 Orson Hyde 1805 - 1878 Hyde, Orson, a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles from 1835 to 1878, and president of the quorum from 1847 to 1875, was born Jan. 8, 1805, in Oxford, New Haven county, Conn. His father, who was an athletic, witty and talented man, fought, and was several times wounded in the U. S. Army, serving in Canada, under Gen. Brown, and on the frontier in the war of 1812. His mother having died when he was seven years old, Orson and his eight brothers and three sisters were scattered, and he was placed under the care of a gentleman named Nathan Wheeler, with whom he stayed till eighteen years of age. Mr. Wheeler moving from Derby, Conn., to Kirtland, Ohio, when Orson was fourteen years old, the boy had to walk the whole distance, six hundred miles, carrying his knapsack. On striking out into the world for himself he worked at several occupations, and part of the time served as clerk in the store of Gilbert & Whitney, in Kirtland. In 1827 a religious revival made quite a stir in the neighborhood of Kirtland, and he became converted to the Methodist faith, and was appointed as class leader. Subsequently, under the preaching of Sidney Rigdon, he embraced the doctrine of the Campbellites and was baptized by immersion. He then took up his abode in the town of Mentor, Ohio, and commenced to study under the care of Sidney Rigdon and others, becoming proficient in several branches of education. He then began to preach, assisting in the formation of several Campbellite branches in Lorain and Huron counties, Ohio, over which he was appointed pastor in 1830. In the fall of the year several "Mormons" visited that neighborhood, bringing the so-called "golden Bible," of which he read a portion, and by request he preached against it. But feeling that he had done wrong, he determined to oppose it no more until he had made further investigation. He accordingly went to Kirtland to see the Prophet Joseph, and there found that Sidney Rigdon and others of his former friends had embraced the "new gospel." After diligent inquiry he became himself convinced of its truth, [p.81] and was baptized by Sidney Rigdon, in the fall of 1831, and was confirmed on the same day under the hands of Joseph Smith the Prophet. He soon received the witness of the Spirit in a powerful manner, and began to bear testimony to his former friends. He was ordained a High Priest by Oliver Cowdery, Oct. 25, 1831, at a conference held at Orange, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and took a mission with Elder Hyrum Smith among the Campbellites of Ohio, when several branches were organized and many sick people were healed by the laying on of hands. In the spring of 1832, in company with Elder Samuel H. Smith, he performed an arduous mission in New York, Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island, traveling two thousand miles, on foot, without purse or scrip. Early in 1833, with Elder Hyrum Smith, he took a mission to Pennsylvania and Ohio, baptizing many persons into the Church. In the summer of this year he was appointed, with Elder John Gould, to carry instructions to the Saints in Jackson county, Missouri, and went on foot a distance of a thousand miles, traveling forty miles a day and swimming the rivers. They performed their mission and returned to Kirtland in November. He subsequently performed another mission to Pennsylvania, in company with Elder Orson Pratt. In May, 1834, he started with the company which went to Missouri, calling on the way, with Elder Parley P. Pratt, to see Gov. Daniel Dunklin, to intercede for the restoration to the Missouri Saints of the lands from which they had been driven. Their labor was in vain. Sept. 4, 1834, he married Marinda N. Johnson, daughter of John and Elsa Johnson, and sister to Luke S. and Lyman E. Johnson. In the following winter he was chosen as one of the Twelve Apostles, and was ordained to that high and holy calling in Kirtland, Ohio, Feb. 15, 1835, under the hands of Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris. Soon afterwards he traveled with his quorum through Vermont and New Hampshire. In 1836 he was sent to the State of New York, and afterwards to Canada, where, in company with Elder Parley P. Pratt, he helped to raise up several branches of the Church. In the spring of 1837 he went with others to England, where about fifteen hundred persons were baptized by their united labors. He returned to Kirtland May 22, 1838, and in the summer moved to Far West, Missouri. Upon the settlement of the Saints in Commerce, afterwards called Nauvoo, he moved there, and at the April conference, in 1840, was sent on a mission to Jerusalem. Elder John E. Page was appointed to accompany him, but failed to fill the appointment, and Elder Hyde proceeded alone. He crossed the ocean to England, passed over to Germany, staying in Bavaria to learn the German language, went to Constantinople, also to Cairo and Alexandria, and, after encountering many hardships, reached the Holy City. On the morning of Sunday, Oct. 24, 1841, he went up on the Mount of Olives, and dedicated and consecrated the land for the gathering of Judah's scattered remnants. He also erected a pile of stones there, as a witness, and one upon Mount Zion, according to a vision given to him previous to leaving Nauvoo, and the predictions of the Prophet Joseph upon his head. He returned home in December, 1842. Elder Hyde accompanied the Saints in the expulsion from Nauvoo, and in 1846, was appointed, with Elders John Taylor and Parley P. Pratt, to go to England and set in order the Churches there. They left their families on the frontier. Elder Hyde took charge of the "Millennial Star," while Elders Taylor and Pratt traveled through the conferences. He returned in 1847, and when the pioneers left for the mountains he remained in charge of the Saints at Winter Quarters, together with Apostles Geo. A. Smith and Ezra T. Benson, until the spring of 1850. At Kanesville (now Council Bluffs), Iowa, he published the "Frontier Guardian" in the interest of the Church, the first number bearing the date of Feb. 7, 1849. It was the only newspaper published at that time within a radius of 150 miles. In 1850 Elder Hyde made his first visit to Utah, returning to Kanesville in the fall. In 1851 he made his second visit to Utah. On this trip he and company were attacked by about three hundred Pawnee Indians and robbed of considerable property. This occurred on a route never traveled until that season. The change of travel was due to unusual heavy rains. The Elkhorn river being four miles wide [p.82] in May, wagons were unable to cross the river until late in June. Early emigration came by this new route and after traveling in a northwesterly direction for about four hundred miles, came to the old traveled road near old Fort Kearney, on the north side of the Platte. He returned to Kanesville in the fall. In 1852 he disposed of his printing establishment in Kanesville, and removed to Utah with his family. In 1853 he was called to take charge of a company of settlers who located Fort Supply in the Green river country. In 1855 he went in charge of several missionaries to Carson valley, and organized the county, which was then in Utah, but subsequently was included in Nevada. Elder Hyde was afterwards sent to take charge of affairs in Sanpete county. He took up his residence in Spring City, and was the leading spirit in that region until his decease. He was for many years an active member of the legislative assembly. At the time of his death, which occurred at his residence in Spring City, Sanpete county, Utah, Nov. 28, 1878, he was a member of the committee for the construction of the Manti Temple. Elder Hyde was a man of great natural ability, and by industrious application had acquired a good education, which, with his great and varied experience and extended travels, rendered him a powerful instrument in the hands of God for the defense and dissemination of the gospel and the building up of the Latter-day Work. He left a numerous family and a host of friends. (For a more detailed life sketch, see "Millennial Star," Vol. 26, p. 742.)  Orson Hyde 1877 LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Andrew Jenson, Vol. 1, pp. 80-82 |
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