posted by Sandy on Ancestors of Thomas Watrous, Stories Within Stories

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Mary Smith was born in New York to Samuel Smith and Jane Stephens. In 1811 she married direct ancestor James Newberry.  They heard the message of the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints and were baptized along with many members of both families.  They migrated to Nauvoo, Illinois where they gathered with the Saints.  Mary and James were the parents of ten children.  They interacted on a daily basis with the Prophet Joseph Smith and were deeply involved in the building of the city and the Temple.  In 1842, Mary Smith Newberry died and was buried in the Old Nauvoo Cemetery.  This grave stone was place by family members in recent years.

Mary’s widower husband became disaffected with the Church after the death of Joseph Smith and would not support Brigham Young.  James re-married in 1847 and traveled into Iowa when the mobs drove the Saints out of Nauvoo.  James and his family, including some brothers and their families, bought land in The Half-Breed Tract and stayed.  Mary’s daughter Hannah Maria Newberry is our direct ancestor.  She married George Morris while in Nauvoo and emigrated with him to Utah.  Most of the children of Mary and James Newberry affiliated with The Re-Organized Church which today is known as The Community of Christ.

The migration of Mary Smith Newberry

New York to Pennsylvania to Ohio to Illinois

Tags: illinois, Morris, Newberry, ohio, smith, the mormon church