Item Detail
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Woodbury, Phoebe K.
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1799-1868
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MSS 890
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Letters, patriarchal blessing, newspaper clippings, genealogy
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Phoebe Kingman Pendleton was born in Cornwall, Connecticut July 28, 1799. She was baptized by President Brigham Young in Kirtland, Ohio in 1833, and she migrated with the Saints to Nauvoo in 1842. She was married three times: first, to Parris Kinyon in 1821; second, to Jesse Pratt; and third, to Jeremiah Woodbury in 1852. She died May 3, 1868 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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This is a collection of thirty-two holographic letters written by Phoebe Woodbury, one current letter, five newspaper clippings, and a small book. The letters cover a period from 1847 to 1867 and regard early settlement in the Salt Lake Valley. A majority of them are addressed to George, Maria, and Henry, and a few to her grandson. They relay the emotion and faith of Phoebe, as she often writes concerning the development of the church in the Valley, as well as her own feelings. She often felt alone, or at least separated from many whom she loved, although she retained strong faith in the Gospel. In one of her earlier letters, she wrote, 'I am as one alone,' while in a later one, 'the wilderness and solitary places has [sic] literally ben [sic] made glad and the desert has blossomed.' Recorded in the book are two patriarchal blessings, one from Patriarch Joseph Smith, Sr., and the second from Patriarch John Smith. There are also a few poems or songs written in the back, in addition to her genealogy. The first newspaper clippings regard Mormon events and one of Phoebe's patriarchal blessings. The others seem to be part of an article about a building at Dayton. The most current letter is dated November 28, 1967, and is from Lauritz G. Peterson (Research Supervisor) to Sterling Albrecht (Gifts and Exchange Librarian at BYU) regarding an effort to trace Phoebe's genealogy back to the Pratt family.