John C. Bennett

Family Background

1804. August 3: Born John Cook Bennett in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. He married Mary A. Barker, who bore him four children. He divorced her in 1842 on grounds of desertion, and five years later married Sarah Rider.

Appearance

5'5" tall, 142 pounds, dark complexion, dark eyes, with a Roman nose. By the age of thirty-eight he had lost his upper front teeth.

Physician

1825. Bennett studied medicine with his uncle, the president of the Ohio Medical Convention, and was licensed to practice medicine by the Ohio Twelfth District Medical Society. He served as president of a medical college at Willoughby, Ohio, and was instrumental in founding the Illinois State Medical Society. He also taught at Cincinnati's University of the Literary and Botanico-Medical College, as "Professor of Mid-wifery, and the Diseases Peculiar to Women and Children."

In Nauvoo he became interested in the medicinal effects of the tomato, proposing that "much of the bilious affections to which our citizens are subjected during the hot season, can be prevented by the free use of the Tomato." He also helped initiate the drainage of nearby swamps—a major health hazard to Nauvoo.

Preacher

1826. After serving as a Methodist preacher for three years, he became a follower of Alexander Campbell. Like Sidney Rigdon, Bennett gained prominence as a Campbellite preacher.

Educator

Though his attempt to found Methodist University in Ohio was unsuccessful, he secured a charter for Wheeling (Ohio) University in 1829. Later he helped found Indiana University at New Albany, and was its first president. In 1841 he was appointed chancellor of the University of Nauvoo. Classes in the sciences, literature, philosophy, history, music, foreign languages, and religion were taught in private homes, the Masonic Hall, and the uncompleted temple.

Church leader

He first met Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon when he was living at Willoughby, Ohio. When he heard of Church difficulties in Missouri, he wrote encouraging letters to Joseph Smith and was later baptized by him in Nauvoo.

On April 8, 1841, John C. Bennett replaced the ailing Sidney Rigdon as "Assistant President" of the Church. For a time he was the Prophet's constant companion, confidant, and advisor, and was praised in Doctrine and Covenants 124: "I have seen the work which he hath done, which I accept if he continues, and will crown him with blessings and great glory."

Military Leader

1839. Known in military circles as "42-pounder" for his aggressive tactics, Bennett was appointed brigadier general in the Invincible Light Dragoons of Illinois. In addition to serving as quartermaster general of Illinois, he was commissioned major general in the Nauvoo Legion by Illinois Secretary of State Stephen A. Douglas. During the Civil War he organized the Tenth Iowa Infantry and later served as field and staff surgeon of the Third U.S. Infantry.

Nauvoo Civic Leader

1841. Unanimously elected the first mayor of Nauvoo, he also served as secretary of the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge. He engineered the Illinois Legislature's approval of the Nauvoo Charter, Nauvoo Legion, and the University of Nauvoo.

Apostate

1842. After eighteen months of membership in the Church, he was accused of teaching an adulterous system of"spiritual wifery" and was asked to "withdraw his name from the Church record." At the time of his excommunication he was expelled from the Masonic Lodge, cashiered from the Nauvoo Legion, and forced to resign as mayor of Nauvoo—although the city council approved a vote of thanks "for his great zeal in having good and wholesome laws adopted for the government of this city; and for the faithful discharge of his duty while Mayor."

Author of An Expose' of Joe Smith:

1842. Declaring that he had only become a Mormon in order to "get behind the curtain, and behold, at my leisure, the secret wires of the fabric and likewise those who moved them," he wrote The History of the Saints: Or An Exposé of Joe Smith and the Mormons. "I felt myself an humble instrument in the hands of God to expose the Imposter and his myrmidons, and to open the eyes of my countrymen to his dark and damnable designs. I have done my duty."

Supporter of Mormon Splinter Groups:

1844. After Joseph Smith's death, he returned to Nauvoo with a letter purportedly given to him by the Prophet which stated that Sidney Rigdon was to be president of the Church in the event of Joseph Smith's death. In 1844-1845 he joined the disciples of William Law and Sidney Rigdon. Baptized into James Strang's Mormon group in 1846, he was excommunicated a year later for sexual licentiousness and disagreements over management of the sect's affairs. Despite his excommunication, however, Bennett continued to advise Strang, particularly on matters of pomp and ceremony, such as Strang's public coronation in 1850.

