My Pioneer Ancestors...

I have spent the last couple of days trying to learn what I could about my pioneer ancestors so I could share stories with my trek "family". I'm not done, but I have loved what I've learned so far. Here are a few highlights:

Thomas Rich, 3rd Great Grandfather passed through the persecutions of the Saints in Missouri and was a participant in the Crooked River battle, acted as a body guard to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and came to Utah in 1850. His son Landon, my 2nd Great Grandfather was 10 when the family crossed the plains. The family came with 5 people (Dad--32, Henrietta (mom)--26, Landon--9, Thomas--2, and I don't know who the fifth person was. Thomas Rich was a captain and had 1 wagon, 4 cattle, 1 gun, 1 1/2 lb black powder, and 6 lb lead.

John Ormond, Jr was a 3rd Great Grandfather and I found a journal excerpt for him. YAAY! It's kind of long so I won't put it all here. He describes some encounters with Indians, treaties, herding buffalo, stampeding animals,... Fun reading.

Joseph Bates Noble, a 3rd Great Grandfather was a loyal friend of Joseph Smith. Three are many great stories of him before the Saints migrated west but I could only find one story about him during the migration, although I do know he was also a captain. The story is really good. His friend's wife, Caroline Grant had her 2nd child, Margaret, in Winter Quarters, leaving her in a weakened condition when she came west. Cholera struck the camp on the Sweetwater River and claimed the baby, Margaret, on Sept 2. She was buried along the trail four days before her mother died. Carolyn succumbed to the disease at the Bear River crossing, 75 miles from Salt Lake City. On her death bed she asked her husband to bring the baby to her and bury them together. He was devastated to lose them both and promised her he would. Jedediah, the husband, drove night and day to get to Salt Lake, where she was buried 4 days later. He and my Great Grandfather Joseph Bates Noble went back to recover the body of Margaret and found that wolves had ravaged the grave and body. Before they reached the grave, Jedediah had confided to Joseph, "Bates, God has made it plain. The joy of Paradise where my wife and baby are together, seems to be upon me tonight. For some wise purpose they have been released from the earth struggles into which you and I are plunged. They are many, many times happier than we can possibly be here." Even with this knowledge and testimony, Jedidiah and Joseph were understandably discouraged at the condition of the baby's grave and wept.

Edmond Durfee and Magdalena Pickle were my 4 Great Grandparents. Edmond was killed by mobs leaving Magdalena with two unmarried sons. One son left the valley without her and the other stayed with her at Council Bluffs, making wagons for the emigrating Saints. Magdalena died at Council Bluffs.

Tamma Durfee was one of Edmond and Magdalena's daughters and my 3rd Great Grandmother. After her father was martyred, her husband died from sickness brought on from suffering mob persecutions leaving her with 7 children, the oldest just 14. She traveled west as a widow with her 7 children with 2 yoke of oxen, two yoke of cows, one wagon supplied with a limited amount of provisions, and the same clothing. Tamma doesn't say much about her journey, in fact she writes far more about the persecutions she suffered before the trip west. Here is what she did write about the trip: "...started with one hundred wagons June 10, 1850. We traveled across the plains with ox teams. We had many a hard struggle although we got along much better than we anticipated. The first of September we landed in Salt Lake City without any home or anyone to hunt us one, we were very lonesome indeed." After she had arrived in the valley she ended up marrying my 4th great grandfather (yes, this is a weird family tree), Enos Curtis, who lost 6 of his 14 children. His wife later died on the plains and he came the rest of the way a widower with the rest of his children and their families.

Cornelius Peter Lott, my 4th Great Grandfather has a most interesting history. He was a close friend of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and was responsible for the church's herds of animals at winter quarters. But he is most known for a different kind of story. You know the one about Mary Fielding Smith who wanted to go with a company and the leader of the company told her she wasn't ready and that she should wait or else she would be a burden on the company and on him. She told him she would go that year and she wouldn't ask help of anyone and she would beat that man to the valley. And she was right. Well, that man was Cornelius Lott, my 4th Great Grandfather! There's lots more great stories about him and I'm glad my mom sent that information today!!

Joseph Knight Sr was my 5th Great Grandfather and this means something to you if you know my church's history. His boy Joseph Knight Jr is my 4th Great Grandfather and he traveled across the plains but I only know he came with his wife and three daughters, one which was just 1 and died a few years after they reached the valley.

John Mills and Jane Sanford were my 4th Great Grandparents. He was baptized my John Taylor in Canada--they had to break ice for the baptism. They came to Nauvoo, were forced to leave and took up residence in Winter Quarters, helping to build wagons. He came west as a teamster for a merchant by the name of Livingston. Jane came a year later with her mother, the Ashtons (Sister Ashton was her cousin), her sister,Joseph and Mary Ashton and her sister's baby. She started with "two wagons and provisions...I had on my wagon one yoke of four year old steers on the tongue, and two yoke of cows, and one yoke of two year old steers for leaders." Later she writes "I had to leave an ox after I had traveled 150 miles which seemed a great loss and there was yet about a thousand miles to travel to the end of our journey but I put a cow at the side of the other ox and rolled on."

I know this may not be interesting to most people but it has been fun researching for me. What surprises me is how LITTLE information was recorded by these people! Of course I can get a good idea of what their migration was like but I still wish I could find more about these specific individuals. I guess maybe they thought that they weren't doing anything unusual, after all, everyone they knew was doing the exact same thing and living the exact same lives. Also, I guess they were kind of busy... In some ways maybe I get thinking the same kinds of thoughts and should keep a better record of my life. But there is still a part of me that things in our modern world there is TOO MUCH information out there about TOO MANY people!! Another topic for another day...