PortraitofElizabethAnnWhitmerCowdery.Thispaintingisbelievedtohavebeenpaintedin1837aspartofaseriesofportraitsofthepresidentsoftheChurchandtheirwives,andwasintendedtohangintheKirtlandTemple.OliverCowderymayhavebroughttheportraitwhenthefamilymovedfromKirtlandtoFarWestinlate1837.Theoriginalpaintingis

housedintheCommunityofChristInternationalMuseum,Independence,Missouri.

Mormon Historical Studies

Ronald E. Romig: Elizabeth Ann Whitmer Cowdery 1

Elizabeth Ann Whitmer Cowdery: A Historical Reflection of Her Life

Ronald E. Romig

PeterandMaryWhitmerandtheirfamilymovedfromPennsylvaniatoNewYorkaround1808,soElizabethAnnWhitmer’sfamilywaswellsettledandrelativelyprosperousbythetimeshejoinedthefamilyontheWhitmerfarminFayetteTownship,SenecaCounty,NewYork,onJanuary22,1815.1

Herbirthordermadehertheyoungestchildofalargeandactiveextendedfamily.TherewasnolackofloveandattentionforthiswelcomeadditiontotheWhitmerhousehold.

Elizabeth’searlychildhoodmusthaveseemedsafeandorderly,wellpat-terned around a rich religious tradition and filled with the wise love of older parents.Heroldersiblingsandextendedfamilymusthaveseemedlikeextrasetsofparents—herolderbrothers,ChristianandJacob,havingmarriedwhenshewasaroundtenyearsold.HerbrotherJacobandhiswifeElizabethlivedintheoldWhitmercabinintheyardnexttothefamily’ssnugloghome.ItmusthavebeencomfortingtobearoundherauntsAnnaandElizabeth,whonodoubtlookeduponyoungElizabethasifshecouldbetheirown.

Elizabethwasabout fourteenyearsoldwhenJosephandEmmaSmithmovedtotheWhitmerfarmtoworkonthetranslationoftheBookofMor-mon.Theseteenyearsmusthavebeenaconstantwondertoher,shebeingpresentduringtheseremarkableandextraordinaryevents.ImagineElizabethapproachingheryoungwomanhood,yetverymuchstillachild,exploringthehiddenrecessesofherhomewheretheyoungSmithfamilylived.Shemusthavemanytimescreptupthestepstopeekintothechamberwonderingwhatstrangebusinesswasgoingon there,whileJoseph,Oliver,Christian,John,

Ronald E. Romig (rromig@CofChrist.org) servesastheCommunityofChristArchivist,Independence, Missouri. The following were remarks given at the dedication of theElizabeth Ann Whitmer Cowdery, Maria Louise Cowdery Johnson, and CharlesJohnsonmemorialheldonOctober8,2006,intheSouthwestCity,Missouri,Cemetery.

2 Mormon Historical Studies

andothersweretranslating,writingoutrevelations,orentertainingvisitors.SoitwasnotaltogetherbychoicethatElizabethAnnbecamepartoftheMor-monstory,but itwas inresponse to theexperiencesofherfamily,parents,brothers,andsisterCatharine,andalsolaterbymarriage.

TotheWhitmers,earlyMormonismwasaworldfullofangelicappear-ancesandmiracles.OnesuchstoryinvolvingangelswastoldandretoldintheWhitmerfamily.ItissharedhereinthewordsofHelenVanCleaveBlank-meyer,DavidWhitmer’sgreat-granddaughter:

WhenPeter[WhitmerSr.]heardDavidplanningtogoofftomeetOliver[andJosephSmithinHarmony],andinmid-weektoo,heprotested:“Na,na,-nottillthesouth field is harrowed and the plaster spread! That is your job, as you know, and it will not take less than two full days, maybe more. Duty first, duty first.” David agreed, buthewassad,andthelittleElizabeth...grievedforherbrother’sdisappointment.Shewatchedhimthroughthenextdayashedrovetheharrowhard,hislongbodyandbroadshoulderscontestingwiththeearthaswithastrongwrestler,butateveningthetaskwasscarcelyhalfdone.Risingearlyontheseconddaytopreparehisbreakfast,she stepped into the yard and glanced toward the field. To her amazement it was allevenlyharrowed,andthelimeneatlyspread,whiletwostrangemen,justvisiblethroughthemorningmist,wereleavingtheplaceatthefarside.Davidcameoutofthe house, and stood entranced beside her. “Elizabeth? . . .Elizabeth! . . . It must be, it can only be. . . .” “Yes,” she breathed, . . . “angels.”2

