Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family Organization

Finding Burial Sites for Samuel and Don Carlos

The Samuel H. Smith Foundation has embarked on the major project of finding the final resting place of Samuel H. Smith and Don Carlos Smith. To accomplish this, the Samuel H. Smith Foundation has utilized valuable historical documentation, grave site scan information and site drawings.

Our ancestors were very careful of protecting the final remains of the 19 family members believed to be buried in the cemetery. What remains is a puzzle of scattered information.

However, there have been some significant findings thanks to the help of the Community of Christ Church archives and the LDS Church Historical Department. Because of these findings the Samuel H. Smith Foundation has commissioned a survey of the cemetery, another ground penetrating radar scan, which will be completed this month.

Hopefully, an exciting announcement will be made during our August reunion. The goal is to have all Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith’s children graves finally marked. If we are able to locate Samuel’s and Don Carlos’ graves without disturbing their remains then all of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack’s children will have their graves marked with the exception of their first still born son.

Special thanks goes to Lachlan McKay who has given valuable information for this project. Lachlan has also been responsible in correlating this project with the Community of Christ Church and the Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Foundation.

In addition, the Samuel H. Smith Foundation is sponsoring the family picnic and service project on August 8, 2009. As before, the Samuel H. Smith Foundation is donating the food for the picnic and the proceeds from the picnic will be donated to an appropriate family project.

This year, the service project will bring us all a special memory. Just as Huck Finn painted fences on the banks on the Mississippi we will be painting fences also. Only this fence is pretty special because it is the fence around the family cemetery. All paint and tools that you will need will be provided. The only thing you’ll need to bring is your desire to work and do a great job!

Board Members M. Russell Ballard & Wallace B. Smith ask for yearly dues.

The work of the Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family Foundation continues to move forward. The Family Cemetery in Nauvoo, where our progenitors are buried is beautiful and well maintained.

About 800,000 visitors have found it to be a place of peace and contemplation.
Through efforts of Foundation committees we have identified over 25,000 descendants of Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. About 10,000 visitors access our family web sites monthly.

Our Smith Family Values are increasingly being shared through Foundation promoted
activities such as family gatherings, expanded internet coverage and finding and organizing descendants of all children of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith. These activities have enabled us to provide extensive genealogical data, family events and our family history including photos, book reviews, newsletters, etc.

In order to continue the important work of the Family Foundation, we need the monetary support of as many family members as possible.

In the past we have funded most of our work through earnings on the Foundation’s
investments. With interest rates at historic lows, however, we need to supplement
this source through the generous contributions of Smith family descendants. To those who have helped fund these efforts over the years please accept our deepest appreciation.

Since our work has been primarily funded by a small part of the family, we urge all of you to send in your 2009 family dues now so that we can carry on the work of our Family Foundation.

We suggest that each family contribute dues of $25 each year. We would appreciate
more than $25 if you are able. Please contribute as much as you can.

We are confident that our forebears would be pleased at our efforts to find and unite their descendants and honor their lives and values.

Thank you,

M. Russell Ballard
Wallace B. Smith

Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family Foundation Board

Joseph Smith, Sr.and Lucy Mack Smith 20th Reunion Aug 6-9, 2009

Thursday, August 6
Gather at 7:00 PM to meet cousins at registration and enjoy an informal evening of visiting and a delicious ice cream social.

Friday, August 7
Travel to Carthage, Illinois where Joseph and his brother Hyrum were martyred. We will tour the visitors’ center and walk through the beautiful gardens. We will take photos by the life-size statue of Joseph and Hyrum. We return to Nauvoo to
spend the afternoon visiting the homes and sites of old Nauvoo. The family will enjoy dinner and a program in the evening.

Saturday, August 8
In the morning we will meet at the homestead for a service project on the Smith Cemetery where nearly 20 family ancestors are buried. While many of the family will repair and paint the fence, others will work on simple projects and serve refreshments. There will be fun activities for the children that will teach them about our ancestors’ day. That afternoon, the Samuel Smith family will prepare
a delicious Midwest barbecue meal for the family.

