Emma Smith

Brief Life History of Emma

When Emma Smith was born on 1 March 1838, in Daviess, Missouri, United States, her father, Samuel Smith, was 30 and her mother, Martisha Smoot, was 25. She married Wilford Woodruff on 13 March 1853, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 5 daughters. She lived in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States in 1839 and Salt Lake, Utah, United States for about 50 years. She died on 4 March 1912, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States, at the age of 74, and was buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States.

Photos and Memories (7)

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Family Time Line

Wilford Woodruff
1807–1898
Emma Smith
1838–1912
Marriage: 13 March 1853
Hyrum Smith Woodruff
1857–1858
Emma Minella Woodruff
1860–1905
Asahel Hart Woodruff
1863–1939
Ann Thompson Woodruff
1867–1867
Clara Martisha Woodruff
1868–1927
Abraham Owen Woodruff
1872–1904
Winnifred Blanche Woodruff
1876–1954
Mary Alice Woodruff
1879–1916

Sources (29)

  • Emma Smith, "United States, Census, 1850"
  • Emma, "Utah, Salt Lake County Death Records, 1849-1949" Ann T Woodruff
  • Emma S Woodruff, "Utah, Salt Lake City Cemetery Records, 1847-1976"

World Events (8)

1839 · Nauvoo is Settled

After the Saints had been chased out of Missouri they moved to a swampy area located next to the Mississippi River. Here they settled and named the place Nauvoo which translates into the city beautiful.

1846

U.S. acquires vast tracts of Mexican territory in wake of Mexican War including California and New Mexico.

1858 · A House Divided

Abraham Lincoln's goal was to be different than the previous Senators of Illinois and voice his opinion in how he saw the State and the United States start to drift apart in the different ideology on what was right and what was wrong. Even though it would become an unsuccessful campaign strategy to win the senate seat, to this day it is one of the most famous speeches of US politics.

Name Meaning

English and Scottish: occupational name denoting a worker in metal, especially iron, such as a blacksmith or farrier, from Middle English smith ‘smith’ (Old English smith, probably a derivative of smītan ‘to strike, hammer’). Early examples are also found in the Latin form Faber . Metal-working was one of the earliest occupations for which specialist skills were required, and its importance ensured that this term and its equivalents in other languages were the most widespread of all occupational surnames in Europe. Medieval smiths were important not only in making horseshoes, plowshares, and other domestic articles, but above all for their skill in forging swords, other weapons, and armor. This is also the most frequent of all surnames in the US. It is very common among African Americans and Native Americans (see also 5 below). This surname (in any of the two possible English senses; see also below) is also found in Haiti. See also Smither .

English: from Middle English smithe ‘smithy, forge’ (Old English smiththe). The surname may be topographic, for someone who lived in or by a blacksmith's shop, occupational, for someone who worked in one, or habitational, from a place so named, such as Smitha in King's Nympton (Devon). Compare Smithey .

Irish and Scottish: sometimes adopted for Gaelic Mac Gobhann, Irish Mac Gabhann ‘son of the smith’. See McGowan .

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

Possible Related Names

Story Highlight

As Great a Mission

At the dawn of the New Woman movement, some Mormon women began to be restless with traditional roles, wondering if child rearing wasn’t a poor use of their talents. Emma Woodruff, president of the Fa …

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