Editors note: The following are biographies of the 143 men, 3 women and 2 children comprising the first pioneer company that left the Elkhorn River April 7, 1847. They were organized into hundreds, fifties and tens. Along the way, the group's size changed several times and not all those who started completed the journey because of various changes in duties. However, Church historians have determined that the credit for blazing the trail should go equally to all who began.
Adams, Barnabas L. – (2nd Ten) Born Aug. 28, 1812, near Perth, Upper Canada, of Vermont parentage and was converted to the Church at age 23. He came to Missouri with the "Canada Camp," under Elder John E. Page. In 1846, he married Julia Ann Bawker. Adams was elected for the original company and became a night guard over the animals. Once hired to float logs down the Mississippi River from Iowa to St. Louis, Mo., he used his experience during river fordings. After crossing the plains with Brigham Young's company in 1847, he immediately returned to Winter Quarters for his family. He brought his family into the Salt Lake Valley in 1848 and settled in the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Adams furnished lumber for the Salt Lake Tabernacle, the Salt Lake Theater, and other public buildings. In 1869, he injured himself internally while lifting the bed of a wagon and died June 2, 1869, at age 56, leaving a large family.
Allen, Rufus – (8th Ten) Born march 22, 1814, in Litchfield Co., Conn., to Gideon and Rachel Hand Allen. He joined the Church at an early age and was in Carroll CO., Mo., when a mob of 150 armed men attacked the Mormon settlement. In 1846, he was chose to be part of the original pioneer company and was assigned to be a camp guard. Allen helped establish the new settlement in the Salt Lake Valley before returning to Winter Quarters. He later settled in Ogden, Weber Co., Utah. (His nephew, Rufus Chester Allen, accompanied Parley P. Pratt on a missionary journey to Valparaiso, Chile.) He was called as a senior president of the 53rd and 54th Quorums of Seventies in 1857. He died in Ogden, Utah, on Dec. 4, 1887, at age 73.
Angell, Truman Osborn – (3rd Ten) Born June 5, 1810, to James and Phebe Morton Angell at North Providence, R.I. He and his wife, Polly Johnson, joined the Church in January 1833. He helped build he Kirtland and Nauvoo temples. After crossing the plains with the original company, Angell returned the same year to get his family. When he brought them the following year, he built a small cabin began working as a carpenter. He built the Beehive and Lion houses, and he traveled to England to learn how to build a sugar factory in Sugar House, and to study architecture. He was the architect, although not the designer, of the Salt Lake Temple. He devoted 37 years almost exclusively to the construction of the temple in Salt Lake City. He also supervised the work on the Salt Lake Tabernacle and the St. George Temple. He died Oct. 16, 1887, at age 77.
Atwood, Millen – (4th Ten) Born May 24, 1817, to Daniel and Polly Sawyer Atwood a Wellington, Tolland Co., Conn. He became interested in the Church and traveled to Nauvoo, Ill., in 1841. There, he was baptized and soon left on a mission, traveling to Illinois, Wisconsin, New York and Connecticut. A stone mason, he did considerable work on the Nauvoo Temple. After traveling to the Great Basin with Brigham Young's company, he returned to Winter Quarters that fall. He returned to Nauvoo early in 1848. He married Relief Cram. He also returned to Nauvoo and recovered his temple construction tools. Atwood took part in defending against Indians, and in about 1851 was assigned to the police force in Salt Lake City. He later served a mission in Scotland and England. He returned to America with a large company of converts on the ship Thornton in 1856, and was a member of Capt. James T. Willie's handcart company. Atwood served on the Salt Lake high council from 1873-81. He then was called as bishop of the Thirteenth Ward, a position he held until his death on Dec. 17, 1890, in Salt Lake City at age 73.
Badger, Rodney – (14th Ten) Born Feb. 4, 1823, at Waterford, Caledonia Co., Vt., to Rodney and Lydia Chamberlain Badger. His family accepted the gospel about 1838, the year his father died. At age 15, Rodney Jr. assumed responsibility for his family and moved them, including his invalid mother, to Nauvoo, where she died. He married Nancy Garr on March 9, 1845. In 1847, he joined the first company, and his attributes as woodsman, scout and swimmer were utilized. He was among five from the original company, who, when they reached Green River in Wyoming, volunteered to return east to help guide the companies that were behind them. He joined his wife in a company at the Sweetwater River, and came with them into Salt Lake Valley on Oct. 2. He was sustained in the bishopric of the Fifteenth Ward, served in the Nauvoo Legion in defending the city and settles against Indian attacks, and was sheriff of Great Salt Lake County. On April 29, 1853, he was assisting an emigrant company in fording the swollen Weber River when one wagon carrying a mother and six children floated off its bed. He immediately plunged into the river to help rescue them and was lost in the swirling waters. Badger was 30 at the time of his death. On April 29, 1996, the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office posthumously recognized him as the first of their office to die in the line of duty.
Baird, Robert Ewing – (9th Ten) Born May 15, 1817, in Londonderry, Ireland, to James and Elizabeth Erwing Baird. He married Hannah McCullough in 1840. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he settled in Weber Co. where he was justice of the peace and Ogden City councilman. Serving as one of the school trustees in the 5th school district of Ogden that was organized in 1860, he helped erect a log schoolhouse. He was also a member of the 33rd Quorum of Seventies and was presiding elder of the Lynne District, just north of Ogden. He died in Ogden on Aug. 24, 1875, at age 58.
Barney, Lewis – (12th Ten) Born Sept. 8, 1808, at Hollen Purchase, Niagara Co. N.Y., to Charles and Mercy Yeoman Barney. Lewis and his father moved to Ohio and then to Illinois. He took part in an Indian war after which Iowa opened up for settlements. Lewis and his father each secured title to 2,000 acres of land in Iowa, where he hard of the persecution of the Saints. Although he was not personally disposed toward any religion, a pair of traveling missionaries taught him and his family and others in the community. After traveling to Nauvoo to meet Joseph Smith, he was baptized in the spring of 1840, and confirmed by the Prophet. He helped in the building of the Nauvoo temple, and later moved his family to the Nauvoo area. A neighbor took his farm and mobs burned his home. In Winter Quarters, during the winter of 1846-47, he hauled provisions from Missouri to the exiles. He crossed the plains with the original company and distinguished himself as one of their best hunters. In 1852, he brought his family west and established a lumber business in Provo. He later moved to Spanish Fork, then to Spring City, Sanpete C., and then to Monroe. He settled for a time in Grass Valley in Sevier Co. and in Arizona. He died in Mancos, Col., on Nov. 5, 1894, at age 86.
Barnum, Charles D. – (8th Ten) Born near Brockville, Leeds, Co., Canada, May 9, 1800. He was baptized by John E. Page on July 25, 1836, and ordained a teacher in an area in Canada where Oliver Cowdery had proselyted. Barnum moved to Indiana two years later, and then to Far West, Mo., where he helped move some of the persecuted Saints to Quincy, Ill. He moved to Nauvoo, but his family refused to join him. He quarried stone for the Nauvoo Temple and served in the Nauvoo Legion. Three years later his family moved to Nauvoo. When he evacuated the city, his family again refused to accompany him. He traveled alone to Winter Quarters where he remarried. After being part of the original company of 1847, he returned to Winter Quarters. IN 1850, he traveled to the Salt Lake Valley in William Snow's company, and settled in the Fifteenth Ward. He served as a counselor to Bishop Andrew Cunningham from 1851-53. He died in Salt Lake City on Sept. 9, 1894, at age 94.
Benson, Ezra Taft – (Captain of 2nd Ten) Born Feb. 22, 1811, in Mendon, Worcester Co., Mass., to John and Chloe Taft Benson. He and his wife, Pamela Andrus, traveled westward to Illinois where they settled in Quincy. Hey encountered great debates about the Mormons and he heard Elders Orson Hyde and John E. Page preach on their way to dedicate Jerusalem. Benson and his wife were baptized July 19, 1840. A short time later he was ordained an elder, and then a high priest by Hyrum Smith. He served in the Eastern States Mission from 1842-43. He was called to the Nauvoo High Council in 1844, and after further missionary activity in the east in 1845, helped with the Nauvoo Temple and took part in the exodus of 1846. That winter, while in Mt. Pisgah, Iowa, he received notification from Brigham Young that he had been called to the Quorum of the Twelve, replacing John E. Page. He was part of the pioneer company into the valley. He decided to return east and help guide oncoming companies into the Salt Lake Valley. He then returned to Winter Quarters and ended the eventful year by beginning another mission to the East. He returned to the Salt Lake Valley in 1849 with George A. Smith. In 1856, he presided over the mission in Europe. In 1860, he was appointed to preside in Cache Valley. He left only once more, in 1864, to travel to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) to clear up problems after an apostate had usurped Church leadership and property. He served in many elective and political offices and died Sept. 3, 1869, in Ogden, Utah, at age 58.
Billings, George Pierce – (9th Ten) Born in Kirtland, Ohio, on July 25, 1827, to Titus and Diantha Morley Billings. His father was the second person to be baptized in Kirtland, Ohio, and later served as counselor to the Church's first Presiding Bishop. George worked on Mississippi River boats and helped his father, a stonemason and carpenter, build the temples in Kirtland and Nauvoo. He joined the pioneer company at age 20. He drove a wagon across the plains for his cousin, Heber C. Kimball. By the time Billings arrived in the Valley, his shoes and shirt were gone and his buckskin pants had stretched, been trimmed and shrank. Elder Kimball's wife made him a new shirt of a striped straw tick, and a pair of moccasins. Upon seeing him in his scant outfit, Heber C. Kimball felt to prophesy that soon "clothing can be bought here as cheap as in New York City." This prophecy was literally fulfilled with the arrival of California pioneers and gold seekers. Billings later went to California in search of gold. He found gold, went to Mexico and bought livestock and was bringing it to Utah when all of his stock became diseased and died. He returned poorer than he left, just as Brigham Young said would happen to those who left in search of gold. He helped settle Carson Valley, Nev. After the arrival of Johnston's army in 1858, and the abandonment of the outlying settlements, he moved to Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah. There he helped build the temple. He died in Manti on Dec. 2, 1896, at age 69.
