Nauvoo Temple
Nauvoo, Illinois

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Historical Overview

Family significance: Theodore Turley helped contribute to building of the Nauvoo temple. He and other members of his family performed proxy baptisms for deceased relatives in that location. In 1846, Theodore Turley was sealed for time and eternity to his first wife, Frances Kimberley, as well as three plural wives, sisters Sarah Ellen Clift, Eliza Clift, and Mary Clift. Three of his daughters were also sealed to their husbands in the temple, two as plural wives.

Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo were each expected to contribute to the building of the Nauvoo temple. One historical record indicates that Theodore Turley’s metalworking skills were part of his contribution towards that effort. A list submitted by Theodore to the Temple Committee documented the monetary value of work completed from August 1841 through January 1844. He made and repaired tools for various workmen including drills, points (drill bits), hammers, picks, mattocks, axes, and crowbars. Unusual items included “bell fixings” for Hosea Stout and “letter punches” for William Cahoon. In later years, Theodore’s list focused on making and repairing weaponry, like pistols and knives. It’s a somber testament of the increasing tensions and hostilities the Saints were experiencing.1

Front of bill submitted by Theodore Turley to the Nauvoo Temple Committee. Vault MSS 76, Newell K. Whitney papers, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. High quality image available to view at the BYU Library Digital Collections website.

Like other Latter-day Saints, Theodore and his family members valued the temple as a place for providing saving ordinances for themselves as well as loved ones who had passed away. We know that both Theodore Turley and his first wife, Frances Kimberley, performed proxy baptisms for deceased friends and family members in the Nauvoo temple.2 Theodore, Frances, and their three oldest daughters received what Latter-day Saints today call initiatories and endowments on the evening of Saturday, 20 December 1845. In the following months, Theodore was sealed to his first wife, Frances Kimberley, as well as three plural wives for time and eternity. Prior to their sealings, each of these plural wives, Sarah Ellen Clift, Eliza Clift, and Mary Clift, also received their initiatories and endowments. Theodore’s oldest daughter, Frances Amelia Turley, was sealed in a monogamous marriage to Cyrus Daniels. Daughters Mary Ann Turley and Priscilla Rebecca Turley were sealed as plural wives to apostles Brigham Young and Amasa M. Lyman, respectively. Ruth Jane Giles, the woman who later became Theodore Turley’s fifth and final wife, also received her initiatory and endowment in the temple during the wintry months just prior to the evacuation of the Saints from Nauvoo.3

In addition to receiving ordinances, Theodore Turley and his family members also assisted in the operations of the Nauvoo temple. Theodore Turley was among the list of those administering ordinances for three days in December 1845.4 Two of Theodore Turley’s daughters, Mary Ann Turley and Priscilla Rebecca Turley, were also among a list of women that William Clayton credited with keeping the temple in working order.5

Besides the persons whose names appear in the record of the proceedings of this day there are many others who have been very efficient in forwarding the work and have attended the Temple not only today but in several previous days[.] There is much labor to be done in keeping the utensils and garments in order.

Some of the names are as follows, viz; Cherizade Averett[,] Jane Sherwood[,] Mary Ann Averett[,] Jane Sherwood[,] Mary Ann Turley[,] Priscilla Turley[,] Cynthia Durfee[,] Aleinne Durfee[,] Amanda Rogers[.]

William clayton, diary, kept for heber c. kimball, in devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergara, The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History, p. 149-150.

Church leaders began discussing a temple in Nauvoo while Theodore was on his mission in England, but he’d returned home by the time Joseph Smith dictated the official revelation (now D&C 124) commanding the building of the temple.6 The rising white limestone structure on the bluff to the north was likely a constant presence in the Turley family’s day-to-day life during their years in Nauvoo. Although Theodore Turley’s family was among the 5,000+ Latter-day Saints able to receive temple ordinances in the winter of 1845-1846, the temple was dedicated several months after the Turleys left Nauvoo.7

The building was put up for sale by the end of 1846. Two years later, an arsonist destroyed the interior and roof by fire. A tornado knocked down most of the exterior walls in 1850. The ruins remained standing until 1867, when they were torn down “out of concern for public safety.”8

In the twentieth century, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints re-purchased the property, and a new temple was built “on the same footprint as the original building.” The new structure, built to replicate the exterior design of the original Nauvoo Temple, was dedicated in 2002.9

Related Links

From Theodore Turley: A Biography by Richard E. Turley, Jr.:

From Ann Lewis’ website:

Timeline

1841
Theodore Turley performed baptisms on behalf of four deceased relatives: “Grandfather” Turley,10 Frederick Turley,11 William Turley,12 and Ann Boughton (his grandmother).13

1844
August 4: Frances Kimberley performed baptisms on behalf of four deceased loved ones in the Nauvoo Temple: Thomas Kimberley (her father), Sarah Kimberley (her mother), Harriet Phillips (her sister), and Mary Smith (a friend).14

1845
December 20: Theodore Turley and four of his family members (Frances Kimberley, Priscilla Turley, Frances Amelia Turley, and Mary Ann Turley) received their endowments in the Nauvoo Temple.15
December 25: Theodore Turley’s plural wife, Sarah Ellen Clift, received her endowment in the Nauvoo Temple.16

1846
January 16: Theodore’s daughter, Priscilla Rebecca Turley, was sealed as a plural wife to Amasa M. Lyman in the Nauvoo Temple.17
January 19: Theodore Turley was sealed to both Frances Kimberley and Sarah Ellen Clift in the Nauvoo Temple.18
January 24: Theodore’s daughter, Frances Amelia Turley, was sealed to Cyrus Daniels in the Nauvoo Temple.19
February 2: Theodore Turley’s plural wives, Eliza Clift and Mary Clift, received their endowments in the Nauvoo Temple.20
February 3: Theodore Turley was sealed to both Eliza Clift and Mary Clift in the Nauvoo Temple.21 Theodore’s daughter, Mary Ann Turley, was sealed as a plural wife to Brigham Young on the same day. Theodore Turley served as a witness to that sealing.22
February 6: Ruth Jane Giles received her endowment in the Nauvoo Temple.23 (Theodore and Ruth were later married and sealed in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1850.)24

