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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 28 Collections and/or Records:

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

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

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

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