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Last year, Elder Paul Beck, President of the Mesa Arizona Mission, and fifth generation descendant of Benjamin Franklin Taylor, commissioned me to take a look at the long-ranging effects on Church membership played by just one faithful missionary. Since this week's lesson mentions Zebedee Coltrin, I thought it would be fitting to add this additional blog posting. Elder Zebedee Coltrin literally baptized hundreds of people during his 50+ year ministry in the Church. This study highlights the effects of just one of those many hundreds of baptisms performed in Ohio during the Kirtland/Missouri/Nauvoo era prior to 1846.
On April 12, 1840, Benjamin Franklin Taylor joined the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints. The Taylor’s were taught the gospel by long-time missionary and original member of the Quorum of the Seventy, Zebedee Coltrin (see endnote).[1] Seventeen months later, on October 25, 1841, Franklin’s wife, Ann Mennell Taylor, joined the Church too. Ann and Franklin eventually had twelve children, eleven of whom lived to adulthood[2] – these too were all eventually baptized into the Church. On June 15, 1844, while living in Macedonia, Illinois, children Norman (age 15), Lucy (age 14), Elmer (age 12), and Henrietta (age 10) joined the Church too. Later, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, Martin (age 13), Elizabeth (age 11), and Crispin (age 9) were baptized on March 15, 1849. While living in San Bernardino, California, Jesse (age 12) and Caroline (age 8) were baptized on October 7, 1854, and Jane was baptized on December 17, 1856 (age 8). Youngest daughter Frances was baptized in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 22, 1865 (age 14).
The sons and daughters of Franklin and Ann Taylor gave them at least 103 grandchildren that we know of (there is no record of daughter Lucy’s children although one would suspect that she had a normal family as she was married and lived to be 56). Like many families of the pre-hospital 19th Century, the Taylor’s suffered a high mortality rate. Of the 103 grandchildren, we know that only about 73 of them lived long enough to have children of their own. We do not have complete genealogical records for each of the surviving Taylor lines, but if we estimate conservatively (based on the lower 73 number of grandchildren and an average of 6 children per marriage[3], with much lower infant mortality rates, and a 95% marriage rate, carried forward for seven generations), the estimated total number of Ann and Franklin Taylor descendants (both living and dead) is somewhere between 2.5 and 3 million people. Of those, there are approximately between 134,762 and 528,269 direct descendants that are living today. Using the lowest number in this estimate 134,762, we can exclude approximately 41% who by now would no longer be members of the LDS faith (this is based on the fact that we know that some 30 of the original 73 mature adult grandchildren and their lines left the Church prior to 1900[4]. That gives us a figure of approximately 79,510 living LDS descendants today and a grand total of nearly 167,096 LDS descendants both living and dead since the 1840 conversion of Benjamin Franklin Taylor.
Missionary work:
Missionary work has been variously emphasized by Church leaders throughout the course of LDS history. For example, the majority of LDS leaders served multiple missions during the early days of the Church (1830-1860). However, from 1860 to 1960 it is estimated that less than 20% of LDS men were called as full-time missionaries, and less than 1% of LDS women served in the missionary program. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, however, a gradual increase in overall missionary participation can surly be noted, in part due to the emphasis placed in member missionary work by President David O. McKay and finally that call by President Spencer W. Kimball to every worthy adult male to serve as a missionary by the late 1970’s. Following these trends, we may extrapolate that there are approximately 500 Taylor descendants who are serving as full-time missionaries in the Church today. Moreover, there are approximately 17,890 living descendants who are returned missionaries, and an overall total of 19,367 descendants (both living and dead) who have served missions for the Church since 1840. Assuming that each of those missionaries baptized 10 people during their 18 month, two-year, or three-year mission for the Church, the decision by Franklin Taylor to join the Church in 1840 has led to approximately 200,000 convert baptisms and countless stories like the one above where many generations of Taylor’s honor the names of Zebedee Coltrin and their great grandparents Benjamin Franklin and Ann Mennell Taylor. The above is a worthy testimony of the Power of One to bless the lives of many.[5]
“And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!” [D&C 18: 15-16]
"The Power of One: How B. Franklin Taylor’s Decision to Join the Church Had Far-reaching Effects on Countless Generations of LDS Members" by Rob Taylor
"The Power of One: How B. Franklin Taylor’s Decision to Join the Church Had Far-reaching Effects on Countless Generations of LDS Members" by Rob Taylor
On April 12, 1840, Benjamin Franklin Taylor joined the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints. The Taylor’s were taught the gospel by long-time missionary and original member of the Quorum of the Seventy, Zebedee Coltrin (see endnote).[1] Seventeen months later, on October 25, 1841, Franklin’s wife, Ann Mennell Taylor, joined the Church too. Ann and Franklin eventually had twelve children, eleven of whom lived to adulthood[2] – these too were all eventually baptized into the Church. On June 15, 1844, while living in Macedonia, Illinois, children Norman (age 15), Lucy (age 14), Elmer (age 12), and Henrietta (age 10) joined the Church too. Later, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, Martin (age 13), Elizabeth (age 11), and Crispin (age 9) were baptized on March 15, 1849. While living in San Bernardino, California, Jesse (age 12) and Caroline (age 8) were baptized on October 7, 1854, and Jane was baptized on December 17, 1856 (age 8). Youngest daughter Frances was baptized in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 22, 1865 (age 14).
