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Show Volume XXIX Issue X The Ogden Valley News Page 9 April 1, 2022 Mary Heatham (Granny) Smith In June 1938, a nine-foot obelisk was dedicated in the northwest corner of Huntsville Town square in memory of Mary Heathman Smith, one of Huntsville’s beloved early settlers. It features a bronze portrait of Smith with a plaque inscription that reads: Mary (Granny) “In Memory of Mary Heatham Smith, lovingHeatham Smith. ly known as “Granny” Smith. Born in England, January 21, 1818, where she was trained in a maternity hospital. She came to Utah in 1862. As doctor, surgeon, midwife and nurse, for thirty years, in storm or sunshine, during the bleakest winters or the darkest night, with little or no remuneration, she attended the people of Ogden Valley with a courage and faithfulness unexcelled. In addition to rearing her own family of nine, under her skill and attention she brought into the world more than 1,500 babies. She died in Huntsville, Utah, December 15, 1895. — Daughters of the Valley. Erected October 30, 1937” “Grandmother Smith... trained under the best doctors in England...The snow was never too deep and it was never too cold for her to get out of her warm bed to go and give aid. She was known as the ‘savior among the sick…’ She set broken bones with practically no facilities; a woman of high intelligence and courage. “Many a time she would walk from Huntsville to Ogden, a distance of about fourteen miles, through Ogden Canyon. At one time, on her return home she met a bear in the road. She was frightened but did not want the bear to know it. She stopped and said, “Now, if you don’t hurt me, I won’t hurt you,” and with that she made a hissing noise and the bear very accommodatingly ran up the mountainside.” (Written by her granddaughter Laura Hislop Reeve.) Sources: Ogden Standard-Examiner and FamilySearch. thirty years, she served as the valley’s doctor, midwife, nurse, and sometimes surgeon. Mary’s son William G. Smith said, “She brought about 1,500 children into this valley. She was called Grandma Smith by everybody that knew her. She did all kinds of nursing for the sick men, women, and children.” Granddaughter Della Smith Greenwell described Mary’s midwifery this way. “She would go to the home every day for ten days on a maternity case to bathe the mother and baby. The fee was $3.00 and many, many times she wasn’t paid, or would take a fee in eggs, chickens, or maybe a ham.” Grandma Smith approached the level of cated to Mary Heathman Smith and her legacy. The brass plate reads in part, “For 30 years, in storm and sunshine, during the bleakest winter and darkest night, with little or no remuneration, she attended to the people of Ogden Valley with a faithfulness unexcelled.” Note: This article is being reprinted by permission of Utah Stories. The story originally ran July 21, 2021. From The Past . . . Granny Smith: Ogden’s Pioneer Super Doctor By Maria Milligan In 1873, Brigham Young issued a call that would give Utah a unique place in the history of women in medicine: “The time has come,” he said, “for women to come forth as doctors in these valleys of the mountains.” Many Utah women answered this call, leaving their homes to study medicine on the East Coast. For others, however, Young’s declaration may have seemed a bit slow. After all, by 1873, Mary Heathman Smith had been practicing medicine in Huntsville for almost ten years. Mary trained in a maternity hospital and with local doctors in England before joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moving to Utah. Her skills were invaluable in the secluded Ogden Valley where she settled with her husband and nine living children. For Heathman Smith’s Memorial grave marker. Photo by Maria Milligan. legendary folk hero in the stories told by Ogden Valley residents, many of whom she had ushered into the world. She once encountered a bear as she walked up Ogden Canyon, escaping unscathed after engaging in some pleasant conversation with the beast. Granddaughter Della said her grandmother was “known to use grandfather’s straight blade razor to amputate a finger or other small jobs of surgery.” When her husband John was mauled by a bear and came home clutching a chunk of his thigh, Grandma Smith sewed him together with thread from her sewing kit. Granddaughter Agnes Hislop Snooks said, “The weather was never too cold or the snow too deep for Grandma to go to help anyone in sickness or trouble.” Despite her larger-than-life persona, the common thread in all of the memories of Mary Heathman Smith is her happy disposition. Her son William said of her, “She was always cheerful. She would bring a smile and sunshine into the sick room.” And according to granddaughter Della, “Mary Heathman Smith was loved by all who knew her.” On her deathbed, Mary had three requests of future Church president David O. McKay (whom she’d delivered). First, she wanted the church bells to ring her out, per English tradition. Second, according to William, “She wanted a bouquet of ripe wheat placed on her casket, symbolizing that wheat had lived its time, but by planting it in the ground, it would rise again.” Third, she asked to be buried in the same grave as her husband. All three requests were granted. In 1937, the Daughters of the Valley organization erected a monument in Huntsville dedi- April 14 Holy Thursday Mass 6:00pm * April 15 Good Friday, Stations of the Cross 5:30pm April 15 Liturgy of the Passion 6:00pm* April 16 Holy Saturday Mass 8:30pm at St. Joseph Church Ogden April 17 Easter Sunday Mass 9:00am* *=Also Live Streamed Note: There will be no Saturday Mass at St. Florence April 16. Saturday Night 6:00 p.m. Sunday Morning 9:00 a.m. Fr. Joshua Marie Santos 801-399-5627 FrJoshuaS.Stambrose@gmail.com Saturday 5:30 p.m Sunday 8:00 a.m. or by appt. Saint Joseph Catholic Elementary, Middle School, and High School Providing a challenging, college-focused education in the proven tradition of Catholic schools, for the families of the Ogden Valley. We want to teach your children! For information on our program, financial assistance, tours, or application, please call 801-393-6051 or 801-394-1515. Shown above are later members of “Daughters of the Valley.” In 1937, earlier members of the organization were instrumental in having erected the monument behind them in Huntsville Park, which was dedicated to Mary Heathman (Granny) Smith and her legacy. Lyle Bailey has suggested the women are, from left to right: Nellie Newey, Toni Fielding, Helen Knight, Thelma Hardy, Mrs. Stoker (1st grade teacher), ???, Florence Mumford, and Barbara Huddleston. Can anyone confirm these names (and spellings), and/or identify the woman whose name is in question and possibly the year this photo was taken? If so, please call Jeannie Wendell at 801-745-2879 or Shanna Francis at 801-745-2688. 2668 Grant Avenue, Suite #104A, Ogden, UT 801-612-9299 |