Decoding the Self-Tracking Symbols of Wilford Woodruff’s Journals

Authors

Joshua M. Matson

Keywords

Wilford Woodruff’s Journals, Symbols

Abstract

Wilford Woodruff’s journals have been celebrated as one of the greatest textual records of the Restoration. A prominent, yet almost entirely unexplored, component of Woodruff’s journals is his creating, implementing, and consistently drawing symbols and pictures alongside his near-daily autobiographical record. Within his fifteen-volume journal spanning more than a sixty-year period, Woodruff drew approximately nine thousand images. The first of these symbols appears in an entry dated March 23, 1837, and the final image is drawn on March 19, 1897. These images can be divided into two groups. The first are unique illustrations that appear erratically throughout the journals and seem to be a visual representation of a single event being described on a specific date. These account for approximately one thousand of the total drawings. The second group consists of eighteen symbols that Woodruff employs repeatedly in his record. These drawings, which I will refer to as self-tracking symbols, appear approximately eight thousand times, each within a predictable context throughout Woodruff’s journals.

Recommended Citation

Matson, Joshua M. (2024) "Decoding the Self-Tracking Symbols of Wilford Woodruff’s Journals," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 63: Iss. 1, Article 9.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol63/iss1/9