Nathaniel H. Felt

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Nathaniel Henry Felt (February 6, 1816 – January 27, 1887) was an American tailor, church leader in the Latter-day Saints, and a Utah politician. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, his father died when he was seven. He trained as a tailor, worked as a clerk, and by 21 he had his own shop with employees. He later did business related to trade with China and parts of West Africa.

Felt married Eliza Ann Preston in 1839. He and Eliza joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 1840s. He became president of the Salem Branch in 1844. In 1845–46 he moved to Nauvoo, where he served as a tailor for Brigham Young and other LDS leaders and took part in the events around the city during that time.

In 1847 Felt became president of the St. Louis Branch of the LDS Church, helping to organize a larger St. Louis Conference with multiple wards to oversee emigrants and support the poor. He helped arrange supplies for emigrants and for British Mormons, and he provided priesthood blessings during the cholera epidemic after the great fire of 1849. After about three years, he moved west with his family in 1850 and settled in Utah.

In Utah, Brigham Young appointed him an alderman in Salt Lake City (1851) and he was elected to the first Utah Territorial Legislature the same year. He helped found Parowan and served as a traveling bishop, teaching local bishops how to manage tithes and offerings. He also served as chaplain (colonel) of the Nauvoo Legion. Felt practiced plural marriage, taking Sarah Strange in 1854 and Mary Louisa Pile in 1856, and he fathered 17 children.

Felt worked as a grain supplier for Camp Floyd and later supported LDS missions, including a stint as president of the London District in Great Britain (1865–67) and a mission in New England (1869–70). He continued to write letters to newspapers, stayed involved in public life as an alderman and city council member in Salt Lake, and contributed to the Essex Institute in Salem. Nathaniel H. Felt died at his home in Salt Lake City on January 27, 1887. His descendants include Utah politician F. LaVar Christensen and former Major League Baseball player McKay Christensen.