Helen Mar Kimball
 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Helen Mar Kimball August 22, 1828 Mendon, New York, United States |
| Died | November 13, 1896 (aged 68) Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
| Resting place |
Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′26″N 111°51′47″W / 40.774°N 111.863°W |
| Spouse(s) | Joseph Smith; after his death, to Horace Whitney |
Helen Mar Kimball (August 22, 1828 – November 13, 1896) was one of several plural wives of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She was sealed in marriage to him when she was 14 years old. After his death when she was 16, she married Horace Whitney "for time," brother to another of Smith's wives. She bore eleven children with Whitney, the first three of whom died at or soon after birth. Their son Orson F. Whitney became an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Kimball was born in Mendon, New York as the third of nine children born to Heber C. Kimball and Vilate Murray. She was the only daughter to survive, and grew up being very close to her younger brother William. As the only daughter, she was somewhat pampered by her parents (Compton 1997, pp. 487–8). Kimball was three years old when her parents were baptized into the Latter Day Saint church in 1832. Kimball's family moved from Mendon to the church headquarters at Kirtland, Ohio in the fall of 1833. When her father was called to be an apostle of the church in 1835, he was required to travel on missions and be away from home for significant lengths of time (Compton 1997, pp. 488–90).
Kimball was baptized by Brigham Young in the Chagrin River during the winter when the river was frozen over. In order for her to be baptized, her father had to cut a hole in the ice. Kimball later wrote that she was not bothered by the cold water because she had “longed for this privilege” and that she “felt no cold or inconvenience from it" (Compton 1997, p. 490).
In 1838 the Kimball family moved from Kirtland to Far West, Missouri to join members of the church who were moving there. Their arrival in Far West occurred soon after the Battle of Crooked River, and tensions between the Mormons and Missourians were beginning to reach a peak.
...
Wikipedia