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Coray, Howard, 1817-1908

 Person

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)