John F. Boynton
Encyclopedia
John Farnham Boynton was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement
and an American geologist
and inventor. He was one of the original members of the Latter Day Saint movement's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
.
Boynton was born in Bradford
, Massachusetts
to Eliphalet Boynton and Susan Nichols. He was married to Susan Lowell. In his teenage years, Boynton attended Columbia University
and at age 20 began medical school in St. Louis, Missouri
.
, Ohio
. He was ordained to the office of an elder by Sidney Rigdon
.
Boynton proved to be an effective missionary
for the church. He initially served in Erie County
, Pennsylvania
, with Zebedee Coltrin
, in 1832. The following December, Smith sent him on a mission to Maine
. In an 1834 letter written from Saco, Maine
, Boynton states: "I have baptized about forty in this section; Elder Even M. Greene travelled with me from the 16th Jan., 1833, till October following; while together we baptized about 130." While in Maine and Massachusetts, Boynton also served with Horace Cowen.
Boynton was chosen as one of the church's apostles at the organization of the initial Quorum of Twelve Apostles on February 14, 1835. He was the only one of the original apostles who had attended university. Soon after, he accompanied the Twelve on their 1835 mission through the church branches in the east. He attended a Conference in Laboro', Upper Canada
, with six other members of the Quorum on June 29, 1835. Boynton returned to Ohio in the fall, and preached to a gathering of church members on October 18. After this mission, he began a mercantile business in Kirtland with church associate Lyman E. Johnson
.
Despite his dedication to the church's religious message, Boynton broke with Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon
during the Kirtland Safety Society
banking controversy. In May 1837, U. S. President
Andrew Jackson
ordered the U. S. Treasury
to accept only gold
for public land, rejecting privately printed paper money such as the Safety Society and other unchartered community institutions produced. This ultimately caused the Kirtland bank to fail. The failure of the financial institution, originally founded with the support of church leaders, led to widespread dissent in 1837. Two distinct factions developed in the community, with members of the church's leadership aligned on both sides. Boynton explained that his difficulties with the church resulted from "the failure of the bank" which he had understood "was instituted by the will & revelations of God, & he had been told that it would never fail."
A high council
trial on September 3, 1837 disfellowshipped and removed Luke Johnson
, Lyman Johnson
and Boynton from the Quorum of the Twelve. However, the dissenters, led by Boynton, Warren Parrish
, Martin Harris, and Luke Johnson, had a strong local following and took physical control of the Kirtland Temple
, the major financial asset of the church. They also sought to control the church organization and led a competing high council which excommunicated Smith and Rigdon, who left the city and fled to Far West
, Missouri
.
In 1838, after Smith had relocated to Missouri, Boynton and other dissident church leaders, including Oliver Cowdery
, David Whitmer
, Luke Johnson and Lyman Johnson were excommunicated. Boynton believed Smith to have become a "fallen prophet" and said to Heber C. Kimball
, "if you are such a fool as to go at the call of the fallen prophet, Joseph Smith, I will not help you a dime, and if you are cast on Van Diemen's Land
, I will not make an effort to help you."
Boynton later became a member of Warren Parrish's
reformed "Church of Christ", which took possession of the Kirtland Temple
.
Although he never rejoined the faith, Boynton is reported to have later become less antagonistic toward his former associates. A. H. Hale, of Grantsville
, Utah Territory
, reported that Boynton visited Brigham Young
during a visit to Utah Territory and counseled Erastus Snow
to continue his efforts and involvement with the church.
lecturing on natural history
, geology
, and other sciences. Between 1853 and 1854, he joined a U.S. government geological surveying expedition to California
. During the American Civil War
, Boynton was employed by the U.S. to design torpedoes and other weapons. He holds 36 patent
s in the U.S. National Patent Office, among others, he patented:
In 1869, Boynton was the first geologist to examine the Cardiff Giant
after it was unearthed near Cardiff, New York
. Boynton declared that the giant could not be a fossilized man, but hypothesized that it was a statue
that was carved by a French Jesuit in the 16th or 17th century in order to impress the local Native Americans. The giant was later determined to be a hoax.
