Children of Joseph Smith

The children of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his wife Emma Smith, are historically significant because of their roles in establishing and leading the Latter Day Saint Movement, which includes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church, now called Community of Christ), The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and several other sects. Several Latter Day Saint sects, including the RLDS believed that leadership of the church would flow through Smith's descendants, (Lineal succession). In 1860, Joseph Smith III became its prophet and president of the RLDS Church. The larger LDS Church was led after a vote following Joseph's death by Brigham Young.

Joseph Smith publicly condemned polygamy,[1][2][3][4] but there is ample evidence that Smith both taught and practiced it, had a number of wives sealed to him, and may have had sexual relations with at least some of them.[5] Though there were allegations of paternity in some of these polygamous marriages, no children have ever been proven to be Smith's. There is ongoing genetic research to determine if any descendants of alleged children have Smith's genetic markers, and so far all tests have been negative.[6][7][8][9]

Joseph and Emma Hale Smith Family

Child Lifespan Notes
Alvin Smith June 15, 1828 – June 15, 1828 Born with un-described birth defects[10]
Thaddeus Smith April 30, 1831 – April 30, 1831 Twin of Louisa, premature, died within a few hours of their birth[10]
Louisa Smith April 30, 1831 – April 30, 1831 Twin of Thaddeus, premature, died within a few hours of their birth[10]
Joseph Smith Murdock* April 30, 1831 – March 29, 1832 (age 10 months) *Adopted. Twin of Julia, birth son of Julia Clapp Murdock and John Murdock who upon his wife's death in childbirth gave the infants to the Smiths for adoption. Died from exposure (many accounts say pneumonia) following a mob attack on the Smith home on the night of March 24, 1832.[11]
 Julia Murdock Smith* April 30, 1831 – September 12, 1880(1880-09-12) (aged 49) *Adopted. Twin of Joseph, birth daughter of Julia Clapp Murdock and John Murdock
 Joseph Smith III November 6, 1832 – December 10, 1914(1914-12-10) (aged 82) Prophet-President of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), opponent of polygamy
 Frederick Granger Williams Smith June 20, 1836 – April 13, 1862(1862-04-13) (aged 25) Frederick left only a daughter who never married and had no children.[12]
 Alexander Hale Smith June 2, 1838 – August 12, 1909(1909-08-12) (aged 71) Senior leader of the RLDS Church, opponent of polygamy
Don Carlos Smith June 13, 1840 – September 15, 1841 (age 14 months)
Male child February 6, 1842 – February 6, 1842 Stillborn
David Hyrum Smith November 17, 1844 – August 29, 1904(1904-08-29) (aged 59) born after Smith's death, active in the RLDS Church, opponent of polygamy

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Whitmer 1887
  2. ↑ Times and Seasons, Volume 5, page 474
  3. ↑ Times and Seasons, Volume 5, page 423
  4. ↑ The Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star 4 [January 1844]: 144
  5. ↑ Bushman, 492-93: "They had to give up romance, cut themselves off from friends, perhaps suffer disgrace if they became pregnant." Ostling, 65: "The number of Smith's polygamous offspring is a bit of a mystery. There was only one child from a plural marriage generally acknowledged as such: Josephine, daughter of Emily Dow Partridge. Several sources indicate there were others, raised in other families and under other names. Such children had, of course, been conceived in secrecy." Arrington & Bitton, 199: "Several women later did testify that they were wives in the full sense of the word. Emily D. P. Partidge said she 'roomed' with him, and Melissa Lott Willes testified that she was his wife 'in very deed.'
  6. ↑ Perego, Myers & Woodward 2005
  7. ↑ "Research focuses on Smith family". Deseret News. 2005-05-28.
  8. ↑ "DNA tests rule out 2 as Smith descendants: Scientific advances prove no genetic link". Deseret News. 2007-11-10.
  9. ↑ Moore, C. DNA tests rules out 2 as Smith descendants, Mormon Times, November 12, 2007
  10. 1 2 3 Jones, Gracia (June 10, 2009). "Emma's Lost Infants". The Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  11. ↑ Newell, Linda King; Avery, Valeen Tippetts (1984), Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith, Prophet's Wife, "Elect Lady," Polygamy's Foe, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, ISBN 0-252-02399-4
  12. ↑ Jones, Gracia (December 11, 2009). "Children of Joseph and Emma: Frederick Granger Williams Smith". The Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
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