Each year the descendants of former Brigham Young University president George H. Brimhall honor the founders of the university by sponsoring the Brimhall Essay Contest. Held in conjunction with the university's Homecoming celebrations, the contest is designed to introduce students to the individuals who have helped to shape Brigham Young University’s unique institutional character.
The L. Tom Perry Special Collections preserves and makes available a range of manuscript and archival resources documenting the contributions of the university's founders. A bibliography of related materials is available below. If you would like to learn more about the resources available for this year's founder, contact the University Archivist.
Manuscript Materials
The L. Tom Perry Special Collections includes a variety of manuscript materials produced by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray and her family, documenting life experience and service to the Church and Brigham Young Academy. Some additional materials may be available in the Church History Library or other repositories. Relevant collections include:
Coray family papers, 1843-1965 (BYU Special Collections, MSS 1422; http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/ltpsc/resources/upb_mss1422)
Coray, Martha J., 1880-1986 (BYU Special Collections, UA 909 Series 1 box 44 folder 2; http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/byu-archives/archival_objects/cf5ec83e0ebd00cc19ec636b2ddb5379)
Coray, Martha Jane Knowlton, approximately 1875-1975 (BYU Special Collections, UA 566 Series 3 Subseries 2 File 77; http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/byu-archives/archival_objects/a468d0d9ac294e2c173ee3bb0710617f)
Martha Coray notebook, 1845 (BYU Special Collections, Vault MSS 230; http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/ltpsc/resources/upb_vmss230)
Coray, Martha Jane Knowlton. Notes, approximately 1869-1870 (Church History Library, MS 991 7; https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/record/d8bd3f70-f4fc-4248-8d1d-04636564080c/0?view=summary&lang=eng)
Photograph of Martha Coray, date of production not identified (BYU Special Collections, UA P 2 Series 1 Item 12; http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/byu-archives/archival_objects/ref39_8qh)
Secondary Sources
Coray's life has also been discussed in historical sketches, papers, and other presentations. Some of these published sources include:
Anderson, Elizabeth Ann. "Howard and Martha Coray: Chroniclers of Joseph Smith's Words and Life." Journal of Mormon History 33, no. 3 (Fall 2007): 83-113. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/mormonhistory/vol33/iss3/1/
Beecher, Maureen Ursenbach. "A Decade of Mormon Women—the 1870s." New Era 8, no. 4 (April 1978): 34-39. https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/1c50c82f-0f0f-4016-bb47-61e06416887b/0/33
Billings, Amy Reynolds. "Faith, Femininity, and the Frontier: The Life of Martha Jane Knowlton Coray." M.A. thesis, Brigham Young University, 2002. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5531&context=etd
Black, Susan Easton, and Mary Jane Woodger. "Martha Jane Coray," in Women of Character: Profiles of 100 Prominent LDS Women (American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 2011) (BYU Americana Collection, BX 8670 .B5612wo 2011)
Johnson, Jeffery O. "Martha Jane Coray—Teacher, Writer, Recorder [of] Joseph Smith's Speeches." Pioneer 31 (September-October 1984): 7, 16 (BYU Americana Collection, F 821 .P56)
———. "Martha Jane Knowlton Coray: 'Masculine in Her Strength of Character'," in Dedication Colloquiums, Harold B. Lee Library, March 15-17, 1977 (Provo, Utah: Harold B. Lee Library, BYU, 1978), 115-128 (BYU Americana Collection, Z 733 .B75 D43x)
Lewis, Martha J. C. "Martha Jane Knowlton Coray." Improvement Era 5, no. 6 (April 1902): 439-440. https://archive.org/details/improvementera0506unse/page/438/mode/2up
Reynolds, Amy. "Martha Jane Knowlton Coray: A Woman of Faith and Intellect." Brigham Young Magazine 51 (Fall 1997): 55-56 (BYU Americana Collection, LH 1 .B73 B7x)
Rigby, Mary Noel. "The Corays in Nauvoo." Provo, Utah: M. N. Rigby, 1985. (BYU Americana Collection BX 8670.1 .C81r 1985)
Tate, Charles D., Jr., and H. Dean Garrett. "Howard and Martha Jane Knowlton Coray of Nauvoo," in Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint Church History, Illinois (Provo, Utah: Department of Church History and Doctrine, 1995), 331-357 (BYU Americana Collection, BX 8677.73 .R263 1995)
Wilkinson, Ernest L., ed. "Martha Jane Knowlton Coray," in Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1975), 2:751. https://archive.org/details/brighamyounguniv02wilk/page/750/mode/2up?q=coray
