General Notes

REFN: 7450328-0
BIOGRAPHY: David Foote,a veteran of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, (LDS), was born on August 7,1768, in Harwinton, Litchfield County, Conn. He was the fourth grandson of Ebenezer Foote and Elizabeth Deming Foote, who came from England about the year 1663, and settled at  Westerfield, Conn. in 1635. David's father was a soldier in the army of the revolution. He died while in the army at Mud Fort, Horseneck, Conn, in June 1778, when David was in his tenth year of age. His Mother married Ezekiel Sanford, January l, 1781. He was also a soldier in the revolution, and a widower. Soon after peace was declared with Great Brittain, the family emigrated to Windsor, Broom County, N.Y. At this place, David married Miss Irene Lane, daughter of Nathan Lane (esq.), a pioneer settler of Windsor. Mr. Lane was a soldier in the army of the revolution, and a descendant of William Lane, who came for Dorchester, England, in 1635, and settled in Dorchester, Mass. Nathan Lane's wife's maiden name was Dorcas Muscroft. Much of David's time was occupied with others, in cutting logs and rafting down the Sesquehanna river, until 1778, when he in company with his stepfatherand brother-in-law, removed to Dryden, Cayuga, (now Tompkins County) N.Y. The following is an extract from the centennial history of the town of Dryden, N.Y., published in 1897,: "In the fall of 1778, three families settled at Willow Glen, (Dryden). They consisted of Ezekial Sanford, his wife and one son, David Foote, his wife three daughters, Ebenezer Clousen, his wife and one son and two daughters. Making in all a party of thirteen persons. They came from Windsor (60) miles distant with a team of oxen drawing a heavy sled of olden  times, which was made with wooden shoes and a heavy split pole for tongue, this conveyance carried all the household furnishings of the three families, which from that fact alone could not have been very much in housekeeping materials. They are said to have passed a very comfortable winter,subsisting largley upon the abundant game found in the new country, the oxen being supplied with plenty of browse from the trees. This country was a dense forest, and there were but two families in Dryden, when the families arrived there. After a sufficient number of families had arrived in the settlement, a Methodist religion class was organized, and David was made leader. Although his scholastic education was very limited, the Bible was his chief study. He became dissatisfied with the creeds of the various sects, and sought to find the true church of Christ, as it existed in the  apostle's days. While his mind was very much exercised with regards to religious matters, he had what he termed a vision, in which it was told to him, among other things, that the true church of Christ would soon be established on earth as it was anciently. A number of religious reformers came out from the churches about this time claiming to be the true church. David investigated their claims, but none of them satisfied him. In the spring of 1830, he borrowed a Book of Mormon from a neighbor and read it carefullly and testified that is was a true record, but no Elders came to Dryden, and he knew nothing concerning the doctrine they preached. In the spring of 1832 he removed to Greenwood, Steuben County N.Y. In the fall of 1833, two men proposing to be Mormom Elders  came to Greenwood, from Geneseo, Livingston Co. N.Y. They held one or two meetings and invited David and others to visit them at Geneseo, accordingly, David and his brother-in-law (Josiah Richardson) and his nephew (Moses Clouson) went to Geneseo in November, 1833,for the purpose of investigating the new religion. On arriving there, they found the large branch of saints somewhat divided, and some had been cut off from the Church. Among them the two elders who had come to Greenwood, and John Murdock was presiding over the branch. (John Murdock was and Elder). The trouble with the branch arose with