Jonathan C. Felt, great-great-grandson of Nathaniel H. Felt, and Kim R. Wilson, the chairman of the MHSF, hold up the plaque at the Nathaniel Felt Home.
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Nathaniel Henry Felt was an early convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was president of the Salem Branch and Brigham Young sent his daughter, Vilate Young, to live with the Felt family while she attended college.
Nathaniel and his family eventually traveled west to Salt Lake City where he became a highly respected member of the community serving as Salt Lake City alderman and Utah Territorial representative.
The Mormon Historic Sites Foundation and the Nathaniel H. Felt Family Association provided funding for the plaque.
The plaque reads as follows:
HOME OF NATHANIEL H. FELT
This house, formerly located at 10 Liberty Street, was once the home of Mormon pioneer and local church leader NATHANIEL HENRY FELT (1816-1887).
Born and raised in Salem, Nathaniel and his brother John ran a tailoring business at 217 Essex Street. In 1839, he married Eliza Ann Preston, also of Salem. In 1843, they joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and along with 120 new converts, began a small branch of the Church in Salem. Because of Nathaniel’s position as branch president, this house became an important Mormon meeting place.
In the late spring of 1844, Brigham Young sent his fourteen-year-old daughter Vilate to live with the Felt family while she attended finishing school in Salem. Later that summer, Brigham Young visited Salem several times while campaigning for Joseph Smith (LDS Church founder), a U.S. presidential candidate. It was on one of these visits to the area that Brigham Young and local Church members first heard news of Smith's murder at Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844.
One year later, Nathaniel Felt, his family, and Vilate Young left from this house to embark on the arduous journey west, eventually settling in what would become Salt Lake City, Utah. There, Nathaniel became a highly respected member of the community, with a public career that included service as Salt Lake City alderman and Utah Territorial representative.
Plaque donated by the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation and the Nathaniel H. Felt Family Association.