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WILSON Thomas[1, 2]
1794 - 1859 (65 years)-
Name WILSON Thomas Born 13 Mar 1794 Skipton, Yorkshire, England 
Christened 8 Jun 1794 Skipton, Yorkshire, England Gender Male Died 31 Mar 1859 Ephraim, Sanpete, Utah Terrritory, United States Buried Abt Apr 1859 Ephraim, Sanpete, Utah, United States Person ID I31 Main Tree Last Modified 26 Apr 2021
Father WILSON John, c. 8 Mar 1756, Skipton, Yorkshire, England , d. 10 Dec 1845, Skipton, Yorkshire, England (Age ~ 89 years) Mother MAWSON Sarah, b. Abt 1764, Of Skipton, Yorkshire, England , d. 5 Jul 1822 (Age ~ 58 years) Married 4 Jan 1787 Skipton, Yorkshire, England Notes - 2 _PRIM Y 2 _PRIM Y
Family ID F45 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 1 WHITAKER Sarah, b. Abt 1795, Of Skipton, Yorkshire, England , d. 4 Jun 1829, Of Leeds, Yorkshire, England (Age ~ 34 years) Married 10 Aug 1820 Saint Nicholas, Liverpool, Lancashire, England [3, 4] Notes - 2 _PRIM Y
Children 1. WILSON Ann Whitaker, b. 13 May 1821, Leeds, Yorkshire, England , d. 25 Mar 1895, Of Leeds, Yorkshire, England (Age 73 years)2. WILSON Sarah, b. 1 May 1823, Leeds, Yorkshire, England , d. 27 Jul 1825, Leeds, Yorkshire, England (Age 2 years)3. WILSON John, b. 1 Mar 1825, Blackburn, Lancashire, England , d. 5 Feb 1828, Blackburn, Lancashire, England (Age 2 years)4. WILSON Samuel Whitaker, b. 5 May 1827, Blackburn, Lancashire, England , d. Sep 1828 (Age 1 years)5. WILSON William Henry, b. 28 Sep 1828, Blackburn, Lancaster, England Last Modified 17 Apr 2023 Family ID F46 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 2 LOCKWOOD Margaret, b. 14 Jul 1811, Skipton, Yorkshire, England , d. 8 Nov 1881, Manti, Sanpete, Utah Territory, United States (Age 70 years) Married 10 Aug 1830 Skipton, Yorkshire, England Notes - 2 _PRIM Y
2 _PRIM Y
Children 1. WILSON Charles, b. 27 Oct 1830, Skipton, Yorkshire, England , d. 15 Mar 1834, Skipton, Yorkshire, England (Age 3 years)2. WILSON Thomas James, b. 4 Dec 1831, Skipton, Yorkshire, England , d. 1 Sep 1832, Skipton, Yorkshire, England (Age 0 years)3. WILSON John Wesley, b. 30 Mar 1833, Skipton, Yorkshire, England , d. 8 Jul 1903, Manti, Sanpete, Utah, United States (Age 70 years)4. WILSON Sarah, b. 25 Sep 1834, Skipton, Yorkshire, England , d. 3 Jan 1840, Blackburn, Yorkshire, England (Age 5 years)5. WILSON Samuel, b. 10 Jul 1836, Skipton, Yorkshire, England , d. 8 Jun 1843, Liverpool, Lancaster, England (Age 6 years)6. WILSON Alfred, b. 25 Sep 1843, Liverpool, Lancashire, England , d. 26 Apr 1849, Liverpool, Lancashire, England (Age 5 years)7. WILSON Joseph Hyrum Smith, b. 7 Oct 1845, Liverpool, Lancashire, England , d. 2 Dec 1873, Manti, Sanpete, Utah, United States (Age 28 years)8. WILSON Ellen Spencer, b. 29 Oct 1847, Liverpool, Lancashire, England , d. 13 Jun 1880, Manti, Sanpete, Utah Territory, United States (Age 32 years)9. WILSON Margaret, b. 25 Nov 1848, West Derby, Lancashire, England , d. 10 Apr 1926, Manti, Sanpete, Utah, United States (Age 77 years)10. WILSON Keziah, b. 20 Dec 1850, West Derby Smit, Lancashire, Flintshire, England , d. 15 Apr 1934, Manti, Sanpete, Utah, United States (Age 83 years)11. WILSON Esther, b. 28 Mar 1853, Everton, Lancashire, England , d. Abt 1854, London, London, England (Age 0 years)Last Modified 17 Apr 2023 Family ID F47 Group Sheet | Family Chart
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Photos 
Wilson, Thomas
Husband of Sarah Whitaker, and after Sarah's death, Margaret Lockwood
Tomas Wilson.jpg C:/Program Files/Family Pictures/Merrill's Ancestry/Tomas Wilson.jpg
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Notes - 1 _FSFTID KWJW-5BL
1 _FSFTID KWJW-5BL
1 _FSFTID KWJW-5BL
1 _FSFTID KWJW-5BL
Birth: EHOUS. Chr & Marr: Skipton Parish FHL #919516. Bapt: Liverpool Branch
FHL #87012 & Minnie Margett's index FHL #415456. Temple ord's verified. Husb
also bapt 3 May 1967 SLAKE & Endow 20 May 1967 SLAKE.
