Life of Heber C. Kimball, an apostle

by Orson F. Whitney

CHAPTER LXII.

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.