JULIA HILLS JOHNSON Born September 28, 1763 in Upton Massachusetts Died May 30, 1853 in Council Bluffs Iowa Married Ezekiel Johnson January 12, 1801 in Grafton Mass. Her father died when she was young from tuberculosis. Her mother married Enoch Forbush. She was from a substantial New England family, being a descendent of the early Massachusetts settlers, intelligent, and reasonably well educated. She was a staunch Presbyterian and taught her children to read the bible and pray. Her oldest son, Joel H. went to Anerherst where he was baptized, She sent him a letter warning them of the "Mormons". He wrote back and said he'd already been baptized and sent a copy of the Book Of Mormon. She read it with family members and close friends, and when Joel and the missionaries came, she was secretly baptized in the middle of the night. When Ezekiel found out, he was very upset, he had been considering baptism also, but because she did it without discussing it first, he was turned away from the Church. She was the first mother-in-law of plural marriage. Her daughter Almera became the Prophet's 1st plural wife and also the first plural wife in the church. Julia made hats, neckties, and did needle work to help make ends meet and later to help with building the Kirkland Temple. She wrote the hymn THE JOY AND THE SONG which Emma Smith requested be put in THE FIRST BOOK OF HYMNS FOR THE RESTORED CHURCH. Because Ezekiel wouldn't join the church and had left the home for good, Julia was advised to be sealed to John Smith. She was a member of the first Woman's Relief Society of the Church. She trusted fully in the Lord. When writing to her half sister of the death of her four children, she said "What can I say, but the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." In all she did she was faithful. She traveled with "Kirkland Camp" to Missouri. During the trip, near Springfield, Illinois, Samuel Hale and his wife died leaving a ten year old daughter. Julia adopted her and raised her as one of her own. While they were in Springfield, Julia and her son George Washington contracted typhoid fever and nearly died. She was a very strong member and loved the church very much. When the great migration west started, she stayed in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where she died. She was a very loved and highly thought of person.
EZEKIEL JOHNSON Born January 12, 1776 at Uxbridge Massachusetts Died January 13, 1845 in Nauvoo Illinois Married Julia Hills January 12, 1801 He was by nature a most tender and affectionate husband and parent. He was obliging and true - a man of truth and honor among men. He had a problem with intemperance which at times, changed his whole nature. He was 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a solid build. He had fine light brown hair and mild, but piercing blue eyes. He had tight smooth skin. He had the habit early on of the use of "ardent spirits". He never met his father, who went to fight in the Revolutionary war before Ezekiel was born. Some say he was killed in battle, others say he just never came back. His mother was fined for being pregnant out of wedlock. She eventually married John King. Ezekiel didn't get along with him because he was abusive. When the opportunity came at about 14 years old, he ran away, never to see his mother again. It is believed that she eventually went to Canada. This is all the information of his early life, there isn't any record of him until he is in his twenties. Some notes were found giving the impression that he was in the cow bell business. He was a thrifty man. After he was married, he worked as a carpenter building cabins for the new settlers and clearing the timber for farm land. I guess you could say he was an early realtor. He was a wanderer. He would build a cabin in a secluded area, when a few neighbors moved in, he would move on . He was considering baptism into the Mormon Church, when he found out his wife had secretly been baptized in the night. He was very distressed and said he would never have anything to do with the Church. In 1835, he left the family home for good. He lived with his daughter Esther and her family in Nauvoo. He eventually gave up drinking and had a change of heart about the church. He was very upset when Joseph Smith was killed. He became a one man army of defense. He carried his double-barreled shot gun "Old Bess" and held off a company of soldiers by hiding behind a tree and stepping out pointing the gun at the captain when they got right on him. He told them to leave or he would shoot. They left and tried to sneak in on another street, but he was waiting for them and did the same thing, this time he told them if they did it again, he would just shoot. This gave the saints enough time to escape. This incident led to his death. He became a marked man. On a trip into Nauvoo, a mob captured him and tied him to a wagon wheel were he was whipped to near death. He never recovered and died shortly after. He had asked for baptism but because of his sudden death, never received it. President Wilford Woodruff gave permission for his descendants to do his temple work and seal him to his family. President Woodruff said that Ezekiel "was one of the first Martyrs to the cause of the Church in this dispensation."