Gilbert Belnap
Encyclopedia
Gilbert Belnap was a Mormon pioneer
, LDS Church leader, and an early colonizer of Ogden, Utah
, Fort Lemhi
, Idaho
and Hooper, Utah
.
, Upper Canada
, Belnap, the grandson of American Revolutionary War
veteran Jesse Belnap, was orphaned at age 11. Attaching himself to an American company of light horse rangers as first sergeant, he was taken as prison-of-war in the Upper Canada Rebellion
. Following his release, he eventually made his way to Kirtland, Ohio
, where he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1842. Shortly after his baptism, he served a mission
with John P. Greene
to Upstate New York
.
Soon after arriving in Nauvoo, Illinois
in 1844, he was called to serve as a bodyguard to Joseph Smith, Jr. One special assignment involved attending a meeting of anti-Mormons who were plotting the assassination of Smith. Belnap was at Carthage Jail
on June 27, 1844, the day Smith was killed. He and Porter Rockwell
were reportedly the first Latter-day Saints who had not been in Carthage at the time of the martyrdom to hear the tragic news. In Nauvoo he was also ordained to the Sixth Quorum of Seventy.
Belnap married Adaline Knight, daughter of early LDS Church leader Vinson Knight
and Martha McBride
, founding member of the LDS Relief Society
less than two months before the Mormons' expulsion from Nauvoo. Following a stay in Winter Quarters and later Fremont County, Iowa
, the family departed for Utah in 1850. Belnap was appointed captain of 10 in the Warren Foote Company, 2nd hundred. Soon after departing, Belnap lost his second son and child, 13-month-old John McBride Belnap, who died of cholera
in 1850 and was buried in his father's tool chest
near the Saline Ford at the confluence of Salt Creek and the Platte River
along the Oxbow Trail. (This event that was commemorated in 1997 during the sesquicentennial celebration of the Mormon Trail
.)
Upon arrival in the Salt Lake Valley
, Belnap was sent to settle in Fort Buenaventura
built by Miles Goodyear
in Weber County, Utah
. In 1852 he was sealed to his first wife's first cousin, Henrietta McBride, in plural marriage. He eventually had 17 children, 15 of whom survived to adulthood, and 160 grandchildren.
called to serve in the Fort Lemhi Mission
near present-day Salmon, Idaho
, but was recalled in 1858 to serve as a member of the Utah militia
during the Utah War
. At this time his family participated in the "Move South" to Utah County, Utah
.
In early 1868, Belnap moved part of his family to western Weber County to the newly forming community of Hooper, where he was appointed the first "presiding elder" and later as bishop. It is said that Belnap desired to move his family out of Ogden to avoid the corrupting “gentile” influences that were arriving with the coming of the Transcontinental Railroad
. In fact, his 40-acre homesite on the east banks of the Weber River
in Ogden had been selected as the rail yards of "Junction City." On 8 March 1869, he sat on the reviewing stand with other dignitaries of Weber County for an historic celebration as the tracks and first Union Pacific Railroad
engine steamed into Ogden. The old Belnap home was right near where the reviewing platform was built. Three of Gilbert’s sons--Gilbert Rosel, Reuben, and Joseph--helped construct the Transcontinental Railroad through Weber Canyon
.
He was selected as the first marshal
of Ogden City
. He also served as Ogden's first prosecuting attorney
and first sexton
of the Ogden City Cemetery. He later served as Weber County sheriff and held numerous other community positions, including pound keeper, city attorney, county attorney, county assessor and collector, county court selectman, school district trustee, irrigation company trustee, 1872 Utah state constitutional convention delegate, district census taker, and U.S. mail contract awardee.
, a non-profit
ancestral family organization
, conducts primary genealogical
research and preserves genealogical and other historical information on behalf of descendants of Gilbert Belnap and his wives Adaline Knight and Henrietta McBride and others surnamed Belnap or Belknap
. It is one of the oldest and largest such family organizations in the United States
, having been established in Utah
in 1904.
