| 1737 - 1835 | Town of Rowley records show John Smith as son of Joseph and Sarah. | Town of Rowley | Direct |
| Dec 15, 1751 | Byfield Parish Church record of the christening of John Smith, son of Joseph Smith, in 1751. | Byfield Parish Church in Byfield, Massachusetts | Direct |
| Aug 30, 1813 - Jun 4, 1814 | Joseph Perry records the students of Moor's Indian Charity School for the year of 1813-1814, and Hyrum Smith is not listed. | Joseph Perry | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| Aug 28, 1814 - Aug 23, 1815 | Joseph Perry records the students of Moor's Indian Charity School for the year of 1814-1815, with Hyrum Smith present for the first quarter. | Joseph Perry | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| Aug 22, 1816 | Joseph Perry records the students present for examinations in the end of 1816, and Hyrum Smith is not listed. | Joseph Perry | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| Apr 12, 1819 | Gideon Hawley describes the basics of 19th century school as "reading, writing, and arithmetic." | Gideon Hawley | Direct |
| Jan 1829 - Dec 1829 | In 1829, JS describes the translation of the Record of Nephi. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| Apr 12, 1829 - Jul 31, 1829 | Joseph Smith's handwriting in original Book of Mormon manuscript. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Holograph Direct |
| Oct 22, 1829 | Joseph Smith's earliest known letter, written to Oliver Cowdery and scribed by Frederick G. Williams. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Scribed Verbatim |
| Oct 22, 1829 | A letter from JS to OC, scribed by FGW. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Scribed Verbatim |
| Jan 15, 1831 | Phelps comments on limited education of Joseph, Harris, et al. | E. D. Howe | 2nd Hand Reprint |
| Feb 1, 1831 | Palmyra Reflector describes translation of BOM, highlights JS's lack of education. | Palmyra Reflector | Unsourced Journalism |
| Mar 3, 1831 | Letter from JS to HS, with spelling mistakes. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| Mar 9, 1832 | Abraham Lincoln describes how he will run as a representative and uses his legal knowledge to bolster his campaign. | Abraham Lincoln | Direct Reprint |
| Jun 1, 1832 | JS educated in reading/writing basic math. | Frederick G. Williams | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| Jun 1832 | JS obtained the plates in 1827 and commenced translating them then. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| Aug 4, 1832 | William McLellin: Joseph published the BOM in 1830. | William McLellin | Holograph 2nd Hand |
| Dec 31, 1832 | Joseph states that he was deprived of a benefit of an education and was instructed only in the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Scribed Verbatim |
| 1833 | Laws of Illinois state that treason consists of “levying war against the government and people of this state". | Government of Illinois | Direct |
| 1834 | Commentary on public schools during JS's time. | J. Orville Taylor | Secondary |
| 1834 | J. Orville Taylor provides commentary on public schools during Joseph's time. | J. Orville Taylor | Direct |
| May 1, 1834 | Susquehanna Register reprints Isaac Hales's recollection that Joseph didn't go to school often. | Isaac Hale | Direct Reprint |
| 1839 | Mulholland records the account of the BOM translation; Joseph used instruments he called U&T. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Scribed Summary |
| Dec 31, 1840 | Orson Pratt records that schooling was available to Joseph. | Orson Pratt | Direct Unsourced |
| Jun 15, 1842 | Cleveland Herald rebuts The Pittsburgh American, calls Joseph "without education or genius" with "a little low cunning." | Cleveland Herald | Reprint Journalism |
| Oct 18, 1842 | Susan Smith recalls Reverend John Smith's mother was a Sawyer. | Susan Smith | Direct Late |
| Dec 31, 1842 | Orson Hyde writes in a German tract that Joseph did not receive an education. | Orson Hyde | 2nd Hand |
| 1842 | John C. Bennett mentions oaths made in temple during Joseph Smith's time. | John C. Bennett | Direct Unsourced |
| 1844 - 1845 | Lucy Mack Smith reports that Smith family read revolutionary literature. | Lucy Mack Smith | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| Jun 8, 1844 | Nauvoo Neighbor correspondent describes Joseph as illiterate. | Nauvoo Neighbor | Direct Reprint |
| Jun 11, 1844 | Thomas Morrison writes out an arrest warrant for Joseph for "unlawfully & with force" destroying the Nauvoo Expositor, considered the property of the publishers. | Thomas Morrison | Direct |
| Jun 12, 1844 | Willard Richards records the petition from Joseph Smith for a writ of Habeas Corpus, allowing the Nauvoo City Municipal Court to investigate and dismiss charges in their own court. | Willard Richards | Holograph Direct |
| Jun 18, 1844 | Joseph issues a proclamation declaring martial law in Nauvoo in response to threats made in local news publications. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| Jun 21, 1844 | Nauvoo Neighbor prints full legal summary of the third trial proceedings concerning J.S. et. al. charged with "inciting a riot" before Daniel Wells, justice of the peace. | Nauvoo Neighbor | Scribed Paraphrase Reprint |
| Jun 22, 1844 | Joseph wanted to send Hyrum away so his blood will be avenged if he were to be killed. | Hosea Stout | Scribed Paraphrase 2nd Hand |
| Jun 24, 1844 | Warrant authorizing the arrest of Joseph for the "Crime of Treason against the Government and people of the State of Illinois". | Robert F. Smith (Judge) | Direct |
| Jun 25, 1844 | Robert F. Smith records the bail recognizance for Joseph et. al. in the riot case; sets date for trial to next session (October 1844). | Robert F. Smith (Judge) | Holograph Direct |
| Jun 27, 1844 | Allen Joseph Stout resolved to avenge the blood of Joseph and Hyrum Smith while there remains descendants of their murderers on the earth. | Allen Joseph Stout | Direct Reprint Late |
| Oct 26, 1844 | Indictment for 9 men for the Murder of Joseph Smith (The People of Illinois vs. Levi Williams et al.) | Hancock Circuit Court | Direct |
| Dec 31, 1844 | Lucy Mack Smith reports that Joseph didn't like books in her memoirs. | Lucy Mack Smith | Scribed Verbatim |
| Dec 31, 1844 | Lucy Mack Smith describes Hyrum Smith's education. | Lucy Mack Smith | Scribed Verbatim |
| 1845 | LS describes how her husband taught school during the winter-time. | Lucy Mack Smith | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| 1845 | Lydia Gates Mack, mother of Lucy Mack Smith, taught school and was an accomplished woman. | Solomon Mack | Scribed Verbatim |
| 1845 | Lucy Mack Smith records how Smith family educated their children. | Lucy Mack Smith | Scribed Verbatim |
| 1845 | Lucy Mack Smith recalls that JS Sr. taught school. | Lucy Mack Smith | Scribed Verbatim Late |
| 1845 | Lucy Mack Smith describes how Hyrum went to an academy in Hanover. | Lucy Mack Smith | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| 1845 | JS worked as a day laborer. | Lucy Mack Smith | Scribed Verbatim 2nd Hand |
| 1845 | LMS highlights JS's farm labors. | Lucy Mack Smith | Scribed Verbatim 2nd Hand |
| 1845 | Lucy Mack says that Oliver Cowdery taught school at the district school when the Smith family arrived in Harmony. | Lucy Mack Smith | Scribed Verbatim |
| May 30, 1845 | Verdict of the Jury finds defendants in "People vs Levi Williams et al." NOT GUILTY. | Hancock Circuit Court | Direct |
| Dec 21, 1845 | William Clayton's record of Heber C. Kimball making a covenant to never rest until he avenges murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. | William Clayton | Scribed Verbatim Reprint |
| 1848 | William I. Appleby said Joseph could barely read and could only write his name. | William I. Appleby | Direct Unsourced |
| 1851 | Orasmus Turner writes that JS was "possessed of less than ordinary intellect." | Orsamus Turner | Direct |
| 1855 | Brigham Young teaches that the murderers of Joseph will, in future, submit to "blood atonement." | Brigham Young | Scribed Verbatim |
| Aug 14, 1859 | Orson Pratt describes Joseph Smith's limited education. | Orson Pratt | Unsourced Late |
| Feb 11, 1861 | Abraham Lincoln records that he wrote his own farewell speech from Springfield, demonstrating his literacy. | Abraham Lincoln | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| 1867 | George Thomas Chapman records the life sketch of John Wheelock Smith, son of Professor John Smith, distant relative of Joseph Smith. | George Thomas Chapman | 3rd Hand Late |
| 1867 | George Thomas Chapman's entry for Dr. John Smith in the Sketches of the Alumni at Dartmouth that erroneously identifies his father as the Joseph Smith married to Elisabeth Palmer. | George Thomas Chapman | 3rd Hand Late |
| 1867 | George Thomas Chapman records the life sketch of Dartmouth alumni Levi Spaulding. | George Thomas Chapman | Unsourced Secondary |
| 1867 | Rev. George Thomas Chapman records the Dartmouth Alumni life sketch of Ethan Smith, author of "View of the Hebrews." | George Thomas Chapman | 3rd Hand Late |
| 1867 | Rev. George Thomas Chapman, writing a life sketch of Dartmouth Alumni, records that Solomon Spaulding's "Manuscript Found" was the source of the Book of Mormon. | George Thomas Chapman | 3rd Hand Late |
| 1867 | George Thomas Chapman records the life sketch of Dartmouth alumni Lyndon Arnold Smith. | George Thomas Chapman | 3rd Hand Late |
| 1867 | George Thomas Chapman records the life sketch of Samuel Mason Smith, son of Professor John Smith, distant relative of Joseph Smith. | George Thomas Chapman | 3rd Hand Late |
| Apr 8, 1867 | George Thomas Chapman explains the limitations of the Sketches of Dartmouth alumni, and that some inaccuracies are to be expected. | George Thomas Chapman | Direct |
| Dec 31, 1867 | Pomeroy Tucker asserts that Joseph was unlearned and spent more time outside. | Pomeroy Tucker | 2nd Hand Late |
| Dec 31, 1867 | Pomeroy Tucker reports that Joseph knew a lot of stories. | Pomeroy Tucker | Secondary |
| 1867 | Pomeroy Tucker highlights how LDS have used Joseph's lack of education to defend the Book of Mormon. | Pomeroy Tucker | Late Secondary |
| 1867 | According to TP, JS was illiterate c. ~1830. | Pomeroy Tucker | 2nd Hand Secondary |
| 1869 | Mark Twain's first book for comparison to the age of JS translating the BOM. | Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) | Direct |
| Dec 31, 1869 | Gazetteer and Business Directory prints reports that Joseph attended a little bit of school. | Hamilton Child | Journalism |
| 1869 | Hymn (in the 1869 hymnal) teaching that the blood of those slaughtered pleads before God for vengeance. | Unknown | Direct |
| 1869 | Hymn (from the 1869 hymnal) speaking of the "blood" of those slain crying for vengeance. | Unknown | Direct |
| 1869 | Hymn in 1869 hymnal warning of foes being at the door of their homes who seek plunder and to avenge blood of prophets. | Unknown | Direct |
| 1877 | John Doyle Lee recalls an oath of vengeance taken by Saints to avenge the blood of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. | John Doyle Lee | Direct Late |
| Aug 31, 1878 | In a letter to James T. Cobb, William S. Sayre claims that Joseph Smith, Sr. was educated. | William S. Sayre | 2nd Hand Reprint Late |
| Sep 28, 1879 | Salt Lake Tribune exposes endowment's oath against US Government and its people. | Mrs. G.B.R | Direct Reprint Journalism |
| Oct 1, 1879 | Emma Hale Smith on JS as being a poor at dictation and writing. | Emma Hale Smith | Scribed Verbatim Direct Late |
| Dec 29, 1880 | Simon Smith said Joseph had a limited education. | Simon Smith | Reprint Unsourced |
| Feb 11, 1881 | Simon Smith tells Mark Forscutt that JS's education was "very limited." | Simon Smith | 2nd Hand Reprint |
| Dec 31, 1883 | Smith family knew Joseph did not have proper education. | William Smith | Direct Late |
| Dec 31, 1883 | William Smith reports that although Joseph did not have a common education, he had a high regard for truth. | William Smith | Direct |
| Feb 27, 1884 | Clark Braden says he went to school with JS. | Clark Braden | Scribed Verbatim Late |
| Sep 1, 1884 | Benjamin Saunders reports to William H. Kelley that that Joseph had little education. | William H. Kelley | Scribed Verbatim Reprint Late |
| 1884 | Samantha Payne says that JS had a poor reputation as a student in school. | Clark Braden | Direct Late |
| 1886 | Franklin D. Richards preaches that the blood of the Joseph and Hyrum Smith is upon the U.S. nation. | Franklin D. Richards | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| Jan 1, 1887 | Hyrum Smith was much more educated than JS. | Mrs. S. F. Anderick | Direct |
| Jun 27, 1887 | S.F. Anderick, in a statement, reports that Hyrum Smith was able to teach school, Joseph was not. | Mrs. S. F. Anderick | Direct Reprint Late |
| Jan 1888 | Isaac Butts, in a statement, states that Joseph went to school. | Arthur B. Deming | Direct Reprint Late |
| Nov 8, 1889 | L. John Nuttall records John Moore denying there being an oath of vengeance in the endowment. | John Moore | Scribed Paraphrase Reprint |
| Nov 23, 1889 | Deseret Weekly reports on hearing in federal court about the existence of an Oath of Vengeance. | John Henry Smith | Scribed Verbatim Reprint Journalism |
| Nov 26, 1889 | Wilford Woodruff in 1889 denies the existence of an oath to avenge Joseph and Hyrum's death in the endowment. | Wilford Woodruff | Scribed Verbatim Journalism |
| Dec 6, 1889 | Cannon tells his son he took an oath in the Nauvoo Temple against the murderers of Joseph and Hyrum. | Abraham H. Cannon | Scribed Paraphrase Reprint |
| Dec 7, 1889 | Wilford Woodruff (in 1889) denies there being an oath to avenge Joseph and Hyrum Smith's deaths in the endowment. | Wilford Woodruff | Scribed Verbatim Reprint Journalism |
| Sep 8, 1892 | JHG notes that the original manuscript of the BOM didn't have punctuation. | John Hulbert Gilbert | Direct Late |
| 1893 | In his statement, John Hawley claims that the Endowment ceremony in Salt Lake City had an oath to avenge Joseph Smith's death. | John Pierce Hawley | Direct |
| 1901 | AJ describes how OC taught school in the district school in Manchester, Ontario county, N.Y.. | Andrew Jenson | Secondary |
| Dec 31, 1901 | Lyman Stowell reports that Joseph went to school. | Wilbur F. Stowell | 2nd Hand Late |
| 1902 | Asael Smith gives address to Joseph Smith Sr. to give his children a good education, if possible. | Joseph Fielding Smith | Direct |
| 1906 | John W. Rigdon says SR had high-quality education. | John W. Rigdon | Direct |
| 1906 | Report concerning the Reed Smoot Hearing from June 1906 discusses the Oath of Vengeance in the LDS temple ceremony. | Julius C. Burrows | Scribed Verbatim Reprint |
| 1906 | Walter M. Wolfe discusses the temple ceremony, including the oath of vengeance, during the Reed Smoot hearings. | Walter M. Wolfe | Reprint |
