Cornelius P. Lott
Encyclopedia
Cornelius Peter Lott was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement
, father of one of Joseph Smith
's plural wives, a member of the Council of Fifty
and a Danite
leader.
, to Peter Lott and Mary Jane Smiley. His grandfather, also named Cornelius Lott, was sheriff of Somerset County, New Jersey
, and served as Captain of the Middlesex County
Men in the American Revolution
.
Lott married Permelia Darrow on April 27, 1823. Sometime before 1834, both joined the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints). They moved to Kirtland, Ohio
, in 1836. He later took on additional, plural wives
as well.
. During the 1838 Independence Day
celebrations in Far West, Missouri
, the military band passed in review of three men acting as Generals: Lott, Jared Carter, and Sampson Avard
. Lott was involved with a rogue band of Mormons called "Danite
s", and during the 1838 Mormon War he led a Danite raid against a farm near Adam-ondi-Ahman
. The farm had been harboring weapons and ammunition for a Missouri mob.
with the rest of the Latter Day Saints. They settled in Pike County, Illinois
, forty miles south of the main body of Saints in Nauvoo
, in 1839, before moving to Joseph Smith's farm just southeast of Nauvoo.
Once in Nauvoo, Lott took over management of Smith's farm and purchased some adjacent land, on which he built an eight-room farmhouse. While there, he served as a Captain of Smith's bodyguard and received his endowment
with W.W. Phelps and Joseph Fielding
. In addition, Joseph Smith proposed marriage to Lott's daughter, Melissa.
Years later, Joseph Smith III
, who was a boy at the time, recalled that the "rather old" Lott (then in his mid-forties and possibly with prematurely gray hair) "was still strong and muscular and was usually willing to demonstrate his strength." Smith related that not long after arriving in Nauvoo, Lott came to his father's red-brick store to purchase supplies. Joseph Smith had spent most of the afternoon wrestling with customers and had "thrown" all of them. When Lott walked in, carrying "a threatening-looking blacksnake whip that seemed to challenge all comers," Smith challenged him to a match. After Lott threw aside the whip and accepted the challenge, Smith was unable to throw him.
. On January 22, 1846, he married three women: Elizabeth Davis, Rebecca Fossett, and Charity Dickenson. Elizabeth left while the family was in Winter Quarters, Nebraska
. Rebecca left before the birth of their child, whom he never met. Charity appears to have stayed with him.
In 1848 he married Eleanor Wayman and Phebe Crosby Peck Knight, Hosea Stout
's mother-in-law and widow of Joseph Knight
.
's company, an early group crossing the plains. Mary Fielding Smith
, a single mother and widow of Joseph Smith's brother Hyrum
, was a member of the company. Lott told her that she should stay back until she could gather others to help her and her children make the journey. He said she would be a burden on the company. She refused, and according to her son, later church president Joseph F. Smith
, Lott humiliated her throughout the trek. Joseph F. Smith despised Lott for his actions.
Once in the Salt Lake Valley, Lott and his families lived in a two-room house at the southwest corner of Third South and State Street in Salt Lake City. He managed a church farm in the Forest Dale
area. One of his daughters married William S. S. Willes.
Lott died in 1850, of either dysentary or fatigue.
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...
, father of one of Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...
's plural wives, a member of the Council of Fifty
Council of Fifty
The Council of Fifty was a Latter Day Saint organization established by Joseph Smith, Jr...
and a Danite
Danite
The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saint members in June 1838, in the town of Far West in Caldwell County, Missouri. During their period of organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took a central role in the events of the 1838 Mormon War...
leader.
Early life and marriage
Lott was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, to Peter Lott and Mary Jane Smiley. His grandfather, also named Cornelius Lott, was sheriff of Somerset County, New Jersey
Somerset County, New Jersey
Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 2010, the population was 323,444. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....
, and served as Captain of the Middlesex County
Middlesex County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 750,162 people, 265,815 households, and 190,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,422 people per square mile . There were 273,637 housing units at an average density of 884 per square mile...
Men in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
Lott married Permelia Darrow on April 27, 1823. Sometime before 1834, both joined the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints). They moved 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:...
, in 1836. He later took on additional, plural wives
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
as well.
Missouri
In 1838, the Lotts moved to Missouri and settled near Haun's MillHaun's Mill massacre
The Haun's Mill massacre was an event in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. It occurred on October 30, 1838 when a mob/militia unit from Livingston County attacked a Mormon settlement in eastern Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, after the Battle of Crooked River...
. During the 1838 Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
celebrations in Far West, Missouri
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,...
, the military band passed in review of three men acting as Generals: Lott, Jared Carter, and Sampson Avard
Sampson Avard
Sampson Avard was the leader of a band of Mormon vigilantes called the Danites, which existed in Missouri during the period of the 1838 Mormon War.-Biography:...
