Bathsheba W. Smith
| Bathsheba W. Smith | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 4th Relief Society General President | |
| November 10, 1901 – September 20, 1910 | |
| Called by | Lorenzo Snow |
| Predecessor | Zina D. H. Young |
| Successor | Emmeline B. Wells |
| Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency | |
| October 11, 1888 – November 10, 1901 | |
| Called by | Zina D. H. Young |
| Predecessor | Elizabeth Ann Whitney |
| Successor | Ida S. Dusenberry |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Bathsheba Wilson Bigler May 3, 1822 Shinnston, Virginia, United States |
| Died | September 20, 1910 (aged 88) Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
| Resting place |
Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′38″N 111°51′29″W / 40.7772°N 111.8580°W |
| Home town | Shinnston, West Virginia, United States |
| Spouse(s) | George A. Smith |
| Children | George Albert Smith Jr. Bathsheba Smith John Smith |
| Parents | Mark Bigler]] Susannah Ogden |
| Website | Bathsheba W |
Bathsheba Wilson Bigler Smith (May 3, 1822 – September 20, 1910) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement. She was the fourth general president of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), matron of the Salt Lake Temple, member of the Board of Directors of Deseret Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, and a leader in the western United States woman's suffrage movement.
Born near Shinnston, Harrison County, Virginia (now West Virginia), she was the daughter of Mark Bigler and Susanna Ogden. When she was young, Bathsheba traded names with a friend as a symbol of their friendship, which is where the "Wilson" part of Bathsheba's name comes from.
When Bathsheba was 15, she heard about the Mormon gospel from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She believed in the church's message, and she was baptized on August 21, 1837, alongside her family. Soon after the family's conversion, they desired to move to Missouri along with other members of the church.
These excerpts from her autobiography tell how her family moved from Virginia, first to Missouri, and then to Illinois:
My brother, Jacob G. Bigler, having gone to Far West, Missouri, joined the church there and bought a farm for my father, and then returned.
About this time my father sold his farm in West Virginia, and fitted out my mother, my brother and sister Sarah, Melissa and myself, and we started for Far West, Missouri, in company with my two brothers-in-law and my uncle and their families.
Father stayed to settle up his business intending to join us at Far West in the spring, bringing with him, by water, farming implements [and] house furniture.
Three nights after we had arrived at the farm which my brother had bought, and which was four miles south of the city of Far West, word came that a mob were gathering on Crooked River, and a call was made for men to go out...for the purpose of trying to stop...the mob, who were...destroying and burning property. Cap. David Patten's company went, and a battle ensued.
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