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Incidents in the life of My Great Grandmother as given by herself
Elizabeth Jane Bybee Smith

“I was born he daughter of Byrum Bybee and Betsy Layne Bybee on January 23, 1825, in Barren Country Kentucky. There were twelve children in the family, six boys and six girls, three of whom died while very young. We four oldest girls had to work very hard to help support the family. My father was a sickly man therefore could not give his children a good education and as there was no public money, schools were very scarce and the people were unable to educate their children.”

“In those days we had no conveniences, no such things as stoves, washboard, lamps, etc., for lights we used candles made of tallow or a gag absorbed in tallow (called a bitch) and often had to sew or knit by fire light.”

My two oldest sisters were married in 1840 leaving myself and younger sister, the next oldest in the family to help support the family. From the time children were seven and eight years of age they were given different kinds of work to do in the cotton fields and gardens.”

“My mother carded cotton with hand cords while my sister and I used a large spinning wheel to spin the cotton. We had to spin four cuts a day (144 threads in a cut), then we were allowed the rest of the day to ourselves. We were eight and nine years of age when we were taught to spin and toe on small wheels, this we enjoyed very much. Mother always did the weaving while we girls did the housework. All of us had to work; Mother also took the wool from the sheep’s back, washed, corded, and wove it into cloth for clothing, blankets, yarn for stockings, and sweaters, this I also did in later years for my own family. There was always plenty of work for rich as well as poor people.”

“In 1836 when was ten years old father sold his farm and moved from Kentucky into Indiana where he started a new home. Maple Sugar trees grew on the ranch where he settled. We made plenty of sugar and molasses from the sap which came from the trees. Father was a shoe maker by trade and did very little farming.”

“In the year 1840 a Mormon Elder by the name of Alma Babit came to Indiana preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I thought at the time that his doctrines were very strange. In 1841 two other Mormon Elders came to the state. They preached the gospel in this settlement for about three weeks when about fifteen of us were baptized into the church.”

“We moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1842. I went to school that season and in 1843 I went to work on a farm belonging to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I was acquainted with the prophet and his family and always found them to be honest, upright, straight forward people and were just what they professed to be. The following winter I stayed at the prophet’s home part of the time. Then went to a friends’ home across the street and took care of a sick lady. The prophet came to came to see her often until her death.”

“His enemies were now after him and he had to flee. He started across the river to Iowa when some of his friends persuaded him to come back calling him a coward, he said, ‘If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of none to myself.’ He turned back and said he was going like a lamb to the slaughter.”

“In June 1844, they took the prophet and his brother Hyrum to Carthage jail, where a mob was raised and both of them were killed. After the prophet fell from the jail window to the ground they leaned his body against the well curb. A man stepped up with a long glittering knife to be-head the prophet. As he raised his arm to commit the awful deed, a flash of lightning came from heaven and paralyzed him and he had to be carried away inert as a corpse and the mob fled from the scene in terror.”

“The prophet and is brother were taken home and I saw them lying side by side in their coffins. Even then the mob was not satisfied, but kept howling around until the year 1845 when they commenced to drive the people out of Nauvoo and burn their houses, barns, grain, and everything they possessed. Brigham Young sought protection from the government, but with little avail, until they leave the state. They started to leave in 1846.”

“After the Prophet and his brother Hyrum were murdered they tried every way to remove the blood stains from the floor in Carthage jail, but all in vain, it still remains a witness for the entire world to see. Some of them thought at that time if they could get a Mormon girl to scrub the floor the stain would come out. They came for me and others but none of us would go.”

“In July 1844, I married Daniel Smith a widower with seven children and left Nauvoo in February 1846 to come West with the Saints. On the 16th day of February we crossed the Mississippi River with ice in flakes as large as a large table floating on all sides of the boat.
We went to Sugar Creek and camped about two weeks, waiting for the main body of Saints to get together to come West.”

“Companies were arranged and started for the Rocky Mountains over unraveled roads. Yet everyone seemed to enjoy themselves on the way. In May they stopped and left the people to plant gardens. Later after traveling for several days they made a small settlement and called it Garden Grove, and still later another called Mt. Pergah. Some of the saints were left there to prepare themselves and teams for the trip to the Rocky Mountains.”

“We traveled on Westward making roads and bridges until we come to Council Bluffs. Here the government called for 500 men to go to Mexico to fight the Indians. There was hardly enough men to fill the call so young men 18 and 19 years of age went. This was the Mormon Battalion.”

“We traveled on to Mosquito Creek camped there a few days then on to the Missouri River were we prepared for the winter. This place was called Winter Quarters it is now known as Omaha City. In the spring a new company was formed to come west. A large body of Saints was left there to build a settlement as we were unable to travel farther we were among those who were left. We stayed here until 1850 then started west. Meanwhile a boy and two girls were added tour family, two of them born on the plains.”

“In traveling up the Platt River we found many Indians and Buffalo by the million. The Indians never troubled us but seemed to think the Mormon people were alright. While crossing the plains our baby girl 17 months old took sick and died. We had to bury her on the desolate plain, which was a very sore trial to us.”

“While traveling along the Platt River my husband was appointed hunter of the Company. Thousand of Buffalo roamed all over the plains, they would bellow until they made the whole earth shake. My husband always rode ahead to the Company, so it fell to my lot to drive the team. While out hunting one morning he killed and brought in a Buffalo calf, and we had to drive several miles ahead of the Company in search of water to dress the meat as we were quite a distance from the river. We drove about ½ mile from the main course to a pond of water where we dressed the meat. It was very warm, the flies were bad. The horses were turned out to graze and they strayed to the foot hills. Of course my husband had to go after them, leaving me here alone with two little children, not knowing whether or not he would find us alive when he returned on account of wild animals and Indians. Before he got back to the hills a large buffalo bull came down seemingly to get water. He tried every way to scare him away but could not do so, so he decided to take off his shoes and give the old fellow a race to the wagon as he had nothing with him to defend himself with, but good luck favored him and the buffalo finally turned and went the other way. All this time the wolves were howling across the pond about two rods distance.”

