The Luces have a connection to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Or maybe I should say we have a connection to Uncle Joe and Uncle Brigham. The connection goes through Annie Quarmby (1842-1904), the wife of Wilford Woodruff Luce.
Annie was born in England and came to America as a baby. Her father died at Nauvoo in 1845, probably of swamp fever, and her mother died, they say, at Winter Quarters in 1846/47. Annie was about 5 years old when she became an orphan. She was adopted by her mother’s bishop, Joseph Bates Noble and his wife Mary Adeline Beman.
Annie was orphaned so young she didn’t know her birthday or even her parents’ names. Today we know more about her origin than she did, thanks to the research of her grandson James Luce Marker. (I never tire of pointing out that I learned genealogy from him. I grew up with the story of his search for the Luce family Bible, so when I got interested in genealogy I went straight to him.)
Our connection to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young runs through Annie’s adopted mother. Bates Noble performed the first record plural marriage when he married his wife’s sister Louisa Beaman to Joseph Smith on 5 April 1841 at Nauvoo. After Smith’s assassination in 1844, Louisa Beaman married Brigham Young. There seems to be some uncertainty about the date of her second marriage but FamilySearch.org says 14 January 1846 at Nauvoo.
How fun is that? Two prophets in the family.