Mary Elizabeth (Rollins) Lightner (1818 - 1913)

Born 9 Apr 1818 in Lima, Ontario, New York, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Adam Lightner Jr. — married 11 Aug 1834 in Liberty, Clay, Missouri, United States

Wife of Brigham Young — married 22 May 1845 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States

Descendants

Died 17 Dec 1913 at age 95 in Minersville, Beaver, Utah Territory, United States

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Mary became a member of the LDS Church between 1830 - 1848.

Mary (Rollins) Lightner was a Latter Day Saint pioneer.

Biography

Mary Elizabeth Rollins was born on April 9, 1818 in Lima, Ontario County, New York, United States (in present-day Livingston County).^[1][2][3][4] She was the daughter of John Rollins and Keziah Van Benthuysen.^[1][3][4]

After Mary's father's death in November 1920, the family went to live with Keziah's sister Elizabeth and Elizabeth's husband Algernon Sidney Gilbert.^[4] Around 1828, the Gilberts and Rollinses moved to Mentor, Ohio, and then to Kirtland, Ohio.^[3][4] In Kirtland, they heard preaching by early Mormon leaders in late fall 1830 and were converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Mary was baptized in November 1830.^[3][4]

In fall 1831, the family left Ohio for Independence, Jackson County, Missouri.^[3][4][5] Anti-Mormon sentiment in Missouri grew, and on July 20, 1833, a mob attacked a Mormon printing office which was then printing the Book of Commandments, an early Mormon scripture. Mary and her sister Caroline are credited with saving the papers, which were later published as part of the Doctrine and Covenants.^[3][4]

The family left Jackson County in November 1833 and moved to Clay County, Missouri, where Mary began teaching children.^[3][4]

Mary married Adam Lightner on August 11, 1834 in Liberty, Clay, Missouri. Soon after this, they moved to Far West, Missouri.^[3][4][6]

In late 1838, anti-Mormon pressures forced them to leave Missouri. They planned to visit Lexington, Kentucky, where Adam's brother lived, but ultimately detoured to Louisville. They lived in Louisville, Kentucky for six months, then moved to Alton, Madison County, Illinois. Mary taught painting lessons to earn money.^[3][4]

Around October 1839 or 1840, they relocated to Half Breed Tract near Montrose, Lee County, Iowa Territory and lived with Mary's mother for about a month. From there, they moved to Farmington, Van Buren County, Iowa Territory for a short time, but returned to Montrose in January of the following year. By early 1842 they were living in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois.^[3][4][7]

In early February 1842, Mary received a proposal of marriage from LDS church president Joseph Smith, who introduced her to the doctrine of plural marriage. Mary said in later years that she was initially troubled by the doctrine and very hesitant to accept the proposal, but she ultimately changed her mind and married Joseph at the end of February 1842 at Joseph Smith's Red Brick Store in Nauvoo.^{[8][9][10][11]}

This was a polyandrous marriage, and as with most of Joseph Smith's polyandrous wives, Mary continued to live with her first husband Adam Lightner. Adam was a non-Mormon and probably did not know about Mary's marriage to Joseph Smith.^[4]

Mary, Adam and their children moved to Pontoosuc, Hancock, Illinois in July 1842. Joseph Smith was killed on June 27, 1844. Mary's family moved back to Nauvoo later in 1844.^[3][4]

On May 22, 1845, Mary was sealed to Brigham Young in a proxy marriage, where she married Joseph Smith for eternity and Brigham Young for time. She continued to live with her first husband Adam, but her writings later in life suggest that she felt strongly for Brigham as well and was deeply saddened when he and left Nauvoo without her.^[4]

Adam, Mary, and their children moved to Galena, Jo Daviess County, Illinois around early 1847; to St. Croix Falls, St. Croix County, Wisconsin Territory later in 1847; to Stillwater, Wisconsin Territory (later in Washington County, Minnesota) in spring 1848; and to Willow River (later Hudson), St. Croix County, Wisconsin in spring 1849.^[4][12] At Willow River, Mary and Adam managed a boarding house for two years.^[3][4]

After the passing of her sister Caroline in summer 1853, Mary took in Caroline's oldest daughter and eventually became the caretaker of all four of Caroline's children.^[3][4]

The Lightners moved to Marine, St. Croix, Washington, Minnesota around 1854, where they managed a large hotel.^{[3][4][13][14]} They moved to Hannibal, Marion County, Missouri around 1860 or 1861,^[3][4][15] then returned to Chisago, Chisago County, Minnesota after about a year.^[3][4]

In 1863 they travelled west to Utah with the Alvus H. Patterson Company, arriving in Salt Lake City on September 15, 1863.^[16] They settled in Minersville, Beaver County, Utah, arriving September 20, 1863.^[3][4]

Brigham Young, Mary's third husband, died on August 29, 1877. Mary and Brigham are not known to ever have lived together, but had they sometimes visited one another and exchanged letters.^[4] Adam Lightner died on August 19, 1885.^[3][4]

