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Ammon Tunis Rappleye
Article by Janell Kleinman Nichols, Great Granddaughter of Ammon Tunis Rappleye.
This history has been edited and condensed from a collection of histories in the possession
of the writer. Those histories are lengthy and start with the Rappleye family in 15th century
France.
In the early part of the 17th century, a group of Holland merchants founded the Dutch West
Indies Company. In 1623 they sent the good ship Unity with a party of Walloons to
establish trading posts on the Hudson River, thus becoming one of the earliest settlements
in America. Among these people was Jan Joris Rapalje. He had with him his young bride,
Catelyn Trico. . .
One son of (Jan) Joris and Catelyn was given the name of Jeronimus, and it is through him,
Ammon Tunis Rappleye, our Mormon pioneer ancestor, descended. Jeronimus was a man
of importance in both Brooklyn and New York, as a farmer, merchant, Justice of the Peace,
and Deacon of the Church. He also owned and operated several ships and was considered
to be a very wealthy man.
Several families of the Rappleyes moved into New Jersey during the 18th century. Then in
1785 many descendants of the early settlers emigrated to the Lake country of central New
York. Among these were several families of the Rappley family. They established
themselves in the township of Ovid, Seneca County, and here in 1897, Ammon Tunis
Rappleye was born. The immigrants in the area were imbued with strong religious beliefs
and between 1800 and 1831 they established 8 of the 10 Dutch Reformed Churches in their
neighborhood.
Ammon Tunis Rappleye, (known as Tunis), the son of John Ransom Rappleye and Margaret
Tillier was born February 2, 1807, in Ovid, Seneca County, New York. He was baptized a
member of the LDS Church on November 20, 1832, just two years after the organization of
the church. He was the only member of his family to join the new church.
At the time of Joseph Smith’s instructions, through revelation, to go to Kirtland, Ohio,
Ammon Tunis Rappleye went with the saints. He took part in the building of the Kirtland
Temple. It is recorded in the Prophet Joseph’s History of the Church that seventy men were
called by the Prophet to receive a special blessing for the faithful performance of the work
assigned them on this building, and Tunis Rappleye was among this group of men.
Shortly before this cherished blessing was given, he was married to Louisa Elizabeth Cutler,
daughter of John Alpheus Cutler and Lois Lathrop, by the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Saints remained in Kirtland long enough to witness the completion and dedication of
the Temple on March 27, 1836, and to receive the rich fruits of the labors in the visitation of
the Savior of the World, Moses, Elijah, Elias, and other heavenly messengers, each
delivering the keys of authority held by them in ancient days, to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Hundreds of the Saints also received a “Pentecostal baptism in the fire of the Holy Spirit”.
Tunis and his wife were there to partake of this marvelous joy and be prepared with the
Saints for the great events to follow.
The pointing finger of the Lord directed the Saints onward in the westward call to Missouri.
Here, we find Tunis Rappleye and his wife, parents of their first child, born December 21,
1836, at Crooked River, Missouri.
Some time later, the Saints were driven from Missouri, and going eastward again, they
located in Nauvoo. It seems that the Tunis Rappleye family did not reside in Nauvoo, for the
records show that two children were born in Macedonia, Hancock County, Illinois. It is
assumed that the Rappleye’s did eventually move to Nauvoo as Louisa Cutler Rappleye
received her endowment in the Nauvoo Temple, along with her father’s family on December
29, 1845. Tunis Rappleye, for some reason was not one of the Saints to receive his
endowments at this time. He was endowed later in the Old Endowment House in Salt Lake,
and his wife was sealed to him on June 3, 1856.
As the Saints were being sent out of Nauvoo, Tunish Rappleye was given the assignment to
drive a team of President Young’s across the plains to the valley of the Great Salt Lake,
arriving there on July 24, 1847.
Louisa had stayed at Council Bluffs, Iowa, while her husband had gone ahead on the
westward trek, but he made several trips back and forth assisting other immigrants on their
way to the valley. Finally, in 1853 Tunis took Louisa on to Utah. She had given birth to
several children while at Council Bluffs, and then in Utah gave her life in the birth of another
son. She and Tunis were blessed with 9 children, 3 died in infancy.
After the death of Louisa, Tunis was married to (three) other wives. . .
Ammon Tunis Rappleye died December 25, 1883, at Kanosh, Millard County, Utah.
1 Photo of Ammon Tunis Rappleye from Familysearch.org
2 Gravestone photo, Kanosh, Utah cemetery, from Familysearch.org
Brother Joseph
