Naamah Kendel Jenkins Carter

1821–1909

Sealed to Brigham Young 6 Feb 1846 — she was 25, he was 45.

This was a sealing, not a marriage in law — plural marriage had no legal standing. What that meant.

Nauvoo temple, January-February 1846

Who she was, and what happened

Sealed in the last days of temple work, 6 February 1846 - two days before the veil and altar came down and the records were packed for the journey. She lived a long life in Utah, dying in 1909 at 88. The Nauvoo register carries her at pages 533-34 and 581, an unusually full entry for a wife of this cohort.

Key dates

1846 Sealed to him 6 Feb 1846 A sealing, not a marriage in law: plural marriage had no legal standing.
1909 Died 1909

Nothing here is inferred. Johnson's Table 1 has one date column, so where an event is documented but undated it is shown as "no date" rather than given a spurious one — the missing date is itself a fact about how these records were kept. Only two of the fifty-five have a civil marriage date; for the other fifty-three the single date records a sealing, because plural marriage had no standing in law.

What survives in her own words

Nothing from her, and no life of her written by anyone else.

None of her own, though she is quoted complaining of having to 'sleep in a waggeon.'

Turner p. 157; Obituary, Deseret Evening News

15 of the fifty-five left words of their own. The rest are known only through other people's papers. What that silence means.

The record

Born: 1821
Died: 1909
Died at: Utah
Outlived Brigham Young?: Yes
Marriage or sealing: 6 Feb 1846
Her age at the marriage: 25
His age at the marriage: 45
Age gap: 20 years
Phase of his life: Nauvoo temple (Jan-Feb 1846)
Type of sealing: Not recorded ?
Already married to another man?: Unknown - prior husband's status not established ?
Her other husbands: (1) John S. Twiss
Widow of Joseph Smith?: No
Sexual relationship?: Not documented here
Children by Brigham Young: 0
Lived with him?: Yes - household
Divorce or separation: None recorded
Named in his will?: Not applicable or not recorded
Sealed to him as an adopted daughter first?: No ?
Kin tie to him or another wife: None recorded
Left the church?: Remained LDS (documented)
Remarried after Brigham Young?: No
Her later husband(s): None recorded

Source and confidence: Johnson Table 1 n. 39

A blank or “not established here” means the fact was not documented in the sources behind this table. It does not mean zero, and it does not mean no. We leave it empty rather than guessing, because inventing a detail of her life would be another way of not listening to her. The size of that gap is the argument for the book she never got.