John D. Lee - Early Mormon Leader

Early Mormon Leader

Lee was born in Kaskaskia, Illinois Territory and joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1838. He was a friend of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the LDS Church. He was the adopted son of Brigham Young under the early church doctrine the Law of Adoption. In 1839, Lee served a Mormon mission with his boyhood friend, Levi Stewart. Together they preached in Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. During this period Lee converted and baptized "Wild Bill" Hickman. Lee practiced plural marriage (called polygamy by non-Mormons) and had nineteen wives (at least eleven of whom eventually left him) along with sixty-seven children. He was allegedly a member of the Danites vigilante group, although this claim has been disputed. Lee was an official scribe for the Council of 50, a group of men who, in the days of Joseph Smith, Jr. and Brigham Young, worked together to provide guidance in practical matters to the church, specifically concerning the move westward out of the United States of America to the Rocky Mountains.

After Smith's murder, Lee joined the bulk of the LDS Church's members in what is now Utah and worked towards establishing several new communities. A successful and resourceful farmer and rancher, in 1856, Lee became a US Indian Agent in the Iron County area, assigned to help Native Americans establish farms. In 1858 Lee served a term as a member of the Utah Territorial Legislature. Following church orders in 1872, Lee moved from Iron County and established a heavily-used ferry crossing on the Colorado River. The site is still called Lee's Ferry. The ranch was named the Lonely Dell Ranch and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, together with the ferry site.