Mini History - Shadrach ROUNDY

Shadrach helped build the Kirtland Temple
began 1833 completed 1836

Shadrach Roundy
(from a history written in the Deseret News)
Prepared by Joseph F. Buchanan

Shadrach Roundy, first Bishop of the Sixteenth Ward, Salt Lake City, Utah (from 1849 to 1856), was born Jan. 1, 1789, in Rockingham, Windham county, Vermont. When about twenty-five years old he married Betsy Quimby, of Essex county, Vermont, who bore him ten children--four sons and six daughters. He moved with his family to Onondago county, New York, and there heard of the gospel being revealed to Joseph Smith. In the winter of 1830-31 he left his home and traveled on horseback to see the Prophet Joseph, who then resided at Fayette, Seneca county, New York. After having an interview with the Prophet, he was baptized and became an honorable member of the Church. His wife and those of his children who were old enough also embraced the gospel about the same time. April 16, 1836, in Kirtland, Ohio, where the main body of the Church was then in conference assembled, he received a license to preach the gospel, having previously been ordained an Elder. Subsequently, he removed to Missouri, where he shared with the Saints in their persecutions, and afterward located temporarily in Warsaw, Ill. About the year 1840 he removed to Nauvoo, where he served as captain of police. In times of imminent danger and persecutions he acted as special guard around the person of the Prophet Joseph. On several occasions he was on duty without intermission, for many days and nights, without sleep or rest. His love for the Prophet was so great that he would have given his own life freely in defense of his beloved friend and brother. On one occasion, when the Prophet had been forewarned that he was in danger, he sent for Bro. Roundy and told him to pick a trusty man to be on guard with him at his house, as a party was coming that night by water to kidnap him. Bro. Roundy selected Josiah Arnold and placed him on guard at the gate, with orders to admit no one, while he himself took his beat by the river, but on hearing a noise he hastily repaired to the gate and found William Law inside the gate and others in the act of entering. Bro. Roundy, who had a hickory walking cane in his hand, quickly took hold of it at each end, and pressing it against the men forced them back outside, and then fastened the gate. William Law endeavored to explain that the men who were with him were gentlemen merchants, who wanted to see the mummies. Bro. Roundy replied that if they were gentlemen they should come at gentlemen's hours. William Law insisted that Brother Joseph would admit them; the admission fee was 25 cents for each. On their agreeing not to try to enter while he was gone, Bro. Roundy went to Joseph's room. The Prophet, who had overheard the conversation, told Elder Roundy to go back and tell the strangers as a message from him what he (Roundy) had already told them himself. Thus was the Prophet's life and property preserved by the courage and fidelity of Elder Roundy and associate. Elder Roundy came to Great Salt Lake valley as one of the pioneers of 1847, and was one of the three men who plowed the first furrow in Great Salt Lake valley.

An Enduring Legacy, Volume One, p.60
No. 4584. Large White Sugar Bowl with Lid. Belonged to Ann Hagerty, who was born November 28, 1819. She married [p.61] Robert James Wright and while they were in Nauvoo, Lydia Ann Wright was born. The family departed Nauvoo while Lydia was a baby, arriving in Utah in October, 1850. Just two weeks after their arrival both parents died. Lydia was taken into the home of Bishop Shadrack Roundy and here is where she lived until she was sixteen years of age and capable of earning her own living. At the time of her departure from his home, Bishop Roundy presented her with this sugar bowl, the only preserved possession of her mother.

History of the Church, Vol.6, Ch.6, p.149 At four p. m., I met with the city council. Having selected forty men to act as city policemen, they met with the Council, and were sworn into office to support the Constitution of the United States and the State of Illinois, and obey the ordinances of this city and the instructions of the Mayor, according to the best of their ability. Names of police called by Captain Jonathan Dunham: Jonathan Dunham, High Policeman, Charles C. Rich, 1st Lieutenant, Hosea Stout, 2nd Lieutenant, Shadrack Roundy, 3rd Lieut., John Pack, Ensign, Jesse P. Harmon, Orderly Sergt., John D. Lee, 2nd Sergeant, Daniel Carn, 3rd Sergeant, Josiah Arnold, 4th Sergeant, James Emmett, 1st Corporal, Alexander Mills, 2nd Corporal, Steven H. Goddard, 3rd Corporal, William Pace, 4th Corporal, Abraham C. Hodge, Pioneer, Levi W. Hancock, Fifer, Daniel M. Repsher, Fifer, Richard D. Sprague, Drummer, Samuel Billings, Drummer, Abraham O. Smoot, Dwight Harding, John Lytle, Simeon A. Dunn, Andrew Lytle. Appleton M. Harmon, Howard Egan, James Pace, Benjamin Boyce, Francis M. Edwards, Lorenzo Clark, William H. Edwards, Davies McOlney, Moses M. Sanders, Abram Palmer, Warren A. Smith, Isaac C. Haight, George W. Clyde, John L. Butler, Vernon H. Bruce, Elbridge Tufts, Armsted Moffet, Truman R. Barlow, Azra Adams.

see also: Biography of Shadrack Roundy. 1 vol.
Location: Springville Public Library Manuscripts Div., Springville, Utah, 84663. 1. Roundy, Shadrack 2. Biographies. File 3 Fd 42 ID: UTSW89-A3502 Guide to Archives and Manuscripts Collections In Selected Utah Repositories Autobiography titled "Great and Obvious Travails of Shadrack Roundy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." Written at age eighty. Cursory. Conversion to Mormonism, move to Ohio, move to Missouri, move to Illinois. Counselor in bishopric. Captain of police force. In Nauvoo Legion. Westward move with pioneers, 1847. Member of state legislature. Bishop of Sixteenth Ward. Captain of militia company. Recrossed plains five times.

Roundy, Shadrack 1 Jan 1788 - 4 Jul 1872 The Revelations of The Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of The Doctrine and Covenants by Lyndon W. Cook. [Provo, Utah: Seventy's Mission Bookstore, c1981.] p.273

Roundy, Shadrack 1 Jan 1789 - Book of Remembrance of Sixteenth Ward -- Riverside Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [Salt Lake City, 1945.] p.134 The City In-Between: History of Centerville, Utah, Including Some Biographies and Autobiographies of Some of Its Original Settlers. First edition. [Centerville, Utah: Mary Ellen Smoot and Marilyn Sheriff, c1975.] p.255

Roundy, Shadrack 1789 - 1872 Mormon Manuscripts To 1846: A Guide To The Holdings of The Harold B. Lee Library compiled by Hyrum Leslie Andrus and Richard F. Bennett. [Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1977.] p.144 Biographical sketch. Typescript. 3 pp. Born in Rockingham, Windham County, Vermont, son of Uriah Roundy. Marriage and family; removal to Onondaga County, New York; interview with Joseph Smith at Fayette, New York, in the winter of 1830-31; baptism and brief sketch of his life in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois; captain of police at Nauvoo, Illinois. Roundy, Shadrah 1 Jan 1788 - 4 Jul 1872 Pioneers of 1847 by Susan Ward Easton. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1980. @ p.13 Wiggins, Marvin E. Mormons and Their Neighbors Wiggins, Marvin E. Mormons and Their Neighbors (Supplement) Later immigrants of 1847 Heart Throbs of the West, Vol.8, p.445 When this company of Fifty met the Pioneers, Capt. Lorenzo Roundy returned with them to Winter Quarters and his father Shadrach Roundy, who was returning eastward with the Pioneers took Capt. Roundy's place as captain of the first ten and returned to the valley.

