b. Scipiom, N.Y., 1813
d. July, 1856, Voree, Wisconsin

James Jesse Strang was a Mormon leader, "King" of the Strangite Mormons. He attended Fredonia Male Academy. He was considered mentally deficient while a child. He was actually abnormally intelligent, and channelled his energy into reading and a morbid preoccupation with fame.

Legal Career

Strang studied law in New York and was admitted to the bar in 1836. He worked at various jobs in the East. In 1843, he moved to Wisconsin, and settled in Burlington, where he practiced law for a time with considerable success. He soon became attracted to Mormonism. In 1844, he journeyed to Nauvoo, Illinois, to observe Mormon practice. He visited Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, and became an ardent follower.

Voree

When Smith died in 1844, Strang claimed to be his successor. He challenged the leadership of Brigham Young, and was excommunicated by Young's followers. Strang returned to Wisconsin, and established his own Mormon community at Voree in Walworth County. The community eventually attracted some 2,000 settlers. From 1844 to 1847, Strang used the Voree Herald to spread his propaganda. He claimed to have numerous revelations. Strang also allegedly uncovered sacred plates that established fundamental laws for his sect. However, mounting hostility from neighboring communities and internal dissension caused Strang to move his congregation to Beaver Island in Lake Michigan in 1847. In 1850, he was crowned "King." Shortly thereafter, Strang proclaimed the sanctity of plural marriage — which he had previously opposed — and took four wives.

Death

Because of his large following, he was elected to the Michigan legislature in 1852 and again in 1854. In 1851, he was acquitted on charges of counterfeiting, robbing the mails and trespassing on federal lands. The increasingly arbitrary nature of Strang's "divinely appointed rule" led to internal conflicts. In June, 1856, he was fatally wounded in an assassination attempt by his own subjects. He was taken to the old community at Voree. He died one month later without naming a successor. The Strangite community disintegrated and was forcibly, violently dispersed by neighboring communities.

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Dict. Amer. Biog.; M. M. Quaife, Kingdom of Saint James (New Haven, 1930); 0. W. Riegel, Crown of GIory ... (New Haven, 1935); Wis. Mag. Hist., 42; WPA MS.