Zebulon LIBBY

                   SHORT HISTORY OF HANNAH KNIGHT LIBBY:
       Hannah Knight Libby was a 6th generation American whose ancestors came from England at the beginning of the 17th century. Her parents, Captain Zebulon Libby and Lydia Andrews, were living in Scarborough, ME, when Hannah was born 9 Oct 1786, a town where her family had been for over 160 years. She and John Carter (md 2 Mar 1805) were well entrenched when the Mormon elders, John Boynton and Daniel Bean, came preaching a new LDS religion. Hannah and John Carter had been married for 29 years (md 2 Mar 1805) and she had given birth to 11 children with the youngest living child 11 years old. Their religious faith was Methodist. Hannah was very sick in bed at the time and when the elders gave her a healing priesthood blessing saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ, be thou made whole," she called for her clothes and walked 1/2 mile to the Bear River to be baptized. Thus, a new life began in a new setting.
       The miracle of Hannah's healing and conversion had a great influence on all of the family. Six of her 9 living children were converted and baptized shortly thereafter. Her husband, John, never joined the Church but he was supportive and moved west with his family as far as Illinois. (The reader is referred to the histories of John Carter, her husband, and Dominicus Carter, her oldest son, for more detail of the westward movement.) Hannah remained steadfast and faithful to the Church throughout her life, even when John Boynton became one of the bitterest enemies of the Prophet Joseph Smith and her husband refused to cross the plains of Iowa, Nebraska and Wyoming to Utah. There were the deprovations of Ohio, Missouri and Illinois.
       When the family reached Illinois they settled in a camp near Lima, midway between Quincy and Nauvoo, with Isaac Morley their leader. The land was good and they prospered. But opposition arose and when the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred they were forced to go to Nauvoo. They were able to return to Morley's Settlement for a couple of years but Hannah's stay would not last. The saints must leave Nauvoo and go west. Now the real decision had to be made as John refused to move again. But Hannah's love for the gospel that gave her new life prevailed and she joined Dominicus in moving to Utah. Hannah must have been impressed with Isaac Morley because she not only received a patriarchal blessing under his hands but was also sealed to him in the Nauvoo Temple before leaving. This was a heavenly relationship and not a living one. No record has been found that Hannah ever divorced John.
       Hannah crossed the plains at age 65 with Dominicus and lived with him in Provo until her death in 1867 at age 81. She was buried in the Provo Cemetary following a graveside funeral. Another service was held in 1941 when her grave was marked in bronze.
       Hannah fretted over her children that did not join the Church. She expressed a deep concern and interest in temple work, leaving a list for whom ordinances were to be performed. Doninicus wrote to Philip at Morley's Settlement of their mother's condition, exhorting him to "... come out of Babylon or confusion and come with us ..."  Hannah left a legacy that few can match.      SCJ