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Sloan, James, General Church Recorder from 1841 to 1843, was a son of Alexander and Anna Sloan, and was born Oct. 28, 1792, in the county of Tyrone, Ireland. He joined the Church at an early day, and received a patriarchal blessing Feb. 6, 1838, at Portage, Medina county, Ohio, under the hands of Joseph Smith, sen., by whom he was also ordained a High Priest Feb. 18, 1838. During the winter of 1838-39 he visited Joseph Smith and fellow-prisoners in Liberty jail, Mo., several times. He passed through the Missouri persecutions and testified under oath at Quincy, Ill., in 1840, that his life had been threatened by the Missourians, that his property had been taken by them, and that he was obliged to "flee from the State with his family, greatly to his disadvantage." He was one of the early "Mormon" settlers of Nauvoo, where he was appointed the first city recorder, Feb. 1, 1840, and later secretary of the Nauvoo Legion. In September, 1842, when the office of notary public was created by the city council of Nauvoo, James Sloan was elected to fill the position. Under date of Feb. 10, 1843, Joseph Smith records in his history: "I prophesied to James Sloan, city recorder, that it would be better for him ten years hence, not to say anything more about fees." In May following he was called on a mission to Ireland, on which he started about two months later. Accompanied by his wife he arrived in Liverpool, England, Sept. 30, 1843, together with Reuben Hedlock and other missionaries. At a general conference of the British mission held in Liverpool, April 6, 1844, Elder Sloan represented 52 members of the Church in Ireland; he was now appointed to preside over the Bradford conference. After his return to America he figured prominently among the Saints in Iowa, and when the first selection of officers for Pottawattamie county took place in March, 1848, he was appointed district clerk. He subsequently migrated to the Valley and died a faithful member of the Church. Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4 vols. Salt Lake City 1:254. |
Biographies 
