Almira Emily Smoot

Almira Emily Hill, daughter of Jehu Hill and Martha (or Patsy) Carlin, was born 25 November 1815 Pendleton County, South Carolina. When Emily was four years of age, her parents moved to Tennessee, Traveling on horses, carrying what they required for food and bedding. They settled on a river, in White County, Tennessee, and resided there for about eight years. They spent one summer in Christian County, Kentucky before moving to Illinois. They reached their destination in the fall and homesteaded land in Macoupin County, Illinois.

Emily Hill married Zachariah Harris in 1834 when she was eighteen years of age. She and her husband moved to Hillsboro, Montgomery County, Illinois where they lived for a few months before she was called to her dying mother's bedside; however, her mother died before she arrived. Zachariah and Emily stayed there to care for her brothers and sisters. While living there, their first child was born. Soon after this, her father's family scattered among relatives.

Zachariah and Emily then moved to Morgan County where he became successful in the harness and grocery business. Here their other children were born. They had four children; but only the oldest daughter, Artemissa, and their son, William Jasper Harris, survived. The two youngest children died in 1840 and 1841. Between the deaths of these children, Zachariah suddenly died of consumption, having eaten his breakfast a few hours before with his family. Emily was left a widow with three children, but the youngest daughter survived only a few weeks. Emily took her two surviving children to live with her oldest sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, Charles Chrisman, at Macedonia, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, thirty miles from Nauvoo, Illinois. She helped support her children by weaving.

This is where she first heard the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints preach the gospel. Two of her sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, joined the church earlier. Emily had joined the Campbellites and was strong in that faith, so resisted the Elders' teachings. Later, she attended an LDS Conference in Nauvoo where she heard the prophet, Joseph Smith, preach a powerful sermon, and afterwards she never doubted. She was baptized by Andrew Perkins in the winter of 1842. Two feet of ice had to be broken in the river for her baptism.

The week the prophet was killed, she was visiting with the Perkins family, who lived on the main road to Nauvoo. She then went to visit her husband's family where she remained for a year. She bore her testimony to them, trying to persuade them to believe as she did, and go with her to the Rocky Mountains. They were all strong Campbellites and opposed her bitterly.

She returned to her sister to make preparations to go west with the Saints. She married Abraham Owen Smoot at Nauvoo, 16 January 1846, and came to Utah in 1847. They settled in the Sugar House area of Salt Lake City.

Marriages and Children

Almira Emily Hill (25 November 1816 Pendleton County, South Carolina - 20 March 1882 Utah County, Utah Territory) married:

1. Zachariah Harris
   1. Artemissa Harris Smoot (3 January 1835 Carrolton, Illinois - 3 June 1885)
   2. William Jasper Harris Smoot (25 October 1836 Illinois)
   3. Mary Elizabeth Harris (c.1837 in Illinois - c.1839 Illinois)
   4. Martha Jane Harris (c.1838 Illinois - c.1840)
2. Abraham Owen Smoot on 20 January 1846 Hancock, Illinois. Their children were:
   1. Abraham Albert Smoot (23 November 1847 in Utah Territory - 23 June 1863 Utah Territory)
   2. Emily Anne Smoot (born 3 August 1851 Salt Lake City, Utah Territory)
   3. Margaret Thompson Smoot (27 August 1854 Salt Lake City, Utah Territory - 21 April 1932)
   4. Zina Beal Smoot (20 February 1859 Salt Lake City, Utah Territory - 20 May 1900)

