Clarissa West Williams

Williams, Clarissa, From The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, See this page in the original 1992 publication. Author: Bennett, Evalyn Darger, Clarissa Smith Williams (1859-1930) served as the sixth general president of Relief Society from 1921 to 1928, a period in which the Relief Society focused on health care and other social issues. She began her Relief Society activity as a visiting teacher at age sixteen and later served as secretary and president of both the Salt Lake Seventeenth Ward and Salt Lake Stake Relief Societies. In 1901 she was appointed treasurer and a member of the general board. Ten years later she became first counselor to President Emmeline Wells. In April 1921, President Heber J. Grant appointed her general president of the Relief Society and editor of its magazine.

Clarissa was born April 21, 1859, in the residential wing of the Church Historian's Office in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was the first of five daughters born to George A. Smith, an apostle and Church historian, and his seventh and last wife, Susan Elizabeth West Smith. This family shared the residential apartment in the Historian's Office with the apostle's first wife, Bathsheba W. Smith, and her children. The polygamist wives and their families lived amicably in their comfortable pioneer residence.

Clarissa and her sisters received the best education available in the territory at that time. In 1875 she received a teaching certificate from the Normal Department of the University of Deseret (later the University of Utah).

Clarissa married William Nugent Williams on July 17, 1877, the day before he left on a mission to Wales. They had eleven children and lived to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary. William was a successful businessman, regent of the University of Utah, and state senator. In spite of their busy schedules, their family was always their first concern.

William supported Clarissa in her Relief Society activities. She later wrote: "After I was married and had seven children, I was asked to be secretary of the Seventeenth Ward Relief Society. I felt that I could not do this with all my little babies. But my husband said, "My dear, you must do it; it is the very thing you need; you need to get away from the babies, and I will help you all I can, either by taking care of the children or making out your reports or copying your minutes, or any other thing I can do". (Relief Society Magazine 15 [Dec. 1928]: 668-69).

As general Relief Society president, Clarissa Williams concentrated on social problems. During her presidency, the Relief Society funded loans for training public health nurses, distributed free milk to infants, provided health examinations for preschool children, and operated summer camps for underprivileged children. She encouraged ward Relief Societies to prepare layettes for new mothers and distribute them according to need. In 1924 under her supervision the Relief Society established the Cottonwood Maternity Hospital, which continued in operation until 1963 (see Hospitals).

A member of the National Council of Women, Clarissa was one of nine U.S. delegates to the International Council of Women in Rome, Italy, in May 1914. She was appointed chairwoman of the Utah Women's Committee of the National Council of Defense during World War I. She died March 8, 1930, at her home in Salt Lake City.

The following information is from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarissa_S._Williams

Clarissa Smith Williams (April 21, 1859 – March 8, 1930) was the sixth general president of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1921 to 1928. Williams was the first native Utahn to become Relief Society president.

Clarissa Smith was born in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to Susan West, the seventh wife of LDS Apostle George A. Smith.

In 1901, Bathsheba W. Smith, who was one of George A. Smith's other wives, asked Williams to serve as treasurer of the Relief Society. Williams served in this position until 1910, when she became the first counselor to president Emmeline B. Wells in the Relief Society general presidency. She held this position until 1921, when she was chosen to succeed Wells as president after Wells's death. Due to failing health, Williams asked to be released from her calling in 1928 and was succeeded by Louise Y. Robison. Williams died of nephritis in Salt Lake City and was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery]

Williams married William N. Williams on July 17, 1877 and was the mother of eleven children.

Per her State of Utah Death Certificate, Clarissa West Smith Williams was living at 1401 Sigsbee Avenue in Salt Lake City, UItah, at the time of her death. She was 70 years, 10 months and 17 days old when she passed away and was a widow. She had suffered from chronic nephritis for many years, and cardiac decompensation, which was a contributory factor in her death, for about four months. The doctor who signed her death certificate, Clarence Snow, stated that he had attended the deceased from November 1, 1929 until her death on March 8, 1930, at 9:30 PM. He stated that there was no autopsy but that a clinical test had confirmed her diagnosis. Her undertaker was Deseret Mortuary, located at 36 E. 7 South.

FROM ANOTHER SOURCE:

https://www.lds.org/callings/relief-society/relief-society-presiden...

When Clarissa Smith Williams became the sixth general president of the Relief Society, women in the United States were excited about the possibilities that lay before them. They had just won the right to vote, and they were eager to make a difference in their communities.

“We have been given such blessings as have never been given to women in any other age,” Clarissa said, “and we should in every way endeavor to live up to them.”1

It was through Relief Society that the women of the Church would most effectively strengthen their families, their communities, and the world. Equipped with exceptional executive ability, Clarissa devoted herself to helping women be instruments in the Lord’s hands.

Through the newly created Relief Society Social Service Department, the Relief Society worked with wards and stakes to help needy women and girls find employment, place children for adoption, operate a storehouse for used clothing and items to be distributed to the needy, hold health clinics, send aid to war-torn Europe, and offer training courses on charities and relief work, child rearing, hygiene, disease, care for the sick, crime prevention, economic conditions, and so forth.2

Clarissa was especially concerned about the high mortality rate of mothers and infants. In 1922 Church vitals showed 58 deaths of mothers and 751 infant deaths.3 In response, Clarissa proposed that the interest from the Relief Society’s wheat fund be used “in the interest of maternity and motherhood throughout the Church.”4 The proposal was accepted, and the wards and stakes around the world used the funds to do everything from assembling maternity loan chests for home deliveries to opening maternity hospitals. By 1924 the Presiding Bishopric reported the lives of 500 children had been saved by the Relief Society’s efforts.5

“This great trust which the Prophet Joseph Smith gave to women eighty years ago,” Clarissa said, “has been a great blessing, not only to the Relief Society women but to the communities in which they have lived. Through our organization the gospel has been preached, the needy have been looked after, the sick have been comforted, the downhearted have been cheered, a message of love and of blessing has ever emanated from Relief Society workers. … The greatest thing in the world is love. And if we keep that always in our hearts, and give it as a message to those about us, we will be blessed and will be instruments in blessing those with whom we associate.”6 Early Life

Clarissa West Smith was born April 21, 1859, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Susan Elizabeth West and George A. Smith. She was the first of five daughters. Clarissa’s best friends were daughters of President Brigham Young.7 She graduated from the University of Deseret (later the University of Utah) with a teaching certificate and afterward opened her own private school in Parowan, Utah. Marriage and Family

On July 17, 1877, Clarissa married her sweetheart of two years, William Newjent Williams, the day before he left on a two-year mission to his native land of Wales. She taught school until his return. They had 11 children. Three died before reaching adulthood. Clarissa died March 8, 1930. Relief Society Highlights

Much of Clarissa’s efforts regarding social, humanitarian, and welfare work helped pave the way for today’s Church welfare system. The Relief Society established a training program for nurses’ aides. Five loan funds in honor of the past general presidents of the Relief Society were created at Clarissa’s request. The funds were awarded to female upper-division students, nursing students, and poets and were also used to assist in temple work. The first uniform monthly visiting teaching messages were published in the Relief Society Magazine.

Notes:

Clarissa Smith Williams, in Relief Society Magazine, Dec. 1921, 696.

See Jill Mulvay Derr, Janath Russell Cannon, and Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, Women of Covenant: The

Story of Relief Society (1992), 232–40.

See Derr, Cannon, and Beecher, Women of Covenant, 231.

Relief Society General Board Minutes, Apr. 4, 1922.

See Relief Society General Board Minutes, Apr. 1924.

Clarissa Smith Williams, in Relief Society Magazine, June 1922, 312.

See Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt, Faith, Hope, and Charity (2008), 110–11.

FROM ANOTHER SOURCE: http://www.ldsmag.com/article/8908

Clarissa Smith Williams, sixth general president of the Relief Society and the first native Utahn to fill the office, enjoyed the benefits of being a third-generation Latter-day Saint. She had a secure home life, educational opportunities, and financial stability not known by her five predecessors. Yet through her experiences and sympathetic concern for others, Clarissa focused her energies on improving the lives of Relief Society members.

The daughter of Apostle George A. Smith and Susan West Smith, Clarissa was born in 1859, some 12 years after the pioneers first entered the Salt Lake Valley. She showed leadership ability even as a young girl, and her brother affectionately called her “the Little General.” After graduating from the University of Deseret, Clarissa opened her own private school. She married William Newjent Williams, and they became the parents of 11 children. William was a successful businessman and involved in numerous church and civic commitments. Still, he fully supported and helped with family responsibilities while Clarissa served as stake Relief Society president and in various service and civic organizations.

The Williamses were gracious hosts and entertained frequently; Clarissa made her guests feel genuinely welcome in her home. A generous woman, she often served meals to uninvited guests. One of her daughters remembered the many hobos who would knock at the back door for a handout. Clarissa asked one of these men why so many people came to her home. He told her that “there is a mark on the tree in your front yard that tells us that you are generous with your food. We have marks that let our friends know about mad dogs, gun crazy men, and good victuals. You ought to be proud, Ma’am, of your generous reputation.”

Clarissa served as the general president for seven years, from 1921-28. During her progressive administration, she instituted modern accounting procedures for handling Relief Society funds. One of her major contributions came in her emphasis on social services. Concerned about infant and maternal mortality rates, the high number of child and adolescent deaths, lack of opportunities for the handicapped, and the low standard of living for many women, she expanded the Social Service Department of the Relief Society. Clarissa suggested that the funds accrued from the Relief Society’s grain storage program be used for health, maternity, and child welfare services. Clarissa traveled extensively in the United States and abroad, visiting the ever-growing number of stakes of the Church.

In her last address as president, Clarissa said, “Now I like to feel that I have no regrets, that I have done my work as well as I could, that I have tried to have the spirit of the Lord with me at all times.”

FROM ANOTHER SOURCE: http://www.ldswomenofgod.com/?p=1229

Clarissa Smith Williams was the daughter of George A. Smith and Susan West. Her mother’s sister wife was Bathsheba W. Smith (4th RS President), who was like a second mother to her. George A. was the Historian for the Church, so Clarissa was born and raised in the Historian’s office and home on South Temple in Salt Lake City. Clarissa grew up playing with Brigham Young’s daughters.

When Clarissa was still quite young, she showed some of the gifts that would set her apart. She was a natural born leader, kind, and intelligent. Bathsheba prophesied that young Clarissa would be the President over the Relief Society some day.

Clarissa would graduate with the first class at the University of Deseret (U of U), with a teaching certificate. Education would be a necessity in her eyes, not a luxury, for women. All eight of her girls would later graduate from the University of Utah.

William Williams’ family came from Wales. They were a faithful family and while Clarissa and William were dating, William would be called on a mission. Instead of waiting until after his return, they married the day before his departure. It was a long two years, but she spent the time teaching and establishing a private school. Independence was very important to Clarissa.

Upon William’s release the reunited couple set up housekeeping in a house next door to her mother. All eleven of there children were born in this home. The family was happy, helpful, and comfortable. William worked in the furniture business and supported the family well. They would later move to a house in Federal Heights with a ballroom on the main floor and plenty of room for family and company gatherings, which they had often. In fact, Clarissa was known for her cooking expertise. She owned thirty-six place settings of fine china which were used often. She and her daughters would cook wonderful meals together.

