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Harriet joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“Mormon”) and with her three children and various Stillman relatives,* cast her lot with the Saints in Illinois. There she met and married Daniel Russell, a widower with several children. When the Saints were driven from Nauvoo, Harriet’s eldest daughter, Minerva, chose to remain in Illinois, Frances Mariah had become the wife of Samuel Russell and joined the family in the Salt Lake Valley two years later. Harriet and her son Charles arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in the fall of 1848.
The family settled at the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon in Salt Lake County. Mr. Russell built a large one room cabin. The south end was partitioned off for a granary. Later another room and a loft were added. In the east and west sides two six pane windows gave light. There was also a large barn and it was often used for dances then. The rafters would ring with music and laughter. Music of the fiddle and stomping of the feet carried the Pioneer dances to full swing. Harriet enjoyed these dances and social gatherings to the utmost. She was a large fleshy woman with a happy nature and a heart full of kindness. She never turned anyone away who was in need of sustenance, be they Indian or white.

In July 1866 she went by mule to American Fork to visit with friends. When she returned home she was stricken with a (probable) heart attack and died July 9, 1866. She was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery in a coffin made by Peter Ranck, a pioneer carpenter, and in an enclosure with a number of her Stillman kin. 1 		Harriet stone
1I’ve long been aware that Grandma Harriet and her kids joined the “Mormon” gathering from Colebrook; only recently has it become apparent to me that other Stillmans (and perhaps others) from Colebrook also came to Nauvoo at about the same time. Grandpa Jason’s brother, our GG Uncle Dexter Stillman, in particular, seems to have achieved some prominence there. My education continues.
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