Louisa Beaman – Timeline of Events

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Louisa Beaman’s alleged marriage to Joseph Smith as a plural wife is a complicated story. This Louisa Beaman timeline will accelerate your understanding of the core details without the opinions and interpretive layers.

Louisa Beaman Timeline

Source Analysis for Louisa Beaman

Louisa Beaman Source Quality Analysis - Was Louisa Beaman one of Joseph Smith's polygamist wives?
Louisa Beaman Source Quality Analysis – Was Louisa Beaman one of Joseph Smith’s polygamist wives?
  • the only early account is from John C. Bennett, 2nd hand
    • “He then went off to see Miss Louisa Beaman, at the house of Mrs. Sherman, and remained with her about two hours.” (John C. Bennett, “The History of the Saints” p.243)
  • 3/4 of the 1st hand accounts are from Joseph Bates Noble (28, 43 and 52 year recollections), therefore Bates is considered one of two original sources
  • The other 1st hand account is from antagonist Benjamin Winchester (56-58 year recollection) in the year 1900.
  • 6 different dates were recorded among the 18 sources, and 4 of the 6 variations came from Joseph Noble (the eye witness), including 2 incorrect dates after he signed the affidavit in 1869.
    – May 1840 – Wilford Woodruff, Historian’s journal (1866)
    – May 5, 1841 – Franklin D. Richards (1869)
    – May 6, 1841 – Joseph B. Noble (1869)
    – April 5, 1841 – Joseph B. Noble (1869), George A. Smith (1869), Orson Pratt (1878), Joseph Smith III (1880s), Erastus Snow (1887)
    – 1840 – Joseph B. Noble (1880)
    – 1841 to 1842 – Joseph B. Noble (1892)

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