It was impressive how eleven children could be so well behaved and cared for. The real mystery was how those children were washed clean, dressed, and smiling at the breakfast table every morning. Alice Merrill Horne, a niece, witnessed the method: “Uncle Will and Aunt Clarissa chose up sides and ran races to see which side should be dressed first…almost before I could say ‘Jack Robinson’”.

As well as serving in the Church, Clarissa served in many community organizations, clubs, and the Red Cross. Even while juggling heavy church assignments, and a large family, she never gave up her little sewing group.

Clarissa began her service in the Relief Society by being a Block Assistant (Visiting Teacher) at the age of sixteen. When she was married, with seven children, she was called to be the secretary in her ward Relief Society. She hesitated accepting the call, because of all the little children she was raising. But her husband urged her on, and kept his word when he promised to help and care for the children, while she was filling her assignment. She then served as president in her ward for eight years. In 1901, Bathsheba asked her to serve as Treasurer in the General Relief Society. When her stake split she was called as the Stake Relief Society President in the Salt Lake Stake. In 1911, Emmeline called her to be her counselor. At Emmeline’s death, in 1921, Clarissa was called as sixth President of the General Relief Society.

Clarissa was a general among women, pleasant to be around, happy, and intelligent. She traveled all over the United States and abroad, visiting Relief Societies. At this time, the Relief Society had membership in the National Council of Women, as well as the International Council of Women, and she attended many of the meetings held back east and in Europe.

At the end of WWI, the US government forbade groups or individuals to store large quantities of food. As a result, the Relief Society units had to sell all the grain that was stored; this lead to a large accumulation of cash. From the interest made, the welfare and social services were set up. Her main contribution as General Relief Society President was in promoting these services: Health, Cleanliness, as well as care of handicapped and underprivileged children. The mortality rate dropped notably for mothers and new babies during her administration.

She was a woman of great dignity, humility, graciousness, and leadership ability. Most importantly, she had a sense of humor. Her vision and her supreme desire to have the work advance, gave others a new stimulus to measure up to high ideals. Under-privileged children received her first attention. Womanhood and the cause of truth gave Clarissa her focus and purpose.

A memorial fund to honor past presidents was developed by Clarissa. These funds went to help sisters pursue further education or benefit according to the focus of each of the past presidents: Eliza’s Poem fund, Zina’s nursing loan fund, Bathsheba’s temple grant fund, Emmeline’s education fund at BYU. Clarissa’s fund would help future nurses and social workers.

(Information provided by Elect Ladies and several articles from the Relief Society Magazine)

FROM ANOTHER SOURCE:

http://www.josephsmith.net/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0 sourceId=0fed94bf3938b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

This is an actual quote from Clarissa:

Clarissa Smith Williams, 1921–28:

“This great trust which the Prophet Joseph Smith gave to women eighty years ago, has been a great blessing, not only to the Relief Society women but to the communities in which they have lived. Through our organization the gospel has been preached, the needy have been looked after, the sick have been comforted, the downhearted have been cheered, a message of love and of blessing has ever emanated from Relief Society workers. … The greatest thing in the world is love. And if we keep that always in our hearts, and give it as a message to those about us, we will be blessed and will be instruments in blessing those with whom we associate.” (The Relief Society Magazine, June 1922, p. 312.)

FROM YET ANOTHER SOURCE!

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ldshistor...

1921-1928 Clarissa West (Smith) Williams

http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/basic/organization/Relief_Societ...

No state exceeded Utah in the proportion of the work done by women during World War I. Mrs. Clarissa Smith Williams was the unanimous choice for chairman of the State branch of the Women's Council of National Defense. She was eminently fitted for this position through her long experience as first counselor to Mrs. Emmeline B. Wells, head of the Relief Society, and every demand of the Government was fully met. Relief efforts and community involvement reached a high point during these years. Under the innovative and businesslike administration of President Clarissa S. Williams (1921-1928), the Relief Society enlarged the professional component of its traditional charity work and increased cooperation with public and private Welfare agencies. The Relief Society Social Services Department, established in 1919 by general secretary-treasurer Amy Brown Lyman, served as the Church's professional link with other Welfare agencies and trained Relief Society workers in modern methods of family casework. Between 1920 and 1942, more than 4,000 women participated in its intensive two- and six-week "institutes," returning to their wards and stakes to aid Relief Society and priesthood leaders in Welfare work. The department also provided an employment bureau for women and girls and served as the Church's licensed agency for child placement until 1963.

