George Darling Watt | |
---|---|
Born |
Manchester, England |
May 12, 1812
Died | October 24, 1881 Kaysville, Utah Territory |
(aged 69)
Resting place | Kaysville City Cemetery 41°02′47″N 111°55′37″W / 41.046462°N 111.926819°W |
Notable work | Primary editor of the Journal of Discourses and the primary inventor of the Deseret Alphabet. |
Spouse(s) | Molly Gregson, Jane Brown, Alice Whittaker, Elizabeth Golightly, Sarah Ann Harter, and Martha Bench |
Children | At least 11. |
Parent(s) | James Watt and Ann Wood |
George Darling Watt (12 May 1812 – 24 October 1881) was the first convert to Mormonism baptized in the British Isles. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Watt was a secretary to Brigham Young, the primary editor of the Journal of Discourses and the primary inventor of the Deseret Alphabet.
Watt was born in Manchester, England. While living in Preston as a young man, Watt was a member of the Reverend James Fielding's congregation. Fielding's brother Joseph had joined the Latter Day Saint church in Upper Canada and had written to James about the new church. In 1837, Latter Day Saint missionaries Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Willard Richards, and Joseph Fielding traveled to Preston and were given permission by James Fielding to preach in his chapel.
Watt was baptized a Latter Day Saint on July 30, 1837 by Heber C. Kimball in the River Ribble. Watt won the right to be the first official British Latter Day Saint convert by winning a footrace against eight others from Fielding's congregation that desired to join the Mormons. In 1840 and 1841 Watt served as a Mormon missionary in Scotland. In 1842, Watt left England to join the gathering of the Latter Day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois.