Phoebe Ann Patten

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Phoebe Ann Patten
Born
Phoebe Ann Babcock

Around 1807
DiedJanuary 15, 1841
missionary, and caretaker in Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)
Spouse(s)David W. Patten
Benjamin R. Bently

Phoebe Ann Babcock Patten Bentley

1838 Mormon War and wife of early church leader and apostle David W. Patten.[2] Little is known about her childhood except that she was born "Ann Babcock" sometime around 1807. At age 21, Babcock met David W. Patten
. The two married in 1828, and Babcock adopted Patten's surname.

After her husband joined the

mission to Tennessee with her husband, an assignment almost unheard of at the time.[2]

Following her husband's death at the Battle of Crooked River in 1838, Ann remarried Benjamin R. Bently, a young carpenter and non-Mormon who was living with the Pattens when David died. After a couple of years of marriage, Ann died of consumption on January 5, 1841, at the age of 34.

Early life

Little is known about Phoebe Ann Babcock's early life. Born sometime around 1807, Babcock was living in Dundee, Michigan with her family when she met David W. Patten, a farmer who had recently moved to Michigan from New York and who was seven years her senior.[2] The two married in 1828 in Dundee.[3][4] It is not known how many children they had, but not one survived to adulthood.[5]

Conversion and membership

David W. Patten joined the

seamstress and sharing housing with other members of the church in Ohio and Missouri.[1][2]

Ann continued to support her husband for the rest of his life as he served as a member of the

1838 Mormon War
, while many of the leaders of the church were imprisoned or away, Ann served as a caretaker for many of the members in the area. Helen Mar Whitney, a member at the time, wrote about Patten:

"She was a noble and self-sacrificing woman, who left all for the gospel's sake... she was early thrown upon her own resources, and though she had a slight and delicate frame she had a persevering and energetic spirit..."[2]

In 1838, David W. Patten was mortally wounded at the

Joseph Smith, Jr., Hyrum Smith, and Heber C. Kimball to where David was dying. Right before he died, David spoke to Ann and said "Whatever you do else, Oh do not deny the faith." Soon afterwards he died.[6]

Immediately after David's death all of the men in Far West were compelled to surrender their weapons and several members of a mob were looting houses in Far West, as a result of Missouri Executive Order 44. Vilate Kimball, a Mormon in Far West, said of Ann Patten's response to the mobs:

"I can never forget her fearless and determined look. Around her waist was a belt to which was attached a large Bowie knife. She had a fire in her stove and a large iron kettle full of boiling water and a big tin dipper in her hand intending, she said, to fight if any of the demons came there. She did not seem in the least excited, her countenance was perfectly calm and she shed no tears."[2]

Despite her illness, during this time Ann Patten took care of several members of the church, including several women whose husbands were imprisoned at the time.[2]

Remarriage

During this time of turmoil, Ann remarried Benjamin R. Bently soon after David W. Patten's death. Bently was a young non-Mormon

carpenter who had been living with the Pattens at the time of David's death. Unable to work because she was seriously ill with consumption, Ann accepted when Bently proposed, even though the marriage was deemed inappropriate for the wife of an Apostle to marry a non-Mormon.[2]
Bently later joined the church.

Death

Following the

expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri, the couple moved to Quincy, Illinois, where they rented a two-bedroom home. However, Ann Patten Bently finally died of consumption on January 5, 1841, after having the disease for five years, at the age of 34.[2]

After Ann's death, Benjamin Bently remarried Rhonda Ann Thompson in 1846.

References

  1. ^ a b "Biographical Registers - Patton, Phoebe Anne Babcock". BYU Studies. Brigham Young University. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  2. ^
    ISBN 1-55517-682-8
    .
  3. OCLC 16776427
    .
  4. ^ Wilson, Lycurgus A. (1904). Life of David W. Patten: The first Apostolic martyr (Registration required). Deseret News. p. 2.
  5. ISBN 1-55517-682-8
    .
  6. ^ "4". Our Heritage: A Brief History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. United States of America: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 1996. p. 37. Archived from the original on 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
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