Skip to main content

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 59 Collections and/or Records:

Myron Alma Abbott autobiography

 File — Box 1: [Barcode: 31197232504610]
Identifier: MSS 661
Scope and Contents Handwritten autobiography of Abbott written in 1917. Includes a description of Abbott's life including his birth in Weber County, and life in Tocquerville and Plymouth, Utah, before moving to Bunkerville, Nevada, in 1877. He describes the stay of the Mormon Apostle, Wilford Woodruff, when he was in Bunkerville while dodging federal officials for polygamy. Also includes Abbott's marriage to Mary Leavitt in 1881 and life in Annabella, Sevier County, Utah, from 1886-1910, where he was involved...
Dates: 1917

Samuel Bateman papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 128
Scope and Contents Contains materials documenting Samuel Bateman's personal and family life. Included are some of Bateman's handwritten diaries for the years 1886-1888, 1899-1901, and 1901-1909. Also included are typescripts, microfilm, and scanned copies of these diaries, and typescripts of some correspondence to and from Samuel Bateman, dated 1868-1886. His correspondence discusses guarding John Taylor and his friendship with Wilford Woodruff, who were both Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of...
Dates: 1868-2016

Thomas Walter Brookbank reminiscences

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230305515]
Identifier: MSS SC 799
Scope and Contents

Consists of three separate manuscripts: "Religious Experiences of Thomas Walter Brookbank," "Travels and Threads of Experience," and "A Soldier's Recollections." These autobiographies recount the author's early life and conversion to Mormonism, his experiences in the Civil War (1861-1865), life in Utah and the Mormon settlements in eastern Arizona, and missionary activities in New Mexico, Texas, Mexico, and Great Britain.

Dates: 1922

David John Buerger term papers

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230311620]
Identifier: MSS SC 1465
Scope and Contents

Photocopies of typed term papers entitled "Brigham Young University: The Unvarnished Reality," and "Politics and Inspiration: An Historical Analysis of the Woodruff Manifesto." The items are controversial works on the role of education in the Mormon Church and the changes in the Mormon doctrine of "plural marriage."

Dates: 1978

Bush family papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2217
Abstract

This collection, containing letters, journals, newspaper articles, and other family correspondence, has been organized into folders by year, starting in 1846 and ending in 1960.

Dates: 1846-1960

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

C. W. Carter composite photograph of Salt Lake Temple

 Item — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233636379]
Identifier: MSS 8233
Scope and Contents

Photograph by Carter from 1892 containing images taken during the construction of the Salt Lake Tabernacle and the Salt Lake Temple, with the dates of the pictures. It also contains portraits of Brigham Young, John Taylor, and Wilford Woodruff and some short quotes about the construction of the Tabernacle and the Temple.

Dates: approximately 1892

H. H. Cluff cartes-de-visite and tintypes

 Collection — Box 1: [Barcode: 31197233607321]
Identifier: MSS P 282
Scope and Contents

Collection includes 170 photographs and four tintypes. All images are cartes-de-visite of Provo and Utah residents. Includes images of Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, and Emma Smith. Collection also includes a photocopy of the complete album as originally created by H.H. Cluff, available in the collection case file.

Dates: approximately 1860-1916

Copies of revelations

 File — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS SC 1857
Scope and Contents Two handwritten booklets. One booklet is a list of people which were persecuted and imprisoned for polygamy in Utah and Idaho. The other item includes copies of a "revelation" (26 Jan. 1880) by the Mormon Apostle, Wilford Woodruff, concerning obedience to the Mormon Church and an excerpt from his journal on the dedication of the St. George Temple in 1877; a list of 28 women believed to have been "sealed" to Joseph Smith (1805-1844); "testimonies" of Mormon Church members; a "revelation"...
Dates: 1869-1900

Crockwell & Ottinger photographs

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197205394478]
Identifier: MSS P 31
Scope and Contents

Collection includes six silver gelatin print photographs by Crockwell & Ottinger taken between 1883 and 1886. Includes an image of Wilford Woodruff, as well as Utah landscapes.

Dates: 1883-1886