Carry On

Journals of Early Sister Missionaries

The Prison Journal of Belle Harris

The Discourses of Eliza R. Snow

The Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells

The Journal of George F. Richards

At the Pulpit

The First Fifty Years of Relief Society

The Journal of George Q. Cannon

The Joseph Smith Papers

Images

Emmeline B. Wells traveled to Washington, DC, in January 1879 to attend the annual convention of the National Woman Suffrage Association. In her diary entry of 14 January, Wells noted, &ldquo;This morn. went to Photo-gallery had pictures taken.&rdquo; The photograph was taken at the Charles M. Bell studio in Washington. (PH 5107, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Emmeline B. Wells, 14 January 1879

Emmeline B. Wells had photographs taken at the Charles M. Bell studio in Washington, DC, in 1879. Her hair, earrings, and clothing in this carte de visite photograph (left) match those in the familiar January 1879 Bell studio portrait of Wells at a desk, suggesting both were taken around the same time. It appears from information on the verso of the image (right) that this is the very photograph that Wells sent to prominent suffragist May Wright Sewall on 6 April 1891, as noted in Wells’s diary entry of that date. The inscription "Emmeline B. Wells | Salt Lake City | Apr. 6, 1891" is in the handwriting of Wells. (Courtesy Library of Congress, Washington, DC.)

Photograph of Emmeline B. Wells Sent to May Wright Sewall

Engraved portrait of Emmeline B. Wells. Engraving by E. G. Williams and Bro., New York, in Orson F. Whitney, History of Utah, vol. 3 (Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon and Sons, 1892), after p. 478. (PH 327, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Emmeline B. Wells

(PH 5107, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

(PH 9612, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Emmeline B. Wells, circa 1890s

Official Relief Society portrait of Emmeline B. Wells, fifth Relief Society general president. Painting by Lee Greene Richards. (Church History Museum, Salt Lake City.)

Emmeline B. Wells, 1906

In her diary entry of 6 January 1918, Emmeline B. Wells noted that she posed that day for a photograph in a dress of blue silk. The photograph, taken on the mezzanine level in the Hotel Utah, was published in American Sheep Breeder and Wool Grower, February 1918. The publication thanked Wells, “one of the most honored members of the Mormon church,” for having attended the January 1918 convention of the National Wool Growers.

Emmeline B. Wells, 6 January 1918

Portraits

Newel Kimball Whitney (1795–1850) married Emmeline B. Woodward as a plural wife in Nauvoo in February 1845. They had two daughters, born in Salt Lake City in 1848 and 1850. Engraving by H. B. Hall and Sons, circa 1885, based on drawing by Danquart A. Weggeland of a William W. Major painting, from Contributor 6, no. 4 (Jan. 1885), frontispiece and p. 154. (Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Newel K. Whitney

Daniel Hanmer Wells (1814–1891) was head of the Nauvoo Legion in Utah Territory, mayor of Salt Lake City, second counselor to Brigham Young, and president of the Manti Temple. He married Emmeline B. Woodward in 1852 as his sixth plural wife. Three daughters were born to them between 1853 and 1862. (PH 2014, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Daniel H. Wells

Photomosaic of Daniel H. Wells, center, and six of his wives. Clockwise from top center: Louisa Free, Hannah Corilla Free, Lydia Ann Alley, Emmeline B. Woodward, Susan Hannah Alley, and Martha Givens Harris. (PH 5101, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Daniel H. Wells and Wives

Louisa Martha Wells Cannon (1862–1887) was Emmeline B. Wells’s youngest daughter, a popular singer in quartets and musicals, and general secretary of the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association. This photograph was evidently taken in July 1882 when Louie, as her mother often called her, was visiting San Francisco. In a personal record that Louie was keeping in her mother’s diary, Louie noted visiting the Bradley & Rulofson photography studio 12–14 July. Louie died of a lingering disease five years later. Photograph by Bradley & Rulofson. (PH 8004, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Louisa M. Wells Cannon, July 1882

This four-generation photograph, taken 31 January 1914, was published in Annie Wells Cannon, "Mothers in Israel," Relief Society Magazine, February 1916, 64. Emmeline B. Wells appears here with her daughter Annie and Annie's twin sons, Abram H. and Woodward D. Cannon; and with her granddaughter (and Annie's daughter) Louise Cannon Andrew and Louise's twin sons, Richard C. and Denton L. Andrew.