The sons and daughters of Franklin and Ann Taylor gave them at least 103 grandchildren that we know of (there is no record of daughter Lucy’s children although one would suspect that she had a normal family as she was married and lived to be 56). Like many families of the pre-hospital 19th Century, the Taylor’s suffered a high mortality rate. Of the 103 grandchildren, we know that only about 73 of them lived long enough to have children of their own. We do not have complete genealogical records for each of the surviving Taylor lines, but if we estimate conservatively (based on the lower 73 number of grandchildren and an average of 6 children per marriage[3], with much lower infant mortality rates, and a 95% marriage rate, carried forward for seven generations), the estimated total number of Ann and Franklin Taylor descendants (both living and dead) is somewhere between 2.5 and 3 million people. Of those, there are approximately between 134,762 and 528,269 direct descendants that are living today. Using the lowest number in this estimate 134,762, we can exclude approximately 41% who by now would no longer be members of the LDS faith (this is based on the fact that we know that some 30 of the original 73 mature adult grandchildren and their lines left the Church prior to 1900[4]. That gives us a figure of approximately 79,510 living LDS descendants today and a grand total of nearly 167,096 LDS descendants both living and dead since the 1840 conversion of Benjamin Franklin Taylor.
Missionary work:
Missionary work has been variously emphasized by Church leaders throughout the course of LDS history. For example, the majority of LDS leaders served multiple missions during the early days of the Church (1830-1860). However, from 1860 to 1960 it is estimated that less than 20% of LDS men were called as full-time missionaries, and less than 1% of LDS women served in the missionary program. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, however, a gradual increase in overall missionary participation can surly be noted, in part due to the emphasis placed in member missionary work by President David O. McKay and finally that call by President Spencer W. Kimball to every worthy adult male to serve as a missionary by the late 1970’s. Following these trends, we may extrapolate that there are approximately 500 Taylor descendants who are serving as full-time missionaries in the Church today. Moreover, there are approximately 17,890 living descendants who are returned missionaries, and an overall total of 19,367 descendants (both living and dead) who have served missions for the Church since 1840. Assuming that each of those missionaries baptized 10 people during their 18 month, two-year, or three-year mission for the Church, the decision by Franklin Taylor to join the Church in 1840 has led to approximately 200,000 convert baptisms and countless stories like the one above where many generations of Taylor’s honor the names of Zebedee Coltrin and their great grandparents Benjamin Franklin and Ann Mennell Taylor. The above is a worthy testimony of the Power of One to bless the lives of many.[5]
Notes:
[1] Zebedee Coltrin: On April 12, 1840 by the hand of Zebedee Coltrin, Benjamin Franklin Taylor joined the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints. Zebedee was a participant in many early Church history events, was born 7 September 1804 at Ovid, New York. At the age of ten he moved with his family to Ohio, where he was converted and baptized 9 January 1831. He is mentioned by name in D&C 52: 29: “Let my servants Levi W. Hancock and Zebedee Coltrin also take their journey” [to Missouri]. Zebedee was a member of the School of the Prophets held in the Newel K. Whitney store between 24 January and the middle of April 1833. He was present in the school when the Word of Wisdom was revealed and the First Presidency was set apart. He was also an eyewitness to the appearance of the Father and the Son. He marched in Zion's Camp in 1834. When the First Quorum of the Seventy was organized on 28 February 1835, Zebedee was called to be one of the seven presidents of that quorum. He spent 16 years doing missionary work. He was a member of the Kirtland Hebrew School in 1836 and participated in the dedication of the Kirtland and Nauvoo Temples. Zebedee was a member of the original pioneer company that entered the Salt Lake Valley July 1847 and was later called to settle Spanish Fork, Utah. He was ordained a Patriarch by John Taylor in 1873 and gave more than one thousand blessings prior to his death in 1887. Zebedee Coltrin died in Spanish Fork, on July 21, 1887. At the time of his death the Deseret News said editorially: “This respected and venerable man was one of the oldest members of the Church and was identified with many of its earliest incidents in the days of Kirtland. He was closely associated with the Prophet Joseph and has often testified to having been a witness of and participant in many marvelous spiritual manifestations. Father Coltrin has for many years past officiated as a Patriarch, and has left an excellent record for faithfulness.”
