Hazen Aldrich
Encyclopedia
Hazen Aldrich was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement
. After the death of Joseph Smith, Jr.
, Aldrich went on to lead a small denomination of Latter Day Saints known as the Brewsterites.
Aldrich was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire
to Andrew H. Aldrich and Annis Sweetland. In April or May 1832, Aldrich was taught about the Latter Day Saint movement by missionaries
Orson Pratt
and Lyman E. Johnson
and was baptized
in Bath, New Hampshire
. Aldrich was baptized at the same time as future Apostle and member of the First Presidency
Amasa M. Lyman.
On July 4, 1832, Aldrich was given the Melchizedek priesthood and ordained to the office of elder by Pratt. On June 8, 1833, Pratt ordained him a high priest. In 1834 Aldrich participated in the Zion's Camp
expedition to Missouri
.
On February 28, 1835, Joseph Smith, Jr. ordained Aldrich to the office of seventy and chose him as the presiding president of the newly organized First Quorum of Seventy. However, when it was discovered by Smith that Aldrich had previously been ordained a high priest, he asked Aldrich to stand down from his position and join the quorum of high priests. Aldrich did so on April 6, 1837, which left Joseph Young
as the presiding president of the Seventy.
In 1836, Aldrich was the first Mormon missionary
to preach in Lower Canada
, in what today is the province of Quebec
.
Aldrich apostatized from the church in 1837 in Kirtland, Ohio
.
After the succession crisis, Aldrich joined the church
led by James Strang
. On December 16, 1846, Strang excommunicated Aldrich from the church for incest
with his daughter, either Betsy or Louisa. In November 1847, Aldrich became a member of the Church of Christ (Whitmerite)
. After this denomination died, Aldrich and James C. Brewster
created the Church of Christ (Brewsterite)
in 1848. On September 29, 1849, Aldrich became the president of this Latter Day Saint denomination, and edited a Brewsterite periodical entitled the Olive Branch. In August 1850, Brewster led about 85 of his followers (including Hazen Aldrich's pregnant daughter, Betsy Aldrich Wilder and her family) from Independence, Missouri to the edenic "Land of Bashan" that Brewster had seen in visions, lying at the confluence of the Gila and Colorado rivers, in the southwestern United States. Inadequate preparation and lack of supplies along the route led to dissension in the group. One dissenting family, the Oatmans, split from the main body of migrants, and were mostly slain by Apache Indians. Two surviving young girls were held in captivity several years, one eventually starving to death. Olive Oatman
, however, survived and was eventually recovered from the Mohave tribe, who had gotten her from the Apache. Betsy and her husband were also dissenters from the group but made it safely to Los Angeles, California, where she divorced her husband in February 1853 and married Wesley Fielding Gibson and raised more children. (Brian McGinty, The Oatman Massacre: A Tale of Desert Captivity and Survival, Norman OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2005)
Aldrich, who did not follow Brewster to Arizona, resigned his position as church president in January 1853, and emigrated to California
to support his daughter Betsy through her divorce, and to live with his other daughter, Louisa Aldrich Geary and her family, in El Monte, Los Angeles, California. Aldrich died in El Monte in 1873, and was buried in Rosemead, California.
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
. After the death of Joseph Smith, Jr.
Death of Joseph Smith, Jr.
The death of Joseph Smith, Jr. on June 27, 1844 marked a turning point for the Latter Day Saint movement, of which Smith was the founder and leader. When he was attacked and killed by a mob, Smith was the mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois, and running for President of the United States...
, Aldrich went on to lead a small denomination of Latter Day Saints known as the Brewsterites.
Aldrich was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire
Lebanon, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,568 people, 5,500 households, and 3,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 311.4 people per square mile . There were 5,707 housing units at an average density of 141.4 per square mile...
to Andrew H. Aldrich and Annis Sweetland. In April or May 1832, Aldrich was taught about the Latter Day Saint movement by missionaries
Mormon missionary
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...
Orson Pratt
Orson Pratt
Orson Pratt, Sr. was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles...
and Lyman E. Johnson
Lyman E. Johnson
Lyman Eugene Johnson was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He broke with Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon during the 1837-38 period when schism divided the early Church...
and was baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
in Bath, New Hampshire
Bath, New Hampshire
Bath is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2010 census. Now a tourist destination and bedroom community for Littleton, the town is noted for its historic architecture, including the Brick Store and three covered bridges...