Beginning in 1921, at a time of national concern over high rates of maternal and infant mortality, stake and ward societies used interest from the Wheat Trust Fund to sponsor hundreds of health clinics for expectant mothers, babies, and preschool children. Two stake Relief Societies established and operated maternity hospitals, the Cottonwood (Utah) Maternity Hospital (1924-1951) and the Snowflake (Arizona) Maternity Hospital (1939-1960). Branches attached to the European missions prepared "maternity chests" for needy mothers and home deliveries. --Janath R. Cannon and Jill Mulvay-Derr

____________________________________________

From an article in The Deseret News, April 5, 1911:

Conference of Relief Society

First Session Held This Morning, Prest. E.B. Wells Presiding

Work of Society Reviewed

From Its Organization Until the Present Time It Has Continued in Noble Efforts

The semi-annual conference of the General Relief Society was held this morning at assembly hall, a large number being present. Mrs. Emmeline B. Wells, the society’s new president presided, calling the meeting to order and the hymn Come Let Us Anew was sung by the assemblage. Mrs. Lizzie T. Edward conducting, and Miss Edna Coray acting as accompanist. Mrs. Julina L. Smith gave the opening prayer, and the hymn “softly Beams the Sacred Dawning, was sung, followed by an address of greeting by Mrs. Wells who said that she was especially grateful and joyful in addressing the assemblage because of the many mercies and blessings which had been enjoyed since their last meeting by the Relief society throughout the world. She said it filled her heart with joy to remember the great development of the society since its organization to the present time. Through all the periods of trial and hardship of the church society had gone steadily forward growing in number and in the scope of its work—living and thriving in these beautiful valleys. There had been sickness and deprivation always for the society to meet, but they had tried faithfully to meet all the conditions, and had been blessed in their labors. She prayed that at the end of the conference all would feel that they had been blessed and benefited by being present.

(Two other speakers came next, Mrs. Harriett B. Harker, and Mrs. Louise Benson.)

Mrs. Wells then called upon her first counselor, Mrs. Clarissa Smith Williams, who expressed her great pleasure in welcoming the assemblage and said her topic would be the organization and development of the Reief Society. She began with its first meeting, called by the Prophet Joseph Smith, when only 18 women were present. She said it was perhaps an old story, but a most beautiful one. Its organization was an answer to the desire of the women to band them selves together for charitable work, and the result was direct inspiration to the Prophet. She said a notable thing was that while the society all the time takes up new lines of endeavor, all these were really outlined by Joseph Smith in his opening address at the organization. The question of social purity especially to which the world is paying so much attention today in the way of united effort, was a chief topic in his address and other things which have since been taken up.