Gilbert Belnap's descendants have distinguished themselves in a wide variety of fields, including medicine, law, finance, business, religion, sports, politics, music, and education. Some notable descendants include Weber County sheriff Gilbert R. Belnap, Utah politician Arias G. Belnap
, musician Ryan Shupe
, vocal artist Michael Keith Belnap, LDS Church regional representative
and Orlando Florida Temple
president
Bruce E. Belnap, Brigham Young University
College of Religious Education dean B. West Belnap, KSL News executive vice president and COO Jeff Simpson, mission president
and physician W. Dean Belnap, prize-winning Latin American journalist David F. Belnap
, among others.
Mormon Pioneer
The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah...
, LDS Church leader, and an early colonizer of Ogden, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
, Fort Lemhi
Fort Lemhi
Fort Lemhi was a mission approximately two miles north of present-day Tendoy, Idaho, occupied by Mormon missionaries from 1855 to 1857....
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
and Hooper, Utah
Hooper, Utah
Hooper is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States, first called Muskrat Springs and later Hooperville for Captain William H. Hooper, an early Utah delegate to Congress. The population was 3,926 at the 2000 census...
.
Biography
Born in Port Hope, OntarioPort Hope, Ontario
Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County...
, Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
, Belnap, the grandson of American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
veteran Jesse Belnap, was orphaned at age 11. Attaching himself to an American company of light horse rangers as first sergeant, he was taken as prison-of-war in the Upper Canada Rebellion
Upper Canada Rebellion
The Upper Canada Rebellion was, along with the Lower Canada Rebellion in Lower Canada, a rebellion against the British colonial government in 1837 and 1838. Collectively they are also known as the Rebellions of 1837.-Issues:...
. Following his release, he eventually made his way to Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
, where he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1842. Shortly after his baptism, he served a mission
Mission (LDS Church)
A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...
with John P. Greene
John P. Greene
John Portineus Greene was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement.Greene was born in Herkimer, New York. He was a Methodist minister at Mendon, New York. He was friends with Heber C. Kimball and they claimed to witness "signs in the heavens" on September 22, 1827...
to Upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
.
Soon after arriving in Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
in 1844, he was called to serve as a bodyguard to Joseph Smith, Jr. One special assignment involved attending a meeting of anti-Mormons who were plotting the assassination of Smith. Belnap was at Carthage Jail
Carthage Jail
Carthage Jail, located in Carthage, Illinois, was the location of the death of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his brother Hyrum by a mob of approximately 150 men. Friends John Taylor and Willard Richards were also members of the incarcerated party, but were not...
on June 27, 1844, the day Smith was killed. He and Porter Rockwell
Porter Rockwell
Orrin Porter Rockwell was a figure of the Wild West period of American History and a law man in the Utah Territory...
were reportedly the first Latter-day Saints who had not been in Carthage at the time of the martyrdom to hear the tragic news. In Nauvoo he was also ordained to the Sixth Quorum of Seventy.
Belnap married Adaline Knight, daughter of early LDS Church leader Vinson Knight
Vinson Knight
Vinson Knight was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as a counselor in the Bishopric in Kirtland, Ohio from 1835 to 1838, then as Bishop in Adam-ondi-Ahman in Daviess County, Missouri from 1838 to 1839, and finally as Bishop of the Lower Ward in Nauvoo, Illinois, having...
and Martha McBride
Martha McBride Knight
Martha McBride Knight Smith Kimball was a founding member of the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which was organized on her birthday in 1842. She was married to early Latter Day Saint leader Vinson Knight, by whom she had seven children. In 1842 she was sealed as...