After the Church was organized, Elizabeth became one of its earliestmembers.FollowingameetingoftheChurchinFayetteonApril18,1830,OliverbaptizedElizabeth,andshewouldlaterbecomehiswife.3

TheWhitmerfamilyfollowedJosephSmithandthereligionhefoundedtoOhioandthenmovedontotheChurch’scolonyinwesternMissouri.ItislittlewonderthatOliverCowderywasattractedtoElizabeth,eventuallyseek-ingherhandinmarriage.David’sWhitmer’sgreat-granddaughter,HelenVanCleave Blankmeyer, described ElizabethAnnWhitmer as “a tiny bird-likecreature, sympathetic, practical, resourceful, and a fountain of fun.”4

Soitwas,then,ontheverywesternedgeoftheUnitedStates,thatOliverand ElizabethAnn were married in KawTownship, Jackson County, Mis-souri,byParleyP.PrattonDecember,18,1832.5Elizabethleftherparents’familyhomeinKawTownship,tojoinherhusbandOliverinIndependenceinorder to be near Oliver’s work in the Church printing office.

OnJuly20,1833,Elizabethwatchedsafelyfromthesideasagroupofangrynon-memberscitizensofJacksonCountytoredowntheprintshop.ShemusthaveonlymomentsbeforeurgedOliverandotherstodiscreetlystepalittleoutofthewayfortheirownsafety.Asaresultofthedisruptionofthepress,sevenlaborerslosttheirjobsand“threefamiliesincludingOliverandElizabeth [were] left destitute of the means of subsistence.”6Becauseofthis

Ronald E. Romig: Elizabeth Ann Whitmer Cowdery 3

disaster,OliverimmediatelytraveledtoOhio,whileElizabethAnnreturnedtostaywithherfolksintheWhitmersettlement.OliverremainedinOhioforanextendedperiod.ElizabetheventuallyrejoinedhimaftertheexpulsionoftheSaintsfromJacksonCounty.

While in Kirtland, Oliver and Elizabeth had a daughter born to them.MariaLouise(sometimesLouisa)Cowdery,bornAugust21,1835,wastheironlychildtolivetomaturity.7Fiveothersoftheirchildrendiedininfancyorearlychildhood.8

OliverandElizabethwereinKirtlandtoshareinthemarvelouseventsassociatedwiththededicationoftheKirtlandTemple.DuringthistimeOliverassistedwithprinting theDoctrine andCovenants,Emma’s hymnal, and asecondedition(1837)oftheBookofMormon,onwhichOliverworked,set-tingthetype.Thelonghourshedevotedtothisresponsibilityoftenkepthimfrom family matters. When the book was finally completed, Oliver had a copy especially bound in lovely red Moroccan leather binding with Elizabeth’sname embossed across the front in gold lettering. One can easily imagineOliveraffectionatelypresentingthisbooktohiswifeElizabethasakindofpeace offering. He shared the precious symbol of his work with Elizabethinhopesshewouldunderstandandforgivehismanylonghoursawayfromthefamily.ElizabethAnn’spersonalcopyofthe1837editionoftheBookofMormonmaybeseenintheCommunityofChristKirtlandVisitors’CenteratKirtland,Ohio.

OnDecember5,1834,OliverCowderywasordainedtheassistantpresi-dentoftheChurch.9SometimefollowingthededicationoftheKirtlandTem-ple, a series of portraits of the Church presidents who had participated inthededication,and theirwives,wasenvisionedasanembellishment to thetemple.Extantportraitsfromthisseriesappeartodatearound1837.Docu-mentarysourcessuggestthattheportraitswerecompletedandhungforatimeinthetemple,includingtheportraitsofOliverandElizabeth.TheCowderysremainedinKirtlandthroughmid-1837.AsthefamilypreparedtomovetoFarWest,Missouri,OliverandElizabeth’sportraitswerecratedforshipmenttoMissouri.

