Zina Diantha Huntington
Born 31 Jan. 1821 in Watertown, Jefferson Co., New York.[1] Daughter of William Huntington and Zina Baker.[2] Baptized by Hyrum Smith, 1 Aug. 1835.[3] Married first Henry Bailey Jacobs, 7 Mar. 1841, in Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois; two children; later separated.[4] Plural wife of Joseph Smith, married 27 Oct. 1841, in Nauvoo.[5] Joined the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, 24 Mar. 1842.[6] Married third Brigham Young, 2 Feb. 1846, in Nauvoo; one child.[7] Migrated with the Brigham Young pioneer company to the Salt Lake Valley, arriving by 24 Sept. 1848.[8] Studied nursing, 1849, and obstetrics, 1873, becoming a nurse and a midwife.[9] Active in silk worm industries; took charge of the cocoonery at Forest Farm, 1868; served as the president of the Deseret Silk Association, 1875; president of the Utah Silk Commission, 1896.[10] Active participant in the Utah Territory Suffrage movement; helped organize the Woman’s Suffrage Association (WSA) of Utah, 1889, and served as the chaplain of the state WSA convention, 1895.[11] Served as the first counselor to general Relief Society president Eliza R. Snow, 1880–1888.[12] Served as vice president of the Deseret Hospital Association Board, 1882, with EBW as secretary.[13] Served as general Relief Society president, 1888–1901, with EBW serving as correspondence secretary.[14] Incorporated the Relief Society and affiliated with the National and International Councils of Women, 1888–1901.[15] Organized the worldwide Relief Society Jubilee, 1892.[16] Served as first matron and ordinance worker in the Salt Lake temple, 1893–1901.[17] Died 28 Aug. 1901 in Salt Lake City.[18]
[1] Temple Records Index Bureau, Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 10 December 1845 to 8 February 1846 (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1974), 92 (restricted access). Zina D. H. Young, Zina Card Brown Family Collection, 1806–1972, Zina D. Young Papers, Autobiographical Sketches, p. 2, image 17/26, MS 4780, box 2, folder 17, CHL. E.B.W. [Emmeline B. Wells], “A Distinguished Woman,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 Nov. 1881, 90. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 20 Mar. 2018), Zina Diantha Huntington (KWNK-B28).
[2] “Sealings and Adoptions of the Living, 1846–1857; Index, 1846–1857,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nauvoo Temple, vol. A, 1846–1857, William Huntington Sr. and Zina Baker, 14 Jan. 1846, microfilm 183374, DGS 5265582 (restricted access), Special Collections, FHL. Zina D. H. Young, Zina Card Brown Family Collection, 1806–1972, Zina D. Young Papers, Autobiographical Sketches, p. 2, image 17/26, MS 4780/b0002/f0017, CHL. William Huntington Jr., “Journal of William Huntington (1784–1846),” in “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 19 Mar. 2018), William Huntington Jr. (KWV9-4W1), Memories.
[3] Zina D. H. Young, “How I Gained My Testimony of Truth,” Young Woman’s Journal, Apr. 1893, 316–317. Emmeline B. Wells, “A Distinguished Woman,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Dec. 1881, 99. Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003), 121.
[4] Hancock Co., IL, County Clerk, Marriage Register, 1829–1915, vol. A-1, p. 40, Henry B. Jacobs and Zina D. Huntington, microfilm 954177, DGS 4661306, image 47/356, FHL. 1851 Utah Territorial Census, p. 6, MS 2672, box 1, folder 4, CHL. Emmeline B. Wells, “A Distinguished Woman,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Dec. 1881, 99. Todd Compton, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1997), 89. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 20 Mar. 2018), Zina Diantha Huntington (KWNK-B28).
[5] Zina Diantha Huntington Young, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 1 May 1869, “40 Affidavits on Celestial Marriage, Book Number 1 (Second Series), 1869,” image 9/104, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1869–1915, MS 3423, CHL. EBW, Diary, 26 Oct. 1890.
[6] Jill Mulvay Derr, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds., The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016), 37–38.
[7] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. A, pp. 581–582, Zina D. H. Smith, microfilm 183374, DGS 5265582 (restricted access), Special Collections, FHL. Emmeline B. Wells, “A Distinguished Woman,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 Dec. 1881, 107. Brian C. Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, Vol. 1: History (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2013), 456–457. 1851 Utah Territorial Census, p. 6, MS 2672, box 1, folder 4, CHL. Todd Compton, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1997), 71, 84, 90–92, 113, 659.
[8] “Zina Diantha Huntington Young,” Pioneer Database (http://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel, accessed 6 Mar. 2018). Zina D. H. Young, Zina Card Brown Family Collection, 1806–1972, Zina D. Young Papers, Autobiographical Sketches, p. 10, image 24/26, MS 4780, box 2, folder 17, CHL.
[9] History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society), 13, 85–87. Emmeline B. Wells, “A Distinguished Woman,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Jan. 1882, 115. Todd Compton, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1997), 113.
[10] History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society), 13, 31, 106–109. Emmeline B. Wells, “A Distinguished Woman,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Jan. 1882, 115. “Utah Silk Association,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 Jan. 1880, 126. EBW, Diary, 10 Apr. 1896.
[11] History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society), 102–104. EBW, Diary, 25 Mar. 1895.
[12] History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society), 13, 30–32, 34. Jill Mulvay Derr, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds., The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016), 535, 621, 689.
[13] Jill Mulvay Derr, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds., The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016), 499–500. History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society), 117.
[14] History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society), 13, 33–34, 36. Jill Mulvay Derr, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds., The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016), 535, 622, 689. EBW, Diary, 9 and 17 Apr. 1888; 12 June 1888; 11 Oct. 1888.
[15] History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society), 13, 88–90. Jill Mulvay Derr, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds., The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016), 579n449. Woman’s Exponent, 15 Mar. 1888, 156–157. EBW, Diary, 25 Mar. 1895.
[16] History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society), 33, 35–36, 118–119. Woman’s Exponent, 15 Mar. 1892, 132–133. EBW, Diary, 3 and 17 Mar. 1892; 6 May 1892.
[17] Female Workers List in Salt Lake Temple, 22 June 1893, p. [1], Zina D. H. Y. Smith, CR 306 56, CHL. Jill Mulvay Derr, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds., The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016), 689.
[18] Utah, Death Registers, 1847–1966, p. 75, 1901, Z. D. H. Young, citing series 21866, from Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Utah State Archives and Records Service; Salt Lake City. “Passed into the Repose of Death,” Deseret Evening News, 28 Aug. 1901, 8.