Archives West Finding Aid

Amanda Barnes(1809-1886) was born in Massachusetts, moved to Amherst, Ohio, married Warren Smith, became a Mormon over the objections of her family and moved on to Missouri. En route, her party became the target if the Haun's Mill massacre, where her husband and son, Sardius, were killed and her third son, Alma, was seriously wounded--one hip was shot away. With no medical help available, she prayed and received instruction for treatment of the young boy; he regained complete health and this was considered by some a miracle. She married again to another man with the same name, Warren Smith, and the same occupation, blacksmith, and had three more children; however, this marriage ended when Brigham Young later pronounced them divorced in Salt Lake City. Amanda moved on to Utah in 1850 and raised her family --her own children Alma(1831-1887), Alvira(1831-1921), Ortencia (1834-1908), Warren (1844-1935), and Sarah (1846-1925); and the children of the second Warren's first wife Lydia--essentially alone. The children were active in the LDS Church, participated in plural marriages and raised large families. Her other son, Willard (1827-1903), joined the Mormon Battalion in Nauvoo in 1846, served in the Mexican War, and later served a mission in England. Alma served three missions in the Sandwich Island (Hawaii) and one in England (see also the Alma L. Smith Diary, Accn 1604).