Margaret Tittle

In Wilford Woodruff's journal, we learn of a Tennessee convert named Margaret Tittle. The year was 1836, and Wilford Woodruff was joined just a month earlier by David W. Patten. Elder Patten had recently returned from Kirtland Ohio where he received his endowments, in the Kirtland, Ohio Temple.

May 17th, Brother Patten and myself laid hands on Margaret Tittle, who lay at the point of death, and she was instantly healed through the power of God. Brother Patten had preached faith, repentance and baptism to her, and she covenanted to be baptized; but after she was healed refused to attend to that ordinance. Brother Patten told her she was acting a dangerous part, and the Lord would again afflict her if she did not repent.

We pursued our journey, and on our return found her very low with the same fever; she begged us to lay hands upon her and heal her, and she would obey the Gospel. We again laid hands upon her, and she was healed, and went down to the water and I baptized her.

I have looked far and wide for other references to Margaret Tittle; Newspapers, Census records, LDS Church histories, journals of other misionaries in Tennessee, etc. So far no luck. I'm not ready to give up yet. But given her earlier reluctance to even get baptized after having received a miracle, I wonder if shortly after these famous missionaries left, she fell away from the church. Perhaps she contracted her fever a third time and died before the next U. S. Census. Perhaps her husband died and she remarried. We may never know. Some people have simply slipped through the cracks.

If you know of something that might help me find her, I'm all ears.