Despite his appearance some nine times in the annals
of the Church, we know little about Harvey Stanley. The Ancestral File
gives his year of birth as 1814 and the place of birth as Kirtland,
Ohio. The Pedigree Resource File disagrees somewhat, giving his
year of birth as 1813 and his place of birth as Harpers Field, Ashtabula
County, Ohio. Neither record gives his parentage.
We can discern from the information given that he
was introduced to the Church and accepted the Gospel at an early date,
for by 1834, he had volunteered to accompany the Prophet Joseph
Smith and some two hundred others on Zion's Camp,
an expedition intended to provide relief to the saints in Missouri who were
suffering at the hands of the mob.
Returning to Kirtland, Harvey participated in the
construction of the Kirtland Temple. He and George
Albert Smith drove the first two wagon loads of rock from the quarry
to the temple site in 1835. Harvey Stanley must have been quite Temple-minded, for
we find him in 1844 having progressed from teamster to master stone-cutter,
cutting the final sun-stone for the Nauvoo Temple.
Perhaps as a result of the valor and faithfulness
displayed on Zion's Camp, Harvey was selected to be ordained a Seventy and
called to take his place in the newly created First Quorum of the Seventy
in 1835, thus entering the ranks of the General Authorities.
Later in 1835, Elder Stanley served a short mission
with Jedediah M. Grant as his companion, and
succeeded in establishing a small branch at Sullivan's Island.
In 1837 Harvey was a signatory to the articles of
incorporation for the Kirtland Saftety Society. We may assume that like
most others he lost everything he entrusted to the institution. This was
particularly bad timing for Elder Stanley for he was a newlywed, having
married only a year earlier. On January 17, 1836, the Prophet recorded:
"In the afternoon I joined three couple in matrimony, in the public congregation,
viz: William F. Cahoon and Maranda Gibbs, Harvey
Stanley and Larona [Eliza] Cahoon, Tunis Rapley and Louisa Cutler.
We then administered the Sacrament, and dismissed the congregation, which
was so large that it was very unpleasant for all. We were then invited
to a feast at Elder Cahoon's which was prepared for the occasion, and had
a good time while partaking of the rich repast; and I verily realized that
it was good for brethren to dwell together in unity, like the dew upon
the mountains of Israel, where the Lord commanded blessings, even life
forevermore."
Since Larona Cahoon was a sister of William F. Cahoon,
Elder Stanley and Elder Cahoon thus became brothers-in-law.
The Ancestral File gives Elder Stanley's place of death as
Salt Lake City, Utah (No date is given.) which would imply that he remained
faithful and trekked westward with the saints after the expulsion from
Nauvoo.
