The First Smoky Mountain Saints

The First Members & Their Missionaries

These are the first baptized and confirmed members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who laid the foundations for the organization of the Smoky Mountain Ward and the missionaries who baptized and confirmed them. Click their names to visit their FamilySearch pages.

*The first members of the Woody family, Sarah Woody and Cora Woody, and their parents, Jonathan Woody and Samantha Naillon, moved from Cocke County to Blount County at an unknown date between July 1894 and April 1895, based on a review of mission journals, East Tennessee Conference Minutes, and where the missionaries were assigned at the time of their baptisms. They were baptized in Cocke County, Tennessee and, as early as April 1895, all four were living in Blount County, Tennessee – Sarah Woody in Millers Cove, and Jonathan and Samantha also in Millers Cove and then in Townsend, and Cora Woody at an unknown location in Blount County. The first documentation of Sarah Woody living in Blount County is April 5, 1895 in the mission journal of Elder William Hayes, again July 9, 1895 in the mission journal of Elder James Hubbard, and also at later dates in other mission journals. The first documentation of Jonathan Woody and Samantha Naillon living in Millers Cove is September 28, 1895 in the mission journal of Elder John Hinckley, in Townsend on February 2, 1904 in the mission journal of Elder Leroy Armstrong, and possibly in Millers Cove June 5-7, 1902 in the mission journal of Elder Abinadi Porter. Cora Woody was baptized in Cocke County on July 7, 1894, according to baptismal records and the mission journal of Elder Hyrum Bair and is recorded later in East Tennessee Conference minutes living in Blounty County.

^Jordan and Louvenia Hicks were baptized in Mitchell, North Carolina in 1885, based on baptismal records, and re-baptized in Millers Cove, Tennessee in 1893, based on the mission journal of Elder Robert Young, baptismal records, and East Tennessee Conference Minutes.

ªNole and Alberta Harmon were born in Cades Cove, Tennessee and baptized in Georgia before returning to East Tennessee.

**Jobe Harmon has two baptismal records dated 1897 and 1902. It is possible he was baptized in 1897 and re-baptized in 1902.

***Amasa Hamblin is yet to be identified in Church History Collections or Family Search. His name possibly is misidentified in records.

Learn how these members were identified in Church History Collections.