1847 / 1848 / 1850 Mormon Trail - Shadrach ROUNDY - Original Pioneer

Seventh Generation - Shadrach and Betsey ROUNDY traveled separately

Places lived: Vermont / NY / Ohio to MO / Nauvoo / Winter Quarters / Salt Lake City, UT Shadrach ROUNDY age 58 / b. 1789 Rockingham, VT - m. 1814 Rockingham, VT - - d. 1872 Salt Lake City, UT - buried Salt Lake City Cemetery 

BAPTIZED: Jan 1831, NY Member of the Presiding Bishopric Nauvoo (D&C 124:141). Body Guard to Joseph Smith Jr. Bishop Winter Quarters 5th Ward-Assistant, John D. Parker. Planted the first crop in the Valley. Member of the first High Council organized in the Salt Lake Valley. Bishop Great Salt Lake City 16th Ward. A senator in the first legislature of the provisional Stake of Deseret.

Shadrach ROUNDY crossed the plains 5 times

1st trip west to the Rocky Mountains: The Original Pioneer trip with Brigham Young arriving July 24 1849.

(Shadrach was with the advance party arriving 22 July 1947 before BRigham Young.)

BY LAND: 1847 Brigham Young Pioneer Company Departure: 14 April 1847 Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 21-24 July 1847 Roundy, Shadrach (58) Pioneer Information: Shadrach’s son in-law John Davis Parker provided Shadrach with a wagon for this Pioneer journey. Shadrach was elected to be a Major in the company. Shadrach also served as Captain of 50 and Captain of 10. Company Information: The original pioneer company consisted of 142 men, 3 women, and 2 children, and 72 wagons when they left the outfitting post of Winter Quarters, Nebraska. They covered the 1031 miles of the trail in 111 days. 13^th Ten 127 Shadrack Roundy - Leader 128 Hans C. Hanson 129 Levi Jackman 130 Lyman Curtis 131 John Brown 132 Mat[t]hew Ivory 133 David Powell 134 Hark Lay Blacks 135 Oscar Crosby Additional Family Note: Other family member with the Original Pioneers - our 3rd great grand uncle 20 year old Horace ENSIGN son of widowed pioneer Mary BRONSON ENSIGN. Read Trail Excerpt: Accordingly in April, 1847, the Presidency with a company of <75> wagons and 146 <148> men and provisions to last a few months started for the mountains, not knowing where, and without any guide excepting Israel’s God, who was with us by night and by day and by the voice of His Spirit pointed out the way wherein we should go. We traveled many hundred miles where a team had never gone before. We had many streams to cross, some of which were dangerous. We were frequently annoyed by the Indians who would steal our horses or anything that they could get hold of. But to let the fatigues and dangers of the journey pass, suffice it to say that on the 22^nd and 24^th of July we found ourselves in this valley, which is about 80 30 miles wide and perhaps 100 long, bounded on the northwest by the Salt Lake. (Jackman, Levi, Letter, Salt Lake City [Utah] 1850.) Roundy, Shadrach, 1847, NA, NA, Heart Throbs of the West, Vol. 3, Page 338 Roundy, Shadrach, 1847, NA, NA, Roster found in Heart Throbs of the West, Volume 8, Pages 401-448 2nd trip west to the Rocky Mountains: Heber C. Kimball Company (1848) Departure: 7 June 1848 Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 24 September 1848 Roundy, Shadrach (59) Pioneer Information: Shadrach left Salt Lake with George Washington Bean and a group of men and met Kimball's company about 20 July east of Fort Laramie. He then traveled back to Salt Lake with the Kimball company as a captain of ten. Company Information: 662 individuals were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Winter Quarters, Nebraska. Roundy, Shadrach, 1848, NA, Heber C. Kimball-2nd Division, J.H. Supp. after 31 Dec.1848 p. 11-16 microfilm 1259737 3rd trip west to the Rocky Mountains: Shadrach Roundy Company (1850) Departure: 22 June 1850 Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 10, 19 September 1850 Roundy, Shadrach (61) Pioneer Information: Captain of company Shadrach ROUNDY Read Trail Excerpt: Pioneer Jounrnal of Shadrach ROUNDY [June] 27 Passed 7 Graves[.] Roads Good[.] plenty of feed but no wood or water fit to drink[.] plenty of Slough Water for Cattle

28 Heavy Rain[.] Roads Bad[.] Met 2 Teams from Valley[.] passed one Grave. No Wood or Water[.] another Death[.] a Daughter of W[illia]ms Camp

29 Roads bad. More Rain[.] Met Kearney Mail. Lost 6 head of Horses belonging to Motts Camped at a Slue[.] Water bad and no Wood

30 Drove to Fairview in Sight of the Platte and Laid up[.] The Valley Mail came in Camp at noon and Stopt untill next day[.] here we found good water[.] Plenty of Wood and fine feed for our Cattle[.] after leaving Weeping Water Untill we Struck this Creek we found no Water fit for drinking but abundance of Slough Water in almost every ravine and plenty of good feed. but no Wood

July 1^st 1850

Roads Bad[.] Several Wet Swamps to cross[.] passed one Grave[.] Bad Water[.] No Wood. 2 carrells [corrals.] this night the [Rust] Mott crowd in by themselves

2^nd Passed a Number of Bad Sloughs[.] Broke axletree of Becks Waggon[.] passed 6 Graves[.] drove on to Cotton Wood point on Platte and Camped[.] found plenty of Fuel[,] Water[,] and feed and saw 3 Graves here

3 Roads good[.] camped at River[.] no Wood[.] Passed 5 Graves

4 Crossed Bluffs. Fight between [Ca.fs] and his driver[.] drove about 23 Miles[.] The Weather being very warm some of the ox Teams failed in getting to camp. Stopt some 5 Miles in the rear[.] 4 Graves this day[.] Camped near River. no Wood

