Uppity Mormon Women: Jane Manning James

Jane Manning James

African American pioneer

As Ann Eliza Young was an angry, prideful woman who later left the church, Jane Manning James was the complete opposite. She was humble, solid and grateful, despite the miseries she encountered in her life, and remained faithful to the end.

If you thought it was hard being a woman in the 19th Century, try being a woman of color.

Jane, of African American descent, was born free in Conneticut in 1822. She was baptized into the LDS faith in 1841, and went to join with the Saints in Nauvoo. Along the way she and her family suffered, but they never lost their faith.

In her own words: "We started from Wilton, Connecticut, and traveled by canal to Buffalo, New York. We were to go to Columbus, Ohio before our fares were to be collected, but they insisted on having the money at Buffalo and would not take us farther. So we left the boat and started on foot to travel a distance of over eight hundred miles. We walked until our shoes were worn out, and our feet became sore and cracked open and bled until you could see the whole print of our feet with blood on the ground. We stopped and united in prayer to the Lord; we asked God the Eternal Father to heal our feet. Our prayers were answered and our feet were healed forthwith."^[1]

Along their journey, they were often stopped by officials and asked to prove they were free, waded through deep and freezing water and suffered hunger. Yet when they reached Nauvoo, they were welcomed warmly by Brother Joseph, who helped her and her family find jobs and become self-sufficient. After the death of Brother Joseph, Brother Brigham made sure Jane and her family were okay. Even though the prophets treated her kindly as a human being deserves, Jane suffered from the racial prejudice which, sadly, was the social norm of that day.

When they reached Salt Lake, her life continued to be one devoid of luxury. Yet she continued to be faithful and live Christian principles, including giving what little she had to those who had even less. Eliza Partridge Lyman shared in her journal that when Eliza's husband went on a mission, she was left “without anything from which to make bread … Jane James, the colored woman, let me have two pounds of flour, it being half of what she had.” It is easy to give when one has plenty, but when one has very little, yet shares, that is where the character of true charity shines.

Through hard work Jane and her husband Issac, also of African American descent, owned property and livestock. Brother Brigham made sure they both had employment.

She died in 1908. Despite facing prejudice and near-poverty most of her life, she chose to remain to the faith she adopted over sixty years prior.

People of black African descent have had a rough time in the past few centuries of Earth's history, and the social beliefs and practices of the world have, sadly, also been reflected in the attitudes of many members and practices of the LDS faith. I'm glad to say that changed, and is still changing today. No one is denied the opportunities presented in the LDS faith because of the race they were born into.

If you're interested in information about those of African descent and the LDS faith, check out Genesis Group.

Next post: Emmeline Wells.