Dr.Sanjeev Narayani at 20:44, 7 April 2026

2026-04-07T20:44:58Z

New page

{{Infobox person
| name = Hugh Findlay
| image = Hugh_Findlay.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date|1822|6|9|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Newmilns]], [[Ayrshire]], [[Scotland]], [[United Kingdom]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1900|3|1|1822|6|9|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Fish Haven, Idaho]], [[United States]]
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* Isabella Ratray
* Catherine Ann Partington
* Mary Ellen Smith
* Ane Marie Dorthea Nelson
}}
}}

'''Hugh Findlay''' (June 9, 1822{{Sndash}}March 2, 1900) was one of the first two [[Mormon missionary|Mormon missionaries]] to enter [[India]] and initiated Mormon missionary work in the [[Shetland Islands]].

==Conversion==
Findlay was baptized in [[Dundee]], [[Scotland]],<ref name=Hales/><ref>Findlay lived on Barrack Street in Dundee, Scotland.</ref> on July 1, 1844, by missionaries from [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]. He married Isabella Rattray that same year.<ref name=Pioneer>"The Mormons From Scotland and Wales: Others From Scotland". ''Our Pioneer Heritage''. Volume 13. Company E.</ref> Between 1847 and 1848, Isabella and the two little boys she and Findlay had together, James and Ephraim, died in what was probably a [[diphtheria]] epidemic. Both boys were under two years old.

[[Orson Pratt]] recorded the following about a case of "miraculous healing" involving Findlay in Scotland:[[File:Dundee Parish Church, St Mary's.jpg|thumb|180px|left|St Mary's Parish Church, Dundee, Scotland]]

{{quote|I have a girl, aged three years, who had for eighteen months been afflicted with convulsive fits ... the child was fearful to behold, almost in continual convulsions by night and day. On the 25th of December last, Elder Hugh Findlay called and [[Anointing|anointed her with oil]] in the name of the Lord and prayed for her, and from that day until now she has never had a fit ... For the truth of which, witness our hands, ...|''James Davidson, Maria Davidson, Hugh Findlay''<ref>[[Orson Pratt|Pratt, Orson]]. ''Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon''. Numbers 1-3. Liverpool, 1850.</ref>}}

While in [[England]], Findlay engaged in public debates with [[anti-Mormon]] ministers from other faiths.<ref>{{cite book|author=Theobald, John|title=The overthrow of infidel Mormonism: being a report of the Louth discussion which took place in the Guild Hall, Louth, Lincolnshire, August 28, 29, 30, & September 2, 3, & 6, 1850, between Mr. Hugh Findlay, Mormon elder, from Scotland, and Mr. John Theobald, Primitive Methodist local preacher, temperance advocate, anti-Mormon missionary, author of Mormonism Dissected, &c., to which is added an account of the discussion which took place at Spondon, on the 26th of May, 1848, between Mr. Theobald and Mr. George Henry, Mormon delegate|year=1850|publisher=London : W. Horsell, Aldine Chambers|id=OCLC: 171289016}}</ref> He was serving as a [[district president]] (head of the [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] Conference)<ref>{{cite book|author=Tullidge, Edward|authorlink=Edward Tullidge|title=Tullidge's Histories, vol. II|publisher=[[Press of the Juvenile Instructor]]|year=1889|page=14}}</ref> in [[England]] when [[Lorenzo Snow]] called him and William Willes to serve a mission in [[South Asia]].<ref>[[B. H. Roberts|Roberts, B.H.]] ''[[Comprehensive History of the Church]]''. Vol.3, Ch.88, p.389</ref>

