Diantha Morley Billings

23 August 1795 — 14 May 1879

1 Born at Montague, Franklin County, Massachusetts; daughter of Edith Marsh and Thomas Morley. 2 Moved to Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio, 1815. 3 Married Titus Billings, February 16, 1816; nine children. 4 Baptized, 1830; first woman baptized in the Kirtland area. 5 Moved to Jackson County, Missouri; to Clay County, Missouri; to Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri; to Lima, Adams County, Illinois; to Quincy, Adams County; and to Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, by 1840. 6 Joined the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, March 24, 1842. 7 Appointed a midwife and nurse by Joseph Smith. 8 Endowed in the Nauvoo temple, December 13, 1845. 9 Migrated to the Salt Lake Valley, 1848. 10 Helped settle Manti, Sanpete County, Utah Territory, 1849; served as the only doctor, midwife, or nurse at Manti. 11 Served as the first president of the Manti Ward Relief Society, February 1856–March 1861. 12 Moved to Provo, Utah County, Utah Territory, circa 1864. 13 Died at Provo. 14 (See Document 1.2, first mentioned here)

Footnotes

  1. [1] “In Memoriam,” Woman’s Exponent 8, no. 1 (June 1, 1879): 251. Utah Division of State History, “Utah Cemeteries and Burials,” database, Cemeteries and Burials (http://heritage.utah.gov/history/cemeteries, accessed Apr. 2014), Diantha Billings.

  2. [2] “In Memoriam,” 251. Catherine Wheelwright Ockey, “‘Rejoice Notwithstanding the Trials’: Diantha Morley Billings (1796–1879),” in Women of Faith in the Latter Days, vol. 1, 1775–1820, ed. Richard E. Turley Jr. and Brittany A. Chapman (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2011), electronic edition, 1–14. Eunice Billings Snow, “A Sketch of the Life of Eunice Billings Snow,” Woman’s Exponent 39, no. 2 (Aug. 1, 1910): 13.

  3. [3] Ibid.

  4. [4] Milton V. Backman Jr., et al., A Profile of Latter-day Saints of Kirtland, Ohio and Members of Zion’s Camp, 1830–1839 (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University, 1983), 6. Ockey, “‘Rejoice Notwithstanding the Trials,’” 2.

  5. [5] “In Memoriam,” 251. Elizabeth Ann Whitney, “Leaf from an Autobiography,” Woman’s Exponent 7, no. 12 (Nov. 15, 1878): 91.

  6. [6] “In Memoriam,” 251. Ockey, “‘Rejoice Notwithstanding the Trials,’” 2–3.

  7. [7] Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book, 1841–1846, CHL.

  8. [8] “In Memoriam,” 251. Eunice Billings Snow, “A Sketch of the Life of Eunice Billings Snow,” Woman’s Exponent 39, no. 3 (Sept. 1, 1910): 22.

  9. [9] Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register: Dec. 10, 1845, to Feb. 8, 1846, FHL microfilm 962798, item 1, FHL.

  10. [10] “Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel,” database, 1847–1868, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel (http://history.lds.org/overlandtravels, accessed Apr. 2014), Diantha Morley Billings.

  11. [11] Snow, “A Sketch of the Life,” 39:22. 1850 U.S. census, Sanpete Co., Utah Territory, p. 115A, Diantha Billings; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com, accessed Aug. 2014); from NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 919.

  12. [12] Andrew Jenson, comp., Manuscript History and Historical Reports, Manti Ward, Sanpete Stake, CHL. Snow, “A Sketch of the Life,” 39:23.

  13. [13] “In Memoriam,” 251. 1870 U.S. census, Provo, Utah Co., Utah Territory, p. 289A, Diantha Billings; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com, accessed Aug. 2014); from NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 1612.

  14. [14] “Utah Cemeteries and Burials,” database, Diantha Billings. “In Memoriam,” 25 “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed Dec. 29, 2015), Diantha Billings, KWVM-SH9 .