Boggs, Francis – (8th Ten) Born May 17, 1807, in Belmont Co., Ohio, to Alexander and Hannah Martin Boggs. He was baptized by missionaries who came to his home May 17, 1841. He married Evalina Martin in 1842 and the family moved to Nauvoo where his carpentry skills were used helping to build the city. His family left Nauvoo in the exodus of 1846 and traveled to Winter Quarters. There, he was chosen to go west with the first group. His family followed, arriving in Sept. 1847. The lived in the Salt Lake Eighth Ward, then moved to Springville in 1850, and later to Fillmore and Parowan, all in Utah. He was sent on a mission to mine lead and farm in Las Vegas, Nev. In 1861, he took his family to Washington, in Washington Co., Utah. He filled positions in various communities and served one term in the Utah legislature. He died in Washington, Utah, on Jan. 22, 1889, at age 81.
Brown, George Washington – (2nd Ten) Born Jan. 25, 1827, at Newbury, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, to Nathaniel and Avis Hill Brown. As a child, he accompanied his father, a frontiers-man, into the West. After the death of his father in 1837, his mother returned east and settled in Chautauqua Co., N.Y., where she joined the Church. Brown was baptized in Sugar Creek, Iowa, and became a bodyguard of Joseph Smith. After making the journey to the Salt Lake Valley, he returned to Council Bluffs. In 1848 he went to Missouri and farmed for two years. In 1850, he returned to the Valley bringing his mother, brother, and sister with him. He married Elizabeth Amy Hancock in 1852. She died in 1862. He then married Emma Barrows. He lived in many locations in Wallsburg and Charleston, Wasatch Co., Utah where he farmed for the rest of his life. He was ordained a high priest in 1877. He died at age 79 on Dec. 19, 1890, in Charleston.
Brown, John – (Captain of 13th Ten) Born Oct. 23, 1820, in Sumner Co., Tenn., to John and Martha Chipman Brown. Baptized by George P. Dykes in July 1841 in Perry Co., Ill., he moved to Nauvoo the following October. He served a mission in Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi, and baptized a large number of converts. He married Elizabeth Crosby in Monroe Co. Mississippi, and became one of the leaders of the Mississippi Saints that were prominent in early Church history. He returned to Nauvoo in 1845 with others responding to a call for volunteers to help defend the city and to complete the temple. A few months later he brought his wife to Nauvoo. They stayed until January 1846. With the exodus from Nauvoo imminent, he left for Mississippi again. Because of increasing local hostility in Mississippi, they gathered a group of 60 saints and headed west, expecting to intercept the vanguard company of Saints on the trail. Instead, they learned that the Saints had laid over a year. So Brown left his family in log cabins in Pueblo, Colo., and went to Winter Quarters where he joined the pioneer company. He was one of the advance company who first viewed the Salt Lake Valley. His family came west in 1848 and settled in the Cottonwood area. He later served as a missionary and helped explore southern Utah. He was mayor of Pleasant Grove, Utah, for 20 years and bishop of the Pleasant Grove Ward for 29 years. He died Nov. 4, 1897, at age 77 in Pleasant Grove.
Brown, Nathaniel Thomas – (10th Ten) On the way west, he associated with Porter Rockwell in hunting and in searching after lost animals. He returned to Winter Quarters in the fall of 1847. After returning to Winter Quarters, he was accidentally shot at Council Bluffs, Iowa, in February 1848, just as he was preparing to return to the Salt Lake Valley. Distressed by the accident, Brigham Young was said to have remarked, "Brown's old shoes were worth more than the whole body of the man who killed him."
Bullock, Thomas – (2nd Ten) A son of Thomas and Mary Hall Bullock, he was born Dec. 23, 1816, in Leek Staffordshire, England. He was baptized by missionaries in the same city on Nov. 20, 1841, and emigrated on the sailing ship Yorkshire and was in charge of a company of Saints. After arriving in Nauvoo, h served as clerk to Joseph Smith until the Prophet's martyrdom. He crossed the plains in 1847, then returned to Winter Quarters to get his family, whom he brought to the Salt Lake Valley the following year. He served as recorder for Salt Lake County, chief clerk of the House of Representatives and of the Church Historian's office. He was one of four men chosen to publish the first edition of the Deseret News. In 1868, he moved to Wanship, Summit Co., where he was probate court clerk and county recorder. He died in Coalville, Summit Co., Feb. 10, 1885, at age 68.
Burke, Charles Allen – (14th Ten) Born Sept. 2, 1823, at Kirtland, Ohio, to John M. and Abigail Fellows Burke. The family moved to Missouri after Abigail died in 1833. Charles joined the Church and moved to Nauvoo, Ill., where he helped construct the temple. During the exodus of the Saints from Nauvoo to Winter Quarters, he made coffins and assisted in the burial of those who did not survive the trek. He was among the advance party that reached the valley July 22, 1847. He returned to Winter Quarters that fall and brought his relatives west the following year. An only sister died on the plains of cholera. Back in the valley, he worked for a Crosby family of the Mississippi Saints in the Cottonwood area, where he met and married Lydia Tanner on Sept. 25, 1850. He and his wife went to San Bernardino, Calif., in 1851 and remained there until being called back in 1857 to defend against Johnston's army. He then settled in Parowan, Iron Co., where he worked as a carpenter. He helped make one of the first gristmills in the area, as well as household items and coffins. He died Feb. 26, 1888, in Minersville, Beaver Co., Utah, at age 64.
Burnham, Jacob D. – (1st Ten) Born Oct. 1, 1820, in New York to Richard and Elizabeth Burnham. He was baptized Nov. 13, 1844. He received a patriarchal blessing by John Smith in Nauvoo in 1846. Although he was one of the original pioneers, he remained in the valley just a short time. He traveled to California, where records show that he paid tithing May 21, 1850. He died later that year at Greenwood Valley while mining for gold at about age 30.
Carrington, Albert – (2nd Ten) Born Jan. 8, 1813, in Royalton, Windsor Co., Vt., to Daniel and Isabella Bowman Carrington. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1833, and taught school and studied law in Pennsylvania. He married Rhoda Maria Woods on Dec. 6, 1838. He was involved in lead mining when he joined the Church in Wiota, Wis., in July 1841. Three years later he went to Nauvoo and took part in the exodus. Shortly after his arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, he was chosen as surveyor to accompany Captain Howard Stansbury of the U.S. Topographical unit in exploring the Great Salt Lake. He also headed a committee to draft a constitution for the state of Deseret, and was editor of the Deseret news from 1854-59 and from 1863-6. He was secretary to Brigham Young for 20 years and presided over the European Mission three times. He was ordained an apostle in 1870, and was a counselor to Brigham Young. He died in Salt Lake City on Sept. 19, 1889, at age 76.
Carter, William – (7th Ten) Born Feb. 12, 1821, in Ledbury, England, to Thomas and Sarah Parker Carter. He learned glass blowing and blacksmithing as a youth. Working at a blacksmith shop, he heard the singing and preaching of Mormon missionaries, and was baptized on Dec. 27, 1840. He traveled to Nauvoo, Ill., in 1841 and assisted in the building of the Nauvoo Temple. He married Elizabeth Benbow on Dec. 5, 1843. He is credited by Wilford Woodruff with being the first to plow the land near City Creek and the first to turn water from the stream to flood the land. He served in the bishopric of the Fourteenth Ward for a time, and in 1858 sold his horse to answer a call to serve a mission in Quebec, Canada. He used the proceeds from the horse sale to buy a handcart with which he traveled the continent eastward. He served in Quebec only briefly, being recalled because of the crisis precipitated by Johnston's army. He later settled in the St. George, Utah, area and reared a large family. He died there June 22, 1896, at age 74.
Case, James – (Captain of the 7th Ten) Born May 4, 1794, at Litchfield, Conn., to Joseph and Lydia Case. He worked at an outpost near Plum Creek, Neb., in 1845 or 1846 as a $300-a-year government farmer. When he was baptized, his Army commander refused to give him his final paycheck. When the pioneers came to this now-abandoned station while crossing the plains, Brigham Young allowed Case to take the equivalency of pay in abandoned iron, such as a stove, plows and iron bars. He was required to send a letter of explanation to his former employers, however. He later served as a missionary in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma. He arrived for service in St. Louis on Nov. 10, 1855, and "all [missionaries] suffered from want of clothing and proper food, as the Indians among whom they labored were very poor." Elder Case was called to preside over the Creek Nation, and organized the Princess Branch. This branch struggled from lack of local leadership. The handful of missionaries in this mission were ill, and a few died while serving in this mission. Perhaps the effects of this illness claimed Case, as he died in Sanpete Co., Utah, in 1858, soon after returning from his mission.
Chamberlain, Solomon – (11th Ten) Born July 30, 1788, in Old Canaan, Conn., to Joel and Sarah Dean Chamberlain. He married Hopee Haskins, and learned the cooper's trade. He was baptized a few days after the Church was organized in 1830, and moved to Kirtland, Ohio, that spring and to Jackson County, Mo., in 1831. After being driven from Missouri, his family settle din Nauvoo, "where we remained in peace for several years; but about the year 1846, we were broken up and had to flee to the Rocky Mountains." At age 59, he was the oldest of the first company of pioneers. He had mountain fever, and suffered from cholera and as near death on his original journey west. Chamberlain returned to Winter Quarters with his rations being just two quarts of parched corn and three quarts of coarse corn meal. His wife died in 1848 just as he was about to embark on the return trip to the valley. In 1850, he left for the gold field of California, but felt impressed to return the same year. He crossed the California mountains with no weapon but a pocket knife. He died in Washington, Washington Co., Utah, on March 20, 1862, at age 74.