Sunday, August 9
The family will gather once again at the grave site to admire the service project and to pay tribute to the ancestors buried in the cemetery. We will present a
wreath and hold a short program.

For more information see www.JosephSmithSr.org.

The Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Foundation Newsletter
http://www.josephsmithsr.org

Emma and Lucy by Gracia N. Jones

Lucy Mack Smith has come to stand as a beloved role model in Church history. Not quite as well-known is Emma Hale Smith’s legacy. Yet, in the midst of her suffering and persecution, her testimony of her husband’s mis-sion and of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon remains.

But this is not a book about these women individually. For Emma and Lucy had a close, intertwined relationship. More mother than mother-in-law, more daughter than daughter-in-law, they were also women in Israel. Bound together by the gospel, their mutual admiration and friendship, and their love for and devotion to Joseph, these women became inseparable later in life as Emma lovingly cared for the aged Lucy.

Carefully researched by the great-great-granddaughter of Emma and Joseph, this remarkable book offers a deep, thoughtful, and tender look at these two most important women of the early Church. A fascinating and worthy read for every person interested in Church history.

Exiled: The Story of John Lathrop by Helene Holt

Joseph Smith’s ancestors were care-fully chosen to be the forebears of the Prophet of God. Such a man was John Lathrop, a minister in the King’s church, who, at the peril of his life, fought for religious freedom. This is the astounding biographical account of Lathrop’s struggle and his ultimate exile to America. Winner of the National Freedom’s Foundation Award.

United By Faith: The Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family

Edited by Kyle R. Walker with contributions from Mark L. McConkie, Lavina Fielding Anderson, Richard L. Anderson, Ronald K. Esplin, Gracia Jones, Dean L. Jar-man, Roy Huff, Nathan Williams, and Kyle R. Walker.

Carla Duke of Burlington, Iowa has invited the Joseph Smith Sr. family to contribute to a gravestone for Lucy Salisbury Duke Whalen. Lucy is the niece of Joseph Smith Jr., daughter of Joseph’s sister Katherine Salisbury. Lucy has been buried in an unmarked grave for 113 years.

To contribute, please write to:

Carla Duke
4363 Hunt Road
Burlington, Iowa 52601

Write checks to:
Lucy Salisbury Duke Whalen Cemetery Marker

by Ora Smith

One hundred and three descendants of Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith gathered in Mesa, Arizona for a reunion on January 21st, 2006. This was the third such gathering of Arizona descendants since 2002. Family members were invited to bring with them old ancestral photos and histories, which were scanned and shared on a CD with everyone interested, which was mailed out later. Large wall charts showing family lineages were displayed. They were also fortunate enough to have some great guest speakers, such as the artist Glen S. Hopkinson who brought some of his original paintings and bust of Joseph Smith. In the evening they heard from Gracia and Ivor Jones, Mike Kennedy and Steven Orton, who all in some way or another shared the message of how important it is to gather as a family and get to know each other as well as to know our roots. They made us realize we need to go beyond meeting at reunions, and get to know each other in other ways. We need to be more involved in each others lives and take opportunities to get together more often.

If you are an Arizona descendant (or know someone who is) and you didn’t receive an invitation to the last reunion, please contact Hyrum and Ora Smith at hyora@cox.net.

On October 15, 2005, members of the Smith Family, Topsfield Historical Society, and the LDS New Hampshire Exeter Stake met to honor 5 generations of Smiths living in Topsfield, MA.

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve, dedicated a monument at the Smith homestead. Bishop Rob Fitzgerald dedicated a marker at the Congregational Church where 5 generations of the Smiths worshiped. The audience met to connect the past, present, and future. Speaker Joseph Fielding McConkie, a Smith descendant and BYU professor, said that monuments “give meaning and purpose to all that we do.”

Now is the time to plan for next summer’s reunion in Salt Lake City on August 3, 4, and 5, 2007. We want to see all of our cousins! Pictures and stories about your cousins at the 2005 Ohio, New York, and Vermont Reunion are available at www.JosephSmithSr.org.