Yesterday I was searching the 1830 Census Records for New York, hoping to find a particular entry, and thanks to the indexing efforts of some faithful Mormon somewhere, I was pleased to discover the object of my desire - a single record, "Daniel J. Haggart" located in Palmyra, NY.I nearly jumped out of my skin. There it was! There was what I needed to open the book on an issue that no faithful Mormon has ever been able to accept. For your viewing pleasure, here is the digital image of the record I discovered, right-hand page, second line from the top:You've probably never heard of Daniel J. Haggart. Neither had I until I saw this record. However, many people on this board have probably heard about his wife, and the information I've discovered is sure to be unwelcome among the LDS faithful.Let's go back to the beginning, to an affidavit made by Martin Harris' wife, Lucy, on November 29, 1833:"With regard to Mr. Harris' being intimate with Mrs. Haggard, as has been reported, it is but justice to myself to state what facts have come within my own observation, to show whether I had any grounds for jealousy or not. Mr. Harris was very intimate with this family, for some time previous to their going to Ohio. They lived a while in a house which he had built for their accommodation, and here he spent the most of his leisure hours; and made her presents of articles from the store and house. He carried these presents in a private manner, and frequently when he went there, he would pretend to be going to some of the neighbors, on an errand, or to be going into the fields. After getting out of sight of the house, he would steer a straight course for Haggard's house, especially if Haggard was from home. At times when Haggard was from home, he would go there in the manner above described, and stay till twelve or one o'clock at night, and sometimes until day light." (Mormonism Unvailed, pgs 256-257)Was one of the three special witnesses to the golden plates really banging his neighbor's wife prior to his heavenly manifestation? A revelation given to Martin Harris in the Summer of 1829 certainly indicates this was possible. "And again: I command you," thus saith the Lord, "that thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife." (D&C 19:25)As you look at the census record I discovered, you'll notice that the name of Martin Harris appears only two lines below Daniel J. Haggart. This indicates that they were indeed "neighbors," apparently living close enough that Lucy Harris would be able to know when her husband was "steering a straight course" towards their house.According to E. D. Howe, "Levi Lewis states, that he has 'been acquainted with Joseph Smith Jr. and Martin Harris, and that he has heard them both say, adultery was no crime. Harris said he did not blame Smith for his (Smith’s) attempt to seduce Eliza Winters &c.;'" (Mormonism Unvailed, pg 268) Why would he?What did Martin Harris think of his ill-fated marriage? Speaking of Harris around 1831 Ezra Booth wrote, "It has been made known to one, who has left his wife in the State of New York, that he is entirely free from his wife, and he is at pleasure to take him a wife from among the Lamanites. It was easily perceived that this permission was perfectly suited to his desires. I have frequently heard him state that the Lord had made it known to him, that he is as free from his wife as from any other woman; and the only crime I have ever heard alleged against her is, she is violently opposed to Mormonism. But before this contemplated marriage can be carried into effect, he must return to the State of New York and settle his business, for fear, should he return after that affair had taken place, the civil authority would apprehend him as a criminal." (Mormonism Unvailed, pg 220)We learn from the placement of the 1 in the eighteenth column of the census record that Daniel J. Haggart's wife was in her 20's. Is it any wonder that, in 1836, at the ripe age of 53, Martin Harris took another young bride as his next wife in Caroline Young, a girl of only 20?The census record also shows Daniel J. Haggart to be in his 30's in 1830. They had three children, all under the age of ten.So what happened to the Haggarts after Martin's apparent lurid affair? Lucy claimed they moved to Ohio, which brought me to this second census record, showing a Daniel Haggart family in Willoughby, Ohio in 1850:In 1850 the United States census began recording much more information than it had before. For starters, it lists the names of all the members of each household. We learn that Daniel's wife was named Magdaline. We also learn that she was 46, which would have made her 26 in 1830, and Daniel was nine years her elder. In addition to this a 21-year-old daughter is listed as having been born in New York. If you cross-reference with reports on the death of a Daniel J. Haggart in 1853 in the Painesville Telegraph, the local newspaper, all these facts combine to confirm that this indeed must have been the exact same Haggart family that lived near Martin Harris twenty years prior. An 18-year-old daughter born in Ohio demonstrates that the move to this location must have occurred sometime prior to or during 1832.Why is this significant? The first glaring reason is that Willoughby, OH is only three miles away from Kirtland. Why would this family move to the same place as the rest of the LDS church, at the same time as the rest of the LDS church? Lucy did say that Martin "was very intimate with this family" after all. They moved with the church? Again Lucy's story checks out, aligning perfectly with contemporary records.The last piece of the puzzle in attempting to pin down the identity of Martin's mysterious mistress is found in this death certificate of her son, James Daniel Haggart:Her name was Magdeline Service, and she was born in Dundas, Canada.Apologists have long been silent on the topic of Martin's lurid affair. From a historical standpoint it has always been a matter of "may have," "perhaps," and "alleged to." I think these records give a lot more credence to the story. We have a woman in her mid-20's, living far from home, very close to and in a positive religious relationship with a man who is married to a bitter woman - his cousin no less - whose life is consumed by her hatred of his new belief system for which he has discovered intense enthusiasm. What was he doing at this woman's house, sometimes until sunrise, while her husband was away from home? Why the instruction to not covet his neighbor's wife?Lucy Harris, as if aware of the apologetic overemphasis of uncertainty that would inevitably occur 180 years in the future, preemptively wrote these insightful words:"If his intentions were evil, the Lord will judge him accordingly, but if good, he did not mean to let his left hand know what his right hand did. The above statement or facts, I affirm to be true.-LUCY HARRIS." (Mormonism Unvailed, pg 257)Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2014 01:44PM by kimball.