Brief Biography: Orson Hyde (1805-1878) was born in Oxford, Connecticut in 1805. After his mother's death when he was seven, he worked for a man called Nathan Wheeler until he was eighteen. He joined the Methodists in 1827 after attending a revival meeting in Ohio; two years later, he joined the Campbellites and in 1831 switched to the Mormon movement. He remained, except for two major episodes, a commited member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), serving as an Apostle from 1835 until his death. He was a major figure in the Morman movement westward, serving as a leader in the Mormon settlements in western Iowa, western Nevada, and central Utah. He was a major figure in Utah's Black Hawk Indian War (1865-1872). He was husband of eight wives, the father of thirty-three children. He is most noted for his mission to Jerusalem (1840-1842) to dedicate the land for the return of the Jews.
Brief Itinerary: Hyde sailed to Liverpool, spent some time in England, then traveled on to Amsterdam. He went to Brussels and Strasbourgh and eventually made his way by boat down the Danube to Constantinople. From there he sailed on to Smyrna, Beirut, and Alexandria, and finally to Jaffa where he landed to begin his Holy Land travels.
