{"id":{"repo_id":"sbts","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.sbts.edu:10392/6603"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/sbts/oai:repository.sbts.edu:10392/6603","repository":{"repo_id":"sbts","name":"Southern Baptist Theological Seminary","base_url":"https://repository.sbts.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Wingfield Scott Watson and His Struggle to Preserve the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) After the Death of Its Founder","abstract":"Wingfield S. Watson (1828–1922) was a fiercely loyal apologist for the Mormon prophet James J. Strang, a successor to Joseph Smith. In the aftermath of the succession crisis that followed Smith’s unexpected death, Strang attracted hundreds of converts to his theocratic commune on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, Watson being one of them. After Strang’s own untimely death, Watson stepped forward from among his religious community as a Strangite apologist to ensure that Strangite distinctives of Latter Day Saint restorationism would survive the unstoppable decline of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangites) due to internal dissension and external opposition. From primary documents, this dissertation demonstrates that Watson succeeded at maintaining the Strangite identity among its remnant after the death of its founder.","abstract_html":"Wingfield S. Watson (1828–1922) was a fiercely loyal apologist for the Mormon prophet James J. Strang, a successor to Joseph Smith. In the aftermath of the succession crisis that followed Smith’s unexpected death, Strang attracted hundreds of converts to his theocratic commune on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, Watson being one of them. After Strang’s own untimely death, Watson stepped forward from among his religious community as a Strangite apologist to ensure that Strangite distinctives of Latter Day Saint restorationism would survive the unstoppable decline of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangites) due to internal dissension and external opposition. From primary documents, this dissertation demonstrates that Watson succeeded at maintaining the Strangite identity among its remnant after the death of its founder.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Beshears, Kyle Robert"],"institution":"Southern Baptist Theological Seminary","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Martin, George H."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-09-25","date_published":"2021-09-25","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:06:42Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10392/6603","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Martin, George H."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Beshears, Kyle Robert"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2021-09-28T20:03:21Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-09-28T20:03:21Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2021-09-25"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["School of Missions and Evangelism"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["Southern Baptist Theological Seminary"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text","Electronic dissertation"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10392/6603"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Ph. D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2021"]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Wingfield S. Watson (1828–1922) was a fiercely loyal apologist for the Mormon prophet James J. Strang, a successor to Joseph Smith. In the aftermath of the succession crisis that followed Smith’s unexpected death, Strang attracted hundreds of converts to his theocratic commune on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, Watson being one of them. After Strang’s own untimely death, Watson stepped forward from among his religious community as a Strangite apologist to ensure that Strangite distinctives of Latter Day Saint restorationism would survive the unstoppable decline of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangites) due to internal dissension and external opposition. From primary documents, this dissertation demonstrates that Watson succeeded at maintaining the Strangite identity among its remnant after the death of its founder."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Wingfield Scott Watson and His Struggle to Preserve the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) After the Death of Its Founder"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Martin, George H."],"dc:creator":["Beshears, Kyle Robert"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2021-09-28T20:03:21Z"],"dc:date.available":["2021-09-28T20:03:21Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2021-09-25"],"dc:description":["Ph. D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2021"],"dc:description.abstract":["Wingfield S. Watson (1828–1922) was a fiercely loyal apologist for the Mormon prophet James J. Strang, a successor to Joseph Smith. In the aftermath of the succession crisis that followed Smith’s unexpected death, Strang attracted hundreds of converts to his theocratic commune on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, Watson being one of them. After Strang’s own untimely death, Watson stepped forward from among his religious community as a Strangite apologist to ensure that Strangite distinctives of Latter Day Saint restorationism would survive the unstoppable decline of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangites) due to internal dissension and external opposition. From primary documents, this dissertation demonstrates that Watson succeeded at maintaining the Strangite identity among its remnant after the death of its founder."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10392/6603"],"dc:publisher.department":["School of Missions and Evangelism"],"dc:publisher.institution":["Southern Baptist Theological Seminary"],"dc:title":["Wingfield Scott Watson and His Struggle to Preserve the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) After the Death of Its Founder"],"dc:type":["Text","Electronic dissertation"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:06:42Z"}