Daughter of John Fletcher Smith and Hannah Ann Dubois
Stepdaughter of Philo Dibble
Married Philemon Christopher Merrill, 5 Apr 1851, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, Children - John Smith Merrill, Jedediah Grant Merrill, Hannah Ann Merrill, Cyrena Imogean Merrill, David Elmer Merrill, Joseph Lot Merrill, Henry Morgan Merrill, Peter Herbert Merrill.
History. Mary Jane Smith was born on July 27, 1833, in Jacksonville, Illinois. Not much is known of her childhood. An early Rhoads Scholar, she passed her love for books to her children. She lived for a time in the Mansion House with her mother, who later married Philo Dibble. She came to Utah probably between 1847/50 with a wagon train, because at age seventeen, she married Philemon Christopher Merrill as a plural wife 5 Apr 1851. Her first child was born in Salt Lake City.
The Merrill's moved to Farmington, Davis County, where two more children joined their family. They next moved to Morgan, where Philemon helped build the railroad. There, Mary Jane's last five children were born.
In 1869, the Merrill's were on the move to settle Idaho. On this journey, according to the journal of Cyrena, Philemon's first wife, Mary Jane's life ended. She wrote of the move to Liberty, Bear Lake, Idaho in July, 1869. "This was a hard trip for all of us, though it was only a hundred miles. Mary Jane's baby Herbert was only six weeks old, and Mary Jane was not strong." She continues, "I took little Lot in my wagon. He was just recovering from Typhoid Fever and was peevish and fretful, and I could do more with him than anyone else." He would have been four years old, having been born 1865. "We felt worn out when we reached our destination. We had lived here only two years when, on June 2, 1871 Mary Jane died, leaving seven children, who now looked to me for a mother's care, the oldest being eighteen and the youngest only two years old." She finishes simply, "I prayerfully undertook this charge."
Only one photograph of Mary Jane survived. In it, she has a sober expression. Hers was a brief, hard, exciting life. She passed away at age thirty-seven, apparently buried "At the mouth of Emmigration Canyon, on the way to Liberty in an unmarked grave." Other records indicate she passed away near Liberty, Bear Lake, Idaho.
Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude, Vol. III M to R; Daughters of Utah Pioneers; 1998; Page 1986 She died on June 2, 1871, in Liberty, Idaho, at the age of 37, and was buried there.
Stepdaughter of Philo Dibble
Married Philemon Christopher Merrill, 5 Apr 1851, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, Children - John Smith Merrill, Jedediah Grant Merrill, Hannah Ann Merrill, Cyrena Imogean Merrill, David Elmer Merrill, Joseph Lot Merrill, Henry Morgan Merrill, Peter Herbert Merrill.
History. Mary Jane Smith was born on July 27, 1833, in Jacksonville, Illinois. Not much is known of her childhood. An early Rhoads Scholar, she passed her love for books to her children. She lived for a time in the Mansion House with her mother, who later married Philo Dibble. She came to Utah probably between 1847/50 with a wagon train, because at age seventeen, she married Philemon Christopher Merrill as a plural wife 5 Apr 1851. Her first child was born in Salt Lake City.
The Merrill's moved to Farmington, Davis County, where two more children joined their family. They next moved to Morgan, where Philemon helped build the railroad. There, Mary Jane's last five children were born.
In 1869, the Merrill's were on the move to settle Idaho. On this journey, according to the journal of Cyrena, Philemon's first wife, Mary Jane's life ended. She wrote of the move to Liberty, Bear Lake, Idaho in July, 1869. "This was a hard trip for all of us, though it was only a hundred miles. Mary Jane's baby Herbert was only six weeks old, and Mary Jane was not strong." She continues, "I took little Lot in my wagon. He was just recovering from Typhoid Fever and was peevish and fretful, and I could do more with him than anyone else." He would have been four years old, having been born 1865. "We felt worn out when we reached our destination. We had lived here only two years when, on June 2, 1871 Mary Jane died, leaving seven children, who now looked to me for a mother's care, the oldest being eighteen and the youngest only two years old." She finishes simply, "I prayerfully undertook this charge."
Only one photograph of Mary Jane survived. In it, she has a sober expression. Hers was a brief, hard, exciting life. She passed away at age thirty-seven, apparently buried "At the mouth of Emmigration Canyon, on the way to Liberty in an unmarked grave." Other records indicate she passed away near Liberty, Bear Lake, Idaho.
Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude, Vol. III M to R; Daughters of Utah Pioneers; 1998; Page 1986 She died on June 2, 1871, in Liberty, Idaho, at the age of 37, and was buried there.