Boynton died in Syracuse, New York
.
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...
and an American geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
and inventor. He was one of the original members of the Latter Day Saint movement's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy...
.
Boynton was born in Bradford
Bradford, Massachusetts
Bradford is a former town in Essex County, Massachusetts. The name currently refers to the area on the south side of the Merrimack River in Haverhill, Massachusetts that was once Bradford...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
to Eliphalet Boynton and Susan Nichols. He was married to Susan Lowell. In his teenage years, Boynton attended Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and at age 20 began medical school in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
Church service
Boynton was baptized a member of the Church of Christ by Joseph Smith, Jr. in September 1832 in KirtlandKirtland, 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:...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. He was ordained to the office of an elder by Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
.
Boynton proved to be an effective missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
for the church. He initially served in Erie County
Erie County, Pennsylvania
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 280,566. Its county seat is the City of Erie.- Geography :...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, with Zebedee Coltrin
Zebedee Coltrin
Zebedee Coltrin was a Mormon pioneer and a general authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from 1835 to 1837....
, in 1832. The following December, Smith sent him on a mission to Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. In an 1834 letter written from Saco, Maine
Saco, Maine
Saco is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 18,482 at the 2010 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as General Dynamics Armament Systems , a subsidiary of the defense contractor General Dynamics...
, Boynton states: "I have baptized about forty in this section; Elder Even M. Greene travelled with me from the 16th Jan., 1833, till October following; while together we baptized about 130." While in Maine and Massachusetts, Boynton also served with Horace Cowen.
Boynton was chosen as one of the church's apostles at the organization of the initial Quorum of Twelve Apostles on February 14, 1835. He was the only one of the original apostles who had attended university. Soon after, he accompanied the Twelve on their 1835 mission through the church branches in the east. He attended a Conference in Laboro', 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...
, with six other members of the Quorum on June 29, 1835. Boynton returned to Ohio in the fall, and preached to a gathering of church members on October 18. After this mission, he began a mercantile business in Kirtland with church associate 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...
.
Despite his dedication to the church's religious message, Boynton broke with Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
during the Kirtland Safety Society
Kirtland Safety Society
The Kirtland Safety Society was a quasi-bank organized in 1836 by leaders and followers of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. According to KSS's 1837 "Articles of Agreement", it was intended to serve the banking needs of the growing Mormon community in Kirtland, Ohio...
banking controversy. In May 1837, U. S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
ordered the U. S. Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
to accept only gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
for public land, rejecting privately printed paper money such as the Safety Society and other unchartered community institutions produced. This ultimately caused the Kirtland bank to fail. The failure of the financial institution, originally founded with the support of church leaders, led to widespread dissent in 1837. Two distinct factions developed in the community, with members of the church's leadership aligned on both sides. Boynton explained that his difficulties with the church resulted from "the failure of the bank" which he had understood "was instituted by the will & revelations of God, & he had been told that it would never fail."
A high council
High council (Mormonism)
In Mormonism, a high council is one of several different governing bodies that have existed in the church hierarchy on many Latter-day Saint denominations...
trial on September 3, 1837 disfellowshipped and removed Luke Johnson
Luke S. Johnson
Luke Samuel Johnson was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1835 to 1838. He served in the Quorum with his younger brother, Lyman E. Johnson and Orson Hyde, his brother-in-law.Johnson was born November 3, 1807, in Pomfret,...
, Lyman 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 Boynton from the Quorum of the Twelve. However, the dissenters, led by Boynton, Warren Parrish
Warren Parrish
Warren Parrish was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint or Mormonism movement. Parrish held a number of positions of responsibility, including that of scribe to church president Joseph Smith Jr. Parrish and other leaders became disillusioned with Smith after the failure of the Kirtland Safety...
