Samuel Bateman: English Convert and Bodyguard of President John Taylor (1832–1907)

Samuel Bateman (1 July 1832 – 1907) was an English convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, born in Manchester, England. In the anti-polygamy era of the 1880s, Brother Bateman served as bodyguard for President John Taylor while the President was in hiding for plural marriage, standing between the Lord's prophet and those who sought to imprison him. His handwritten diaries (1886–1907), preserved at BYU and in the Archives West collections, record his faithful service during those hard years. Brother Bateman's life is a faith-promoting witness of the faithful Saints who, in the years of persecution, stood guard over the Lord's servants and kept the work of the Restoration going forward.