Melvina Caroline Blanche Whitney
Born 18 Aug. 1850 in Salt Lake City.[1] Daughter of Newel K. Whitney and EBW.[2] Founding member of the Wasatch Literary Society.[3] Married first William Dunford, 1 Oct. 1867, in Salt Lake City; three children.[4] Divorced, by Nov. 1872.[5] Married second William Wells Woods, 7 Nov. 1874, in Salt Lake City; two children.[6] Moved to Murray, Shoshone Co., Idaho, where her husband served as a judge of the county district court, 1888.[7] Moved to Wallace, Shoshone Co., by 1900.[8] Wrote the introduction to EBW’s book of poetry, Musings and Memories, 1905.[9] Moved to Sierra Madre, Los Angeles Co., California, by 1930.[10] Died 20 Apr. 1940 in Sierra Madre; buried in Salt Lake City.[11]
[1] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake Temple, vol. E, 1864–1866, p. 220, line 17, Melvina B. Whitney, 19 May 1866, microfilm 183405 (restricted access), Special Collections, FHL. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 19 Mar. 2018), Melvina Caroline Blanche Whitney (LC3N-G5Z).
[2] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake Temple, vol. E, 1864–1866, p. 220, line 17, Melvina B. Whitney, 19 May 1866, microfilm 183405 (restricted access), Special Collections, FHL.
[3] “Leaves from Old Albums,” Deseret Evening News, 30 Nov. 1907, 8. “The Girls of ’76, Ladies of the Wasatch Literary Society,” Deseret Evening News, 16 Dec. 1911, 70.
[4] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. E, 1867–1869, p. 60, line 9941, William Dunford and Melvina Whitney, 1 Oct. 1867, microfilm 1149515 (restricted access), FHL. 1870 U.S. Census, Salt Lake City Ward 16, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, p. 1, Melvina Dunford. “Leslie Alma Dunford,” Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., UT, Find a Grave, posted 13 Dec. 2015, memorial no. 72436880 (http://findagrave.com, accessed 15 May 2018).
[5] Ruth Nelson Baker, “William Dunford, 1847–1891,” The Story of the Ancestors and Descendants of Isaac and Leah Bailey Dunford (Bountiful, UT: Isaac and Leah Bailey Dunford Family Association, 1996), as found in “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 18 May 2018), William Dunford, (KWV3-HZZ). EBW, Diary, 6 Aug. 1874, footnote 3; 8 Aug. 1874.
[6] EBW, Diary, 1, 4, and 7 Nov. 1874. “Died,” Salt Lake Herald, 27 Dec. 1879, 3. “Percival Woods,” Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., UT, Find a Grave, posted 2 July 2011, memorial no. 72456007 (http://findagrave.com, accessed 15 May 2018). “Utah Death Registers, 1847–1966,” p. 89 (1879), Winnefred Woods; citing series 21866, from Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Utah State Archives and Records Service, Salt Lake City. “Utah Death Registers, 1847–1966,” p. 226 (1887), Percival Woods; citing series 21866, from Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Utah State Archives and Records Service, Salt Lake City.
[7] “Idaho Judges & Lawyers Active in GAR,” Idaho Legal History Society 5, no. 3 (Summer 2013): 4. An Illustrated History of The State of Idaho (Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1899), 629. Idaho Death Certificates, 1911–1937, p. 54, William Wells Woods, 10 Nov. 1920, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Wallace City, Shoshone Co., ID, file no. 32334/54.
[8] 1900 U.S. Census, Wallace, Shoshone Co., ID, ED 107, p. 6A, Melvina B. Woods.
[9] Emmeline B. Wells, Musings and Memories (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1905), 5.
[10] 1930 U.S. Census, Sierra Madre, Los Angeles Co., CA, ED 19-126, p. 7B, Melvina C. Woods.
[11] State of California, California Death Index, 1940–1997, Sacrament, CA, California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics, Melvina Caroline Woods, 20 Apr. 1940. “Melvina Caroline Blanche Whitney Woods,” Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., UT, Find a Grave, posted 2 July 2011, memorial no. 72437214 (http://findagrave.com, accessed 2 Apr. 2018).