 1809 - 1886 (76 years) Has 2 ancestors and one descendant in this family tree.
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| Name |
Desdemona Wadsworth Fullmer |
| Birth |
6 Oct 1809 |
Huntington Township, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States  |
| Gender |
Female |
| Initiatory (LDS) |
21 Jan 1846 |
NAUVO |
| FamilySearch ID |
K2XP-QVN |
| Death |
9 Feb 1886 |
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States |
| Burial |
11 Feb 1886 |
Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake, Utah, United States |
| Headstones |
 Submit Headstone Photo |
| Headstones |
Submit Headstone Photo |
| Person ID |
I122721 |
mytree |
| Last Modified |
25 Feb 2024 |
| Father |
Peter Fullmer, b. 27 Feb 1774, Reading, Berks, Pennsylvania, United States d. 6 Jan 1857, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 82 years) |
| Mother |
Susannah Zerfass, b. 17 Sep 1773, Whitehall Township, Lehigh, Pennsylvania, United States d. 11 Nov 1856, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 83 years) |
| Marriage |
2 Mar 1802 |
Schuylkill Township, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Family ID |
F34939 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family 1 |
Harrison Parker McLane, b. 17 Jul 1815, Bath, Kentucky, United States d. Abt 1911, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 95 years) |
| Marriage |
3 Jul 1853 |
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States |
| Divorce |
Yes, date unknown |
| Divorced |
20 Aug 1864 |
Weber, Utah, United States |
| Children |
| | 1. Sarah Dasdemona McLane, b. 24 Aug 1855, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States d. 28 Sep 1855 (Age 0 years) |
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| Family ID |
F34938 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
6 Mar 2025 |
| Family 2 |
Ezra Taft Benson, b. 22 Feb 1811, Mendon, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States d. 3 Sep 1869, Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States (Age 58 years) |
| Marriage |
26 Jan 1846 |
Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States |
| Divorce |
Yes, date unknown |
| Divorced |
21 Sep 1852 |
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States |
| Family ID |
F2065 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
6 Mar 2025 |
| Family 3 |
Joseph Smith, Jr, b. 23 Dec 1805, Sharon, Windsor, Vermont, United States d. 27 Jun 1844, Carthage, Hancock, Illinois, United States (Age 38 years) |
| Marriage |
Jul 1843 |
Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States |
| Family ID |
F29790 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
6 Mar 2025 |
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| Event Map |
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 | Birth - 6 Oct 1809 - Huntington Township, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States |
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 | Marriage - Jul 1843 - Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States |
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 | Initiatory (LDS) - 21 Jan 1846 - NAUVO |
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| Marriage - 26 Jan 1846 - Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States |
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 | Divorced - 21 Sep 1852 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States |
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| Marriage - 3 Jul 1853 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States |
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 | Divorced - 20 Aug 1864 - Weber, Utah, United States |
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| Death - 9 Feb 1886 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States |
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 | Burial - 11 Feb 1886 - Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake, Utah, United States |
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| Notes |
- “I was brought up with goodly parents, yet with the ignorance of the gen t iles. I was taught to pray, being raised very strictly. When I was 13 y ea rs old I prayed much in secret to the Lord. One night I dreamt tha t I sa w myself and a small company of people moving into the wildernes s that wo uld live pure before the Lord. From that time I became very ser ious of mi nd.”
Reading her Bible and studying the creeds of Christianity available t o h er, Desdemona was impressed to “stop (wait) yet a little longer” befo re j oining any, their there was something better yet. “So I stopped til l I he ard the latter-day saints (Latter-day Saints) preach the gospel . I joine d them soon after.” (Comment – Desdemona was just as much entit led to hav e guidance and an answer to her prayers as was Joseph Smith o r anyone els e even at the age of 13).
Desdemona’s introduction to Mormonism came at a time of great trials f o r the Church as well as for herself. But her faith was equal to the cha ll enge: “I went into Kirtland with a few Saints and lived one year their . D uring that time a great number of the members turned against the chur ch . Oliver Cowdery with others would say to me, are you such a fool as s til l to goo to hear Joseph and the fallen prophet? I said the Lord convi nce d me that he was a true prophet, and he was not told me that he his f alle n.”
Suffering the privations and persecutions of Missouri, Desdemona made h e r way to Nauvoo with various families, an earlier marriage having bee n di ssolved and the child of that marriage having died. At the time of h er at tendance at the first Relief Society meeting, she was thirty-two ye ars ol d, unattached, and living either as guest or household help in th e home o f Joseph and Emma Smith.
(Correction: - Desdemona left her father’s home in Jefferson Township , R ichland County, Ohio with her brother, David Fullmer, his wife Rhod a An n Marvin and their three sons. She was with them at Haun’s mill in C aldwe ll County, Missouri. Rhoda Ann says in her history, “In March, 183 9 Broth er Kelley and my husband got a wagon and team between them and mo ved bot h families at the same time. There were 9 in Brother Kelley’s fam ily an d my husband’s numbered 5 besides sister Desdemona, who was livin g with u s, making a total of 15 souls.” They stopped temporarily at Hart ford, abo ut 14 miles from Quincy, Illinois. David left to help his fathe r’s famil y move to Nauvoo and the Peter, his father, helped David move h is famil y to Nauvoo. Peter gave David a piece of land in Nauvoo and he c leared i t and built a house on it.
Desdemona was NOT married before going to Nauvoo. The marriage spoken o f , from which a daughter was born, was to H. P. McLane after she came t o U tah. The daughter died. (Notation of this marriage was written by som eon e else on the back of the history and was misinterpreted).
Now, as to her being either a guest or household help in the smith hom e . The explanation was given that they found no property in her name an d t hat when the census was taken she was one of 11 extra people on tha t piec e of property. To my comment that she was married to the Prophet , Mr. Kim ball asked if I had a month of the event. My answer was no. The y do not h ave a month either, so neither of us has proof of her being hi s wife then . I was not permitted to have a copy of all the names but on e was Elvir a Cowles, later appointed treasurer of the Relief Society i n the first me eting. Two others, who were familiar to me were, William L aw and Hosea St out. Elvira Cowles was described as. “A literate and acco mplished young w oman.” The relief Society was organized 24 March 1842.
My response to her not owing property was, “There was no need for tha t ” she had her parents and 3 brothers living in Nauvoo, and, had they co mp ared the Fullmer name with church history they would have found that a l l of the brothers were very prominent in both church and civic matters . T hey just said that they had not made the connection. I was given a ma p o f Nauvoo and a list of property held by the parents: Almon L., who wa s li ving at hoe in 1842, David and John S. In closing the interview Mr . Kimba ll said, “Well, the Fullmer’s were not the richest people in Nauv oo but f or Mormons they were considered, “Well, to do.” Most residents o f Nauvo o has lost all they owned when being driven from place to place , or, ha d left everything they owned in their previous location in orde r to mov e to Nauvoo.
I was somewhat satisfied with their explanations but can see no reaso n f or the writing of it in the first place. Since no retraction is possi bl e from the Magazine I hope that my explanation will suffice in upholdi n g our pride in Desdemona and the example she set as how to live a good , d evout, Christian life. Wee, the family, have always been proud of he r .
A map of Nauvoo shows a plat named “Fullmer” Plat, which is located ne a r the Temple area. Nauvoo was divided into 4 wards – not church wards b u t wards for voting, taxes, etc in early 1842. This was why the census w a s taken.
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