Early life and adoption
I first met Julia in the records of a family that doubled as a small nation. She was born on 1 May 1831, one of twins, in the Kirtland area of Ohio. Her biological mother died in childbirth. Within hours and days a chain of human decisions set Julia on a path that shaped her life. Her father, John Murdock, asked Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith to take the infants. The Smiths, who had themselves suffered the loss of infants, accepted. The adoption was not a legal formality as we use that term today. It was a living arrangement, an exchange of grief for care, and the kind of kinship that sticks like varnish to the wood of a family home.
I feel the tension of that moment like a hinge. Two newborn lives moved into a household that was already occupied by dreams, duties, and the roiling currents of a nascent religious movement. Julia grew up inside that hinge. She carried its creak and its steady motion.
Growing up in the Smith household
Julia lived through Kirtland, the Missouri troubles, and the full bloom of Nauvoo life. She was raised as if she were the Smiths own daughter. She shared daily routines, meals, and obligations. She watched the household rearrange itself when tragedy or politics intruded. She learned domestic arts and the quiet diplomacy of a large family. She learned to be useful.
I imagine the rooms where she learned to sew and perhaps to paint. I see a small figure moving between harsher realities and the gentler tasks that keep a household going. She witnessed public events and private wounds. Those two experiences do not cancel each other. They layered.
Marriages and adult life
Julia married twice. The first marriage came in her late teens. She married Elisha Dixon around 1848 or 1849. Dixon worked on steamboats and later suffered a catastrophic boiler injury. He died in the early 1850s. Widowed and still young, Julia returned to the care of her adoptive mother.
On 19 November 1856 Julia married John J. Middleton in Hancock County, Illinois. This marriage carried a change in faith and in geography. Julia was baptized into Catholicism in 1857. She and Middleton moved at times to St Louis and other places where work and daily survival called. The marriage later faltered. John Middleton left, and Julia returned to Nauvoo, where she lived with Emma in the final years of Emma’s life.
I keep these dates on a little mental shelf: 1 May 1831 birth, about 1848 first marriage, early 1850s widowhood, 19 November 1856 second marriage, 9 November 1857 baptism recorded, 30 April 1879 Emma Smith dies, 12 September 1880 Julia dies. Dates are pins that fix memory to the map.
Roles, skills, and financial life
In the contemporary sense, Julia did not have a public career. Her life was relational, domestic, and occasionally unstable. She assisted with house maintenance. She helped out around the house with cooking, cleaning, and dealing with the little crises that come up in family life. She probably taught and acquired informal skills like embroidery and painting. According to family recollections, she also assisted with what could be considered hospitality duties around the Mansion House when the household required them.
Julia had to deal with the usual financial limitations experienced by women in the 19th century. Uncertain marriages and widowhood restricted her financial independence. She relocated where her job, marriage, or domestic needs required it. Later in life, she moved back in with Emma Smith, indicating a lack of independent fortune. I envision a world with smaller economies and bigger debts that are settled with compassion rather than money.
Family tree at a glance
| Relation | Name | Dates or notes |
|---|---|---|
| Biological father | John Murdock | Early Latter Day Saint convert |
| Biological mother | Julia Clapp Murdock | Died in childbirth 1831 |
| Adoptive father | Joseph Smith Jr | Founder of the Latter Day Saint movement |
| Adoptive mother | Emma Hale Smith | Kept household and family records |
| Twin brother | Joseph Murdock Smith | Died in infancy |
| First spouse | Elisha Dixon | Married circa 1848-1849; died early 1850s |
| Second spouse | John J. Middleton | Married 19 Nov 1856; marriage later failed |
| Caregiver role | Emma Smith | Julia cared for her in final illness |
| Burial | Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery, Nauvoo | Julia died 12 Sep 1880 |
This table is a map. It is not the territory. I use it to keep faces and roles aligned.
An extended timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1831 | Julia born 1 May; twin born same day; mother dies |
| 1831 to 1844 | Raised in Kirtland and Missouri; family moves to Nauvoo |
| 1844 | Joseph Smith Jr dies 27 June |
| 1848 to 1849 | Marriage to Elisha Dixon |
| Early 1850s | Elisha Dixon injured and dies |
| 1856 | Marriage to John J. Middleton 19 Nov |
| 1857 | Julia baptized Catholic 9 Nov (recorded) |
| 1879 | Emma Hale Smith dies 30 Apr |
| 1880 | Julia dies 12 Sep; buried in Nauvoo |
The timeline reads like a ledger of belonging and loss. It does not tell the small scenes, the gestures, the private reconciliations, but numbers create structure for the human blur.
Personal relationships and caregiving
The caregiving theme that permeates Julia’s life really stands out to me. She became a caretaker after being adopted into a family that had experienced several deaths. In the months and years leading up to Emma’s passing, she took care of her. When her family was in dire need, she went back to Nauvoo. In her life, love and duty blended together to the point where they were almost identical.
She was a person in between two worlds and a part of both. She was adopted by Joseph and Emma Smith and was the biological daughter of John Murdock. She has been a wife and a widow. She was both a convert and a returner. Her existence is given a twofold exposure, akin to an image placed on top of another, by those tensions.
Legacy and memory
I remember Julia as an emblem of 19th century women’s lives inside religious families where history and household overlapped. Her value in the family narrative was not in fame or fortune. It was in constancy and presence. She stood at the crossroads of multiple family stories and helped hold them together.
FAQ
Who were Julia Murdock Smith parents
Julia was born to John Murdock and Julia Clapp Murdock on 1 May 1831. Her birth mother died in childbirth. Soon after, Joseph Smith Jr and Emma Hale Smith took the infants into their household and raised them as their own.
Was Julia the biological child of Joseph Smith
No. Julia was the biological child of John and Julia Clapp Murdock. She was adopted and raised by Joseph Smith Jr and Emma Hale Smith.
Who were Julia married to and when
Julia married Elisha Dixon around 1848 or 1849. Dixon later died from injuries sustained in a steamboat boiler accident in the early 1850s. Julia married John J. Middleton on 19 November 1856 in Hancock County, Illinois.
Did Julia have children
There are no widely recorded surviving children attributed to Julia from either marriage.
Where and when did Julia die
Julia died on 12 September 1880 in Nauvoo. She was buried in Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Nauvoo.
Did Julia change religion
Yes. During her second marriage she was baptized into Catholicism in 1857. She later returned to live with Emma Smith, who remained in Nauvoo until her death in 1879.
What was Julia’s role in the Smith household
Julia performed domestic and caregiving duties. She helped with household management and later cared for Emma Hale Smith in Emma’s final illness. She also participated in the social and material life of the family, preserving memorabilia and photographs.
Are there photographs or albums tied to Julia
Yes. Family photographs and an album associated with the Smith household contain images and notes connected to Julia. These family materials help keep the daily texture of her life visible.