Chesley, Alexander Philip – (14th Ten) Born in Bowling Green, Faquier Co., Va., on Oc. 22, 1814, to John and Elizabeth Brisker Chesley. An orphan at age 3, he was reared by an uncle until 12, then by other relatives in Kentucky. He was encouraged by Henry Clay Sr. (the father of the famous legislator) to study law, which he did. He later moved to Wayne Co., Ill., where he practiced law, and married Elizabeth Haws. She became a staunch convert, and after a time, he was also baptized. He joined the pioneer company and gained the reputation of being a daring Indian fighter. A member of the advance party, he entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 22, 1847. He returned to Winter Quarters for is family and brought them back to the valley in 1851. On this return trip, he guided John Taylor's wagon train carrying equipment for a sugar factory. He settled in Provo, Utah, where he taught school and was a lawyer. In 1856, he was called on a mission to Australia, from whence he never returned. He died Aug. 9, 1884, in Orange, Australia, at age 69.
Clayton, William – (9th Ten) Born July 17, 1814, at Penwortham, Lancashire, England, to Thomas ad Ann Critchlow Clayton. He and his wife, Ruth Moon Clayton, heard the gospel from Elders Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde. She readily accepted the message but he studied intensely before his baptism. They left England in September 1840 and arrived in Nauvoo, Ill., in November. He was appointed secretary to Joseph Smith on Feb. 10, 1842, and later treasurer of the city of Nauvoo. While crossing the muddy fields of Iowa near what is now Corydon, he wrote the famous hymn "Come, Come, ye Saints" which has since become well known around the world. As scribe and historian of the pioneer journey, he recorded many of the events of the historic trek. Along the way he built a "roadometer" to count the revolutions of a wagon heel to thus record distances. He was called on a mission to England in 182. Upon returning to Salt Lake Valley following his mission, he became treasurer of Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution; served many years as territorial recorder of marks and brands and as territorial auditor of public accounts. He died Dec. 4, 1879, at age 65 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Cloward, Thomas Poulson – (9th Ten) Born in Chester Co., Pa., on Dec. 10, 1823, to Jacob and Anne Pluck Coward. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker at age 15, with whom he remained for five years. He joined the Church about this time and moved to Nauvoo. He married Mary Page in 1847. After crossing the plains, he made the first pair of shoes in the Salt Lake Valley. He took an old pair of boot tops and made shoes fro Ellen Kimball, Heber C. Kimball's wife. He returned to Winter Quarters with Brigham Young. He settled for two years on the east side of the Missouri River until 1852, when he brought his family west. He lived in Provo and then moved to Payson, where he started a shoemaker's shop. He later helped in construction of the Salem Canal. He died Jan. 16, 1909, at age 85 in Payson, Utah.
Coltrin, Zebedee – (5th Ten) Born Sept. 7, 1804, at Ovid, Seneca Co., N.Y., to John Jr. and Sarah Coltrin. He joined the Church soon after it was organized. He married Julia Ann Jennings. After she died, he married Mary Mott. After crossing with the first company, he returned for his family. However, because of lack of sufficient funds, they did not come to the Salt Lake Valley until 1851. He settled in Spanish Fork, Utah Co., Utah, and during the Indian conflicts, moved his family into a fort there. He helped survey the city site, helped build bridges, make roads and erect schools and meetinghouses. He was described as "one of the oldest members of the Church and was identified with many of the earliest incidents in the days of Kirtland. He was closely associated with the Prophet Joseph and has often testified of having been a witness of and participant in many marvelous spiritual manifestations." He served as one of the first Seven Presidents of the Seventy until it was learned that he had earlier been ordained a high priest. He died July 21, 1887, at age 82 in Spanish Fork, Utah.
Craig, James – (6th Ten) Born in Ireland in 1821 to David and Elizabeth Craig. Known as the "Bugler of the Pioneers," he had the responsibility to awaken the camp each morning. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he settle din the Millcreek area where he was appointed to a committee to eradicate poisonous reptiles and predatory animals. He was called on a mission to Great Britain where he served as president of the Preston Conference, and later labored in Ireland. He returned from his mission in 1858. In 1861, he was called to help colonize southern Utah. He settled in Santa Clara, Washington Co., Utah, where he was successful in raising cotton. He died there March 2, 188, at about age 47.
Crosby, Oscar – (13th Ten) Born about 1815, to Vilate Crosby, an African descendant. She was a slave of William Crosby, one of the Mississippi converts. Oscar Crosby was baptized at Mormon Springs in Monroe Co., Mississippi, probably before 1845, where many other Mississippi converts were baptized. During the trip from Mississippi to Nauvoo, the company he was with encountered severe snow and ice, and two of the slaves died. He was sent ahead to assist the pioneer company. After the company's arrival in the valley, Oscar Crosby helped prepare a place for the Crosby family who were to follow. When the family arrived, they were reportedly welcomed by Crosby, a cabin and patches of potatoes, buckwheat and turnips. In 1851, he and a number of Mississippi converts helped settle San Bernardino, Calif., where they helped to establish freight route to Los Angeles. Crosby became free in California, and his former master helped him settle. Oscar Crosby died in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1870 at age 55.
Curtis, Lyman – (13th Ten) Born Jan. 21, 1812, in New Salem, Mass., to Nahum and Millicent Waite Curtis. He was baptized March 14, 1833, and the following year married Charlotte Alvord. He and his father and brothers helped build the Kirtland Temple. In 1834, he became part of Zion's Camp, and later endured persecution in Missouri and Illinois. A hunter on the Pioneer trek, he became part of the advance company that entered the valley July 22, 1847. It is said he built a large fire of sagebrush that evening that was visible to the others who were still in the canyon. He returned to Winter Quarters that fall, traveling with six pounds of flour and one horse between him and Levi Jackman, his traveling companion. He started back west in 1850 and en route, on the Nebraska plains, his wife gave birth to their ninth child. They arrived in October and lived in an abode home the first year. The following yar, the family moved to Santa Clara, Utah, where he was charged to build a canal from the Little Muddy River near Moapa, Nev. After completing the task, he helped build a canal from the Santa Clara River to below St. George. He served a five-year mission among the Indians and returned to what was called Pond Town, near Spanish Fork, Utah. Later, many people settled in the area, and they eventually changed the name of Pond Town to Salem, Curtis' hometown in Massachusetts in his honor. He died in Salem, Utah Co., Utah, Aug. 5, 1898, at age 86.
Cushing, Hosea – (9th Ten) Born April 2, 1826, in Boston, Mass., to Phillip and Mary Cushing. H apprenticed to a carpenter at age 16 and stayed two years until hearing the missionaries preach. He was baptized February 1844 in Boston and soon began serving a mission. He traveled to Nauvoo, arriving April 8, 1845, where he worked on the Nauvoo Temple. He joined the exodus on Feb. 15, 1846. In the spring of 1848, he and his bride, Helen Janet Murray, came to the Salt Lake Valley. He built a small cabin a block north of the temple grounds. He was called to take part in the 1853 Walker Indian War. During a skirmish, he and another man, whose name was Ging, were lost in the desert for three days without food or water. When Cushing was found, he was suffering badly, and never fully recovered. He died May 17, 1854, at age 28 in Salt Lake City.
Davenport, James – (11th Ten) Born May 1, 1802, at Danville, Caledonia Co., Vt., to Squire and Susanne Kitridge Davenport. He learned blacksmithing and after his marriage to Almira Phelps on Sept. 4, 1823, set up a shop and farmed as well. They joined the Church shortly after it was organized in 1830. In 1845, they were residents of Nauvoo. He worked as a blacksmith in the first company. He was among nine men left to operate the upper ferry of the Platte River on June 18, 1847. This group was instructed to ferry the companies across and charge those who could pay. He traveled on to the Salt Lake Valley and then returned to Winter Quarters for his family. It was almost three years before they could afford to come back to the Salt Lake Valley. When he returned, he stayed a short time in Salt Lake City then moved to Grantsville, Tooele Co., Utah. He traveled across the plains twice more to help bring wagon trains of converts. He later moved to Wellsville, and finally Richmond, in Cache Co., Utah, where he died July 23, 1885, at age 83.
Decker, Isaac Perry – (3rd Ten) One of two children in the first company, he was born Aug. 7, 1840, in Winchester, Scott Co., Ill., to Isaac and Harriet Page Wheeler Decker. His mother and father divorced in March 1843, and she later married Lorenzo Dow Yung, changing her name to Harriet Decker Young. His father remained a faithful member and came to Salt Lake City in a later company, where he died in 1873. After arriving, Isaac and his mother lived in the Old Fort until Lorenzo built a cabin near the Eagle Gate in Salt Lake City. The boy saw the struggles of the members during the exodus, the trek west, the meager first years including the miracle of the gulls, and the growth of Salt Lake City. In mid-life he made his home in Provo, Utah, where his son, C.F. Decker, was mayor for a time. He died Jan. 24, 1916, among the last of the original pioneer company, at age 75.