TheCowderyfamilyarrivedinupperMissouriinlateOctober1837.Oli-verinitiallypurchasedlandthreemilessouthofthenewsettlementofSaintsinCaldwellCounty,butheandElizabethAnnjoinedtheWhitmersinmak-ingtheirhomeinFarWest.10WritingtohisbrotherWarreninJanuary1838,Oliverindicated,“Myfamilyareaboutasusual.We[are]apartofbro.J[ohn]W[hitmer]’s house and expect to be till spring.”11AtFarWest,CowderyservedasclerkofthehighcouncilandgeneralChurchrecorder.

JosephSmith’sarrivalinFarWestinMarch1838seemedtostirwhathadbeenlargelyadministrativedisagreementsintoopenactsofviolencefocused

� Mormon Historical Studies

againstthoseperceivedasdissenters.InJuneCowderywasorderedtoleavethecountywithin threedays,orsuffer theconsequences.12JohnWhitmer’shistoryexplains:

theycommencedsuingatthelawofthelandbyattachmentfordebtswhichtheyknewwerepaid . . .againstDavidWhitmer,L.E.Johnson,O.Cowdery,F.G.WilliamsW.W.Phelpsandmyself[we]wenttoClayCo.toobtainlegalcounseltopreparetooverthrowtheseattachmentswhichtheyhadcausedtobeissuedagainstuswhichwewereabundantlyabletodobygoodandsubstantialwitnesses

ButtoourgreatastonishmentwhenwewereonourwayhomefromLibertyClayCo.wemetthefamiliesofO.CowderyandL.E.Johnsonwhomtheyhaddrivefromtheirhomesandrobed[sic]themofalltheirgoodssaveclothing&bedding,&c.13

DepartingFarWestinhaste,extendedmembersoftheWhitmerfamilyendedupinRichmond,Missouri,insearchofpersonalsafetyandtoconsiderpossiblelegalremedies.14Otherfamilymembers,leftbehindinitially,shortlyjoinedthem.15Thereafter,theyestablishedhomesinRichmond,Missouri.

Afterashortperiod,OliverandElizabethandtheirfamilymovedbacktoOhio.Theyreturnedto theKirtlandareafora time,whereOliverfoundemployment as a lawyer, then moved to Tiffin, Ohio, for several more years. Duringtheseyears,theCowderysreceivedwordofthedeathoftheirformerfriendJosephSmithJr.

In1849,Oliver traveled to theCouncilBluffsareaandwasrebaptizedintotheinstitutionthathadshunnedhim.OliverandElizabethrejoinedtheWhitmersinRichmondwhereOliverdiedin1850.ElizabethandherdaughterJuliaAnnremainedforthenextfewyearsinRichmond,livinginaroominthePeterSr.andMaryWhitmerhome.

ThepaintingsofOliverandElizabethmentionedearlierinthisreminis-cencepassedintothehandsofJohnWhitmerandremainedinthefamilyformanyyears.TheywerestillinJohnWhitmer’sfarmhouseatFarWest,Mis-souri, throughout the1920s.Thepaintingscame into thepossessionof theRLDSChurch[nowCommunityofChrist]in1930andsurvivetothisday.Elizabeth’sandOliver’sportraitsareoftenondisplayintheCommunityofChristMuseum,intheCommunityofChristTempleinIndependence,Mis-souri.

Many valuable historical papers of the early Church movement alsopassedintothecareandkeepingofDavidWhitmerafterOliver’sdeath.Da-vidbecamethestewardofthepreciousprinter’scopyoftheBookofMormonmanuscriptthatOliverhadretainedandprotectedsincethebeginningoftheworkinthestateofNewYorkmorethantwentyyearsbefore;alsoacopyofthe “C[h]aracters” from the book of Book of Mormon plates, Book of Com-mandmentmanuscript revelations,whichOliverhadcarried toMissouri in1831forpublicationbytheChurch’sLiteraryFirm;andmanuscriptsofJo-

Ronald E. Romig: Elizabeth Ann Whitmer Cowdery 5

sephSmith’srevisionoftheBibleinwhichOliverhadassistedasascribe.Theseartifactsof theearlyChurchwereacquiredby theRLDSChurch in1903fromDavidWhitmer’sgrandson,GeorgeSchweich.

