Smith Children that did not survive

Birth date: 1831
Birth location: Kirtland, Lake, Ohio
Died: 1842
Death location: Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois

Alvin Smith
The first of many tragic deaths, Joseph and Emma’s first baby was born and died on June 15, 1828, in Harmony, Pennsylvania, during the time that the 116 pages given to Martin Harris were lost. According to the family Bible, the baby was named Alvin, likely after Joseph Smith’s older brother, who died shortly before Joseph received the gold plates. However, the headstone merely states “In Memory of An Infant Son of Joseph and Emma Smith.”

Thadeus & Louisa Smith
These twins lived for only three hours, born on April 30, 1831, in Kirtland, Ohio and were given the names Thadeus and Louisa in the family Bible. A set of twins born to John and Julia Murdock the same day were adopted by the Smiths shortly after losing their own when Julia Murdock died after giving birth to them.

Joseph Murdock Smith
One of the twins adopted by Emma and Joseph Smith Jr., little Joseph died when he was 11 months old. His death was likely the result of a combination of the measles and exposure to the cold air when a mob attacked the Prophet Joseph at the John Johnson farm in Hiram, Ohio.

Don Carlos Smith
This Smith child, named after Joseph Smith Jr.’s youngest brother, lived to be only a little over a year old. He was born on June 13, 1840, and died on August 15, 1841, from an illness that was sweeping through Nauvoo.

Unnamed Son
The last of Emma’s children to die in infancy, this little boy was stillborn on February 6, 1842, in Nauvoo, just two years before his father would be killed.