Roundy, Shadrach, 1850, NA, Shadrach Roundy, J.H. Supp. after 31 Dec 1850 p.21-26 microfilm 1259738 SEE: Pedigree of Kirt DeMar WOOD - Laura Elizabeth PARKER SEE: Pioneer Company Search

1847 Mormon Trail: Betsey QUIMBY ROUNDY - Pioneer Mother with Grown and Smaller

Seventh Generation - Betsey QUIMBY and Shadrach ROUNDY traveled separately

Places Lived: Vermont / NY / Ohio / MO / Nauvoo / Winter Quarters / UT Betsey QUIMBY ROUNDY age 53 / b. 1795 Lunenbury, VT - d. 1872 Salt Lake City, UT - buried Salt Lake City Cemetery BAPTIZED: 1832, NY BY LAND: 1847 Abraham O. Smoot - Samuel Russell Company Departure: 17 June 1847 Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 25 September 1847 Roundy, Betsey Quimby (53) Roundy, Bryon Donalvin (3) Roundy, Jared Curtis (20) Roundy, Lauren Hotchkiss (32) Roundy, Lorenzo Wesley (28) Roundy, Myron Shadrach (3) Roundy, Nancy Jane (13) Roundy, Susannah Wallace (26) Roundy, William Heber (1) Pioneer Information: Betsey traveled with one daughter, three sons, one daughter in-law and three grandchildren. Shadrach was returning to Winter Quarters when he meet this wagon train. Lorenzo Wesley Roundy returned to Winter Quarters for his father and Shadrach accompanied his wife Betsey to the valley. Company Information: 95 individuals were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post on the Elkhorn River about 27 miles west of Winter Quarters, Nebraska. Roundy, Betsey, 1847, NA, NA, Roster found in Heart Throbs of the West, Volume 8, Pages 401-448 Roundy, Betsey, 1847, NA, NA, The Pioneers of 1847 book US/CAN 929.2 W2p film Europe 1183516 item 10 Roundy, Betsey, 1850, 55, Utah 1850 Census, Great Salt Lake County Page 30 Microfilm 25540 See: Pedigree of Kirt DeMar WOOD - Laura Elizabeth PARKER

Shadrach ROUNDY Pioneer 24 Jul 1847

BYU Studies-Mormon Biographical Registers

Roundy, Shadrach (1788-1872), was born at Rockingham, Windham County, Vermont. Married Betsy Quimby, 1814. Family records show him in Spafford, Onondaga County, New York, between 1815 and 1831, and in Willoughby, Ohio, between 1834 and 1838. Converted to Mormonism, 1831. Member of Nauvoo, Illinois bishopric, and Legion, 1841; policeman, 1843. Bodyguard to Joseph Smith. Arrived in Salt Lake Valley, 1847. Member of Salt Lake high council, 1847-48. Bishop of the Salt Lake City 16th Ward, 1849-56. Died at Salt Lake City. [PJSv1]

Roundy, Shadrach (1788-1872), was born at Rockingham, Windham County, Vermont. Married Betsy Quimby, 1814. Family records show him in Spafford, Onondaga County, New York, between 1815 and 1831, and in Willoughby, Ohio, between 1834 and 1838. Converted to Mormonism, 1831. Member of Nauvoo, Illinois bishopric, and Nauvoo Legion, 1841; policeman, 1843. A bodyguard to Joseph Smith. Arrived in Salt Lake Valley, 1847. Member of Salt Lake high council, 1847-48. Bishop of the Salt Lake City 16th Ward, 1849-56. Died at Salt Lake City. [PJSv2]

Roundy, Shadrack. Son of Uriah Roundy and Lucretia Needham. Born 1 January 1788 in Rockingham, Windham County, Vermont. Married Betsy Quimby (born 1795 in Vermont) 22 June 1814. Ten children: Lauren Hotchkiss, Julia Rebecca, Lorenzo Wesley, Lauretta, Samantha, Jared Curtis, Almeda Sophia, William Felshaw, Nancy Jane, and Malinda. Moved to Onondaga County, New York, by 1815. Baptized 23 January 1831. Ordained elder 16 May 1832 by Orson Hyde and Samuel H. Smith. Moved to Kirtland by 1834. Worked on Kirtland Temple. Received blessing for working on Kirtland Temple 7 March 1835. Ordained seventy in Kirtland about March 1836. Moved to Far West, Missouri, by 1838. Present in Far West 26 April 1839, when members of Twelve Apostles left for missions to England. Expelled from Missouri 1839. Located temporarily in Warsaw, Illinois, 1839. Moved to Nauvoo about 1840. Appointed by revelation to assume bishopric under leadership of Vinson Knight 19 January 1841. Member of Nauvoo Legion 4 February 1841. Ordained high priest by 1842. Temporary member of Nauvoo high council 1842. Initiated into Masonry 1842. Nauvoo policeman 29 December 1843. Member of Nauvoo Mercantile and Mechanical Association 13 January 1845. Appointed by Brigham Young to organize company of one hundred to locate in California October 1845. Plan did not materialize. Bodyguard to Joseph Smith. Member of Council of Fifty. Received endowment 25 December 1845. Left Nauvoo for West 1846. Arrived in Salt Lake Valley July 1847. Member of Salt Lake high council 1847-48. Assisted in bringing poor emigrants from Midwest to Salt Lake Valley. Bishop of Salt Lake Sixteenth Ward 14 April 1849-56. Died in Salt Lake City, Utah, 4 July 1872. [Cook]

Roundy, Shadrick or Shadrach (1788-1872), was born on Jan. 1, 1788, in Rockingham, Vermont, to Uriah Roundy and Lucretia Needham. Married Betsy Quimby on June 22, 1814, and they had ten children. Baptized by McLellin on Jan. 30, 1832. Was ordained an elder by Orson Hyde and Samuel H. Smith on May 16, 1832. Was ordained a seventy and a high priest in Kirtland. Served as Joseph Smith’s bodyguard, as a member of the Nauvoo Legion, and as captain of the Nauvoo police force. Initiated into Masonry in 1842. Moved west in 1847. Assisted in bringing poor migrants from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley. Died in July 1872 in Salt Lake City. [McLellin]

http://byustudies.byu.edu/Indexes/BioAlpha/MBRegisterR.aspx

(Of Interest: Shadrach Roundy was 58 years of age and the oldest of the Original Pioneers, he eventually crossed the plains 5 times. 20 year old Horace ENSIGN the brother of our grandfather Martin Luther ENSIGN was also one of the original Pioneers of 24 Jul 1847.)

