Eliza R. Snow

Eliza Roxey Snow (January 21, 1804 – December 5, 1887) was a Mormon Pioneer, poet, and second Relief Society general president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which she re-established in the Utah Territory in 1866. She was also one of the plural wives of Joseph Smith and then later of Brigham Young after Smith's death. Eliza R. Snow was the older sister of Lorenzo Snow, the LDS Church's fifth president.

In the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she was a well-known and significant figure. Several Hymns authored by her are still widely sung today in LDS Sacrament Meetings: a notable example of which is the Hymn O My Father, which makes reference to teachings concerning a Pre-Mortal Existence and a Heavenly Mother.

Early years and education

Eliza Roxey Snow was born in Becket, Massachusetts, the second of seven children (four daughters and three sons) to Oliver Snow III (1775–1845) and Rosetta Leonara Pettibone Snow (1778–1846). Her parents were of English descent and their ancestors were among the earliest settlers of New England. Although her middle name is a namesake from her paternal aunt Roxey Snow (1776–1817), her middle name is also frequently spelled as Roxcy. When she was two years old, her family left New England to settle on a new and fertile farm in the Western Reserve valley, in Mantua Township, Portage County, Ohio. The Snow family valued learning and saw that each child had educational opportunities.

Although a farmer by occupation, Oliver Snow performed much public business, officiating in several responsible positions. His daughter, Eliza, being ten years the senior of her eldest brother, was employed as secretary, as soon as she was competent, in her father's office as justice of the peace. She was skilled in various kinds of needlework and home manufactures. Two years in succession she drew the prize awarded by the committee on manufactures, at the county fair, for the best manufactured leghorn bonnet.