  1. High quality digital image of the document available to view at the BYU Library Digital Collections website: https://cdm15999.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/SCMisc/id/67646. Theodore Turley bill, Vault MSS 76, Newell K. Whitney papers, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, 19th Century Western & Mormon Manuscripts, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
  2. Theodore in 1841 and Frances Kimberley in 1844. See timeline below.
  3. For exact dates and sources, see timeline below.
  4. On 23 Dec., 24 Dec., and 25 Dec. 1845. Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergara, The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2005), p. 141, 158, 168, 175, and 187. See also Ann Lewis’ blog post “The Turley Family in the Nauvoo Temple December 1845-1846: THE LORD HAS BEHELD OUR SACRIFICE, COME AFTER US.”
  5. Entry for 23 Dec. 1845 in a diary that William Clayton kept for Heber C. Kimball. Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergara, The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2005), p. 149-150.
  6. The historical introduction to “Revelation, 19 January 1841 [D&C 124]” at the Joseph Smith Papers states, “J[oseph] S[mith] spoke of the need to build a temple in Nauvoo in a discourse around 19 July 1840 and reportedly made similar comments in April and May.” Note 5, Historical Introduction, “Revelation, 19 January 1841 [D&C 124],” Joseph Smith Papers, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-19-january-1841-dc-124/1#historical-intro.
  7. “Temple, Nauvoo, Illinois,” Joseph Smith Papers, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/place/temple-nauvoo-illinois.
  8. “Nauvoo Temple,” Nauvoo Historic Sites, https://www.nauvoohistoricsites.org/tmpldstrct/temple/.
  9. “Nauvoo Temple,” Church History Topics, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/nauvoo-temple?lang=eng.
  10. Theodore’s paternal grandfather, thought to be Joseph Turley of Sedgley, England. Nauvoo Baptisms, Book A, p. 157, Theodore Turley (gd. son) baptized for Turley (gd. father), indexed in the “Utah, FamilySearch, Early Church Information File, 1830-1900,” FamilySearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-897B-8VLZ?i=3008.
  11. No relationship was stated on the indexed proxy baptism record for Frederick Turley, though it is most likely Theodore’s brother Frederick Turley who died in 1830. See family burials on the St. Paul’s Church, Birmingham page. Nauvoo Baptisms, Book A, p. 157, Theodore Turley baptized for Fredrick Turley, indexed in the “Utah, FamilySearch, Early Church Information File, 1830-1900,” FamilySearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997B-8KT3?i=3084.
  12. As with Frederick, no relationship was stated on the indexed proxy baptism record for William Turley. It’s unclear when these baptisms were done, so we don’t know whether Theodore would’ve known about his father’s April 1841 death at this point. Because Frederick’s proxy baptism record also lacked a relationship, it seems more likely that this William Turley was Theodore’s little brother who died in 1817 rather than Theodore’s father who died in 1841. See family burials on the St. Paul’s Church, Birmingham page. Nauvoo Baptisms, Book A, p. 157, Theodore Turley baptized for William Turley, indexed in the “Utah, FamilySearch, Early Church Information File, 1830-1900,” FamilySearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97B-8JLY?i=3263.
  13. Theodore’s maternal grandmother, Ann Hart who first married Joseph Yates, second John Boughton. See family burials on the St. Paul’s Church, Birmingham page. Nauvoo Baptisms, Book A, p. 189, Theodore Turley (gd. son) baptized for Ann Boughton, indexed in the “Utah, FamilySearch, Early Church Information File, 1830-1900,” FamilySearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-897B-8JKN?i=3216.
  14. Nauvoo Baptisms, Francis Turley baptized for father Thomas Kimberley, mother Sarah Kimberley, sister Harriett Phillips, and friend Mary Smith, indexed in the “Utah, FamilySearch, Early Church Information File, 1830-1900,” https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997B-823K?i=3075.
  15. Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergara, The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2005), p. 109.
  16. Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergara, The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2005), p. 179, 190.
  17. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 379-380, entries for Amasa M. Lyman and Priscilla Rebecca Turley, FHL 183374.
  18. Family Memorial for Sarah Ellen Clift; Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 523-524, entries for Theodore Turley, Frances Kimberley, and Sarah Ellen Clift, FHL 183374.
  19. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 245-246, entries for Cyrus Daniels and Frances Amelia Turley, FHL 183374.
  20. Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergara, The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2005), 554 and 562.
  21. Theodore misstated the date of his sealing to Mary Clift on his Family Memorial. He recorded the sealing as 19 Jan. 1846 which was the date he was sealed to Frances Kimberley and Sarah Ellen Clift. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 523-524, entries for Theodore Turley, Eliza Clift, and Mary Clift, FHL 183374.
  22. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 577-578, entry for Brigham Young and Mary Ann Turley, FHL 183374.
  23. Ruth’s name was misspelled “Ruth Jane Childes” in a later summary compiled by the Temple Index Bureau. Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergara, The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2005), 593 and 604. Note: on page 608 of The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, it is stated that Theodore Turley was sealed to Ruth Jane Giles on 6 Feb. 1846 in Nauvoo. This appears to be an error. I could not find any record of that sealing in the Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, FHL microfilm 183374.
  24. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 773-774, sealing and marriage entry for Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles, FHL 183374. Related blog post: “In the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.”