He called to preside over the society his wife, Emma Smith, who held the title of “Elect Lady,” and we can dwell with pride upon her work during that time before she gave up the gospel. She was a mother to the motherless and a wise and noble leader. There were only four wards in Nauvoo. It was some time after the arrival of the pioneers here that President Young again organized the ward societies, Eliza R. Snow, was called upon by him to preside, and under her leadership the wards were organized in stakes. The retrenchment, afterward, the YLMI association and also the Primary were established during her presidency. She would have been famous if she had done no more than write, “Oh, My Father,” but she was besides a natural leader. She then paid a tribute to Zina D.H. Young, the next president, speaking of her charitable nature, and noble qualities of character. Said that under her work was enlarged, emigrants were constantly arriving, and the members found much work to do, which under Zina D. Young’s direction was faithfully carried out. With the presidency of Bathsheba Smith, there was change in the policy of the society, its work being extended in the way of inciting to study, and furnishing means for education along lines in which the society was naturally interested. The mother work and the nurse’s classes were among these, and great strides had been made in systematizing the relief work. Mrs. Smith said that classes were now organized in the stakes and she advised girls to stay at home and study rather than come to the city. There were so many evil agencies to lure them from paths of rectitude that it was always a risk. Mothers should try in every way to furnish inducement to their children to remain at home. When they began to wander, they became open to temptation and opportunity which could in measure at least be controlled at home. Few of the Latter-day Saints’ children are really obliged to leave home to earn a livelihood. There are nearly always good homes, and here they should elect to stay rather than meet the risks which confront them away from home. The Relief society embodies every good thing, and its aim to engage in the effort for social purity. Possibilities for help and development were greater now and widening out. They would find they could do more than they had ever dreamed of. She gave a blessing to all present, and said that the work would grow, and develop under the blessings of the Lord.

From an e-book....The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Volumes 3-4, which talks about the founding of the DUP society and Clarissa West Smith Williams' role in the beginning of that organization:

http://books.google.com/books?id=5rc3AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA96&lpg=PA96&dq=C...

History of the Society of Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, by Mrs. Flora B. Horne:

The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers feel very grateful to the Genealogical Society for the opportunity of printing official data and pioneer history in this splendid magazine. We have long felt the need of a place to publish the valuable information gleaned from the application papers of our Daughters, and from the interesting incidents related by the Pioneers themselves at our meetings.

It perhaps will be most fitting to present the history of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. During the great Jubilee of July 24, 1897, when the State of Utah celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Pioneer's entrance into the Great Salt Lake Valley and presented each pioneer of 1847 with a beautiful gold badge, patriotism ran high in the breasts of the sons and daughters of those noble heroes.

The question arose: "What can we do to honor our beloved fathers and mothers and carry their eventful history down through generations?" Many were inspired with ideas and plans, prominent among them being Clarissa Smith Williams, Elizabeth Smith Cartwright, Lucy Woodruff Smith, Alice Merrill Horne, Maria Y. Dougall, Annie T. Hyde, Phoebe Young Beatie, Susa Young Gates, Sarah Jennie Cannon and Sarah J. Rich Miller. They talked with each other and some with Church authorities and finally outlined the work desired. However, one waited for the other to take the first step.

Annie Taylor Hyde, daughter of President John Taylor, and Counselor to President Bathsheba W. Smith of the General Board of Relief Society, was anxious to effect an organization while many pioneers still lived to appreciate the honor and give their own personal experiences to the society. On her mother's birthday, April 11, 1901, Mrs. Hyde invited the daughters of the '47 pioneers, near at hand, to meet at her home, No. 40 West North Temple Street, Salt Lake City. Many ladies sent regrets in not being able to attend, among them the Cannon family, on account of the serious illness of President George Q. Cannon. The daughters present at this meeting were: Annie Taylor Hyde, Maria Y. Dougall, Alice Merrill Horne, Clarrissa W. Smith Williams, Sarah Richards Smith, Julia P. Murdock Farnsworth, Josephine Spencer, Jean Hye, A. Laura Hyde Merrill, Phoebe Woodruff Snow, Phoebe Y. Beatie, Mary Pratt Young, Minnie Horne James, Annie Lyman King, Armeda Snow Young, Zina Hyde Bull, Mary T. Schwartz Smith, Rachel Grant Taylor, Janie Taylor Peery, Mary G. Richards Webber, Ellen E. Richardson, Lucy E. Woodruff Smith, M. Mabelle Snow, Annie Wells Cannon, Rosannah Cannon Irvine, Edna M. Ridges, Nettie Young Easton, Myra Young Rossiter, Sarah J. Rich Miller-just forty-seven descendants of some of the pioneers who came in 1847.

