From the Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah:
Smith, Silas Sanford (son of Silas Smith, born Oct. 1, 1779, Derryfield, Hillsboro county, N.H. and Mary Aikens, born Aug 14, 1797, Barnard , VT—married March 4, 1828.) Born Oct 26,1830, Stockholm, St Lawrence county, N.Y. Came to Utah 1847, Perrigrine Sessions Company.
Married Clarinda Ricks July 9, 1851 (daughter of Joel Ricks and Eleanor Martin-married May 1, 1827, in Trigg county Ky., pioneers September, 1848, Heber C. Kimball company.) She was born on July 10, 1835, and came to Utah with parents. Their children: Silas Sanford, Jr. b. July 10, 1853, m. Betsy Williamson Nov 3, 1873; Jesse Joel b, Nov 4, 1857, m. Margaret A. Haskell April 6, 1884; Leonora A. b Oct. 22, 1859; Stephen Augustus b. Nov. 1, 1861, m. Elizabeth J Elledge Dec. 20, 1882; Ella C. b. March 9, 1864, m. Benjamin F. Boice Dec. 20, 1882.
Married Sarah Ann Ricks March 17, 1853 (daughter of Joel Ricks and Eleanor Martin), who was born Dec. 28, 1832, in Madison county Ill. Their children: John Aikens b. March 19, 1854, m. Emily J. Bennett June 1, 1877; Mary E. b. Sept 26, 1857, m. Edward M. Owens; Hortense, b .Oct 14, 1859, m. Aaron S. Hawkins March 28, 1885; Hyrum b. June 16, 1864.
Married Martha Eliza Bennett July 19, 1865 (daughter of Hirum B. Bennett and Martha Smith, pioneers 1851. She was born Jan 24, 1850, Kanesville, Iowa. Their children: Sarah Ann b. July 11, 1868; Martha E. b. March 17, 1870, m. Thales H. Haskell Oct 8, 1897; Curtis B. b .Oct 23, 1871 m. Ursula P. Harrison June 1, 1898.; Emma Jane b. April 4, 1876, m. Edwin C. Dibble June 15, 1900; GEORGE ESSEX SMITH, b. Sept. 24, 1878, m. MAY ROGERS Aug 1, 1901; Erastus Snow b. Aug. 18, 1881; Hirum A. b. Sept;. 15, 1883, m. Rebecca Hodson; Lucy Edith, b. Aug 12, 1886; Joseph F. b. April 7, 1889; C. Estella b. Aug 4, 1891; VerlieD. B. Oct 14, 1894. Families resided in Parowan and Paragonah, Utah.
Settled at Salt Lake City 1847; moved to gorver Creek 1849; to Parowan 1851; and to Paragonah 1857. Major in the Indian war 1853. Missionary to Sandwich islands 1854-1856. Bishop of Paragonah several years; ordained patriarch Aug 26, 1899. Member Utah legislature 20 years; US deputy Iron county. Led exploring expedition to southeastern Utah for the purpose of locations for settlements locating the site of Bluff City: and later lead a company of settlers into the San Juan Valley. President San Luis stake 1883-1892. Settled at Layton 1901. Died Oct 11, 1910 at Layton.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
More on Mary Aikens Smith
This history was in my father, Ralph M. Smith or M. Ralph Smith’s, records when he died. I am not sure who the author is but I found it interesting since I had just recently added her bio to the blog.
Mary Aikens Smith
My third great-grandmother Mary Aikens was born on the 13th of August 1791 in Vermont. She later moved to St. Lawrence New York to teach school. She became acquainted with and married a man by the name of Silas Smith. Silas’ first wife had passed away leaving him with four children to raise. Silas and Mary had three sons of their own. Mary also helped take care of Silas’ aging parents. In 1830 Joseph Smith Sr. came to visit his family and taught them the gospel. Silas was baptized by Hyrum in 1835, but Mary decided to wait until so knew for herself that the gospel was true.
In 1836 Silas, Mary, their children, and Silas’ mother, Mary Duty Smith, moved to Kirtland Ohio to join the Saints. On July 18, 1837 Mary was baptized in the church by Hyrum Smith.
On April 13, 1838 Silas, Mary, and part of their family set out to Missouri but before they reached Far West they were turned back because of ‘the exterminating order.” They spent the winter on the west bank of the Missouri river. Mary’s son John died at the age of six. In February the crossed the river to a community called Pittsfield Ill, before they could go on to Nauvoo Silas became very ill and died of pneumonia. Mary and her two sons lived with family and friends and Mary taught school to support her family.
When Brigham Young announced that the church was going to resettle in the Rocky Mountains Mary decided quickly that she and her sons would be among the Saints to move. She was discouraged by some family members because she was a widow and little to support herself. Many suggested she wait until later to move but Mary was very determined to go West. Mary and her sons, Silas Sanford and Jesse Nathaniel, worked hard to prepare themselves to go to Winter Quarters and on to the Rocky Mountains. In September of 1847 Mary Aikens Smith and her two sons entered the Salt Lake Valley as part of the “Big Company.” Mary was fifty years old when she arrived here. Mary and her sons spent the first winter with very little and the next spring helped to battle the crickets as they ate their crops.
Mary thought that she finally had a home, however, in 1815 Brigham Young asked Mary and her two sons to help build the new settlement of Parowan. Mary spent the next 27 years of her life there.
Mary could have chosen to stay with other family members in Nauvoo, or waited to stay until they had more money save before they came West. Despite all that she had sacrificed and lost Mary had gained her own very strong testimony of the gospel and knew that she wanted to be in “Zion” with the rest of the Saints. Her Grandson gave this tribute to her.
“Mary was a courageous woman of unusual faith and strength of character. She struggled heroically to rear her two boys, Silas and Jesse, to manhood…Through her teachings and her wonderful example she helped her sons acquire, early in life, a firm testimony of the truthfulness of Mormonism. To Mary Aikens Smith and her sons the gospel of Jesus Christ was always the thing of greatest importance in their lives.”
I am grateful for the good person and example that Mary Aikens Smith is for me. I hope that when I am faced with difficulty in my life that I can be as valiant as she was and Choose the Right. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Mary Aikens Smith
My third great-grandmother Mary Aikens was born on the 13th of August 1791 in Vermont. She later moved to St. Lawrence New York to teach school. She became acquainted with and married a man by the name of Silas Smith. Silas’ first wife had passed away leaving him with four children to raise. Silas and Mary had three sons of their own. Mary also helped take care of Silas’ aging parents. In 1830 Joseph Smith Sr. came to visit his family and taught them the gospel. Silas was baptized by Hyrum in 1835, but Mary decided to wait until so knew for herself that the gospel was true.