Mormon Trail - Mormon Pioneer, Simeon Adams DUNN

Mormon Pioneer ancestor of Camilla SMITH WOOD Simeon Adams DUNN Seventh Generation from JR

From JR back seventh generations Simeon Adams Dunn (1803-1883) m. 1828 1- Adaline Rawson (1811-1841 in Nauvoo) / m. 1842 2-Margaret Snyder(1812-1846 Nauvoo) / m.1846 3-Jane Caldwell / m.1847 Harriet Atwood Silver (1818-1858) Harriet traveled west with Simeon and his little girls /m.1865 Elizabeth Wickham / m.181868 Abagail Stoddard. Simeon was not a polygamist.

Lived in New York, Rawsonville, MI / Nauvoo, IL / Great Salt Lake City, Brigham City, UT Simeon Adams Dunn age 43/ b. 18 NY - m. 18 - MI. - d. 18 UT - other spouse- 2, 3, 4, 5, BAPTIZED: 1839, served 3 missions. BY LAND: 1848 Brigham Young Company Departure: 5 June 1848 Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 20-24 September 1848 Dunn, Simeon Adams (43) Betsy Dunn, Harriet Atwood Silver (29) wife of Simeon and step mother to these girls. Dunn, Mary (14)* Dunn, Betsy (10) Dunn, Susannah (5) [Susannah is half sister to Mary and Betsy.] [Missing from list is Adaline Dunn (18) oldest living daughter of Simeon Dunn. Adaline had been seal at age 15 in the Nauvoo temple to Alpheus Peter HAWS age 20. Alpheus P. Haws became part of the Mormon Battalion. (Mary Dunn had been sealed at age 12 to 11 year old M. L. Hancock and Betsy at age 8 to 20 year old Alpheus Peter HAWS they were not considered married to until they came of age.)] Pioneer Information: first two wives died in Nauvoo, married third wife divorced she took their son, Simeon traveled with third wife Harriet and three daughters ages 14,10, and 5. Company Information: 1220 individuals were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Winter Quarters, Nebraska. Trail Excerpt: Simeon is mentioned in Lorenzo Brown’s diary [Brown, Lorenzo, Reminiscences and diaries, 1856-[1900], vol. 1, 37-53. ] as having lost a cow on August 18th. Betsy Dunn mentions this event in her letter describing the trek. Camilla SMITH - George Ensign SMITH pedigree

Mormon Trail - Teenage Pioneer, Mary DUNN (ENSIGN) - Michigan/Nauvoo Saints

From JR sixth generations back to Mary DUNN (1833-1920) who m.1852 Martin Luther ENSIGN (1831-1911) Mary DUNN Daughter of Simeon Adams DUNN, born Bellville, Michigan. died Brigham City, Utah came to Utah at age 14, September 1848 with Brigham Young Company.

[Mary DUNN ENSIGN is linked to her Autobiography more pictures to be added.]

