The most important page on this site
Their own words
If this project has a heart, it is here. Every diary, letter, affidavit, autobiography and biography known to survive for each of the fifty-five — and, for most of them, the fact that none does. 15 of these women left anything in their own hand. Those 15 voices are the closest we can get to hearing what any of this was like from the inside, and they are worth more than every count on this site put together.
The other 40 are known only through other people's papers — usually men's. That is not a failure of our research. It is a fact about whose thoughts the nineteenth century thought worth keeping, and it is the reason the book about these women still does not exist.
- 15left words of their own
- 5have only a life written by someone else
- 35left neither
In her own words — 15 of 55
Anything she wrote or swore: a memoir, a diary, letters, published writing, a sworn plural-marriage affidavit, courtroom testimony. For four of these women a single document is the entire surviving voice.
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Lucy Ann Decker 1822–1890
Her sworn plural-marriage affidavit (Book 1, p. 48) and an obituary. No memoir.
'Death of Lucy D. Young,' Deseret Evening News, 24 Jan 1891
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Augusta Adams Cobb 1802–1886
LETTERS - and they are the richest first-person source of any wife on this list. No memoir.
Turner pp. 137-38, 192-93; O'Donovan, JMH 38:2
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Harriet Elizabeth Cook 1824–1898
Her sworn plural-marriage affidavit, and nothing else of hers. The biographical sketch Johnson cites is of her SON Oscar, not of her.
'Plural Marriage Affidavits,' Book 2, p. 12; Booth, 'A Biographical Sketch of the Life of Oscar S. Young,' typescript
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Clarissa Caroline Decker 1828–1889
HER OWN ACCOUNT of the 1847 vanguard company, written 1884.
Clara Decker Young, 'A Young Women's Experience with the Pioneer Band,' 1884, Bancroft Library; Whitney, 'The Three Pioneer Women'
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Emily Dow Partridge 1824–1899
AUTOBIOGRAPHY, a diary, and sworn courtroom testimony. One of the best-documented women here.
Emily Dow Partridge Young, 'What I Remember,' 1884, typescript; Temple Lot testimony (1892); Compton ch. 18; Marquardt, JMH 34:3
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Eliza Roxcy Snow 1804–1887
EXTENSIVE - diaries, an autobiographical sketch, and two published volumes of her own writing, plus a full scholarly biography. The best-documented woman on the list by a wide margin.
Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow (1995); Derr & Davidson, Eliza R. Snow: The Complete Poetry (2009); Derr, BYU Studies 40 (2001); Compton ch. 13
Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy SnowTullidge, Women of Mormondom (1877)
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CB
Clarissa Blake 1796–?
ONE LETTER AND AN ACROSTIC POEM in her own hand, written to Brigham just after the sealing - and essentially nothing else.
Turner pp. 134-35
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MC
Mary Ann Clark 1816–?
HER OWN LETTER asking for release, 18 June 1851, in the Brigham Young papers. Nothing else.
Brigham Young papers; Johnson p. 63
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Margaret Pierce 1823–1907
AUTOBIOGRAPHY in her own hand, plus a published reminiscence.
'Autobiography of Margarette P. W. Young,' n.d., holograph; 'One of the Pioneers,' Young Women's Journal 15 (1 Apr 1904): 162-66
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Mary Elizabeth Rollins 1818–1913
AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND DIARY, held at BYU, plus a published article and a 1905 public address naming Joseph Smith's wives.
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, Autobiography and diary, n.d., BYU Special Collections; Carter, Our Pioneer Heritage 5 (1962): 305-24
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Rhoda Richards 1784–1879
DIARIES kept into her nineties, plus a published sketch in Tullidge and a chapter in Compton.
Tullidge, Women of Mormondom (1877), pp. 421-22; Compton ch. 25; Sunstone 111
Tullidge, Women of Mormondom (1877) — her sketch, pp. 421-22
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Zina Diantha Huntington 1821–1901
DIARIES, and a full scholarly biography of three generations of Zinas.
Bradley & Woodward, Four Zinas (Signature, 2000) and JMH 20:1; Compton ch. 4
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MM
Mary Ellen de la Montague 1803–?
HER OWN LETTERS to Brigham - the 'release from worse than death' plea and the Feb 1847 letter.
Turner pp. 132, 140; Johnson p. 64
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Ann Eliza Webb 1844–?