. Lott was involved with a rogue band of Mormons called "Danite
Danite
The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saint members in June 1838, in the town of Far West in Caldwell County, Missouri. During their period of organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took a central role in the events of the 1838 Mormon War...
s", and during the 1838 Mormon War he led a Danite raid against a farm near Adam-ondi-Ahman
Adam-ondi-Ahman
Adam-ondi-Ahman is an historic site along the east bluffs above the Grand River in Daviess County, Missouri. According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , it is the site where Adam and Eve lived after being expelled from the Garden of Eden...
. The farm had been harboring weapons and ammunition for a Missouri mob.
Nauvoo
In the winter of 1838 - 1839, the Lotts were driven from MissouriExtermination order
An Extermination order is an order given by a government sanctioning mass removal or death. The term is often associated with genocide.Extermination orders were issued in conjunction with the following events:* Armenian genocide...
with the rest of the Latter Day Saints. They settled in Pike County, Illinois
Pike County, Illinois
Pike County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 16,430, which is a decrease of 5.5% from 17,384 in 2000...
, forty miles south of the main body of Saints in Nauvoo
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 1839, before moving to Joseph Smith's farm just southeast of Nauvoo.
Once in Nauvoo, Lott took over management of Smith's farm and purchased some adjacent land, on which he built an eight-room farmhouse. While there, he served as a Captain of Smith's bodyguard and received his endowment
Endowment (Latter Day Saints)
In the theology of the Latter Day Saint movement, an endowment refers to a gift of "power from on high", typically associated with Latter Day Saint temples. The purpose and meaning of the endowment varied during the life of movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr...
with W.W. Phelps and Joseph Fielding
Joseph Fielding
Joseph Fielding was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as the second president of the British Mission , coordinating the activities of missionaries in sections of the United Kingdom and parts of Europe. He was the brother of Mary Fielding, the second wife of Hyrum Smith,...
. In addition, Joseph Smith proposed marriage to Lott's daughter, Melissa.
Years later, Joseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and Emma Hale Smith...
, who was a boy at the time, recalled that the "rather old" Lott (then in his mid-forties and possibly with prematurely gray hair) "was still strong and muscular and was usually willing to demonstrate his strength." Smith related that not long after arriving in Nauvoo, Lott came to his father's red-brick store to purchase supplies. Joseph Smith had spent most of the afternoon wrestling with customers and had "thrown" all of them. When Lott walked in, carrying "a threatening-looking blacksnake whip that seemed to challenge all comers," Smith challenged him to a match. After Lott threw aside the whip and accepted the challenge, Smith was unable to throw him.
Plural marriage
Lott practiced plural marriagePlural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
. On January 22, 1846, he married three women: Elizabeth Davis, Rebecca Fossett, and Charity Dickenson. Elizabeth left while the family was in Winter Quarters, Nebraska
Winter Quarters, Nebraska
Winter Quarters was an encampment formed by approximately 2,500 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they waited during the winter of 1846–47 for better conditions for their trek westward. It followed a preliminary tent settlement some 3½ miles west at Cutler's Park. The...
. Rebecca left before the birth of their child, whom he never met. Charity appears to have stayed with him.
In 1848 he married Eleanor Wayman and Phebe Crosby Peck Knight, Hosea Stout
Hosea Stout
Hosea Stout was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement, a Mormon pioneer, and a lawyer and politician in Utah Territory....
's mother-in-law and widow of Joseph Knight
Joseph Knight, Sr.
Joseph Knight, Sr. was a close associate of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and provided significant material support to Smith's translation and publication of the Book of Mormon....
.
Utah
In late Spring 1848, Lott served as a captain in Heber C. KimballHeber 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...
's company, an early group crossing the plains. Mary Fielding Smith
Mary Fielding Smith
Mary Fielding Smith Kimball was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement, the second wife of LDS Church leader Hyrum Smith and the mother of Joseph F. Smith....
, a single mother and widow of Joseph Smith's brother Hyrum
Hyrum Smith
Hyrum Smith was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....
, was a member of the company. Lott told her that she should stay back until she could gather others to help her and her children make the journey. He said she would be a burden on the company. She refused, and according to her son, later church president Joseph F. Smith
Joseph F. Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Sr. was the sixth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
, Lott humiliated her throughout the trek. Joseph F. Smith despised Lott for his actions.
Once in the Salt Lake Valley, Lott and his families lived in a two-room house at the southwest corner of Third South and State Street in Salt Lake City. He managed a church farm in the Forest Dale
Forest Dale Historic District
The Forest Dale Historic District is located in the southeastern part of Salt Lake City, Utah and is roughly bounded by 700 East, Interstate 80, Commonwealth Avenue, and 900 East...
area. One of his daughters married William S. S. Willes.
Lott died in 1850, of either dysentary or fatigue.