Mary DUNN ENSIGN and Martin Luther ENSIGN

Places Lived: MI / Nauvoo / Salt Lake City, UT / Brigham City, UT Mary Dunn age 14/ b. 1833 Bellville, MI - d. 1920 Brigham City, UT - buried Brigham City, UT . Moved to Nauvoo at age 2 (1835) Mary’s mother Adaline RAWSON died 1841 in Nauvoo. BAPTIZED: 1841 BY LAND: 1848 Brigham Young Company Departure: 5 June 1848 Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 20-24 September 1848 Mary’s father Dunn, Simeon Adams (43) Dunn, Harriet Atwood Silver (29) fourth wife of Simeon and step mother to his girls. * Dunn, Mary (14) Dunn, Betsy (10) Dunn, Susannah (5) is half sister to Mary and Betsy, [Missing from this list is Adaline Dunn (18) oldest living daughter of Simeon Dunn. She had married Alpheus Peter HAWS in 1845 Nauvoo.] Company Information: 1220 individuals were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Winter Quarters, Nebraska. Journal Excerpt: “When we arrived at the place called Ft. Bridger we camped a short distance from the camp. That night we saw some Indians coming. We wondered what they were coming for when one young Indian left the rest and handed my sister Mary [Mary DUNN ENSIGN] a lovely shawl and told her to go with him and be his wife. My sister Mary was a very pretty girl. We were all so afraid, and when father told him she would have to refuse we were afraid they would get ugly. They tried to get him to take the shawl back, but he just turned and rode away and never bothered us again. Mary wore the shawl out after coming to Utah. Father certainly kept her close to him the rest of the trip." (From the Biography of Betsy DUNN HAWS BROWN) Read Trail Excerpt: In the early spring of 1847, President Young and the pioneers, about 150 in number, left to pioneer the way to a new home. The people who were left in Winter Quarters went on preparing to take this journey. They made up every kind of wagon that you could possibly imagine to go on that long journey. Nothing but their extraordinary faith and hope carried them through. How did they get that faith? They got it from the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Lord; he had told them things that were to come to pass, and they believed him. There was no hesitation in all the three thousand people that left Winter Quarters and went on that journey; at least, I never saw any. They got their wagons loaded, and just as fast as they could, moved onward, following the presidency. They now had as regular an organization as an army. They were divided up into wagons of ten, with a captain, wagons of fifty with a captain, then wagons of a hundred, with a captain; and these all implicitly obeyed the instructions given them. Why did they do it? Because they never had a doubt, never, never! Now starting out as they did, not knowing what was before them, I say the journey of this people in the wilderness was greater than the journey of the children of Israel, when they were forty years in going a much shorter distance; these were just five months in going a thosuand miles. I want to say they had dangers in their path, too. The first danger was the Indians, who began to come to their camps. President Young sent word to all the companies, "Don't mistreat an Indian. If they come to your camp, feed them. Do the best you can for them." The interpreters had told those wild people the story of the Saints that they were driven out from the abodes of the white men and had to take to the wilderness. Thus the savages had more respect and sympathy. While they hated other white men, and were willing to massacre them wherever there was a chance, the Mormon families moved right on, and every night went to sleep and never thought of being disturbed by the Indians; and they never were. Another danger was the buffalo. In one sense the buffalo were there for a purpose. In the wilderness the Lord sent manna down from heaven for the Children of Israel. He did not have to send manna for this people, but He prepared something else that would help them out—the buffalo. They were all over the plains. Every morning when I got up I could see buffalo in every direction, thousands and thousands of them. President Young sent word that not a single buffalo was to be killed except for food. We went around among the buffalo, and they were perfectly fearless. They did not fear the savages nor our people, and never molested us. They would come in large herds, and had they stampeded nothing in the world could have stood in their way. An instance of this kind occurred two or three years afterwards. A company of six wagons camped one evening on the Platte river. The next morning not a vestige of that camp was left except a few wagon tires, broken spokes, some shreds of clothing and a few bones. They had been swept out of existence by a buffalo stampede. Another thing that showed plainly who was directing the affairs of this people was their preservation from prairie fires. They did not have any serious fires. The camps moved in a quiet way. It is true it was hard work on the women. There being so few men, they had to drive stock, and in some instances had to drive oxen attached to the wagons; in fact they had to do all sorts of work. But the courage they had, the determination, the will-power and the faith, aided and helped them, and with the blessing of the Lord they went through all right. It is hardly worth while to describe the daily journey. There were times when it was very hard and very difficult, principally when we crossed rivers, and the few men had to carry the women and the little ones over, wading themselves. In the spring the water was so cold that often the men would be dressed with icicles, as they waded. Still there was no serious sickness; they were not frightened, and did not take cold, and they went along as though nothing had happened. There was very little sickness on the plains, and very little medicine if we were sick. Consequently, when the people were sick they depended upon the elders, and the elders laid hands on them and they were made well. Numerous instances of this kind occurred; I was an eve-witness [eye witness] to a great many of them. Though so very sick in Winter Quarters, when I got onto the plains I was well. I drove my team, and as I trudged along I had less and less shoes on my feet until I was barefooted. When we came to the Black Hills, the weather got clear, and it was much pleasanter, and the people were encouraged. But we were short of provisions, and did not know whether we could really get through or not. One morning when we were camped in the mountains, I started out. I do not know what impelled me to pick up a gun. I had never been a hunter, and never had been out with a gun. But I took this one, and went out to where the hills there were rolling. The wind was blowing from the north, and as I came along, I thought, "Well, I believe I will just climb upon this little knoll and see if I can see anything." I did so and just as I raised my head above the level and looked over, I saw a buffalo standing within the range of my rifle, facing toward me and eating. Now, while I was not a hunter I was not the least bit excited. I raised my rifle, prepared it, took steady, careful aim, and fired. I saw the buffalo raise up and start but pretty soon he began to totter and then spread his legs out and fall over. I waited to see whether he was dead, for if he was but wounded and I ventured too near, I would be the one to be found dead. I went over toward the camp, and said to two of the brethren, "I wish you would come over here and help me bring in this buffalo." "Buffalo!" They just laughed. "Oh, I guess you have lost your mind, haven't you?" "No; better come," I said. With a great deal of persuasion I got them to come over. And when they saw the buffalo they were startled; they were glad. It was meat for them; it was something to live on. It had been sent to us, and there is no question about it. When we came to within about a day's journey of the valley, the people were all excited. They had had such a tedious journey and were so weary they did not know how to express their joy. We hitched up that day to take our journey, and my mother [Catherine Reese Clawson] drove a little pair of young steers. The feed had been so much better since we reached the Black Hills that they really got a little frisky, and they bolted and they ran— the men ran after them. Finally they were caught. Remember, no lines were used in those days. They were driven with a whip, and they would touch one and say "Gee," and the other, and say "Haw." Well, they caught these animals and got them under control, but mother had sprained her ankle. We camped the last night with a little hill just in front of us, between us and our goal. The people were joyous in camp. They slept well, and were happy. In the morning they dressed early and started to move. About 9 o'clock they arrived at the top of the hill. The sun had just cleared the peaks, and it struck over on the western side of the valley. As they arose that panorama burst upon them. Now, how would you feel, if you had spent five months in the mountains, in the midst of trouble and danger and trials? How would you feel when you got first into sight of the promised land? It was the promised land to them, and they saw the peaks and the beautiful valley, the Salt Lake, that looked like a lake of silver, and they said, "What a beautiful scene is this!" They looked around, tears rolled down their cheeks; they clasped their hands and sank down on their knees in prayer. (Clawson, Hiram B., "Crossing the Plains," Young Woman's Journal, May 1907, 217-18.) Camilla SMTIH - George Ensign SMITH pedigree

Mormon Trail - Teenage Pioneers - Martin Luther ENSIGN - Massachusetts Saints

Mormon Pioneer ancestor of Camilla SMITH WOOD

From JR Sixth generation back to Martin Luther ENSIGN (1831-1911) after father Horace Datus ENSIGN died at Winter Quarters, Martin traveled with mother Mary BRONSON ENSIGN and siblings. Marin's brother Horace ENSIGN had gone ahead with Brigham Young and the original Pioneers. Another of our Grandfathers Shadrach ROUNDY an ancestor of Kirt DeMar WOOD was also with Brigham Young and the original Pioneers. Martin later m.1852 Mary DUNN.

[Martin Luther Ensign is linked to his Autobiography]

Sixth Generation Martin Luther Ensign and Mary Dunn.

