Whitney, Helen Mar, 1828-1896
Dates
- Existence: 1828 - 1896
Biographical History
Helen Mar Whitney (1828-1896) was a Mormon pioneer.
Helen Mar Whitney was born on August 20, 1828, in Mendon, New York, to parents Heber C. Kimball and Vilate Kimball. Helen's parents joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1832 and moved to Kirtland, Ohio the following year. Helen was baptized a member of the church in 1837. The next year the family moved to Far West, Missouri, only to be forced out of the state one year later. The family then settled in Nauvoo, Illinois.
In 1843 Helen's father arranged for her to marry Joseph Smith Jr. as a plural wife. After Smith's death in 1844, Helen married Horace K. Whitney on February 4, 1846. Together they had eleven children, although only six lived to adulthood. Later that year, Helen left Nauvoo with the majority of the Latter-day Saints and spent nearly two years in Winter Quarters, Nebraska. In 1848 she and her family left for the Salt Lake Valley where she spent the rest of her life. In her later years, Helen was known mostly for her experiences with polygamy, which she frequently recounted in lectures, pamphlets, and articles.
Helen died on November 13, 1896, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Citation:
Wikipedia, Sept. 10, 2012: Helen Mar Kimball (born Aug. 20, 1828 to Heber C. and Vilate Kimball; moved to Kirtland, OH; moved to Far West, MO; moved to Nauvoo, Ill.; plural wife of Joseph Smith, 1843; married Horace Whitney, 1846; moved to Winter Quarters and then Salt Lake City; lectured and wrote about polygamy experiences; mother of Orson F. Whitney; died Nov. 13, 1896)FamilySearch, via WWW, Jan. 23, 2015 (eleven children, death in Salt Lake City, married February 4, 1846)
Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:
Horace K. and Helen Mar Whitney papers, 1847-1866
Materials include keepsakes, letters, and poems collected by Horace K. Whitney and Helen Mar Kimball. Includes cards and a woven envelope that were made by or given to Helen. There is also a letter from Helen to Horace. Materials also include an envelope that belonged to Louisa Beaman, the first plural wife sealed to Joseph Smith. Dated 1847-1866.
Emmeline B. Wells poem to Hellen Mar Whitney
Contains a handwritten poem written by Emmeline B. Wells to her step-daughter-in-law, Helen Mar Whitney, dated October 17, 1847, consuling her over the death of a newborn earlier that year in Winter Quarters, Nebraska.