Helen Mar Kimball

Helen Mar Kimball (August 22, 1828 – November 13, 1896) was one of 30 to 40 plural wives of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She was sealed in marriage to him when she was 14 years old. After his death when she was 16, she married Horace Whitney "for time"; Whitney was the brother of another of Smith's wives. She bore eleven children with Whitney, the first three of whom died at, or soon after, birth. Their son, Orson F. Whitney, became an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Biography Early life Kimball was born in Mendon, New York, as the third of nine children born to Heber C. Kimball and Vilate Murray. She was the only daughter to survive, and grew up being very close to her younger brother, William. As the only daughter, she was somewhat pampered by her parents. Kimball was three years old when her parents were baptized into the Latter Day Saint church in 1832. Kimball's family moved from Mendon to the church headquarters at Kirtland, Ohio, in the fall of 1833. When her father was called to be a church apostle in 1835, he was required to travel on missions and be away from home for significant lengths of time. Kimball was baptized by Brigham Young in the Chagrin River during the winter when the river was frozen over. In order for her to be baptized, her father had to cut a hole in the ice. Kimball later wrote that she was not bothered by the cold water because she had "longed for this privilege" and that she "felt no cold or inconvenience from it".