Willard Gilbert Smith

Description

Mormon Pioneer--Born 9 May 1827 in Amherst, Ohio, to Warren and Amanda Barnes Smith. Worked on the Kirtland Temple in Ohio as a young boy. A member of the Kirtland Camp in July 1838. Survived the Haun's Mill Massacre in October 1838 at the age of eleven. Helped with the building of the Nauvoo Temple in Illinois. Joined the Mormon Battalion as a drummer in July 1846 at the age of nineteen. Served a three year mission to England for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Ordained a Bishop and sent by Brigham Young to preside over the residents of Littleton and adjacent settlements of Morgan County in 1865. Married Hulda Cordelia Thurston on 15 April 1865. Became probate judge of Morgan County. Thus the county seat was moved to Littleton in 1866. First stake president of Morgan, Utah from July 1877 to April 1893. Father of twelve children. Died 21 November 1903.

In a short sketch of the life of Willard G. Smith, W. E. Criddle writes: "Brother Smith was a man who could ever smile through tears." This seems a fitting epitaph for a man who experienced much tribulation in his life, but overcame all to rise to greatness.