Bathsheba W. Smith

Bathsheba Wilson Bigler Smith (May 3, 1822 – September 20, 1910) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement. She was the fourth general president of the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), matron of the Salt Lake Temple, member of the Board of Directors of Deseret Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, and a leader in the western United States woman's suffrage movement. Early life and Missouri Born near Shinnston, Harrison County, Virginia (now West Virginia), she was the daughter of Mark Bigler and Susanna Ogden. When she was young, Bathsheba traded names with a friend as a symbol of their friendship, which is where the "Wilson" part of Bathsheba's name comes from. When Bathsheba was 15, she heard about the Mormon gospel from members of the Latter Day Saint movement. She believed in the church's message, and she was baptized on August 21, 1837, alongside her family. Soon after the family's conversion, they desired to move to Missouri along with other members of the church. These excerpts from her autobiography tell how her family moved from Virginia, first to Missouri, and then to Illinois: