John Sharp, Jr.

John Sharp (9 November 1820 – 23 December 1891), son of John Sharp of Clackmannan, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, was a 19th-century leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Utah Territory, United States.

Born in Clackmannan, Scotland, Sharp began working in a coal mine at age eight. In 1839 he married Jane Patterson, born 26 July 1818 Clackmannanshire, Scotland (daughter of James Patterson). They joined the LDS Church 1847 and emigrated to Utah three years later. Sharp led a company of pioneers that arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley on 1 September 1850. He settled in Salt Lake City.

John Sharp served his church as an LDS Bishop for 30 years. Sharp was the Church's representative in negotiations regarding the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad through Utah Territory and he represented the LDS Church and its president, Brigham Young, at the driving of the final golden spike of the railroad on 10 May 1869 at Promontory Summit, Utah. He served his community as a member of the city council, member of legislature, and a superintendent of public works. He worked as a manager of the Temple Stone quarries, police captain, railroad contractor and builder. In 1885, he was prosecuted for unlawful cohabitation (plural marriage) under the Edmunds Act. Sharp died in Salt Lake City of intestinal cancer on 23 December 1901.

Marriages and Children

1. Jane Patterson, born July 26, 1818 Clackmannanshire, Scotland (daughter of James Patterson), married 1839 at Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Their children were:
   1. John, married Hannah Neslen
   2. James, married Lizzie Rogers
   3. Margaret, married John Cahoon
   4. Kate, married Parley L. Williams
   5. Adam
   6. Agnes, married Abram W. Caine
   7. Secelia
   8. Elizabeth Alice, married Harry Nesbit
2. Sophia Smith

Sources

• Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah photographs, page 242
• Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, page 1155
• Wikipedia contributors, 'John Sharp (Mormon)', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2 November 2010, 00:59 UTC, <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Sharp_(Mormon)&oldid...> [accessed 20 January 2011]