Charles Henry Stoddard

Charles Henry Stoddard was born April 21, 1827 in Jacobstown, New Jersey to Israel Isaac and Sarah Woodward Stoddard. Charles is an honorary Pioneer of Richmond.

History

The early history of Charles is unknown. In 1842, the Stoddard family was converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, to be closer to the Saints. While the Stoddards befriended Church President Joseph Smith, Charles lived with one of the common Anti-Mormon leaders for work. The leader did not know Charles was a member of the Church, so when he would conduct his meeting to try to take down Joseph Smith, Charles would rush to the Prophet and tell him what the mobsters were planning to do.

After the assassination of the Prophet in 1844, the Saints were pushed out of their homes in Nauvoo and moved to Iowa. Due to the harsh elements and sicknesses in the camps, both of Charles' parents died in 1846, along with two of his youngest brothers. At the age of 19, and being the oldest sibling, Charles did his best to care for his younger siblings. He had a Ferrin family care for his younger siblings while he started working on a steamboat to get money to cross the Great Plains. While living in Garden Grove, Iowa, Charles became acquainted with Anna Telford.

After some time, Charles had enough to move to Utah. He joined the Harry Walton/Garden Grove Company on May 17, 1851 and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on Sep 24. On Feb 22, 1852, Charles married Anna Telford in Bountiful, Utah where they lived until moving to Richmond in 1873.

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