James Colin Brewster (October 26, 1826 – January 8, 1909) was a co-founder of The Church of Christ (Brewsterite), a schismatic sect in the

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 ...

. Brewster was born in Black Rock, Erie County, New York to Zephaniah H. Brewster (born 1797) and Jane J. Higby Brewster (born 1809). His parents 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 ...

(Mormons) in the 1830s, and by 1835 they had moved to

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 ...

where the Latter-day Saints were gathering and building the

Kirtland Temple The Kirtland Temple is the first temple built by adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement, located in Kirtland, Ohio, and dedicated in March 1836. Joseph Smith, the movement's founder, directed the construction following a series of reported ...

. In 1836, at the age of 10, Brewster began to claim that he had been visited by the

Angel Moroni The angel Moroni () is an angel whom Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, reported as having visited him on numerous occasions, beginning on September 21, 1823. According to Smith, the angel Moroni was the guardian of the gold ...

, the same angel that

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 ...

claimed had led him to the

golden plates According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th-century literature, the golden bible) are the source from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith. Some acc ...

. In November 1837, due to his persistent claims of being a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

, Brewster was disfellowshipped from

. By 1842, Brewster had finished a book entitled ''iarchive:wordsofrighteous00brew, The Words of Righteousness to All Men, Written from One of the Books of Esdras, Which Was Written by the Five Ready Writers, In Forty Days, Which Was Spoken of by Esdras, in His Second Book, Fourteenth Chapter of the Apocrypha, Being one of the Books Which Was Lost, and Has Now Come Forth, by the Gift of God, In the Last Days''. After the death of Joseph Smith in June 1844, Brewster began to accumulate followers in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

, from Latter-day Saints who were searching for a new prophet-leader. In 1848, Brewster and

Hazen Aldrich Hazen Aldrich (January 10, 1797 – 1873) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. After the death of Joseph Smith, Aldrich went on to lead a small denomination of Latter Day Saints known as the '' Brewsterites''. Biography Aldrich ...

founded the

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 ...

, which they claimed was the true successor to the

that Smith had founded in 1830. Aldrich was selected as the sect's first president with Brewster and Jackson Goodale (1816–1896) as counselors in the

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 ...

. Brewster continued to receive

revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

from God on behalf of the church, and in 1850 he declared that there was a land called "Bashan" in the

Rio Grande Valley Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...

that God had selected as the new gathering place for the Latter-day Saints. In 1850, Brewster and Goodale led a wagon train of followers to find Bashan, while Aldrich—who had begun to doubt Brewster's prophetic abilities—remained behind in Kirtland. On December 31, 1850, Brewster and 32 of his followers were listed in the

1850 United States census The 1850 United States census was the seventh decennial United States Census Conducted by the Census Office, it determined the resident population of the United States to be 23,191,876—an increase of 35.9 percent over the 17,069,453 persons ...

at Socorro,

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomi ...

. His occupation was listed as "Mormon Prophet". There were disagreements between Brewster and Goodale and among the other members of the church on the journey to Bashan, and most of Brewster's followers, including

Olive Oatman Olive Ann Oatman (September 7, 1837March 21, 1903) was a White American woman who was enslaved and later released by Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the Mojave Desert region when she was a teenager. She later lectured ...

and her family, deserted Brewster. Some survived the desert journey and drifted into Southern California and settled there; others returned home. Few publicly spoke about it. Brewster returned with his family to

Litchfield, Illinois Litchfield is a city in Montgomery County, Illinois, Montgomery County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,605 at the 2020 census. It is located in South Central Illinois, south of Springfield, Illinois, Springfield, the state capital ...

, where he taught school. He joined the Union Army at

and was wounded in battle. In poor health, he then joined the

Invalid Corps The Veteran Reserve Corps (originally the Invalid Corps) was a military reserve organization created within the Union Army during the American Civil War to allow partially disabled or otherwise infirm soldiers (or former soldiers) to perform li ...

and worked at a hospital. During the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

, he followed his brother, Orlando Hamlet Brewster, to

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, where James taught at a school for African Americans in

Ouachita Parish Ouachita Parish () is a parish located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,368. The parish seat and largest city is Monroe. The parish was formed in 1807. Ouachita Parish is par ...

and attempted to farm with them. Orlando had a role in the disputed presidential election of

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. Hayes served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861. He was a staunch Abolitionism in the Un ...

and both Brewster brothers left

. Brewster then headed back initially to Illinois. He found odd jobs such working as a "hack driver" in Minnesota. His health was poor, actually due to

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and was forced to find jobs as an orderly or "office boy." He said he was unable to do manual labor. He applied for a federal disability pension in 1880 and eventually was admitted to the

National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

Northwestern Branch, at

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin Wauwatosa ( ; colloquially Tosa) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Wauwatosa is a suburb located immediately west of Milwaukee and is part of the Milwa ...

, where he died at the age of 82 years. He is buried at

Wood National Cemetery Wood National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of two National Cemeteries in Wisconsin. It encompasses , and as of 2021, it had over 40,000 interments. Outside family members with existing ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, as "Pvt Jas Brewster, CO K, 22 ILL, INF." The Soldiers Home record has him listed as a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. No further prophecy from him is known in the six decades of anonymity following the collapse of his ministry in the New Mexico desert in 1851.

References

* Gary C. Vitale (2007). "Whatever Happened to James Colin Brewster, the Boy Mormon Prophet?" ''Desert Tracks'' December 2007, pp. 9–15 * ''History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints'' 3:67–73 *

J. Gordon Melton John Gordon Melton (born September 19, 1942) is an American religious scholar who was the founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and is currently the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History with the I ...

(1996, 5th ed.) ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'' (Detroit, Mich.: Gale) pp. 561–62 * Steven L. Shields (1990). ''Divergent Paths of the Restoration'' p. 336 * Pvt. James Brewster Pension Record Request #356174, National Archives.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brewster, James C. 1826 births American Latter Day Saint leaders Angelic visionaries Founders of new religious movements Latter Day Saint leaders People from Springfield, Illinois Prophets in Mormonism Former Latter Day Saints 1909 deaths People from Litchfield, Illinois