Sources and Further Reading

• Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868. Harris, Emily Hill; Birth Date: 25 Nov. 1815; Death Date: 20 Mar. 1882; Gender: Female; Age: 31; Company: Abraham O. Smoot - George B. Wallace Company (1847).
• Biographical summary compiled by Tina Maxfield Larsen Birrell, daughter of William Albert Maxfield, and granddaughter of Artemissa Ann Harris and Richard D. Maxfield.
• Berlin, C. Elliott. Abraham Owen Smoot, Pioneer Mormon Leader. Salt Lake City: BYU, Religion Division, 1955. Print.
• Nixon, Loretta Dalbey, and L. Douglas Smoot. Abraham Owen Smoot: A Testament of His Life. Provo, UT: A.O.Smoot Family Organization, 1994. Print.
• Ancestry.com. Seventy Quorum Membership, 1835–1846 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Black, Harvey B. Seventy Quorum Membership, 1835–1846: An Annotated Index of Over 3,500 Seventies Organized into the First Thirty-Five Quorums of the Seventy in Kirtland, Ohio, and Nauvoo, Illinois. Provo, Utah: Infobases, Inc., 1996. Private Donor. Name: Abraham Owen Smoot; Birth Date: 1816; Birth Place: Kentucky; Death Date: 1895; Death Place: Utah; Father: George Washington Smoot; Mother: Ann Rowlett; Wives: Eldredge, Dianna Tanner (13); Gibbons, Sarah; Harris, Emily Hill; McMeans, Margaret Thompson (1); Morrison, Annie Kirstine (7); Rogers, Elizabeth; Ordination: 1836; Nauvoo Data: Endowed Nauvoo Temple 12/18/45 (High Priest); Kirtland OH; Missions South SC TN KY, England; Post-Nauvoo Data: Banks, Mills; Farmer; Mayor Provo; President Provo UT Stake; Sources: M40:430; N556.
• Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Source number: 2024.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: CM1. Name: Abraham Owen Smoot; Gender: Male; Birth Place: KY; Birth Year: 1815; Spouse Name: Emily Hill; Spouse Birth Place: SC; Spouse Birth Year: 1816; Marriage Year: 1846; Number Pages: 1.
• 1860 United States Federal Census. Name: Emily Smoot; Age in 1860: 44; Birth Year: abt 1816; Birthplace: South Carolina; Home in 1860: Great Salt Lake City Ward 20, Great Salt Lake, Utah Territory; Gender: Female; Post Office: Great Salt Lake City; Household Members: A O Smoot 45; Margaret T Smoot 51; Emily Smoot 44; Diana Smoot 23; Anna C Smoot 25; Ann Smoot 18; Albert A Smoot 12; Margaret T Smoot 6; Abram O Smoot 4; Nancy D Smoot 2; Anna C Smoot 2; Tina B Smoot 1; Alice Smoot 5/12; Olive Smoot 5/12; Martha Ann Smoot 6; Lewis Osborne 24. Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: Great Salt Lake City Ward 20, Great Salt Lake, Utah Territory; Roll: M653_1313; Page: 297; Image: 307; Family History Library Film: 805313. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
• 1870 United States Federal Census. Name: Emily Smoot; Age in 1870: 54; Birth Year: abt 1816; Birthplace: South Carolina; Home in 1870: Provo Ward 1, Utah, Utah Territory; Race: White; Gender: Female; Post Office: Provo; Household Members: Abraham Smoot 55; Emily Smoot 54; Margret Smoot 15; Zina Smoot 11; William Rix 25; Owen Smith 21; William Ridd 35; Samuel Newel 45. Source Citation: Year: 1870; Census Place: Provo Ward 1, Utah, Utah Territory; Roll: M593_1612; Page: 265B; Image: 527; Family History Library Film: 553111. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
• Millennium File. Name: Almira Emily Hill; Gender: Female; Birth Date: Nov 1815; Birth Place: Pendleton, Anderson, South Carolina, USA; Death Date: 20 Mar 1882; Death Place: Provo, Utah, Utah; Spouse: Zachariah Harris; Children: William Jasper Harris. Source Information: Heritage Consulting. Millennium File [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003. Original data: Heritage Consulting. The Millennium File. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Heritage Consulting.
• Family Data Collection - Individual Records. Name: Almira Emily Hill; Spouse: Zachariah Harris; Parents: Jehu Hill, Martha Patsy Patsy; Birth Place: Anderson, Pendleton, SC; Birth Date: 25 Nov 1815; Death Place: Provo, Utah; Death Date: 20 Mar 1882. Source Citation: Birth year: 1815; Birth city: Pendleton; Birth state: SC. Source Information: Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Individual Records [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
• Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1848. Name: Emily Harris; Gender: Female; Relationship to Primary Person: Self (Head); Birth Date: 25 Nov 1815; Birth Place: Pendelton, Anderson, South Carolina, USA; LDS Temple Ordinance Data: Endowment Date: January 20, 1846 Temple: Nauvoo, Hancock, IL, USA Baptism Temple: Provo, Utah, UT, USA; Household Members: Emily Harris Self (Head). Source Information: Ancestry.com. Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1848 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data:Black, Susan Easton, compiler. Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1848. 50 vols. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center, 1989. Private Donor.
• Sons of Utah Pioneers Memorial Gallery Index Cards. Name: Emily Hill ; Spouse: Abraham Owen Smoot; Birth Date: 25 Nov 1816; Birth Place: Pendleton Dist., South Carolina; Death Date: 20 Mar 1882; Death Place: Provo, Utah, Utah; Pioneer: before 1869; Donor: A. O. Smoot Family Organization. Source Information: Ancestry.com. Sons of Utah Pioneers Memorial Gallery Index Cards [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. Original data: Card index created by the Sons of Utah Pioneers, Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Utah Cemetery Inventory. Name: Emily Hill Smoot; Gender: F (Female); Birth Date: 25 Nov 1816; Birth Place: Pendleton, So. Carolina; Death Date: 20 Mar 1882; Death Place: Provo, Utah; Burial Date: 20 March 1882; Cemetery: Provo City Cemetery; Source: Sexton; Grave Location: Block 2 Lot 53; Type of Marker: Upsgl; Relatives: Spouse Abraham Owen Smoot I, (d.1895); Father John & Patsy Carlin Hill. Source Information: Utah State Historical Society, comp.. Utah Cemetery Inventory [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Original data: Utah State Historical Society. Utah Cemetery Inventory. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: 2000.
• U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900. Name: Emily Hill; Gender: Female; Birth Place: SC; Birth Year: 1816; Spouse Name: Abraham Owen Smoot; Spouse Birth Place: KY; Spouse Birth Year: 1815; Marriage Year: 1846; Number Pages: 1. Source Citation: Source number: 2024.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: CM1. Source Information: Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: This unique collection of records was extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases. Originally, the information was derived from an array of materials including pedigree charts, family history articles, querie.
• Sons of the Utah Pioneers: Biography Files (R-Z). Name: Almira Emily Hill Harris Smoot; Birth Date: 25 Nov 1816; Birth Place: Pendleton District, South Carolina; Death Date: 20 Mar 1882; Marriage Information: Zachariah Harris 6 Mar 1834, Carrollton, Illinois Sep 1841, Geneva, Morgan County, Illinois Abraham Owen Smoot 9 or 18 Jan 1846, Nauvoo, Illinois. Source information: Ancestry.com. Sons of the Utah Pioneers: Biography Files (R-Z) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Original data: Biography Files. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Sons of the Utah Pioneers.
• Cleo Bullock Collection, Harold B. Lee Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. These records were handed down to Cleo Bullock. They contain many original letters and files of Abraham Own Smoot. Cleo gave them to L. Douglas Smoot who donated them to the Brigham Young University.
• Wikipedia contributors, 'Abraham O. Smoot', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 31 December 2010, 20:27 UTC, <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abraham_O._Smoot&oldid=40...> [accessed 31 January 2011]