In 1836 Silas, Mary, their children, and Silas’ mother, Mary Duty Smith, moved to Kirtland Ohio to join the Saints. On July 18, 1837 Mary was baptized in the church by Hyrum Smith.
On April 13, 1838 Silas, Mary, and part of their family set out to Missouri but before they reached Far West they were turned back because of ‘the exterminating order.” They spent the winter on the west bank of the Missouri river. Mary’s son John died at the age of six. In February the crossed the river to a community called Pittsfield Ill, before they could go on to Nauvoo Silas became very ill and died of pneumonia. Mary and her two sons lived with family and friends and Mary taught school to support her family.
When Brigham Young announced that the church was going to resettle in the Rocky Mountains Mary decided quickly that she and her sons would be among the Saints to move. She was discouraged by some family members because she was a widow and little to support herself. Many suggested she wait until later to move but Mary was very determined to go West. Mary and her sons, Silas Sanford and Jesse Nathaniel, worked hard to prepare themselves to go to Winter Quarters and on to the Rocky Mountains. In September of 1847 Mary Aikens Smith and her two sons entered the Salt Lake Valley as part of the “Big Company.” Mary was fifty years old when she arrived here. Mary and her sons spent the first winter with very little and the next spring helped to battle the crickets as they ate their crops.
Mary thought that she finally had a home, however, in 1815 Brigham Young asked Mary and her two sons to help build the new settlement of Parowan. Mary spent the next 27 years of her life there.
Mary could have chosen to stay with other family members in Nauvoo, or waited to stay until they had more money save before they came West. Despite all that she had sacrificed and lost Mary had gained her own very strong testimony of the gospel and knew that she wanted to be in “Zion” with the rest of the Saints. Her Grandson gave this tribute to her.
“Mary was a courageous woman of unusual faith and strength of character. She struggled heroically to rear her two boys, Silas and Jesse, to manhood…Through her teachings and her wonderful example she helped her sons acquire, early in life, a firm testimony of the truthfulness of Mormonism. To Mary Aikens Smith and her sons the gospel of Jesus Christ was always the thing of greatest importance in their lives.”
I am grateful for the good person and example that Mary Aikens Smith is for me. I hope that when I am faced with difficulty in my life that I can be as valiant as she was and Choose the Right. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
July in Manassas
Dear Family Members: I hope that some one besides Lauri and I are reading this---anyway, while in Manassa for Pioneer Days in July, I attended the Enoch M. and Margret Jamima Reese Rogers reunion. It was well attended by representatives of all their children with the exception of Aunt Texy Rogers Weimer. While there a handout was presented by the reunion committee of some family histories and funeral remarks made by Winfred S. Haynie. He was married to Cloe Rogers Haynie, the daughter of G. Wayne and Berneice Jackson Rogers. They had been compiled by Donald L. Haynie from the personal files and notes of his father Winfred S. Haynie.
As I read through them, I found his remarks given at Grandpa George E. Smith's funeral, also a couple of writings by Madge about Grandma May Smith. I compiled the two articles written by Madge, and edited the dates that she had used about the George E. and May Smith family. I used existing dates from church records and family genealogy records when corrections were necessary.
With regard to Grandpa Smiths broken and crushed leg--I was only about 9 years old when Grandpa died, but well remember how his leg looked. I watched Grandma and Madge change the bandages sometimes twice a day on it. Several times it seemed you could see the silver plates holding his leg together. I know that his health from the effects of the broken leg and from having malaria that he contacted while serving his mission, was truly a heavy cross to bear. However, I remember he was always cheerful around me and always greeted me with a smile and a kiss and a hug. And it was expected that he received the same from all the family that visited him each time. I remember him sitting in his big high-backed overstuffed chair, with his foot on a stool. He was usually dressed in a long sleeve shirt with bib overalls. In the top pocket of the overalls was a pocket watch attached with a braided leather watch fob. He usually had some small change in his other pocket to give out to the grand kids 'to go to the store and buy some penny candy'.
When Grandpa died, I spent most of the evenings and nights with Grandma. We listened to the radio for entrainment. But mostly, we played marbles (on her braided rugs), and checkers, and some card games. There was always her famous homemade bread, served with cream and sugar, big sugar cookies, or fresh strawberries, or raspberries, or cooked rhubarb with cinnamon and sugar also served with cream. And her homemade beans, cooked slowly on that old wood burning stove are un-equaled in taste. It is fun to remember being at Grandpa and Grandma Smith's home.
As I read through them, I found his remarks given at Grandpa George E. Smith's funeral, also a couple of writings by Madge about Grandma May Smith. I compiled the two articles written by Madge, and edited the dates that she had used about the George E. and May Smith family. I used existing dates from church records and family genealogy records when corrections were necessary.
With regard to Grandpa Smiths broken and crushed leg--I was only about 9 years old when Grandpa died, but well remember how his leg looked. I watched Grandma and Madge change the bandages sometimes twice a day on it. Several times it seemed you could see the silver plates holding his leg together. I know that his health from the effects of the broken leg and from having malaria that he contacted while serving his mission, was truly a heavy cross to bear. However, I remember he was always cheerful around me and always greeted me with a smile and a kiss and a hug. And it was expected that he received the same from all the family that visited him each time. I remember him sitting in his big high-backed overstuffed chair, with his foot on a stool. He was usually dressed in a long sleeve shirt with bib overalls. In the top pocket of the overalls was a pocket watch attached with a braided leather watch fob. He usually had some small change in his other pocket to give out to the grand kids 'to go to the store and buy some penny candy'.
When Grandpa died, I spent most of the evenings and nights with Grandma. We listened to the radio for entrainment. But mostly, we played marbles (on her braided rugs), and checkers, and some card games. There was always her famous homemade bread, served with cream and sugar, big sugar cookies, or fresh strawberries, or raspberries, or cooked rhubarb with cinnamon and sugar also served with cream. And her homemade beans, cooked slowly on that old wood burning stove are un-equaled in taste. It is fun to remember being at Grandpa and Grandma Smith's home.
Remarks at Funeral of George Essex Smith
The following remarks were given by Winfred S. Haynie at the funeral of George Essex Smith, on May 28, 1949 in the Manassa Ward Chapel, Manassa, Colorado.
Again, we are face to face with the realities of eternal life. George Smith had been in failing health for some time. The lines in his face were a clear indication of his pain and suffering.
Last night, as he lay in state, he seemed to be at rest and peace. Each of us is one step nearer that same experience. In life, George was fortunate and blessed with the kindness and attention of loved ones who really cared for him.
