Charles R. Dana

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Charles Root Dana (November 8, 1802 – August 7, 1868) was an American Mormon leader, missionary, and early Utah politician. He was born in Schenectady, New York, and married Margaret Kennedy Luck, a widow, adopting her daughter. They had six more children together. Dana joined the Mormon church in 1838.

As a missionary, Dana served in Boonville, New York (around 1840), and later in Pittsburgh (1842–43). He was connected with Joseph Smith and helped with matters in Nauvoo, Illinois. After Smith’s death, Dana helped finish the Nauvoo Temple and, in 1846, took additional wives as part of Mormon practice of polygamy.

In 1847 Dana left Nauvoo with the Mormons heading west and went on a mission to the eastern United States to raise funds for the emigration. He spoke to many people and built relationships with national leaders and donors, including Presidents Polk and Buchanan and Dolley Madison. He returned to Washington in 1848 for another fundraising effort.

Dana moved to Utah in 1849. His wife Margaret died during the journey in 1850. He settled in Ogden and married Harriet Elizabeth Gibson. He became a community leader, serving in the first two Territorial Legislatures (1851–1853) for Weber County and helping form the Ogden City Council. He also held church leadership roles, including as a counselor in the Weber Stake presidency when it was formed in 1851.

In 1853 Dana went on a mission to England, overseeing church work in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norwich. He later helped bring Mormon immigrants from Liverpool to Boston. In 1857 he married several more wives by Brigham Young’s guidance.

During the Utah War he moved his family to Fillmore, Utah, and then returned to Ogden after the conflict ended. He remained active in church affairs and community leadership, eventually becoming President of a Council of Seventies. Charles Root Dana died at age 66.