She passed away on December 17, 1913 in Minersville, Beaver, Utah Territory.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1965," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZPL-3RS : 3 March 2021), Mary Elizabeth Lightner, 17 Dec 1913; citing Minersville Twp, Beaver, Utah, United States, certificate 50, series 81448; Utah State Archives Research Center, Salt Lake City, Utah; FHL microfilm.
2. ↑ Temple Records Index Bureau of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 10 December 1845 to 8 February 1846. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1974, p. 149. As cited by The Joseph Smith Papers, The Church Historian's Press.
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17} Lightner, Mary Elizabeth Rollins. "Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner," The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, vol. 17 (July-October 1926): pp. 193-205, 250-260. FamilySearch (accessed 16 March 2021). Autobiography. Transcription available via Perry Porter's Page website.
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22} Compton, Todd. "Miracle Tale: Mary Elizabeth Rollins (Lightner Smith Young)." In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 1997, pp. 205-227. Transcription available via Perry Porter's Page website.
5. ↑ Cook, Lyndon W. The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985, p. 84. As cited by The Joseph Smith Papers, The Church Historian's Press.
6. ↑ Black, Susan Easton, compiler. Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1848. 50 vols. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center, 1989. Private Donor. Ancestry Record 5333 #55564. Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1848 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHTG-4FR : 2 March 2021), Adam Lightner, Van Buren, Iowa Territory, United States; citing p. 277, NARA microfilm publication , (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll ; FHL microfilm.
8. ↑ Compton, In Sacred Loneliness, p. 213, 687. "Mary vacillated between February 1841 and 1842 in dating her marriage to Joseph, but used 1842 more often. Furthermore, Brigham Young performed the marriage, and he was in England in February 1841, returning to Nauvoo only on July 1, 1841."
9. ↑ Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, Affidavit, Minersville, Utah Territory, 23 Mar. 1877, in Collected Material Concerning Joseph Smith and Plural Marriage, Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. As cited by The Joseph Smith Papers, The Church Historian's Press.
10. ↑ Mary E. Lightner statement of sealing to Joseph Smith, 1902 February 8, Vault MSS 363 Item 3, Folder: 3. L. Tom Perry Special Collections.
11. ↑ Lightner, Mary Elizabeth Rollins. Address at Brigham Young University, 14 April 1905. Typescript via Brigham Young University Library. Transcription available via Perry Porter's Page website.
12. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4DG-FXZ : 23 December 2020), Mary Lightner in household of Adam Lightner, St. Croix, Wisconsin, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
13. ↑ "Minnesota Territorial Census, 1857," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:3D4K-LN2 : 23 February 2021), Mary E Lightner in household of Adam Lightner, ; citing line 19, NARA microfilm publication T1175 (Washington D.C.: Central Plains Region, National Archives, n.d.); FHL microfilm 944,290.
14. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4LL-3ZD : 18 February 2021), Mary E Lightner in entry for Adam Lightner, 1860.
15. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4LL-3ZD : 18 February 2021), Mary E Lightner in entry for Adam Lightner, 1860.
16. ↑ “Mary Elizabeth Lightner,” Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868, Pioneer Database, 1847–1868. Compiled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel.

See also:

• "Lightner, Mary Elizabeth Rollins." The Joseph Smith Papers, The Church Historian's Press (accessed 16 March 2021).
• "Mary Rollins Lightner." Remembering the Wives of Joseph Smith (wivesofjosephsmith.org: accessed 16 March 2021).
• Lightner, Mary Elizabeth Rollins. "Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner," The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, vol. 17 (July-October 1926): pp. 193-205, 250-260. FamilySearch (accessed 16 March 2021). Autobiography. Transcription available via Perry Porter's Page website.
• Compton, Todd. "Miracle Tale: Mary Elizabeth Rollins (Lightner Smith Young)." In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 1997, pp. 205-227. Transcription available via Perry Porter's Page website.
• Lightner, Mary Elizabeth Rollins. Address at Brigham Young University, 14 April 1905. Typescript via Brigham Young University Library. Transcription available via Perry Porter's Page website.
• Carter, Kate B. "Brigham Young - His Wives and Family." Our Pioneer Heritage, vol. 5. United States: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, p. 305-324. Transcription available via Perry Porter's Page website.
• FamilySearch profile
• Collection of documents (mostly letters) pertaining to Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, many including images of originals: Vault MSS 363; Mary E. Lightner papers. 19th Century Western & Mormon Manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.

Census records:

• "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHTG-4FR : 2 March 2021), Adam Lightner, Van Buren, Iowa Territory, United States; citing p. 277, NARA microfilm publication , (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll ; FHL microfilm.
• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4DG-FXZ : 23 December 2020), Mary Lightner in household of Adam Lightner, St. Croix, Wisconsin, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• "Minnesota Territorial Census, 1857," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:3D4K-LN2 : 23 February 2021), Mary E Lightner in household of Adam Lightner, ; citing line 19, NARA microfilm publication T1175 (Washington D.C.: Central Plains Region, National Archives, n.d.); FHL microfilm 944,290.
• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4LL-3ZD : 18 February 2021), Mary E Lightner in entry for Adam Lightner, 1860.
• "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNCR-CPD : 2 January 2021), Mary E Lightner in entry for Adam Lightner, 1870.
• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNSN-BLW : 20 February 2021), Marie E Lightner in household of Adam Lightner, Minersville, Beaver, Utah, United States; citing enumeration district ED 2, sheet 26B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,255,335.
• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMRN-XZ2 : accessed 19 March 2021), E. Mary Lightner in household of N. George Rollins, Adamsville, Greenville, Sulphurdale Precincts Minersville town, Beaver, Utah, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 69, sheet 2A, family 21, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,682.
• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XMY1-PT1 : accessed 19 March 2021), Mary E Lightnur in household of George Rollins, Minersville, Beaver, Utah, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 1, sheet 10B, family 95, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1602; FHL microfilm 1,375,615.