, founding member of the LDS Relief Society
Relief Society
The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization and an official auxiliary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, USA and has approximately 6 million members in over 170 countries and territories...
less than two months before the Mormons' expulsion from Nauvoo. Following a stay in Winter Quarters and later Fremont County, Iowa
Fremont County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 7,441 in the county, with a population density of . There were 3,431 housing units, of which 3,064 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, the family departed for Utah in 1850. Belnap was appointed captain of 10 in the Warren Foote Company, 2nd hundred. Soon after departing, Belnap lost his second son and child, 13-month-old John McBride Belnap, who died of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
in 1850 and was buried in his father's tool chest
Toolbox
A toolbox varies with the craft of the owner. The purpose of the toolbox is to organize, carry, and protect the owner's tools used for trade, hobby or DIY.-Types of toolboxes:...
near the Saline Ford at the confluence of Salt Creek and the Platte River
Platte River
The Platte River is a major river in the state of Nebraska and is about long. Measured to its farthest source via its tributary the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi River which flows to...
along the Oxbow Trail. (This event that was commemorated in 1997 during the sesquicentennial celebration of the Mormon Trail
Mormon Trail
The Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile route that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846 to 1868...
.)
Upon arrival in the Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Murray, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010...
, Belnap was sent to settle in Fort Buenaventura
Fort Buenaventura
Fort Buenaventura was the first permanent Anglo settlement in the Great Basin and the region that is now the state of Utah in the United States. It was founded in 1846 just east of the Weber River, west of current downtown Ogden, Utah. The fort and the surrounding land were bought by the Mormon...
built by Miles Goodyear
Miles Goodyear
Miles Morris Goodyear was an American fur trader and mountain man who built and occupied Fort Buenaventura in what is now the city of Ogden, Utah. The fort was located approximately two miles south of the confluence of the Weber and Ogden rivers and about one-quarter mile west of the end of...
in Weber County, Utah
Weber County, Utah
Weber County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a stretch of the Wasatch Front, part of the eastern shores of Great Salt Lake, and much of the rugged Wasatch Mountains. As of the 2000 census, the population was 196,533, an increase of 24.1% over its population in 1990. By...
. In 1852 he was sealed to his first wife's first cousin, Henrietta McBride, in plural marriage. He eventually had 17 children, 15 of whom survived to adulthood, and 160 grandchildren.
Church and community service
In 1855 he was one of the first missionariesMissionary (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
called to serve in the Fort Lemhi Mission
Fort Lemhi
Fort Lemhi was a mission approximately two miles north of present-day Tendoy, Idaho, occupied by Mormon missionaries from 1855 to 1857....
near present-day Salmon, Idaho
Salmon, Idaho
Salmon is a city in Lemhi County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,122 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Lemhi County...
, but was recalled in 1858 to serve as a member of the Utah militia
Nauvoo Legion
The Nauvoo Legion was a militia originally organized by the Latter Day Saints to defend the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, . To curry political favor with the ambiguously-political Saints, the Illinois state legislature granted Nauvoo a liberal city charter that gave the Nauvoo Legion extraordinary...
during the Utah War
Utah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
. At this time his family participated in the "Move South" to Utah County, Utah
Utah County, Utah
Utah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000, the population was 368,536 and by 2008 was estimated at 530,837. It was named for the Spanish name for the Ute Indians. The county seat and largest city is Provo...
.
In early 1868, Belnap moved part of his family to western Weber County to the newly forming community of Hooper, where he was appointed the first "presiding elder" and later as bishop. It is said that Belnap desired to move his family out of Ogden to avoid the corrupting “gentile” influences that were arriving with the coming of the Transcontinental Railroad
Transcontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad, or over those owned or controlled by multiple railway companies...
. In fact, his 40-acre homesite on the east banks of the Weber River
Weber River
The Weber River is a c. long river of northern Utah, USA. It begins in the northwest of the Uinta Mountains and empties into the Great Salt Lake. The Weber River was named for American fur trapper John Henry Weber.-Weber River:...
in Ogden had been selected as the rail yards of "Junction City." On 8 March 1869, he sat on the reviewing stand with other dignitaries of Weber County for an historic celebration as the tracks and first Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
engine steamed into Ogden. The old Belnap home was right near where the reviewing platform was built. Three of Gilbert’s sons--Gilbert Rosel, Reuben, and Joseph--helped construct the Transcontinental Railroad through Weber Canyon
Weber Canyon
Weber Canyon is a canyon in the Wasatch Range near Ogden, Utah, through which the Weber River flows west toward the Great Salt Lake. It is fed by 13 tributary creeks and is 40 miles long.- History :...
