EMMA SMITH - PORTRAIT
OF A LADY
By Carol E.
Starks
Most authors
chronicle the life of Emma Smith in a format
of life progression or they emphasize
specifically selected aspects of her various
contributions to her family or the church.
This portrait of the restoration's first
lady will be from a categorical perspective.
It is this author's belief that her
character, courage and commitment become
much more evident in such a format.
Date and
Place of Birth
Emma was born
on July 10, 1804 in Harmony, Susquehanna
Valley, PA.
Ancestry
Emma's
parents were Isaac and Elizabeth Hale. The
family was originally from Vermont. Emma
was the third girl and seventh child of nine
children. They were descendents of John
Howland who left England on the Mayflower.
(Joseph Smith was also a descendent of John
Howland.) In August of 1830, when Emma was
26 years old, she and Joseph left Harmony.
She corresponded with her parents while she
was in Kirtland, but she never saw them
again.
Physical
Description
Emma was
about 5'9" tall. (Her bones were measured
when Frederick M. Smith had the graves moved
and properly marked in 1928.) Men described
her as "well turned, of excellent form…with
splendid physical development." She stood
tall and erect and was physically strong.
She had dark hazel eyes which complemented
her olive complexion. She usually brushed
her long dark hair to a shine, parted it in
the middle and fastened it snugly against
the nape of her neck. She sometimes wore
little curls at the sides of her face.
Attire
Emma wore
simple homemade dresses, which were dark in
color, full skirted and gathered at the
waist. Large starched white aprons were worn
over the dresses. She always wore gold beads
given to her by Joseph and a one-hand Swiss
watch.
Marriages
Emma eloped
with Joseph Smith on January 18, 1827. The
marriage took place in Esquire Zachariah
Tarbell's parlor in South Bainbridge, New
York. Because of Isaac Hale's indignation
over her marriage to Joseph, they escaped by
fleeing 130 miles to Manchester, New York.
They were married for 17 years. Emma was 39
when Joseph was killed. On December 27,
1847, Emma married Lewis (Louis in some
accounts) C. Bidamon who never embraced
Mormonism. They were married for 32 years,
almost double the time of the Smith
marriage.
Children
Pregnancies
caused Emma considerable discomfort, which
ranged from fainting spells to severe
nausea. These symptoms sometimes lasted
throughout her pregnancies. Her children
were:
*Alvin,
June 15, 1828, Harmony, PA -Reportedly had
birth defects and lived only three hours.
Emma almost died.
*Thaddeus
and Louisa, April 30, 1831, Kirtland, OH -
Lived only three hours.
*Joseph
and Julia Murdock, May 3, 1831, Kirtland, OH
- Adopted by Joseph and Emma. Joseph died
March 29, 1832 at ten months of measles and
exposure to cold when a mob attacked the
family. Julia married twice, had no
children and died in 1880 of cancer.
*Joseph,
III, November 6, 1832, Kirtland, OH - Joseph
married three times, had seventeen children
and died in 1914.
*Frederick
Granger Williams, June 20, 1836, Kirtland,
OH - Frederick had one child and died in
1862.
*Alexander
Hale, June 2, 1838, Far West, MO - Alexander
had nine children and died in 1909.
*Don
Carlos, June 14, 1840, Nauvoo, ILL -Died at
fourteen months of malaria.
*Stillborn
son, February 6, 1842, Nauvoo, ILL.
*David
Hyrum, November 11, 1844, Nauvoo, ILL -
Had one child and died of
diabetes in
1904. To summarize, Emma gave birth to nine
children and adopted two more for a total of
eleven. Of those eleven, six died in infancy
and five lived into adulthood. Emma gave
birth first at age 23 and had her last child
at age 40. Her children were born from less
than 2 years to 3.5 years apart, when she
was 23, 26, 28, 31, 33, 35, 37 and 40. Some
authors report that Louis Bidamon had an
illegitimate son, Charles. When he was four
years old, Emma took him in and raised him.
Homes
Emma's
childhood home was in Harmony, PA. She and
Joseph moved six times while in New York and
Pennsylvania. She lived in at least six
residences in Ohio and was even homeless
while Joseph was in hiding. Her family lived
in two locations in Far West, MO. While in
Illinois, Emma moved seven times. Emma and
her family often lived in the homes of
others. In her 79 years, she lived in five
states and in at least twenty-five homes.
Many locations were hundreds of miles
apart. Means of travel included wagon,
horseback, sleigh and on foot.
Domestic
Chores
Emma's
household responsibilities are
incomprehensible to those of us with modern
conveniences. Besides caring for her
children and her husband, she made candles,
gardened, cured meat, dried fruit and
vegetables, made cheese, made "ash cakes" of
cornmeal, baked bread and cookies, corded
and spun her own wool, knitted, weaved,
sewed, patched and mended, washed clothes
on a washboard and boiled clothes with
homemade soap.
Other
Work
Emma taught
school in Harmony when she was a young
woman. She sewed clothing for missionaries
and helped others outfit the Zion's Camp
army with food and clothing and provisions
for the homeless Missouri Mormons. She
opened her home to boarders and operated
an inn to supplement the family income for
forty-seven years. She had power of attorney
to
supply goods
for the hotel. While in Kirtland she took in
temple construction workers as boarders.