George's life has already been reviewed for us here. Members of his father's family first came to Manassa in July, 1879, and camped on main street. They had come from Bluff, Utah, to Alamosa, Colorado, for supplies. In 1880, the older members of his father's family came to arrange for permanent settlement here and in 1882, George and the immediate Smith family came to settle, when George was only four years old. The family pioneered here in a bleak desert, where cold winds blew and the snow came early. Pioneer homes were not well-built, they were not insulated, and they were not heated by such means as coal, oil, or gas. Rather, the homes were built of green cottonwood logs, chinked with mud. When the logs shrunk, the chinking had to be done all over again. There were no electric lights, telephones or radios. The walls were not covered with wall paper, and the floors were not polished. There was no modern furniture and there were no automobiles, trucks or tractors, and (however) there were a few good horses. But the pioneers bowed and prayed and surely learned that they were children of God.
George grew up to be kind, considerate, mild-tempered and long-suffering. Some may have thought that George was not active in the Church. They did not know of his physical handicap and that he was always suffering. But, he did have a testimony and great faith. Anticipating his funeral, he had requested that there be very little eulogy; rather, he wanted us to discuss the principles in which he believed. He knew that there are no conversions at funeral services. He knew that faith comes slowly, that it grows and develops with righteous living and prayer, and by overcoming temptation and evil. Worthwhile things result from long and great effort.
When missionaries are set apart, they are instructed to leave the mysteries alone, and to preach and teach (the) first principles of the Gospel. This was George's belief. It was the patten he followed when on his mission to the Southern States from 1899 to 1900. George followed the pattern of John the Baptist who taught faith, repentance and baptism. George believed in absolute repentance if one is to be brought forth as the first fruits of the resurrection.
When I was his bishop, I called on George for Gospel sermons and he always responded, teaching the first principles with a fine knowledge of the scriptures and with the fervency of John the Baptist.
George bore a lifetime of suffering as his cross to bear. He contracted malaria on his mission in 1899-1900. When the ailment recurred after his marriage, he went to Idaho and Utah to regain his health. While breaking a bronco for a rancher (in Idaho), he was thrown and the horse fell on him breaking his leg. Two silver plates were used to heal his leg and, for eight years, he made many visits to hospitals for treatment. He never complained that the pain never left him. That was his cross.
Again, we are face to face with the realities of eternal life. George Smith had been in failing health for some time. The lines in his face were a clear indication of his pain and suffering.
Last night, as he lay in state, he seemed to be at rest and peace. Each of us is one step nearer that same experience. In life, George was fortunate and blessed with the kindness and attention of loved ones who really cared for him.
George's life has already been reviewed for us here. Members of his father's family first came to Manassa in July, 1879, and camped on main street. They had come from Bluff, Utah, to Alamosa, Colorado, for supplies. In 1880, the older members of his father's family came to arrange for permanent settlement here and in 1882, George and the immediate Smith family came to settle, when George was only four years old. The family pioneered here in a bleak desert, where cold winds blew and the snow came early. Pioneer homes were not well-built, they were not insulated, and they were not heated by such means as coal, oil, or gas. Rather, the homes were built of green cottonwood logs, chinked with mud. When the logs shrunk, the chinking had to be done all over again. There were no electric lights, telephones or radios. The walls were not covered with wall paper, and the floors were not polished. There was no modern furniture and there were no automobiles, trucks or tractors, and (however) there were a few good horses. But the pioneers bowed and prayed and surely learned that they were children of God.
George grew up to be kind, considerate, mild-tempered and long-suffering. Some may have thought that George was not active in the Church. They did not know of his physical handicap and that he was always suffering. But, he did have a testimony and great faith. Anticipating his funeral, he had requested that there be very little eulogy; rather, he wanted us to discuss the principles in which he believed. He knew that there are no conversions at funeral services. He knew that faith comes slowly, that it grows and develops with righteous living and prayer, and by overcoming temptation and evil. Worthwhile things result from long and great effort.
When missionaries are set apart, they are instructed to leave the mysteries alone, and to preach and teach (the) first principles of the Gospel. This was George's belief. It was the patten he followed when on his mission to the Southern States from 1899 to 1900. George followed the pattern of John the Baptist who taught faith, repentance and baptism. George believed in absolute repentance if one is to be brought forth as the first fruits of the resurrection.
When I was his bishop, I called on George for Gospel sermons and he always responded, teaching the first principles with a fine knowledge of the scriptures and with the fervency of John the Baptist.
George bore a lifetime of suffering as his cross to bear. He contracted malaria on his mission in 1899-1900. When the ailment recurred after his marriage, he went to Idaho and Utah to regain his health. While breaking a bronco for a rancher (in Idaho), he was thrown and the horse fell on him breaking his leg. Two silver plates were used to heal his leg and, for eight years, he made many visits to hospitals for treatment. He never complained that the pain never left him. That was his cross.
Into a cross maker's shop one day came a man who wearily took down his cross from his shoulder and set it on the floor. "And what can I do for you?" the cross maker asked him. "I want to exchange my burden," said the man. "This one is too heavy for me to carry. I stagger under the load." "Very well," replied the cross maker. "Take your pick of all these crosses and see which suits you best." So the man gladly set about trying them on. The first was very light -- for a moment or two -- but as he walked about, testing it, he concluded that it wouldn't do, for soon it became heavier than his old one. So he tried another, and another, and another, until at last he found one lighter than all the rest. "I can bear this one easily," he told the cross maker. "May I have it?" "Very well," the cross make answered, "but that is the one you brought in with you." George never complained and bore his cross proudly.
(The remarks above by Winfred S. Haynie were assembled from notes in his personal files by his son Donald L. Haynie.)
VISTO MAY ROGERS SMITH
(by Margaret Smith Chapman , June 1986)
Visto May Rogers was born to Enoch Milton and Margret Reese Rogers in Dealville, Alexander, North Carolina, August 27, 1880. May was fourteen when her mother passed away, leaving her husband, Enoch, with eight children. May became her father's right-hand helper in managing the affairs of the family. She always gave praise to neighboring sisters who taught her how to cook, mend clothes, and render lard and care for meat when her father butchered. She often mentioned Sisters Patterson and Grantham.
May became an excellent cook and proficient seamstress. While her fiance was on a mission, she worked as a seamstress for Fanny Beacroft, who operated a dress shop on the corner of Main Street in Manassa. (Where the Town Hall now stands.) Until her children were all grown, she made all of their clothes. Where ever she lived, she always hand made the temple burial clothes for the dead, until they could be purchased through the church.