{{Christianity in India sidebar}}

==Mission==
Findlay and Willes arrived in 1851, seeking to build on reports from early members of the [[Plymouth Brethren]] that India would be a fertile ground for [[Proselytism|proselytization]]. However, almost immediately they were met by opposition from the established Protestant denominations, the press, and military officers and chaplains.<ref name=BYUstudies>Britsch, R. Lanier. "Latter-day Saint Mission to India". ''Brigham Young University Studies 12, No. 3 (1972)''. See {{cite web |url=http://byustudies.byu.edu/shop/pdfsrc/12.3Britsch.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2007-04-10 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529183842/http://byustudies.byu.edu/shop/pdfsrc/12.3Britsch.pdf |archivedate=2008-05-29 }}.</ref> Findlay labored first in [[Mumbai|Bombay]] (now Mumbai); Willes travelled up the Ganges to [[Shimla|Simla]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Smith |first= George Albert |authorlink= George A. Smith |title= The rise, progress and travels of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints |url= https://archive.org/details/riseprogressand00smitgoog |edition= 2d. |year= 1872 |publisher= Printed at the Deseret News Office |location= Salt Lake City |oclc= 2070492 }}</ref>
[[File:BombayKalbadevieRoad1890.jpg|thumb|left|Kalbadevi Road, an important road in Bombay, in the 19th Century.]]
It took Findlay six months to baptize his first six converts. While in Bombay, he was restricted from all military areas ([[cantonment]]s) and was forbidden to preach to military personnel. In April 1852, he moved on to [[Poona]] (now Pune), 90 miles distant, where he was eventually granted permission to proselyte. The local cantonment commander reasoned that "the less these people are opposed the less harm they would do."<ref name=BYUstudies/> Findlay was eventually able to organize a branch of twelve members in Poona by mid-September 1852, a mixture of "[[European ethnic groups|European]], Eurasian, and [[Demographics of India|native]]."<ref>''[[Millennial Star]]'' (London, England), Vol. XIV, pp. 635-36.</ref> However, in October Findlay was asked to leave the cantonment. He found new quarters in a small shelter in Poona, where he continued to hold meetings with the branch. Several months later, he completed a chapel directly across the street.<ref>''[[Millennial Star]]'' (London, England), Vol. XIV, pp. 654-55.</ref>

After being banished from the cantonment, Findlay focused his efforts almost exclusively on the native population. He studied the [[Marathi language]] and spent considerable time discussing religion with a group of [[Brahmin]] intellectuals.<ref name=BYUstudies/>

Findlay's brother Allan joined him as a missionary in India.<ref>{{cite book|author=Tullidge, Edward|authorlink=Edward Tullidge|title=Tullidge's Histories, (volume II)|url=https://archive.org/details/tullidgeshistor00unkngoog|publisher=[[Press of the Juvenile Instructor]]|location=Salt Lake City, Utah|year=1889|page=[https://archive.org/details/tullidgeshistor00unkngoog/page/n80 60]}}</ref> Allan McPherson Findlay, a baker by trade,<ref name=Thornton>Ship Manifest. ''Ship Thornton''. 3 May 1856 Liverpool, England - 14 June 1856 New York, New York. See [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~tolleygenealogy/fthornton.html#findlay].</ref> was born in New Milns, Scotland, in 1830, and was baptized in November 1846. He accepted Findlay's urgent request to join him in Bombay and Poona, without any official call from the church. He arrived on September 7, 1853, about two years after Findlay.<ref name=JMH>[[R. Lanier Britsch|Britsch, R. Lanier]]. "The 1851-56 Mission to India". ''[[Journal of Mormon History]]'', Volume 27, Issue 2, Fall 2001</ref>

Hugh Findlay and his fellow missionaries ultimately found little success in India. He served in Poona and Bombay for several years, most of it alone.<ref>Britsch, R. Lanier. "The Nobility of Failure". ''Speeches''. [[Brigham Young University Press]]. 1999. {{cite web |url=http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=1702 |title=The Nobility of Failure - R. Lanier Britsch |accessdate=2006-02-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901164008/http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=1702 |archivedate=2006-09-01 }}</ref> Brigham Young ordered the mission closed in 1855.<ref>Hunter, Milton R. ''Brigham Young the Colonizer''. Third Edition. 1945, p. 89. {{ISBN|1-4179-6846-X}}.</ref> Historians have concluded the mission's significance lies is in its failure to secure more than a handful of converts, in contrast with other missions at the time (in Scandinavia and the British Isles) that were extremely successful.<ref>Britsch, R. Lanier. ''Nothing More Heroic: The Compelling Story of the First LDS Missionaries in India'' Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1999.</ref>

==Emigration and settling Utah==

Findlay completed his mission and departed Bombay on March 15, 1855.<ref name=Pioneer/><ref>[[Andrew Jenson|Jensen, Andrew]]. ''Church Chronology: A Record of Important Events Pertaining to the History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints''. 1914, p. 53. {{ISBN|1-4179-6854-0}}.</ref> He and a few fellow Mormons emigrated by way of [[Hong Kong]] (where they baptized one convert) to the [[United States]], arriving later that year.<ref name=JMH/> He married 23-year-old Catherine Ann Partington<ref>According to Sons of the Utah Pioneers-Utah, Pioneer Companies, Catherine arrived in Salt Lake City on September 15, 1853, at age 20, as part of the McIawson Company with her father ([[Ralph Partington]]), two brothers (James and William) and her sister (Sarah).</ref> on March 25, 1856, in the [[Endowment House]]. Brigham Young performed the ceremony.<ref name=photo>{{cite book |title= Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: A Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865 |last =Palmquist |first= Peter E. |author2=Kailbourn, Thomas R. |year= 2000 |publisher= Stanford University Press |location= Stanford, Calif |isbn= 9780804738835 |oclc= 44089346 |pages= 228–229 }}</ref>
[[File:FindlayMatches.jpg|thumb|left|Findlay's Match Manufactory, Main Street, Salt Lake City.]]
The couple helped settle [[Riverdale, Utah]], where Hugh made a living by manufacturing and selling [[match]]es.<ref name=Riverdale/> They eventually had nine children together.<ref name=Hales>"Hugh Findlay". ''Ancestors of Sarah Ellen HALES''. https://web.archive.org/web/20071001185011/http://www.geocities.com/halesnelsongen/aqwg05.htm. Accessed 13 April 2007.</ref>

