William Gant Perkins (1801-1883)
From Biographical Wiki
| William Gant Perkins | |
|---|---|
| Born: | 1 Jan 1801 Jackson Co., Tennessee |
| Died: | 8 Mar 1883 St. George, Utah |
| Father: | Ute Perkins |
| Mother: | Sarah Gant |
| Siblings: | Reuben Perkins Levi Perkins Robert Biggin Perkins Ephraim Adkinson Perkins Sarah Lavinia Gantt Perkins Elizabeth Lollar Perkins Absolom Perkins William Gant Perkins Anna Wood Perkins |
| Spouse: | (1) Dicey Ray |
| Married: | 22 Feb 1818 White Co., Tennessee |
| Children: | Martha Randall Perkins Levi McFadden Perkins |
| Spouse: | (2) Hannah Gold |
| Married: | May 1853 Salt Lake City, Utah |
LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 2:
Perkins, William G., the first Bishop of the Seventh Ward, Salt Lake City, Utah, was born Jan. 11, 1801, in South Carolina, the son of Ute Perkins and Sarah Gant. His father moved to Tennessee in 1805 and Wm. G. lived there until 1829.
He married Dicy Ray Feb. 22, 1818, by whom he had a son and a daughter.
He moved to Hancock county, Ill., in 1829, where he became a convert to "Mormonism" and was baptized in 1838 by Joel H. Johnson. Soon afterwards he was ordained a Teacher and in 1843 he was ordained a High Priest under the hands of Hyrum Smith and set apart under the hands of President Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball to act as Bishop in Macedonia, Hancock co., Ill.
In 1843 he filled a mission to the southern part of Illinois, together with Andrew Perkins, and in 1846 he received his endowments in the Nauvoo Temple.
Going west in the general exodus of the saints from Illinois, he remained at Council Bluffs, Iowa, for two years and in 1848 he migrated to G.S.L. Valley, where he was chosen as the first Bishop of the Seventh Ward in February, 1849.
In May, 1853, he married Hannah Gold and in 1861 was called on a mission to St. George, southern Utah.
March 23, 1862, he was set apart as a counselor to Wm. Fawcett, president of the High Priest quorum of the St. George Stake; he acted in that capacity over 24 years, or until his death.
Bro. Perkins was ordained a Patriarch under the hands of Pres. Brigham Young and others March 27, 1870, and died Nov. 16, 1886, at St. George, Washington Co., Utah.
[edit] Sources
http://www.myfamilysearch.net/getperson.php?personID=I514&tree=2005217a