Places Lived: Massachusetts / Nauvoo / Winter Quarters / Salt Lake City, UT / Ogden, UT / Brigham City, UT. Martin Luther ENSIGN age 16 / b. 1831 Westfield, MA - m. 1852 Salt Lake City, UT - d. 1911 Brigham City, UT - buried Brigham City, UT BAPTIZED: 1852 parents bap. in MA 1844. Family Information: Martin’s Father died at Winter Quarters 1846 BY LAND: 1847 Daniel Spencer/Ira Eldredge Company Departure: 17 June 1847 Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 19-22 September 1847 brother Ensign, John Calvin (17) / cousin Ensign, Julia Sirls (13) / brother Ensign, Luman Ashley (19) / sister Ensign, Lydia Esther (6) Ensign, Martin Luther (16) mother Ensign, Mary Bronson (41) / aunt Ensign, Mary Everett Gordon (36) / brother Ensign, Rufus Bronson (12), Uncle Ensign, Samuel (42) Captain of ten / cousin Ensign, Samuel Lozene (11) Pioneer Information: [Martin Luther Ensign (16) traveled with mother, siblings, Uncle, Aunt and cousins.] He drove three yoke of oxen for John Eldredge. Pioneer Information: Mary [Ensign] was the widow of Horace. She traveled with her children Luman, Joh, Rufus, Lydia and Martin. Pioneer Information: [John Calvin Ensign] claimed, "I drove the first ox team into the valley...." Pioneer Information: [Uncle Samuel Ensign] Captain of Ten. He traveled with his wife Mary and children Julia and Samuel. [Included in the third ten led by Samuel Ensign were: John Calvin Ensign, Julia Searles Ensign, Lydia Esther Ensign, Lyman D. Ensign, Martin Luther Ensign, Mary Bronson Ensign, Mary Everett Gordon Ensign, Rufus Bronson Ensign, Samuel Ensign, Samuel Lozene Ensign,] Company Information: 174 or 177 individuals and 76 wagons were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post on the Elkhorn River about 27 miles west of Winter Quarters, Nebraska. Source of Trail Excerpt: (Ensign, Martin Luther, Autobiography, in Utah State Historical Society Cache Valley Chapter, Historical resource materials for Cache Valley, Utah-Idaho, 1955-1956, reel 1, item 9, 1-2.) Read Trail Excerpt: I went with Ira Eldridge and drove three yoke of oxen and wagon to the Valley for John Eldridge, brother of Ira, who came with the Pioneers. Datus came with the pioneers, he and Bro. Frost came together. They brought a plow ready stocked and were the first to plow a furrow, going a few rods and broke the beam, (The remains of this after being worn out were put in the museum as a relic.) The Pioneers started from Winter Quarters sometime in April. We started about the 15 15th of May. Luman [Ashley Ensign] drove Bro. Frost's team; [John] Calvin [Ensign] and Rufus [Bronson Ensign] drove Mother's to the Valley. There were six companies of one un hundred wagons each, with six capt's of hundreds, 12 of fifties, 60 of tens, making one thousand wagons in all to the best of my judgment the way we were organized. We drove close together for protection until near Fort Laramie not knowing our destination until we met some of the Pioneers that were sent back to meet us and let us know our destination. Were told it was Great Salt Lake Valley about 550 miles farther on. Were told to break un into fifties and go as fast as our teams could travel. After leaving Fort Laramie, we left the Platt[e] and went over the Black Hills, a very hilly road but plenty of food and water and wood, coming out to the Platt[e] River again. Went up it a few days and then crossed it and went on to Independence Rock on the Sweetwater River, camped here and had a dance on the rock, it being flat on top and large enough for a cotillion. The Pioneers were here on the 4th of July and gave it the name. We went up the Sweetwater to the dividing ridge of the Rocky Mountains. Now we came down the Western Slope. On big Sandy Creek we met the returning Pioneers, Pres. Brigham Young and Company. Datus was with them, he came back with us. Ira Eldridge's Fifty being in the lead of all the companies. Arriving in the Valley on the 18th Sept. 5 or 6 days before any of the other companies, we drove to the Fort that the Pioneers had built around a term or block. Just Added:

Source of Trail Excerpt:

Ensign, Martin Luther, Autobiography, in Utah State Historical Society Cache Valley Chapter, Historical resource materials for Cache Valley, Utah-Idaho, 1955-1956, reel 1, item 9, 1-2.

Read Trail Excerpt:

I went with Ira Eldridge and drove three yoke of oxen and wagon to the Valley for John Eldridge, brother of Ira, who came with the Pioneers. Daut Datus came with the pioneers, he and Bro. Frost came together. They brought a plow ready stocked and were the first to plow a furrow, going a few rods and broke the beam, (The remains of this after being worn out were put in the museum as a relic.) the Pioneers started from Winter Quarters sometime in April. We started about the 15 15th of May. Luman [Ashley Ensign] drove Bro. Frost's team; [John] Calvin [Ensign] and Rufus [Bronson Ensign]drove Mother's to the Valley. There were six companies of one un hundred wagons each, with six capt's of hundreds, 12 of fifties, 60 of tens, making one thousand wagons in all to the best of my judgment the way we were organized. We drove close together for protection until near Fort Laramie not knowing our destination until we met some of the Pioneers that were sent back to meet us and let us know our destination. Were told it was Great Salt Lake Valley about 550 miles farther on. Were told to break un into fifties and go as fast as our teams could travel. After leaving Fort Laramie, we left the Platt[e] and went over the Black Hills, a very hilly road but plenty of food and water and wood, coming out to the Platt[e] River again. Went up it a few days and then crossed it and went on to Independence Rock on the Sweetwater River, camped here and had a dance on the rock, it being flat on top and large enough for a cotillion. The Pioneers were here on the 4th of July and gave it the name. We went up the Sweetwater to the dividing ridge of the Rocky Mountains. Now we came down the Western Slope. On big Sandy Creek we met the returning Pioneers, Pres. Brigham Young and Company. Datus was with them, he came back with us. Ira Eldridge's Fifty being in the lead of all the companies. Arriving in the Valley on the 18th Sept. 5 or 6 days before any of the other companies, we drove to the Fort that the Pioneers had built around a term or block.

Camilla SMTIH - George Ensign SMITH pedigree

Mormon Trail - Horace Datus ENSIGN and Mary BRONSON - Massachusetts Saints

Mormon Pioneer ancestor of Camilla SMITH WOOD From JR Seventh Generation Horace Datus ENSIGN (1797-1846) and Mary BRONSON (1806-1888) m.1825. Traveling with their children including Martin Luther ENSIGN. Horace Datus died before the journeys end. Mary BRONSON ENSIGN wife of Horace Datis ENSIGN mother of Martin Luther ENSIGN

Horace Datus ENSIGN / b. 18 MA - m. 18 - MA. - d. 18 IOWA - buried (died at Winter Quarters 1846) Places Lived: Massachusetts / Nauvoo (3 weeks) / Winter Quarters, Iowa See: Martin Luther ENSIGN Autobiography for trip from Massachusetts to Winter Quarters. Mary BRONSON ENSIGN age 41/ b. 18 MA - d. 18 UT - buried Places Lived: MA / Nauvoo / Salt Lake City, UT BAPTIZED: both Mary and Horace bap. in MA 1844. BY LAND: 1847 Daniel Spencer/Ira Eldredge Company Pioneer Information: With four children and brother in-law’s family. One son had gone earlier with the “PIONEERS” July 1847. son Ensign, John Calvin (17) / niece Ensign, Julia Sirls (13) / son Ensign, Luman Ashley (19) / daughter Ensign, Lydia Esther (6) * Ensign, Martin Luther (16) / Ensign, Mary Bronson (41) / sister-in law Ensign, Mary Everett Gordon (36) / son Ensign, Rufus Bronson (12), Brother in-law Ensign, Samuel (42) Captain of ten / nephew Ensign, Samuel Lozene (11) 1847 Daniel Spencer/Ira Eldredge Company Departure: 17 June 1847 Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 19-22 September 1847 Pioneer Information: Mary was the widow of Horace. She traveled with her children Luman, Joh, Rufus, Lydia and Martin. Pioneer Information: [Martin Luther Ensign] drove three yoke of oxen for John Eldredge. Pioneer Information: [John Calvin Ensign] claimed, "I drove the first ox team into the valley...." Pioneer Information: [Samuel Ensign] Captain of Ten. He traveled with his wife Mary and children Julia and Samuel. [Included in the third ten led by Samuel Ensign were: John Calvin Ensign, Julia Searles Ensign, Lydia Esther Ensign, Lyman D. Ensign, Martin Luther Ensign, Mary Bronson Ensign, Mary Everett Gordon Ensign, Rufus Bronson Ensign, Samuel Ensign, Samuel Lozene Ensign,] Company Information: 174 or 177 individuals and 76 wagons were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post on the Elkhorn River about 27 miles west of Winter Quarters, Nebraska.

