Reuben McBride (1803-1891)

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Veteran of Zion's Camp (1834)

Biography

Reuben McBride was born 16 June 1803 in Chester, Warren County, New York, United States to Daniel McBride (1762-1823) and Abigail Mead (1770-1854) and died 26 February 1891 Fillmore, Millard County, Utah, United States of unspecified causes. He married Mary Ann Anderson (1814-1896) 22 September 1830 in Villanova, Chautauqua County, New York, United States.

Reuben was the son of a large family who were prominent in religious, civic and national affairs.

On his 33rd birthday he was baptized a member of the Church at Villanova, Chautauqua County, New York. On September 22, 1830, he married Mary Ann Anderson, daughter of Lansing and Priscilla Anderson. She was a girl of Scottish descent and of the Puritan type of womanhood. Against the earnest protestations of her kindred, she too joined the Church.

April 22, 1834 in Kirtland, Ohio the Prophet Joseph Smith called them together for a meeting where he blessed each of them and sealed each one up into eternal life. Reuben became the Custodian of the Church's Property and the Kirtland Temple.

Zions Camp Participant

Zionscamp01 — 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.

Reuben McBride was a member of the 2nd Quorum of the Seventies, ordained February 28, 1835, at Kirtland, Ohio, under the hands of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his two counselors, Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery. About 1835, while he was custodian of the Church property and the Kirtland Temple, he was subpoenaed to court to give some testimony concerning the whereabouts of the prophet, but he refused to testify. He was held for contempt of court and committed to jail. After two or three days of imprisonment, he was ordered back into court. When the Judge asked him if he was willing to testify, he answered, "No, I am a native-born citizen of the United States. My forefathers fought in the Revolution and my brothers in the War of 1812. I have been taught all my life to honor our flag and the government for which it stands. I do not believe the court has any legal right to demand from me what testimony it requires. I again refuse to give such testimony, and rather than be thus imposed upon, I will lie in your jail until the maggots carry my body through the keyhole of your door."

Nauvoo Life

He was the first person to be baptized for the dead in the Nauvoo Temple. Reuben first came to Utah with a company of saints to Salt Lake City in 1850 and lived with the family of Brigham Young, leaving his family in Kirtland until conditions were favorable for him to bring them to Utah. He was a carpenter by trade and did work which can be seen in some of the Relic Hall in Salt Lake City. While in Salt Lake he was an enumerator for the 1850 census.

In 1851 he returned to Kirtland and this time he brought his family back with him to Utah. In 1852 they lived in Farmington and Springville, and in the following year they were called by President Young to settle in Fillmore. In 1851 he returned to Kirtland to his family and took them to Utah in 1852. Reuben was indeed a pioneer. He assisted in building canyon roads, organizing irrigation systems, planting trees, in fact everything to beautify and build houses for the people. And in all of that he was also a lawyer. His patience, peaceful and unassuming disposition made all who knew him his friends.

Missions

In April, 1857, he was called on his second mission, this time to England, and had the privilege of baptizing many converts to the Church. He went again to England on a mission in 1867, and from 1877 to 1884 he was a member of the High Council of the Millard Stake. He died Feb. 26, 1891 at Fillmore, Utah. He was survived by his widow and six children, fifty grandchildren and 30 great grandchildren.

Children

Offspring of Reuben McBride and Mary Ann Anderson (1814-1896)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Helen Venera McBride (1833-1916)
Harriet Eliza McBride (1834-1910)
Reuben Augustus McBride (1836-1907)	11 September 1836 Kirtland, Lake County, Ohio, United States	29 January 1907 Fillmore, Millard County, Utah, United States	Harriet Columbia Williams (1838-1917) Sarah Hannah Williams (1852-1936)
Mary Louisa McBride (1838-1930)
Hyrum Roy McBride (1843-1918)
Emma Jerutia McBride (1845-1884)
John Newton McBride (1845-1884)
James McBride (1848-1851)
Laura Abigail McBride (1848-1876)
Alice Melissa McBride (1853-1920)
Anna McBride (1857-1865)

Siblings

Offspring of Daniel McBride (1762-1823) and Abigail Mead (1770-1854)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
John McBride (1788-1860)
Samuel McBride (1789-1874)
Daniel McBride (1791-1865)
James McBride (1793-1839)
Margaret Ann McBride (1794-1845)
Hyrum McBride (1798-1839)
Cyrus Gideon McBride (1800-1883)
Reuben McBride (1803-1891)	16 June 1803 Chester, Warren County, New York, United States	26 February 1891 Fillmore, Millard County, Utah, United States	Mary Ann Anderson (1814-1896)
Martha McBride (1805-1891)	17 March 1805 Washington, Dutchess County, New York, United States	20 November 1901 Hooper, Weber County, Utah, United States	Vinson Knight (1804-1842) Joseph Smith (1805-1844) Heber Chase Kimball (1801-1868)

Residences

Vital Records

Millard Gravesite

Location : Fillmore Cemetery (Utah), Millard County, Utah
Reuben McBride at Find A Grave

Footnotes (including sources)

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