Nathaniel H. Felt Home, Salem, Massachusetts, USA

The Nathaniel H. Felt home is now a part of the Peabody-Essex Museum Photo courtesy of Jonathan C. Felt
The Nathaniel H. Felt home is now a part of the Peabody Essex Museum.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan C. Felt.

Nathaniel Henry Felt joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on September 17, 1843 after a careful investigation of the Church. He maintained a tailor and drapery business in Salem and became a respectable member of the community at a young age.

Shortly after his baptism into the Church, Felt was assigned to preside as the branch president of the members in and around Salem. Also around this time, Brigham Young contacted him about his daughter, Vilate Young, coming and living with the Felts while she attended a girl’s boarding school in Salem. The Felts replied that she would be welcomed in their home and so Vilate remained here until the spring of 1845 when she traveled west with the Saints. While in Salem, many prominent members of the Church visited the Felts including Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow. Shortly after the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum, the Felts moved to Nauvoo, and then on to the Salt Lake Valley.

Nathaniel Felt home, Salem, MA.
Nathaniel Felt – Vilate Young (Kinsman) home, Salem, MA. Photo (2009) by Kenneth Mays.

The Peabody Essex Museum acquired the historic building and moved it from its original location at 10 Liberty Street to its current location at 26 Charter Street in 2001. As part of the museum’s Homes Tour, the structure became known as the Vilate Young (Kinsman) home. A bronze plaque was unveiled and presented to the City of Salem funded by the Nathaniel H. Felt Family Association and the Ensign Peak Foundation. The plaque, now affixed to the structure, interprets the early history and significance of the home. Also, a branch of the Family History Center system of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nearby at the James Duncan Phillips Library was established.1

SOURCES

1 Jonathan C. Felt, “Historic Nathaniel H. Felt Home Dedicated In Salem, Massachusetts,” Mormon Historical Studies, Fall 2004, Vol. 5, No. 2, 186.

Ownership Status

The home once owned by Nathaniel H. Felt is owned and maintained by the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. The structure became part of the museum’s Homes Tour under the name Vilate Young (Kinsman) Home. As such, it was moved its present location in 2001. Tours of the home’s interior need to be scheduled through the museum by going to:

https://www.pem.org/visit/historic-houses

Map & Directions

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Hours of Operation: The Peabody Essex Museum (for the Homes Tour) is open Thursday–Sunday 10 am–5 pm and holiday Mondays.

Phone: 978-745-9500 / 866-745-1876 (Toll Free)

 

Photos

The Nathaniel H. Felt home during restoration on its new site. Photo (2002) by Kenneth Mays.
Alternate view of the Nathaniel H. Felt home. Photo (2009) by Kenneth Mays.

Articles & Resources

Nathaniel H. Felt Family Association Website

Jonathan C. Felt, “Historic Nathaniel H. Felt Home Dedicated In Salem, Massachusetts,”Mormon Historical Studies, Fall 2004, Vol. 5, No. 2.

Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4 vols. (Salt Lake City: 380).

Fred E. Woods, “Nathaniel H. Felt: An Essex County Man,” Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint Church History: The New England States, (Provo: Religious Studies Center, 2004), 219-35.

Fred E. Woods & Jonathan C. Felt, “An Essex County Man’s Silver Cord, Nathaniel H. Felt (1816-1887),”  (Mormon Historic Sites Foundation: Salem, Massachusetts, 2004).