John Farnum Boynton (September 20, 1811 – October 20, 1890) was an early leader in the
Latter Day Saint movementThe Latter Day Saint movement is a group of Restorationist religious denominations and adherents who follow at least some of the teachings and revelations of Joseph Smith, Jr., publisher of the Book of Mormon in 1830...
and an American
geologistFor other uses, see Geologist .A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth and terrestrial planets...
and
inventorAn inventor is a person who creates or discovers a new method, form, device or other useful means. The word inventor comes form the latin verb invenire, invent-, to find...
. He was one of the original members of the Latter Day Saint movement's
Quorum of the Twelve ApostlesIn 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
BradfordBradford 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...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. 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. Most of its population of...
to Eliphalet Boynton and Susan Nichols. He was married to Susan Lowell. In his teenage years, Boynton attended
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
and at age 20 began medical school in
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
.
Boynton was baptized a member of the Church of Christ by
Joseph Smith, Jr.Joseph Smith, Jr. was the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, also known as Mormonism, and an important religious and political figure during the 1830s and 1840s...
in September 1832 in
KirtlandKirtland 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.-Geography:Kirtland is located at ....
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
.
John Farnum Boynton (September 20, 1811 – October 20, 1890) was an early leader in the
Latter Day Saint movementThe Latter Day Saint movement is a group of Restorationist religious denominations and adherents who follow at least some of the teachings and revelations of Joseph Smith, Jr., publisher of the Book of Mormon in 1830...
and an American
geologistFor other uses, see Geologist .A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth and terrestrial planets...
and
inventorAn inventor is a person who creates or discovers a new method, form, device or other useful means. The word inventor comes form the latin verb invenire, invent-, to find...
. He was one of the original members of the Latter Day Saint movement's
Quorum of the Twelve ApostlesIn 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
BradfordBradford 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...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. 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. Most of its population of...
to Eliphalet Boynton and Susan Nichols. He was married to Susan Lowell. In his teenage years, Boynton attended
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
and at age 20 began medical school in
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
.
Church service
Boynton was baptized a member of the Church of Christ by
Joseph Smith, Jr.Joseph Smith, Jr. was the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, also known as Mormonism, and an important religious and political figure during the 1830s and 1840s...
in September 1832 in
KirtlandKirtland 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.-Geography:Kirtland is located at ....
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
. He was ordained to the office of an elder by
Sidney RigdonSidney Rigdon was an important figure in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Rigdon's influence over the early years of the movement is considered by many historians to have been nearly as strong as that of church founder Joseph Smith Jr.-Baptist background:Sidney Rigdon was born...
.
Boynton proved to be an effective
missionaryA missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who proselytizes. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus A missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith;...
for the church. He initially served in
Erie CountyErie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2000, the population was 280,843. Its county seat is Erie.- Geography :...
,
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
, with
Zebedee ColtrinZebedee 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
MaineThe State of Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is the northernmost portion of...
. In an 1834 letter written from
Saco, MaineSaco is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 16,822 at the 2000 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 CanadaThe Province of Upper Canada was a British colony located in what is now the southern portion of the Province of Ontario in Canada. Upper Canada officially existed from 26 December 1791 to 10 February 1841 and generally comprised present-day Southern Ontario...
, 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. JohnsonLyman 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.Joseph Smith, Jr. was the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, also known as Mormonism, and an important religious and political figure during the 1830s and 1840s...
and
Sidney RigdonSidney Rigdon was an important figure in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Rigdon's influence over the early years of the movement is considered by many historians to have been nearly as strong as that of church founder Joseph Smith Jr.-Baptist background:Sidney Rigdon was born...
during the
Kirtland Safety SocietyThe 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. PresidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . He was military governor of Florida , commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans , and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy...
ordered the
U. S. TreasuryThe 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
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
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 councilIn 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 JohnsonLuke 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 JohnsonLyman 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 ParrishWarren 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 TempleThe 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 WestFar 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 1 mile square...
,
MissouriMissouri is a state in the Midwest region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state with a 2008 estimated population of 5,911,605. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city....
.
In 1838, after Smith had relocated to Missouri, Boynton and other dissident church leaders, including
Oliver CowderyOliver Hervy Pliny Cowdery was the primary participant with Joseph Smith, Jr. in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1829 through 1836. He was one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates and with Smith was one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles...
,
David WhitmerDavid 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. KimballHeber Chase Kimball was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Mormon 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 death.-Early...
, "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 LandVan Diemen's Land was the original name used by Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to explore Tasmania...
, I will not make an effort to help you."
Boynton later became a member of
Warren Parrish'sWarren 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 TempleThe 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
GrantsvilleGrantsville 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 TerritoryThe 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 YoungBrigham 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 and was the founder of Salt Lake City and the first governor of Utah Territory,...
during a visit to Utah Territory and counseled
Erastus SnowErastus 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 StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lecturing on
natural historyNatural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards the observational than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research that is published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, Natural history is the systematic...
,
geologyGeology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structure, physical properties, dynamics, and history of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed...
, and other sciences. Between 1853 and 1854, he joined a U.S. government geological surveying expedition to
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
. During the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, Boynton was employed by the U.S. to design torpedoes and other weapons. He holds 36
patentA patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a 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 GiantThe Cardiff Giant was one of the most famous hoaxes in U.S. 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 YorkCardiff, 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
statueA statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, 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 YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2000 census, the city population was 147,306, and its metropolitan area had a population of 732,117. It is the economic and educational hub of Central New...
.
External links