“George W. Robinson was appointed General Church Recorder and Clerk for the First Presidency.” — Ebenezer Robinson¹

George W. Robinson was born on May 14, 1814, in Pawlet, Rutland County, Vermont. He was baptized into the Church and moved to Kirtland, Ohio, by 1836. Robinson served as clerk and recorder for the Kirtland high council starting in January 1836 and was ordained a seventy on December 20, 1836. He was a stockholder in the Kirtland Safety Society and married Athalia Rigdon, the oldest daughter of Sidney Rigdon, on April 13, 1837. In September 1837, he was appointed general church recorder to replace Oliver Cowdery. Robinson moved to Far West, Missouri, on March 28, 1838, where he was sustained as general church recorder and clerk to the First Presidency in April 1838.² He was also a colonel in the Danite society in Missouri.³

1. 6 April 1838, Minute Book 2

2. “Robinson, George W.,” josephsmithpapers.org

3. Historical Introduction, Appendix 2: Constitution of the Society of the Daughter of Zion, circa Late June 1838, Footnote 5, josephsmithpapers.org