May started dating George Essex Smith, in their teens, when they were teamed to braid the May-pole. She was outgoing by nature, loved people, loved socials, and above all else, loved to dance. May and George were married in Manassa, August 1, 1901, at the home of his parents, Silas Sanford Smith, and Martha Eliza Bennett Smith.
The following year, November 8, 1902 their first child, May Rhue was born. I 1903, they moved to Layton, Utah, where George, Jr, was born on August 5, 1904. In 1905, they moved to Moore, Idaho, where land was being let for homesteading. In the spring of 1906, George filed on a homestead in the fertile sagebrush valley of the Lost River. Another daughter, Margaret, was born on May 17, 1906. On January 16, 1908, a baby boy, Bennett was born. He lived only a few days, and is buried in the Moore cemetery. In February of 1911, May traveled back to Layton, where Sanford was born February 20, 1911, in the Kaysville hospital. Baby Martha was born on the Idaho homestead, on August 20, 1915. While the family was en route to the Uintah Basin, to again take up a new homestead, Martha died November 21, 1915. She is buried in the Kaysville, Utah cemetery. They youngest child of the family, Milton Ralph, was born October 26, 1918, in Roosevelt, Utah.
Visto May Rogers Smith, was a 'COULD DO ANYTHING PERSON.' She was well known for her sewing, rug making, and her beautiful,hand made quilts. She was also a very good cook. On wash days, we were sure to have beans and baked potatoes for dinner, we could count on it. (They were oh so good!!) She never used recipes, but her butter-milk biscuits would put the highly-regarded 'Kentucky Fried Chicken' ones to shame. But the one thing her family have always remembered was her home-made taffy candy. Sometimes it was made with a sugar base, sometimes plain honey or molasses. In any event, we all got into the 'pulling' act. Dad was always the best puller of all. In Idaho, the winter nights were very long, so Family Home evening was an almost every evening event for us. Our treat varied from taffy to buttered popcorn, or popcorn balls, or apples. Sometimes, it was cookies and milk, punch, or lemonade. Mom and Dad, played the harmonica and they entertained us with solos and duets. They also sang to us and read to us. In the summer months, when we could be outside, Mother often played marbles, hopscotch, jump rope, and other games.
We never bought a ball, yet we played ball a lot. But we had the best balls to throw, catch or bat that you can imagine. Mother made them for us. Each ball wore well, in spite of the hard use it got. She would carefully select a good cork that she had saved from the jugs and bottles of that day. (cork was used for lids) May would start winding yarn around the chosen cork. As she wound the yarn around the cork, she would stop and securely sew the yarn in place. By the time the ball was a little larger than a baseball, it would be as round, as tight, and as smooth as any baseball, and almost as hard. They wore well, but we wore out a great many of them.
Dad worked at odd jobs to provide for the family while improving on the homestead. He was breaking broncos for a neighboring rancher. When one of the horses was suddenly startled, it reared back and fell on Dad, crushing his leg from foot to knee. He was along time in the Blackfoot hospital. Mother would not hear to the doctor's verdict that the leg be amputated. He was finally released to a nurse's care, at her home in Arco. Arco was closer to the homestead, so we could visit him often.
When he was finally released to come home, Mother went to a sale and purchased a red velvet couch with a 'raised head'. (Dad still could not walk upon his leg.) It was placed by the kitchen window so he could visit with her and also see what was going on. A couple of days later, as we were walking home from school, we saw a heavy smoke curling upward. It looked like our house was on fire. We ran, but as we approached the house, we discovered Mother in the yard burning the beautiful red couch. She had drenched it with kerosene, and as it burned she was chopping away at it with an ax. Not until she calmed down did we learn the 'why'. Dad had started itching while lying on the 'red couch'. After examining Dad and the 'red couch', she discovered it was alive with bed bugs.
She moved Dad to a chair and by sheer strength of anger, dragged the 'red couch' outside and away from the house, where she completely destroyed it.
Through all the many moves May was required to make in the sojourn throughout Idaho, Utah, and Colorado, she never complained, but she never lost her homesickness for Manassa. The family returned to Manassa in November, 1921. Her son Sanford, died December 6, 1928, and her beloved husband George, died 27 May, 1949. May passed away in her home in Manassa, June 27, 1954. She is buried beside her husband and near her son Sanford, in the Old Manassa cemetery.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Mary Aikens Smith
Hi, this is Lauri again. I have some histories that I am going to add to this site. Where possible I will try to scan them on but this one I will just simply retype. It comes from the "Kinsman" a Jesse N. Smith Family Association. Dated August 1970. This was in some of the stuff that my dad (Ralph M. Smith or Milton Ralph Smith) had in his records that I inherited when my mother (Carol Rose Hiatt Smith) passed away. This is a history of Mary Aiken Smith who is the mother if Silas Sanford Smith, Jesse Nathaniel Smith and John Aikens Smith.
Mary Aikens Smith--Pioneer Mother
August 13, 1970 marked the 173rd anniversary of the birth of Mary Aikens Smith, mother of Jesse N. Smith (and Silas Sanford Smith and John Aikens Smith) and a noble pioneer, teacher, and community builder.
Mary was born in Barnard, Windsor County, Vermont--only a few miles from the birthplace of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet. Her parents, Nathaniel Aiken and Mary Tupper, were of sturdy New England stock with roots in England and Scotland. Her father served in the Revolutionary War under General George Washington.
After receiving her education in Vermont, Mary moved to the pioneer community of Stockholm, St. Lawerence Co., New York to teach school. There she met Silas Smith, a younger brother of Joseph Smith Sr., whose wife had died in 1826 leaving four children. On March 4, 1828, she was married to Silas (then 48), and to them were born three sons: Silas Sanford, Oct 26, 1830; John Aikens, July 6, 1832; and Jesse Nathaniel, Dec 2, 1834. In their home she also took card of her husband's aged parents, Asael and Mary Duty Smith. In the summer of 1830 the family was visited by Joseph Smith SR. who taught them the gospel, and Silas was baptized by his nephew Hyrum in the Summer of 1835.
The following spring Silas, Mary, along with Mary Duty Smith and others of the family, emigrated to join the Saints at Kirtland, Ohio. With then they took their three young boys and two sons of the first wife, Curtis and Stephen, but the latter soon returned to their former home. Silas' mother, aged 93, died on may 27 and was buried in a little plot near the Kirtland temple. On July 18, 1837 Mary Aikens Smith was baptized by Hyrum Smith.
