NILES' NATIONAL REGISTER, Baltimore, Nov. 15, 1845

• Latter-day -Saints founder Joseph Smith's widowed wife Emma

The back page has an item noting: "Emma Smith, the widow of the deceased prophet, claims at least a wife's portion of her late husband's worldly gear, including, it is said, besides the Temple itself at Nauvoo, large and valuable tracts of land in Illinois, for Joseph was suspected of having a hawk's eye towards the mammon of unrighteousness. Emma dislikes the notion of leaving those substantial possessions for any prospects which she can perceive in the future, and wishes to remain to take care of number one."
Of all the Mormon accounts we have written up through the years, this may be the first title we have found which contains a report concerning Joseph Smith's wife.
Sixteen pages, 8 1/2 by 12 inches, a bit of toning on the front page, nice condition.

Background: This rare November 15, 1845, edition of Niles’ National Register offers an exceptionally scarce 19th-century secular news account specifically targeting Emma Smith, the widow of Latter-day Saints founder Joseph Smith. Published in Baltimore, this 16-page weekly captures a crucial historical moment following Smith’s 1844 assassination, shedding light on the tense property dispute surrounding his estate and the Nauvoo Temple. The report details Emma's refusal to join the main Mormon migration westward, noting that she claimed a "wife's portion" of valuable Illinois land and preferred to remain behind to protect her family's financial interests rather than embark on an uncertain trek under Brigham Young. Framed through the biting, anti-Mormon bias typical of the era's press—accusing Joseph of having a "hawk's eye towards the mammon of unrighteousness" and Emma of wanting to "take care of number one"—the issue is notable for its rare focus on a female figure in early Mormonism, providing a contemporary, outside perspective on the schism that ultimately led to the formation of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

As noted in Wikipedia, this title: "...(was) one of the most widely-circulated magazines in the United States...Devoted primarily to politics...considered an important source for the history of the period."