Wished to Command the Utah Expeditionary Forces

1858. Aware of President Buchanan's plans to send an army to Utah, Bennett sent a letter to his friend Stephen A. Douglas volunteering his service: "That the conflict with Utah will be most sanguinary, there is little doubt. I desire to be in the most bloody and terrible battle. You know my military capacity well. When I commanded the Legion it was the best disciplined body of troops in the Union, so admitted on all hands. I can now select and take against them as formidable a Regiment as America can produce, if President Buchanan will only give me the authority to do so."

Chicken Expert

1866. Bennett was well known in the Polk City, Iowa, area as a poultry expert. He wrote A Treatise On Breeding & General Management Of Domestic Fowls, and is credited with having created the Plymouth Rock strain of chicken.

Death

1867. Died August 5, at the age of sixty-three. He was buried with Masonic honors in Polk City Cemetery.

Sources
Bennett, John C. The History of the Saints: Or an Expose' of Joe Smith and Mormonism. Boston: Leland & Whiting, 1842.
Hill, Donna. Joseph Smith: The First Mormon. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1977.
History of the Church 4:341.
Hogan, Mervin B. "The Confrontation of G. M. Abraham Jonas and John Cook Bennett at Nauvoo." Mimeographed. Salt Lake City. LDS Church History Library.
McKiernan, F. Mark. The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness: Sidney Rigdon, Religious Reformer. Lawrence, Kansas: Coronado Press, 1971.
New Haven, Connecticut. Yale University. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. John C. Bennett Letters in James D. Strang Papers.
Salt Lake City, Utah. LDS Church Archives. Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Illinois A. F. and M. for 1952.
The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 3 vols. Independence, Missouri: Herald House, 1967.
Times and Seasons, 2:404.
Tyler, Dr. James J. John Cook Bennett: Colorful Freemason of the Early Nineteenth Century, Grand Masonic Lodge of Ohio, 1947.

	A Book of Mormons Richard S. Van Wagoner and Steven C. Walker Copyright 1982, Signature Books Salt Lake City, Utah Contents


	John C. Bennett (1804-1867)

		John C. Bennett was a soldier of fortune, physician, member of the First Presidency, and author of An Exposé of Joe Smith. Photograph from The History of the Saints.


