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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 18 Collections and/or Records:

George Q. Cannon letter to Wilford Woodruff

 Item — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233293122]
Identifier: Vault MSS 743
Scope and Contents

Handwritten and signed letter to Wilford Woodruff written from the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. The item expresses Cannon's concern about a bill before Congress that would "Bind the Mormon people hand and foot" in order to "dispose of them" Cannon argues for constitutional rights for the Mormons, self-government in Utah, and victory in the "war against us."

Dates: 1876

Moses Franklin Farnsworth papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 1678
Scope and Contents

Correspondence, record books, pension petitions, certificates, pamphlets, articles of incorporation, poems, blessings, poems, and miscellaneous items. The materials relate to Farnsworth's activities particulary in the Mormon Church. Included in the collection are letters from the fourth president of the Mormon Church, Willford Woodruff, patriarchal blessings, letters relating to Mormon polygamy, and a book recording the work done in the Manti Temple of the Mormon Church.

Dates: 1870-1900

Scott G. Kenney research materials

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2022
Scope and Contents

Photocopies of correspondence, minutes, journals, and subject research files of Scott Kinney. These materials relate to Joseph F. Smith (1832-1918) sixth President of the LDS Church. The bulk of the collection deals with the years 1870 to 1918. These research files are documentation for Kinney's proposed biography of Smith.

Dates: 1820-1984

Lorenzo Snow Lyman collection

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230328814]
Identifier: MSS SC 2976
Scope and Contents Correspondence and certificates of Lorenzo S. Lyman and Lyman family papers. The correspondence deals with 19th and 20th century Utah politics; references to Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, the St. George Temple, and Utah mining and politics; Family History; family activities in various locations (San Bernardino, California and Fillmore and Parowan, Utah); and letters from Francis M. Lyman about being an apostle and travels (a visit to Egypt and Palestine in 1902)....
Dates: 1853-1964

George Reynolds letter

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230321918]
Identifier: MSS SC 2350
Scope and Contents

Handwritten letter dated 5 Sept. 1877 and addressed to Wilford Woodruff (1807-1898) who later became the fourth president of the Mormon Church. Reynolds writes a brief letter dealing with business transactions.

Dates: 1877 September 5

Lorenzo Snow letter

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230333806]
Identifier: MSS 1149
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a typewritten and signed letter, dated March 22, 1892, and addressed to Wilford Woodruff, the fourth president of the Mormon Church. Snow seeks appoval of the decision to organize the Beaver Dam settlement into a ward of the Mormon Church.

Dates: 1892

John Taylor letters

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197232491081]
Identifier: MSS 677
Scope and Contents

Photocopies of typed copies of letters sent by John Taylor to his wives and to such LDS Church leaders as Brigham Young and Wilford Woodruff. The materials deal largely with family and Church matters. Also included are photocopies of handwritten notes on Taylor's various wives.

Dates: 1839-1887

Sarah Taylor autograph album

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233289229]
Identifier: Vault MSS 369
Scope and Contents

Autograph book which contains the signatures of many prominent Mormons with person remarks and poems addressed to Sarah Taylor.

Dates: 1884-1896

Wilford Woodruff ticket

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233284048]
Identifier: Vault MSS 114
Scope and Contents

Mechanically reproduced ticket with the stamped signature of Wilford Woodruff on it. The item admits the bearer to the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple of the Mormon Church.

Dates: 1893

Wilford Woodruff correspondence

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230312958]
Identifier: MSS SC 1541
Scope and Contents

Photocopies of letters exchanged between Wilford Woodruff and his brother, Asahel. Wilford describes baptising their family members into the Mormon Church and establishing a branch of that Church in Farmington, Conn. He announces the 14 July birth of his daughter and outlines preparations to migrate to Missouri. He bears testimony to the truthfulness of the Mormon Church.

Dates: 1838