Elizabeth and her daughter Maria Louise lived in a room of the PeterandMaryWhitmerhomeinRichmondforseveralyears.AfterMariamarriedCharlesJohnson,ayoungmedicaldoctor,ElizabethjoinedtheminColorado.Years later, the family moved to Southwest City, Missouri, where Charlescontinuedtopracticeasadoctor.

MotherElizabethanddaughterMariaLouisediedwithindaysofeachother and are yet together, buried beside each other in the Southwest Cityburialground.

Notes

1.Whitmer family Bible, Family Record, Community of Christ Library-Archives,Independence,Missouri.

2.HelenVanCleaveBlankmeyer,David Whitmer: Witness for God, Written for His Descendants(n.p.,1955),7,copylocatedintheCommunityofChristArchives,Indepen-dence,Missouri.

3.ThefollowingwerebaptizedonApril18,1830,byOliverCowdery:PeterWhitmerSr., Mary M.Whitmer,William Jolly, Elizabeth Jolly,Vincent Jolly, Richard B. [Ziba]Peterson,andElizabethAnnWhitmer.SeeJosephSmithJr., History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,ed.B.H.Roberts,2ded.,rev.,7vols.(SaltLakeCity:DeseretBook,1971),1:81.

4.HelenBlankmeyer,David Whitmer,8.5.SeeScottH.Faulring,“EarlyMarriagesPerformedbytheLatter-daySaintElders

in Jackson County, Missouri, 1832-1834,” Mormon Historical Studies2,no.2(Fall2001):197-210. Faulring provides a photograph of Oliver and Elizabeth’s marriage certificate on page201.

6.The Evening and the Morning Star2,no.15(December1833):114.7.MaryBryantAlversonMehling,Cowdrey-Cowdery-Cowdray: William Cowdery

of Lynn, Massachusetts, 1630, and His Descendants (NewYork:F.AllabenGenealogi-calCompany,1911),173;andMaryCleoraDear,Two Hundred Thirty-Eight Years of the Whitmer Family, 1737-1976 (Richmond, Missouri: Beck Printing Company, 1976), 48;giveMaria’sbirthdateasAugust11,1835.However,in“GenealogyofPresidentOliverCowdery” in Joseph Smith’s History, 1834-1836, it states that Maria was actually born on August21,1835.Notethefollowingentry:“MariaCowderywasborninKirtland,GeaugaCounty, Ohio, fifteen (15) minutes past 9 o’clock a.m. Friday, August 21, 1835.” See Dean C.Jessee,ed.,The Papers of Joseph Smith,2vols.(SaltLakeCity:DeseretBook,1989-1992),1:19.SincethemanuscriptisinthehandwritingofOliver,itwouldappeartobeamoreaccuratedate.

8.Dear,Two Hundred Thirty-Eight Years of the Whitmer Family,48.9.See Jessee,Papers of Joseph Smith, 1:20-22; 2:36; alsoHistory of the Church,

2:176.10.Cowderyentered160acresof land inSections26and36,MirabileTownship,

in1836.SeeClarkV.Johnson,ed.,An Index to Early Caldwell County, Missouri Land

� Mormon Historical Studies

Records(n.p.,n.d.),30.11.OliverCowdery toWarrenCowdery,January21,1838,OliverCowderyLetter

Book,HuntingtonLibrary,SanMarino,California.12. Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” The Return1(Oc-

tober1889):146.13.BruceN.Westergren,ed.,From Historian to Dissident: The Book of John Whit-

mer (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1995), 184. JohnWhitmer’s manuscript historypassedtotheRLDSChurch[nowCommunityofChrist]in1903.

14.SeeJessee,Papers of Joseph Smith,2:249.15. Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” 147.