Bathsheba Wilson Bigler
Born 3 May 1822 at Shinnston, Harrison Co., Virginia (later in West Virginia).[1] Daughter of Mark Bigler and Susannah Ogden.[2] Baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 21 Aug. 1837, at Shinnston.[3] Migrated with family to Missouri and later to Illinois to affiliate with the main body of Latter-day Saints, 1837–1838.[4] Married George A. Smith at Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, 25 July 1841.[5] Founding member of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, 17 Mar. 1842.[6] Officiated in the Nauvoo temple, 1845.[7] Migrated to the Salt Lake Valley with the George A. Smith pioneer company, arriving by 30 Oct. 1849.[8] Recorded patriarchal blessings for her father-in-law, John Smith, 1851.[9] Manufactured homespun and woven goods, receiving favorable attention at the Utah territorial fairs.[10] Maintained her home by taking in boarders while her husband traveled for the church during the 1870s.[11] Served as first counselor to President Rachel Grant in the Salt Lake City Thirteenth Ward Relief Society, with EBW as assistant secretary.[12] Officiated in the Endowment House for many years.[13] President of the Ladies’ Cooperative Retrenchment Association.[14] Member of the Relief Society central and general boards, 1888–1910.[15] Member of the executive board for Deseret Hospital, 1882.[16] Served as first counselor in the Salt Lake City Seventeenth Ward Relief Society, 1884–1886.[17] Served as president of the Seventeenth Ward Relief Society, 19 May 1886–6 Feb. 1897.[18] Served as second counselor to President Zina D. H. Young in the Relief Society general presidency, 1888–1901.[19] Served as a member of the Relief Society general board with EBW, 1892–1901.[20] Served as general president of the Relief Society with EBW as general secretary, 1901–1910.[21] Died 20 Sept. 1910 in Salt Lake City.[22]
[1] Bathsheba W. Smith, Autobiography, ca. 1875–1906, p. 1, CHL. Temple Records Index Bureau, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 10 December 1845 to 8 February 1846 (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1974), 1 (restricted access). “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 13 Feb. 2018), Bathsheba Wilson Bigler (KVPR-8DW).
[2] Bathsheba W. Smith, Autobiography, ca. 1875–1906, p. 1, CHL.
[3] Bathsheba W. Smith, Autobiography, ca. 1875–1906, p. 2, CHL.
[4] Bathsheba W. Smith, Autobiography, ca. 1875–1906, pp. 3, 4, 6, CHL.
[5] Hancock Co., IL, County Marriages, 1829–1849, p. 43, no. 497, George A. Smith and Bathsheba Bigler, microfilm 229486, DGS 4661304, image 99/219, FHL. “Hymenial,” Times and Seasons, 2 Aug. 1841, 501.
[6] Relief Society Minute Book, Mar. 1842–Mar. 1844, p. 6, MS 3424, image 29/270, CHL.
[7] Bathsheba W. Smith Collection, 1842–1948, Autobiography of Bathsheba W. Smith, 1874–1875, p. 20, 64, CHL.
[8] Camp of Israel, Camp of Israel Schedules and Reports, 1845–1849, CHL. “Bathsheba Wilson Bigler Smith,” Pioneer Database (http://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel, accessed 5 Apr. 2018).
[9] Bathsheba W. Smith Collection, 1842–1948, Autobiography of Bathsheba W. Smith, 1874–1875, p. 47, CHL.
[10] Bathsheba W. Smith Collection, 1842–1948, Autobiography of Bathsheba W. Smith, 1874–1875, p. 63, CHL. Bathsheba W. Smith Collection, 1842–1948, Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society Papers, 1859, 1856, CHL.
[11] Bathsheba W. Smith Collection, 1842–1948, Autobiography of Bathsheba W. Smith, 1874–1875, p. 60, CHL.
[12] Bathsheba W. Smith Collection, 1842–1948, Autobiography of Bathsheba W. Smith, 1874–1875, p. 64, CHL. Thirteenth Ward, Ensign Stake, Thirteenth Ward Manuscript History and Historical Reports, CHL.
[13] Bathsheba W. Smith Collection, 1842–1948, Autobiography of Bathsheba W. Smith, 1874–1875, p. 64, CHL.
[14] Bathsheba W. Smith Collection, 1842–1948, Ladies’ Cooperative Retrenchment Meeting Minutes, 26 Mar. 1870, CHL.
[15] History of Relief Society, 1842–1966 (Salt Lake City: General Board of Relief Society, 1966), 50–51. Jill Mulvay Derr, Janath Russell Cannon, and Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, Women of Covenant: The Story of Relief Society (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1992), 435–437.
[16] “The Deseret Hospital,” Deseret Evening News, 17 July 1882, 2.
[17] Seventeenth Ward, Salt Lake Stake, Seventeenth Ward Manuscript History and Historical Reports, CHL.
[18] Seventeenth Ward, Salt Lake Stake, Seventeenth Ward Manuscript History and Historical Reports, CHL.
[19] Jill Mulvay Derr, Janath Russell Cannon, and Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, Women of Covenant: The Story of Relief Society (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1992), 435.
[20] Jill Mulvay Derr, Janath Russell Cannon, and Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, Women of Covenant: The Story of Relief Society (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1992), 437.
[21]Bathsheba W. Smith Papers, 1875–1906, CHL. Jill Mulvay Derr, Janath Russell Cannon, and Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, Women of Covenant: The Story of Relief Society (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1992), 437.
[22] “Utah Death Certificate Index, 1904–1961,” database and images, Utah State Archives (http://archives.utah.gov, accessed 14 Feb. 2018); from Utah Department of Health, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, series 81448, file no. 1297/530 (1910), Bathsheba W. Smith.