Coray, Howard, 1817-1908

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: 1817 - 1908

Biography

Howard Coray (1817-1908) was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a clerk to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Howard Coray was born on May 6, 1817, in Dansville, New York, to Silas Coray and Mary Stephens. He moved to Illinois in January 1839, and was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in March 1840. He moved to Nauvoo a month later and worked as a clerk for Joseph Smith and helped compile church history. While in Hancock County, Illinois, he and Martha Jane Knowlton met and were married on February 6, 1841. A year later he served a mission to Pennsylvania from November 1842 to November 1843. He and Martha helped Lucy Mack Smith, the Prophet's mother, write her history of Joseph Smith. Howard and his family immigrated to the west with the Saints and arrived in Salt Lake City in the spring of 1850. He served another mission to Virginia from 1882 to 1883.

Howard Coray died in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 16, 1908.

Citation:

Joseph Smith Papers, via WWW, April 3, 2014 (born on May 6, 1817, in Dansville, New York, to Silas Coray and Mary Stephens; He moved to Illinois in January 1839; baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in March 1840; worked as a clerk for Joseph Smith and helped compile church history; Hancock County, Illinois, he and Martha Jane Knowlton met and were married on February 6, 1841; served a mission to Pennsylvania from November 1842 to November 1843; He and his wife (who was a personal friend of Joseph and Hyrum Smith) helped Lucy Mack Smith, the Prophet's mother, write her history of Joseph Smith; immigrated to the West with the Saints and arrived in Salt Lake City in the spring of 1850; served another mission to Viriginia in 1882-1883; died in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 16, 1908)

Journal of Mormon history, fall 2007:p. 83, etc. (Howard Coray, b. May 6, 1817; d. Jan. 16, 1908)

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Coray family papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS 1422

Scope and Contents

Contents includes correspondence, journals, autobiographical and biographical sketches, pertaining to the lives of Howard Coray his wife Martha Jane Knowlton Coray and members of the Coray family. Contents deal with the Coray family’s dealing with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their family history, and their finances.

Dates: 1843-1965

Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Coray family papers

Martha Coray notebook

File — Multiple Containers

Identifier: Vault MSS 230

Scope and Contents Notebook includes Coray's interview notes used in compiling of Lucy Mack Smith's history of Joseph Smith.Smith family history notes contain John and Clarissa Smith's account of visit by Joseph Smith Sr. to Smith family members, including his father, Asael Smith, in Lawrence County, New York, in 1830; John Smith's account of his and Joseph Smith Sr.'s reunion with their mother, Mary Duty Smith, at Kirtland, Ohio, and their subsequent journey eastward to visit Church branches and...

Dates: 1845

Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Martha Coray notebook

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Type: Collection X

BYU Library - Special Collections