Stout, Hosea, 1810-1889

Hosea Stout, one of the most prolific Mormon diarists, was born on September 18, 1810, in Mercer County, Kentucky. He attended a Shaker school from 1814-1818 before his family moved to Ohio and later Indiana. While living in Illinois in 1832 Stout heard the preaching of Charles C. Rich and became interested in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1837 he moved to Caldwell County, Missouri, and was baptized into the Mormon Church in 1838. That same year he married Surmantha Pack, served with David Patten's company in the Battle of Crooked River, and escaped with the rest of the Mormon militia to Iowa. Following Surmantha's death in 1839, Stout married Louisa Taylor, Lucretia Fisher, and Marinda Bennett, although each of these wives had either left him or died by 1847. The Stouts joined the Mormons in Nauvoo, Illinois, and Stout became a brigadier general in the Nauvoo Legion. In 1846 the Stouts left Nauvoo and spent 1846-1847 at Winter Quarters, Nebraska. Stout finally arrived in Salt Lake City in 1848, and was soon made a member of the House of Representatives and also served as attorney general and States Attorney, in addition to being one of the first practicing lawyers in Utah. In 1853 Stout served on a brief mission to China, and once back in Utah was made Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1856. He lived on the Cotton Mission from 1861 to 1865 and spent six months in prison at Camp Douglas for the murder of Richard Yates during the Utah War. In 1877 Stout moved to Holladay, Utah, with his wife Sarah Jones. He died in Holladay on March 2, 1889.

From the description of Diaries and autobiography of Hosea Stout, c.1820-1915 (bulk 1844-1870) (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 696633284

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