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Phelps, William Wines, 1792-1872

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1792 - 1872

Biographical History

William Wines Phelps (1792-1872) was a publisher, scribe, and pioneer.

William Wines (W. W.) Phelps was born on February 17, 1792, in Hanover, New Jersey, to Enon Phelps and Mehitable Goldsmith. He married Sally Waterman on April 28, 1815, in Smyrna, New York. In June 1831, he traveled to Kirtland, Ohio, met the Prophet Joseph Smith, and was baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1832 he moved to Jackson County, Missouri, and began publishing the Church's first periodical, the "Evening and the Morning Star". However, mobs attacked his house and destroyed his printing equipment. Phelps eventually had to escape Jackson County into Clay County and was later called to work in Kirtland.

In 1835, the Church purchased Egyptian mummies and papyrus from Michael H. Chandler; Phelps acted as a scribe for Joseph Smith while the latter translated the manuscripts into what we now know as the Pearl of Great Price. In 1838 Church authorities accused Phelps of reneging on a financial deal for building a temple in Missouri and they excommunicated Phelps. However, he was rebaptized two days later and he regained full membership two years later and was sent on a mission to the eastern United States. He also married two more wives: Laura Stowell and Elizabeth Dunn. After Joseph Smith died in 1844, Phelps embarked on the trek to the West and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1848. In Utah, he was a member of the Utah legislature and an almanac maker.

Phelps died on March 7, 1872, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Citation:
Phelps Family History, via WWW, March 27, 2014 (Enon Phelps and Mehitable Goldsmith; married Sally Waterman on April 28, 1815, in Smyrna, New York; June 1831, he traveled to Kirtland, Ohio; baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on June 10, 1831; 1832 he moved to Jackson County, Missouri; publishing "Evening and the Morning Star"; mobs attacked his house and destroyed his printing equipment. Phelps eventually had to escape Jackson County into Clay County and was later called to work in Kirtland; scribe for Joseph Smith; In 1838 Church authorities accused Phelps of reneging on a financial deal for building a temple in Missouri and they excommunicated Phelps; regained full membership 1840 and was sent on a mission to the Eastern States; two more wives: Laura Stowell and Elizabeth Dunn; Phelps went on trek to the West and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1848; a member of the Utah legislature and an almanac maker)

Praise to the man, 1997: CIP galley (William Wines Phelps, pioneer; b. Feb. 17, 1792, Hanover, Morris Co., N.J.; d. 1872, Salt Lake City, Utah)

Light on free masonry, 1869: p. viii, 318 (W.W. Phelps)

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

William Wines Phelps papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: Vault MSS 810
Scope and Contents Collection contains original correspondence and journal extracts written by William Wines (W.W.) Phelps and his family between 1835 and 1865. He wrote the majority of the letters to his wife, Sally, in Clay County, Missouri, while he was in Kirtland, Ohio with members of the Mormon Church. The collection also contains some original letters from other family members, such as his wife and son, to Phelps. Many of the pages have just portions of letters and page numbering at the top, but they...
Dates: 1835-1865
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / William Wines Phelps papers

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