Horace K. and Helen Mar Whitney papers, 1847-1866

Sub-Series — Box: 4, Folder: 10, item: 1-7

Identifier: MSS 15 Series 3 Sub-Series 2

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

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.

Dates

1847-1866

Creator

Whitney, Orson F. (Orson Ferguson), 1855-1931 (creator, Person)
Whitney, Zina B. Smoot (Zina Beal Smoot), 1859-1900 (contributor, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Orson F. Whitney papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.

Biographical / Historical

Horace G. Whitney (1858-1920) was an esteemed member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a supporter of music and art in his Salt Lake City community.

Horace Gibson Whitney was born on January 6, 1858 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to parents Horace Kimball Whitney and Mary Cravath. As a child and teenager, Whitney benefitted from a good education and particularly enjoyed reading and writing. He attended college at the University of Deseret (now University of Utah) and graduated in 1873. A couple years after graduating, he began working at the local bank, White & McCornick, where he remained for ten years. He married Marion Mumford Beatie on January 10, 1884 and together they had three children.

Outside of his work and family obligations, Whitney was a member of his community’s debating societies, drama clubs, and literary associations. In fact, in 1880 he and some friends organized the Home Dramatic Club, which he managed. The club produced plays and supported stars who visited Salt Lake City. After this, he managed the Salt Lake Opera Company. In 1887, Lorenzo Snow appointed Whitney as the business manager of Deseret News, a position he held until 1920 when he resigned because of poor health. Whitney died on October 25, 1920, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Biographical / Historical

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.