Sarah M. Cleveland
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Sarah Marietta Kingsley Cleveland (October 20, 1788 – 1856[1]) was the first counselor to Emma Smith in the presidency of the Relief Society from 1842 to 1844.
October 20, 1788
Becket, Massachusetts, United States
| Sarah M. Cleveland | |
|---|---|
| First Counselor of the General Presidency of the Relief Society | |
| March 17, 1842 – 1844 | |
| Called by | Emma Smith |
| Successor | Zina D. H. Young |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sarah Marietta Kingsley October 20, 1788 Becket, Massachusetts, United States |
| Died | 1856[1] Plymouth, Illinois, United States[1] |
| Spouse(s) | John Howe[1] John Cleveland |
| Parents | Ebenezer Kingsley |
Cleveland was born in Becket, Berkshire County, Massachusetts[2] to Ebenezer Kingsley. She was married to John Cleveland and later to the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith. Her husband was a judge in Nauvoo, Illinois, and unlike her did not join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; he was a Swedenborgian. Cleveland remained in Nauvoo with her husband when the main body of the Latter Day Saints moved to what later became Utah Territory.
Marriage to Joseph Smith
A letter from John L. Smith, Sarah Kingsley’s son-in-law, to the First Presidency, dated March 8, 1895, states: "In the days of Joseph. Mother [Sarah M. Kingsley (Howe)] Cleveland by advice, was sealed to the prophet in Nauvoo but lived with her [non-LDS] husband John Cleveland." Sarah was also resealed to Joseph Smith vicariously in the Nauvoo Temple in 1846.[3]