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MISSOURI MORMON FRONTIER Number 33 Jackson county, Missouri Jan -April 2004 George March Hinkle] Elder of the Mormon Church Hero Or Traitor? From the fJe#cke/ Ge#ecz/ogz.ccz/ Bz///efz.7€.. 4 J2escarcA Co#2pe7!dz.#77! ISSN 0739 3641 ; Hinkle Henkel Henkle; Nedra Dickman Brill, CGSM, Editor. Volume 34, Number 2 Gall 2003) Whole Number 68, pages 1345-1364. [Comments made by the editor of MNI are followed by (awc).] Used with permission. This George Hinkle does not appear in 77!e He77c4e/ Ge#ecz/og)/. He was placed, without documented proof, as /HG#673// , son of Michael4 Hinkle (Michaelj, Jacob Anthony2, Rev. Anthony Jacob Henckel), by Mary Harter in 1976.2 With recently-discovered documents, this placement has been questioned and we actively seek further information about our famous cousin who was active in the early formation of the Mormon Church. Contemporary records consistently refer to him as George M. Hinkle. His name appears on the death certificate of his son C. M. Hinkle,3 a possible clue to his ancestry. George M. Hinkle was born 13 November 1801 in Jefferson County, Kentucky,4 and died 9 November 1861 at the age of 59 years,11 months, and 26 days. He is buried in Hamilton Cemetery, Decatur County, Iowa.5 George Hinkle married Sarah Stark on 6 February 1823 in Wayne County, indiana.6 Sarah Ann Hinkle died 1 December 1845, aged 40, and is buried in Mt. ]Image provided courtesy of the Community of Christ Archives, Independence, Missouri, © 2002; http://www.jwha.info/mmff'hinkle.htm. 2He#cke/ Ge7zecz/ogz.ccz/ Bw//efz.#, Volume 7 ( 1976):230, 256. Note that this family lore confused his wife's maiden name with his sister's married name. 3"Certificate of Death of c. M. Hinkle," 23 March 1913, Oklahoma State Board of Health File No. 2615. 4"Book of petriardoal Blessings Index." Also, Jam Shipps and John W. Welch, editors, 7lfee /o#rJ7cz/s o/ Wz.//i.om E. "cfe//i.7z, /8j/-/8j6 (Provo: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994); Mormon Biographical Register, http ://Snrithinstitute.byu.edu/register/SIMBRegisters. asp?alpha=H. [sic, Patriarchal B lessings (awc)] 5Tombstone inscription of G. M. Hinkle, Hamilton Cemetery of Decatur County, Iowa; http://Rootsweb.com/~iadecatu/cemeteryDocs/Hamilton.html. 6Wayne County, IN, Mariage Record. e2 Number33 Jan-A ril 2004 MISSOUF3l MORMON FF30NTIER FOUNDATION Hope Cemetery, Grandview, Louisa County, Iowa.7 George Hinkle married secondly Mrs. Mary Loman-Hartman, a member of the [Momon] church who had three children, George W., Elizabeth and William Hartman.8 Hinkle was converted to the Momon faith in 1832 in hdiana, he was baptized and moved to Jackson County, Missouri. During the Clay County period he traveled east on more than one mi`ssion for the church, where he converted and baptized several. He helped lead a group of converts from Tazewell County, Illinois, in company with Elder Rich and others to Far West, Missouri, arriving there April 1,1837. Hinkle bought property around Far West in May 1837. He purchased two pieces of property from the U.S. Government on 5-15-1837 and one more on 5-17-1837. ` 5-16-1837-Hinkle, George M. -Patent #2192,11 NW I/4 of sw I/4 of sec 29, 40 acres 5-16-1837-Hinkle, George M. -Patent #2048,11 NE I/4 of NW I/4 of Sec 13, 40 acres 5-17-1837-Hinkle, George M. -Patent #730, 5 NW I/4 of SE t/4 of Sec 18, 40 acres for a total of 120 acres. The first two are in what today is Mirable Township (in the Far West, MO area). Section 13 isjust to the east of the town plat. 29 is south east of the plat. Township 5 is New York, east along Shoal Creek between present-day Kingston (County seat) and what was Haun's Mill in the 1830's, a remote settlement of Momons at that time. Hinkle's property was on the west edge of the New York township (near Kingston), along what was known as Tom's Creek. But we know that he was an early resident of Far West, so he probably lived in town and farmed the outlying land or held it for speculation. h early 183 8, Joseph Smith was forced to move from Kirtland to Far West (due to legal troubles). From the Far West Record, you can tell that Hinkle was an enterprising individual. He helped operate a store for the church at Far West, sometimes called the Church Store (I think it was located about 500 feet southwest of the Far West Temple site).9 The village of pleasanton, Decatur County, Iowa, was laid out in Spring 1854. The first store was . kept by G. M. Hinkle, who lived on a farm about a mile and a half northwest of the town.