In 1857 Findlay began practicing plural marriage when he married 16-year-old Mary Ellen Smith, with whom he eventually had seven children.<ref name=Hales/> In 1858, he became Riverdale's first school teacher,<ref name=Riverdale>{{Cite web |url=http://www.riverdalecity.com/about/history.htm |title=Judkins, Lucille Child. "A History of Riverdale". March 1972 |access-date=2006-02-08 |archive-date=2013-12-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219155732/http://www.riverdalecity.com/about/history.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in 1860 he joined a bishopric in Riverdale as a counselor.<ref>{{cite book |title= History of Utah |last= Whitney |first= Orson F. |authorlink= Orson F. Whitney |year=1904 |publisher= G. Q. Cannon |location= Salt Lake City |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_C0cOAAAAIAAJ/page/n284 287] |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_C0cOAAAAIAAJ }}</ref> He was also at one time the president of the "17th Ward Silk Producing Society".<ref>"Home Manufacture". ''Our Pioneer Heritage''. Volume 12. The Year of 1868. Company E.</ref>

In June 1862, Hugh Findlay's 19-year-old brother-in-law, Jared Smith, was killed in the [[Morrisite War]]. Smith had been engaged to Ane Marie Dorthea Nelson, a 19-year-old Danish immigrant. The next month, Findlay married Ane Marie. They had three children together and raised them as if they were Jared's.

By 1864, Findlay was in Salt Lake City manufacturing and selling matches at a store on Main Street.<ref>West side of Main Street, between 100 South and 200 South.</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Almanac for the Year 1864 |last= Phelps |first= W.W. |authorlink= W.W. Phelps |year= 1864 |publisher= Printed at Deseret News Office |location= Great Salt Lake City, Utah |quote= Hugh Findlay, First Prize Matches, wholesale and retail, west side of Main street, 14th ward; also blacking |page= 16}}</ref> An 1865 ''Deseret News'' advertisement noted he sold other products as well, including [[Stereoscopy|stereoscopic boxes]].<ref>{{cite news |title= Advertisement |newspaper= Deseret News |location= Salt Lake City |date= February 15, 1865 |quote= SOMETHING NEW IN UTAH! AT FINDLEY'S [sic] MUSIC STORE. An Exhibition of the latest improvement of the Stereoscopia [sic] and Panoramic arts, comprising a Choice Selection of Transparent and Large Scenes, at once amusing and interesting to old and young. ... This Exhibition, with an extensive change of Views and rich Fittings, is offered for Sale, presenting a rare chance for remunerative speculation. A Few stereoscopic Boxes and Views For Sale, a pleasing parlor entertainment }}</ref>

Allan emigrated to the U.S. via [[Liverpool, England]], sailing on the Ship Thornton to [[New York City]].<ref name=Thornton/> On the second day at sea, 26-year-old Allan married Jessie Ireland,<ref>See {{cite web |url=http://handcart.byu.edu/ |title=Willie Handcart Company Chronology |accessdate=2006-08-19 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819065019/http://handcart.byu.edu/ |archivedate=2006-08-19 }}. Accessed 13 April 2007.</ref> a 28-year-old whom the ship's manifest identified as a [[spinster]], although they had been dating for about ten years.<ref name=Thornton/> They rendezvoused in New York with Allan and Hugh's mother (Mary McPherson Findlay), then headed west. Although they crossed the plains with the ill-fated [[Willie Handcart Company]],<ref>"Immigration to Utah," ''[[Deseret News]]'', 15 October 1856, 254.</ref><ref>''Journal History'', 9 November 1856, p. 25</ref><ref>"James G. Willie Company (1856)". ''Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868''. churchofjesuschrist.org. [https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/blog/the-mormon-pioneer-overland-travel-database?lang=eng]. Accessed 13 April 2007.</ref> all three survived and made it to [[Salt Lake City]].<ref>"A Lamentable Accident," ''[[Deseret Evening News]]'', 5 March 1891, 8.</ref>

==Later life==

In the Fall of 1869, [[Brigham Young]] called Findlay and his families to help settle the [[Bear Lake (Idaho-Utah)|Bear Lake]] country. They arrived on May 22, 1870, and along with [[Henry Howell (Latter Day Saints)|Henry Howell]] helped settle [[Fish Haven, Idaho]], where he later served as [[Bishop (Mormonism)|Bishop]].<ref name=Hales/> Ane Marie died in Fish Haven in 1872 at age 29.

