Martha Jane Knowlton Coray
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| Martha Jane Knowlton Coray | |
|---|---|
| Board of Trustees, Brigham Young Academy | |
| October 1875 – December 14, 1881 | |
| Called by | Brigham Young |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Marth Jane Knowlton June 3, 1821 Covington, Kentucky |
| Died | December 14, 1881 (aged 60) Provo, Utah |
| Spouse(s) | Howard Coray |
Martha Jane Knowlton Coray (June 3, 1821 - December 14, 1881)[1][2] was the only female member of the first Board of Trustees for Brigham Young Academy.[3]
Biography
Martha Jane Knowlton Coray was born June 3, 1821 in Covington, Kentucky to Sidney Algernon Knowlton and Harriett Burnham. When she was a child, her parents moved to Ohio and then later to Hancock County, Illinois, where they were living in 1838 when the Mormons were driven out of Missouri. Martha Jane's father employed some of the driven Saints and furnished others with houses. After listening to sermons by leaders in the Mormon Church, she chose to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in January 1840. On February 6, 1841, Martha Jane married Howard Coray. In the Spring of 1846, Martha Jane and her family left Nauvoo with the majority of the Latter-day Saints to travel west. In 1850 she finally reached the Salt Lake Valley with the John Sharp Company. In 1857 during the Utah War Martha Jane and her family moved south to Provo, Utah and experienced many trials. Later in 1871, Martha Jane and her family moved to Mona, Utah to homestead a tract of land, although they kept their home in Provo.
Martha Jane was always active in academia, having assisted her husband in his school teaching when they lived in Nauvoo, and then later filled her husband's position at the University of Deseret while he served a mission for the LDS Church. In October 1875, Martha Jane was selected by Brigham Young to serve as the first woman trustee for the Board of Directors of Brigham Young Academy. She served as trustee from 1875 until her death in 1881 and was responsible for hiring the first master of the Academy, Karl G. Maeser. Martha Jane also contributed greatly to the preservation of the history of the LDS Church, including preserving notes from sermons of Joseph Smith, which church historian Wilford Woodruff consulted when compiling a history of the Church. She also wrote the history of Joseph Smith as dictated by his mother, Lucy Mack Smith.[4]
Martha Jane Knowlton Coray died on December 14, 1881, in Provo, Utah, the mother of twelve children.[5]
References
- ^ The Improvement Era. Vol. 5. Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. 1902. pp. 439–.
- ^ H. Dean Garrett; Brigham Young University. Dept. of Church History and Doctrine (1995). Regional studies in Latter-Day Saint church history, Illinois. Department of Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University. p. 356. ISBN 978-0-8425-2330-1.
- ^ Susan Easton Black; Larry C. Porter (1 January 1995). Lion of the Lord: Essays on the Life & Service of Brigham Young. Deseret Book Company. ISBN 978-1-57345-112-3.
- ^ Jan Shipps (1 January 1987). Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition. University of Illinois Press. pp. 93–. ISBN 978-0-252-01417-8.
- ^ Coray family papers, MSS 1422, Brigham Young University, Harold B. Lee Library, L. Tom Perry Special Collections