Young women needing a place to live joined
the household as domestic workers. In
Joseph's many absences she earned income by
buying, selling, bartering and trading. Emma
served as a nurse and assisted at births.
She took in and raised orphans, children of
single fathers and those of families in
need. Emma made personal contacts with
Governor Carlin of ILL for the Mormon people
and her husband. After Joseph's death, Emma
was allowed two horses, two cows and $124 a
year by those in charge of the church.
Church
Involvement and Responsibilities
Emma was
baptized on June 28, 1830 by Oliver Cowdery.
She was confirmed at a later date due to mob
interference and Joseph's arrest on the day
of the baptism. A revelation (Section 24)
was given to Emma designating her as the
"elect lady" and delineating her
responsibilities to Joseph and the church.
She served as a scribe for Joseph while
translating the Book of Mormon. She compiled
hymns for the church's first hymnal. Joseph
Smith, Sr. gave her her patriarchal blessing
on December 9, 1934. She was president of
the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo. Her
home in Nauvoo was the way station for
communications about the church, business
and legal matters. She assumed much
responsibility for Joseph's welfare. She
kept the manuscript of the Inspired Version
of the Scriptures safe until she turned it
over to the RLDS church in 1866.
Character
Emma's
talents included lively and witty speech, a
lyric soprano singing voice and skill and
fluency in written language. Emma knew how
to canoe and ride a horse. She attended a
girl's school for a year and was considered
very bright. She was physically and
emotionally strong and quiet, but sociable.
It is said that she moved with slow
precision, but was capable of doing an
amazing amount of work in a little time. Her
faith was deep and she knew the Bible well.
Emma was
self-sufficient during Joseph's absences.
Her love, affection and loyalty helped
sustain him when they were apart. Her
compassion and sense of others' needs
endeared her to church members. She was
frugal with home necessities. She was
steadfast in her beliefs. Once she was
confronted by a deputy and "faced the man
down" and he left. She gave Joseph an
ultimatum about a bar set up in her home by
Porter Rockwell and it was removed. Emma
Smith was a pioneer and stood the trials of
such. Joseph's mother, Lucy Mack Smith,
said, "I never saw a woman who could and did
endure affliction as Emma has done."
Separations from Husband
Joseph went
on several trips to accomplish work for the
church, but he was also arrested and
incarcerated a number of times. It was
necessary for him to go in hiding at times.
These separations from Emma and the family
were difficult for her. He was arrested at
least three times while in New York. He was
either allowed to escape or no conviction
occurred. After Governor Bogg's
extermination order, he and others were
taken prisoner and incarcerated in Liberty,
Missouri for several months. Again, he was
allowed to leave. While in Nauvoo, he was
arrested at least four times and either
escaped or was acquitted after three of
those arrests and was martyred after the
final arrest. Emma was left to care for the
children, the household, the inn (Nauvoo)
and some of the affairs of the church in
addition to experiencing concern for her
husband and others.
Mob
Violence Terror
Mob violence
constantly threatened Emma and Joseph.
Threats, rumors and evening raids began in
Palmyra. Mobs almost prevented Emma's
baptism in Harmony. While in Kirtland Joseph
was dragged from their home and tarred and
feathered. He escaped castration and
poisoning. There were many incidents of
violence in Missouri prompting the Zion's
camp support. Roving mobs followed the
saints to Far West and
other
settlements. The saints were not immune
from mob violence in Nauvoo. It continued
after Joseph's death. Emma moved her family
out of the city for a time.
Emma and
Joseph's Posterity
Julia Murdock
Smith returned to Nauvoo to be with Emma
later in her life. She died a year after
Emma died. Joseph Smith, III was president
of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ
for 53 years. Frederick Granger Williams
Smith died a young man in 1862. Alexander
Hale Smith was an apostle, Presiding
Patriarch and member of the first
presidency. David Smith was a member of the
first presidency, a missionary and the
author of hymns.
Brush
Strokes in the Portrait of a Lady
 |
Physically and emotionally strong |
|
Intelligent |
|
Long-suffering |
|
Survived 8 births (one for twins) |
|
Survived serious illnesses |
|
Independent |
|
Patient |
|
Faithful
and stalwart in her testimony
|
|
Talented -
language, music, motherhood |
|
Excellent
disciplinarian |
|
Loved and
respected |
|
Loyal to
her husband |
|
Perceptive about other people |
|
Dearly
loved by her husband |
|
Industrious |
|
Skilled
in education, nursing and business
|
|
Shared food, clothing and shelter when
she had little for herself and her
family |
|
Rarely had any privacy |
|
Willing
to sacrifice her relationship with her
parents |
|
Suffered
the deaths of many children, siblings,
parents, in-laws, friends and
husband |
|
Survived
the elements many times
|
|
Stood her ground
against enemies, politicians and
priesthood leaders with whom she
disagreed |
Death and
Burial
Emma Smith
died April 30, 1879 at age 74. She was
buried at the Nauvoo Homestead.
