Emma's Nauvoo

Emma Smith lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, for nearly forty years. This unique documentary history allows the reader to experience the life of Emma and her family after her husband's martyrdom - as viewed through the eyes of her neighbors and associates. In the years following the Saints' exodus, Mormonism's "Elect Lady" earned the universal love and respect of her new "Gentile" neighbors. Emma's Nauvoo is a rich compilation of contemporary letters, interviews and newspaper accounts that narrate the many roles Emma assumed. Not only was she mother of an American religious tradition, she was mother to four boys and an adopted daughter. She became wife of a second husband, Major Lewis Bidamon, from 1847 to 1879. She was the proprietor of the Nauvoo Mansion boarding house and a charitable member of the Nauvoo community.