Biography
Hiram Blackman was born 15 June 1804 in Columbus, Chenango County, New York, United States to Josiah Blackman (1764-1834) and Tryphena Smith (1770-1819) and died 2 February 1895 LaPorte County, Indiana, United States of unspecified causes. He married Clarissa Darrow (1804-1888) 18 November 1824 in Huron County, Ohio, United States.
Religious Awakening (LDS)
Early missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
1830 edition of the Book of Mormon.
The 1830's saw a great Protestant religious revival sweep across the United States that was called the "Second Great Awakening" and was characterized by much emotional preaching, spiritual and social reform movements and a surge in membership growth for a great many Christian denominations.
This period also saw the rise of a new Church of Christ that was organized in early 1830 by its young prophet-leader, Joseph Smith (1805-1844), and after 1838 was formally named The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This church group was frequently called the "Mormon Church" or "Latter-day Saints" (LDS) for its belief in a new set of holy scriptures called "The Book of Mormon". For better or worse, this new religion generated a lot of attention in this region.
Missionaries of this church taught that it was not a reform movement or protest movement but a "restoration" of the original church with completeness of the full of doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ including the ministering of angels, the restored priesthood, lost scripture, revelations, prophecy, living apostles, the gifts of the spirit and much more. This message had profound impact on many who subsequently left all to follow the Prophet and the Church. In many cases their faith was so strong as to push these early converts to endure many difficult hardships and sacrifices and to eventually journey over a thousand miles westward to settle in the Great Salt Lake Valley. (See also New Religion (LDS 1830).)[1][2]
The third child (born 1828) is named for prominent Ohio Mormon leader Newel Kimball Whitney (1795-1850), the family may have been part of the Sidney Rigdons, Campbellite group there. Before the arrival of Joseph Smith and the Mormons in late 1830.
The couple gave birth to seven children, numbers two through five being born in Erie County, Ohio, between 1828 and 1838, which obviously was the couple's home at the time. It will also be remembered that the Church had settled at Kirtland, Ohio in nearby Lake County starting with the Prophet's arrival there in 1831.
He had accepted the gospel by 1834 when he volunteered to join Zions Camp and was ordained to the LDS Church Quorum of Seventy the following year.
Zions Camp Participant
This Judith Mehr rendition depicts struggles endured by members of Zion's Camp, an expeditionary force to help Church members in Jackson County redeem their brethren.
One of the most interesting episodes in the early history of LDS Church was the march of Zion's Camp (1834). The members of the Church in Missouri were being persecuted, and the Prophet Joseph made it a matter of prayer and received a revelation on February 24, 1834. The Lord instructed the Prophet to assemble at least one hundred young and middle-aged men and to go to the land of Zion, or Missouri. (See D&C 130:19–34.)
Zion’s Camp, a group of approximately one hundred and fifty men, gathered at Kirtland, Ohio, in the spring of 1834 and marched to Jackson County, Missouri. By the time they reached Missouri, the camp had increased to approximately two hundred men.[3]
Hiram's name appears on the list of Zion Camp participants as "Hiram Backman".
LDS Quorum of Seventy
Created by the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith (1805-1844) in early 1835, the Quorum of Seventy was to act as traveling and presiding ministers for the newly created The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many of these men performed notable works for the early church, living near then church headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio. The Quorum of Seventy itself did not meet as a governing body of the church and was not renewed until reorganized by the church in 1976.
Nauvoo Period
By 1841, the family had relocated to Nauvoo, Illinois where his last two children were born. There is no indication that the Hiram Blackman family ever settled in Missouri, thus they might have escaped the horrible persecutions of that time.
Later, as the First Quorum was disbanded, Hiram was called as the Seventh (Senior) President of the Twentieth Quorum in 1845, that quorum being organized at Morley's Settlement, Hancock County, Illinois. At this point Hiram disappears from the annals of Church history.
The aforementioned web site gives his death as February 5, 1895 at LaPorte County, Indiana. Since his wife and some of his children also died there, we assume the family had settled there. We do not know why the Blackmans did not join the saints on the trek west. We do note, however, that numerous folks have submitted his name for temple work.
Marriage and Family
By 1824 he seems to have settled in Ohio, and there married Clarissa Darrow on November 1824. The couple gave birth to seven children, numbers two through five being born in Erie County, Ohio, between 1828 and 1838, which obviously was the couple's home at the time.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Francis Blackman (1825-1858) | |||
| Hiram Blackman (1825-1888) | |||
| Newel Whitney Blackman (1828-1906) | |||
| Homer Ovando Blackman (1832-1913) | |||
| Elsie Clarinda Blackman (1835-1910) | |||
| Aurilla Anntoinette Blackman (1838-1903) | |||
| George W Blackman (1841-1901) | |||
| Harriet Victoria Blackman (1844-1907) | |||
Siblings
References
See Also
- Hiram Blackman
- Blackman in Chenango County, New York
- Blackman in Erie County, Ohio
- Elder Hiram Blackman - Grandpa Bill's GA Pages