55:, and the earliest days of their settlement there. These diaries document the physical, social, and religious circumstances of the settlers, especially of the women, and are frequently cited by historians. Her records are also a primary source of birth records for the Latter-day Saint community during this period, and are highly prized for documenting almost 4,000 births. Her journals are also important because they provide an inside look into Mormon polygamy.
17:
67:, to Enoch Bartlett and Anna Hall. At age 17 on June 28, 1812, Patty married David Sessions against her parents' wishes. Immediately after the wedding they moved in with his parents. It was there that Patty began her career at a midwife by arriving at an emergency birth before her mother-in-law, who was the midwife for the area. A doctor came later, congratulated her, and commented on her natural skill in
108:
Sessions's diaries begin with a journal that she received from her daughter, Sylvia, on
February 4, 1846. Earlier diaries that she had kept since 1812 have been lost. Her diaries provide daily record for over 20 years, and included every birth she attended. After 1868, there are gaps in her record,
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Of the eight children that Patty produced with David
Sessions only three survived to adulthood. The eldest, Perrigrine Sessions, kept journals and wrote various histories about his mother's life. These documents are used to clarify and to add to the journals written by his mother. Together, these
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Within one year of arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Sessions delivered 248 babies. She recorded 3,977 births with only "two difficult cases". She made an average of $ 2 per birth and continued to deliver babies until she was about 85 years old.
71:. She subsequently continued delivering children. Patty and David lived with his parents until, in 1813, they purchased and ran a farm in Ketcham, Maine. Their marriage produced 8 children; only three survived to adulthood.
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When David died on August 11, 1850, Patty was left as a widow in a time where women struggled without a husband. She wasn't single for long as she married John Parry on
December 14, 1851.
120:. He instructed Patty Sessions to go with the pilot company to care for the sick and afflicted, as well as to serve as midwife. She delivered nine babies on the banks of the
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Her second child, Sylvia Lyon Clark (née
Sessions), was also sealed as one of Joseph Smith's wives in 1842. Sylvia waited to cross the plains until 1854. When she reached
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When she died on
December 14, 1892, at the age of 97, she was survived by two sons, 33 grandchildren, 137 great-grandchildren, and 22 great-great-grandchildren.
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82:. In the interest of marital harmony she waited until 1834 to get baptized to allow her husband time to adjust to the change. In 1835 her husband was
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as well. After attending a conference in 1836 where church leaders preached the importance of gathering the Saints, the
Sessions family moved to
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but she continued to record entries in her diary until she was 94 years old, in 1888. Her journal also included recipes for ailments.
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Rugh, Susan
Sessions; Sessions, Patty Bartlett; Smart, Donna Toland; Richards, Mary Haskin Parker; Ward, Maurine Carr (Winter 1998),
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132:, and on June 19, 1847, at 52 years old, Sessions left Winter Quarters for the West. On September 24, 1847, she arrived in the
47:. She is best known for her diaries, which recorded the daily activities of the Latter-day Saints during the first year of the
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Kimball, Violet T. (Fall 1999), "Mormon
Midwife: The 1846-1888 Diaries of Patty Bartlett Sessions by Donna Toland Smart",
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Smart, Donna T. (1996), "Patty
Bartlett Sessions (1795-1892), Pioneer Midwife", in Colleen Whitley (ed.),
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Rugh, Susan (1978), "Patty
Bartlett Sessions: More than a Midwife", in Vicky Burgess-Olson (ed.),
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documents produce a vivid picture of the life of one of the earliest members of the LDS Church.
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437:. The United States of America: The University of North Carolina Press. pp. 216–230.
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instructed Latter-day Saints to head west, beyond the western frontier into what was then
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faith in her early adulthood. In 1833, having met with missionaries, she converted to the
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for members of the church. One of her sons, Perrigrine Sessions, was the founder of
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288:. Turley, Richard E., Jr., 1956-, Nash, Brittany Chapman. Salt Lake City, Utah.
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Sessions, Patty Bartlett, Diaries and account book, 1846-1866; 1880, vol. 1.
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568:. Smart, Donna Toland, 1923-. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press.
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Mormon midwife : the 1846-1888 diaries of Patty Bartlett Sessions
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763:"Mormon Midwife: The 1846-1888 Diaries of Patty Bartlett Sessions"
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Mormon Midwife: The 1846-1888 Diaries of Patty Bartlett Sessions
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Mormon Midwife: The 1846-1888 Diaries of Patty Bartlett Sessions
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Her youngest surviving child was named after his father, David.
