Wife of Joseph Smith – Emily Partridge

After the death of their father, 16-year-old Emily and her 20-year-old sister Eliza moved into Joseph and Emma Smith’s home as live-in help. When Emily was 18, Joseph made advances towards Emily, which she initially shut down.

“…in the spring of 1842…Joseph said to me one day, ‘Emily, if you will not betray me, I will tell you something for your benefit.’ Of course I would keep his secret…he asked me if I would burn it if he would write me a letter. I began to think that was not the proper thing for me to do and I was about as miserable as I ever would wish to be…I went to my room and knelt down and asked my father in heaven to direct me…[At Joseph’s insistence] I could not speak to any one on earth…I received no comfort till I went back…to say I could not take a private letter from him.  He asked me if I wished the matter ended. I said I did.” Emily recalls, “he said no more to me [for many months].”

Joseph acquired the help of Elizabeth Durfee, an older woman already married to Joseph, to help convince Emily of the concept of plural marriage.  After Elizabeth’s intervention, Joseph approached Emily again and successfully convinced her to marry him on her 19th birthday.  A few days later Joseph also married her sister Eliza. The sisters were unaware of each other’s marriages to Joseph. “

“I and my sister Eliza received it [Celestial Marriage] and were married to br. Joseph about the same time, but neither of us knew about the other at the time, everything was so secret.”

When Joseph finally informed Emma about polygamy, she conceded to let Joseph live the law of plural marriage on the condition that she selected the women who Joseph would to marry.  Emma was unaware of Joseph’s then ongoing practice of polygamy, including his prior marriages to Emily and Eliza Patridge.  Thus, Emma selected Emily and Eliza as plural wives for Joseph, without knowing that Joseph already had married the two young women and 20 other women.  Emily and Eliza pretended that they had not yet married Joseph to protect his secret from Emma and engaged in a second marriage ceremony to aid Joseph’s deception.  Emily recalls:

“I do not know why she gave us to him, unless she thought we were where she could watch us better…” Emily continued, “To save the family trouble Brother Joseph thought it best to have another ceremony performed…[Emma] had her feelings, and so we thought there was no use in saying anything about it so long as she had chosen us herself…Accordingly…we were sealed to JS a second time, in Emma’s presence.”

Emma’s relationship with the Partridge sisters quickly soured within a few months of Emma’s consent of the second sham wedding ceremony, and Emily and Eliza were kicked out of the Smith household.

Emily was 19 | Joseph was 37 | She was single | The marriage date is March 4, 1843