Isabell Hill Romney

Isabell Hill Romney

was born on March 3, 1863, in Salt Lake City, Utah, into a family defined by pioneer leadership. Her father, Miles Park Romney, was a builder and colonizer, and her mother, Hannah Hood Hill, managed their expanding household through successive migrations. Growing up in the early settlements of Utah, Isabell witnessed firsthand the physical demands and social structures of the early Latter-day Saint community.

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In 1883, Isabell married Dr. William Erastus Platt in the St. George Temple. Her husband, who later became one of the most prominent early doctors in eastern Arizona, was then establishing his career. Soon after their marriage, church leaders called the family to colonize the remote St. Johns area in Apache County, Arizona Territory.

The St. Johns Mission

The colonization of St. Johns was a difficult assignment. The region was characterized by alkaline soil, scarce water, and intense friction between the newly arrived Mormon agriculturalists and the established non-Mormon cattle ranchers, a group often referred to as the St. Johns Ring. In this tense and isolated environment, Isabell managed a pioneer home, preparing meals from basic rations, sewing clothing, and caring for her young children. Her daughter, Clara Platt, who would later become a licensed pharmacist and co-founder of Goodman's Pharmacy in Mesa, was born in St. Johns in 1898.

^{[GED]GED — Genealogy DatabaseGEDCOM Master File: William Erastus Platt}

Around 1900, the family relocated to Safford in the Gila Valley. Dr. Platt received Arizona medical license #41 and built a large practice, traveling across the valley to treat patients. Isabell bore eleven children in total, though only six survived to adulthood, a reflection of the high infant mortality rates that characterized the frontier before the advent of modern sanitation and medicine.

Community Leadership and Legacy

In Safford, Isabell became a pillar of the local community. She served as president of the Layton Ward Mutual Improvement Association for eight years, organizing educational programs and social activities for the young women of the ward. Her leadership provided stability to many young families adjusting to the challenges of rural Arizona life.

Isabell died suddenly of acute indigestion in Safford on June 8, 1919, at the age of fifty-six. Her death occurred on the eve of the post-war influenza pandemic. The loss of his wife deeply affected Dr. Platt, who immersed himself in public health work in the subsequent years, including the organization of the famous valley-wide tonsillectomy clinics. Through her daughter Clara, Isabell's commitment to community and resilience was transmitted directly to the Goodman medical family of Mesa.