Ship: Juventa
Date of Departure: 31 Mar 1855 Port of Departure: Liverpool, England
LDS Immigrants: 573 Church Leader: William Glover
Date of Arrival: 5 May 1855 Port of Arrival: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Source(s): BMR, Book #1040, pp. 129-151 (FHL #025,690); Customs (FHL #419,652)
From Passenger List:
WILSON, Thomas <1795>
Age: 60 Origin: London Occ: Accountant
Note: BMR, p. 149
WILSON, Margaret <1811>
Age: 44 Origin: London Occ: Wife
WILSON, James <1832>
Age: 23 Origin: Durham Occ: Miner
Note: BMR, p. 139
WILSON, John W. <1834>
Age: 21 Origin: London Occ: Carpenter
WILSON, Joseph H. T. <1846>
Age: 9 Origin: London
WILSON, Ellen S. <1848>
Age: 7
WILSON, Margaret <1849>
Age: 6 Origin: London
WILSON, Keziah <1851>
Age: 4 Origin: London
Notes: "DEPARTURE. -- The ship Juventa sailed for Philadelphia on Saturday the 31st ultimo, with 537 souls of the Saints, under the presiding charge of Elder William Glover, late pastor of the Hull, Newcastle, and Carlisle Conferences. Elders Benjamin Brown, Sylvester H. Earl, Elias Gardner, Charles Smith, William Pitt, John Mayer, Noah T. Guyman, Joseph Hall, well known among the Saints in the British Isles for their distinguished labors in the conferences; also Elders George Mayer, in charge of a company of Saints from Switzerland; and Elder James F. Bell, late president of the Malta Mission, in charge of a company of the faithful from Piedmont in Italy; all sailed in this ship, and constitute the able counsel and immediate support of President Glover in the discharge of his important duties on shipboard. Most of these brethren -- elders of Israel, are returning to Zion, after an absence of about three years on missions to this and other countries. It has never been our privilege to clear a shipload of Saints containing such an embodiment of faith, and with such an entire feeling of satisfaction both in Saints and officers of the ship. An unusual number of pastors, presidents, and elders are gathering this year, and as the way to Zion becomes more difficult they will find ample occasion and scope for the exercise of their faith on the journey, that the sheaves which they bring with them may be safely delivered in the garner of the Lord, and they be found faithful laborers with the husbandman in the last time. May the joy which was manifested by the shouts sent up as we bade them adieu be increased in purity and fervor till their arrival in Utah among the people of God, and worlds without end."
"The Juventa. -- By letter from Elder Thomas C. Stayner, we learn that the Juventa arrived at Philadelphia by May 8, making a thirty-five days' passage. The winds were mostly contrary, but only one gale was experienced. Captain Watts is highly spoken of."
"EIGHTY-FIFTH COMPANY. -- Juventa, 573 souls. The ship Juventa sailed from Liverpool, England, for Philadelphia, on Saturday, March 31st, 1855, with five hundred and seventy-three Saints on board, under the presidency of Elder William Glover. Elders Benjamin Brown, Sylvester H. Earl, Elias Gardner, Charles Smith, William Pitt, John Mayer, Noah Y. Guyman and Joseph Hall, who had all labored as missionaries in the British Isles, also embarked for America in this vessel, together with Elder George Mayer, who was in charge of a company of Saints from Switzerland; and Elder James F. Bell, late president of the Malta Mission, in charge of a small number of Saints from Piedmont, in Italy. The voyage of the Juventa was a most prosperous one; no sickness, except seasickness, and a few cases of measles among the children, occurred among the passengers, and not one of the large number of emigrants found a watery grave. A child was born while a storm raged on the bosom of the deep, and the little one was named Juventa, after the ship. On the fourth of May the vessel cast anchor off Cape May, and on the fifth was tugged up the Delaware River to Philadelphia. On Tuesday the eighth, the emigrants continued to rail to Pittsburg, from which city about two hundred of the company proceeded down the rivers on the steamboat Equinox, to St. Louis, Missouri, where they arrived on the seventeenth of March, forty-six days after leaving Liverpool. About one hundred and fifty of the emigrants came from Pittsburg to St. Louis, by the steamboat Washington City. The Equinox continued up the Missouri River to Atchison, where she landed her passengers on the twenty-eighth of May. After arriving in Atchinson, the company was attacked with sickness, and a number died, among them Elder Bell, who had presided over the Malta Mission. The successful and quick journey made by the Juventa company, gave the new route, by way of Philadelphia, great prestige. As demonstrative evidence of the superior advantages of the route, Elder Glover remarked that he had three more in his company and fifty dollars more in his pocket on arriving in America than when he started from Liverpool. Thus both lives and time were saved, and the New Orleans route was discarded by the Saints never to be used by them afterwards. (Millennial Star, Vol. XVII, pp.233, 375, 490; Deseret News of August 8th, 1855)"
"Sat. 31. [Mar. 1855] -- The ship Juventa sailed from Liverpool, England, with 573 Saints, under the direction of William Glover. It arrived at Philadelphia May 5th. From there the company went by rail to Pittsburgh, and further on steamboats down the Ohio river to St. Louis, Missouri."
From Passenger List:
WILSON, Thomas <1795>
Age: 60 Origin: London Occ: Accountant
Note: BMR, p. 149
WILSON, Margaret <1811>
Age: 44 Origin: London Occ: Wife
WILSON, James <1832>
Age: 23 Origin: Durham Occ: Miner
Note: BMR, p. 139
WILSON, John W. <1834>
Age: 21 Origin: London Occ: Carpenter
WILSON, Joseph H. T. <1846>
Age: 9 Origin: London
WILSON, Ellen S. <1848>
Age: 7
WILSON, Margaret <1849>
Age: 6 Origin: London
WILSON, Keziah <1851>
Age: 4 Origin: London
When Thomas and his wife came to America they sailed aboard the" Inventa" that came to port in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Thomas was a widower with two small children of his own and two orphaned children who belonged to his first wifes sister, Sarah, when he married Margaret Lockwood.
Close
Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868
Company:
Milo Andrus Company (1855)
Narrative:
This was the last of the Perpetual Emigration Fund companies for 1855. Milo Andrus received the assignment to captain the train the night before the party was to leave Mormon Grove (just outside Atchison, Kansas Territory) and had just 12 hours to get himself ready. Two things made this last-minute appointment necessary: the season was very late and no one else with plains experience was available. Thus Andrus and his two assistants had an enormous responsibility. The company had few oxen, and many of these were small and unbroken, so they had to be trained en route. Part of the company left Mormon Grove on August 1; the rest left on the 3rd. Inexperienced drivers had to shuttle some wagons forward, then return with the teams to bring up others. One emigrant recalled that early on it took four men to drive one yoke of oxen. There were 461 individuals in the company when it set out.
No sooner had the company left Mormon Grove than the U. S. Marshall for Kansas Territory arrived
with an order to attach the train for debts attributed to Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Jedediah M. Grant (at that time the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Captain Andrus convinced the marshall that the train belonged not to the First Presidency, but to the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company. The lawman then tried to take Andrus back to Atchison to "get sufficient good security from amongst the Citizens there to secure the debt & cost," but the Captain refused to leave his train. At this critical moment, the marshall "was taken with the bellyache and wanted a little brandy," which Captain Andrus quickly supplied. He then fed the marshall supper and drove him in a buggy to his lodgings. Nevertheless, the marshall ordered Andrus and three other brethren to appear at the October 3rd term of the U.S. court in Leavenworth, and when he got back to Mormon Grove, he attached four or five Mormon-owned wagons, "a few lame cattle," and some calves.
