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New York State
Donald L. Enders
Significant events in the restoration of the gospel and in the life of Joseph Smith occurred in New York State well beyond the Smith farm and Palmyra village. These included Joseph's translation of the Book of Mormon, his restoration of Christ's church, and his marriage to Emma Hale.
South Bainbridge, Chenango County, is the marriage place of Joseph Smith and Emma Hale. In October 1825, Smith left the family farm at Manchester to work for Josiah Stowell about 130 miles southeast at Bainbridge, near the Pennsylvania border. Laboring for Stowell at Harmony (now Oakland), Pennsylvania, Smith met Emma Hale, a schoolteacher and daughter of the respected farm family of Isaac and Elizabeth Hale.
Their eventual courtship displeased Emma's parents, whose traditional Christian beliefs hardened them against Smith's spiritual claims. Hale's parents refused to consent to the marriage, so the couple eloped to South Bainbridge, 30 miles north of Harmony, to the home of Squire Tarbell, justice of the peace. They were married there January 18, 1827. After the Church was organized, Smith, for preaching the Book of Mormon, stood trial for disorderly conduct at this small farming village on the Susquehanna River, but he was acquitted and released.
Colesville, Broome County, was the home of faithful early converts to the Church. While working for Josiah Stowell, Smith became acquainted with the kindly Joseph Knight, Sr., his wife, Polly, and their family. The Knights were longtime residents of Colesville, a village about 20 miles north of the residence of Emma Hale's parents. In November 1826, Smith began working for Joseph Knight.
Smith impressed the Knights with his steady labor and quiet but friendly manner, and more particularly, the conviction of his prophetic call. Joseph Knight, Sr., and a son, Newel, sought and obtained a spiritual witness of young Joseph's divine appointment. Joseph Knight assisted Joseph and Emma at the time of their elopement and again after they set up housekeeping at the Hale farm, but especially during the season of translation at Harmony. The Knights and their extended family, friends, and acquaintances were among the first to embrace the restored gospel and formed one of the three original congregations (or branches) of the Church. In 1831 these Colesville Saints emigrated together to the Church's new gathering place at Kirtland, Ohio.
Fayette, Seneca County, is the location of the translation of the Book of Mormon, the Three Witnesses' experience, and the organization of the Church. The Peter and Mary Whitmer family lived about 100 miles northwest of Colesville in Fayette Township. Since 1809 they had owned a good farm. Members of the family held public responsibility and worshiped in the German Reformed Church. A son, David, became aware of Joseph Smith's translation of the gold plates in 1828 from Oliver Cowdery. He manifested a sincere interest in Smith's work, which was soon shared by his family.