Marilla Lucretia Johnson

12 October 1830–23 January 1918

Born 12 Oct. 1830 at Haddam, Middlesex Co., Connecticut.[1] Daughter of Aaron Johnson and Polly Zerviah Kelsey.[2] Taught school in Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, ca. 1844.[3] Married first William Miller, by 19 Jan. 1846, in Nauvoo; one child.[4] Migrated to the Salt Lake Valley with the Samuel Gully/Orson Spencer pioneer company, arriving by 22 Sept. 1849.[5] Helped settle Hobble Creek (later Springville), Utah Co., Utah Territory, 1850.[6] Taught school, 1857, and Sunday School, 1871–1897, in Springville.[7] Moved to Provo, Utah Co., 1860.[8] Husband died, 7 Aug. 1875; married second James Ephraim Daniels, 13 June 1878, in Provo.[9] Served as second counselor in the Provo First Ward Primary presidency, 1884–May 1885, and as president, 16 June 1888–14 Aug. 1891.[10] Appointed as second counselor in the Utah Stake Relief Society; spoke at meetings with EBW, educated women about suffrage, and helped organize new ward Relief Society presidencies, 1885–1906.[11] Attended a Relief Society conference and dined with EBW, 1889.[12] Appointed as president of the World’s Fair commission for Utah Co., Sept. 1892.[13] Witness to the articles of incorporation of the National Woman’s Relief Society, 10 Oct. 1892.[14] Served as a delegate with EBW to the National Woman Suffrage Association Convention in Atlanta and to the National Woman’s Conference in Washington DC, 1895.[15] Signed an affidavit with ten other women declaring their testimony of Joseph Smith, 24 Mar. 1914.[16] Died 23 Jan. 1918 in Provo.[17]

 

[1] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. A, 1846–1857, pp. 395–396, Marilla Lucretia Johnson, 19 Jan. 1846, microfilm 183374, DGS 5265582 (restricted access), FHL. 1830 U.S. Census, Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT, Aaron Johnson. Katherine Thatcher Brimhall, The Testifiers of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Biographical Vignettes of Mormon Pioneer Women (By the author, 2011), 56. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 17 July 2018), Lucretia Marilla Johnson (LKVY-V47).

[2] Katherine Thatcher Brimhall, The Testifiers of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Biographical Vignettes of Mormon Pioneer Women (By the author, 2011), 56. Alan P. Johnson, Aaron Johnson: Faithful Steward (Salt Lake City: Publishers Press, 1991), 3.

[3] “Marilla Miller Daniels,” Woman’s Exponent, Mar. 1913, 48.

[4] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. A, 1846–1857, pp. 395–396, Marilla Lucretia Johnson, 19 Jan. 1846, microfilm 183374, DGS 5265582 (restricted access), FHL. “Marilla Miller Daniels,” Woman’s Exponent, Mar. 1913, 48. Katherine Thatcher Brimhall, The Testifiers of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Biographical Vignettes of Mormon Pioneer Women (By the author, 2011), 61, 64–65. Aaron Johnson, Autobiography of Aaron Johnson Jr., a Brief Life Sketch (Mapleton, UT: By the author, 1926), 21–22.

[5] “Mariella Lucretia Johnson Miller,” Pioneer Database (http://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel/, accessed 17 July 2018). Reuben Miller, Journal, vol. 2, June–Sept. 1849, p. 2, MS 1392, image 4/70, CHL. “Marilla Miller Daniels,” Woman’s Exponent, Mar. 1913, 48. Katherine Thatcher Brimhall, The Testifiers of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Biographical Vignettes of Mormon Pioneer Women (By the author, 2011), 59, 65.

