Fanny Alger
Encyclopedia
Fanny Alger has been alleged to have been the first plural wife
of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint Movement
. Scholars have disagreed as to whether Smith's union with Alger was an early plural marriage or simply a sexual indiscretion.
, Bristol County
, Massachusetts
, the fourth of eleven children. Samuel was a carpenter who had built a house for the father of future Mormon leader Heber C. Kimball
. Clarissa was a sister of Mormon stalwart Levi W. Hancock
.
The Algers first moved to Ashtabula, Ohio
and then to Mayfield
, Cuyahoga County
, Ohio
, ten miles southwest of the Mormon settlement at Kirtland
. In 1830, Samuel (and apparently Clarissa) were baptized into Mormonism and thus became some of its earliest converts.
In September 1836, after Fanny had spent some time as a teenage servant in the home of Joseph and Emma Smith, the Algers left Kirtland. Joseph Smith asked Fanny's uncle, Levi Hancock, to conduct her to Missouri, but she accompanied her parents instead. The Algers stopped in Dublin
, Wayne County
, Indiana
, and there Fanny met and, on November 16, 1838, married Solomon Custer, a non-Mormon, listed in various censuses as a grocer, baker, and merchant. Although her parents continued on their way to Nauvoo, Illinois
and eventually Utah, the Custers remained in Indiana. Fanny bore nine children, only two of whom survived her. In 1874 she joined the Universalist church in Dublin. Her funeral was held at the Dublin church after she died at the home of her son in Indianapolis
on November 29, 1889.
Many years later, an early acquaintance remembered the young Alger of Kirtland as a "very nice and comely young woman...toward whom...everyone seemed partial for the amiability of her character." Her obituary reported that in Indiana she was "generally beloved by all who knew her and was noted for her benevolence of spirit and generous-heartedness."
—one of the Three Witnesses
to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon
—wrote his brother concerning his indignation at Smith's relationship with Alger. Cowdery said he had discussed with Smith the "dirty, nasty, filthy affair of his and Fanny Alger's...in which I strictly declared that I had never deserted from the truth in the matter, and as I supposed was admitted by himself." As Richard Bushman
has noted, Smith "never denied a relationship with Alger, but insisted it was not adulterous. He wanted it on record that he had never confessed to such a sin." The best statement Smith was able to wring from Cowdery was his affirmation that Smith had never acknowledged himself to have been guilty of adultery. "That," wrote Bushman, "was all Joseph wanted: an admission that he had not termed the Alger affair adulterous." In April 1838, Mormon leaders meeting as the Far West
High Council excommunicated Cowdery, in part because he had "seemed to insinuate" that Smith was guilty of adultery.
At this point, Alger disappeared from the historical record of the Mormon church, only to have a number of stories about her relationship with Smith arise during the late nineteenth century. All of these second-hand witnesses, Mormon and non-Mormon, agreed that Smith had married Alger as a plural wife. In his compendium of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, Todd Compton
discusses this late nineteenth-century evidence and its differing reliability, concluding that Smith's relationship with Alger, though fleeting, was more than a casual sexual affair and that she was "one of Joseph Smith's earliest plural wives."
Nevertheless, historian Lawrence Foster disputed Compton's assumption, arguing that although "contemporary evidence strongly suggests" that Smith and Alger engaged in sexual relations, the evidence does not indicate that the relationship was "viewed either by Smith himself or by his associates at the time as a 'marriage.'" Foster noted that before Smith's first documented plural marriage to Louisa Beaman in April 1841, Smith's "earlier sexual relationships may have been considered marriages, but we lack convincing contemporary evidence supporting such an interpretation."
After Smith's death, Alger's brother asked her about her relationship with the Prophet. She replied, "That is all a matter of my own. And I have nothing to communicate."
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint Movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
. Scholars have disagreed as to whether Smith's union with Alger was an early plural marriage or simply a sexual indiscretion.
Biography
Frances W. Alger Custer was born to Samuel and Clarissa Hancock Alger on September 20, 1816, in RehobothRehoboth, Massachusetts
Rehoboth is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,172 at the 2000 census.-History:It was incorporated in 1643 making it one of the earliest Massachusetts towns to be incorporated. The Rehoboth Carpenter Family is among the founding families...
, Bristol County
Bristol County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 534,678 people, 205,411 households, and 140,706 families residing in the county. The population density was 962 people per square mile . There were 216,918 housing units at an average density of 390 per square mile...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, the fourth of eleven children. Samuel was a carpenter who had built a house for the father of future Mormon leader Heber C. Kimball
Heber C. Kimball
Heber Chase Kimball was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Latter Day Saint church, and as first counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his...
. Clarissa was a sister of Mormon stalwart Levi W. Hancock
Levi W. Hancock
Levi Ward Hancock was an early convert to Mormonism and was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for nearly fifty years. He was also one of the witnesses of the Book of Commandments....
.