During the next ten years this family suffered many privations for the gospel's sake. Because of opposition to the Mormons in Ohio, they set out on April 13, 1838 to follow the Prophet to Missouri. Before reaching far West, however, they were turned back the infamous "Exterminating Order" of Governor Lilburn Boggs, and spent a miserable winter on the west bank of the Mississippi River. There little John Aikens Smith died at the age of six. In February of 1839 Silas and other Mormon settlers crossed the river to Pittsfield, Illinois, but there Silas was taken ill and before he could take the family on to Nauvoo. Brother chandler rogers came to the relief of Mary and her two boys, taking them to Nauvoo where they first stayed with the family of Hyrum Smith, and later John Smith, youngest brother of Silas who became Patriarch to the Church after the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. these kinsfolk assisted Mary and her sons in their destitute circumstances, and made it possible for them to emigrate with the Saints to Winter Quarters in 1846 and to Utah in 1847.
Of this widowed mother the following was written by her grandson, Hyrum, as a footnote to the first chapter of the Journal of Jesse N. Smith (1953):
Mary was a courageous woman of unusual faith and strength of character. She struggled heroically to rear her two boys, Silas and Jesse, to manhood. She seemed to know intuitively that a great destiny awaited them. She taught them to read and write and gave them the incentive to continue to study and improve themselves throughout their lives. Through her teachings and her wonderful example she helped her sons to acquire, early in life, a firm testimony of the truthfulness of Mormonism. To Mary Aikens Smith and her sons the Gospel of Jesus Christ was always the thing of greatest importance in their lives.
"She and her boys came to Salt Lake Valley in 1847 (in Parley Pratt's Company). In 1851 they were called by Brigham Young to help build the new settlement of Parowan on the southern frontier. They answered the call and there Mary spent the remaining 26 years of her useful and eventful life."
"With pride and satisfaction she watched her sons become prominent figures in the civic and religious activities of the community. They served with distinction in many fields: both filled foreign missions, served in the territorial legislature, in military and exploring expeditions, and both became capable Stake Presidents in Colorado and Arizona."
"Mary felt rewarded for her years of struggle and sacrifice by having her sons become respected leaders in affairs of both and church and state. She helped them with their families; taught the older children the three 'R's' and gave them many valuable lessons on good habits and proper behavior which they always remembered."
Mary died in Parowan April 27, 1877 at the age of 79 years, eight months, and was buried in Parowan Cemetery. the following tribute is engraved on the bronze tablet affixed to the Jesse N. Smith memorial Home in Parowan: "Dedicated to the memory of Mary Aikens Smith and her sons, Jesse Nathaniel and Silas Sanford, and to the memory of all the pioneer settlers who founded Parowan in 1851."
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Silas Sanford Smith
I have recently been reading a book by Gerald N. Lund called "The Undaunted" after reading his series "The Work and the Glory" and loving them I was anxious to read this one. As I read the first series I tried to imagine my own ancestors and what they might have experienced during the same time period. This book, however, has one of our ancestors in the book Silas Sanford Smith. After hearing a negative story from a former ward member about Silas Sanford and his relationship to Brigham Young I found this to be much different than the man I was told about. I really enjoyed the book and getting a feel about what the "San Jaun Mission" really went through beyond the Hole in the Rock. Thanks to my Great Granfather Silas Sanford Smith and his faithfulness and strength of character. (I found this article today as I searched for more information about him, he is the father of George Essex Smith.)
Silas Sanford Smith
Born: October 26, 1830, in Stockhom, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: October 11, 1910, in Layton, Utah
Married: Clarinda Ricks, (July 9, 1851)
Married: Sarah Ann Ricks, (March 17, 1853)
Married: Martha Eliza Bennett, (July 19, 1865)
Father: Silas Smith
Mother: Mary Aikens
Childhood
Silas Sanford Smith was born October 26, 1830 in St. Lawrence County, New York. His father, Silas Smith, was an uncle to the Prophet Joseph Smith (being a younger brother to Joseph Smith, Sr.). He was baptized into the LDS Church in 1835 by his nephew, Hyrum, and remained faithful to it until his death. For the next twelve years, the Silas Smith family moved many times as a result of the persecutions suffered by the early Church. First was a move to Kirtland, Ohio, and two years later, a move to Missouri, from which they were driven by mobs in 1839. Silas Smith (Sr.) died at this time due to illness incurred during the family’s flight from Missouri. i Silas Sanford was nine-years-old at the time. He, his mother, and younger brother Jesse Nathaniel, eventually settled in Nauvoo, and were there at the time of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s martyrdom. In 1847 they crossed the plains in the Perregrine Sessions’ company and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in late September, 1847, a month before Silas Sanfords’ seventeenth birthday.
Marriage, Military, and Missionary Work
In 1848, Silas Sanford built a home on North Temple, but did not stay there long. The next year he built another home near Farmington, in Davis County, where he raised crops during the years of 1850-51. In July 1851, he married Clarinda Ricks, and a few months later was called by the Church to settled in Parowan, to which the young couple embarked willingly that fall. Together, Silas and Clarinda became the parents of five children.ii
In 1853, Silas Sanford Smith married a second wife, Sarah Ann Ricks, sister to Clarinda, with whom he had four children. At the time of this second marriage, Silas Sanford was serving in the military fighting in the Indian War of 1853. The next year, however, he was called on a mission to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). In order to afford the passage fare to the Islands, Silas worked for three months in San Francisco before departing. As a missionary he likewise worked hard and dedicated himself to learning the native language and preaching the gospel. He even served as a counselor in the mission presidency for a time before he returned home in 1856.
A Military and Civic Leader
Upon his return, Silas Sanford moved his family to Paragoonah, in Iron County, and became active again in military service. He gained the rank of major and was in charge of organizing and training local residents to defend their settlements. He learned to speak several Indian languages, and gained a reputation for being a fair-minded diplomat. Silas Sanford participated in the Black Hawk Indian War of 1860-1865, and was considered a wise military leader. In 1866, he led a group of seventy-six to establish a defensive fort – named Fort Sanford – in the area of Panguitch.iii
In 1859, at age twenty-eight, Silas Sanford Smith was elected to the Utah Territorial Legislature as a representative. He served in this capacity for almost twenty consecutive years, during which time he also held the offices of U.S. Deputy Marshal, selectman, and probate judge.iv In addition to these civic responsibilities, Silas Sanford served as a bishop in Paragoonah for several years.
Both of his wives – Clarinda and Sarah Ann – passed away within three months of each other, leaving Silas Sanford a widower with nine children. So in 1864 he married Martha Eliza Bennet – known as Eliza – who proved herself a capable step-mother to nine, and eventual mother of twelve children of her own.
