Item Detail
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30709
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3
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6
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English
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Using Science to Answer Questions from Latter-day Saint History : The Case of Josephine Lyon’s Paternity
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BYU Studies
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2019
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58
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4
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Provo, UT
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Brigham Young University
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143-150
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Historians have often speculated if Joseph Smith had any children with his plural wives. The strongest case for a child born through one of Joseph Smith’s polygamous unions is that of Josephine Lyon, born on February 8, 1844, in Nauvoo, Illinois, to Sylvia Sessions, who was sealed to Joseph Smith. Because of previous limitations in DNA analysis, her paternity could not be verified through science until recently. This report summarizes the steps that were taken to establish the biological paternity of Josephine Lyon through the analysis of autosomal DNA from descendants of both Joseph and Josephine. Based on the data presented in this study, it appears that Joseph Smith was not the father of Josephine Lyon.
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Joseph Smith, the Question of Polygamous Offspring, and DNA Analysis
Mormon Enigma : Emma Hale Smith
Reconstructing the Y-Chromosome of Joseph Smith Jr. : Genealogical Applications
Resolving the Paternities of Oliver Buell and Mosiah L. Hancock through DNA
The Cemetery Record of William D. Huntington, Nauvoo Sexton
The Joseph Smith-Sylvia Sessions Plural Sealing : Polyandry or Polygyny?