“I watched my husband out of sight and by this time the sun was just going down. It was very gloomy and desolate. I saw a man passing down the road, I didn’t know whether it was an Indian or white man, but he went on the other way.”

“By this time my husband had the horses and it was just light enough to see him coming and it was not long before we were on our way back to find the camp. It was so dark we could not follow the tracks. Some of the men were out searching for us. When we were about a mile from camp a gun was fired. My husband answered the shot, he had a remarkable rifle and everyone knew the sound of it. The men in camp lost no time in bringing out torches to find us and we were soon rejoicing to be safely back at camp.”

“We traveled on and camped near a spring. We heard a terrible roaring that shook the ground. The men and boys went upon a hill and saw thousands of buffalo. They covered acres of ground and were coming to the spring for water. Most of the people were terribly frightened, some were crying, some singing, some laughing, some praying and some bringing torches to frighten them away, while others were holding the horses to keep them from stampeding. The buffalo turned and went in another direction. This showed plainly to us that the Lord was watching over his people as no harm come to any of us.”

“As we traveled on Westward we found that the Indians were fighting among themselves. Brigham Young thought it best to send out word for the Companies to get together, but the Indians did not bother the saints. This was about three days before we reached Utah. I was never happier in my life then the day we reached Utah.”

“It was a terrible lonesome desolate looking place at this time. The first two or three years it looked like starvation for us and the people had a hard struggle to get along. The Mountaineers offered $1000 for the first ear of corn or bushel of wheat raised in the Valley. After a few years the people began to prosper. Grains, vegetables, and fruits grew in abundance. They began to build small settlements all through the valley.”

“We then moved to South Weber where we remained until all our children were born except one girl who was born in California. In the year 1863 we moved to California with Ox team. We had several narrow escapes with our lives, with the Indians. Here they were killing the white people on all sides. We camped on Fish Springs three days waiting for the soldiers to come.”

“One of our oxen strayed away. My oldest son 15 years old was sent to find it. He went about two miles from camp before finding it.”

“Meanwhile the stage picked up a man the Indians had killed. About two or three miles from camp there were 15 or 20 scalps (men, women and children) hanging on the side of a barn.”

“When we camped at Egan Station about two days drive from Fish Springs the men owning the station wanted us to stay that night. We were afraid however and went on and in about three days the Indians killed the men, burned the station and the stage, this was another narrow escape.”

“Several miles from this place a large rock projected over the road. We were afraid to pass for fear of Indians on the other side. We went through in the night and were not molested by Indians. About 25 men had American horses and as we were traveling with Ox team we were unable to keep up with them. We were now near the Sierra Nevada Mountains. And after crossing them we had no more trouble with the Indians.”

“We made our home about five years when my husband died, leaving me with six children and only two of them were old enough to earn their living. At that time we were living about a hundred miles from Sacramento on an Island. It was a terrible lonely place for me. I had a hard time to get along and make a living as we had not lived here long enough to have very much around us, our financial condition was not good and no one old enough to run the farm, but with the help of the Lord I got along fairly well with such a responsibility on my own shoulders.”

“In high water time we were surrounded by water for several days with no way to get out. We could stand in our door and see waves dashing higher than our house. Many times we looked to be washed away.”

There were lots of wild animals, mountain lions, wolves, wild cats, snakes. It was terrible to send my children to school on account of them. Part of the time they had no shoes to wear and they had to walk three miles through thick timber, six miles a day for school.”

“One night there was a great commotion among my chickens. I and my youngest son went to see what was wrong. We found it to be a large wild cat. We followed it with a dog and ran from tree to tree for half a mile from the house. We found him perched in a large oak tree. I went directly under the tree, my son told me to come back. As I stepped back a little way I could see the cat by the moonlight. My son Micheal (14 years old) killed the cat; we took it into the house and weighted it. It weighted 25 lbs. I could tell a great many thing about the others and snakes, but I have to depend on others to do my writing as I cannot write.”

“We used to cure and smoke our own meat. One day I went to the smoke house to get some salt, when I turned around I saw a large rattler curled up ready to strike. The snakes were very numerous and we had to always be on guard for them.”

“I always had a strong desire to come back to Utah here I could do my duty in the church. I never had any doubt but what the gospel was true and I had great faith in the Lord. I put forth every effort to get back and the way was opened for me.”

“I came back to Utah in 1875. One of my daughters went to Utah on a visit and was married there three years later, in 1880. Had she came back to California to live I might not have come to Utah, but everything worked out in my behalf. So I could live among the saints and I was happy and contented. I lived in Lewiston Utah for ten months. In 1881 I moved to Hooper, Utah where I lived for 9 or 10 years. Here I was President of the Primary Association for 2 or 3 years. Then again I moved back to Lewiston, Utah where I remained the rest of my life. I am the grandmother of 57 grand children and great grandmother of twelve great grand children at the age of 83 years.”

Great grandmother Smith received her endowments in Salt Lake about 1854 or 1855. She arrived in Utah October 1850. She was the mother of eleven children, raised seven of her husbands children, two of the second wife’s children. Her oldest daughter died leaving 4 or 5 children whom she raised and later her youngest sons’ wife died leaving two children whom she mothered until nearly grown. Making in all 26 or 27 children she mothered in her life and never complained. She died November 13, 1908. 84 years of age and true to the faith she embraced in Indiana.

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