John Wesley Binley (1814-1894)

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Biography

Cpl3 John Wesley Binley was born 18 April 1814 in Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio, United States to James Binley (1785-) and Margaret Binley (1785-) and died 23 February 1894 East Millcreek, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States of unspecified causes. He married Martha Magdalene Shaub (1814-1914) 1845 . He married Harriet St. John (1829-1920) February 1848 . He married Susan Abigail Brown (1834-1903) 1858 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah.

John Wesley Binley gave his birth information as 18 Apr 1814 in Logan County, Ohio in his pension application with alternate dates on other documents. Little is known about his childhood or family. According to Andrew Jenson Biographical Encyclopedia, John joined the church in 1838 and moved to Nauvoo in 1840. He was member of the Nauvoo police force, serving as a body guard to Joseph Smith.

Mormon Battalion Veteran

Participant in the march of The Mormon Battalion. This unit of the US Army served in the Mexican-American War and was the only religiously based infantry unit ever created by Presidential order. It consisted of nearly 500 men recruited exclusively from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the Mormons). They undertook the longest infantry march in U.S. military history (as of 1847) and in the process marked out and creating the first continuous wagon road to California which linked the future states of New Mexico, Arizona, and California to the United States. Most members served an initial 12 month term (Jul 1846- Jul 1847) with some members re-enlisting for an additional 12 months afterwards.

John was at Mt Pisgah when he heard the call for service. He enlisted in the Mormon Battalion at age 32, serving as 3rd Corporal in Company E, later reduced to rank of Private. The BY return (church roster of Battalion) indicated he left a cow behind with his wife Martha at Council Bluffs in the care of Burr Frost with the intention of sending $3 a month from his pay. At Fort Leavenworth, he sent $10 from his clothing allowance to his wife. Sending additional money from Santa Fe, a Church receipt book indicated John D Lee withdrew $2 from Binley’s account on January 16 and his wife drew $5.40 on April 13, 1847.

Arriving in California, he was stationed in Los Angeles. John was one of fourteen Battalion members who escorted General Kearny on his way back to Fort Leavenworth beginning in May 1847 plus one who had resigned in April and was traveling as a civilian. In his pension application, John described an injury that occurred on the trail. While shoeing a horse on the Truckee River he was kicked severely, injuring his back and breaking several ribs. While traveling in pain, John was informed of a passing pioneer company on their way to Salt Lake. He received permission to leave Kearny’s group and join the company on the North Platt, arriving in Salt Lake in the fall of 1847 and spent the winter in the Fort. It is uncertain who he believed was with the pioneer company because his wife didn’t arrive in Utah until 1851, but might have been looking for Burr Frost who was in the Vanguard Company.

Later Years

John never returned to Iowa and married again in 1848 to Harriet St. John (1829-1920) who had traveled with the Mormon Battalion detachments from Pueblo into Salt Lake. While he and Harriett left for California in 1849, a bounty land application was filed for him that year in Iowa without his knowledge. One child was born in California but his marriage didn’t last long as Harriett married another Battalion member in 1850. In 1857, John applied for bounty land from California but returned to Utah by 1858 when he married a third time to Susan Abigail Brown who had been previously married to another Battalion soldier, Oliver Workman. Seven children were born to John and Susan in various locations including Tooele, Nevada and Idaho. In 1867, he is listed on a Utah Militia roll in Tooele during the Indian War. He died in East Millcreek in Salt Lake in 1894.

Children

Offspring of Cpl3 John Wesley Binley and Harriet St. John (1829-1920)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Harriett Binley (1848-1941)

Offspring of Cpl3 John Wesley Binley and Susan Abigail Brown (1834-1903)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
John Wesley Binley (1859-1931)
Frances Binley (1865-)
Florence May Binley (1866-1942)
James Binley (1867-1906)
Clara Virginia Binley (1869-1959)
Benjamin Franklin Binley (1876-1966)
Leon Herbert Binley (1879-1955)

Siblings

Offspring of James Binley (1785-) and Margaret Binley (1785-)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
John Wesley Binley (1814-1894)	18 April 1814 Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio, United States	23 February 1894 East Millcreek, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States	Martha Magdalene Shaub (1814-1914) Harriet St. John (1829-1920) Susan Abigail Brown (1834-1903)

Residences

Footnotes (including sources)

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