	Family Background 1804. August 3: Born John Cook Bennett in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. He married Mary A. Barker, who bore him four children. He divorced her in 1842 on grounds of desertion, and five years later married Sarah Rider. Appearance 5'5" tall, 142 pounds, dark complexion, dark eyes, with a Roman nose. By the age of thirty-eight he had lost his upper front teeth. Physician 1825. Bennett studied medicine with his uncle, the president of the Ohio Medical Convention, and was licensed to practice medicine by the Ohio Twelfth District Medical Society. He served as president of a medical college at Willoughby, Ohio, and was instrumental in founding the Illinois State Medical Society. He also taught at Cincinnati's University of the Literary and Botanico-Medical College, as "Professor of Mid-wifery, and the Diseases Peculiar to Women and Children." In Nauvoo he became interested in the medicinal effects of the tomato, proposing that "much of the bilious affections to which our citizens are subjected during the hot season, can be prevented by the free use of the Tomato." He also helped initiate the drainage of nearby swamps—a major health hazard to Nauvoo. Preacher 1826. After serving as a Methodist preacher for three years, he became a follower of Alexander Campbell. Like Sidney Rigdon, Bennett gained prominence as a Campbellite preacher. Educator Though his attempt to found Methodist University in Ohio was unsuccessful, he secured a charter for Wheeling (Ohio) University in 1829. Later he helped found Indiana University at New Albany, and was its first president. In 1841 he was appointed chancellor of the University of Nauvoo. Classes in the sciences, literature, philosophy, history, music, foreign languages, and religion were taught in private homes, the Masonic Hall, and the uncompleted temple. Church leader He first met Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon when he was living at Willoughby, Ohio. When he heard of Church difficulties in Missouri, he wrote encouraging letters to Joseph Smith and was later baptized by him in Nauvoo. On April 8, 1841, John C. Bennett replaced the ailing Sidney Rigdon as "Assistant President" of the Church. For a time he was the Prophet's constant companion, confidant, and advisor, and was praised in Doctrine and Covenants 124: "I have seen the work which he hath done, which I accept if he continues, and will crown him with blessings and great glory." Military Leader 1839. Known in military circles as "42-pounder" for his aggressive tactics, Bennett was appointed brigadier general in the Invincible Light Dragoons of Illinois. In addition to serving as quartermaster general of Illinois, he was commissioned major general in the Nauvoo Legion by Illinois Secretary of State Stephen A. Douglas. During the Civil War he organized the Tenth Iowa Infantry and later served as field and staff surgeon of the Third U.S. Infantry. Nauvoo Civic Leader 1841. Unanimously elected the first mayor of Nauvoo, he also served as secretary of the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge. He engineered the Illinois Legislature's approval of the Nauvoo Charter, Nauvoo Legion, and the University of Nauvoo. Apostate 1842. After eighteen months of membership in the Church, he was accused of teaching an adulterous system of"spiritual wifery" and was asked to "withdraw his name from the Church record." At the time of his excommunication he was expelled from the Masonic Lodge, cashiered from the Nauvoo Legion, and forced to resign as mayor of Nauvoo—although the city council approved a vote of thanks "for his great zeal in having good and wholesome laws adopted for the government of this city; and for the faithful discharge of his duty while Mayor." Author of An Expose' of Joe Smith: 1842. Declaring that he had only become a Mormon in order to "get behind the curtain, and behold, at my leisure, the secret wires of the fabric and likewise those who moved them," he wrote The History of the Saints: Or An Exposé of Joe Smith and the Mormons. "I felt myself an humble instrument in the hands of God to expose the Imposter and his myrmidons, and to open the eyes of my countrymen to his dark and damnable designs. I have done my duty." Supporter of Mormon Splinter Groups: 1844. After Joseph Smith's death, he returned to Nauvoo with a letter purportedly given to him by the Prophet which stated that Sidney Rigdon was to be president of the Church in the event of Joseph Smith's death. In 1844-1845 he joined the disciples of William Law and Sidney Rigdon. Baptized into James Strang's Mormon group in 1846, he was excommunicated a year later for sexual licentiousness and disagreements over management of the sect's affairs. Despite his excommunication, however, Bennett continued to advise Strang, particularly on matters of pomp and ceremony, such as Strang's public coronation in 1850. Wished to Command the Utah Expeditionary Forces 1858. Aware of President Buchanan's plans to send an army to Utah, Bennett sent a letter to his friend Stephen A. Douglas volunteering his service: "That the conflict with Utah will be most sanguinary, there is little doubt. I desire to be in the most bloody and terrible battle. You know my military capacity well. When I commanded the Legion it was the best disciplined body of troops in the Union, so admitted on all hands. I can now select and take against them as formidable a Regiment as America can produce, if President Buchanan will only give me the authority to do so." Chicken Expert 1866. Bennett was well known in the Polk City, Iowa, area as a poultry expert. He wrote A Treatise On Breeding & General Management Of Domestic Fowls, and is credited with having created the Plymouth Rock strain of chicken. Death 1867. Died August 5, at the age of sixty-three. He was buried with Masonic honors in Polk City Cemetery. Sources Bennett, John C. The History of the Saints: Or an Expose' of Joe Smith and Mormonism. Boston: Leland & Whiting, 1842. Hill, Donna. Joseph Smith: The First Mormon. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1977. History of the Church 4:341. Hogan, Mervin B. "The Confrontation of G. M. Abraham Jonas and John Cook Bennett at Nauvoo." Mimeographed. Salt Lake City. LDS Church History Library. McKiernan, F. Mark. The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness: Sidney Rigdon, Religious Reformer. Lawrence, Kansas: Coronado Press, 1971. New Haven, Connecticut. Yale University. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. John C. Bennett Letters in James D. Strang Papers. Salt Lake City, Utah. LDS Church Archives. Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Illinois A. F. and M. for 1952. The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 3 vols. Independence, Missouri: Herald House, 1967. Times and Seasons, 2:404. Tyler, Dr. James J. John Cook Bennett: Colorful Freemason of the Early Nineteenth Century, Grand Masonic Lodge of Ohio, 1947.