To a Romantic Defender of the Downtrodden, in Memoriam

Although my personal heroes include the great latter-day American prophet Joseph Smith and also my kinsman Patrick Henry, Thomas L. Kane ("The Little Colonel") likewise claims a special place in my heart.

He never met Joseph Smith, but perhaps became Brigham Young's best non "Mormon" friend, and spent much of the rest of his life championing the cause of the struggling Latter-day Saints, beginning after they were forcibly expelled from Nauvoo, Illinois and driven, on bare and bloody feet, out of the United States of America into what then was part of Mexico (now Utah).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) Patriarch John Smith gave Colonel Kane one of the few Patriarchal Blessings ever bestowed upon a non-member.

Although from a well-respected and politically powerful Pennsylvania family, the Colonel was a sickly and diminutive man.

He believed that he would end his days as a lonely bachelor, but the Patriarch promised him an eventual companion and comforter to be his partner and loving help-mate.

The Colonel found great joy when he later met and married Elizabeth, and later said that his only regret was that John Smith no longer was alive to witness the fulfillment of that promised blessing.

The Patriarch also blessed Thomas that he always would be remembered and beloved by the Saints, and this also has been so.

When Thomas finally passed away and crossed the veil, I believe that both Brigham Young and John Smith were there to gratefully welcome him.

Recommended Reading: "Liberty to the Downtrodden: Thomas L. Kane, Romantic Reformer", by Matthew J. Grow, Yale University Press. 2009.

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