The Andrus train overtook Captain Allred's emigrant company on Big Grasshopper Creek; later, both parties camped on Walnut Creek. Tired of leapfrogging his wagons, Captain Andrus decided to leave a Perpetual Emigration Company thrashing machine in the care of a local farmer (Captain Allred left five wagons with this same man at that time). Andrus now set a pace that was "as hurried as he could urge, push, and cajole, the group over the plains, up and down the mountains, through the canyons, across the rivers, and through the miles of the thick dust of the trails." At some point, the train encountered a large herd of buffalo that "ran across our train, while in motion, and knocked down and [bore] off the horn of one of the oxen." The Indians that the train met were friendly. At Big Blue River the train used the ferry because the river was running high. Near there the party camped just a few rods west of Captain Harper's company. It was here that Andrus "nailed our colors to the top of the mast." From Little Blue River, the Captain wrote: "Two wagon axles, one wheel, and several tongues broke which has caused us some delay; but notwithstanding . . . I . . . am doing all in my power to push on this camp . . . as I am deeply anxious for their welfare." Two elderly emigrants had died. The train followed the Platte River and must have crossed the South Platte. It stopped at Ash Hollow, where Andrus learned that General William S. Harney and about 700 soldiers had "found a party of the Sioux Indians about eight miles from Ash Hollow and a battle had ensued on the 3rd of October. The
General sent over word to Andrus on the 5th keep an advanced guard stating at the same time that the best information that they could get was that they had killed one hundred and twenty Indians, taken about fifty-eight prisoners, mostly women; had four soldiers killed and five wounded. He stated, also,
they were going to lay out a fort a small distance below Ash Hollow after which they calculated to proceed to Fort Laramie, and from thence to wherever they could find any of the Sioux Nation."
"A few miles from where they were encamped there were about forty Indians that were in the battle near Ash Hollow. Nothing came of this. The company passed Court House Rock, Chimney Rock, and Scotts Bluff. By September 13 the company was 12 miles below Fort Laramie. It then passed Laramie Peak, Independence Rock, and Devil's Gate. At the latter place, on September 28, the emigrants met brethren from the Salt Lake Valley. On October 4 the train crossed Devil's Backbone, "a most awful mounting [sic] of stone." That night "came on a dredfull [sic] storm of snow." On the 6th the train crossed South Pass. Near Chimney Rock 20 oxen and 2 cows died "from something the[y] had eat or drank [sic]." Upon reaching the Sweetwater River many more cattle died. There was little feed for the animals; in all, the Andrus train "lost 11 animals above 50%."
At the fifth crossing of the Sweetwater it snowed three inches. The train
crossed the Green River on October 11 and arrived at Fort Bridger four days later. From the fort, Captain Andrus sent word to Salt Lake that he needed fresh animals and that "many of the men, women and children were almost barefoot and very destitute of clothing." By the time the train reached the Weber River, the emigrants were running out of provisions. They crossed Big Mountain and Little Mountain. A delegation of dignitaries from Salt Lake met them at the mouth of Emigration Canyon. Here the emigrants formed a circle around the welcoming party and "sang a piece of poetry composed for the occasion":
"Come Zion's sons and daughters,
Who seek this blest abode,
That over plains and waters
Have come to serve our God;
Our gratitude demanding,
Let praise to Him abound,
That we are favored, standing
On consecrated ground.
Oh! This we've long expected,
For this we've prayed and sighed,
Like Israel's sons neglected,
By Babel's limpid tide;
And now befo
. . . When on the way to Zion,
And every heart was hope,
The means we'd to rely on
Was fastly closing up;
But as the darken'd shadows
Declared a brighter sun,
We felt a power to glad us,
Th' Apostles would make known.
Tho' elements did battle,
As late the season pass'd,
And weakly seemed our cattle,
We're in the "hive" at last:
No power should withstand us,
Declared Erastus Snow;
And Captain Milo Andrus
Thank God, has brought us thro'.
