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Poem to Barbara Neff, between circa 6 and circa 13 May 1844

Source Note

JS, [, Hancock Co., IL], Poem, to Barbara Neff, [, Hancock Co., IL, between ca. 6 and ca. 13 May 1844]; in Barbara N. Moses, Autograph Book, p. [47]; handwriting of JS; CHL.
This autograph book comprises six gatherings, each with four sheets folded into eight leaves—thereby creating an interior text block of forty-eight leaves. Counting the flyleaves, illustration leaves, and tissue paper leaves, the book contains 112 pages. The trimmed leaves measure 7½ × 6 inches (19 × 15 cm). The bound volume measures 7⅝ × 6⅛ × ⅝ inches (19 × 16 × 2 cm). The outside covers are a deep burgundy color and feature embellishments printed in gold. The word “Album” is printed horizontally at the middle of the spine and a “2” is printed at the bottom.
The book contains notes, signatures, poetry, acrostics, and hand-drawn illustrations in graphite and various colors of ink. The signatures date from 1843 to 1919 and were inscribed in no particular order. Chronologically, one of the first signatures placed in the book was made by in October 1843. Barbara Neff gathered signatures in , Illinois, in 1844; several more in Norfolk and Canaan, Connecticut, after her marriage to Julian Moses in 1845; and several more in various locations in Utah Territory after arriving there with her family in 1847. After Neff passed away in 1890, other individuals retained the album and gathered more signatures from prominent church leaders, including , Heber J. Grant, , and Joseph F. Smith. In fact, Joseph F. Smith inscribed a poem on the page containing the poem and signature of JS, his uncle.
Because Neff had no descendants, her album was retained by Ruth Ridge Moses, whom Neff’s husband, Julian Moses, married as a plural wife in 1857. The Moses family retained custody of the album for several generations. In 1974 the family transferred the album to the Church Historical Department (now CHL).

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Moses, Autograph Book, [72]. At the time Woodruff signed Barbara Neff’s album, he was staying at the Neff home in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, raising money for printing supplies on his way back to Nauvoo, Illinois. According to Woodruff’s journal, “Br Neff” donated $300 for the supplies he needed. Woodruff also copied the acrostic poem he wrote for Neff into his journal. (Woodruff, Journal, 5–9 Oct. 1843.)

    Moses, Barbara Matilda Neff. Autograph Book, ca. 1843–1919. CHL.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  2. [2]

    Moses, Autobiography, 53, 55.

    Moses, Julian. Autobiography, ca. 1858–1875.

  3. [3]

    Autograph Book of Barbara Matilda Neff Moses, xii; Moses, Autobiography, 67.

    Moses, Barbara Matilda Neff. Autograph Book, ca. 1843–1919. CHL.

    Moses, Julian. Autobiography, ca. 1858–1875.

Historical Introduction

In May 1844, JS wrote and signed a short poem to Barbara Neff, a young woman who was visiting , Illinois, encouraging her to live charitably. Neff was born in 1822 in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, and was in late 1842. Neff’s parents, recent converts John and Mary Barr Neff, brought Barbara with them when they traveled to Nauvoo in early May 1844 to survey the area and meet other . During their stay, the Neffs visited JS and apparently bought property in Nauvoo. Mary Neff also received a patriarchal blessing from JS’s brother .
Like many nineteenth-century Americans, Barbara Neff acquired an album to collect poetry and sentimental messages of love and friendship from her peers and other people she met. Neff brought this album with her to , and during her stay she gathered signatures from several notable Latter-day Saints, including JS, Leonora Cannon Taylor, , , , , and .
JS’s poem and signature appear on the same page as ’s poem and signature. Phelps wrote, “Two things will beautify a youth / That is: Let virtue decorate the truth. / And so you know, every little helps / Yours— W. W. Phelps.” JS’s poem immediately followed and was a play on Phelps’s poem. Both poems and signatures, which are undated, were almost certainly inscribed in during the Neff family’s visit there. Other signatures of Nauvoo residents in Neff’s book date between 6 and 13 May, suggesting JS inscribed his poem and signature during that time.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “Neff, John,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 2:785; Neff, “About the Original Collector of the Autographs,” vi; Patriarchal Blessing for Mary Barr Neff, 13 May 1844, Claudia S. Thurman, Collection, CHL.

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

    Thurman, Claudia S. Collection, 1815–1995. CHL. MS 23220.

  2. [2]

    See Thornton, Handwriting in America, 114–115. Neff’s future husband, Julian Moses, described his father-in-law, John Neff, as a “man of wealth and influence.” John’s affluence may have afforded Barbara the privilege of buying or receiving this album. (Moses, Autobiography, 53.)

    Thornton, Tamara Plakins. Handwriting in America: A Cultural History. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996.

    Moses, Julian. Autobiography, ca. 1858–1875.

  3. [3]

    Moses, Autograph Book, [15], [17]–[18], [47], [77]–[78], [93]–[98].

    Moses, Barbara Matilda Neff. Autograph Book, ca. 1843–1919. CHL.

  4. [4]

    Moses, Autograph Book, [47].

    Moses, Barbara Matilda Neff. Autograph Book, ca. 1843–1919. CHL.

Page [47]

The truth and virtue both are good
when rightly understood
But Charity is better Miss
That takes us home to bliss
and so forthwith
remember Joseph Smith [p. [47]]
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Source Note

Document Transcript

Page [47]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Poem to Barbara Neff, between circa 6 and circa 13 May 1844
ID #
1345
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Joseph Smith Jr.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    An American hymnal from the early nineteenth century featured a hymn with the following verse: “Millions of years around may run, / Our song shall still increase, / To praise the Father and the Son, / Who brought us home to bliss.” JS may have borrowed this line and adapted it for his poem to Neff, whether intentional or not. (Smith and Jones, Hymns Original and Selected, 154.)

    Smith, Elias, and Abner Jones. Hymns Original and Selected for the Use of Christians. Philadelphia: John Hunter, 1812.

  2. [2]

    TEXT: The ink from the letters “th” in “Smith” transferred onto the verso of the previous page, indicating that shortly after JS signed the poem, the book was closed (without giving the ink time to dry).

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