Newel Kimball Whitney (February 5, 1795 – September 23, 1850,
Early trading career
In 1814, Whitney worked as an army sutler, selling supplies to American soldiers near Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. Whitney lost all of his possessions in the Battle of Plattsburgh, but continued to work as a sutler for the army until they disbanded around Monroe, Michigan. Whitney traded furs and other goods with Native Americans between the Great Lakes, often stopping in Monroe for supplies, where Algernon Sidney Gilbert had a store. According to Orson F. Whitney, when Whitney refused to sell alcohol to an alcoholic, the customer threatened his life, but a Native American woman named Modalena saved him. Gilbert and Whitney may have traveled together to New York, and they were friends.
Sometime after their marriage, N.K. and Ann joined the Disciples of Christ or Campbellites. Sidney Rigdon was a bishop in the movement and baptized members. Ann worried about how Campbellites did not claim to have the authority to give members the Holy Ghost. N.K. served in the community as an elector and as a vice president of the Tract Society, part of the Grand River Bible Society. N.K. and Ann joined the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) in 1830 without having read The Book of Mormon. Many of their neighbors joined the church around the same time, including the Gilberts in 1831. The Whitneys provided their home for at least one congregational meeting, and donated wine for the sacrament. The prophet Joseph Smith and his family came to stay with the Whitneys for several weeks in 1830 before moving to Isaac Morley's house and soon a new house on his property.
1832–1833: Joseph Smith lives in the White Store
Joseph Smith and Whitney were good friends.
1831–1838: Whitney as Bishop and member of the United Firm
200px|thumb|left|Newel K. Whitney's powder horn and bag
In 1831, Whitney was appointed as a bishop in the church. At the time, Edward Partridge was the only other bishop who had been called. Whitney made personal decisions about how a bishop should support his local community.
He continued to operate his store as normal and offered limited support for the poor in an early bishop's storehouse. Two men accused Whitney of being overbearing and disrespectful.
In 1833, the Overseers of the poor made a warning list of 22 unemployed families that might be expelled from Kirtland for being too dependent on their community. At the time, this was a fairly common practice, although such a long list was unusual. Such a list shows the extent that the church (and Whitney) must have been supporting its members, many of whom were working to construct the temple. The United Firm was dissolved in 1834, with Whitney paying the debts members owed to each other. The United Firm then wrote off over $3,000 of debt, and members decided to do business individually. Later, Whitney's wife, Elizabeth Ann, was added to the quorum. The Whitneys and the other members of the Quorum of the Anointed were "some of the highest ranking and most trusted leaders of the LDS church." Two years later, Whitney married Olive M. Bishop as a plural wife. Whitney's "First Bishop" title was changed to "Presiding Bishop" in 1847. Later Emmeline married Daniel H. Wells and became a president of the Relief Society. Whitney also was sealed to Isabel Modalena and Melvina C. Blanch. He died in 1850 of "bilious pleurisy".