We come not here for pleasures
That carnal minds can prize,
Nor seek aurif'rous treasures
Of th' West to aggrandize;
We come with spirits fervent
To fully serve the Lord;
To hear His holy servant,
And live by every word.
And as the arms of Moses
Required bearing up,
So every soul proposes
To be our Brigham's prop:
Tho' late and last our carriage
Across the mountains' brow,
We hope, like Jesus' marriage,
There's best wine even now."
The Andrus train, with "upwards of 50 wagons," arrived in Salt Lake City October 24th. Because of the lateness of the season, Captain Andrus had pushed his people hard. Undoubtedly, this is
why one of the travelers described him as "a terrible bully and tyrant." However, another emigrant wrote, "It was not an altogether unpleasant trip." For his part, Captain Andrus had been ill during much of the journey. He said that leading this 1855 train was "one of the hardest burthens that I have
been called to bear in the midst of Israel during my sojourn in mortality" this from a man who had been with Zion's Camp, who had been in Nauvoo at the time of the Martyrdom, who had "helped watch the city by night, and worked on the temple by day," who had gone to Carthage at the time of the indictment of the murderers of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, who had experienced the persecutions leading up to the abandonment of Nauvoo, and who had participated in the Latter-day Saint exodus westward, a man who, himself, had led several other emigrant companies.
-- MERGED NOTE ------------
1 _FSFTID KWJW-5BL
Birth: EHOUS. Chr & Marr: Skipton Parish FHL #919516. Bapt: Liverpool Branch
FHL #87012 & Minnie Margett's index FHL #415456. Temple ord's verified. Husb
also bapt 3 May 1967 SLAKE & Endow 20 May 1967 SLAKE.
Ship: Juventa
Date of Departure: 31 Mar 1855 Port of Departure: Liverpool, England
LDS Immigrants: 573 Church Leader: William Glover
Date of Arrival: 5 May 1855 Port of Arrival: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Source(s): BMR, Book #1040, pp. 129-151 (FHL #025,690); Customs (FHL #419,652)
From Passenger List:
WILSON, Thomas <1795>
Age: 60 Origin: London Occ: Accountant
Note: BMR, p. 149
WILSON, Margaret <1811>
Age: 44 Origin: London Occ: Wife
WILSON, James <1832>
Age: 23 Origin: Durham Occ: Miner
Note: BMR, p. 139
WILSON, John W. <1834>
Age: 21 Origin: London Occ: Carpenter
WILSON, Joseph H. T. <1846>
Age: 9 Origin: London
WILSON, Ellen S. <1848>
Age: 7
WILSON, Margaret <1849>
Age: 6 Origin: London
WILSON, Keziah <1851>
Age: 4 Origin: London
Notes: "DEPARTURE. -- The ship Juventa sailed for Philadelphia on Saturday the 31st ultimo, with 537 souls of the Saints, under the presiding charge of Elder William Glover, late pastor of the Hull, Newcastle, and Carlisle Conferences. Elders Benjamin Brown, Sylvester H. Earl, Elias Gardner, Charles Smith, William Pitt, John Mayer, Noah T. Guyman, Joseph Hall, well known among the Saints in the British Isles for their distinguished labors in the conferences; also Elders George Mayer, in charge of a company of Saints from Switzerland; and Elder James F. Bell, late president of the Malta Mission, in charge of a company of the faithful from Piedmont in Italy; all sailed in this ship, and constitute the able counsel and immediate support of President Glover in the discharge of his important duties on shipboard. Most of these brethren -- elders of Israel, are returning to Zion, after an absence of about three years on missions to this and other countries. It has never been our privilege to clear a shipload of Saints containing such an embodiment of faith, and with such an entire feeling of satisfaction both in Saints and officers of the ship. An unusual number of pastors, presidents, and elders are gathering this year, and as the way to Zion becomes more difficult they will find ample occasion and scope for the exercise of their faith on the journey, that the sheaves which they bring with them may be safely delivered in the garner of the Lord, and they be found faithful laborers with the husbandman in the last time. May the joy which was manifested by the shouts sent up as we bade them adieu be increased in purity and fervor till their arrival in Utah among the people of God, and worlds without end."
