Israel Barlow: A Founder of Nauvoo and Early Saint of the Restoration (1806–1883)

Israel Barlow (September 13, 1806 – November 1, 1883) was one of the founders of Nauvoo, Illinois, and a noted early member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After the Saints were expelled from Missouri in the bitter winter of 1838–39, Barlow was among those who crossed into Illinois and helped locate the land—then a swampy bend of the Mississippi—that would become Nauvoo, the great city the Saints built under the Prophet Joseph Smith. His story has been told in 'The Israel Barlow Story and Mormon Mores.' Brother Barlow's life is a faith-promoting witness of the Saints who, driven from Missouri, found by faith and providence a new gathering place from which the restored gospel would go forth to the world.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in Brent A. Barlow, 'Israel Barlow and the Founding of Nauvoo,' BYU Religious Studies Center):

In the spring of 1839, Israel Barlow, having been driven from Missouri with the Saints, was living in Quincy, Illinois. He was one of the first to cross the Mississippi River into the area of Commerce, Illinois, which would later be named Nauvoo. According to the account, Israel Barlow was searching for a place for the Saints to settle. He crossed the river and found the area of Commerce, which was then a swampy, unhealthy location. He met with the Prophet Joseph Smith and others, and it was through his initial exploration and subsequent report that the Church leaders were able to identify the site as the new gathering place for the Saints. This decision to settle in Commerce, later renamed Nauvoo, became the foundation for the building of the city and the temple.