Francis M. Higbee

Francis Marion Higbee (1820, Tate, Ohio – 3 June 1856, Cumberland, Rhode Island)[1] was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement. He attained the rank of Colonel in the Nauvoo Legion.

Early life

Higbee was born in Tate, Ohio, as the son of Elias Higbee and Sarah Elizabeth Ward. He was the brother of Chauncey L. Higbee.

In 1830, Higbee moved to Fulton, Ohio.

Baptism

Higbee was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1832. In 1833, he moved to Jackson County, Missouri, and moved in 1835 to Kirtland, Ohio. The next year, he traveled back to Missouri.

In the aftermath of the 1838 Mormon War, Higbee was arraigned along with Smith, in Richmond, Missouri on November 11, 1838. He was released 18 days later.[2]

Conflict with Smith

On June 30, 1842, Higbee gave a sworn statement that "Joseph Smith told [him] that John C. Bennett could be easily put aside or drowned, and no person would be the wiser for it".[3]

On January 15, 1844, the Nauvoo Municipal Court issued a warrant for his arrest on the affidavit of Orson Pratt.[4]

According to History of the Church, Higbee was present at a meeting of dissenters on April 28, 1844.[5][6][7]

On May 1, 1844, Higbee filed a legal complaint in the Fifth Judicial District of Illinois, suing Smith for slander, with requested damages of five thousand dollars. Smith was killed before the legal suit was resolved.

Nauvoo Expositor and Smith's death
See also: Nauvoo Expositor and Death of Joseph Smith

On May 18, 1844, the church excommunicated Higbee, Charles Ivins, and Austin Cowles of the High Council, for apostasy.[8] On May 29, the High Council published document purporting to show Higbee's brother Chauncey had also committed misdeeds.[9]

In 1844, Higbee became an editor of the Nauvoo Expositor along with his brother Chauncey and several others. The single edition of the Expositor included statements critical of Smith and other church leaders. After the press was destroyed, Higbee swore an oath before a Hancock County, Illinois, justice that Smith had incited a riot. On the basis of this testimony, an arrest warrant was issued for Smith and 17 others.[10][11]

Smith surrendered to authorities and was killed by a mob in Carthage Jail while awaiting trial.

Later life

Higbee was listed as a resident of Hancock County in 1850.[2] On November 23, 1854 he married Ann Maria Allen, in Cumberland, Rhode Island, where he died two years later.[1]

Notes
  1. Francis Marion Higbee at the BYU Nauvoo Community Project
  2. "Higbee, Francis Marion - Details". josephsmithpapers.org. Retrieved 2014-10-03.
  3. Bennett, J.C. The History of the Saints; or, an Exposé of Joseph Smith and Mormonism. Lulu.com. p. 288. ISBN 9781435751835. Retrieved 2014-10-03.
  4. "Mormon Church History: Mormon History, Jan 15, 1844". mormon-church-history.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2014-10-03.
  5. "hc/6/17". byustudies.byu.edu. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-03.
  6. "Church History In The Fulness Of Times Student Manual Chapter Twenty One: Growing Conflict in Illinois". churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2014-10-03.
  7. Shook, C.A. (1914). The True Origin of Mormon Polygamy. The Standard Publishing Company. p. 64. Retrieved 2014-10-03.
  8. "Chapter 19 : Charges against President Smith before the Circuit Court - His Voluntary Appearances at Court - Treatment - Return to Nauvoo". Byustudies.byu.edu. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  9. "Nauvoo Neighbor" (PDF). Boap.org. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  10. "Warrant for Arrest of Smith on the Charge of Rioting (June 12, 1844)". Law2.umkc.edu. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  11. Roberts, B.H. (1963). Life of John Taylor. Qilin Press. ISBN 9780988124530. Retrieved 2014-10-03.

References
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