Phoebe Merrill

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Phoebe (or Phebe) Odle (or Odell) was born in April 1788 in Byron, Gennesee County, N.Y., to Lucy Milda Weaver and Jonas Odle. When Phoebe was about 3 she moved with her family to Albany, N.Y., where she met Samuel Merrill.

There were hundreds of families of American Revolutionary soldiers gathering at Albany at this time. Most of these families were from the New England states. Samuel Merrill came to this area as a boy in the family of his father, Jared Merrill.

Phoebe and Samuel were married Sept. 10, 1802, in Oneida County, N.Y., when Phoebe was 15 years old. They moved into a one-room log cabin which had been built with the help of all the boys and men of the community. At this cabin Phoebe bore her three eldest children. War parties of the northern Indians often passed through the area on their way to the Ohio River, and Phoebe's father was killed after one encounter with the Indians. After this Phoebe began helping her mother care for the youngest children (her brothers and sisters).

In 1819 a number of Odle's and Merrill's moved back to Genesee County. The move was made during the winter to lessen the chances of another encounter with the Indians. Eight more children were born to Phoebe and Samuel in this area. Again in 1831 the family decided to move, this time to the newly settled territory of Michigan. Phoebe's family built a home at Shelby's Township, Macomb County, Michigan. About this time missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints entered the area. Phoebe and her husband joined the Church and moved to Nauvoo or Carthage, Illinois, by 1832. Here they lived for more than 10 years.

When the decision came to abandon Nauvoo and travel west to the Salt Lake Valley, Phoebe was 60 years old. Her early frontier training gave her a knowledge of herbs and their uses, so she was called upon frequently to nurse sick people in her company.

Phoebe and Samuel traveled to Council Bluffs, Iowa, but did not stay long. Their training made them valuable trail blazers. They reached the Salt Lake Valley on Oct. 1, 1847, in the Captain Jacob Foutz company. They settled in Salt Lake City and soon many of their grown children joined them in the area.

Phoebe died in Salt Lake City on Jan. 26, 1862, and was buried in the Salt Lake City cemetery. Samuel had entered plural marriage in 1853 with Anna Fredriksen (Ancestral File records list the date as 1862, about 10 months after Phoebe's death.) This couple had two children together. Samuel survived Phoebe by 16 years and died in Salt Lake City on Sept. 25, 1878.

Phoebe was a quiet woman. She had a reputation for discovering sick or discouraged people and nursing them back to good health. Her talent made her a great asset to the Church in its early years.

Sources:

Privately published book of family history by Janet JAMES Morrison, including a short history of Phoebe Odle (author of the history is unlisted).

Pioneer Woman of Faith, AUTHOR UNKNOWN, FROM 'PIONEER WOMEN OF FAITH AND FORTITUDE'

VOLUME III, PPS. 1986-87 (1998), INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY, DAUGHTERS OF UTAH PIONEERS

Phoebe (or Phebe) Odell (or Odle) was born in Byron, Gennesee County, New York, on 29 April 1788, the daughter of a soldier of the American Revolution, Jonas Odell (Odle), and Lucy Weaver. They lived in Cambridge, New York, until 1791, when they moved to Albany, New York. In 1800, they again moved to what is now Utica, New York, in Oneida County. At age 15, Phoebe married Samuel Merrill on 10 September 1802. They moved into a new, one-room log cabin built by the men and boys of the community. Her father was killed in 1804 by Indians, leaving her mother with three small children and one yet unborn. Phoebe helped her mother raise the little ones. In 1819 and 1820, the Merrill's and Odell's moved to Gennesee County, N.Y. The journey was made in the winter because of the threat of Indian attacks. Phoebe's baby boy died that winter. (Death date on the fourth child is 1812, which may have been the correct moving year.)

Samuel and Phoebe accepted the teachings of Mormon missionaries with faith and unity, moving once again to establish homes in Nauvoo and Carthage, Illinois, in 1838. They lived there six years until they were forced to abandon their home in the dead of winter. Phoebe was active in giving comfort and help to the sick. With the frontier training and knowledge of herbs and their uses, she was called upon day and night to help the many sick people in the camps. Samuel and Phoebe were among the first to arrive in Utah, reaching Salt Lake Valley on 1 Oct. 1847 in the Captain Foutz company.

They had two sons and five daughters that helped settle Utah. Phoebe Odell Merrill died in Salt Lake City on 26 Jan. 1862, and was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

ADDITIONAL MERRILL ANCESTORS

Cyrena DUSTIN

Almira MERRILL

Lucy Ann MERRILL

Philemon Christopher MERRILL

Samuel MERRILL

Seth Adelbert MERRILL

Phoebe ODELL

CHILDREN WITH SAMUEL MERRILL

1. Emily Phelps MERRILL; b. 2 Feb 1804; Byron, Genesee, NY or Smithfield, Madison, NY

2. Justin Jared MERRILL; b. 18 Feb 1806; Byron, Genesee, NY

3. Lucy Ann MERRILL; b. 12 Mar 1808; Byron, Genesee, NY

4. Philemon C. MERRILL; b. 16 Mar 1810; Byron, Genesee, NY (died 1812)

5. Samuel Bemis MERRILL; b. 4 Jan 1812; Smithfield, Genesee, NY

6. Ferdinand Daniel MERRILL; b. 8 Dec 1814; Byron, Genesee, NY

7. Polly Matilda MERRILL; b. 15 Oct 1816 or 1817; Smithfield, Madison, NY

8. Melissa Ruth MERRILL; b. 18 Feb 1806; Byron, Genesee, NY

9. Philemon Christopher MERRILL; b. 12 Nov 1820; Byron, Genesee, NY

10. Daniel Morgan MERRILL; b. 28 Dec 1823; Byron, Genesee, NY

11. Albina Mariam MERRILL; b. 25 Jul 1826; Byron, Genesee, NY

12. Phoebe (Phebe) Lodema MERRILL; b. 5 Aug 1832; Byron, Genesee, NY