President of the San Juan Mission
In 1879, Silas Sanford Smith was called to preside over the San Juan Mission in San Juan County, Utah. He had been praised by Elder Erastus Snow, one of the Twelve Apostles of the L.D.S. Church, in a letter to Church President John Taylor, as someone who would “make a discreet presiding officer to lead settlements on the San Juan.”v Likewise, Kumen Jones, a member of the Hole-in-the-Rock Expedition, wrote in later years of Silas S. Smith as a “prudent, wise, resourceful man, particularly well equipped by nature and experience for a leader in that undertaking.” Jones noted that Smith’s familiarity with Indian languages and peoples, experience in civic legislation, and understanding of L.D.S. Church organization and history made him “the right man for that difficult work.” vi
Under Smith’s leadership, an exploring party set out on April 14, 1879 to select a site suitable for settlement along the San Juan River. The group consisted of twenty-six men, two women, and eight children. They traveled almost 300 miles southward on rough but existing roads until reaching the settlement of Moenkopi, in present-day Arizona, where they rested for a week and prepared to travel in a north-easterly direction toward the San Juan River. This leg of their journey was much more difficult and dangerous due to rugged terrain, which lacked a good road, the deficiency of water in the region, and the presence of hostile and troublesome Indian tribes. Yet in spite of these trials, on June 2, 1879, the exploring party set up camp at Montezuma, and spent the next few months preparing the area for settlement. In August, most of the exploring party departed, under Smith’s leadership, and returned to Paragonah via the Old Spanish Trail, completing what had become near to a thousand-mile journey. However, they did not waste time getting organized for a return trip to the San Juan, as it was hoped the area could be reached again before winter set in.
The responsibility of how best to move the main body of settlers to Montezuma fell upon President Smith. His experience with the exploring party had created doubt as to the best route to take. The southern route through Moenkopi was dangerously dry, difficult, and filled with Indian unrest. Yet the northern trail was considered too long, as it almost doubled the mileage required to get there. In the end, Silas Sanford made the decision to attempt a “short-cut” across the virtually unexplored region southeast of Escalante, based on reports he had received from several men who had traversed part of the territory in question. It was this decision that eventually led the expedition to Hole-in-the-Rock, and the arduous journey that followed it.
President Smith arrived at Forty-mile Spring, south of Escalante, on November 24, 1879, and a few days later sent a group of twelve men to discover a way to cross the Colorado River. Winter snows deterred them from considering turning back to Escalante and abandoning the promise of a “short-cut.” The scouts reported back to President Smith of the possibility of descending through the Hole-in-the-Rock to the riverbed, and then ferrying the wagons across the Colorado. David E. Miller, noted historian of the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition, writes that Smith probably did not make the decision to press on through the Hole-in-the-Rock completely on his own. Rather, given his character and the sizable consequences such a decision would have upon the whole company, President Smith likely involved the “leading men of the company” in counseling him and praying with him in order to make the best decision for the group.vii
Ironically, however, Silas Sanford Smith was absent from the expedition for most of actual trek through Hole-in-the-Rock and the unknown wilderness beyond. Shortly after the task of blasting through the stone cliffs had begun, Smith departed for Salt Lake City to procure funds and supplies. His ties the Territorial Legislature helped him secure nearly 1,000 pounds of blasting powder needed to widen and shape the Hole-in-the-Rock, along with other supplies and funds. Platte D. Lyman, who had been formerly called as his assistant in August of that year, assumed leadership of the expedition in Smith’s absence, which was prolonged due to a case of pneumonia brought on by “fatigue and exposure.”viii On April 28, 1880, however, Silas Sanford Smith began his journey back to the San Juan. He did not settle in Bluff, but continued on to Montezuma in the hopes of finding good enough land to plant corn.ix He remained president of the San Juan Mission until he was released in 1882.
President of the San Luis Stake
A year after he was released from the San Juan Mission, Silas Sanford Smith was called to preside over the San Luis Stake in Conejos, Colorado. He served in this calling until 1892. During these years, his past experience in civic affairs served him well, as he spent much time and effort aiding the saints of Conejos County to receive legal titles to their lands. The county land surveyor had removed their lands from the private settlement sphere, and returned them to the public domain as mineral lands. The ensuing land dispute between the Mormon settlers and the land office, in combination with widespread prejudice against the Saints for their practice of polygamy, created an atmosphere of tension and frustration that Silas Sanford Smith sought to dispel. x
A Life Well-Lived
In 1900, Silas Sanford Smith moved his family to Layton, Utah, where he farmed and raised livestock until his passing, on October 11, 1910. Since then, he has been lauded by many for his exemplary life. He built thirty-five homes during his eighty-year life span, fathered twenty-one children, served faithfully in civic and religious offices, and exemplified the qualities of a true leader.
Researched and written for the Hole-in-the-Rock Foundation by:
C.S. M. Jones LLC, Family Heritage Consulting.
i George A. Smith, “A Discourse by Elder George A. Smith, Joseph Smith’s Family – Details of George A. Smith’s Own Experience, Etc., Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, August 2, 1857.” Journal of Discourses, Vol. 5 available full-text at http://relarchive.byu.edu/MPNC/
ii “Silas Sanford Smith,” Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah(Salt Lake City, Utah: Western Epics, 1966)Vol. 2, 1170.
iii Lamont Crabtree, “Silas S. Smith – Mission President and Expedition Leader,” The Incredible Mission, Crabtree, c. 1980, 157.
iv Andrew Jenson, ed., “Silas Sanford Smith,” Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City, Utah: Western Epics, 1971),vol. 1: 802.
v Erastus Snow to John Taylor, letter dated December 29, 1878, quoted in David E. Miller, Hole in the Rock: An Epic in the Colonization of the Great American West (Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press), 13-14.
vi Kumen Jones, The Writings of Kumen Jones, (n.d.),2, 26.
vii David E. Miller,66.
viii Silas Sanford Smith, Diary, 1879-1880, 5.
ix Ibid., 5, 8.
x Jenson, 802.
