| Joseph
F. Smith and his sister, Martha Ann, often recalled events differently,
resulting in different versions in secondary accounts. |
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Joseph F. Smith Recollection |
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| JFS
account through Preston Nibley |
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Preston Nibley recalled a 1906 conversation with President
Smith in Nauvoo as follows: |
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| Window, scream, cries |
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"I remember the night of the murder," he continued,
"when one of the brethren came from Carthage and knocked on our window
after dark and called to my mother, "Sister Smith, your husband has
been killed." He remembered his mother's scream on hearing this dreadful
news, and her moans and cries throughout the night. |
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Nibley's presidents, 229. |
| D. B. Huntington |
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In an 1891 letter to his sister, Joseph F. Smith named the
man who delivered the news. "How well I remember the early morning
of June 28, forty-seven years ago, when D. B. Huntington announced at mother's
bedroom window the sad news of the murders the day before!" |
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JFS
to Martha Ann Harris, Aug. 13, 1891. |
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Marth Ann Smith Harris Recollection |
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Martha Ann, on the other hand, though
she was only three at the time, left a dramatic and detailed account, which
differed substantially from her brother's recollection. |
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| Martha
Ann: sick, knock at the door, George Grant delivers news, Mary calm |
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I remember well the night that he was murdered. I had the
measles and I had taken cold. It had settled on my lungs and I could not
speak above my breath. I begged my dear mother to lie down and rest once.
She would read the Bible awhile then walk again until the day began to dawn.
Then there was a knock at the door. My mother asked who was there. The answer
was George Grant. She opened the door and asked what news. He gave answer
that Joseph Hyrum were both murdered. My mother stepped back calmly exclaiming
it cannot be possible can it? He answered yes it is true. |
Mercy R. Fielding, Centennial
Letter, Church Archives. |
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She then fell back against the bureau. Bro Grant took her
and placed her in a chair. The news flew like wildfire through the house. |
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| Crying
begins |
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The crying and agony that went through that house and the
anguish and sorry that were felt can be easier felt than described but that
will never be forgotten by those who were called to pass through it. |
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Inconsistencies |
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While Joseph F. recalled D. B. Huntington
tapping at the window, Martha Ann remembered George Grant knocking at the
door and entering the house. |
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Don C. Corbett observes that the
brother and sister: |
Mary Fielding Smith,
176. |
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when visiting together, would reminisce
about events, places, and people they recalled in Nauvoo. Sometimes their
memories would differ a little. Joseph would say, "Martha, you are
not quite right about that." Whereupon, Martha would reply, "I
remember it distinctly, Joseph." Then she would argue a bit thinking
she might stir her brother's member to agree with hers. |
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Murder News Reaches Mary
Trials of Young Joseph F. Smith
(1)
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