"The Juventa. -- By letter from Elder Thomas C. Stayner, we learn that the Juventa arrived at Philadelphia by May 8, making a thirty-five days' passage. The winds were mostly contrary, but only one gale was experienced. Captain Watts is highly spoken of."
"EIGHTY-FIFTH COMPANY. -- Juventa, 573 souls. The ship Juventa sailed from Liverpool, England, for Philadelphia, on Saturday, March 31st, 1855, with five hundred and seventy-three Saints on board, under the presidency of Elder William Glover. Elders Benjamin Brown, Sylvester H. Earl, Elias Gardner, Charles Smith, William Pitt, John Mayer, Noah Y. Guyman and Joseph Hall, who had all labored as missionaries in the British Isles, also embarked for America in this vessel, together with Elder George Mayer, who was in charge of a company of Saints from Switzerland; and Elder James F. Bell, late president of the Malta Mission, in charge of a small number of Saints from Piedmont, in Italy. The voyage of the Juventa was a most prosperous one; no sickness, except seasickness, and a few cases of measles among the children, occurred among the passengers, and not one of the large number of emigrants found a watery grave. A child was born while a storm raged on the bosom of the deep, and the little one was named Juventa, after the ship. On the fourth of May the vessel cast anchor off Cape May, and on the fifth was tugged up the Delaware River to Philadelphia. On Tuesday the eighth, the emigrants continued to rail to Pittsburg, from which city about two hundred of the company proceeded down the rivers on the steamboat Equinox, to St. Louis, Missouri, where they arrived on the seventeenth of March, forty-six days after leaving Liverpool. About one hundred and fifty of the emigrants came from Pittsburg to St. Louis, by the steamboat Washington City. The Equinox continued up the Missouri River to Atchison, where she landed her passengers on the twenty-eighth of May. After arriving in Atchinson, the company was attacked with sickness, and a number died, among them Elder Bell, who had presided over the Malta Mission. The successful and quick journey made by the Juventa company, gave the new route, by way of Philadelphia, great prestige. As demonstrative evidence of the superior advantages of the route, Elder Glover remarked that he had three more in his company and fifty dollars more in his pocket on arriving in America than when he started from Liverpool. Thus both lives and time were saved, and the New Orleans route was discarded by the Saints never to be used by them afterwards. (Millennial Star, Vol. XVII, pp.233, 375, 490; Deseret News of August 8th, 1855)"
"Sat. 31. [Mar. 1855] -- The ship Juventa sailed from Liverpool, England, with 573 Saints, under the direction of William Glover. It arrived at Philadelphia May 5th. From there the company went by rail to Pittsburgh, and further on steamboats down the Ohio river to St. Louis, Missouri."
From Passenger List:
WILSON, Thomas <1795>
Age: 60 Origin: London Occ: Accountant
Note: BMR, p. 149
WILSON, Margaret <1811>
Age: 44 Origin: London Occ: Wife
WILSON, James <1832>
Age: 23 Origin: Durham Occ: Miner
Note: BMR, p. 139
WILSON, John W. <1834>
Age: 21 Origin: London Occ: Carpenter
WILSON, Joseph H. T. <1846>
Age: 9 Origin: London
WILSON, Ellen S. <1848>
Age: 7
WILSON, Margaret <1849>
Age: 6 Origin: London
WILSON, Keziah <1851>
Age: 4 Origin: London
When Thomas and his wife came to America they sailed aboard the" Inventa" that came to port in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Thomas was a widower with two small children of his own and two orphaned children who belonged to his first wifes sister, Sarah, when he married Margaret Lockwood.
Close
Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868
Company:
Milo Andrus Company (1855)
Narrative:
This was the last of the Perpetual Emigration Fund companies for 1855. Milo Andrus received the assignment to captain the train the night before the party was to leave Mormon Grove (just outside Atchison, Kansas Territory) and had just 12 hours to get himself ready. Two things made this last-minute appointment necessary: the season was very late and no one else with plains experience was available. Thus Andrus and his two assistants had an enormous responsibility. The company had few oxen, and many of these were small and unbroken, so they had to be trained en route. Part of the company left Mormon Grove on August 1; the rest left on the 3rd. Inexperienced drivers had to shuttle some wagons forward, then return with the teams to bring up others. One emigrant recalled that early on it took four men to drive one yoke of oxen. There were 461 individuals in the company when it set out.