Silas Sanford Smith
Born: October 26, 1830, in Stockhom, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: October 11, 1910, in Layton, Utah
Married: Clarinda Ricks, (July 9, 1851)
Married: Sarah Ann Ricks, (March 17, 1853)
Married: Martha Eliza Bennett, (July 19, 1865)
Father: Silas Smith
Mother: Mary Aikens
Childhood
Silas Sanford Smith was born October 26, 1830 in St. Lawrence County, New York. His father, Silas Smith, was an uncle to the Prophet Joseph Smith (being a younger brother to Joseph Smith, Sr.). He was baptized into the LDS Church in 1835 by his nephew, Hyrum, and remained faithful to it until his death. For the next twelve years, the Silas Smith family moved many times as a result of the persecutions suffered by the early Church. First was a move to Kirtland, Ohio, and two years later, a move to Missouri, from which they were driven by mobs in 1839. Silas Smith (Sr.) died at this time due to illness incurred during the family’s flight from Missouri. i Silas Sanford was nine-years-old at the time. He, his mother, and younger brother Jesse Nathaniel, eventually settled in Nauvoo, and were there at the time of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s martyrdom. In 1847 they crossed the plains in the Perregrine Sessions’ company and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in late September, 1847, a month before Silas Sanfords’ seventeenth birthday.
Marriage, Military, and Missionary Work
In 1848, Silas Sanford built a home on North Temple, but did not stay there long. The next year he built another home near Farmington, in Davis County, where he raised crops during the years of 1850-51. In July 1851, he married Clarinda Ricks, and a few months later was called by the Church to settled in Parowan, to which the young couple embarked willingly that fall. Together, Silas and Clarinda became the parents of five children.ii
In 1853, Silas Sanford Smith married a second wife, Sarah Ann Ricks, sister to Clarinda, with whom he had four children. At the time of this second marriage, Silas Sanford was serving in the military fighting in the Indian War of 1853. The next year, however, he was called on a mission to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). In order to afford the passage fare to the Islands, Silas worked for three months in San Francisco before departing. As a missionary he likewise worked hard and dedicated himself to learning the native language and preaching the gospel. He even served as a counselor in the mission presidency for a time before he returned home in 1856.
A Military and Civic Leader
Upon his return, Silas Sanford moved his family to Paragoonah, in Iron County, and became active again in military service. He gained the rank of major and was in charge of organizing and training local residents to defend their settlements. He learned to speak several Indian languages, and gained a reputation for being a fair-minded diplomat. Silas Sanford participated in the Black Hawk Indian War of 1860-1865, and was considered a wise military leader. In 1866, he led a group of seventy-six to establish a defensive fort – named Fort Sanford – in the area of Panguitch.iii
In 1859, at age twenty-eight, Silas Sanford Smith was elected to the Utah Territorial Legislature as a representative. He served in this capacity for almost twenty consecutive years, during which time he also held the offices of U.S. Deputy Marshal, selectman, and probate judge.iv In addition to these civic responsibilities, Silas Sanford served as a bishop in Paragoonah for several years.
Both of his wives – Clarinda and Sarah Ann – passed away within three months of each other, leaving Silas Sanford a widower with nine children. So in 1864 he married Martha Eliza Bennet – known as Eliza – who proved herself a capable step-mother to nine, and eventual mother of twelve children of her own.
President of the San Juan Mission
In 1879, Silas Sanford Smith was called to preside over the San Juan Mission in San Juan County, Utah. He had been praised by Elder Erastus Snow, one of the Twelve Apostles of the L.D.S. Church, in a letter to Church President John Taylor, as someone who would “make a discreet presiding officer to lead settlements on the San Juan.”v Likewise, Kumen Jones, a member of the Hole-in-the-Rock Expedition, wrote in later years of Silas S. Smith as a “prudent, wise, resourceful man, particularly well equipped by nature and experience for a leader in that undertaking.” Jones noted that Smith’s familiarity with Indian languages and peoples, experience in civic legislation, and understanding of L.D.S. Church organization and history made him “the right man for that difficult work.” vi
Under Smith’s leadership, an exploring party set out on April 14, 1879 to select a site suitable for settlement along the San Juan River. The group consisted of twenty-six men, two women, and eight children. They traveled almost 300 miles southward on rough but existing roads until reaching the settlement of Moenkopi, in present-day Arizona, where they rested for a week and prepared to travel in a north-easterly direction toward the San Juan River. This leg of their journey was much more difficult and dangerous due to rugged terrain, which lacked a good road, the deficiency of water in the region, and the presence of hostile and troublesome Indian tribes. Yet in spite of these trials, on June 2, 1879, the exploring party set up camp at Montezuma, and spent the next few months preparing the area for settlement. In August, most of the exploring party departed, under Smith’s leadership, and returned to Paragonah via the Old Spanish Trail, completing what had become near to a thousand-mile journey. However, they did not waste time getting organized for a return trip to the San Juan, as it was hoped the area could be reached again before winter set in.
The responsibility of how best to move the main body of settlers to Montezuma fell upon President Smith. His experience with the exploring party had created doubt as to the best route to take. The southern route through Moenkopi was dangerously dry, difficult, and filled with Indian unrest. Yet the northern trail was considered too long, as it almost doubled the mileage required to get there. In the end, Silas Sanford made the decision to attempt a “short-cut” across the virtually unexplored region southeast of Escalante, based on reports he had received from several men who had traversed part of the territory in question. It was this decision that eventually led the expedition to Hole-in-the-Rock, and the arduous journey that followed it.
President Smith arrived at Forty-mile Spring, south of Escalante, on November 24, 1879, and a few days later sent a group of twelve men to discover a way to cross the Colorado River. Winter snows deterred them from considering turning back to Escalante and abandoning the promise of a “short-cut.” The scouts reported back to President Smith of the possibility of descending through the Hole-in-the-Rock to the riverbed, and then ferrying the wagons across the Colorado. David E. Miller, noted historian of the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition, writes that Smith probably did not make the decision to press on through the Hole-in-the-Rock completely on his own. Rather, given his character and the sizable consequences such a decision would have upon the whole company, President Smith likely involved the “leading men of the company” in counseling him and praying with him in order to make the best decision for the group.vii
Ironically, however, Silas Sanford Smith was absent from the expedition for most of actual trek through Hole-in-the-Rock and the unknown wilderness beyond. Shortly after the task of blasting through the stone cliffs had begun, Smith departed for Salt Lake City to procure funds and supplies. His ties the Territorial Legislature helped him secure nearly 1,000 pounds of blasting powder needed to widen and shape the Hole-in-the-Rock, along with other supplies and funds. Platte D. Lyman, who had been formerly called as his assistant in August of that year, assumed leadership of the expedition in Smith’s absence, which was prolonged due to a case of pneumonia brought on by “fatigue and exposure.”viii On April 28, 1880, however, Silas Sanford Smith began his journey back to the San Juan. He did not settle in Bluff, but continued on to Montezuma in the hopes of finding good enough land to plant corn.ix He remained president of the San Juan Mission until he was released in 1882.
