Jane Manning James
Jane Elizabeth Manning James (May 11, 1813 – April 16, 1908), was one of the first recorded African-American women to live in Utah. She was a member of the Latter Day Saint Church. She lived with Joseph Smith and his family in Nauvoo, Illinois. She traveled with her husband to Utah, spending the winter of 1846–1847 at Winter Quarters. Winter Quarters was a camp where members of the church stayed during the winter. James asked the church leaders to be endowed and sealed. Endowment and sealing are special Mormon rituals for really good members. James was good enough for the rituals, but because she was black, church leaders said that she could not have the endowment. James kept asking, even though they said no. James was adopted as a servant into the Joseph Smith family through a specially created temple ceremony.  After her death, she was endowed through another person in 1979.