Elkhorn River, Nebraska: Charles C. Rich sent a note back to John Scott at Winter Quarters ordering him to send the cannon "as the whole camp is waiting." He also wrote to Alpheus Cutler, the presiding member of the High Council, requesting that he help Brother Scott in sending the cannon, boat, and Nauvoo temple bell.

Ira Eldredge's fifty, part of the Daniel Spencer Company officially started their pioneer trek, leaving the Elkhorn River. The Eldredge fifty consisted of 76 wagons and 177 people. The captains of tens were Isaac Haight, Hector Haight, Samuel Ensign, Erastus Bingham, and George Boyes.

[Included in the third ten led by Samuel Ensign were: Anna Abbott, Rufus Abbott, Polly Woodsum Bond, Ann Brimhall, Adelia Ann Brown, Mary Jane Brown, Niamah Brown, Phebe Narcissia Brown, William Brown, Eliza Clement, Albert Crandall, Mary Crandall, Melissa Crandall, Alva Cummings, Benjamin Franklin Cummings, Mary Cummings, John Calvin Ensign, Julia Searles Ensign, Lydia Esther Ensign, Lyman D. Ensign, Martin Luther Ensign, Mary Bronson Ensign, Mary Everett Gordon Ensign, Rufus Bronson Ensign, Samuel Ensign, Samuel Lozene Ensign, Edwin Frost, Emeline Frost, Mary Elizabeth Frost, Belinda Hickenlooper, John Thomas Hickenlooper, Sarah Hawkins Hickenlooper, William Haney Hickenlooper, Eliza Holmes, Ellen Holmes, George Holmes, Hyrum Holmes, Oliver Holmes, Samuel O. Holmes, Rosetta King, Amanda Nowlin, Bryan Ward Nowlin, Edwin Randolf, Ann Snedaker, Marris J. Snedaker, Almira Sophia Taft, and Harriet Taft.] (see: Heritage Gateways http://heritage.uen.org/resources/Wc8a49e4f0b2c.htm) See: Martin Luther 6th generation for Trail Excerpt: Mary‘s son Ensign, Horace Datus (20)“PIONEER” Brigham Young Pioneer Company (1847) Departure: 14 April 1847 Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 21-24 July 1847

Samuel ENSIGN brother of Horace Datus ENSIGN

Uncle Samuel ENSIGN brother of Horace. After Horace's death at Winter Quarters Mary and some of her children traveled with Samuel and his family. Samuel and his family had lived in Nauvoo. Samuel was killed when he fell from the wall of the Salt Lake Temple under construction. Camilla SMITH - George Ensign SMITH pedigree

Mormon Trail - George Washington GIBSON - Mississippi Saints

George Washington GIBSON gravestone at Grafton, UT (ghost town)

Mormon Pioneer ancestor of Kirt DeMar WOOD From BR Sixth Generation back to

GIBSON, George Washington age 47 / b. 1800 Union County, South Carolina. / m. First Spouse, Mary Ann SPARKS 1822 Union County, South Carolina and Second Spouse Ann Elizabeth NEWMAN 1857 Salt Lake City, UT. / d. 1871 Duncan Retreat, UT, buried Grafton, UT.

Known places of residence are: Union County, South Carolina / Monroe County, Mississippi / Pueblo, CO Winter 1846-47/ Old Salt Lake City Fort, UT 1847-48 / Big Cottonwood, UT 1848-61 / Grafton, UT / Duncan Retreat, UT. BAPTIZED: Dec 1843 Mississippi. ENDOWED: 6 Nov 1855 EHOUS SS: 6 Nov 1855 EHOUS, Mary Ann SPARKS SS: 15 Mar 1857 POFFI, Ann Elizabeth NEWMAN SP: 23 Mar 1950 ARIZO, Robert GIBSON and Mary EVANS BY LAND: John Brown Company - Mississippi Saints Departure: Mississippi, 8 Apr 1846 Wintered 1846/1847 in Pueblo, CO Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 29 July 1847 Pioneer information: George Washington GIBSON traveled his wife Mary Ann Sparks and their children. Gibson, George Washington (46) Gibson, Mary Sparks (44) Mary Densia (23) married in Pueblo and stayed there. She died within a year Gibson, Robert M. (22) Gibson, Lydia E. (20) married in Pueblo, CO, Gilbert Hunt of Mormon Battalion. Gibson, Robert P. (18) Gibson, Frances Abigail (14) Gibson, William (12) Gibson, Laura Arrilla (9) Gibson, Moses (6) Gibson, Manomas Lavina (4) Gibson, Joseph Smith (1) Source: Gibson, George W., 1848, 48, NA, Roster found in Heart Throbs of the West, Volume 9, Pages 469-521 Gibson, George Washington, 1847, 47, Brown, Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.436-440 Gibson, George W., 1852, NA, NA, South Cottonwood Ward; Utah Bishops' Report microfiche 6051208 Gibson, Mary Sparks, 1847, NA, Brown, Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.436-440 Gibson, Frances Abigail, 1847, NA, Brown, Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.436-440 Gibson, Joseph Smith, 1847, NA, Brown, Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.436-440 Gibson, Laura Altha [Arrilla], 1847, NA, Brown, Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.436-440 Gibson, Lydia E., 1847, NA, Brown, Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.436-440 Gibson, Manomas Lavina, 1847, NA, Brown, Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.436-440 Gibson, Moses, 1847, NA, Brown, Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.436-440 Gibson, Robert M., 1847, NA, Brown, Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.436-440 Gibson, William, 1847, NA, Brown, Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 2, p.436-440 HISTORY MISSISSIPPI SAINTS: A group known in Church history as the "Mississippi Saints" left for the distant Salt Lake Valley from Mormon Springs (near Aberdeen), Monroe County, Mississippi, in April of 1846, under the direction of Tennesseean John Brown. The Mississippi Saints became the first since the Spanish friars of 1769 to establish a religious colony in the West, at Pueblo, Colorado. Many of these early converts were marvelous frontiersmen, resourceful colonizers, and shrewd traders. Because of their abilities, nearly all of them were eventually called to lead Latter-day Saint colonies to Colorado, Utah, California, Oregon, and other areas of the West. They were valiant in their love of God, their prophet, and their religion. They helped lead the colonization by Latter-day Saint pioneers of much of the western United States.

