Katherine Smith Salisbury was born 28 July 1813 in Lebanon, Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States to Joseph Smith (1771-1840) and Lucy Mack (1775-1856) and died 2 February 1900 Fountain Green, Hancock County, Illinois, United States of unspecified causes. She married Wilkins Jenkins Salisbury (1809-1853) 8 June 1831 in Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio, United States. She married Joseph W Younger (1803-1900) 3 May 1857 in Fountain Green, Hancock County, Illinois, United States.
Biography[]
Katharine (Catherine, Katherine) Smith Salisbury, the second daughter and seventh surviving child of Joseph Smith (1771-1840) and Lucy Mack Smith, and sister of the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith (1805-1844).
She was an eyewitness to many important events of the Restoration, including hefting the covered gold plates after Joseph had brought them into the Smith home. Shortly after the plates were retrieved, Katharine was active in ensuring the safety of the plates—on one occasion hiding them in her bedcovers as a mob searched the Smith family home. She was subsequently baptized by David Whitmer in Seneca Lake at the Church's first conference, held 9 June 1830. She fully accepted her brother's calling as a prophet of God, and testified to the same throughout her prolonged life.
Early life[]
Katharine Smith was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire, as the seventh surviving child of Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack. Later in her life, she recollected that when her brother Joseph brought the golden plates to the family home in Manchester, New York in September 1827, he "entered the house running", with the plates "clasped to his side with his left hand and arm, … his right hand … badly bruised from knocking down at least three men who had leaped at him from behind bushes or fences as he ran."[1] Several times she was permitted to lift the plates, which were always covered with a cloth when she did so.[1][2][3] She also provided a detailed recollection of the visits of the Angel Moroni to her brother.[4]
Latter Day Saint convert[]
Katharine attended the first meetings of the Church of Christ in 1830, and was baptized as a member in June 1830 by David Whitmer. In 1831, she moved with the Smith family to Kirtland, Ohio, to join the main gathering of Latter Day Saints. On June 8, 1831, she married Wilkins Jenkins Salisbury, a fellow convert to Mormonism, in Kirtland. He was one of the first seventies of the church, but he was excommunicated by the Kirtland high council in 1836 for "talebearing and drinking strong liquor". The Salisburys settled in Chardon, Ohio, and later followed the Latter Day Saint movements to Missouri and Illinois. In Illinois, they settled in Plymouth, which was forty miles from church headquarters in Nauvoo.
Life in Illinois[]
After Katharine's brothers Joseph and Hyrum were killed, the Salisburys moved to Nauvoo to be with the other members of the Smith family. Like the other members of the Smith family, they did not endorse the leadership of Brigham Young (1801-1877) and refused to follow him to the Salt Lake Valley; this was based largely on her strong belief that the church should be led by a member of the Smith family.
Later, the Salisburys settled in Fountain Green, Illinois, where Katharine would live for the rest of her life. In 1853, Wilkins Jenkins Salisbury died of typhoid fever; they were the parents of eight children.[5] On May 3, 1857, she married Joseph Younger; they eventually divorced, though it is not known when this took place. They had no children together. After the divorce, Katharine retained the surname Salisbury for the rest of her life.
RLDS Church member[]
Gravestone of Wilkins and Katherine Salisbury in Webster IL.
In 1873, based on her 1830 baptism, Salisbury was received as a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church), which was headed by her nephew [[Joseph Smith (1832-1914)| Joseph Smith III. She was an active member for the remainder of her life, often traveling to RLDS Church conferences in Lamoni, Iowa and Independence, Missouri. RLDS Church leaders often invited her to sit on the platform at church meetings because she was regarded as a living link to the early days of the church.
Salisbury was the longest-lived sibling of Joseph Smith; she was frequently sought out for interviews and recollections by RLDS Church members and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She died in Fountain Green, Illinois. As of 2005, she had 92 known descendants.
Marriage and Family[]
Katharine married Wilkins Jenkins Salisbury (a veteran of Zion's Camp (1834)) on 8 January 1831, shortly after the New York Saints migrated to Kirtland, Ohio. He died 27 November 1853. She married Joseph Younger around 1853 in Illinois. It's unknown when they divorced. They had no children together. After the divorce, Katharine retained the surname Salisbury for the rest of her life.
1st Marriage: Wilkins Jenkins Salisbury[]
2nd Marriage: Joseph Younger[]
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Elizabeth Jenkins Salisbury (1832-1832) | |||
| Lucy Salisbury (1834-1892) | |||
| Solomon Jenkins Salisbury (1835-1927) | |||
| Alvin Salisbury (1838-1880) | |||
| Don Carlos Salisbury (1841-1919) | |||
| Emma C Salisbury (1844-1846) | |||
| Lorin Ephraim Salisbury (1845-1849) | |||
| Frederick Vilian Salisbury (1850-1934) | |||
Siblings[]
References[]
- Wikipedia:Katharine Smith Salisbury
- Katherine Smith Salisbury Younger at Find A Grave #10359991
- "Family of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith: The First Family of the Restoration", Ensign, December 2005.
- "Katharine Smith Salisbury's Recollections of Joseph’s Meetings with Moroni", BYU Studies 41
- ^ a b Andrew H. Hedges, "'Take Heed Continually': Protecting the Gold Plates", Ensign, January 2001.
- ^ "The Prophet’s Sister Testifies She Lifted the B of M Plates", Messenger [Berkeley, California], October 1954, p. 1 at p. 6.
- ^ Mary Salisbury Hancock, "The Three Sisters of the Prophet Joseph Smith", Saints' Herald 101 (25 January 1954): 10–11, 24.
- ^ "An Angel Told Him: Joseph Smith's Aged Sister Tells About Moroni's Talk", Kansas City Times, 11 April 1895, excerpts reproduced in Kyle R. Walker, "Katharine Smith Salisbury's Recollections of Joseph’s Meetings with Moroni", BYU Studies 41(3) (2002): 4–17.
- ^ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedfirstfamily
