SOME OF HEBER'S FAMILY HISTORY--A PATRIARCHAL HOUSEHOLD--NAMES OF HIS
WIVES AND CHILDREN--EPISODE OF ABRAM A. KIMBALL--PETER, THE CHILD OF
PROMISE--HEBER AT FAMILY PRAYERS--DAVID H. KIMBALL'S STORY--HEBER P.
AND SOLOMON F. KIMBALL IN THE BLACK HAWK WAR.
A few leaves from President Kimball's domestic life will now be in
order. His was one of the most interesting, as likewise one of the
most numerous families in the Church. Like the patriarchs and prophets
of old, whose example he religiously followed, he was the husband of
many wives and the head of a multitudinous posterity.
Moreover, it is safe to say that no family in Israel, in its domestic
relations, better exemplified the true nature and purpose of the
polygamic principle, than the family of Heber C. Kimball.
That much of this was due to his wise government and upright example,
none who knew him will doubt, but that it was also largely the result
of the nobility of character displayed by the true and faithful women
who honored him as husband, father and friend, there is as little room
for question. We can only regret that circumstances uncontrollable
prevent our dwelling in detail upon their heroic lives and virtues.
Only here and there an incident, by modesty reluctantly supplied, has
been furnished in response to solicitation for the purposes of this
work.
We are enabled, however, to present in this chapter a complete list of
the members of Heber's family, the names of the wives and children
which God had given him, with whatever incidents relating to them that
have come into the author's possession.
Reference has already been made to the fact that, before leaving
Nauvoo, Heber, like many of his brethren, had entered upon his career
as a polygamic patriarch. The story of Sarah Noon, his second wife,
has been partly told in a former chapter. The other wives we cannot
name in their order, but will speak of them in proceeding as the
course of our narrative suggests.
VILATE MURRAY,*[A] Heber's first wife, was the mother of ten children.
Their names are as follows:
[Footnote A: The star attached to names in this chapter signifies
deceased.]
Judith Marvin,*
William Henry,
Helen Mar,
Roswell Heber,*
Heber Parley,*
David Patten,*
Charles Spaulding,
Brigham Willard,*
Solomon Farnham,
Murray Gould.*
Heber's children by Sarah Noon were:
Adelbert Henry,*
Sarah Helen,*
Heber.*
Sarah, it will be remembered, was a widow with two little daughters
when he married her. The names of these children were Betsy and
Harriet Noon.
After the death of the Prophet Joseph, who had also taken many wives,
most of his widows were married, for time, to Brigham, Heber and
others of the martyr's brethren. The wives of the Prophet who wedded
Heber C. Kimball were Sarah Ann Whitney,* eldest daughter of Bishop N.
K. Whitney; Lucy Walker, Prescindia Huntington, Sarah Lawrence, Mary
Houston, Martha McBride.+[A] Sylvia P. Sessions,* Nancy Maria Smith+
and Sarah Scott.+
[Footnote A: Names marked thus, whether living or dead, unknown.]
The children of the first-named are as follows:
David,* } died in infancy
David O.,* } died in infancy
David Heber,
Newel Whitney,
Horace Heber,
Maria,
Joshua,
Newel has fulfilled a mission to the Southern States, and is now an
acting Bishop of the Church in Logan, Cache County, Utah.
Heber's wife Lucy bore to him:--
Rachel Sylvia,*
John H.,
Willard H.,*
Lydia H.,
Anna S.,
Eliza,
Washington,
Franklin H.*
It is related that during the illness of the boy Willard, who died in
infancy, his father and another Elder were administering to him, when
the latter began to promise life, a speedy recovery, etc., to the
little sufferer. In the midst of it Heber, seized with a sudden
inspiration, cried: "Hold!" The Elder paused, they took their hands
from off the child's head, and he died in a few minutes.
"AUNT PRESCINDIA," who is a notable woman in Israel, with an unwritten
history of great interest, is the mother of two children by Heber,
namely:
Prescindia Celestia,*
Joseph.
The latter is the Bishop of Meadowville, Rich County, Utah, and has
been a member of the Territorial Legislature.
The other widows of the Prophet who married Heber, had no children by
him.
Among his wives when he came out of Nauvoo, were Clarissa and Emily
Cutler, sisters, both the daughters of Alpheus Cutler, who left the
Church while at Winter Quarters. When the Saints removed to the Rocky
Mountains, Clarissa and Emily remained with their father, each with an
infant son in arms. Clarissa's child was named Abram A., and Emily's,
Isaac A. Feeling impressed that their mothers would never come to the
mountains, Heber, on leaving them to go west with the pioneers,
blessed his little sons and, while his hands were upon Abram's head,
prophesied that he would some day come to the home of his people, and
would afterwards return for his brother Isaac.
There was a fatality in his father's words, as usual.
Fifteen years later, the mothers of both boys being dead, Abram came
to Utah and joined the Church. He was baptized by Enoch Reese, under
his father's direction. On returning to the house after his baptism,
his father confirmed him, ordained him an Elder and set him apart for
a mission to the states, to go and bring his brother to Utah, thus
resealing the blessing bestowed upon him in his childhood. Abram
fulfilled his mission and returned, bringing his brother with him.
Isaac also was baptized, and he and Abram afterwards went upon
missions to Great Britain. The latter is now Bishop of Kanosh, Millard
County, Utah.
Another incident of a prophetic nature may here be noted. One of
Heber's wives, Mary Ellen Abel, or "Aunt Mary Ellen" as she is
familiarly known, had lived with him for fourteen years and no child
had blessed their union. Her husband prophesied that she should bear a
son, and his name should be Peter. In due time the son was born and
named, but was not destined to live to grow to manhood. This was her
only child.
RUTH REESE, another of Heber's wives, was the mother of:--
Susannah R.,*
Jacob R.,*
Enoch H.*
In memory we yet can hear the well-known voice of Grandfather Kimball,
calling to his sons in stentorian tones: "Abraham! Isaac! Jacob! Come
in to prayers!" For these names, with many others of Scriptural
origin, were all included in his family nomenclature.
CHRISTEEN GOLDEN, who, with many others, was married to him in Nauvoo,
was the mother of:--
Cornelia C.,*
Jonathan Golden,
Elias Smith,
May Margaret.
Jonathan and Elias both have been on missions to the Southern States.
The former is president of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement
Associations of Bear Lake Stake. Elias was a member of the house
branch of the Utah Legislature during its twenty-eighth session,
January, 1888.
The Gheen sisters, Anna* and Amanda were likewise among his "honorable
women." The issue of the first marriage was as follows:--
Samuel H.,
Daniel H.,
Andrew H., } twins.
Alice, } twins.
Sarah.
Andrew fulfilled a long and faithful mission to the Indian Territory
in 1885-6-7, and is still recognized as the president of that mission.
He is the present administrator of the Kimball estate.
AMANDA'S children are:
William G.,
Albert H.,
Jeremiah,*
Moroni.
"Jerry" was accidentally killed by falling from a railway train,
between Fort Scott and Camas, Kansas, on the night of May 25th, 1887,
while on his way to Europe to fulfill a mission.
The sisters Harriet and Ellen Sanders next occur to mind. The latter
has already been mentioned as one of the three women who accompanied
the pioneers from Winter Quarters to the Rocky Mountains in 1847.
HARRIET'S offspring:--
Harriet,*
Hyrum H.,
Eugene.
(Hyrum fulfilled an honorable mission to the Southern States.)
ELLEN'S:--
Samuel,*
Joseph S,* } twins.
Augusta,* } twins.
Jedediah,
Rosalia.
FRANCES SWAN,* one of Heber's wives who left him, was the mother of
one child, a daughter named for herself.
Heber also married Martha Knight,+ by whom he had one child, a son;
name unknown.
One of his last wives was Mary Smithies,* the same whom, in her
infancy, in a far-off land, he had blessed and promised that she
should live to become "a mother in Israel." Her children are:--
Melvina,
James,*
Wilford,
Lorenzo,
Abbie.
In the foregoing lists we have classed together the wives who were the
mothers of his children. Besides these there were many others, most of
them aged ladies and widows whom he merely supported, without living
with them. Following is a list of their names:--
Mary Fielding Smith,*[A]
[Footnote A: Widow of Hyrum Smith, sealed to Heber for time.]
Margaret McMinn,*
Hannah Moon,*
Dorothy Moon,
Adelia Wilcox,
Huldah Barnes,
Eliza Cravath,
Mary Ann Shefflin,*
Charlotte Chase,
Theresa Morley,*
Ruth L. Pierce,
Maria Winchester,*
Laura Pitkin,*
Abigail Pitkin,*
Ruth Wellington,*
Abigail Buchanan,*
Sophronia Harmon,*
Sarah Stiles.+
Elizabeth Hereford,+
Rebecca Williams,+
Sarah Buckwater.+
Mary Dull.+
Thus it will be seen that Heber C. Kimball was the husband of
forty-five wives,[A] and the father of sixty-five children. Truly a
patriarchal household.
[Footnote A: At the funeral of his wife Vilate, Heber, pointing to the
coffin, said: "There lies a woman who has given me forty-four wives."]
It may well be surmised that the government and support of a family of
such dimensions were no small tax upon the wisdom, patience and
provident care of even the wisest and most opulent. Forever banished
be the thought--aspersion upon reason and consistency as it is--that
self-seeking, ease-desiring human nature would take upon itself such
burdens and responsibilities from any motive less honorable and pure
than that which Mormonism maintains is the true one. Luxury and lust
go frequently hand in hand; licentiousness and honest toil but rarely.
Heber C. Kimball was a man of industry, a man of virtue, of
self-denial, who would sooner have thought of severing his right hand
from his body, than to have cherished an unchaste sentiment, or
sacrificed a principle to sin or selfish ease. He was often heard to
declare that the plural order of marriage, with its manifold cares and
perplexities, had cost him "bushels of tears."
Yet his was an exemplary family--as much so as any in all Israel,
polygamous or otherwise. His wives loved each other as sisters, and
dwelt together in peace and unity; while his children, especially the
males, sons of various mothers, clung together with an affection all
but clannish in its intensity. Woe betide the luckless wight, who,
even in childhood's days, imposed upon a "Kimball boy." The whole
family of urchins would resent the insult, and that, too, with
pluckiness surpassing even their numbers.
Family prayer was an institution in the Kimball household. Morning and
evening the members were called in to surround the family altar and
offer up praise and petitions to the Throne of Grace. It is a common
remark to this day that such prayers are seldom heard as were wont to
issue from the heart and lips of Heber C. Kimball. Reverence for Deity
was one of the cardinal qualities of his nature. Nevertheless, it was
noticeable that the God to whom he prayed was a being "near at hand
and not afar off." He worshiped not as "a worm of the dust,"
hypocritically meek and lowly, or as one conscious of naught but the
meanness of his nature, and the absence of merit in his cause. But in
a spirit truly humble, confessing his sins, yet knowing something of
the nobility of his soul, he talked with God "as one man talketh with
another;" and often with the ease and familiarity of an old-time
friend.
On one occasion, while offering up an earnest appeal in behalf of
certain of his fellow-creatures, he startled the kneeling circle by
bursting into a loud laugh in the very midst of his prayer. Quickly
regaining his composure and solemn address, he remarked,
apologetically: "Lord, it makes me laugh to pray about some people."
Heber loved his children, and was justly proud of his numerous and
noble posterity. If at times he appeared stern, and was severe in his
correction, it was not that he loved them less, but their welfare and
salvation more. He made no compromise with sin, but nipped it in the
bud, though the soil wherein it grew were the hearts of his dearest
friends and relations. His greatest desire for his family was that
they should be humble, virtuous and God-fearing. The riches, fashions,
and even culture of the world were as nothing in his eyes, compared
with honesty, morality and the treasures of eternal truth.
Nor was he morose and sullen, because thus sober-minded and religious.
Mingling with his deeply earnest, profoundly solemn nature was a keen
sense of humor, a continuous play of mirth, like sunlight gilding the
edges of a cloud.
One day (it was July 23rd, 1864, and a grand celebration of Pioneer
day was on the tapis) he drove down to the shop of James Lawson the
blacksmith, to have some repairing done to his carriage, a long
vehicle with seats on either side. He had about fifteen of his boys in
the carriage, all urchins ranging from ten to thirteen years.
"James," said he, with a merry twinkle in his eye, "I have no shoes
for these boys, and I'm going to have them out in the procession
to-morrow in this carriage, so that their feet can't be seen."
Then, with a proud glance at his youthful progeny, he added: "There is
a load of Elders; I have ordained them all myself."
He often took his children into his confidence, giving them practical
lessons in the virtues he desired them to cultivate. His son David H.
relates the following:
"One day President Young made a call upon father for $1,000., for some
public purpose, and not having the ready cash, he was at a loss to
know where to get it. At his suggestion we went down in the garden and
bowed ourselves in prayer, father calling upon the Lord to direct him
in the matter. We then arose and started down the street, and he
remarked that the Lord would answer our prayer and direct him aright.
When even with Godbe's corner, William Godbe came out of his store and
told him that, in looking through his safe, he had come across about
$1,000 in gold-dust, belonging to him, which his son Heber P. had left
there for him some time before, though father until then knew nothing
about it."
In the Spring of 1866 his son, Col. H. P. Kimball, was called into
southern Utah at the head of a company of minute men, to aid in
subduing the Indians in the Black Hawk War. His son David P. was also
called, but having just returned from a mission to England, with his
brother Charles, he was honorably released, and his younger brother,
Solomon, sent in his stead. The evening before they started, Heber
called their mother, Vilate, and her children into his room, and spent
several hours with them, giving them much good counsel and explaining
to them the relationship of the Lamanites, as a branch of the house of
Israel, with the latter-day work, and the important part they were
destined to play in this dispensation. He then blessed Heber and
Solomon, and promised them in the name of the Lord that they should
not see an Indian while they were gone.
This promise, though meant for their welfare, and, it may be added,
for the welfare of the Lamanites as well, was quite a disappointment
to the two brothers, who were anxious, not only to see the Indians,
but to have a "brush" with them. Solomon had often heard of a fight
which his brother William and others had had with the red men in
Battle Creek Canyon, some years before, in which William had the horn
of his saddle punctured by a bullet while ascending the ravine, thus
narrowly escaping being wounded or killed. Solomon had seen the
saddle, which had a romantic charm for him, and he now wanted to see
the Indians. The remainder of the story we will give in his own words:
"We were gone ninety days and rode hundreds of miles, following the
tracks of different bands of hostile Indians, and were close upon them
a great many times. They were attacking settlements all around us,
killing the settlers and driving off stock. At one time, after the
Indians had made a raid on Round Valley (Scipio) killing one man and
running off five hundred head of stock, Col. Kimball left a part of
his command at Thistle Valley to hold the fort at that place, while he
went to intercept the Indians on the Sevier River. We had gone but a
few hours, when the Indians made a raid on the fort at Thistle Valley,
running off all their horses, killing one of the party and wounding
another.
"After our company returned home we were drawn up in line in front of
the Court House, where President Young, my father, and others came
down to see us. Father, looking at Heber and myself, whose clothing
and countenances showed hard service, asked us if we had seen an
Indian while we were gone. Our humiliating reply was, 'No.' He laughed
and said, 'Didn't I tell you so?' and then added: 'I would rather have
them kill you, than to have one of my sons shed their blood.'"
But a volume might be filled with incidents of like character in his
experience, and then the half remain untold. Suffice this, at present,
for his inner life and private family history.
Preaching, colonizing, traveling through the settlements, encouraging
the Saints in their toils and sacrifices; sitting in council among the
leaders of Israel; ministering in sacred and holy places, and
otherwise laboring for and blessing the Lord's people:--so wore away
the remaining years of Heber C. Kimball on this planet. His name was
literally "a household word" in Israel. "Brother Heber" was everywhere
honored and beloved. Even the Gentiles esteemed him, admiring his
honesty and outspoken candor, let him lash as he might with the whip
of his tongue, the wrong-doer outside, or the hypocrite inside the
Church. Loved and honored as are few men in this life, he returned in
measure full to overflowing the affection of the hearts which God had
given him.