Fanny Alger

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Fanny Alger

Summary: What do we know about Joseph Smith's first plural wife, Fanny Alger? Joseph met her in early 1833 when she stayed at the Smith home as a house-assistant of sorts to Emma (such work was common for young women at the time). There are no first-hand accounts of their relationship (from Joseph or Fanny), nor are there second-hand accounts (from Emma or Fanny's family). All that we do have is third hand accounts, most of them recorded many years after the events.

• Fanny Alger was Joseph Smith's first plural wife

See also Brian Hales' discussion

An Overview of Joseph’s Plural Marriage to Fanny Alger

Researching the relationship between Joseph Smith and Fanny is difficult because of limitations in available documentation. Only nineteen manuscripts have been identified in the historical record discussing the occurrence either firsthand or secondhand. Unfortunately they contain contradictory and ambiguous statements.