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Woodruff, Wilford, 1807-1898

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1807 - 1898

Biographical History

Wilford Woodruff (1807-1898) served as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1889 to 1898.

Wilford Woodruff was born March 1, 1807. He was raised in Connecticut. Woodruff was a miller by trade. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1833 and served two missions before being ordained an Apostle in 1839. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, he completed four additional missions, presided over the temple in St. George, Utah, and served six years as Church Historian. He was sustained as Church President on April 7, 1889. As President of the Church, he dedicated temples in Salt Lake City and Manti, Utah, oversaw the organization of the Genealogical Society, and reemphasized the value of historical record keeping. He also received a revelation that the Latter-day Saints should cease the practice of plural marriage. In 1890, he wrote the Manifesto, testifying that the Church had ceased teaching the practice of plural marriage. Woodruff died in San Francisco on September 2, 1898.

Citation:
The illustrated story ... c1982 (1983 prtg.): t.p. (Wilford Woodruff [in title]) p. 5 (b. Mar. 1, 1807; d. Sept. 2,1898)

Woodruff, Wilford. In the whirlpool, 2011: ECIP t.p. (Wilford Woodruff) ch. 1 (once used the moniker Lewis Allen while in hiding)

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1992: p.1580-1582 (Wilford Woodruff (1807-1898), fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; born Farmington, Connecticut on March 1, 1807; April 1834 arrived in Kirtland, Ohio; Zion's Camp; missionary to England; missionary to Southern States in 1835; Quorum of the Twelve in 1839; member of the Nauvoo City Council, chaplain of the Nauvoo Legion, member of the council of Fifty; member of pioneer company of Latter-day Saints to arrive in the Great Basin on July 24, 1847; served in the Utah Territorial Legislature for 22 years; Utah territorial council for 21 years; board of directors of Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI); 1889 sustained as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

Wikipedia, website viewed 14 October 2010 (Wilford Woodruff, born March 1, 1807 Farmington, Connecticut; Died September 2, 1898, San Francisco, California; LDS Church President, ordained April 7, 1889; LDS Church Apostle, ordained April 26, 1839)

Church History website, via WWW, March 19, 2013 (Wilford Woodruff; b. March 1, 1807; raised in Connecticut; was a miller by trade; joined Church in 1833; ordained apostle in 1839; sustained as Church President April 7, 1889; died. Sept. 2, 1898)

Found in 10 Collections and/or Records:

John Smith correspondence, 1848-1911

 Series
Identifier: Vault MSS 803 Series 2
Scope and Contents

Contains letters to and from Smith from family members and acquaintances, including his aunt Emma Smith Bidamon, his wife Hellen, his sons Alvin and Hyrum, his step brother Joseph F. Smith, and his cousin Joseph Smith III. Also includes some letters from LDS Church Presidents, including John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff. Dated 1848-1911.

Dates: 1848-1911

John Smith letters received, 1848-1911

 Sub-Series
Identifier: Vault MSS 803 Series 2 Sub-Series 2
Scope and Contents

Letters written to John Smith from family members and acquaintances, including Alexander Hale Smith, Hyrum F. Smith, Hyrum Gibbs Smith, George A. Smith, Hellen Smith, Joseph Smith III, Joseph F. Smith, Samuel H. B. Smith, John Taylor, Charles Lowell Walker, Orson F. Whitney, and Wilford Woodruff. Dated 1848-1911.

Dates: 1848-1911

John Smith letters sent, 1854-1911

 Sub-Series
Identifier: Vault MSS 803 Series 2 Sub-Series 1
Scope and Contents

Letters written by John Smith and sent to family members and other acquaintances, including his wife, Hellen, sons Alvin and Hyrum F., cousin Joseph Smith III, and step-brother Joseph F. Smith. Dated 1954-1911.

Dates: 1854-1911

John Smith mission papers, 1862-1864

 Series
Identifier: Vault MSS 803 Series 1
Scope and Contents

Contains papers related to Smith's mission to Denmark for the LDS Church from 1862-1864. Includes four diaries, three of which are originals and one of which is a photocopy and transcription. Also includes his mission blessing, papers related to daily mission activities, a provision list for Danish Saints on the "Monarch of the Seas," a record of priesthood ordinations, a Danish grammar book, and letters to his wife, Hellen, and children. Dated 1862-1864.

Dates: 1862-1864

John Smith personal papers, 1852-1962

 Series
Identifier: Vault MSS 803 Series 3
Scope and Contents

Contains papers related to Smith's personal and family life, genealogical information, business interests, and his role as Presiding Patriarch of the LDS Church. Includes patriarchal blessings given to him, as well as those he gave to others. Also includes tithing receipts, legal documents, documents regarding stock held by Smith, commendations for Smith, miscellaneous correspondence, documents related to Joseph Smith III, and articles regarding John Smith. Dated 1852-1962.

Dates: 1852-1962

Letters, 1895-1897

 Item — Box 9: [Barcode: 31197233283214], Folder: 54
Identifier: Vault MSS 2
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a handwritten and signed letter, dated 27 Dec. 1897, and addressed to "Brother Anthony." Cannon asks Anthony to "extend any courtesy to [a friend] that he may need." Also included is a photocopy of a typewritten "Agreement," dated 25 June 1895, and signed by the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including Cannon. The item relates to an "overdraft" from "Zion's Saving Bank."

Dates: 1895-1897

Photographs of Wilford Woodruff, date of production not identified

 File — Box 1: [Barcode: 31197231234383], Folder: 4
Identifier: UA 945 File 3

Samuel Bateman diary, book 1, 1886-1888

 Item — Box 1: [Barcode: 31197227633978], Folder: 1
Identifier: MSS 128 Item 1
Scope and Contents Original handwritten diary of Samuel Bateman, including entries while he served as bodyguard for Latter-day Saint Church President John Taylor until his death in July 1887. Diary includes nearly daily entries of his work as a bodyguard, and includes details of the last days of John Taylor while living in the "Underground" for plural marriage. Bateman later served as bodyguard to President Wilford Woodruff as well. Much of the diary is his interactions and travels with various Church leaders...
Dates: 1886-1888

Samuel Russell, Sr. letters, 1882 December 6-1892 May 12

 File — Box 2: Series 2; Series 3 [Barcode: 31197233277588], Folder: 13
Identifier: MSS 1511 Series 3 File 10
Scope and Contents

Contains 12 letters to Samuel Russell, Sr., including items from John Morgan and Wilford Woodruff, A.H Snow, Angus M. Canon and George Lambert. Materials dated December 6, 1882 to May 12, 1892.

Dates: 1882 December 6-1892 May 12

Wilford Woodruff letter to John Smith, 1888 January 20

 File — Box 1: Series 1; Series 2 [Barcode: 31197232548872], Folder: 48
Identifier: Vault MSS 803 Series 2 Sub-Series 2
Scope and Contents

Letter from President Woodruff to Smith regarding Smith's request for additional funds. Dated January 20, 1888.

Dates: 1888 January 20