Item Detail
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Curtis, Tamma Durfee Miner
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1813-1885
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MSS SC 888; MSS SC 184
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Autobiography
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Tamma Durfee Miner Curtis was born to Edmond and Lanna Durfee in Lenox, New York on March 6, 1813. She married Albert Miner on August 9, 1831 and both were baptized into the L.D.S. Church by the end of the year. Tamma and Albert moved to Kirtland, Ohio in May 1833. There, Tamma's husband and son helped build the Kirtland Temple (Albert was also a bodyguard to Joseph Smith). From Kirtland, the Miner family moved to Lima, Illinois then to Nauvoo, Illinois and then back to Lima until they were driven out of their homes by mobs angry with the Mormons. After contracting a disease on a mission for the church, Albert Miner died on May 17, 1847. Alone with her children, Tamma made the trek across the plains and reached the Salt Lake Valley in 1850. Having no home or means of support for her family, Tamma agreed to marry Enos Curtis on October 20, 1850. She moved to Springville, Utah soon after. On June 1, 1856, Enos died from an undiagnosed illness. In 1857, Tamma became John Curtis' third wife. Tamma had nine children with Albert Miner, three with Enos Curtis and one with John Curtis. Tamma passed away in Provo, Utah on January 30, 1885.
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Tamma Durfee Miner Curtis wrote her autobiography on March 13, 1881 in Springville, Utah. Tamma experienced events in early church history and provides a very correct and concise overview of the L.D.S. Church. She describes in detail the problems plaguing the Church in the 1850's, which led to much apostasy and hatred from former L.D.S. members. Tamma was a very dedicated member of the Church and ends her autobiography with a statement of her testimony and faith. MSS SC 184: This collection is a compilation of biographies of the Carter family (related to Tamma through her maternal line). There are two copies of Tamma's autobiography included which are the same as MSS SC 888. However, this collection allows the reader to place Tamma into the context of her family. Mormon Pioneers, Persecution
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1826-1890