This, indeed, was a great reunion of old friends. Love and joy filled their hearts. Mrs. Hyde greeted her friends and addressed them in these words: "Ever since the Pioneer Jubilee, I have felt deeply impressed with the importance and desirability of the children of the Pioneers becoming associated together in some kind of an organization which would have for its object the cementing together in the bonds of friendship and love the descendants of those who stood shoulder to shoulder in braving the difficulties and in overcoming the all-but-insurmountable obstacles that opposed their fixed determination to seek out and establish the happy homes and inheritances in these mountain vales, which we, their offspring, now enjoy. I feel it to be solemn and pleasant duty which we owe to them, ourselves and our children to adopt some method of familiarizing ourselves with the sacrifices which that noble and heroic band has made for the love of their God and their religion and for the religious freedom on their posterity and mankind. I believe it to be our duty and our heritage to place ourselves in a position where we can best take up and carry on the noble and stupendous work which they so well commended under hardships and privations almost unparalleled in the history of the world. One of the many profitable objects of such an organization might be the obtaining and compiling of genealogies of the Utah Pioneers, that their desires and labors in settling these valleys and building temples might be forwarded and continued by their children after them, that our children and our children's children, through all coming time, might be taught to cherish, revere and emulate their sublime fidelity and sterling, sturdy worth!

"Having some of these ideas in mind, I invited the daughters of a number of those who had pioneered the way to these valleys to be present today, that they might discuss the advisability of effecting an organization to be known as the 'The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers,' and now suggest if the plan meet with your approval, the propriety of organizing on a plane similar to that adopted by the Pioneers themselves, namely: to have captains of tens, captains of fifties, and captains of hundreds, with a president and two counselors to preside over the entire organization; and I propose, if those present effect such an organization, that each shall assume the responsibility of securing the names of nine others and then the tel shall select a captain, after which, as the association grows in numbers sufficiently to justify it, captains of fifties and captains of hundreds be selected.

"Possibly the reason I have felt so strong a desire to secure and perfect an organization of this kind is that I have so much Pioneer blood in my veins. My father, mother, grand father and two grandmothers were all Pioneers. The idea is to have branch societies throughout Utah or wherever the descendants of Pioneers reside, for the perpetuation of patriotism, as well as the memory of those whose efforts are responsible for the founding of our western commonwealth. Now I should like to hear others express themselves."

Maria Y. Dougall enthusiastically endorsed what had been said and nominated Annie Taylor Hyde to be President of the Daughters of the Utah pioneers. This was seconded again and again. The vote carried unanimously. She was also made Founder General, on motion of Alice M. Horne. Maria Young Dougall was elected First Counselor, and Sarah E. Richards Smith as Second Counselor. Alice merrill Horne, Secretary; Clarissa Smith Williams, Historian; Julia P. Murdock Farnsworth, Corresponding Secretary; Minnie Horne James, Treasurer; Mary Pratt young, chaplain, and Josephine Spencer, Assistant Secretary. The officers of the society were to serve two years.

FROM ANOTHER SOURCE:

http://ldswomenshistory.blogspot.com/2008/03/clarissa-s-williams-rs...

LDS Women's History, Tuesday, March 4, 2008, Clarissa S. Williams, RS General President, 1821-1928:

Excerpt from LDS.org's biographies of past Relief Society Presidencies:

Clarissa S. Williams was a schoolteacher and a woman of humility and exceptional executive ability. Her presidency witnessed an increase of Relief Society involvement in the community. At her recommendation the interest accrued from the Relief Society wheat fund was used for health, maternity, and child welfare projects. The Relief Society Social Services Department, established in 1919, trained social workers, found employment for women, and offered adoption services. The Relief Society also trained nurses, aided refugees, and established a maternity home as part of an emphasis on maternity and health issues. Sister Williams considered the success of health care efforts one of the highlights of her presidency. She and her husband, William N. Williams, had eleven children.