.
He was selected as the first marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
of Ogden City
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
. He also served as Ogden's first prosecuting attorney
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
and first sexton
Sexton (office)
A sexton is a church, congregation or synagogue officer charged with the maintenance of its buildings and/or the surrounding graveyard. In smaller places of worship, this office is often combined with that of verger...
of the Ogden City Cemetery. He later served as Weber County sheriff and held numerous other community positions, including pound keeper, city attorney, county attorney, county assessor and collector, county court selectman, school district trustee, irrigation company trustee, 1872 Utah state constitutional convention delegate, district census taker, and U.S. mail contract awardee.
Legacy
Descendants of Gilbert Belnap now number over 10,000 and are found in most states and several countries outside the U.S. The Belnap Family OrganizationBelnap Family Organization
The Belnap Family Organization is a non-profit ancestral family organization that conducts primary genealogical research and preserves genealogical and other historical information on the Belnap/Belknap family surname, including the descendants of Mormon Pioneer Gilbert Belnap and his plural wives...
, a non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
ancestral family organization
Family association
Generally, a family association or family organization is an organization formed by people who share a common ancestor or surname. They join together for a variety of purposes including exchanging genealogical information, sharing current news about family members, having reunions, and promoting...
, conducts primary genealogical
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
research and preserves genealogical and other historical information on behalf of descendants of Gilbert Belnap and his wives Adaline Knight and Henrietta McBride and others surnamed Belnap or Belknap
Belknap
-Locations:In the United States:*Belknap, Illinois*Belknap, Louisville, Kentucky*Belknap County, New Hampshire**Belknap Mountain*Belknap Crater, a volcanic feature in Oregon*Belknap Hill, in Grand Rapids, Michigan*Belknap Springs, Oregon...
. It is one of the oldest and largest such family organizations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, having been established in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
in 1904.
Gilbert Belnap's descendants have distinguished themselves in a wide variety of fields, including medicine, law, finance, business, religion, sports, politics, music, and education. Some notable descendants include Weber County sheriff Gilbert R. Belnap, Utah politician Arias G. Belnap
Arias G. Belnap
Arias Guy Belnap was a Utah politician and leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.-Biography:...
, musician Ryan Shupe
Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand
Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand is an American bluegrass group founded in the mid-1990s in Ogden, UT. The band's lineup comprises Ryan Shupe , Roger Archibald , Ryan Tilby , Craig Miner , and Nate Smeding...
, vocal artist Michael Keith Belnap, LDS Church regional representative
Regional representative of the Twelve
Regional representative of the Twelve, commonly shorted to regional representative or regional rep, was a priesthood calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1968 and 1995...
and Orlando Florida Temple
Orlando Florida Temple
The Orlando Florida Temple is the 48th constructed and 46th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located near Windermere, it was built with a modern single-spire design. It is the second largest LDS temple in the Eastern United States, after the Washington D.C...
president
Temple President
Temple president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A temple president's primary responsibility is to supervise the affairs of an LDS temple in both an administrative and spiritual capacity....
Bruce E. Belnap, Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
College of Religious Education dean B. West Belnap, KSL News executive vice president and COO Jeff Simpson, mission president
Mission president
Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . A mission president presides over a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission...
and physician W. Dean Belnap, prize-winning Latin American journalist David F. Belnap
David F. Belnap
David Foster Belnap was an American journalist and foreign correspondent in Latin America from 1955 to 1980 who won a 1970 Overseas Press Club award for his reporting....
, among others.