. Aldrich was baptized at the same time as future Apostle and member of the First Presidency
First Presidency
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency was the highest governing body in the Latter Day Saint church established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1832, and is the highest governing body of several modern Latter Day Saint denominations...
Amasa M. Lyman.
On July 4, 1832, Aldrich was given the Melchizedek priesthood and ordained to the office of elder by Pratt. On June 8, 1833, Pratt ordained him a high priest. In 1834 Aldrich participated in the Zion's Camp
Zion's Camp
Zion's Camp was a paramilitary expedition of Latter Day Saints, led by Joseph Smith, Jr., from Kirtland, Ohio to Clay County, Missouri during May and June 1834 in an unsuccessful attempt to regain land from which the Saints had been expelled by non-Mormon settlers...
expedition to Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
.
On February 28, 1835, Joseph Smith, Jr. ordained Aldrich to the office of seventy and chose him as the presiding president of the newly organized First Quorum of Seventy. However, when it was discovered by Smith that Aldrich had previously been ordained a high priest, he asked Aldrich to stand down from his position and join the quorum of high priests. Aldrich did so on April 6, 1837, which left Joseph Young
Joseph Young
Young was born in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, the eighth child born to John Young and Abigail Howe.In 1830, while he was a preacher for the Methodist Church in Upper Canada, Young was introduced to the Book of Mormon by his younger brother Brigham...
as the presiding president of the Seventy.
In 1836, Aldrich was the first Mormon missionary
Mormon missionary
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...
to preach in Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
, in what today is the province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
.
Aldrich apostatized from the church in 1837 in 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:...
.
After the succession crisis, Aldrich joined the church
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement with around three hundred members as of 1998...
led by James Strang
James Strang
James Jesse Strang was an American religious leader, politician and self-proclaimed monarch who founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , a faction of the Latter Day Saint movement...
. On December 16, 1846, Strang excommunicated Aldrich from the church for incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
with his daughter, either Betsy or Louisa. In November 1847, Aldrich became a member of the Church of Christ (Whitmerite)
Church of Christ (Whitmerite)
The Church of Christ was a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement based on the claims of David Whitmer, one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates....
. After this denomination died, Aldrich and James C. Brewster
James C. Brewster
James Colin Brewster was the cofounder of the Church of Christ , a schismatic sect in the Latter Day Saint movement.Brewster was born in New York...
created the Church of Christ (Brewsterite)
Church of Christ (Brewsterite)
Church of Christ was a schismatic sect of the Latter Day Saint movement that was founded in 1848 by James C. Brewster and Hazen Aldrich. Because of the church's belief that Brewster was a prophet, the group is often called the Brewsterites.-History:...
in 1848. On September 29, 1849, Aldrich became the president of this Latter Day Saint denomination, and edited a Brewsterite periodical entitled the Olive Branch. In August 1850, Brewster led about 85 of his followers (including Hazen Aldrich's pregnant daughter, Betsy Aldrich Wilder and her family) from Independence, Missouri to the edenic "Land of Bashan" that Brewster had seen in visions, lying at the confluence of the Gila and Colorado rivers, in the southwestern United States. Inadequate preparation and lack of supplies along the route led to dissension in the group. One dissenting family, the Oatmans, split from the main body of migrants, and were mostly slain by Apache Indians. Two surviving young girls were held in captivity several years, one eventually starving to death. Olive Oatman
Olive Oatman
Olive Oatman was a woman from Illinois who was famously abducted by a Native American tribe , then sold to another . She ultimately regained her freedom five years later. The story resonated in the media, partly owing to the prominent blue tattooing of Oatman's face by her captors...
, however, survived and was eventually recovered from the Mohave tribe, who had gotten her from the Apache. Betsy and her husband were also dissenters from the group but made it safely to Los Angeles, California, where she divorced her husband in February 1853 and married Wesley Fielding Gibson and raised more children. (Brian McGinty, The Oatman Massacre: A Tale of Desert Captivity and Survival, Norman OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2005)
Aldrich, who did not follow Brewster to Arizona, resigned his position as church president in January 1853, and emigrated to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to support his daughter Betsy through her divorce, and to live with his other daughter, Louisa Aldrich Geary and her family, in El Monte, Los Angeles, California. Aldrich died in El Monte in 1873, and was buried in Rosemead, California.