No sooner had the company left Mormon Grove than the U. S. Marshall for Kansas Territory arrived
with an order to attach the train for debts attributed to Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Jedediah M. Grant (at that time the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Captain Andrus convinced the marshall that the train belonged not to the First Presidency, but to the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company. The lawman then tried to take Andrus back to Atchison to "get sufficient good security from amongst the Citizens there to secure the debt & cost," but the Captain refused to leave his train. At this critical moment, the marshall "was taken with the bellyache and wanted a little brandy," which Captain Andrus quickly supplied. He then fed the marshall supper and drove him in a buggy to his lodgings. Nevertheless, the marshall ordered Andrus and three other brethren to appear at the October 3rd term of the U.S. court in Leavenworth, and when he got back to Mormon Grove, he attached four or five Mormon-owned wagons, "a few lame cattle," and some calves.
The Andrus train overtook Captain Allred's emigrant company on Big Grasshopper Creek; later, both parties camped on Walnut Creek. Tired of leapfrogging his wagons, Captain Andrus decided to leave a Perpetual Emigration Company thrashing machine in the care of a local farmer (Captain Allred left five wagons with this same man at that time). Andrus now set a pace that was "as hurried as he could urge, push, and cajole, the group over the plains, up and down the mountains, through the canyons, across the rivers, and through the miles of the thick dust of the trails." At some point, the train encountered a large herd of buffalo that "ran across our train, while in motion, and knocked down and [bore] off the horn of one of the oxen." The Indians that the train met were friendly. At Big Blue River the train used the ferry because the river was running high. Near there the party camped just a few rods west of Captain Harper's company. It was here that Andrus "nailed our colors to the top of the mast." From Little Blue River, the Captain wrote: "Two wagon axles, one wheel, and several tongues broke which has caused us some delay; but notwithstanding . . . I . . . am doing all in my power to push on this camp . . . as I am deeply anxious for their welfare." Two elderly emigrants had died. The train followed the Platte River and must have crossed the South Platte. It stopped at Ash Hollow, where Andrus learned that General William S. Harney and about 700 soldiers had "found a party of the Sioux Indians about eight miles from Ash Hollow and a battle had ensued on the 3rd of October. The
General sent over word to Andrus on the 5th keep an advanced guard stating at the same time that the best information that they could get was that they had killed one hundred and twenty Indians, taken about fifty-eight prisoners, mostly women; had four soldiers killed and five wounded. He stated, also,
they were going to lay out a fort a small distance below Ash Hollow after which they calculated to proceed to Fort Laramie, and from thence to wherever they could find any of the Sioux Nation."
"A few miles from where they were encamped there were about forty Indians that were in the battle near Ash Hollow. Nothing came of this. The company passed Court House Rock, Chimney Rock, and Scotts Bluff. By September 13 the company was 12 miles below Fort Laramie. It then passed Laramie Peak, Independence Rock, and Devil's Gate. At the latter place, on September 28, the emigrants met brethren from the Salt Lake Valley. On October 4 the train crossed Devil's Backbone, "a most awful mounting [sic] of stone." That night "came on a dredfull [sic] storm of snow." On the 6th the train crossed South Pass. Near Chimney Rock 20 oxen and 2 cows died "from something the[y] had eat or drank [sic]." Upon reaching the Sweetwater River many more cattle died. There was little feed for the animals; in all, the Andrus train "lost 11 animals above 50%."
At the fifth crossing of the Sweetwater it snowed three inches. The train
crossed the Green River on October 11 and arrived at Fort Bridger four days later. From the fort, Captain Andrus sent word to Salt Lake that he needed fresh animals and that "many of the men, women and children were almost barefoot and very destitute of clothing." By the time the train reached the Weber River, the emigrants were running out of provisions. They crossed Big Mountain and Little Mountain. A delegation of dignitaries from Salt Lake met them at the mouth of Emigration Canyon. Here the emigrants formed a circle around the welcoming party and "sang a piece of poetry composed for the occasion":
"Come Zion's sons and daughters,
Who seek this blest abode,
That over plains and waters
Have come to serve our God;
Our gratitude demanding,
Let praise to Him abound,
That we are favored, standing
On consecrated ground.