The Algers first moved to Ashtabula, Ohio
Ashtabula, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,962 people, 8,435 households, and 5,423 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,775.9 people per square mile . There were 9,151 housing units at an average density of 1,211.8 per square mile...
and then to Mayfield
Mayfield, Ohio
Mayfield is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,460 at the 2010 census. The village is officially named Mayfield, but is typically referred to as Mayfield Village...
, Cuyahoga County
Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Cuyahoga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. It is the most populous county in Ohio; as of the 2010 census, the population was 1,280,122. Its county seat is Cleveland. Cuyahoga County is part of Greater Cleveland, a metropolitan area, and Northeast Ohio, a...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, ten miles southwest of the Mormon settlement at Kirtland
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
. In 1830, Samuel (and apparently Clarissa) were baptized into Mormonism and thus became some of its earliest converts.
In September 1836, after Fanny had spent some time as a teenage servant in the home of Joseph and Emma Smith, the Algers left Kirtland. Joseph Smith asked Fanny's uncle, Levi Hancock, to conduct her to Missouri, but she accompanied her parents instead. The Algers stopped in Dublin
Dublin, Indiana
Dublin is a town in Jackson Township, Wayne County, Indiana, United States. The population was 790 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Dublin is located at ....
, Wayne County
Wayne County, Indiana
Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,917. The county seat is Richmond.-History:...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, and there Fanny met and, on November 16, 1838, married Solomon Custer, a non-Mormon, listed in various censuses as a grocer, baker, and merchant. Although her parents continued on their way to Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
and eventually Utah, the Custers remained in Indiana. Fanny bore nine children, only two of whom survived her. In 1874 she joined the Universalist church in Dublin. Her funeral was held at the Dublin church after she died at the home of her son in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
on November 29, 1889.
Many years later, an early acquaintance remembered the young Alger of Kirtland as a "very nice and comely young woman...toward whom...everyone seemed partial for the amiability of her character." Her obituary reported that in Indiana she was "generally beloved by all who knew her and was noted for her benevolence of spirit and generous-heartedness."
Affair or marriage?
In January 1838, some months after the Algers had left Kirtland, Oliver CowderyOliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
—one of the Three Witnesses
Three Witnesses
The Three Witnesses were a group of three early leaders of the Latter Day Saint movement who signed a statement in 1830 saying that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon and that they had heard God's voice testifying that the book had...
to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
—wrote his brother concerning his indignation at Smith's relationship with Alger. Cowdery said he had discussed with Smith the "dirty, nasty, filthy affair of his and Fanny Alger's...in which I strictly declared that I had never deserted from the truth in the matter, and as I supposed was admitted by himself." As Richard Bushman
Richard Bushman
Richard Lyman Bushman is an American historian and Gouverneur Morris Professor of History emeritus at Columbia University. He is currently the Howard W. Hunter Visiting Professor in Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University...
has noted, Smith "never denied a relationship with Alger, but insisted it was not adulterous. He wanted it on record that he had never confessed to such a sin." The best statement Smith was able to wring from Cowdery was his affirmation that Smith had never acknowledged himself to have been guilty of adultery. "That," wrote Bushman, "was all Joseph wanted: an admission that he had not termed the Alger affair adulterous." In April 1838, Mormon leaders meeting as the Far West
Far West, Missouri
Far West, Missouri, was a Latter Day Saint settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri.-Foundation and early history:The town was founded by Missouri Mormon leaders, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer in August 1836 shortly before the county's creation. The town was platted originally as a square area,...
High Council excommunicated Cowdery, in part because he had "seemed to insinuate" that Smith was guilty of adultery.
At this point, Alger disappeared from the historical record of the Mormon church, only to have a number of stories about her relationship with Smith arise during the late nineteenth century. All of these second-hand witnesses, Mormon and non-Mormon, agreed that Smith had married Alger as a plural wife. In his compendium of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, Todd Compton
Todd Compton
Todd Merlin Compton is an American historian in the fields of Mormon history and Classics.- Biographical background :Compton is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who lived for a number of years in Santa Monica, California. He has served an LDS mission to Ireland...
discusses this late nineteenth-century evidence and its differing reliability, concluding that Smith's relationship with Alger, though fleeting, was more than a casual sexual affair and that she was "one of Joseph Smith's earliest plural wives."
Nevertheless, historian Lawrence Foster disputed Compton's assumption, arguing that although "contemporary evidence strongly suggests" that Smith and Alger engaged in sexual relations, the evidence does not indicate that the relationship was "viewed either by Smith himself or by his associates at the time as a 'marriage.'" Foster noted that before Smith's first documented plural marriage to Louisa Beaman in April 1841, Smith's "earlier sexual relationships may have been considered marriages, but we lack convincing contemporary evidence supporting such an interpretation."
After Smith's death, Alger's brother asked her about her relationship with the Prophet. She replied, "That is all a matter of my own. And I have nothing to communicate."