History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

NEW APOSTLES. 681
John Henry Smith, 10 George Teasdale and Heber J.
Grant being chosen to the apostolate on the death of
Orson Pratt, which occurred in October 188 l. u
with his own hands a log hut of green timber. In the spring of 1863 he settled
at Fillmore, and there remained until 1877, when he was appointed
president of the Tooele stake. In 1S60 lie was elected a member of the leg ; slature,
and on the death of Orson Pratt was appointed speaker of the house
of representatives.
10 The son of George A. Smith, and a native of Winter Quarters, where he
was born Sept. 18, 1848. The lirst portion of his life was spent mainly at
Provo, where he worked on a farm until 1874, when he was sent on a mission
to Europe, returning the following year on account of the sickness of his
iather, whose decease occurred a few days after his arrival. In 1875, also, he
was ordained bishop of the 17th ward at S. L. City, in which capacity he
served until called to the apostolate. For six years he was a member of the
city council, and in August 1881 was elected a member of the legislature,
where he soon became one of the most prominent debaters.
11 Orson Pratt, in 18S1 the only surviving member of the first quorum of
the twelve, was accounted one of the most eloquent preachers in the church;
and for his championship of the cause, as a speaker and writer, was known
as the Paul of Monnonism. At a general conference held in 1874 he was appointed
church historian and recorder, retaining this position until his decease,
and wa3 also speaker of the legislative assembly. He was well versed
in the sciences, including that of the pure mathematics, and in addition to
several elementary works, published A New and Easy Method of Solution oj
the Cubic and Biquadratic Equations, and left in MS. a treatise on the differential
calculus. S. L. 0. Contributor, iii. 58-61. For resolutions of respect
to his memory, see Utah Jour. Legist.
George Teasdale, a native of London, and an episcopalian by training,
joined the church in 1S52 being then in his 21st year. After several years of
missionary labor, during which he was appointed in 1858 to the pastoral care
of three English conferences, and in 1859 to the charge of the Scottish mission,
which comprised the Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dundee conferences, he
was ordered to set forth for Zion. Borrowing the necessary funds, he took
a steerage passage for New York, and journeying over the plains from Florence,
accompanied by his wife, a refined and delicate woman, arrived in Salt
Lake City in 18G1, and looked about him for something to do. He was offered
the 20th ward school, a position which heat once accepted, laboring faithfully
for nearly a twelvemonth, after which he accepted a position as manager of
one of Brigham Young's stores, under the direction of Hyrum B. Clawson.
In 1807 he was intrusted with the charge of the general tithing office, but the
following year was ordered on a mission to England, in company with Albert
Carrington, and, among other duties, filled that of sub-editor to the Millennial
Star. Returning to Utah in 1869, he narrowly escaped death from a railroad
accident, in which several persons were killed or fatally injured. After
further labors as merchant, missionary, and contractor, being chosen meanwhile
a high-priest, he was elected a member of the legislative council for the
sessions of 1882 and 1884. In 1885, being then in his 56th year, he was still
actively engaged in forwarding the interests of his church. Autobiog. of Geo.
Teasdale, MS., passim.
Heber Jeddy Grant, the son of Jedediah M. Grant, whose decease occurred
when the former was but nine days old, is a native of S. L. City, where he
was born in 1856. At fifteen, the family being then in straitened circumstances,
he obtained a position in an insurance office, and four years later
started an agency for himself. Since that time he has been engaged in various
enterprises, in all of which he has been successful, his income ranging
from $3,000 to §8,000 a year, though in 1S81 he met with a serious reverse