Daughter of John Fletcher Smith and Hannah Ann Dubois
Stepdaughter of Philo Dibble
Married Philemon Christopher Merrill, 5 Apr 1851, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, Children - John Smith Merrill, Jedediah Grant Merrill, Hannah Ann Merrill, Cyrena Imogean Merrill, David Elmer Merrill, Joseph Lot Merrill, Henry Morgan Merrill, Peter Herbert Merrill.
History. Mary Jane Smith was born on July 27, 1833, in Jacksonville, Illinois. Not much is known of her childhood. An early Rhoads Scholar, she passed her love for books to her children. She lived for a time in the Mansion House with her mother, who later married Philo Dibble. She came to Utah probably between 1847/50 with a wagon train, because at age seventeen, she married Philemon Christopher Merrill as a plural wife 5 Apr 1851. Her first child was born in Salt Lake City.
The Merrill's moved to Farmington, Davis County, where two more children joined their family. They next moved to Morgan, where Philemon helped build the railroad. There, Mary Jane's last five children were born.
In 1869, the Merrill's were on the move to settle Idaho. On this journey, according to the journal of Cyrena, Philemon's first wife, Mary Jane's life ended. She wrote of the move to Liberty, Bear Lake, Idaho in July, 1869. "This was a hard trip for all of us, though it was only a hundred miles. Mary Jane's baby Herbert was only six weeks old, and Mary Jane was not strong." She continues, "I took little Lot in my wagon. He was just recovering from Typhoid Fever and was peevish and fretful, and I could do more with him than anyone else." He would have been four years old, having been born 1865. "We felt worn out when we reached our destination. We had lived here only two years when, on June 2, 1871 Mary Jane died, leaving seven children, who now looked to me for a mother's care, the oldest being eighteen and the youngest only two years old." She finishes simply, "I prayerfully undertook this charge."
Only one photograph of Mary Jane survived. In it, she has a sober expression. Hers was a brief, hard, exciting life. She passed away at age thirty-seven, apparently buried "At the mouth of Emmigration Canyon, on the way to Liberty in an unmarked grave." Other records indicate she passed away near Liberty, Bear Lake, Idaho.
Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude, Vol. III M to R; Daughters of Utah Pioneers; 1998; Page 1986 She died on June 2, 1871, in Liberty, Idaho, at the age of 37, and was buried there.
Stepdaughter of Philo Dibble
Married Philemon Christopher Merrill, 5 Apr 1851, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, Children - John Smith Merrill, Jedediah Grant Merrill, Hannah Ann Merrill, Cyrena Imogean Merrill, David Elmer Merrill, Joseph Lot Merrill, Henry Morgan Merrill, Peter Herbert Merrill.
History. Mary Jane Smith was born on July 27, 1833, in Jacksonville, Illinois. Not much is known of her childhood. An early Rhoads Scholar, she passed her love for books to her children. She lived for a time in the Mansion House with her mother, who later married Philo Dibble. She came to Utah probably between 1847/50 with a wagon train, because at age seventeen, she married Philemon Christopher Merrill as a plural wife 5 Apr 1851. Her first child was born in Salt Lake City.
The Merrill's moved to Farmington, Davis County, where two more children joined their family. They next moved to Morgan, where Philemon helped build the railroad. There, Mary Jane's last five children were born.
In 1869, the Merrill's were on the move to settle Idaho. On this journey, according to the journal of Cyrena, Philemon's first wife, Mary Jane's life ended. She wrote of the move to Liberty, Bear Lake, Idaho in July, 1869. "This was a hard trip for all of us, though it was only a hundred miles. Mary Jane's baby Herbert was only six weeks old, and Mary Jane was not strong." She continues, "I took little Lot in my wagon. He was just recovering from Typhoid Fever and was peevish and fretful, and I could do more with him than anyone else." He would have been four years old, having been born 1865. "We felt worn out when we reached our destination. We had lived here only two years when, on June 2, 1871 Mary Jane died, leaving seven children, who now looked to me for a mother's care, the oldest being eighteen and the youngest only two years old." She finishes simply, "I prayerfully undertook this charge."
Only one photograph of Mary Jane survived. In it, she has a sober expression. Hers was a brief, hard, exciting life. She passed away at age thirty-seven, apparently buried "At the mouth of Emmigration Canyon, on the way to Liberty in an unmarked grave." Other records indicate she passed away near Liberty, Bear Lake, Idaho.
Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude, Vol. III M to R; Daughters of Utah Pioneers; 1998; Page 1986 She died on June 2, 1871, in Liberty, Idaho, at the age of 37, and was buried there.
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