Dewey, Benjamin Franklin – (7th Ten) Born May 5, 1829, in Westfield, Hamden Co., Mass., to Ashbell and Harriet Adams Dewey. His parents joined the Church and he was baptized when he came of age, probably in 1837. Te family moved to Nauvoo in the spring of 1846. His father died at Winter Quarters. He was selected for the original company and during the trek, became so ill with mountain fever that he and two others were left behind July 20, 1846, at East Canyon above the Salt Lake Valley. Shortly after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he left for the California gold fields. Two years later, he came back to the Salt Lake Valley and was called to fill a mission to India. The missionaries departed Jan. 26, 1853, and arrived in Calcutta 86 days later. He traveled to Hindustan, Siam and parts of China, but was not successful. He was called in 1855 to settle in San Bernardino, Calif., where he married Alzia Smithson, also an early pioneer. They later separated and he returned to Salt Lake City, where he assisted in building the Salt Lake Tabernacle and temple. He moved to Arizona in 1885 and mined. He died Feb. 23, 1904, in Chloride, near Kingman, Ariz., at age 74.
Dixon, John – (5th Ten) Born July 26, 1818, in Cumberland, England, to Joseph and Sarah Dixon. After reaching the Salt Lake Valley, he helped in the erection of the fort and building the settlement. He was called in 1850 to accompany George Q. Morris and other missionaries to the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands. He returned after a short time, however. On Aug. 17, 1853, he and three others were hauling wood to Snyder's mill near Parley's Park in Salt Lake City, and a group of Indians fired on them. He and John Quayle were killed. He was 35 years old.
Driggs, Starling Graves – (2nd Ten) Born Feb. 12, 1822, in Pennsylvania to Uriel and Hannah Ford Driggs. He joined the Church in Ohio and went with his family to Nauvoo. His father died in Lee County, Iowa. The Driggses stayed near Kanesville, Iowa, in the Thomas Camp. He joined the first company and lived in the home of Apostle Amasa Lyman for two years in Salt Lake City and here learned that his mother had died. He was called as a member of an exploring group that traveled to southern Utah with Parley P. Pratt to locate settlement sites. He later traveled to southern California and helped settle San Bernardino, where he farmed and participated in freighting, he met Sara Rogers, whom he married in 1855. When the San Bernardino settlers were recalled in 1857, Driggs and his family settled in Parowan, Utah. While operating a primitive threshing machine on his farm, he suffered an accident that led to his death Dec. 3, 1860, at age 38.
Dykes, William – (4th Ten) Born Nov. 18, 1815, in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co., Pa., to Daniel and Cynthia Dykes. He joined the Church and became a member of the 31st Quorum of Seventies in Nauvoo. He was designated a hunter in the first company. Soon after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Dykes returned to Winter Quarters. He applied to establish a post office on the Pottawattamie lands in Iowa in 1848. He was a member of the 31st Quorum of Seventies in Salt Lake City in 1856. However, he returned to the east in later years and died in Nebraska on Nov. 24, 1879, at age 64.
Earl, Sylvester H. – (5th Ten) Born Aug. 15, 1815, to Joseph and Dorcas Wixom Earl in Ohio. He was baptized in February 1837. After his baptism, he began performing missionary labors in surrounding states until 1842 when he and his family moved to Hancock Co., Ill., in a village called Morley's Settlement, near Nauvoo. On the trip west, he was a member of the gun crew that hauled a cannon and held occasional drills. On his return trip to Winter Quarters, Earl described having 17 horses stolen, but he was able to purchase 16 from Indians. "While detained there, we became destitute of food and I, in the company of Horace Thornton, went to a small band of Indians and sold he shirt off my back for some meat. I then took my wagon cover and cut and made me another." He returned to Utah with his family, and in the fall of 1851, moved to the Nineteenth Ward. The following year, he began a two-year mission in England. In 1861, he moved to Pine Valley at the head of the Santa Clara River where he purchased a share in a sawmill. He died July 23, 1873, at age 57 in Middleton, Washington Co., Utah.
Eastman, Ozro French – (7th Ten) Born Nov. 18, 1828, in Windham Co., Vt., to James and Clarissa Goss Eastman. His parents were baptized in 1843, and he became a member of the first company but was never baptized. He was loyal to Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and other leaders of the Church. His father secured a wagon and team for him and received permission for Ozro to accompany the first company. After crossing the plains in 1847, he returned with Brigham Young's company to Winter Quarters that fall. It is said h established the first harness shop in Salt Lake City. He married Mary E. Whittle on Feb. 22, 1857, and they became parents of 10 children. In 1884 he moved to Eagle Rock, later Idaho Falls, Idaho, where he continued as a harness maker. He died in Idaho Falls, Idaho, March 26, 1916, at age 87.
Egan, Howard – (Captain of the 9th Ten) Born June 15, 1815, in Tullamore, King Co., Ireland, to Howard and Ann Meade Egan. He married Tamson Parsley at age 23 in about 1838. A sailor, he immigrated to America and received his naturalization papers in 1841 and the following year was baptized at Salem, Mass., where he was working as a rope maker. He traveled to Nauvoo Ill., where he was appointed a major in the Nauvoo Legion and became a member of the Nauvoo police force. During the trek west, Egan served as road scout and explorer. His journal records many of the day-to-day events of the trip. In the winter of 1849-50, he traveled to California to buy livestock and supplies. In 1860 he became a Pony Express rider and agent, and later served as a member of the Salt Lake police force and as deputy sheriff. He was a guard at the home of Brigham Young. When Brigham Young died, Egan was called on to guard his grave in Sal Lake City. In doing so, he contracted pneumonia and died March 16, 1878, at age 62.
Egbert, Joseph Teasdale – (1st ten) Born in Vincennes, Ind., March 10, 1818, to John and Susan Hahn Egbert. The family joined the Church and eventually moved to Nauvoo. On Dec. 6 1840, he married Caroline Allred. Selected to accompany the original pioneer company, Egbert was appointed to drive Orson Pratt's wagon and to cook. On the trail, he once found several buffalo, and shot two. However the other animals circled and Egbert crawled away to avoid being attacked. He returned exhausted to camp and others recovered the game. He joined the advance party that entered the valley July 22, 1847. He returned to Winter Quarters that fall and brought his family to the Great Basin. One child died while crossing the plains. He later settled in Kaysville, Davis Co., Utah, building a large home and planting some of the first fruit orchards. He was roads supervisor of the district for 35 years and constable of the town for two years. He died March 24, 1898, in Ogden, Weber Co., Utah at age 80.
Eldredge, John Sutherland – (8th Ten) Born April 30, 1831, in Canaan, Columbia Co., N.Y., to Alanson and Esther Sutherland Eldredge. He served as a teamster on the original company, crossing the plains at age 16. He is said to have been one of the first men to plow in the valley after the arrival of the pioneers. He also promoted pioneer industries. Eldredge was called on a mission to Australia in 1852, and returned on the ill-fated ship Julia Ann. On board were 26 LDS immigrants and two missionaries. On Oct. 4, 1855, the ship wrecked on a coral reef ad two women and three children drowned. The others made their way on a hastily constructed raft to the Scilly Isles, 12 miles distant. They lived there nearly two months, subsisting on small shellfish and sea turtles. The group was rescued when the ship's captain traveled more than 200 miles in on open boat and returned for them in a vessel. Eldredge returned to the Salt Lake Valley in 1856. He took up farming and moved to Charleston, Wasatch Co., Utah. He died while plowing on May 7, 1873, at age 42.
Ellsworth, Edmund – (4th Ten) Born July 1, 1819, in Paris, Oneida Co., N.Y., to Jonathan and Sarah Gully Ellsworth. He was baptized Feb. 20, 1840, and three years later was ordained a seventy. He married Brigham Young's daughter Elizabeth Young. He was appointed a foot hunter, and was among 10 appointed to remain at the upper crossing of the Platte River, near Casper, Wyo. When his family arrived at the ferry, he accompanied them to the Salt Lake Valley, where the arrived Oct. 12. He filled a mission to England in 1854-56 and on his return home, took charge of the first handcart company to cross the plains. This company left Iowa June 9, 1856, and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley Sept. 26 after considerable hardship. He was later elected alderman in Salt Lake City. In 1880, he moved his family to Arizona. He died at Show Low Ariz., Dec. 29, 1893, at age 74.
Empey, William A. – (5th Ten) Born July 4, 1808, in Osnabrook Township, Stormont Co., in eastern Canada. He joined the Church in Canada and later gathered to Nauvoo where he was ordained a seventy in the 13h Quorum. On the trek west, while hunting May 3, 1847, he attempted to turn a drove of antelope toward hunters when he looked down a ravine and saw a hunting party of 200-300 Indians. He and others hurried back to warn the main company, and calld in the other hunters. However, no problems came of the encounter. He was among those selected to remain at the upper ferry on the Platte River in Wyoming. He remained there helping pioneer companies and those of the Oregon Trail cross the river until Brigham Young's party returned from the Salt Lake Valley in the fall. He went with them to Winter Quarters and brought his family to the Salt Lake Valley in 1848. He became a member of the Fifteenth Ward bishopric. From 1852 until 1854, he served a mission in England and for a time presided over the Hull Conference. When he returned to the Salt Lake Valley, he was called to settle in southern Utah. He died in St. George, Washington Co., Utah, on Aug. 19, 1890, at age 82.
Ensign, Horace Datus – (7th Ten) Born May 8, 1826, at Westfield, Hampden Co., Mass., to Horace Datus and Mary Brunson Ensign. His parents joined the Church in 1843. The senior Ensign died in September 1846 in Winter Quarters. Datus, the oldest son, was baptized Dec. 6, 1846 at Winter Quarters. He was a carpenter and mechanic, and served as night guard. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he started back to Winter Quarters but met his family in the Daniel Spencer Company. He continued with this company to the valley, arriving Sept. 22, 1847. He was assigned to assist in repairing the Goodyear Fort in Ogden, Weber Co., Utah. In 1850, he married Eliza Jane Stewart. He participated in the so-called Echo Canyon war, delaying Johnston's army in 1856-57 from entering the Salt Lake Valley. Ensign later settled just south of the Goodyear Fort on the Weber River. Because of the river's overflow, he had to rebuild and eventually located on what became a city park. When that happened, he was given another parcel of property, where he built another home and lived there until his death, in Ogden on Sept. 1, 1866, at age 40.
