Who was Joseph Smith’s first polygamous wife?

Although the specific date is unknown, historians believe that Joseph Smith married his first plural wife, Fanny Alger, in Kirtland, Ohio. The marriage likely happened in the mid-1830s. It is unclear whether Joseph’s first wife, Emma Hale Smith, knew about the marriage to Fanny before the event. 

Some critics of Joseph Smith wives believe Smith’s relationship with Alger was adulterous. The evidence they use to make this claim is a letter written by Oliver Cowdery to his brother on January 21, 1838. In this letter, Cowdery states that Smith and Alger’s relationship was “a dirty, nasty, affair.” However, the word “affair,” as defined by Webster’s Dictionary in 1828, meant a matter of business, an event, or a duel. The word “affair” did not connotate an extramarital relationship until at least the early 1900s. 

Smith’s marriage to Alger was short-lived because the Alger family moved to Missouri. While traveling to Missouri, Alger met Solomon Custer, a non-Mormon, and married him. When asked about her relationship with Joseph Smith, Alger said, “That is all a matter of my own.” Fanny Alger appears to be Smith’s first plural wife.