[6] Katherine Thatcher Brimhall, The Testifiers of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Biographical Vignettes of Mormon Pioneer Women (By the author, 2011), 59, 65. Alan P. Johnson, Aaron Johnson: Faithful Steward (Salt Lake City: Publishers Press, 1991), 191–192. Don Carlos Johnson, A Brief History of Springville Utah, from Its First Settlement, September 18, 1850 to the 18th Day of September 1900 (Springville, UT: William F. Gibson, 1900), 2–3. 1860 U.S. Census, Springville, Utah Co., Utah Territory, p. 276, Marilla Miller.

[7] Katherine Thatcher Brimhall, The Testifiers of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Biographical Vignettes of Mormon Pioneer Women (By the author, 2011), 65–66. Don Carlos Johnson, A Brief History of Springville Utah, from Its First Settlement, September 18, 1850 to the 18th Day of September 1900 (Springville, UT: William F. Gibson, 1900), 120. Jubilee History of Latter-day Saints Sunday Schools, 1849–1899 (Salt Lake City: Deseret Sunday School Union, 1900), 454. “Notable Women of Utah, Mrs. Marilla Daniels,” Deseret News, 24 Nov. 1900, 14.

[8] Phyllis Phillips and Willard and Celia Luce, “Historic Highlights, Provo Utah Central Stake (Formerly Utah Stake),” in History of the Utah and Provo Central Utah Stake (Provo, UT: Provo Utah Central Stake, 1976), [1]–[2]. Katherine Thatcher Brimhall, The Testifiers of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Biographical Vignettes of Mormon Pioneer Women (By the author, 2011), 67.

[9] “Marilla Miller Daniels,” Woman’s Exponent, Mar. 1913, 48. Katherine Thatcher Brimhall, The Testifiers of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Biographical Vignettes of Mormon Pioneer Women (By the author, 2011), 67, 69. “James E. Daniels Dead,” Ogden (UT) Standard, 17 June 1903, 8. 

[10] Provo First Ward, Provo Stake, Provo First Ward Manuscript History and Historical Reports, LR 72212, image 12/154, CHL. Utah Stake Relief Society History, 1963, pp. 2–3, LR 9629 52, CHL. “Notable Women of Utah, Mrs. Marilla Daniels,” Deseret News, 24 Nov. 1900, 14.

[11] Utah Stake Relief Society History, 1963, pp. 10, 13, LR 9629 52, CHL. Katherine Thatcher Brimhall, The Testifiers of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Biographical Vignettes of Mormon Pioneer Women (By the author, 2011), 69. “R.S., Y.L.M.I.A. & P.A. Reports,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 Aug. 1886, 47. “R.S., Y.L.M.I.A. & P.A. Reports,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 Dec. 1888, 110. “R.S. Reports,” Woman’s Exponent, 15 Nov. 1893, 61.

[12] EBW, Diary, 31 May 1889.

[13] “Notice,” Daily Enquirer (Provo, UT), 19 Sept. 1892, 1. “The World’s Fair,” Daily Enquirer, 30 Sept. 1892, 1. “Marilla Miller Daniels,” Woman’s Exponent, Mar. 1913, 48.

[14] “Articles of Incorporation of the National Woman’s Relief Society,” pp. 5, 7, Susa Young Gates Papers, ca. 1870–1933, MS 7692, CHL.

[15] EBW, Diary, 26 and 30 Jan. 1895. Utah Stake Relief Society History, 1963, p. 10, LR 9629 52, CHL. Katherine Thatcher Brimhall, The Testifiers of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Biographical Vignettes of Mormon Pioneer Women (By the author, 2011), 70. “Marilla Miller Daniels,” Woman’s Exponent, Mar. 1913, 48.

[16] Katherine Thatcher Brimhall, The Testifiers of the Prophet Joseph Smith: Biographical Vignettes of Mormon Pioneer Women (By the author, 2011), i, [xv].

[17] “Utah State Archives Indexes,” database and images, Utah State Archives (https://archives.utah.gov, accessed 14 Aug. 2018); Utah Department of Health Office of Vital Records and Statistics Death Certificates, series 81448, file no. 28/542 (1918), Marilla Miller Daniels.