Everett, Addison – (Captain of 1st Fifty; in 3rd Ten) Born Oct. 10, 1805, in Wallkill, Orange Co., N.Y., to Ephraim and Deborah Carwin Everett. He was a ship's carpenter, introduced to the gospel by Parley P. Pratt in 1837. He was called as a counselor in he branch presidency in New York April 15, 1842. He gathered with the Saints in 1844 to Nauvoo, where he was involved with events related to the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he returned with Brigham Young to Winter Quarters. On the way he met his wife, Orpha Maria Redfield, and family near the Sweetwater River in Wyoming and returned with them to the Salt Lake Valley. He helped build Fort Supply, near Fort Bridger in Wyoming, and was called as bishop of the Eighth Ward and in 1861 was called to the Dixie Mission. He helped build the St. George Temple and did considerable temple work after it was completed. He died in St. George, Washington Co., Utah, on Jan. 12, 1885, at age 79.
Fairbanks, Nathaniel – (10th Ten) Born at Queensbury, Washington, Co., N.Y., on May 10, 1823, to Joseph and Polly White Fairbanks. He completed a two-year apprenticeship as a stonecutter before he was baptized Aug. 28, 1843. He moved to Nauvoo in 1844. On the trek west when the company stopped at a bluff near Chimney Rock, Neb., Fairbanks was bitten by a rattlesnake. He soon began to feel extreme pain and his leg was bound in tobacco leaves and turpentine. He was given a blessing and suffered a great deal but eventually recovered. After reaching the Salt Lake Valley, he returned part way to Winter Quarters, but met his brother Jonathan en route with the Daniel Spencer Company, and he returned with them to the Salt Lake Valley. In 1853, he was driving a herd of cattle from Salt Lake to Sacramento Calif., when he was thrown from a mule and drowned while crossing a river near Sacramento, at about age 30.
Farr, Aaron Freeman – (10th Ten) Born in Waterford, Caledona Co., Vt., on Oct. 31, 1818, to Winslow and live Hovey Freeman Farr. He and his younger brother Lorin were baptized in 1832 after listening to the preaching of Orson Pratt and Lyman Johnson. He moved to Kirtland, Ohio, in 1838, and later to Nauvoo. He married Persis Atherton Jan. 16, 1844, in the Mansion House in Nauvoo, a ceremony performed by Joseph Smith. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he was among a group selected to return and guide subsequent companies. Farr guided Daniel Spencer's Hundred, where his wife, with their baby in the wagon, had driven a double team of oxen from Winter Quarters. "We were in the lead of the immigration from there until we camped at some fine springs where Salt Lake City now stands," he later recalled. An attorney, he helped establish the city government after he and his family arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. In 1852-53, he served a mission to the West Indies and presided over the St. Louis Branch while returning from the West Indies. He later settle din Ogden, Utah, and practiced law and was a U.S. deputy marshal. He served a second mission to Las Vegas, Nev., then to Arizona. In 1859, he was elected probate judge of Weber Co., and also served as alderman of Ogden and as representative to the Territorial Legislature from Weber County. He died Nov. 8, 1903, at Logan, Cache Co., Utah, at age 85.
Fitzgerald, Perry – (11th Ten) Born Dec. 22, 1814, at Fayette Co., Pa., to John and Leah Phillips Fitzgerald. He was reared in Illinois where he married Mary Ann Cazot. He was baptized in 1842 and moved to Nauvoo, Ill. After arriving in the valley, he returned to Winter Quarters. Fitzgerald started across the plains a second time with Brigham Young on May 26, 1848. He moved to Draper, Salt Lake Co., Utah, where he built a permanent home, and was among the first five families in what was then South Willow Creek. His wife, Mary Ann, died in 1851 and he later married Ann Wilson. He took part in the Walker War and assisted in building various forts. He also farmed. During his lifetime, he earned a reputation for his scrupulous honesty. He died Oct. 4, 1889, at Draper, Utah, at age 74.
Flake, Green – (14th Ten) Born in January 1828 in Anson Co., N.C., a slave of African descent on the plantation of William Jordan Flake. At age 20, he was given as a gist to James Madison Flake. He was baptized in the Mississippi River near Nauvoo by John Brown. He had traveled with the Flake family to Nauvoo, but evidently returned to his plantation before the exodus. He was sent from there with a carriage and a team of white mules t Winter Quarters and instructed to go west with the original company. He was selected to be part of the advance company that entered the valley July 22, 1847. His carriage, however, is believed to be the one that carried an ill Brigham Young into the valley. The carriage was returned to Winter Quarters that fall, but he remained and built a cabin in the Cottonwood area and planted crops for the Flake family. In 1848, he married Martha Ann Crosby, a slave of John Brown and Elizabeth Crosby Brown, newly arrived in the Cottonwood area. He remained in the area as a devout Latter-day Saint for many years. He moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho, in 1888, and lived there until his death on Oct. 20, 1903, at age 75.
Fowler, John Sherman – (1st Ten) Born July 12, 1819, in New York City, N.Y., and later baptized. He lived in Nauvoo, where he received a patriarchal blessing from Ashael Smith in February 1846 and became a member of the 2nd Quorum of the Seventies. On the trek west, after leaving Fort Bridger, he caught mountain fever and was delirious for a time. He made his home in the fort in Salt Lake City, but after a few years left Salt Lake Valley and moved to San Bernardino, Calif. He died April 12, 1860, in Sacramento, Calif., at age 41.
Fox, Samuel Bradford – (4th Ten) Born Dec. 4, 1829, at Adams, Jefferson Co., N.Y., possibly to Samuel and Lucy Williams Fox. He was a teamster for Brigham Young. Three years after his arrival in Salt Lake Valley, he went to California. There, he suffered a severe attack of smallpox and his face was disfigured. He is reported to have said that his friends should never see him in that condition, and never returned to Salt Lake City. In 1870, he moved to Oregon.
Freeman, John Monroe – (1st Ten) Born Nov. 20, 1823, in Chatham, Middlesex Co., Conn. to Israel and Deborah Freeman. He was baptized Nov. 13, 1839. In Nauvoo, Ill., he was a member of the 31st Quorum of Seventies. Three years after his arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, he went to Carson Valley, Nev., where it is said he died of cholera in 1850 at age 27.
Frink, Horace Monroe – (7th Ten) Born May 31, 1832, in Livingston Co., N.Y., to Jefferson and Emily Lathrop Frink. The family lived for a time in Nauvoo. He was chosen as a driver in the original company at age 15. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he traveled in the fall of 1847 to Hangtown, Calif., where he was at Sutter's Mill when gold was discovered. He returned to Missoouri on horseback and from there outfitted a wagon and brought his maternal grandmother, a sister and two half-brothers to Salt Lake Valley. They helped settle Sa Bernardino, California. Later, with his brother, he purchased a large tract of land in San Timoteo Valley in Calif. He married Polly Ann DeWitt on Feb. 27, 1857, and they remained in San Bernardino when the other members returned to Utah. He became one of the original orange growers in the area. He died I San Bernardino Aug. 15, 1874, at age 42.
Frost, Burr – (7th Ten) Born March 4, 1816, at Waterbury, Conn., to Alpheus and Elizabeth Frost. A blacksmith, he welded broken iron wagon parts while on the trek west. Paid for his work in flour, bacon and other provisions, he often set up his forge on the trail and welded for other wagon trains as well. He is mentioned frequently in pioneer journals for his repairs. He set up a blacksmith shop in Salt Lake City soon after arriving. He was involved in the Iron Mission of 1849-50 and made the first nails from iron ore in the area while living in Parowan, Utah. He served a mission to Australia in 1852-54. Upon returning, he brought a group of 72 Saints from Adelaide. He later became one of the presidents of the 70th Quorum of Seventy. He died in Salt Lake City on March 16, 1878, at age 62.
Gibbons, Andrew S. – (12th Ten) Born March 12, 1825, in Union, Licking Co., Ohio, to William Davidson and Polly Hoover Gibbons. Orphaned at an early age, he was reared by a relative of Joseph Smith. He accepted the gospel and eventually moved to Nauvoo, where he married Rispah Knight. As a member of the original pioneer company, he was chosen assistant cook. While crossing the Platte River, he jumped into the river to help steady a wagon that rolled over in midstream. He swam safelyto the other side. A few days after the upper crossing of the Platte, he went out hunting and was missing for two days. He had killed a buffalo but missed the wagon train, so gave the meat to a Missouri company and stayed with them until he caught up. After reaching Salt Lake Valley, he returned east with Brigham Young. He crossed the plains westward again in 1852 and settled in Davis CO., Utah, where he farmed and planted orchards. He was called in 1854 to settle in Iron Co. In 1858, he joined an expedition to the Indians under Jacob Hamblin. In 1864, he was called to settle St. Thomas, then part of Arizona, an area now covered by Lake Mead, Nev. He was a representative of Piute Co. in the Arizona Legislature. He helped settle St. Johns, Ariz., in 1880 and planted the first orchards there. He was a high councilor in the Eastern Arizona Stake at the time of his death in St. Johns on Feb. 9, 1886, at age 60.