As I was researching Clarissa S. Williams, I kept finding myself wishing I could go to Utah and comb through the archives for records on this woman. The online information I could find was thin. Most of what I've found from here came from an article by Nola Redd; she didn't list her sources, so if something is off, I apologize (the librarian in me hates using undocumented sources).

Clarissa Williams graduated from the University of Deseret (now University of Utah) with a teaching certificate. After graduation, she started her own school. Her love of education lasted throughout her life, and she felt that education for women was a necessity, not a luxury. She married her husband, William, the day before he left for a 2-year mission to Wales, and they eventually had a large family.

Before becoming the general RS president, she'd served in stake leadership, and under the administration of Emmeline Wells and Bathsheba Smith. As the general RS president, she is praised for her administrative ability and social programs. She instituted modern accounting procedures for Relief Society funds. She instituted a wide range of social programs, including maternity hospitals and funds, women's employment agencies, adoption programs, nursing training, support of refugees, training in welfare tasks for thousands of LDS women, youth camps for underprivileged children, courses in home hygiene and care of the sick, a free milk fund, and health examinations for preschoolers. That's a big list.

I am grateful for the concrete work she did to help women with the issues they were facing, and to improve the world she lived in. Her administrative abilities were strong, and she used them to serve others. Posted by Erin at 12:10 PM.

Following is the article mentioned above by Nola Redd:

Relief Society Presidents: Clarissa S. Williams, Posted on April 10, 2007 by Nola Redd

Clarissa Williams, the sixth president of the Relief Society, was a third-generation Latter-day Saint and the first Utahan native to hold the position. Her mother, Susan West, was the seventh wife of George A. Smith, cousin to the Prophet Joseph Smith. She grew up influenced by George’s first wife, Bathsheba W. B. Smith, the fourth Relief Society president, who involved young Clarissa in the women’s organization early.

Clarissa attended private school and was hired at the age of fourteen as a pupil teacher. She attended the University of Deseret (now called the University of Utah) and graduated with a teaching certificate. She went on to establish her own private school. When her children were born, she continued to encourage education, feeling that higher education for girls was not a luxury but a necessity.

In 1873, Clarissa met William Newjent Williams. They courted for two years, until William was called to serve a mission in Wales. They quickly decided to be married, and held their wedding the day after he received his mission call, July 17, 1877. The next day, William left his new bride to serve his two year mission. After his return in July of 1879, they had eleven children, eight of whom survived to reach adulthood.

In addition to the various community organizations she served in, Clarissa was called to preside over the Salt Lake Relief Society. She met and became fast friends with Louise Yates Robison, who would succeed her as general Relief Society president, while preparing surgical dressings with the Red Cross. She served under Bathsheba W. Smith as treasurer and member of the general board in 1901, and as first counselor under Emmeline B. Wells in 1911. She was called to serve as the sixth president of the Relief Society in 1921.

As President, Clarissa combined the offices of secretary and treasurer. She instituted modern accounting procedures for Relief Society funds. She emphasized social services, and considered one of the highlights of her presidency to be the success of health care efforts, which she saw as the purpose of social work.

When the U. S. government forbade any group or individual to store large quantities of food, the wheat from the grain storage program was sold, providing a large supply of cash. Clarissa recommended that the accrued interest be used for health, maternity, and child welfare services. She organized youth camps for underprivileged children, courses in home hygiene and care of the sick, a free milk fund, and health examinations for preschoolers. She also proposed the creation of memorial funds to honor past Relief Society presidents and to further important social projects.

Knowing her health was failing, Clarissa asked for her release in October 1828. She died less than 18 months later, on March 8, 1930, at the age of seventy-one. She spent her life serving not only the physical needs of women, but also their educational skills and development of skills and talents.