A FULL-LENGTH PUBLISHED AUTOBIOGRAPHY, the only one by any wife - and a hostile one. Plus a later popular biography.
Ann Eliza Young, Wife No. 19 (Hartford: Dustin, Gilman, 1876); Irving Wallace, The Twenty-seventh Wife (1961)
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Hannah Tapfield King 1807–1886
AUTOBIOGRAPHY, plus two published books of her own poetry - she was a professional writer.
Hannah Tapfield King, Autobiography, c.1864-1872; Songs of the Heart (1879); Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography v.3
Written about, but silent themselves — 5
A life of her exists, written by a sister, a daughter or a descendant, but nothing from her own hand.
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Louisa Beaman 1815–1850
No writings of her own survive. A full biographical chapter in Compton.
Compton ch. 3; Historian's Office Journal, 16 May 1850
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DC
Diana Severance Chase 1827–1886
A BIOGRAPHICAL TYPESCRIPT about her, written by a descendant.
Olive Virginia Grey Madsen, 'Diana Chase Shaw,' n.d., typescript
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OF
Olive Grey Frost 1816–1845
A PUBLISHED BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH by her sister - the only real account of her life.
Mary Ann Frost Pratt, 'Biographical Sketch of Olive Gray Frost,' Historical Record 6 (Jan 1887): 234-35
Jenson, Historical Record — where her sister's sketch was printed
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JA
Jemima Angell 1803–1869
A BIOGRAPHICAL TYPESCRIPT about her by descendants.
McCandless and Frantz, 'History of Jemima Angell Young,' n.d., typescript
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Lucy Bigelow 1830–1905
A BIOGRAPHY written by her daughter Susa Young Gates, plus Susa's own recollections.
Susa Young Gates, 'Lucy Bigelow Young,' n.d., Utah State Historical Society; Gates, 'Recollections,' typescript
Neither — 35
Records of her rather than by her: an ordinance register, a ward record, an obituary, a family group sheet. Several of these women exist in the archive as a single line. Where Johnson's endnotes cite a document that turns out to be about her son, her stepfather or her sister, the entry says so — those are not counted as accounts of her.
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Miriam Angeline Works 1806–1832
None of her own. She died in 1832, before Nauvoo, and is known only through his history.
'History of Brigham Young,' Deseret News, 10 Feb 1858
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Mary Ann Angell 1808–1882
No autobiography. Obituary and ward records only; she is written about constantly in others' papers.
Obituary, Deseret Evening News, 28 June 1882
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Clarissa Ross 1814–1857
None of her own. Johnson cites a history of her STEPFATHER Isaac Chase.
Welling, 'History of Isaac Chase,' 1964, typescript
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Elizabeth Fairchild 1828–1910
None known. She appears in Brigham's journal, a divorce certificate and a family group sheet.
Family group sheet of William Lowery Chastain and Elizabeth Fairchild, GS
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RH
Rebecca Holman 1824–1849
None of her own. Johnson cites a biography of Joshua Sawyer HOLMAN, a relative, not of her.
Williams, 'Biography of Joshua Sawyer Holman,' typescript
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Susannah (Susan) Snively 1815–1892
None of her own. Ward record and an obituary.
Obituary, Deseret Evening News, 21 Nov 1892
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MP
Mary Harvey Pierce 1821–1847
None of her own. Her death is recorded in ELIZA R. SNOW's diary.
Eliza R. Snow, Diary, 16 March 1847; Journal History, 17 March 1847
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Emmeline Free 1826–1875
None of her own, despite bearing ten of his children. Death record and obituary only.
Obituary, Deseret Evening News, 19 July 1875
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Margaret Alley 1825–1852
None known. Ordinance record and one Historian's Office entry.
Historian's Office Journal, 6 Nov 1852
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OA
Olive Andrews 1818–?
None known. She exists in the ordinance registers and almost nowhere else.
'Nauvoo Proxy Sealings, 1846,' p. 7, GS
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EH
Emily Haws 1823–?
None known. A property transaction a month after the sealing is the clearest trace of her.
Turner p. 136
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Martha Bowker 1822–1890
None known. Ward record and obituary.
Obituary, Deseret Evening News, 26 Sept 1890
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ER
Ellen Rockwood 1829–1866
None known - which is striking, given she was sixteen and lived in the household.
'Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions,' p. 577, GS
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A(
Abigail Marks (Works) 1781–1846
None of her own. Johnson cites a family group sheet.
Family group sheet of Asa Works and Abigail Marks, GS
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PM
Phebe Morton 1776–1854
None of her own. She appears in her SON Truman Angell's autobiography, and in a 1910 newspaper story about identifying her remains.
Truman O. Angell, Autobiography, holograph; 'Bones Identified as Mother Angell's,' Salt Lake Tribune, 26 April 1910
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CP
Cynthia Porter 1783–?
None known. One line in the sealing register is the whole record.
'Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions,' p. 577, GS
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MN
Mary Eliza Nelson 1812–1885
None of her own. Ordinance records and an obituary.
Obituary, Deseret Evening News, 29 Dec 1885
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AC
Amy Cecilia Cooper 1804–?
No writings of her own, but she is the RECIPIENT of Augusta Cobb's 1847 blessing letter.
O'Donovan, JMH 38:2, p. 11
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Julia Foster 1811–1891
None of her own. Johnson cites her SON Brigham Young Hampton's diary.
Brigham Young Hampton, Diary, holograph; Obituary, Deseret Evening News, 17 Jan 1891
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AH
Abigail Harback 1790–1849
None known. One line in the register.
'Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions,' p. 577, GS
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Mary Ann Turley 1827–1904
None of her own. Kimball's journal and a divorce certificate.
Heber C. Kimball, Journal, 20 Dec 1845; Divorce certificate, 15 Jan 1851
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Naamah Kendel Jenkins Carter 1821–1909
None of her own, though she is quoted complaining of having to 'sleep in a waggeon.'
Turner p. 157; Obituary, Deseret Evening News
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NC
Nancy Cressy 1780–1872
None known. Register entries only.
'Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions,' p. 559, GS; 'Index to Nauvoo Endowments,' GS
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JT
Jane Terry 1819–1847
None of her own. Her story survives inside a RELATIVE's autobiography.
Elizabeth Terry Heward, Autobiography, in Parshall Terry Family History (1956), pp. 66-78
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MB
Mary Jane Bigelow 1827–1868
None of her own. Johnson cites the biography of her SISTER Lucy.
Susa Young Gates, 'Lucy Bigelow Young,' n.d.; Divorce certificate
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SM
Sarah Malin 1804–1858
None known. Register and a death record.
'Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions,' p. 783, GS; Salt Lake City death records, p. 22, #863
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Eliza Burgess 1827–1915
None of her own. Ward record and an obituary.
'Eliza B. Young Dies at Son's Home,' Deseret Evening News
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MO
Mary Oldfield 1793–1875
None known. Endowment House records only.
'Pre-Endowment House and Endowment House Sealings,' Book A #953, Book D p. 93
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EB
Eliza Babcock 1828–1868
None known. An endowment register entry and a divorce certificate.
Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 10 Jan 1846; Divorce certificate, 4 Sept 1853
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CR
Catherine Reese 1804–1860
None known. Register and a family group sheet.
'Nauvoo Sealings and Adoptions,' p. 49, GS; family group sheet, GS
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Harriet Barney 1830–1911
None of her own. Obituary, and a county history covering her first husband.
Obituary, Deseret Evening News, 11 Feb 1911; Stout, History of Tooele County (1961), p. 570
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Harriet Amelia Folsom 1838–1910
None of her own. Obituaries and Endowment House records; she is written about constantly, including by Ann Eliza Webb.
'Salt Lake Endowment House Records'; Obituary, Deseret Evening News, 12 Dec 1910
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Mary Van Cott 1844–1884
None known of her own. Endowment House records.
'Salt Lake Endowment House Records'
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Elizabeth Jones 1814–1895
None of her own. An obituary; she is discussed in the Welsh mission literature.
'Death of Sister Jones,' Deseret Evening News
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LF
Lydia Farnsworth 1808–1897
None of her own. Endowment House record and an obituary.
'Salt Lake Endowment House Records,' Book F, p. 172; Obituary, Deseret Evening News
Can you fill a gap?
If you hold a letter, a diary, a photograph or a family history for any of these women — or you know of an archive that does — please write to mormonstories@gmail.com. Given that only 15 of the fifty-five left anything in their own hand, a single family letter is a significant find.