Gleason, John Streater – (14th Ten) Born Jan. 13 1819, in Livonia, Livingston Co., N.Y., to Ezekiel and Polly Howard Gleason. He married Desdemona Chase while working for her father, Isaac Chase. He heard the gospel preached and was baptized June 21, 1839, and immediately served a mission in the Eastern States and Canada, where he remained until 1841. He moved his family and Isaac Chase's family to Nauvoo, Ill., interrupting his work to serve as a missionary again in the Eastern Statues until 1844. At Emigration Canyon, just before entering Salt Lake Valley, he advocated clearing the brush at the mouth of the canyon and making a permanent road for following immigrants. He returned to Winter Quarters that fall and settled in Little Cottonwood and then moved to Salt Lake City where he operated a sawmill for Isaac Chase at the site of the present Liberty Park. In 1852, he moved to Tooele, Utah, and became a county commissioner. He later moved to Davis Co., Utah and in 1857 went to Florence, Neb., with a handcart company. He was a major in the First Regiment of Militia, and later served as justice of the peace of Davis County. He served a mission in the Eastern States in 1869-70. In 1873, he traded a mine he owned, called the "Mountain Lion" in the Ophir District, for a farm in Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., Utah, where he stayed until his death Dec. 21, 1904, at age 85.
Glines, Eric – (7th Ten) Born Oct. 5, 1822, in New Hampshire to John and Maria Glines. He was reared in Churchville, Ontario, Canada, where his family stayed until 1839. He was appointed to be one of the foot hunters. He didn't follow Brigham Young's instructions when he chose to remain behind with a group at the North Platte River ferry. Later he changed his mind and followed the company, camping one night alone and then with a company of Missourians. He was among four men sent back to guide the rearward companies and pilot them across the Green River in Wyoming. After reaching Salt Lake Valley, he went to California where he pioneered in Sacramento Valley and reared a large family. He was known as a daring scout and made several trips across the continent before the railroad was built. He died in Santa Rosa, Calif., on May 4, 1881, at age 58.
Goddard, Stephen H. – (Captain of the 5th Ten) Born Aug. 23, 1810, in Clinton Co., N.Y., to Stephen G. and Sylvia Smith Goddard. Ordained a Seventy June 9, 1845, he became senior member of the 27th Quorum of Seventy. On the trek west, Goddard, described as the handsomest of the pioneer company, was on the cannon crew. He had an excellent singing voice and led the singing around the campfire. Upon arriving in the valley, he eventually became the first conductor of the choir that met in the old tabernacle. He lived at Main Street and First South until 1897 when he moved to Fruitdale, Alameda Co., Calif., probably for his health, and died a year later. He died June 9, 1898, at San Bernardino, Calif., at age 87.
Grant, David – (8th Ten) Born July 21, 1816, in Arbroath, Scotland, to Robert and Belle Mills Grant. Apprenticed to a tailor, he became a tailor at age 19 and moved to Edinburgh. He immigrated to America in 1839, stopping first in Kentucky and then moving to Illinois. There, he was baptized. He moved to Nauvoo, about 1840 and practiced his trade as tailor. He married Mary Anne Hyde in 1843. However, his wife died in the hardships of the exodus and was buried in Winter Quarters. Selected for the original company, he helped keep clothing in repair. He was part of the advance company that entered the valley July 22, 1847. He returned east for his two children and brought them west the following year. He married Beulah Chipman Sept. 24, 1848. She died three years later. On March 8, 1852, he married Mary Hunsaker. He did considerable tailoring work for the early pioneers, including Brigham Young, and was ordinarily paid in some kind of merchandise. He was called on a mission in 1852 and traveled to England. He returned April 18, 1856, on the ship Samuel Curling as counselor to Dan Jones with a large company of converts. He crossed the plains as assistant to Captain Edward Bunker in a handcart company. In 1862, he was called to help raise cotton in southern Utah. He returned to his home in Mill Creek, Salt Lake Co., Utah, where he died Dec. 22, 1868, at age 52.
Grant, George R. – (4th Ten) Born July 14, 1820, in New York. He is noted as one who captured a young eagle on the way west. He returned to Winter Quarters that fall and was one of the signers of a petition to the government requesting permission to establish a post office on Pottawattamie lands. He returned west, it is believed, with Brigham Young in 1848 and established a home in Kaysville, Davis Co., Utah in 1852. He was among a group sent to establish the Salmon River Mission in Idaho in 1855. They preached to the Flathead, Bannock and Shoshone Indians and attempted to teach them farming and how to build houses. The mission was successful for two years but in winter of 1857-58 the mission was closed when other whites influenced the Indians to be hostile to the missionaries. He moved to Carson City, Nev., where he attempted to establish a shipping business. He died July 22, 1889, in California, at age 69.
Greene, John Young – (3rd Ten) Born Sept. 2, 1826, in new York to John P. and Rhoda Young Greene. His father was the minister to whom a Book of Mormon was given by Samuel H. Smith on the first missionary journey in 1830. This book eventually found its way to Brigham Young, an uncle of John. John joined the Church at a young age. He was assigned to drive Brigham Young's team in the first company. Greene was called to serve a mission in Europe in 1857 and was assigned to Denmark. At the advance of Johnston's army in 1858, he was recalled to Utah, completing a successful mission. After a life of faithful service, he died at his home in Salt Lake City on May 24, 1880, at age 53.
Grover, Thomas – (2nd Ten) Born July 22, 1807, in Whitehall, N.Y., to Thomas and Polly Spaulding Grover. When he was 12 years of age, h worked as a cabin boy on an Erie Canal boat and later became captain of the boat. In 1828, he married Caroline Whiting and a few years later moved to Freedom, N.Y., where he heard the gospel preached and was baptized in 1834. He moved to Kirtland, Ohio, and helped build the temple and supported Joseph Smith financially. He helped rescue the Prophet after a kidnapping. He served three missions from 1840-44 to Michigan, New York and southern Canada. In June 1844 he was impressed in a dream to return to Nauvoo, and arrived at Carthage, Ill., in time to escort the bodies of slain Joseph and Hyrum to Nauvoo. As a member of the first company of pioneers, he was assigned to be captain of a ferry constructed at the North Platte River crossing in Wyoming. For their labors helping an Oregon-bound company across the river, the received 20 days worth of food. He eventually entered the Salt Lake Valley in Charles C. Rich's company. His family later moved to Centerville, Davis Co., and then to Farmington, also in Davis Co. He was sent with a group of 30 men in the fall of 1848 to California to buy cattle and settle some Church debts, which he did. He also stopped in the gold fields with the group and turned over to the Church about $20,000 in gold dust. He later traveled to Iowa and brought 150 head of cattle to the Salt Lake Valley, with the help of his family. He served three terms in the Utah legislature and was probate judge of Davis Co. He served as a missionary to the Eastern States in 1874-75. He died Feb. 20, 1886, in Farmington at age 78.
Hancock Joseph – (12th Ten) Born March 18, 1800, at Springfield, Mass., to Thomas and Amy Ward Hancock. He married Betsey Johnson and they were baptized in Mayfield, Ohio, in 1830. She died a few months after her baptism. After her death he moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where he worked as a brick maker. He joined Zion's Camp in 1834 and, as a successful hunter, was dubbed "Nimrod" by Joseph Smith, a nickname that stayed with him. He came down with cholera on the trip to Missouri, but was healed by the Prophet. He hauled rock for the Kirtland Temple and later moved to Missouri, where he experienced persecutions, then to Nauvoo. He was assigned to be one of the foot hunters on the trek west. Near the end of the trek, he climbed a hill, where he caught a view of the valley. After the company arrived in the valley, he helped explore for timber. He was given property near the temple site, but after returning to Winter Quarters that fall with Brigham Young, was unable to return for two years because of sickness and poverty. He was instead given land near Provo, Utah. Of a wandering nature, he traveled to California in 1852 and then to the east but returned 10 years later but returned 10 years later to stay three years in the Salt Lake Valley. He traveled to Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1867 to visit his children. He returned to Utah in 1882. He died in Payson, Utah, on July 4, 1893, at age 93.
Hanks, Sidney Alvarus – (4th Ten) Born Aug. 17, 1820, at Madison, Lake Co., Ohio, to Benjamin and Martha Knowlton Hanks. He likely associated with the Church in Nauvoo, as did his brother Ephraim K. Hanks. He was a scout in the original company. In 1852 he was called on a mission to the Society Islands. About this time the French officials expelled the missionaries. However, Elder Hanks labored in the Tuamoto Islands, including Takaroa and Takapoto, away from contact with the main island. He remained there for 10-12 years, at least until after 1860. An 1857 letter from him indicated h was on an island of 1,100 inhabitants and 70 members. While in the islands, he was destitute of provisions or clothing, and had "almost turned native entirely." He returned to Utah where in 1862, he married Mary Ann Cook. They lived in Snyderville, near Parley's Park. In March 1870 he set out to look for a lost cow and froze to death, at age 49. His body was recovered a month later.
Hansen, Hans Christian – (13th Ten) Born Nov. 23, 1806, in Copenhagen, Denmark to Ole Peter and Martha Margarete Osmundsen Hansen. He went to sea as a boy and occasionally visited America. The only man of Scandinavian ancestry on the original company, he was converted to the Church while stopping over in Boston, Mass. He was baptized in the summer of 1842. He was an accomplished violinist and often played at the campfire. On one occasion when the men danced to his music, "it was not so much for pleasure but mostly as a means of getting warm in the frigid weather." He was among the advance company to enter the Salt Lake Valley on July 22, 1847. He was a popular musician in the settlement. He later moved to Salina, Sevier Co., and filled a mission to his native land in 1862-63, earning his passage as a sailor. He never married. He died at Salina, Utah, Oct. 10, 1890, at age 83.