[2] Note that daughter Sarah Ann Taylor died sometime during the 1840’s and did not live to the age of accountability.
[3] “Today, the average Mormon family size tends to be around 4 children per family. Compared to the past, this is much smaller than early Mormon families; however, it is still approximately double the average family size of non-Mormon families. Historically speaking, Mormon families tended to have at least six children and it was not at all uncommon for families to have far more children than that. Families consisting of nine and ten children were not considered to be out of the ordinary in the least.” http://www.mormongenealogy.us/common-mormon-family-sizes.php
[4] Family lines that left the Church were located in San Bernardino, CA, after 1857, or Moab, UT, after 1880.
[5] Notes to the attached Excel spreadsheet data: (1) The practice of Plural Marriage complicates any study of this kind due to the fact that the traditional childbirth years are extended far beyond the typical 25 to 30 year range that is normally used to define a generation. For this study I have found wisdom in calculating generational data based on the range from the year of the first marriage of the new generation until the year of the last birth of the same generation. One quickly notes that the Taylor family has many generations that span well over 50 years in duration. (2) The author was born in 1966 and is part of the 6th generation from BFT, his son was born in 1994 and is part of the 7th generation, and there are those living today who form the beginnings of the 8th generation of LDS Taylor family members. (3) This fact presents an interesting set of data which is that by the year 2070 (the approximate last birth year of the 8th generation, there will have been approximately 2.8 million descendants of BFT 1.6 million of whom are/were LDS, and an estimated collective missionary fingerprint of 6.6 million convert baptisms into the LDS faith both living and dead.
[1] Zebedee Coltrin: On April 12, 1840 by the hand of Zebedee Coltrin, Benjamin Franklin Taylor joined the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints. Zebedee was a participant in many early Church history events, was born 7 September 1804 at Ovid, New York. At the age of ten he moved with his family to Ohio, where he was converted and baptized 9 January 1831. He is mentioned by name in D&C 52: 29: “Let my servants Levi W. Hancock and Zebedee Coltrin also take their journey” [to Missouri]. Zebedee was a member of the School of the Prophets held in the Newel K. Whitney store between 24 January and the middle of April 1833. He was present in the school when the Word of Wisdom was revealed and the First Presidency was set apart. He was also an eyewitness to the appearance of the Father and the Son. He marched in Zion's Camp in 1834. When the First Quorum of the Seventy was organized on 28 February 1835, Zebedee was called to be one of the seven presidents of that quorum. He spent 16 years doing missionary work. He was a member of the Kirtland Hebrew School in 1836 and participated in the dedication of the Kirtland and Nauvoo Temples. Zebedee was a member of the original pioneer company that entered the Salt Lake Valley July 1847 and was later called to settle Spanish Fork, Utah. He was ordained a Patriarch by John Taylor in 1873 and gave more than one thousand blessings prior to his death in 1887. Zebedee Coltrin died in Spanish Fork, on July 21, 1887. At the time of his death the Deseret News said editorially: “This respected and venerable man was one of the oldest members of the Church and was identified with many of its earliest incidents in the days of Kirtland. He was closely associated with the Prophet Joseph and has often testified to having been a witness of and participant in many marvelous spiritual manifestations. Father Coltrin has for many years past officiated as a Patriarch, and has left an excellent record for faithfulness.”
[2] Note that daughter Sarah Ann Taylor died sometime during the 1840’s and did not live to the age of accountability.
[3] “Today, the average Mormon family size tends to be around 4 children per family. Compared to the past, this is much smaller than early Mormon families; however, it is still approximately double the average family size of non-Mormon families. Historically speaking, Mormon families tended to have at least six children and it was not at all uncommon for families to have far more children than that. Families consisting of nine and ten children were not considered to be out of the ordinary in the least.” http://www.mormongenealogy.us/common-mormon-family-sizes.php
[4] Family lines that left the Church were located in San Bernardino, CA, after 1857, or Moab, UT, after 1880.
[5] Notes to the attached Excel spreadsheet data: (1) The practice of Plural Marriage complicates any study of this kind due to the fact that the traditional childbirth years are extended far beyond the typical 25 to 30 year range that is normally used to define a generation. For this study I have found wisdom in calculating generational data based on the range from the year of the first marriage of the new generation until the year of the last birth of the same generation. One quickly notes that the Taylor family has many generations that span well over 50 years in duration. (2) The author was born in 1966 and is part of the 6th generation from BFT, his son was born in 1994 and is part of the 7th generation, and there are those living today who form the beginnings of the 8th generation of LDS Taylor family members. (3) This fact presents an interesting set of data which is that by the year 2070 (the approximate last birth year of the 8th generation, there will have been approximately 2.8 million descendants of BFT 1.6 million of whom are/were LDS, and an estimated collective missionary fingerprint of 6.6 million convert baptisms into the LDS faith both living and dead.
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