President of the San Luis Stake
A year after he was released from the San Juan Mission, Silas Sanford Smith was called to preside over the San Luis Stake in Conejos, Colorado. He served in this calling until 1892. During these years, his past experience in civic affairs served him well, as he spent much time and effort aiding the saints of Conejos County to receive legal titles to their lands. The county land surveyor had removed their lands from the private settlement sphere, and returned them to the public domain as mineral lands. The ensuing land dispute between the Mormon settlers and the land office, in combination with widespread prejudice against the Saints for their practice of polygamy, created an atmosphere of tension and frustration that Silas Sanford Smith sought to dispel. x
A Life Well-Lived
In 1900, Silas Sanford Smith moved his family to Layton, Utah, where he farmed and raised livestock until his passing, on October 11, 1910. Since then, he has been lauded by many for his exemplary life. He built thirty-five homes during his eighty-year life span, fathered twenty-one children, served faithfully in civic and religious offices, and exemplified the qualities of a true leader.
Researched and written for the Hole-in-the-Rock Foundation by:
C.S. M. Jones LLC, Family Heritage Consulting.
i George A. Smith, “A Discourse by Elder George A. Smith, Joseph Smith’s Family – Details of George A. Smith’s Own Experience, Etc., Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, August 2, 1857.” Journal of Discourses, Vol. 5 available full-text at http://relarchive.byu.edu/MPNC/
ii “Silas Sanford Smith,” Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah(Salt Lake City, Utah: Western Epics, 1966)Vol. 2, 1170.
iii Lamont Crabtree, “Silas S. Smith – Mission President and Expedition Leader,” The Incredible Mission, Crabtree, c. 1980, 157.
iv Andrew Jenson, ed., “Silas Sanford Smith,” Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City, Utah: Western Epics, 1971),vol. 1: 802.
v Erastus Snow to John Taylor, letter dated December 29, 1878, quoted in David E. Miller, Hole in the Rock: An Epic in the Colonization of the Great American West (Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press), 13-14.
vi Kumen Jones, The Writings of Kumen Jones, (n.d.),2, 26.
vii David E. Miller,66.
viii Silas Sanford Smith, Diary, 1879-1880, 5.
ix Ibid., 5, 8.
x Jenson, 802.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
George Essex Smith Family Pictures
George E. Smith Jr., George E. Smith Sr., Ralph M. Smith, Curtis S. Smith, George Carlyle Smith
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
2010 First News
While this is not how I planned on starting this family blog it was unfortunately the first news of this year. My sympathy to Carlyle, Marilyn Kaye, Pam, and Tammy at this time.
Barbara Bertha Smith, 81 Posted: Friday, Jan 1st, 2010
FOX CREEK—Longtime Fox Creek resident Barbara Bertha Smith, 81, died January 1, 2010 at her home in Fox Creek under hospice care.Barbara was born March 24, 1928 in Romeo, Colorado the daughter of Wheeler and Bertha Mae Edwards Hicks. She married her husband of 64 years, George Carlyle “Smitty” Smith on December 3, 1946 and their marriage was sealed for all time and eternity in the Mesa Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on May 10, 1968.Barbara owned and operated the Conejos Canyon Inn for many years with her husband. She was very active in the church and fulfilled many callings throughout the years. Her hobbies were painting, interior decorating, socializing, and playing cards. Barbara was known to be very meticulous and had a knack for accessorizing so everything would match.She is survived by her husband Carlyle of the family home; her children: Marilyn Kaye (Freddy, Jr.) Winters of Romeo, Pamela Kaye (Tom) Stewart of Sanford, and Tammy Sue (Wayne “Butch”, Jr.) Crowther of Sanford; as well as seven grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.Her parents, her sister Gloria Lorraine Baker, and her brother Harold Hicks all preceded her in death.A visitation will be held from 6-8 p.m. Monday, January 4, 2010 at the Rogers Family Mortuary in Manassa, and from 12-12:45 p.m. Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at the Fox Creek Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A Funeral Service will be held 1 p.m. Tuesday, January 5 at the Fox Creek Branch LDS Church. Interment will follow services in the Fox Creek Cemetery. Contributions are suggested to Hospice del Valle and may be made through the funeral home office.Rogers Family Mortuary of Manassa is in care of the arrangements.
ABOUT THIS BLOG: Hi this is Laurianne Smith Stevenson, youngest daughter of Ralph and Carol Smith, and I decided to create this blog because Mom left boxes of pictures that I still have to go through and so I thought that I would scan and share them with family members who may be interested. I am also doing this for her family so it may take me awhile. If you would like to submit stories or pictures let me know and I will add you to the author list.
Barbara Bertha Smith, 81 Posted: Friday, Jan 1st, 2010
FOX CREEK—Longtime Fox Creek resident Barbara Bertha Smith, 81, died January 1, 2010 at her home in Fox Creek under hospice care.Barbara was born March 24, 1928 in Romeo, Colorado the daughter of Wheeler and Bertha Mae Edwards Hicks. She married her husband of 64 years, George Carlyle “Smitty” Smith on December 3, 1946 and their marriage was sealed for all time and eternity in the Mesa Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on May 10, 1968.Barbara owned and operated the Conejos Canyon Inn for many years with her husband. She was very active in the church and fulfilled many callings throughout the years. Her hobbies were painting, interior decorating, socializing, and playing cards. Barbara was known to be very meticulous and had a knack for accessorizing so everything would match.She is survived by her husband Carlyle of the family home; her children: Marilyn Kaye (Freddy, Jr.) Winters of Romeo, Pamela Kaye (Tom) Stewart of Sanford, and Tammy Sue (Wayne “Butch”, Jr.) Crowther of Sanford; as well as seven grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.Her parents, her sister Gloria Lorraine Baker, and her brother Harold Hicks all preceded her in death.A visitation will be held from 6-8 p.m. Monday, January 4, 2010 at the Rogers Family Mortuary in Manassa, and from 12-12:45 p.m. Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at the Fox Creek Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A Funeral Service will be held 1 p.m. Tuesday, January 5 at the Fox Creek Branch LDS Church. Interment will follow services in the Fox Creek Cemetery. Contributions are suggested to Hospice del Valle and may be made through the funeral home office.Rogers Family Mortuary of Manassa is in care of the arrangements.
ABOUT THIS BLOG: Hi this is Laurianne Smith Stevenson, youngest daughter of Ralph and Carol Smith, and I decided to create this blog because Mom left boxes of pictures that I still have to go through and so I thought that I would scan and share them with family members who may be interested. I am also doing this for her family so it may take me awhile. If you would like to submit stories or pictures let me know and I will add you to the author list.
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