[° Entire volumes have been written about the activities of the members of the early Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. Depending upon the source, both sides accused the other of lies to further their respective causes. We are fortunate that many first-hand accounts survived. George M. Hinkle received a Patriardoal Blessing at the church community of Kirtland, Ohio, on September 26,1835, conveyed by Joseph Smith, Senior." At the Conference at Far West, Missouri, held 7 November 1837, Joseph Smith, Junior, was unanimously elected the first President of the entire Church-Ohio and Missouri members. Elder John M. Hinkle was unanimously chosen as a High Councilor. Elder George M. Hilikle was nominated as a High Councilor, "and objected to by Elder James Emmet, because he was too noisy; by King Follet because of his military office; and by James Durfee 7"Grave Records of Louisa County, Iowa." www.ancestry.com. /owa Cemefery Jzecords (Provo: Ancestry.com), 2000, page 64; source: Works Project Administration, "Graves Registration Project" (Washington DC), n.p. [sic, Works Progress Admhistration (awc)] 8S. J. Hinkle [son of George M. Hilikle], "A Biographical Sketch of G. M. Hinkle," /o#r7!c[/ o//Ae Hz.s/ory o/ Jowcz (13 October 1920): 444, 446-7. Joun Hartman, aged 11, who resided with George and Elizabeth Hartman Hinkle in the 1850 census has not been identified. He may have been another son of Elizabeth who died prior to reaching adulthood. 9"George M. Hinkle and the LDS Church," Email correspondence, August 3-4, 2003, from Ron Romig, Church Archivist of the Community of Christ, Independence, MO, to Trudy Herendon. '°Duncan Campbell, Historian of the Decatur County Historical Society, ``Hamilton Township Before the War," Decatur County Journal,10 December 1908; http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu/historyDocs/hissocIETYptl .htm. I I"Book of petriardoal Blessings Index." Patrirdoal Blessing September 26,1835, Kirtland, Geauga County, OH. [sic, Patriarchal Blessings (awc)] MISSOURI MORMON FF{ONTIER FOUNDATION Number Jar - A ril 2004 Pa because he was a merchant." George made a few remarks on his own behalf and the vote was unanimous in his favor. Both males and females voted,t2 although this was .83 years before the U.S. Constitution was amended to allow women the vote in government matters. On the fourth of July 1838 [at Far West], Colonel Hinkle had one company of unifomed militia. We had a martial band with a bass dnm and two small drums, and so a procession was formed to march, the uniform company Qf militia coming flrst and then the procession followed. We made quite a showing for a small town. After marching around the square, the militia came to the cellar and halted. There was erected a stand to speak from. Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and several others took their places.'3 George and other Brethren moved from Far West to De Witt prior to 22 September 1838 when they petitioned the Missouri Governor for protection from "a lawless mob."14 At the Quarterly Conference, which convened at Far West on 6 October 1838, Elders were appointed to fill the High Council seats of John Murdock and George M. Hinkle who had "removed to De Witt."`5 General H. G. Parks, wrote in his report to General Atchison, Commander of the 3rd Division, Missouri Militia, from Brigade headquarters, five miles from De Witt, Carroll County. [6 October 183 8] On arriving in the vicinity of De Witt, I found a body of armed men under the command of Dr. Austin, encamped near De Witt, besieging that place, to the number of two or three hundred, with a piece of artillery ready to attack the town of De Witt. On the other side, Hinkle has in that place three or four hundred Mormons to defend it, and says he will die before he will be driven from thence .... Should these troops arrive here in time, I hope to be able to prevent bloodshed. Nothing seeius so much in demand here (to hear the Carroll county men talk) as Mormon scalps; as yet they are scarce. I believe Hinkle, with the present force and position, will beat Austin with five hundred of his troops. The Mormons say they will die before they will be driven out, etc. It is my settled opinion, the Mormons will have no rest until they leave; whether they will or not, time only can tell.`6 As Church membership increased, Mormons founded and built the community of Adam-ondi- Ahaan (meaning Adam's Consecrated Land) in Daviess County, Missouri, during the Summer of 183 8. " We are fortunate to have George M. Hinkle's own remembrances: George M.