Harmon, Appleton Milo – (Captain of the 10th Ten) Born May 29, 1820, at Conneaut, Pa., to Jesse P. and Anna Barnes Harmon. He served a mission in 1843, and was later part of the police force of Nauvoo. He married Elmeda Stringham. A mechanic, he was assigned to drive a team for Heber C. Kimball. He constructed a "roadometer" that was designed by William Clayton and used to measure distance. The device was attached to a wagon and measured he revolutions of a wagon wheel. Harmon was among those asked to remain at the ferry at North Platte, Wyo., where he learned the craft of blacksmithing. He remained at the ferry until the company returned from the Salt Lake Valley in the fall. He worked at Fort Laramie as a blacksmith until March 1848, when he returned to Winter Quarters. He returned to the Salt Lake Valley that year with his family. In 1850-53, he filled a mission to England. He later helped build sawmills in Salt Lake, Millard and Washington Counties, a furniture factory at Toquerville, Washington Co., and a woolen mill at Washington in the same county. In the last two buildings, he helped set up the machinery. He spent the later years of his life in Holden, Millard Co., where he died Feb. 2, 1877, at age 56.
Harper, Charles Alfred – (12th Ten) Born Jan. 27, 1816, at Upper Providence, Montgomery Co., Pa., to Jesse and Eleanor Evans Harper. He learned the trade of wagon making and was a college graduate. He married Lovina Wollerton Dilworth. He was kept busy with wagon repairs during the trek west. He was also chief cook. Part of the advance company, he entered the valley July 22, 1847. He returned to Winter Quarters soon afterward and brought his family to the Salt Lake Valley the following year. They settled in Holladay where he started the first public school in the area. He did considerable missionary work at home and abroad. He loved music and dancing. He died at his home in Holladay on April 24, 1900, at age 84.
Henrie, William – (5th Ten) Born Sept. 11, 1799, in Pennsylvania to Daniel and Sara Mendel Henrie. After his father died, he moved to Ohio and there married Myra Mayall on Nov. 16, 1823. They settled on a large tract of land and built a sawmill and gristmill. Parley P. Pratt and Samuel Smith came to their home preaching the gospel and they were soon baptized. In the first company, he became a valued scout and was a marksman and hunter. After his arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, he helped explore the regions around Salt Lake, Utah Lake, Cedar Valley and Tooele Valley. He was chosen one of 50 to help explore the country in Utah between Salt Lake City and the Santa Clara River. He later helped found Bountiful where he constructed a pond, built a sawmill and sawed lumber. His wife and three children came to Utah with the Heber C. Kimball Company in 1848. In 1865, he was called to settle Panaca, now in Nevada, but perhaps worn out at age 66, refused to go. However, his family went and experienced severe hardships for six years until returning to Panguitch, Utah. He lived the rest of his lie in Bountiful and willed all his goods to the Church. He died Dec. 18, 1883, at Bountiful, Davis Co., Utah, at age 84.
Higbee, John S. – (Captain of the 11th Ten) Born March 7, 1804, in Tate Township, Clermont Co., Ohio, to Isaac and Sophie Higbee. He married Sarah Ann Voorhees Feb. 26, 1826, and in February 1832 the family joined the Church. Shortly after, the family sold its farm in New Jersey and moved to Jackson Co., Mo., where they suffered much persecution. During difficulties in Missouri, both his parents died. In 1838, the family moved to Nauvoo. His wife died at Mt. Pisgah, Iowa, in 1846. He volunteered to go with the Mormon Battalion, but arrived a day after the men had marched away. So he traveled to Winter Quarters, where he married a widow, Judith Ball. A hunter on the first company, he remained at the upper Platte ferry, Wyo., until his family arrived. He then traveled with them to the Salt Lake Valley, arriving Sept. 26, 1847. In 1849, he helped settle Provo, Utah, and was president of the Provo Branch. That fall he was called to Great Britain on a mission and served as president of the Newcastle Conference until Jan. 5, 1852. He presided over a company of 333 Saints on the ship Kennebe that sailed from Liverpool. Upon returning, he was sent to explore the Salmon River country in Idaho. He lived a time in Weber Co., and in 1865 moved to Toquerville, Washington Co., Utah, where he died Nov. 1, 1877, at age 73.
Holman, John Greenleaf – (4th Ten) Born Oct. 18, 1828, at Byron Center, Genessee Co., N.Y., to Joshua Sawyer and Rebecca Greenleaf Holman. He was baptized at age 8 and moved to Kirtland, Ohio, and afterwards to Missouri. At age 19, he accompanied the first company. Holman returned east after arriving in Salt Lake Valley. He married Nancy Clark in 1849, and in 1850 returned to Salt Lake Valley. He served a mission to Great Britain in 1862-63. He lived in Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., Utah, for a time and then moved to Santaquin, also in Utah Co., before moving to Rexburg, Idaho. He served in many Church and civic positions. He died in Rexburg on Nov. 5, 1888, at age 60.
Howd, Simeon – (6th Ten) Born May 13, 1823, at Camden, Oneida Co., N.Y., to Samuel and Eunice Fuller Howd. He married Lucinda Morgan Turner on March 16, 1847, at Council Bluffs, Iowa. His bride followed him west and arrived in September. They lived in Salt Lake City for the next four years and then helped settle Parowan, Iron Co., Utah. In 1856, he helped settle the Beaver, Utah area. Once he met two Indians about to kill two Indian children whose parents had died. Howd traded two horses for the boys and took them to his home. He named them Charley and Jim. Charley lived with his family until marrying in his own tribe. Howd died in 1862 in Beaver, Beaver Co., Utah, at age 39.
Ivory, Mathew – (13th Ten) Born July 13, 1800, in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co., Pa., to Matthew and Ann Ivory. He was a mechanic and carpenter. He was baptized Feb. 1, 1840. He stayed in the Salt Lake Valley after arriving. He married Mary Elizabeth Bemns of Manti, Utah, in 1854. She died of palsy in 1870. In 1879, he filled a short-term mission to New Jersey. On Oct. 17, 1885, at age 85, while living in Beaver, he fitted the millstones in a newly erected grain chopper at Beaver. As he was making a final check, one of the stones came loose and killed him.
Jackman, Levi – (13th Ten) Born July 28, 1797, in Orange Co., Vt., the fifth son of Moses French and Elizabeth Carr Jackman. Three weeks before his birth, his father was killed by a falling tree. His mother sold the farm and moved to New York. She died in 1819. He married a young widow, Angeline Myers Brady, and in 1830 they moved to Portage, Ohio, where they heard and accepted the gospel and were baptized May 4, 1831. He filled a mission to the South and returned a month after the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. His wife died a few months later. He married Sally Plumb and joined the trek across Iowa. On the trek, he kept a daily journal. As a member of the advance company he was among the first to catch a glimpse of the valley from Little Mountain. His journal notes: "Like Moses on Pisgah's top, we could see a part of the Salt Lake Valley, our long anticipated home. We did truly rejoice at the sight." He wrote that cutting a road through the mouth of Emigration Canyon and entering the valley "seemed like bursting from the confines of prison walls into the beauties of a world of pleasure and freedom." He served as a high councilor and was later counselor to Bishop Shadrach Roundy of the Sixteenth Ward. Later, he was ordained a patriarch. He made saddle trees, chair seats, drums, and window and door frames. About 1870, he moved to Salem, Utah Co., where he died July 23, 1876, at age 78.
Jacob, Norton – (Captain of the 12th Ten) Born Aug. 11, 1804, in Sheffield, Bershire Co., Mass., to Udney Hay and Elizabeth Hubbard Jacob. He married Emily Heaton in 1830. In 1840, he read a pamphlet that introduced him to the Church, and he was baptized that year. His family bitterly opposed his conversion, but his father later joined the Church. He performed missionary work and after the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith returned to Nauvoo and worked on the temple. He joined the exodus and helped make wagons. He left his wife and six small children in a cabin near Winter Quarters. A daughter was born after his departure. He kept a journal of the journey in which he noted such occurrences as choosing a camp cook, river crossings, wagons tipping over, catching mountain fever and staying with the rear company to help an ailing Brigham Young to the valley and went with them to the Salt Lake Valley. He returned to the valley with his family the following year in the Heber C. Kimball Company. During the trip, his son Oliver became ill and died of black scurvy, black canker and a liver disease. He was buried along the trail. After settling in the valley, Jacob worked on the temple and various other projects, including a mill on Mill Creek and a bridge over the Weber River. He moved to Heber City, Wasatch Co., Utah, and was elected justice of the peace in 1862. He died in Glendale, Kane Co., Utah, Jan. 30, 1879, at age 74.
Johnson, Artemas – (7th Ten) Born April 18, 1809, at Remsen, Oneida Co., N.Y., to Artemas and Abia Johnson. At a conference in Nauvoo, about Oct. 6-8, 1839, he was sustained to be an elder. One June 12, 1847, he started off for hills that appeared to be a mile distant but were actually 8-10 miles away and did not return to camp. Searchers found him safe and brought back the antelope he had killed. After reaching the Salt Lake Valley, he returned to Winter Quarters that fall. He received a patriarchal blessing from Isaac Morley on Dec. 2, 1847, at Council Bluffs, Iowa. It is believed that he returned to Utah.