Emmeline B. Wells with Family, 31 January 1914

This photomosaic from the February 1916 Relief Society Magazine shows Emmeline B. Wells and her five daughters, whose successes she rejoiced in and whose hardships brought her profound grief. "Darling" was a favorite word she used in her diaries to describe beloved family members. Her two daughters with husband Newel K. Whitney and three with husband Daniel H. Wells were her "darling Belle," "darling Mell," "darling Emmie," "darling Annie," and "darling Louie." With her first husband, James Harris, she also had a son, "darling Eugene," who died as an infant.

Emmeline B. Wells and Daughters

Family

Eliza R. Snow (right), second Relief Society general president, chose Elizabeth Ann Whitney (left) as her first counselor in 1880 and called Emmeline B. Wells (standing, rear) to help train Relief Society leaders and organize Primary Associations. Photograph by Charles R. Savage. (PH 892, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Elizabeth Ann Whitney, Emmeline B. Wells, and Eliza R. Snow

This Charles R. Savage photo of the Salt Lake City Thirteenth Ward Relief Society presidency shows Emmeline B. Wells in the early 1870s. Top row, left to right: Emmeline B. Wells, assistant secretary; Elizabeth H. Goddard, secretary; Mary W. Musser, treasurer. Bottom row: Margaret T. Mitchell, second counselor; Rachel Ivins Grant, president; Bathsheba W. Smith, first counselor.
(PH 8004, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Salt Lake City Thirteenth Ward Relief Society Presidency

Emmeline B. Wells, seated, front right, with the Deseret Hospital Board of Directors. Wells was appointed secretary of the board in 1882. Photograph by Charles R. Savage. (PH 2300, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Deseret Hospital Board of Directors, circa 1882–1884

Susan B. Anthony (seated in a chair, front row, third from right) and Anna Howard Shaw (standing, with left arm on Anthony's chair) joined women of the Utah Woman Suffrage Association for a regional convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Salt Lake City in May 1895. Emmeline B. Wells, wearing a white scarf, is standing behind Anthony's left shoulder. Wells and Anthony maintained a lifelong friendship. (PH 2296, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Women&rsquo;s Suffrage Leaders, 1895

Bathsheba W. Smith (seated) was the fourth general president of the Relief Society. Emmeline B. Wells was the fifth general president. Photograph by studio of Olsen and Griffith. (PH 1700 2881, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Emmeline B. Wells and Bathsheba W. Smith, 1908

Left to right: Louie B. Felt, Primary Association general president; Emmeline B. Wells, Relief Society general president; and Martha H. Tingey, Young Ladies&rsquo; Mutual Improvement Association general president. Photograph by the Thomas studio. (PH 2354, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Louie B. Felt, Emmeline B. Wells, and Martha H. Tingey, circa 1920

Emmeline B. Wells (front row, left, wearing a long white shawl) was among a group of early pioneers honored on 25 February 1916 at an event held at the Odeon Dance Hall in Salt Lake City. Photograph by the Wiggins studio. (PH 2159, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Pioneer Ball, 25 February 1916

President Emmeline B. Wells (standing in the center of the photograph), with the Relief Society general presidency and board. Photograph by the Johnson studio. (PH 2466, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Relief Society General Presidency and Board, 1914

General presidency of the Relief Society from 1910 to 1921. Left to right: Clarissa S. Williams, first counselor; Emmeline B. Wells, seated, president; Julina L. Smith, second counselor. Photograph by the Johnson studio. This photograph appears to have been taken around the same time as a 1914 photograph by the Johnson studio of the presidency with the full board, as the clothing and hairstyles match. (PH 2032, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Emmeline B. Wells with Counselors, 1914

Relief Society general presidency and board members walk south on Main Street in front of their offices at the Bishop’s Building. In front, left to right: Clarissa S. Williams, first counselor; Emmeline B. Wells, president; Julina L. Smith, second counselor. (PH 2032, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Emmeline B. Wells with Counselors and Board

On 10 March 1918, a week ahead of the seventy-sixth anniversary of the founding of the Relief Society, the Salt Lake Herald-Republican-Telegram reported on plans being made by general and local Relief Society leaders to observe the day. The photograph shows the following members of the general presidency (left to right): Emma A. Empey, treasurer; Susa Young Gates, corresponding secretary and editor of the Relief Society Magazine; Clarissa S. Williams, first counselor; Emmeline B. Wells, president; and Amy Brown Lyman, general secretary. (Salt Lake Herald-Republican-Telegram, 10 Mar. 1918, 12.)

Relief Society Leadership, 1918

Emmeline B. Wells (standing, right) served as general secretary of the Relief Society in the administration of Bathsheba W. Smith (seated, center). Other members of the presidency were (left to right) Annie T. Hyde, first counselor; Clarissa S. Williams, treasurer; and Ida S. Dusenberry, second counselor. In her diary entry for 20 June 1903, Wells described the presidency having this photograph taken at the studio of Fox & Symons on Main Street. (Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society.)

Bathsheba Smith Relief Society Presidency, 1903

Leadership

Three of Emmeline B. Wells&rsquo;s forty-seven diaries. Photograph by Christina Smith, in Carol Cornwall Madsen, &ldquo;Emmeline B. Wells: A Fine Soul Who Served,&rdquo; Ensign, July 2003, 16. (© 2003 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.)

Selection of Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells

The book on top with the blue cover is the second edition of Musings and Memories, a collection of the poetry of Emmeline B. Wells. Photograph by Christina Smith, in Carol Cornwall Madsen, &ldquo;Emmeline B. Wells: A Fine Soul Who Served,&rdquo; Ensign, July 2003, 18. (© 2003 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.)

Musings and Memories by Emmeline B. Wells

First page of a letter from Emmeline B. Wells to Zina D. H. Young, 24 April 1888. Wells wrote to Young, who was visiting Cardston, Alberta, Canada, to congratulate her on her new assignment as Relief Society general president. (MS 4780, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Letter from Emmeline B. Wells to Zina D. H. Young, 24 April 1888

By letter of 16 November 1877, Emmeline B. Wells invited Edward Hunter, presiding bishop of the church, to attend a grain committee meeting held the following day. Wells was chair of the Central Grain Committee. (MS 830, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Invitation Letter from Emmeline B. Wells to Edward Hunter, 16 November 1877

Emmeline B. Wells served as editor of the Woman’s Exponent from 1877 to 1914. (Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

15 April 1880 Issue of Woman’s Exponent

Documents

Photograph of an engraving of South Temple Street, Salt Lake City. In the background can be seen the Lion House, Brigham Young’s office, and the Beehive House. In the front on the right is the Daniel H. Wells family home. Across the street from that home (to the north, or the viewer’s left), behind the stone wall, is an adobe house where Emmeline B. Wells lived between February 1888 and December 1893. The engraving was published under the title “The Prophet’s Block” in Randolph B. Marcy, Thirty Years of Army Life on the Border (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1866), p. 262.

South Temple Street, circa 1860s

Emmeline B. Wells lived in this two-story home at 243 State Street (or First East), Salt Lake City, between 1856 and 1888. She entertained many friends in the home, including friends of her daughters, and the Wasatch Literary Association was formed here. The garden behind the house with its fruit trees and flowers inspired her poem "The Dear Old Garden." Emmeline's husband, Daniel H. Wells, and his other wives lived in a different house a few blocks away during this time. In a 5 July 1889 diary entry, Emmeline Wells mentioned going with photographer Charles R. Savage to have her "dear old home" photographed. It is not known if this is the photograph he took. (PH 2356, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Emmeline B. Wells Home, Salt Lake City, circa 1890

Daniel H. Wells bought the Ezra T. Benson home on the southeast corner of Main Street and South Temple. Five of his families lived here between 1862 and 1889. (PH 2014, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Daniel H. Wells Home

Adobe house, first Utah residence of Daniel H. Wells, on South Temple Street east of the Tithing Yard. Daniel was living here when he married Emmeline B. Woodward in 1852. She moved back to the adobe house in 1888. She moved out in 1893. It was torn down for building the Hotel Utah. This photograph may have been taken in the 1890s. Photograph by Charles R. Savage. (PH 2462, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Adobe Home

The Deseret Evening News reported on a birthday luncheon that the Relief Society general board held for Emmeline B. Wells on 28 February 1918. Additional detail about the event is provided in the 28 February entry in Wells's diary, which at this point was being kept by her daughters Belle and Annie. Wells was born 29 February 1828, meaning she could celebrate on the actual anniversary only in leap years. (Deseret Evening News, 2 Mar. 1918, 5.)

Emmeline B. Wells's Birthday, 1918

On 29 February 1912, Emmeline B. Wells’s eighty-fourth birthday, President Joseph F. Smith presented her with an honorary doctorate in literature from Brigham Young University. The presentation ceremony was held at a reception hosted by the Relief Society general board in the Bishop’s Building. Wells called the occasion “the greatest day” and “a very grand affair and un[i]que in the history of Utah.” The photograph shown here was taken 1 March. (“‘Aunt Em’ in Cap and Gown,” Deseret Evening News, 2 Mar. 1912, 5; EBW, Diary, 29 Feb. 1912.)

Emmeline B. Wells Receives Honorary Doctorate

Other

Publication from the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints