| 1830 | Webster Dictionary's definition of "scrape" (1830). | Noah Webster | Direct |
| 1830 | Webster's Dictionary's definition of "affair" (1830). | Noah Webster | Direct |
| 1830 | 1830 U.S. Census lists Samuel Alger in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. | U.S. Census | Direct |
| Dec 3, 1832 | Joseph records William McLellin's 1832 excommunication. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Direct |
| 1834 - 1907 | Mosiah L. Hancock provides his birthdate in his autobiography. | Mosiah Hancock | Direct |
| Aug 1835 | 1835 D&C declares that the Church believes in monogamy. | Oliver Cowdery | Direct |
| Nov 24, 1835 | Joseph records officiating at the marriage of the Knights in November 1835. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Scribed Verbatim Direct |
| Apr 3, 1836 | Joseph and Oliver Cowdery have a vision in the Kirtland temple; Elijah bestows the sealing keys. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Scribed Verbatim |
| Apr 3, 1836 | Joseph and Oliver Cowdery receive the sealing keys in April 1836. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Scribed Verbatim |
| Nov 14, 1836 | Marriage record of Solomon Custer and Fanny Alger in November 1836. | FamilySearch | Direct |
| Sep 1837 | Warren A. Cowdery's Defense of Joseph and the Rigdon family against rumors in Milton and Palmyra areas. | Warren A. Cowdery | Direct |
| Nov 6, 1837 | Joseph informs the council that "a matter" involving Cowdery had not been "satisfactorily settled." | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Direct Scribed Summary |
| 1838 - 1847 | John Whitmer on Kirtland secret combinations and plurality of wives. | John Whitmer | Holograph Unsourced |
| Jan 21, 1838 | Oliver Cowdery calls Joseph's relation with Fanny Alger a "dirty, nasty, filthy scrape/affair." | Oliver Cowdery | Direct |
| Feb 15, 1838 | Letter from Thomas Marsh with multiple testimonies regarding Joseph's and Fanny Alger's relationship. | Thomas Marsh | Direct Reprint |
| Apr 12, 1838 | Council minutes on the relationship between Joseph and Fanny Alger. | Ebenezer Robinson | Direct |
| May 11, 1838 | Joseph records William McLellin's 1838 trial and excommunication. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Direct |
| Jul 1838 | Elders' Journal says Mormons do not "believe in having more wives than one." | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Direct |
| 1839 - 1841 | Joseph reported that he was born on December 23, 1805. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Direct |
| Apr 3, 1840 | Sidney Rigdon refers to "a real drunken scrape" involving Oliver Cowdery and Oliver Granger. | Sidney Rigdon | Direct |
| Oct 23, 1840 | Record book shows Fanny Alger (Custer) attending a Church conference in 1840. | James C. Snow | Direct |
| Sep 13, 1842 | Fanny Brewer claims that Joseph had "unlawful intercourse" with "a young orphan girl." | Fanny Brewer | Direct Unsourced |
| Jul 12, 1843 | Joseph records a revelation in D&C 132 that lays out the concept of plural marriage. | Joseph Smith, Jr. | Direct |
| Nov 5, 1848 | Pottawattamie High Council minutes mentions Oliver Cowdery's rebaptism. | Pottawattamie High Council | Direct |
| Nov 11, 1848 | Orson Hyde writes to Wilford Woodruff about Oliver Cowdery's rebaptism. | Orson Hyde | Direct |
| Nov 16, 1848 | Reuben Miller mentions Oliver Cowdery's rebaptism by Hyde in November 1848 in a letter to Henry Sabey. | Reuben Miller | Direct |
| Aug 21, 1850 | 1850 U.S. Census lists "Francis Custer" as 31 years old. | U.S. Census | Direct |
| 1854 | Orson Pratt officially introduces polygamy to the public. | Orson Pratt | Scribed Verbatim |
| Jun 18, 1856 | The Republican Party Platform of 1856 lists polygamy as one of the "twin relics of barbarism." | Republican Party 1856 | Direct Reprint |
| 1859 | John L Butler writes that William McLellin robbed the Smith home while Joseph was in prison. | John L. Butler | Direct |
| 1860 - 1871 | Joseph Holbrook recounts Mary Johnson dying in the Smith home in 1833. | Joseph Holbrook | Direct |
| Jun 12, 1860 | 1860 U.S. Census lists "Fanny Ouster" as 42 years old. | U.S. Census | Direct |
| Aug 12, 1861 | W.W. Phelps writes to Brigham about Joseph's 1831 revelation on polygamy. | W. W. Phelps | Direct |
| Dec 17, 1864 | Millennial Star reviews William McLellin's excommunication and hostilities toward the Saints. | Unknown | Journalism |
| 1869 | Joseph B. Noble provides affidavit stating that he sealed Joseph to Louisa Beaman. | James Jack | Direct |
| Jan 22, 1869 | F.D. Richards records that Joseph Noble "performed the first sealing ceremony in this Dispensation" between Joseph and Louisa Beaman. | Franklin D. Richards | 2nd Hand |
| Oct 7, 1869 | Orson Pratt says that Joseph said polygamy was "a true principle" in 1831. | Orson Pratt | Scribed Verbatim 2nd Hand Late |
| 1870 - 1913 | Mary Elizabeth Lightner claims Joseph was commanded to practice polygamy in July 1834. | Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner | Holograph 2nd Hand Late |
| Jul 1872 | William McLellin describes the Smith/Fanny Alger relationship to Joseph Smith III. | William McLellin | 3rd Hand Late |
| 1873 | T.B.H. Stenhouse claims W.W. Phelps taught that Joseph learned polygamy from the Egyptian papyrus. | W. W. Phelps | 3rd Hand Late |
| Feb 16, 1874 | William Clayton recounts the writing of the revelation on plural marriage. | William Clayton | Direct Late |
| Oct 14, 1874 | Deseret News prints Samuel Alger's obituary. | Deseret News | Direct |
| Oct 6, 1875 | William McLellin is quoted in the Salt Lake Tribune about Joseph and Fanny Alger's sealing. | William McLellin | 2nd Hand Late Journalism |
| Apr 24, 1876 | Eliza J. Webb recounts the Joseph/Fanny Alger sealing. | Eliza J. Churchill Webb | 3rd Hand Late |
| May 4, 1876 | Eliza J. Webb refers to Joseph's and Fanny Alger's relationship as similar to a "sealing." | Eliza J. Churchill Webb | 2nd Hand Late |
| 1876 | Ann Eliza Young provides an overview of the Joseph/Fanny Alger relationship. | Ann Eliza Young | 3rd Hand Late |
| Dec 16, 1878 | Orson Pratt quotes Lyman Johnson as saying that Smith knew about plural marriage in 1831. | Orson Pratt | Reprint 3rd Hand Late |
| Oct 1, 1879 | Emma Hale Smith denies that Joseph practiced polygamy. | Emma Hale Smith | Scribed Verbatim |
| Jun 17, 1880 | 1880 U.S. Census lists "Fanny W Custer" as 63 years old. | U.S. Census | Direct |
| Apr 1881 | Anti-polygamy periodical recounts the Joseph/Fanny Alger relationship. | Historicus | Late Journalism |
| Aug 2, 1882 | Unknown author from The Hagerstown Exponent claims that Solomon Custer and Fanny Alger are practicing spiritualism. | Unknown | Journalism |
| 1883 | Susa Young Gates quotes Joseph in 1835 claiming to have authority to marry others. | Susa Young Gates | 2nd Hand Late |
| Apr 27, 1883 | Lyman O. Littlefield states that Joseph "understood and believed" plural marriage in Kirtland. | Lyman O. Littlefield | Direct Reprint Late |
| 1884 | Helen Mar Kimball Whitney says that plural marriage was revealed to Joseph in 1831; was commanded by an angel to practice it. | Helen Mar Kimball Whitney | Direct Late |
| 1884 | Eliza Snow recounts a conversation between Lorenzo Snow and Joseph about plural marriage and the angel with a sword. | Eliza R. Snow | 3rd Hand |
| Feb 12, 1884 - Mar 8, 1884 | Clark Braden says that Joseph "practiced polygamy in Kirtland," "committed fornication," and seduced "an orphan girl." | Clark Braden | Reprint 3rd Hand Late |
| Apr 1, 1884 | Emily D. P. Young says that Emma Smith knew about plural marriage and was "bitter" and "unpleasant" about it. | Emily D. P. Young | Direct Journalism |
| Jan 1885 | John Hawley recalls John Alger saying Alger was "seald" to Joseph. | John Hawley | 3rd Hand Late |
| 1885 | Eiza R. Snow says that she lived with the Smiths in the "Spring of 1836." | Eliza R. Snow | Direct Reprint |
| 1885 | Alfred Holbrook reports that Fanny Alger was a "spiritual wife" of Joseph's. | Alfred Holbrook | 3rd Hand Late |
| 1886 | Wilhelm Wyl claims that Emma Smith threw Eliza Partridge down the stairs; assaulted Eliza R. Snow with a broomstick. | Wilhelm Wyl | Unsourced Late |
| 1886 | Chauncy Webb describes the Fanny Alger/Joseph relationship as a sealing and states that Fanny Alger was pregnant. | Chauncey Webb | Reprint Unsourced Late |
| 1886 | Nancy Alexander claims that "plurality of wives" was practiced in Kirtland. | Nancy Alexander | 3rd Hand Late |
| 1887 | Eliza R. Snow lists Fanny Alger and others as one of "Joseph Smith's Plural wives." | Eliza R. Snow | Direct |
| May 1887 | Andrew Jenson article on Joseph's plural marriage; identifies 27 women as plural wives. | Andrew Jenson | Late Secondary |
| May 1887 | Mary Ann Frost Pratt recalls the conversion of her sister Olive Frost to plural marriage and her marriage to Joseph. | Mary Ann Frost Pratt | 2nd Hand Late |
| May 1887 | Joseph learned about plural marriage in 1831; Alger is listed as "one of the first plural wives sealed to" Joseph. | Andrew Jenson | Direct |
| Aug 18, 1887 | Newspaper interviews Eliza R. Snow about plural marriage; she mentions the angel with a sword commanding Joseph to practice polygamy. | Eliza R. Snow | 2nd Hand Journalism |
| 1887 | Eliza R. Snow identifies Fanny Alger as "one of the first wives Joseph married." | Eliza R. Snow | Direct |
| 1888 | Martin Harris quoted about Joseph's "improper proposals" to Fanny Alger. | Martin Harris | 3rd Hand Late |
| 1889 | Reprinted obituary of Fanny Alger. | Unknown | Journalism |
| Sep 22, 1889 | Benjamin Winchester talks about Joseph's "licentious conduct" during the Kirtland period. | Benjamin Winchester | Direct Unsourced Late Journalism |
| Dec 5, 1889 | Newspaper reporting Fanny Alger's (Custer) death in 1889. | Anonymous | Journalism |
| 1890 | John Alger is excommunicated in 1890 after the Polygamy Manifesto. | N/A | Scribed Summary |
| 1892 | Lucy Walker recalls that Joseph saying he learned the "principle of plural marriage" in 1831. | Lucy Walker | Direct Late |
| 1892 | Emily D. P. Young testifies that Emma Hale Smith consented to plural marriage, but became bitter soon after. | Emily D. P. Young | Direct Late |
| 1892 | Wilford Woodruff discontinues plural marriage, naming revelation and opposition as the reason. | Wilford Woodruff | Direct Reprint |
| 1892 | Lucy Walker affirms she lived with Joseph as a wife. | Lucy Walker | Scribed Verbatim Direct Late |
| 1896 | Levi Hancock recalls that Joseph told him to take Fanny Alger to Missouri. | Levi Hancock | Holograph Direct Late |
| 1896 | Levi Hancock marries Clarissa Reed. | Levi Hancock | Direct |
| Apr 4, 1899 | Fanny Alger sealed by proxy to Joseph in 1899. | Thomas Milton Tinney | Direct Reprint |
| Feb 8, 1902 | Mary Elizabeth Lightner recalls Joseph saying an angel with a sword commanded him to practice polygamy. | Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner | 2nd Hand Reprint Late |
| Apr 1903 - Oct 1911 | Benjamin Johnson recalls being told that Joseph and Fanny Alger were "spied upon & found together"; calls Fanny Joseph's "first plural wife." | Benjamin F. Johnson | Holograph 3rd Hand Late |
| Apr 20, 1904 | Mary E. Lightner says that Joseph was commanded by an angel in 1834 to practice plural marriage. | Mary E. Lightner | Scribed Verbatim 2nd Hand Reprint |
| Mar 10, 1905 | Mosiah Hancock recounts the marriage of Fanny Alger and Joseph. | Mosiah Hancock | 3rd Hand Late |
| Apr 14, 1905 | Mary E. Lightner quotes Joseph saying that an angel commanded him between 1834 and 1842 to practice polygamy; if not, the angel would slay him. | Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner | Scribed Verbatim 2nd Hand Late |
| Jun 1905 - Sep 1905 | Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner says Joseph was commanded to begin plural marriage in 1834 [?] and was threatened by an angel. | Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner | 2nd Hand Late |
| 1909 | B.H. Roberts states that the revelation on plural marriage was received in 1831. | B. H. Roberts | Direct |
| 1982 | Leroli C. Snow provides late account of Emma Hale Smith pushing Eliza R. Snow down the stairs. | Leroli C. Snow | Unsourced Late |
| 1997 | Todd Compton summarizes the Fanny Alger family background. | Todd M. Compton | Secondary |
| 1997 | Todd Compton speculates that Fanny Alger may have miscarried. | Todd M. Compton | Secondary |
| 1997 | Todd Compton reviews Fanny Alger's departure from Ohio. | N/A | Secondary |
| 2000 | Scott H. Faulring provides an overview of Oliver Cowdery's rebaptism in November 1848. | Scott H. Faulring | Secondary |
| 2005 | Ugo Perego et al., reports on how DNA study rules out 2 possible Smith descendants; casts strong doubt on third. | Ugo Perego | Direct Secondary |
| 2005 | Richard Lyman Bushman explains the possible background for the 1835 "Article of Marriage." | Richard Lyman Bushman | Secondary |
| 2008 | DNA study confirms that Oliver N. Buell and Mosiah Hancock were not Joseph's sons. | Ugo Perego | Secondary |
| Mar 7, 2008 | Study finds that marriage age gaps rose between 1850 and 1880; gaps ranged from 4 to 7 years on average. | Karen Rolf | Secondary |
| Sep 9, 2008 | Mark Staker argues that Alger lived with the Smiths between 1834 and 1836. | N/A | Secondary |
| 2009 | Brian C. Hales concludes that the story of Emma Smith pushing Eliza Snow down the stairs is likely "folklore." | Brian C. Hales | Secondary |
| 2010 | Don Bradley concludes that the Fanny Alger/Smith relationship was Smith's first polygamous marriage. | Don Bradley | Secondary |
| 2010 | Don Bradley dates the discovery of the Smith-Alger marriage between April-September 1836. | N/A | Secondary |
| 2010 | The ages of Joseph's plural wives are compared to other regions of 19th-century America. | Craig Foster | Secondary |
| 2013 | Official Declaration 1 of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. | Wilford Woodruff | Standard Works |
| 2015 | Brian and Laura Hales argue that the Fanny Alger/Smith marriage took place in 1835-36. | Brian C. Hales | Secondary |
| 2016 | Massachusetts statistics indicate 15-20% of women were married before age 20 in the 1840s. | N/A | Secondary |
| 2017 | Alice Merrill Horne hears the story of Eliza R. Snow's sexual assault in Missouri. | Alice Merrill Horne | 3rd Hand Late |
| 2018 | W. Smith explains the evolution of the meaning of "celestial marriage." | William Victor Smith | Secondary |
| 2019 | Craig Foster provides data on regional marriage ages between 1850-1880. | Craig Foster | Secondary |
| 2019 | DNA study rules out Josephine Lyon as Joseph's daughter. | Ugo Perego | Secondary |
| 2019 | Ugo Perego reports on how DNA results rule out Josephine Lyon as Joseph's daughter. | Ugo Perego | Secondary |
| 2021 | FamilySearch lists Fanny Alger's birthdate as September 30, 1817. | FamilySearch | Secondary |
| 2022 | Find a Grave Website lists Fanny Alger's birthdate as September 30, 1816. | Find a Grave | Secondary |
| 2022 | Brian and Laura Hales list Fanny Alger's birth date as September 20, 1816. | Joseph Smith's Polygamy | Secondary |
| 2022 | Joseph Smith Papers Website list 1818 as Fanny Alger's birthyear. | N/A | Secondary |
| 2022 | Church's essay lists Fanny Alger's birthyear as 1816. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Secondary |
| 2022 | The Joseph Smith Papers identifies May 28, 1843 as sealing date for Joseph and Emma Hale Smith. | The Joseph Smith Papers | Secondary |
| 2022 | The Joseph Smith Papers identifies May 28, 1843 as sealing date for Joseph and Emma Hale Smith. | The Joseph Smith Papers | Secondary |