, Martin Harris, and Luke Johnson, had a strong local following and took physical control of the Kirtland Temple
Kirtland Temple
The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, USA, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , the house of worship was the first temple to be...
, the major financial asset of the church. They also sought to control the church organization and led a competing high council which excommunicated Smith and Rigdon, who left the city and fled to Far West
Far West, Missouri
Far West, Missouri, was a Latter Day Saint settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri.-Foundation and early history:The town was founded by Missouri Mormon leaders, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer in August 1836 shortly before the county's creation. The town was platted originally as a square area,...
, 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...
.
In 1838, after Smith had relocated to Missouri, Boynton and other dissident church leaders, including Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
, David Whitmer
David Whitmer
David Whitmer was an early adherent of the Latter Day Saint movement who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates.-Early life:...
, Luke Johnson and Lyman Johnson were excommunicated. Boynton believed Smith to have become a "fallen prophet" and said to Heber C. Kimball
Heber C. Kimball
Heber Chase Kimball was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Latter Day Saint church, and as first counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his...
, "if you are such a fool as to go at the call of the fallen prophet, Joseph Smith, I will not help you a dime, and if you are cast on Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
, I will not make an effort to help you."
Boynton later became a member of Warren Parrish's
Warren Parrish
Warren Parrish was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint or Mormonism movement. Parrish held a number of positions of responsibility, including that of scribe to church president Joseph Smith Jr. Parrish and other leaders became disillusioned with Smith after the failure of the Kirtland Safety...
reformed "Church of Christ", which took possession of the Kirtland Temple
Kirtland Temple
The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, USA, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , the house of worship was the first temple to be...
.
Although he never rejoined the faith, Boynton is reported to have later become less antagonistic toward his former associates. A. H. Hale, of Grantsville
Grantsville, Utah
Grantsville is the second most populous city in Tooele County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,015 at the 2000 census. The city has grown slowly and steadily throughout most of its existence, but rapid increases in...
, Utah Territory
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....
, reported that Boynton visited Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
during a visit to Utah Territory and counseled Erastus Snow
Erastus Snow
Erastus Fairbanks Snow , born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1849 to 1888. Snow was also a leading figure in Mormon colonization of Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.Snow Canyon State Park Erastus...
to continue his efforts and involvement with the church.
Scientific work
After parting ways with the church, Boynton traveled throughout the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lecturing on natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, and other sciences. Between 1853 and 1854, he joined a U.S. government geological surveying expedition 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...
. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Boynton was employed by the U.S. to design torpedoes and other weapons. He holds 36 patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s in the U.S. National Patent Office, among others, he patented:
- A process to generate carbonic acid gas
- A soda fountain
- A portable fire extinguisher
- A vacuum process for extracting gold from ore
- Several small electrical appliances
- A process for converting cast iron to malleable steel
In 1869, Boynton was the first geologist to examine the Cardiff Giant
Cardiff Giant
The Cardiff Giant was one of the most famous hoaxes in United States history. It was a tall purported "petrified man" uncovered on October 16, 1869 by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. "Stub" Newell in Cardiff, New York. Both it and an unauthorized copy made by P.T...
after it was unearthed near Cardiff, New York
Cardiff, New York
Cardiff, New York is a small hamlet in Onondaga County, New York, located south of Syracuse. It was the site of the William C. "Stub" Newell farm where the "Cardiff Giant", a famous hoax, was "discovered" on October 16, 1869....
. Boynton declared that the giant could not be a fossilized man, but hypothesized that it was a statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
that was carved by a French Jesuit in the 16th or 17th century in order to impress the local Native Americans. The giant was later determined to be a hoax.
Boynton died in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
.
External links
- Susan Easton BlackSusan Easton BlackSusan Easton Black is a professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She is also an author of several books related to Joseph Smith, Jr. and the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Black joined the faculty of BYU in 1978. ...
, John Farnham Boynton