Thomas Bullock (December 23, 1816 – February 10, 1885) 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 ...

and a clerk in the Church Historian's Office 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 Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

.Bullock worked in the Church Historian's Office, but was not an official "

Assistant Church Historian Assistant may refer to: * Assistant (by Speaktoit), a virtual assistant app for smartphones * Assistant (software), a software tool to assist in computer configuration * Google Assistant, a virtual assistant by Google * ''The Assistant'' (TV seri ...

". The first "Assistant Church Historian" was

Wilford Woodruff Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...

called in 1856, after Bullock left in 1854. See these references: * *

Biography

Bullock was born in

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

, Staffordshire, England. Bullock worked as an excise officer for the British government. On November 20, 1841, Bullock and his wife Henrietta Rushton were baptized members 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 nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded dur ...

. In 1843, the Bullocks emigrated to

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its h ...

, where the majority of

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 were gathering. In fall of 1843, Bullock was employed as a private clerk to

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 ...

. He was clerk at the April 1844 general conference of the church, an assistant to

Church Historian and Recorder Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Willard Richards Willard Richards (June 24, 1804 – March 11, 1854) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as second counselor to church president Brigham Young in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sai ...

from 1842 to 1854, and was the clerk to the

Council of Fifty "The Council of Fifty" (also known as "the Living Constitution", "the Kingdom of God", or its name by revelation, "The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and Power thereof, and Judgment in the Hands of His Servants, Ahman Christ") was a Lat ...

from 1846 to 1882. While with the Church Historian's Office, Bullock was responsible for writing some portions of '' History of the Church''. Like many early Latter Day Saints, Bullock 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 ...

. In 1846 he married Lucy Clayton, the sister of William Clayton, another prominent clerk in the church. In 1852, Bullock married his third wife, Betsy Prudence Howard. In 1847, Bullock traveled with the initial

company that traveled to the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Utah, Murray, Sandy, Uta ...

. In

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 ...

, Bullock was the clerk of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company, clerk to the Utah Territorial Legislature, and was an occasional clerk to

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 ...

and the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...

. From 1856 to 1858, Bullock returned to England as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

for the church. Bullock served in the church as a Seventy and in a variety of secretarial positions. He died in

Coalville, Utah Coalville is a city in and the county seat of Summit County, Utah, Summit County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,486 as of the 2020 ...

at the age of 68. Bullock was the father of 23 children, 13 of whom survived to adulthood.

Notes

References

*Jerald F. Simon
Thomas Bullock as an Early Church Historian"
30 ''BYU Studies'' (Winter 1990) 71–88

External links

Thomas Bullock letter, MSS SC 1820
at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,

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 ...

Thomas Bullock papers, Vault MSS 772
at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullock, Thomas 1816 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saints British Latter Day Saints Converts to Mormonism English Latter Day Saints English Mormon missionaries English emigrants to the United States English leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement Mormon missionaries in England Mormon pioneers People from Leek, Staffordshire Seventies (LDS Church)