- Zion's Camp Veteran
- First Quorum of Seventy of the LDS Church
Levi Gifford Sr. was born 15 August 1789 in Conway, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States to Noah Gifford (1759-1802) and Mary Bowerman (1758-1846) and died 4 March 1860 Moroni, Sanpete County, Utah, United States of unspecified causes. He married Deborah Wing (1795-1877) 1816 in New York.
Biography[]
Early Mormonism[]
By 1816 Levi was in New York where he met and married Deborah Wing. Deborah and Levi would give birth to eleven children.
Levi received a copy of the Book of Mormon from a younger brother and went with him to Kirtland , where they met the Prophet. They were baptized and he moved his family to Kirtland. Levi was baptized in 1831. He was the brother of Alpheus Gifford who baptized Heber Chase Kimball (1801-1868). Levi, himself baptized Eleazar Miller, who, in turn baptized Brigham Young (1801-1877). Miller wrote of the occasion:
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.
We also know that Levi Gifford participated in Zion's Camp and apparently did so with honor and distinction, for the following year, he was ordained a Seventy and called to serve in the First Quorum of the Seventy, thus entering the ranks of the General Authorities.
Migration West[]
He then emigrated to Missouri, though we have not found records giving actual dates. It is likely that he emigrated with the Kirtland Camp, in which those who remained true to the Prophet, and more especially the Seventies, left Kirtland en masse for Zion.
On the twenty-ninth of January, 1839 he covenanted to use his means and property to assist the destitute saints in their egress from Missouri. By December of the same year, he is listed among those who petitioned to Congress for redress of the losses suffered in the Misouri persecutions. Specifically, Gifford states that he had lost a house and suffered other damages totalling Five Hundred Dollars.
On October 8, 1844, Elder Gifford, by then a High Priest, was called by Brigham Young to preside over a branch (or district) of the Church. The program to which he was called attempted to send a presiding High Priest to every Congressional District in the United Staets, and to there build up a Stake of Zion. The History of the Church does not record the location to which Elder Gifford was sent. Nor do we know how long he remained in his assigned location nor the circumstances under which he left.
They left with the saints and camped in Kanesville, Iowa , until they left for the Valley in 1850 . Levi was a farmer and helped colonize several early settlements. He remained faithful in the church.
It seems he migrated as part of Benjamin Hawkins Company, a company of some 142, departing June 5, 1850 and arriving three months later on September 9, 1850. This was fairly typical for the trip. On March 4, 1860 Elder Gifford died at Moroni, Sanpete County, Utah. Deborah survived him by seventeen years dying March 15, 1877 at Weston, Franklin County, Idaho.
Marriage and Family[]
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Priscilla Gifford (1818-1876) | |||
| Benjamin Archibald Gifford (1820-1886) | |||
| Ichabod Gifford (1822-1876) | |||
| Daniel Gifford (1823-1888) | |||
| Rachel Gifford (1824-) | |||
| William Gifford (1828-1874) | |||
| Miss GIfford (1830-1842) | |||
| James Moroni Gifford (1831-1861) | |||
| Moroni GIfford (1834-1842) | |||
| Hannah Gifford (1835-1841) | |||
| Levi Gifford (1837-1893) | |||
Siblings[]
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Judah Gifford (1784-1862) | |||
| Maribah Gifford (1787-1811) | |||
| Levi Gifford (1789-1860) | 15 August 1789 Conway, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States | 4 March 1860 Moroni, Sanpete County, Utah, United States | Deborah Wing (1795-1877) |
| Tamar Gifford (1791-1792) | |||
| Alpheus Gifford (1793-1841) | |||
| Tamer Gifford (1794-) | |||
| Ichabod Bowerman Gifford (1796-1896) | |||
| Armelia Gifford (1798-1864) | |||
Vital Records[]
See Also[]
- Levi Gifford - Grandpa Bill's General Authority Pages.
- Levi Gifford at Find A Grave #10597447
- Levi Gifford's obituary was printed in the Deseret News, 28 March 1860, p. 32.
- Levi Gifford
- Gifford in Franklin County, Massachusetts
- Gifford in Sanpete County, Utah
References[]
- History of the Church; multiple citations, see index
- Church Chronology; March 4, 1860; compiled by Andrew Jensen
- Messenger and Advocate; Mar 1837; Warren Cowdery, ed.; p.476
- Mormon Redress Petitions; p. 301
- Times and Seasons, Vol.5, p.696
- Four Faith Promoting Classics, Fragments of Experience,; p.33
