John Johnson Home and Farm, Part 3
Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon Tarred and Feathered in Hiram, Ohio; On the night of March 24, 1832, Joseph Smith the prophet and Sidney Rigdon were tarred and feathered.
Abstract
Joseph and Emma Smith moved into the John and Elsa Johnson home September of 1831, along with the two Murdock twins they had adopted. On the night of March 24, 1832, after Joseph and Emma had retired to bed, Joseph with the baby boy on the trundle bed, a mob came into the house and dragged Joseph outside. Once outside, he saw Sidney Rigdon lying motionless on the ground, and then was tarred, feathered, scratched, and almost poisoned. Finally the mob left him, and the family spent most of the night removing the tar from his body. The next morning, he met a preaching appointment that resulted in the baptism of three people. The baby boy, Joseph Smith Murdock, subsequently dies from exposure from that night.