What pioneer Edward Martin did after leading his handcart company to Utah

The captain of the Martin handcart company went on to become a prominent Salt Lake photographer

13 April 2024, 9:00 a.m. MDT

Edward Martin and either Alice Clayton or Jane Gray, presumably taken shortly after Martin's handcart company arrived in Salt Lake City, circa 1857. Martin, a noted Salt Lake City photographer, is best known as the captain of the ill-fated Martin handcart company. Church History Library

Edward Martin is best remembered for serving as the captain of the Martin handcart company, a group of more than 500 pioneers who started their journey late and encountered heavy snow and severe temperatures in Wyoming before reaching Salt Lake City in November 1856.

What many may not know is that several years later Martin became a prominent photographer. He captured images of many early Latter-day Saints, including members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and most of the bishops serving in Salt Lake City wards. He also photographed several buildings in the city, most notably the Salt Lake Temple and Tabernacle.

After serving as captain of a handcart company in 1856, Edward Martin became a prominent photographer in Salt Lake City, Utah. This image was on the back of one of his portraits in 1867. | Church History Library

The Church History Catalog has hundreds of thousands of collections of documents and media from the history of the Church and is accessible by anyone at catalog.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Many of his images are preserved and available for viewing digitally in the Church History Catalog using these search terms: “Martin, Edward, Photographer, 1818-1882,” according to Church History Department blog post by Jeff Morley. Photographs, videos and other resources are available through the catalog but may require submitting permission to access.

Here are some photos and links to Martin’s collection in the Church History Catalog.

Salt Lake Tabernacle Photograph, circa 1868

Photograph of the Salt Lake Tabernacle taken by Edward Martin in 1868. | Church History Library

Portraits of Salt Lake City Bishops, 1867

Left, Edward Hunter and Leonard W. Hardy, members of the Church's presiding bishopric. Their photographs were taken by Edward Martin in 1867. | Church History Library

Leading Women in Zion, circa 1867

This is a group portrait of Zina D. H. Young, Bathsheba W. Smith, Emily Dow Partridge Young and Eliza R. Snow. Zina, Bathsheba and Eliza all served as presidents of the Relief Society, while Emily served as a Relief Society teacher.

A group portrait of Zina D. H. Young, Bathsheba W. Smith, Emily Dow Partridge Young, and Eliza R. Snow, taken by Edward Martin in 1867. | Church History Library

Brigham Young, circa 1867

Twelve Apostles, circa 1867

This montage of individual portraits consists of, in order of appearance (but not entirely in order of seniority), from left to right starting at the top: Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith.

Montage of individual portraits of members of the quorum with Orson Hyde as the senior member and Joseph F. Smith as the junior member. The portraits were taken by Edward Martin in 1867. | Church History Library

Salt Lake Temple, circa 1864

This is a photograph of an engraved perspective study of the Salt Lake Temple with inscription on the back that reads, “Temple as it’s to be finished at Great Salt Lake City, size 186 ½ by 99-, height 100 feet, towers 200 feet, walls 8 feet thick.”

Photograph by Edward Martin in 1864 of an engraved perspective study of the Salt Lake Temple with inscription on the back that reads, "Temple as it's to be when finished at Great Salt Lake City, size 186 1/2 by 99-, height 100 feet, towers 200 feet, walls 8 feet thick." The original perspective was drawn in 1855 by William W. Ward. | Church History Library

See more of what is in the Church History Library’s collections at Catalog.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.