bryant S. Hinckley and LDS

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 ...

Alonzo A. Hinckley Alonzo Arza Hinckley (April 23, 1870 – December 22, 1936) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1934 until his death. Hinckley was born in Cove Fort, Utah Territo ...

, the grandfather of LDS church president Gordon B. Hinckley, and an acquaintance of

Joseph Smith Jr 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 ...

. Hinckley was born in Bastard Township,

Leeds County Leeds County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. The county was first surveyed in 1792 as one of the nineteen counties created by Sir John Graves Simcoe in preparation for the United Empire Loyalists to settle here. The count ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, 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 Province of Queb ...

. He 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 nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded dur ...

in 1844.

In 1867, Hinckley was living on his farm in

Coalville Coalville is a town in the district of North West Leicestershire in Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. In 2011, it had a population of 34,575. It lies on the A511 road, A511 between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junct ...

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 ...

, when

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

asked him to build a fortified way station at Cove Creek. Hinckley left for the area within days. The fort was restored in the early 1990s. "Safety in High Walls and Civilization: Cove Fort"
, utah.com, accessed 13 August 2007. Hinckley 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 ...

. He had four wives, but never more than three at one time: Eliza Jane Evans, Adelaide Cameron Noble, her sister Angeline Wilcox Noble, and Margaret Harley, who was 31 years his junior. Hinckley was the father of 21 children. The last-born, a daughter of Harley who was born when Ira was 61, did not meet her father until she was almost two years old because he was afraid that he might be arrested for cohabitation if he visited her house. Hinckley ultimately was arrested and fined $200.

References

External links

Ira Nathaniel Hinckley diary and family papers, MSS SC 3206
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

1828 births 1904 deaths American people convicted of bigamy Canadian leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Hinckley family Mormon pioneers People from Coalville, Utah People from Millard County, Utah Emigrants from pre-Confederation Ontario to the United States {{utah-bio-stub

See also

References

External links