Jeremiah Bingham

JEREMIAH BINGHAM was born on June 15, 1806 at Cornwall, Addison County, Vermont. His parents were Jeremiah Bingham who was born April 17, 1760 at Cornwall, Vermont and Mary Ives who was born April 25, 1766 at Wellingford, Connecticut. He was the youngest of their ten children. Jeremiah married Abigail Harrington on February 2, 1829 at Brockville, Leeds, Ontario, Canada. Abigail died leaving Jeremiah alone with a family of seven children to raise. Jeremiah met and married Sarah Keele on February 14, 1846 in Iowa. They had four children. Abigail died when their baby Augustus was born, and Jeremiah was left with an additional young family. In 1846, he had also married Susan Keele, a sister to Sarah.

Jeremiah was in Nauvoo when Joseph Smith was martyred. He was well acquainted with the prophet, and at one time was his body guard. There was but six months difference in their age, and they were the same size. At times, they liked to wrestle, a form of sport both enjoyed on the “Common.”

After they were driven from Nauvoo, Jeremiah and family joined the pioneer company of Captain Daniel A. Miller, having eight persons in the family, one wagon, and twelve head of cattle. He joined on April 6, 1852, but had planned on coming with the first company. Ezra Benson ask him for a loan of a horse, which he did, and this kindness caused him to remain behind until he could earn enough money to purchase another horse. He left with the second company on June 8, 1953

After arriving in Utah, a place the Mormons hoped to be a refuge from persecution, on September 9, 1953, the Bingham family settled first in Ogden where Jeremiah did what he could to help build up the community for a year. They then moved to Payson where he assisted in building a fort for the protection of the settlers.

Jeremiah and his son Joseph, who had learned the blacksmith trade from his father, worked together in their shop in Payson. Jeremiah suffered a broken leg from which he never fully recovered. He was an invalid, for two years, and died May 6, 1890 at Payson.

The Bingham genealogy has traced the Bingham name to Augustin Bingham born about 1075 and who lived in Bingham, Melcombe Dorsetshire, England.

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To view the headstone of Jeremiah Bingham click this link: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=15202110