94:. Leaving behind almost everything they owned, they traveled to
162:, she bought a farm near her mother's home in Salt Lake City.
27:(February 4, 1795 – December 14, 1892) was an early member of
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Sessions's upbringing wasn't religious; she converted to the
515:. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press. pp. 84–85.
490:. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press. pp. 51–55.
462:. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press. pp. 34–35.
435:
Wandering Souls: Protestant Migrations in America, 1630-1865
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Sessions, Patty Bartlett (1997), Donna Toland Smart (ed.),
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Worth their Salt: Notable but Often Unnoted Women of Utah
540:. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press. p. 99.
378:. Logan Utah: Utah State University Press. p. 186.
344:. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press. p. 32.
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Mormon Midwife: The 1846-1888 Diaries of Patty Sessions
412:. Logan Utah: Utah State University Press. p. 76.
284:
Turley Jr., Richard E.; Nash, Brittany Chapman (2011).
258:. United States: Signature Books. pp. 171–204.
608:No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith
29:the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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645:"An Olive Leaf: We Blessed and Got Blessed"
316:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
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101:On March 9, 1842, Sessions was sealed to
796:Temple, Judy Nolte (Fall–Winter 2001),
643:Sessions, Patty Bartlett (March 1996),
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883:at Joseph Smith Papers Project website
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887:Photograph of plaque quoting Sessions
803:Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
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175:Origin of Latter Day Saint polygamy
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564:Sessions, Patty Bartlett (1997).
536:Sessions, Patty Bartlett (1997).
511:Sessions, Patty Bartlett (1997).
458:Sessions, Patty Bartlett (1997).
408:Sessions, Patty Bartlett (1997).
374:Sessions, Patty Bartlett (1997).
340:Sessions, Patty Bartlett (1997).
286:Women of faith in the latter days
768:The Western Historical Quarterly
907:"What is Patty Sessions To Me?"
976:19th-century American diarists
626:Brigham Young University Press
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798:"A Variety of Women's Voices"
105:as one of his plural wives.
857:Utah State University Press
687:Utah State University Press
63:Patty Bartlett was born in
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966:19th-century women writers
936:American Latter Day Saints
956:People from Bethel, Maine
911:Journal of Mormon History
903:, churchofjesuschrist.org
716:Journal of Mormon History
486:Bushman, Claudia (1997).
433:Rohrer, S. Scott (2010).
130:Winter Quarters, Nebraska
124:, and many others on the
212:, p. 7 , 1892-12-31
31:(LDS Church). She was a
961:American women diarists
80:Latter Day Saint church
25:Patty Bartlett Sessions
730:Madsen, Carol Cornwall
364:Temple (2001), p. 205.
330:Smart (1996), pp. 3-4.
254:Compton, Todd (2001).
204:"Sister Patty Session"
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20:Sessions in later life
971:Wives of Joseph Smith
895:Utah State University
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810:(3&4): 203–207,
660:: 80, archived from
628:, pp. 303–322,
256:In Sacred Loneliness
909:, Encounter Essay,
92:Extermination Order
88:Far West, Missouri
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946:American midwives
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653:Sunstone Magazine
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103:Joseph Smith
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59:Life history
37:Joseph Smith
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931:1892 deaths
926:1795 births
742:BYU Studies
33:plural wife
920:Categories
839:2008-06-28
753:2008-06-28
671:2008-06-28
595:References
216:2011-11-02
881:Biography
834:254398728
312:cite book
304:751248881
112:In 1846,
76:Methodist
69:midwifery
826:45226804
734:"Review"
732:(1999),
707:Reviews:
605:(1946),
584:42854424
169:See also
84:baptized
51:to the
41:midwife
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150:Family
118:Mexico
830:S2CID
822:JSTOR
785:JSTOR
737:(PDF)
665:(PDF)
648:(PDF)
181:Notes
861:ISBN
691:ISBN
630:ISBN
580:OCLC
570:ISBN
542:ISBN
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464:ISBN
439:ISBN
414:ISBN
380:ISBN
346:ISBN
318:link
300:OCLC
290:ISBN
260:ISBN
812:doi
777:doi
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35:to
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