Oh! This we've long expected,
For this we've prayed and sighed,
Like Israel's sons neglected,
By Babel's limpid tide;
And now befo
. . . When on the way to Zion,
And every heart was hope,
The means we'd to rely on
Was fastly closing up;
But as the darken'd shadows
Declared a brighter sun,
We felt a power to glad us,
Th' Apostles would make known.
Tho' elements did battle,
As late the season pass'd,
And weakly seemed our cattle,
We're in the "hive" at last:
No power should withstand us,
Declared Erastus Snow;
And Captain Milo Andrus
Thank God, has brought us thro'.
We come not here for pleasures
That carnal minds can prize,
Nor seek aurif'rous treasures
Of th' West to aggrandize;
We come with spirits fervent
To fully serve the Lord;
To hear His holy servant,
And live by every word.
And as the arms of Moses
Required bearing up,
So every soul proposes
To be our Brigham's prop:
Tho' late and last our carriage
Across the mountains' brow,
We hope, like Jesus' marriage,
There's best wine even now."
The Andrus train, with "upwards of 50 wagons," arrived in Salt Lake City October 24th. Because of the lateness of the season, Captain Andrus had pushed his people hard. Undoubtedly, this is
why one of the travelers described him as "a terrible bully and tyrant." However, another emigrant wrote, "It was not an altogether unpleasant trip." For his part, Captain Andrus had been ill during much of the journey. He said that leading this 1855 train was "one of the hardest burthens that I have
been called to bear in the midst of Israel during my sojourn in mortality" this from a man who had been with Zion's Camp, who had been in Nauvoo at the time of the Martyrdom, who had "helped watch the city by night, and worked on the temple by day," who had gone to Carthage at the time of the indictment of the murderers of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, who had experienced the persecutions leading up to the abandonment of Nauvoo, and who had participated in the Latter-day Saint exodus westward, a man who, himself, had led several other emigrant companies. 2 _PRIM Y
2 _PRIM Y 2 ADDR Pioneer Cemetary 2 _PRIM Y
2 _PRIM Y
2 _PRIM Y
- 1 _FSFTID KWJW-5BL
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Sources - [S1] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (R) Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 Ja.
2 _TMPLT
3 FIELD
4 NAME Page
2 _TMPLT
3 FIELD
4 NAME Page
2 _TMPLT
3 FIELD
4 NAME Page
2 _TMPLT
3 FIELD
4 NAME Page
2 _TMPLT
3 FIELD
4 NAME Page - [S2] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (R) Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 Ja.
2 _TMPLT
3 FIELD
4 NAME Page
2 _TMPLT
3 FIELD
4 NAME Page
2 _TMPLT
3 FIELD
4 NAME Page
2 _TMPLT
3 FIELD
4 NAME Page
2 _TMPLT
3 FIELD
4 NAME Page
2 _TMPLT
3 FIELD
4 NAME Page - [S12] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, International Genealogical Index.
SARAH WHITAKER; Female; Spouse: THOMAS WILSON; Marriage: 10 AUG 1820 Saint Nicholas, Liverpool, Lancashire, England; Batch No.: Dates: Source Call No.: Type: Printout Call No.: Type: M005992 1788 - 1808 0093839 Film 6902852 Film M005992 1808 - 1821 0093840 Film 6902852 Film M005992 1821 - 1829 0093841 Film NONE Sheet: 00
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
Extracted marriage record for locality listed in the record.
Search performed using PAF Insight on 19 Aug 2005 - [S13] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, International Genealogical Index.
SARAH WHITAKER; Female; Spouse: THOMAS WILSON; Marriage: 10 AUG 1820 Saint Nicholas, Liverpool, Lancashire, England; Batch No.: Dates: Source Call No.: Type: Printout Call No.: Type: M005992 1788 - 1808 0093839 Film 6902852 Film M005992 1808 - 1821 0093840 Film 6902852 Film M005992 1821 - 1829 0093841 Film NONE Sheet: 00
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
3 _TMPLT
4 FIELD
5 NAME Page
Extracted marriage record for locality listed in the record.
Search performed using PAF Insight on 19 Aug 2005
- [S1] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (R) Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 Ja.
