Hugh Findlay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hugh Findlay
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| Born | June 9, 1822 |
| Died | March 1, 1900 (aged 77) |
| Spouse(s) | Isabella Ratray Catherine Ann Partington Mary Ellen Smith Ane Marie Dorthea Nelson |
Hugh Findlay (born June 9, 1822, in Newmilns, Scotland – died March 2, 1900, in Fish Haven, Idaho) was an important early missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was one of the first two missionaries to go to India. He also started missionary work in the Shetland Islands.
Contents
Becoming a Member and Early Life
Hugh Findlay joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Dundee, Scotland. He was baptized on July 1, 1844. That same year, he married Isabella Ratray. Sadly, between 1847 and 1848, Isabella and their two young sons, James and Ephraim, passed away. They were both under two years old. This was likely due to a sickness called diphtheria.
Orson Pratt, another church leader, wrote about a special healing that involved Hugh Findlay.
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 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
This story shows how people believed in the power of faith and prayer.
While in England, Hugh Findlay often spoke in public. He debated with ministers from other churches who did not agree with the Latter-day Saints. He was leading a group of church members in Hull, England. Then, Lorenzo Snow, a church leader, asked him and William Willes to serve a mission in South Asia.
Mission to India
Hugh Findlay and William Willes arrived in India in 1851. They hoped many people there would want to learn about their church. However, they quickly faced challenges. Other Christian groups, newspapers, and even military leaders were against them. Findlay first worked in Bombay (now Mumbai). Willes traveled to Simla.
It took Hugh Findlay six months to baptize his first six converts. In Bombay, he was not allowed in military areas. He could not preach to soldiers. In April 1852, he moved to Poona (now Pune), which was about 90 miles away. There, he was eventually allowed to preach. A local military leader thought that if they didn't oppose the missionaries, they would cause less trouble.
By September 1852, Findlay had started a small group of twelve members in Poona. This group included people of European, Eurasian, and Indian backgrounds. But in October, Findlay was asked to leave the military area. He found a new small place in Poona. He continued to hold meetings there. A few months later, he built a small chapel right across the street.
After being asked to leave the military area, Findlay focused on the local Indian people. He learned the Marathi language. He spent a lot of time talking about religion with a group of Brahmin thinkers.
Hugh's brother, Allan McPherson Findlay, joined him as a missionary in India. Allan was a baker and was baptized in 1846. He came to Bombay and Poona in September 1853. He came without an official call from the church, just because Hugh asked him to.
Hugh Findlay and his fellow missionaries did not have much success in India. He served in Poona and Bombay for several years, often alone. The church leader, Brigham Young, decided to close the mission in 1855. Historians say this mission was important because it showed how difficult it was to gain converts there. Other missions at the time, like in Scandinavia, were very successful.
Moving to Utah and Building a Family
Hugh Findlay finished his mission and left Bombay on March 15, 1855. He and some other church members traveled to the United States. They stopped in Hong Kong and baptized one person there. They arrived in the U.S. later that year.
On March 25, 1856, he married Catherine Ann Partington. She was 23 years old. Brigham Young performed their marriage ceremony.
Hugh and Catherine helped settle Riverdale, Utah. Hugh made and sold matches to earn a living. They had nine children together.
In 1857, Hugh Findlay married Mary Ellen Smith, who was 16. They had seven children together. In 1858, he became the first school teacher in Riverdale. In 1860, he became a counselor in a church leadership group in Riverdale. He also led a group that produced silk.
In June 1862, Hugh Findlay's brother-in-law, Jared Smith, passed away. Jared was 19 years old and was engaged to Ane Marie Dorthea Nelson, a 19-year-old from Denmark. The next month, Hugh Findlay married Ane Marie. They had three children together. They raised them as if they were Jared's children.
By 1864, Findlay was in Salt Lake City. He continued to make and sell matches from a store on Main Street. An advertisement from 1865 showed he also sold other items, like stereoscopic boxes.
Hugh's brother, Allan, also moved to the U.S. He sailed from Liverpool, England, to New York City. On the ship, Allan married Jessie Ireland. They had been dating for about ten years. In New York, they met Allan and Hugh's mother, Mary McPherson Findlay. Then, they all traveled west. They were part of the difficult Willie Handcart Company, but all three survived and made it to Salt Lake City.
Later Life and Missions
In 1869, Brigham Young asked Hugh Findlay and his families to help settle the Bear Lake area. They arrived on May 22, 1870. They helped settle Fish Haven, Idaho. Hugh later served as a church leader there. Ane Marie passed away in Fish Haven in 1872 when she was 29.
In 1878, the church asked him to open a mission in the Shetland Islands. These islands are a group of islands northeast of Scotland. He arrived on January 4, 1879. On March 31, he baptized the first two people on the islands.
On May 5, 1879, Orson Pratt was also in the British Isles. He received a letter asking him to prepare a new edition of a church book. Hugh Findlay and three other men helped him divide the text into verses and add references.
While in Shetland, Hugh was asked to lead the Scotland Mission. One historical record tells a story about his faith:
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.
This shows his strong belief that things would work out.
He finished his service as president of the Scotland Mission in 1880. He returned to his families in Fish Haven. He served as a church patriarch until he passed away on March 2, 1900.
Images for kids
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Hugh Findlay
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St Mary's Parish Church, Dundee, Scotland
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Kalbadevi Road, an important street in Bombay, in the 1800s.
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Findlay's Match Manufactory, Main Street, Salt Lake City.
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Lerwick, the main port in the Shetland Islands
