Stephen Ackley, son of Benjamin Ackley, was born on 1781 in Adams, Berkshire County Massachusetts. He married Nancy Westgate (Westcoat) on October 15, 1801.[1] By 1810, Stephen had moved with Nancy and their children from Massachusetts to Farmington, New York. In the 1820s, the family moved to Palmyra, New York.
On February 24, 1828, Stephen was appointed a fire warden in the Palmyra village along with Pliny Sexton and Benjamin Throop. Stephen owned commercial property and a building lot near Washington Street in Palmyra. His lot was surveyed on April 29, 1829.[2]
When Philastus Hurlbut came to Palmyra seeking affidavits against the Prophet Joseph Smith, Stephen signed the “Testimony of 51 Neighbors” on December 4, 1833, later printed in Mormonism Unvailed.[3] Stephen and his family then moved from Palmyra to Ohio. In 1850, they were residing in Mentor, Lake County, Ohio. At that time, Stephen was seventy years old.[4] He died on April 5, 1852 in Mentor and was buried in the Mentor Municipal Cemetery.
Stephen Ackley’s Timeline
1781: Born in Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, to Benjamin Ackley.
October 15, 1801: Marries Nancy Westgate (Westcoat).
1810: Moves with his wife Nancy and their children from Massachusetts to Farmington, New York.
1820s: The Ackley family relocates to Palmyra, New York.
February 24, 1828: Appointed as a fire warden in the village of Palmyra, alongside Pliny Sexton and Benjamin Throop.
April 29, 1829: Has a building lot surveyed near Washington Street in Palmyra, indicating ownership of commercial property.
December 4, 1833: Signs the “Testimony of 51 Neighbors” against Joseph Smith, which is later included in the publication Mormonism Unvailed by E.D. Howe.
1830s: Moves with his family from Palmyra to Ohio.
1850: Recorded in the census as living in Mentor, Lake County, Ohio, at the age of seventy.
April 5, 1852: Dies in Mentor, Ohio, and is buried in Mentor Municipal Cemetery.
[1] Massachusetts Marriages, 1695–1910.
[2] Betty Troskosky, Palmyra: A Bicentennial Celebration 1789–1989 (Palmyra, NY: Historic Palmyra, Inc., 1989), p. 126.
[3] Eber D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed reprint (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2015), pp. 366–367.
[4] US Federal Census, 1850.