(http://www.lds.org/newsroom/showpackage/0,15367,3881-1---3-203,00.html)

Leonard J. Arrington, “Mississippi Mormons,” Ensign, Jun 1977, 46 These little-known Saints from Monroe County chalked up an impressive record of “firsts” as the Church moved west. The company that came with Brigham Young through Emigration Canyon was an exciting blend of races and nationalities; but among the Danes and the New Englanders and the Canadians was a small group of converts whose soft drawls and black servants marked them as Southerners. I was amazed to discover two facts about these Southern converts: (1) They went West a full year before Brigham Young and his party; wintered at Pueblo, Colorado, while waiting for the rest of the Saints; joined them at Fort Laramie in June 1847; and entered the Valley with the first company; and (2) these Southern converts established the first Latter-day Saint settlement in the West after Salt Lake City—Cottonwood... ...Monroe County, Mississippi, however, was a little different. Monroe County had been settled, for the most part, by couples with young children who had emigrated to that good cotton country from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama in the late 1830s. As those children grew they intermarried, and practically the whole county was kin. When the missionaries arrived in 1843, the converts spread the gospel among their families, and within a year, a congregation of perhaps 150–200 Latter-day Saints was thriving, including black members as well as whites. It was called the Tombigbee Branch after the river where most of them settled. They were reasonably well-off, with livestock, homes, slaves, and good land.... ...John’s [BROWN] assignment was to return a third time to Mississippi [from Nauvoo] and gather the Saints and join the main pioneer camp near the Platte River. In the snow and storms of January 1846, John left for Mississippi; he directed the hasty preparations and led forty-three persons in nineteen wagons out on 8 April 1846. He planned to return in the fall of 1846 for the rest. SEE: Ensign, Jun 1977 for complete article. The Mississippi Saints’ Trail, 1846-47: Colorado, Wyoming, Ensign, Aug 1979 In April 1846 a group of Mormon converts from Monroe County, Mississippi, started north with the intention of joining the main body of pioneers on the North Platte River, somewhere near Fort Laramie. These Mississippi Saints followed the Mississippi River north to the Iron Banks, near present-day Columbus, Kentucky, and then cut across the Missouri, following existing county roads, to Independence where they picked up the Oregon Trail and followed it to within a few miles of Fort Laramie. There they discovered that Brigham Young and the pioneers had not been able to start for the Rocky Mountains that year and were in Winter Quarters on the Missouri River. Facing winter themselves, the Mississippi Saints followed a trapper trail dating from the 1830s south to Fort Pueblo on the Arkansas River in present-day Colorado. There, joined by three sick detachments of the Mormon Battalion, they spent the winter.... SEE: Ensign, Aug 1979 for complete article.

William G. Hartley, “Gathering the Dispersed Nauvoo Saints, 1847–1852,” Ensign, Jul 1997, 12.... Trails of the Scattered Saints, 1846-47. (1) Main Body of Saints (Mormon Pioneer Trail), left Nauvoo on 4 February 1846. (2) Mississippi Company, left Marion County, Alabama, in March 1846 and Monroe County, Mississippi, in April. Spent winter of 1846-47 in Pueblo. (3) Mormon Battalion, left Winter quarters in July 1846. (4) Mormon Battalion Sick Detachments, spent winter of 1846-47 in Pueblo. (5) Saints on the Ship Brooklyn, left New York on 4 February 1846 and arrived at Yerba Buena on 31 July 1846. Two Groups Arrive in Pueblo Far southwest of Winter Quarters, Nebraska, two other Latter-day Saint groups ended up wintering in 1846-47 at today’s Pueblo, Colorado: the Mississippi company of Saints and the sick detachments of the Mormon Battalion. While Nauvoo was being evacuated, leaders instructed members in the South to come northwesterly and to join them somewhere on the Platte River. In late March 1846, Alabamans under John Holladay and Mississippians under William Crosby formed a company of some 60 persons. Guided by 25-year-old John Brown, a Tennessean and former missionary to the South, they headed to Missouri, where they were joined by 16 other members, some connected to the southerners. The group, which came to be known as the Mississippi company of Saints, then set out on the Oregon Trail and arrived at Grand Island, Nebraska, unaware they were already 170 miles west of President Brigham Young and the growing settlement at Winter Quarters. Thinking President Young was west of them, they trekked onward to today’s Laramie, Wyoming, where they learned that the Saints had stopped to create Winter Quarters. Needing a place to winter themselves, they accepted a mountain man’s invitation to accompany him 300 miles south to Pueblo, Colorado, arriving in early August. There as many as 15 mountain men and their Spanish or Native American wives and families headquartered. The southerners fixed up their own lodgings and prepared food for the winter. One traveler observed these Saints on 20 August and said: “After half an hour’s riding, we saw the white wagons of the Mormons drawn up among the trees. Axes were sounding, trees falling, and log-huts rising along the edge of the woods and upon the adjoining meadow. As we came up, the Mormons left their work, seated themselves on the timber around us, and began earnestly to discuss points of theology, complain of the ill-usage which they had received from the ‘Gentiles,’ and sound a lamentation over the loss of their great temple of Nauvoo.” In September, John Brown and 6 others headed back to the South to get additional family members. On the way home they met the nearly 500-man Mormon Battalion, whose leaders had come to feel encumbered by the over 80 women and children accompanying the battalion and hampered by some seemingly unrecovering sick battalion soldiers. When battalion leaders learned that 275 miles west at Pueblo was headquartered the Mississippi company, the news was received joyfully. Within four days many of the women and children were sent to Pueblo with the first of three sick detachments of soldiers. Ultimately about 154 soldiers and nearly all of the women and children with the battalion joined the more than 70 wintering southerners to form a community of over 300 Latter-day Saints. Surprisingly, this group in Pueblo was some 520 miles southwest of President Young and the Saints back at Winter Quarters. No one knows what would have been the sad outcomes for those with the Mormon Battalion had not the Mississippi company of Saints been so fortuitously located in Pueblo to receive, care for, and nurse their incoming brothers and sisters. During their fall-to-spring stay there, they built a church for worship and socials, and at least 9 deaths, at least 7 births, and 3 marriages occurred in this Colorado branch of the Church. Next spring, an advance party of 17 from the Mississippi company went north in April and waited for two weeks at Fort Laramie before greeting President Young’s advance, exploratory company on 1 June 1847. The rest of the Mississippi company and those associated with the Mormon Battalion who had wintered at Pueblo soon moved north to Fort Laramie and reached the Great Salt Lake Valley five days after President Young. These pieces of the scattered Church became part of the whole again. SEE: Ensign, July 1997 for complete article. Kirt DeMar WOOD - John Andrew WOOD pedigree