[[File:Lerwick.shetland.2.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Lerwick]], main port in the Shetland Islands]]

In 1878 the church called him to open a mission in the [[Shetland Islands]], an [[archipelago]] northeast of [[Scotland]]. He arrived on January 4, 1879, and on March 31 baptized the islands' first two converts.<ref>Jensen, Andrew. ''Church Chronology: A Record of Important Events Pertaining to the History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints''. 1914, p. 103. {{ISBN|1-4179-6854-0}}.</ref>

On May 5, 1879, [[Orson Pratt]] (who was also in the British Isles at the time) received a letter from [[John Taylor (Latter Day Saints)|John Taylor]], instructing him to obtain [[electroplate]]s for a new edition of the [[Doctrine & Covenants]]. Findlay and three other men helped him divide the text into verses and supply references.<ref>Davis, Marguirite R. ''History of John Ryder''. The Yancey Family Surname Resource Center. See {{cite web|url=http://geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/7647/jrhist.htm |title=John Rider |accessdate=2010-10-10 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029062834/http://geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/7647/jrhist.htm |archivedate=October 29, 2009 }}.</ref>

While in Shetland he was asked to preside over the Scotland Mission. One history records:

{{quote|He had no money with which to pay his steamboat passage to Scotland, but, true to his unwavering faith, he packed his suitcase, ready to obey, and walked toward the wharf where he was to sail. As he passed the post office, he asked for his mail and received a letter from a strange lady who wrote him of her interest in articles he had written for the [[Millennial Star]] and enclosed for him a five-pound note which was equal to about twenty-five dollars in American money.<ref name=Hales/>}}

He was released as president of the Scotland Mission in 1880. He returned to his families in Fish Haven, where he served as a [[Patriarch (Latter Day Saints)|Patriarch]]<ref name=Hales/> until his death on March 2, 1900.

==Articles==
*{{Cite journal |last= Findlay |first= Hugh |date= 15 January 1882 |title= Ornaments and Dress in India |journal= [[Juvenile Instructor]] |volume= 17 |pages= 29 }}
*{{Cite journal |last= Findlay |first= Hugh |date= 1 February 1882 |title= A Funeral to the East |journal= [[Juvenile Instructor]] |volume= 17 |pages= 43 }}

==Publications==
*{{Cite book |last= Findlay |first= Hugh |title="The Mormons" Or "Latter-day-Saints": A Reply |year= 1853 |publisher= Dustur Ashkara Press |location= Bombay |oclc= 20471665 }}
*{{Cite book |last= Findlay |first= Hugh |title= To the Marattas of Hindoostan: A Treatise on the True and Living God and His Religion |year=1855 |publisher= Gunput Crushnajee's Press |location= Bombay |language= Marathi |oclc= 20473523 }}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.riverdalecity.com/about/history.htm History of Riverdale, Utah] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219155732/http://www.riverdalecity.com/about/history.htm |date=2013-12-19 }} Municipal History
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060901164008/http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=1702 BYU Devotional speech]
*[http://shetlopedia.com/Hugh_Findlay Hugh Findlay] on Shetlopedia (the Shetland Encyclopedia)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Hugh}}
[[Category:1822 births]]
[[Category:1900 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Mormon missionaries]]
[[Category:American city founders]]
[[Category:Converts to Mormonism]]
[[Category:Mission presidents (LDS Church)]]
[[Category:Mormon missionaries in England]]
[[Category:Mormon missionaries in India]]
[[Category:British missionaries in India]]
[[Category:Mormon missionaries in Scotland]]
[[Category:Mormon pioneers]]
[[Category:Patriarchs (LDS Church)]]
[[Category:People from Bear Lake County, Idaho]]
[[Category:People from Newmilns]]
[[Category:Scottish emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Scottish expatriates in India]]
[[Category:Scottish Latter Day Saints]]
[[Category:Scottish leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
[[Category:Scottish Mormon missionaries]]

Hugh Findlay - Revision history

Dr.Sanjeev Narayani at 20:44, 7 April 2026