Remembered for his leadership during the early years of the Latter Day Saint (LDS) movement, he was a prominent member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, an LDS group that organized a successful Mormon mission to England during the late 1830s and early 1840s. A native of Burlington, New York, he relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, with his first wife, Thankful Halsey. At the time, he belonged to the Disciples of Christ religious group; he converted to Mormonism in 1830.
