Phoebe Ann Patten

Phoebe Ann Babcock Patten Bentley (c. 1807 – January 15, 1841) was an early member and missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, as well as a caretaker during the 1838 Mormon War and wife of early church leader and apostle David W. Patten. It is not known how many children they had, but not one survived to adulthood.

Conversion and membership David W. Patten joined the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) in 1832 after hearing about it from his older brother, John Patten. After her husband's conversion, Ann joined the church the same year. In the years that followed, David was sent on several missions throughout the United States. During this time, Ann Patten supported herself by working as a seamstress and sharing housing with other members of the church in Ohio and Missouri.

Immediately after David's death all of the men in Far West were compelled to surrender their weapons and several members of a mob were looting houses in Far West, as a result of Missouri Executive Order 44. Vilate Kimball, a Mormon in Far West, said of Ann Patten's response to the mobs: "I can never forget her fearless and determined look. Around her waist was a belt to which was attached a large Bowie knife. She had a fire in her stove and a large iron kettle full of boiling water and a big tin dipper in her hand intending, she said, to fight if any of the demons came there. She did not seem in the least excited, her countenance was perfectly calm and she shed no tears."

Despite her illness, during this time Ann Patten took care of several members of the church, including several women whose husbands were imprisoned at the time.

Remarriage During this time of turmoil, Ann remarried Benjamin R. Bently soon after David W. Patten's death. Bently was a young non-Mormon carpenter who had been living with the Pattens at the time of David's death. Unable to work because she was seriously ill with consumption, Ann accepted when Bently proposed, even though the marriage was deemed inappropriate for the wife of an Apostle to marry a non-Mormon. Bently later joined the church.

Death Following the expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri, the couple moved to Quincy, Illinois, where they rented a two-bedroom home. However, Ann Patten Bently finally died of consumption on January 5, 1841, after having the disease for five years, at the age of 34.

After Ann's death, Benjamin Bently remarried Rhonda Ann Thompson in 1846.