Thomas L. Kane Memorial Chapel, Kane, Pennsylvania, USA
Although he was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thomas L. Kane was nevertheless a courageous supporter of the Latter-day Saints. Kane first came into contact with the Church in May 1846 at a conference held in Philadelphia where he met Jesse C. Little who was trying to get support for the Saints’ journey west.1
Kane helped negotiate the enlistment of members of the Mormon Battalion and traveled to Utah as an unofficial negotiator to promote peace during the Utah War. He was a strong supporter for Utah Statehood. When Brigham Young passed away, he traveled to Utah to express his remorse and reaffirm his support to the Saints. 2 He was a loyal friend of the Church until his death in 1883.3
In 1878, Kane built a Presbyterian chapel at the request of his aunt, Ann Gray Thomas. He expressed before his death that he would like to be buried between the stone entrances of the chapel. 4
In 1970 the chapel was acquired by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and restored. Some features of the structure that are not traditionally included in Latter-day Saint buildings were retained for historic purposes. Two years later, a statue of Major General Kane was placed on the premises.
In 2014 there was a ceremonial transfer of the historic Kane Memorial Chapel from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who donated the structure to the Kane Historic Preservation Society.
SOURCES
1 Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1-4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 780.
2 Leonard J. Arrington, “‘In Honorable Remembrance’: Thomas L. Kane’s Services to the Mormons,” BYU Studies, Volume 21, Number 4, (Fall 1981), 395.
3 Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 779.
4 “In Honorable Remembrance’, 400.
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Admission: Free
Photos
Articles & Resources
“General Thomas L. Kane,” Contributor, 1884.
Leonard J. Arrington, “In Honorable Remembrance’: Thomas L. Kane’s Services to the Mormons,” 
BYU Studies, 1981.
W. J. Ashton, “Defender of Zion: Pioneer Benefactor Thomas L. Kane,” Pioneer, 1994.
Norman R. Bowen and Albert L. Zobell, Jr., “General Thomas L. Kane: The Soldier,” Ensign, June 1971, 23.
Norman R. Bowen and Albert L. Zobell, Jr., “General Thomas L. Kane: The Pioneer,” Ensign, October 1971, 2.
Elizabeth Wood Cane, Twelve Mormon Homes Visited in Succession on a Journey Through Utah to Arizona, 1874.
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-donates-kane-memorial-chapel
Donald Q. Cannon, “Kane, Thomas L.,” Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, 1992.
Kate B. Carter, comp., “Col. Thomas L. Kane and the Mormons,” Treasures of Pioneer History, 1957.
Augusta Joyce Cocheron, “Reminiscence of General Kane,” Contributor, 1885.
Sherman L. Fleek, “Thomas L. Kane: Friend of the Saints,” Mormon Heritage Magazine, 1994.
Thomas L. Kane, The Mormons, 1850.
Thomas L. Kane, The Private Papers and Diary of Thomas Leiper Kane. A Friend of the Mormons, 1937.
Richard D. Poll, “Thomas L. Kane and the Utah War,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 1993.
Mark Metzler Sawin, “A Sentinel for the Saints: Thomas Leiper Kane and the Mormon Migration,” Nauvoo Journal, 1998.
Daniel Tyler, A Concise History of the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War, 1846-1847, 1881.
Lance B. Wickman, “Thomas L. Kane: Outrider for Zion,” Ensign, Sept. 2003, 56.
R. W. Young, “Major General Thomas L. Kane,” Millennial Star, 1910.
Albert L. Zobell, Jr., Sentinel in the East: A Biography of Thomas L. Kane, 1965.