Chauncey L. Higbee

Chauncey L. Higbee

Chauncey Lawson Higbee (September 7, 1821 – December 7, 1884) was a member of the Latter Day Saint movement in Nauvoo, Illinois, and a brother to fellow Latter Day Saint Francis M. Higbee.

He later successfully ran for office, serving in the Illinois legislature. He was elected as judge, eventually serving on the state Appellant Court.

Role in the Church of Christ

Chauncey Higbee joined the Church of Christ in 1832. In November 1841, he was appointed aide-de-camp to Major General John C. Bennett of the Nauvoo Legion.[1]

Charges of adultery

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On May 29, 1844, the church's high council ordered the publication of testimony and affidavits which purported to be accounts of Higbee's trial before the high council two years earlier.[2] According to the documents, Higbee had been accused of "adulterous sins" and tried on May 24, 1842. Included were statements from women claiming he had committed adultery by telling them that Joseph Smith secretly preached the practice of polygamy. In response, Higbee was excommunicated from the church.[3]

Nauvoo Expositor

In June 1844, Higbee became a publisher of the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper critical of church founder Joseph Smith and other church leaders. After Smith ordered the destruction of the Expositor press, he was arrested on charges of riot and treason. Smith was killed while awaiting trial.

Later life

In 1854, he married Julia M. White.

Higbee was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1854 and from 1858 to 1861 was a member of the Illinois Senate.[4] In 1861, Higbee was elected to the circuit court, and he was elected to the appellate court in 1877.[5][6]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Higbee, Chauncey Lawson - Details". Josephsmithpapers.org. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  2. ↑ "Nauvoo Neighbor" (PDF). Boap.org. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  3. ↑ "Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy, Volume I - Chapter 12". Restorationbookstore.org. 2011-06-26. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  4. ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=3l00AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA735&lpg=PA735
  5. ↑ http://alplm-cdi.com/chroniclingillinois/items/show/284
  6. ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=pSsPAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA158&lpg=PA158

References

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