| 1906 | August W. Lundstrom discusses the Oath of Vengeance during his testimony at the Reed Smoot hearing. | August W. Lundstrom | Scribed Verbatim Reprint |
| 1906 | Hugh M. Dougall discusses the Oath of Vengeance during the Reed Smoot hearing. | Hugh M. Dougall | Scribed Verbatim Reprint |
| 1906 | Contents of the "oath of vengeance" provided during the Smoot hearing. "Vengeance" to be carried out by God, not man. | August W. Lundstrom | Scribed Verbatim Reprint |
| 1908 | Biography of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). | John W. Leonard | Secondary |
| 1911 | Evelyn M. Wood says Joseph might have been taught his letters in around 1810. | Evelyn M. Wood Lovejoy | 3rd Hand Late Secondary |
| 1911 | Junius F. Wells reports that Joseph went to a school on Dewey Hill. | Evelyn M. Wood Lovejoy | Secondary |
| Feb 22, 1912 | In a late recollection, David H. Cannon describes the instruction at the Endowment House in regards to vengeance. | David H. Cannon | Scribed Verbatim Reprint Late |
| 1913 | Josiah F. Gibbs mentions oath against the U.S. Government in the St. George Temple. | Josiah F. Gibbs | Direct Unsourced |
| Jul 1, 1922 | Joseph Smith went to school and was not as ignorant as some portrayed him. | H. S. Salisbury | Secondary |
| 1931 | Oath of Vengeance as produced by W. M. Paden's 1931 "Temple Mormonism." | William Mitchell Paden | Secondary |
| Oct 1943 | A Dartmouth Alumni Magazine article recalls that Hyrum Smith was "destined for Dartmouth," but went west before attending. | Dartmouth Alumni Magazine | 2nd Hand Late Secondary |
| Dec 31, 1956 | JS went to school in East Palmyra with the Terry family. | Mr. and Mrs. Terry Lund | Unsourced Late |
| 1992 | Bruce A. Van Orden reports that Hyrum Smith went to school much earlier than Joseph. | Bruce A. Van Orden | Secondary |
| 1995 | Historian David Herbert Donald says that Abraham Lincoln had less than one year of schooling by age fifteen. | David Herbert Donald | Secondary |
| 1995 | David Herbert Donald describes 19th-century education for Abraham Lincoln. | David Donald Herbert | Secondary |
| 1995 | Abraham Lincoln had an urgency to become a lawyer in 1834 and self-studied to become one. | David Herbert Donald | Secondary |
| 1995 | Abraham Lincoln was sought after to write letters for his neighbors as few could write well at that time. | David Herbert Donald | Unsourced Secondary |
| Dec 2001 | Kyle Walker, in a PhD thesis, discusses Joseph Smith Sr. working as a school teacher. | Kyle R. Walker | Secondary |
| 2006 | Richard K. Behrens connects Joseph Smith Jr.'s paternal grandparents to the Joseph Smith and Elisabeth Palmer who were mistakenly identified as the parents of Reverend John Smith in a Dartmouth Alumni Sketch. | Richard K. Behrens | 3rd Hand Late Secondary |
| Dec 31, 2006 | HS had access to Dartmouth educational ideas. | Richard K. Behrens | Secondary |
| Aug 14, 2010 | TMTH&M says MT(SC) was educated until the fifth grade. | The Mark Twain House & Museum | Secondary |
| Aug 14, 2010 | TMTH&M summarizes the publication of Mark Twain's first book. | The Mark Twain House & Museum | Secondary |
| 2011 | David H. Cannon reports that Anthony W. Ivins does not like the wording of the Law of Retribution. | David H. Cannon | Scribed Verbatim 2nd Hand Reprint |
| Dec 2, 2013 - Feb 28, 2014 | An exhibit summarized by DCL recounts the history of Moor's Charity school. | Dartmouth College Library | Secondary |
| 2014 | The RDOCS gives biographical and academic details of John S. | Rutgers Database of Classical Scholars Editorial Committee | Secondary |
| 2015 | Charles Dudley Warner's notes from autobiography of Samuel Clemens concerning his education. | Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) | Direct Reprint |