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Show DIOOnAPIIV OP THE PRESIDCNT. A ton- IJfe.CcitisrrniUtl lu Hie t'lturrh of Ills Choir. Halt take City, Hep. 5. Wllfonl Woodruff, fourth prealdent of Iho Church of Jcau Christ of Latter-day Halnta, waa born at l'armlngtan, now Avon, Hartford county, Connecticut, on March I, lS07,nnd wa tho youngest of threo children. Ho came of a long-lived long-lived attK-k, III great grandfather, Joslah Woodruff, lived to the age of 100 year, and hla grandfather, Cldad WootlrulT, also attained a rle old age. In youth and early manhood Wllford assisted hi father In hi buslncis of rt Hour miller, and later conducted a similar sim-ilar business on hi own account In 1831 ho purchased a farm and saw-mill near Illchmond, Oswego county, N. Y., and nettled there. He Joined the Church of Jceua Christ of Latter-day tislut In 1831, and In May of that year accompanied Joseph Hmlth, tho prophet, and hi llttlo band to Missouri. In 1831 he wa ordained priest and went on a mission to Arkansas, Ten. ncsaco and Kentucky, and In May, 1837, ho commenced a second missionary mission-ary tour, thl time visiting Malna and fox Island. April SO, 1839, ho was olevated lo tho rank of apoatla at I'ur West, Mo. In August following lie went to Cngland on a mtulon, and established the flrat branch of the Mormon church lu London. Ho returned re-turned to Nauvoo in 1811, and two year later wo again laboring a n missionary In the eastern atate, but returned to Nauvoo on hearing of tho auatslnatlon of Joseph Hmlth, tho prophet. I In 14 the mice another mlsslonnrj ' trip to Knglend, returning In time to Join the exodu of tho Mormon people from Nauvoo. Ho oamo aerow the plain with tin) earliest pioneers In 1817. Leaving hli family and friends at Winter Quarter, he traveled with llrlgham Young and the pioneer company of 141 men a thousand mile acres the deacrct Into the midst of the Itocky mountain, arriving In tho valley of Ureat Halt LakoonJulySI, 1817. He aislsted In laying out tho future city of Bait Lake, and lo building a fort. In 1818 ho returned to the east on missionary work, and rainn back to Salt Lake by wagon in 1830. In that year bona elected lo the senate of tho provisional atate of Detent, Det-ent, and served 31 yeatt In tho legislative legis-lative assembly In Utah. At the general confercne f April 1889, bo becamo the prealdent of tho church with llcorge Q. Cannon and Jouph 1 Hmlth na counselor. In addition to hla work and responsibilities respon-sibilities aa head of tho church, which required him to algn and approve ol every draft and ofllrlal document, he wa prealdent of Zlon'a Having bank and Iho '.. C. M. L, two Immense financial finan-cial and mercantile establishment Ho waa also director lu various companies, compa-nies, and wa Idcntlllcd with other minor buslnca Interest. Ho had 33 children, 31 of whom aro living; (l grandchildren and a number of great-grandchildren, III wife, Mr. I.'unua Woodruff, I still alive and In good health. Hho wa born on March I, 1838, at Independence, Mo., and camo to Utah In 1810. Hho wa n Ml Hmlth, daughter of Hamucl Smith, who died whlla crossing the plain. |