After Joseph Smith

The Mormon Church had a question of leadership in the aftermath of the deaths of Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum Smith on June 27, 1844.  From Annals of the West: embracing a concise account...:

"The funeral pageant next absorbed all their attention. The mourning was sore, sad and deep, over the beloved patriarch Hyrum, and the adored prophet Joseph [Smith]."

A statue depicting the last ride of Joseph Smith & Hyrum Smith

"The struggle for the leadership, the Seer succession, which followed, however, soon dissipated the sorrow for the past.  Rigdon, as second in rank, claimed promotion.. .  James J. Strang contended for the place of Seer... . But the College of the Twelve had other views, and a vote on the subject."

"It revoked all former designations, and devolved the choice upon them. Under the management of their sagacious chief, they elected the Peter of the Apostles, Brigham Young, to the responsible station."

James J. Strang, "King of Beaver Island," In Fiction

The story of James J. Strang, the "King of Beaver Island," was set in fiction by James Oliver Curwood, and entitled "The Courage of Captain Plum."

On page 48 of the Curwood book there is a reference to two men being whipped because of "knee skirts" (bloomers). My blog, Detour Through History, has more about this incident, which eventually led to the murder of Strang. The whipping of the men who defied Strang started on Page 106.

Page 80 told of how James J. Strang "...enthralled a state legislature and had hypnotized a Federal grand jury into giving him back his freedom when evidence smothered him in crime." Strang's trial was held about 20 June 1851 in Detroit and presided over by the Hon. Ross Wilkins. President Millard Fillmore, tipped off about the situation on Beaver Island by his brother Charles, got involved in the situation that eventually brought Strang to trial.

James J. Strang also served two terms in the Michigan legislature!

The arrival of the ship, Michigan, occurred on Page 304 of the Curwood book.

This blog summarized many aspects of James Strang's life.