Johnson, Luke S. – (Captain of the 4th Ten) Born Nov. 3, 1807, at Pomfret, Windsor Co., Vt., to John and Elsa Jacobs Johnson. The family moved to Kirtland, Ohio. His father was baptized by Joseph Smith during the winter of 1830-31, and he was baptized by the Prophet May 10, 1831. He traveled to Southern Ohio where he and Sidney Rigdon baptized 60 people and organized a branch at New Portage. He traveled through Ohio, Virginia and Kentucky baptizing more than a hundred people and organizing branches. On Nov. 1, 1833, he married Susan Harminda Poteet at Cabell Co., Va. She died later, leaving their six children. On Feb. 15, 1835, he was ordained one of the Twelve Apostles. He became involved in speculation and fell away from the Church for a time. He went to Virginia and studied medicine and returned to Kirtland as a physician. He was rebaptized in Nauvoo in 1846 in time to take part in the exodus. About this time he married America Morgan Clark. On the trek west, he was in charge of the leather boat, Revenue Cutter, which was carried on wagon wheels. He was a physician on the trip. He was asked to remain at the crossing at the Platte River in Wyoming with Thomas Grover. He went back to Winter Quarters in the fall of 1847 and returned west leading a company from Council Bluffs, Iowa. He and his family lived in West Jordan, Salt Lake Co., for a time then moved to Rush Valley, Tooele Co. Other families joined them in 1856 and a settlement was formed called Clover Creek. He was the first bishop. He died while on a business trip to Salt Lake City at the home of his brother-in-law, Orson Hyde, on Dec. 9, 1861, at age 54.
Johnson, Philo – (9th Ten) Born Dec. 6, 1814, at Newton, Fairfield Co., Conn., to Samuel and Abigail Johnson. He was baptized December 1841 and moved to Nauvoo on June 11, 1842, and served in the Nauvoo Legion. He wrote that "traders tried to discourage us by telling us we could not make a home in those mountain valleys for there was a frost every month of the year. In the Salt Lake Valley they had tried planting seeds several years but could not mature anything. Brigham Young said, 'We will try it and call on God to help us.'" Johnson said that after arriving, he, a mason, went to work making adobe bricks. In the fall of 1849, he married a widow with seven children, Spedy Ellsworth, and they had another seven children. He learned the hatter trade and moved to Payson, Utah Co., Utah, where he lived from 1857-1894. He made thousands of hats and at one time traded silk hats for two city blocks. His hats were held in high repute. He died April 3, 1896, in Payson, Utah Co., Utah, at age 81.
Kelsey, Stephen – (8th Ten) Born Dec. 29, 1830, in Montville, Geuga Co., Ohio, to Stephen and Rachel Allen Kelsey. He moved from Ohio in 1842 to Nauvoo. His mother was a member of the Church, but he had not been baptized. He was 16 at the time of the exodus and was selected to be in the advance company, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley July 22, 1847. One day later he was baptized and remained faithful to the Church. He made adobe brick after arriving. He returned to Winter Quarters in the fall and found his mother and a sister had died. The following spring he came west again and brought four sisters with him. In 1849 or 1850 he traveled to California and panned $500 worth of gold in a gulch later named Kelsey's Gulch. He settled in Little Cottonwood and married Lydia Snyder, a recent immigrant from Canada. They soon moved to Brigham City, Utah, where a dozen families were involved in stock raising and farming. In the spring of 1864 he was called to settle the Bear Lake area in southeastern Idaho. They settle din Paris, Idaho, and helped build homes, school churches, and till the land. He died May 23, 1900, in Paris, Bear Lake Co., Idaho, at age 59.
Kendall, Levi Newell – (8th Ten) Born April 19, 1822, in Lockport, Niagara Co., N.Y., to Levi and Lorena Lyman Kendall. He accepted the teachings of the Church in Michigan, and was ordained a seventy in 1844 in Nauvoo by Joseph Smith Sr. and was sent on a mission to Michigan. He was called home after the martyrdom. With the first pioneer company, he was assigned as a guard. On June 5, 1847, he and John Eldredge were guarding the camp when they saw about 15 Pawnee Indians entering the enclosure. Kendall fired over their heads frightening them away. The stocks stampeded but were turned by the alert guards and disaster was averted. He returned to Winter Quarters in the fall of 1847 and traveled west to the Salt Lake Valley the following summer. He married Eliza Clements in 1848. He moved to Springville, Utah, in 1856 and helped build canyon roads and dig irrigation canals. He was called to go east in 1861 to escort poor immigrants to the valley. Later he moved to Mapleton, Utah Co. He died March 10, 1903, in Springville, Utah, at age 80.
Kimball, Ellen Sanders – (9th en) One of three women in the original pioneer company. Born March 3, 1825, in the parish of Ten, Thelemarken, Norway to Ysten Sondrasen. Originally name Aagaata Ystensdatter, she emigrated with her family in 1837 when she was about 13 years old. They settled in Indiana and later moved to La Salle Co., Ill., where she joined the Church in 1842. She was married to Heber C. Kimball in the Nauvoo Temple Jan. 7, 1846. At first, the original company was made up of only males, but when Harriet Young pleaded and was permitted to join the company, Ellen was also allowed to come along as well. She noted at one point that the smell of dead buffalo littering the prairie made her sick all day. When she reached the Salt Lake Valley, her shoes were worn out so Thomas Cloward took an old pair of boot tops and made her the first shoes in Salt Lake City, where she had five children, three of whom died before reaching adulthood. She died in Salt Lake City on Nov. 22, 1871, at age 46.
Kimball, Heber C. – (9th Ten) Born June 14, 1801, in Sheldon, Franklin Co., Vt., to Solomon Farnham and Anna Spaulding Kimball. He attended school through the fifth grade and at age 14 began working in his father's blacksmith shop. At age 19, Heber learned to make pottery from his bother Charles. He later bought his brother's business and prospered for 10 years. In 1831 he was baptized into the Baptist Church. Three weeks later, he heard elders preach the restored gospel. He and Brigham Young investigated the Church together. Heber was baptized April 15, 1832, one day after Brigham Young. He moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where, on Feb. 14, 1835, he was ordained one of the original apostles. He helped build the Kirtland Temple and took part in Zion's Camp. He served a mission o the eastern states in 1835 and in England from 1837-38, where he and fellow missionaries baptized some 1,500 people. Upon returning, he moved to Far West, Mo., and in 1839 to Nauvoo. In 1840-41, he filled a second mission to England. He also preached in the Eastern States and was in Washington D.C., seeking a redress of grievances when he heard of the martyrdom. He returned to Nauvoo, where he worked on the temple. He led the first six wagons from Winter Quarters to the staging area on the Elkhorn River in Nebraska. On the trek, he often preached to the men on Sundays. He was a scout for the best trail. After arriving in the valley, he returned to Winter Quarters. On the trip back, he was chased up a cliff by a mother grizzly bear. He uttered a number of prophecies, one of which was a promise that soon the Saints would be able to by goods in the valley cheaper than in New York. This prophecy was fulfilled with the coming of wagon trains bound for California. He was called as first counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency in 1847. He was also lieutenant governor of the Provisional State of Deseret and a member of the legislative council. After a severe fall, he died in Salt Lake City June 22, 1868, at age 67.
King, William A. – (9th Ten) Born June 23, 1821. A member of the 25th Quorum of the Seventies in Nauvoo, he was chosen for the first company. He stayed a short time in the Salt Lake Valley, then returned to Winter Quarters. It is believed he died in Boston, Mass., in about 1862.
Kleinman, Conrad – (11th ten) Born April 19, 1815, in Bergweiler, Lauday, Bavaria, near the French border, to Konrad and Odelia Wissing Kleinman. He immigrated to America at age 16 and settled in Bush Co., Indiana. Here he heard the gospel and was baptized Aug. 26, 1844. He traveled to Nauvoo, arriving after the martyrdom. He built a cabin and brought his wife, Elizabeth Malholm. In his journal in old German script, he recorded the visit of Catholic Priest Father De Smet in Winter Quarters, who knew the West and told them of the Great Basin and the inland sea. He was among the first to reach Independence Rock in Wyoming. He recorded reaching he Continental Divide and other landmarks. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he served as counselor to Bishop Pettigrew of the Tenth Ward. He moved to Lehi, Utah Co., Utah. In 1855-56, he filled a mission to New York, and was later called to settle in Dixie in southern Utah, where he resided in St. George and Toquerville, both in Washington Co. He then became one of the early settlers of Mesa, Maricopa Co., Ariz. He was counselor to two bishops in Mesa. He eventually moved back to St. George where he was ordained a patriarch in 1891. He died in St. George on Nov. 12, 1907, at age 92.
Lay, Hark – (13th Ten) Born in 1825 in Monroe Co., Miss., the son of African slaves of the William Lay household. He was baptized in Mormon Springs near his home, and was given as a marriage gift to Mormon converts William and Sytha Crosby when he was 22. He was sent on a difficult trip from Mississippi to Winter Quarters where two others died of pneumonia. Musically inclined, he danced and enjoyed the violin music of Hans Christian Hansen. He was also well-known for his singing voice. After entering the valley with the advance company on July 22, 1847, he and Oscar Crosby, another slave, built cabins and planted potatoes, beans, buckwheat and turnips. He traveled to help settle San Bernardino, Calif., where he gained his freedom. He returned to Utah and died in union, Salt Lake Co., Utah, in about 1890 at age 65.
Lewis, Tarleton – (5th Ten) Born May 18, 1805, in Pendleton District, S.C., to Neriah and Mary Moss Lewis. In 1809, the family moved to Kentcky. He married Malinda Gimlin and they became parents of eight children. He was a skilled cabinetmaker and carpenter. He heard the gospel preached by his brother, Benjamin Lewis, and was baptized July 25, 1836. Tarleton helped build the Nauvoo Temple. With the first pioneer company, he helped build one of the rafts that was used to cross the quicksand-bottomed Loup Fork in Nebraska. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he supervised construction of cabins in the original for. He returned to Winter Quarters and brought his family west. He was appointed bishop of Salt Lake City, a calling he held until the city was divided into more wards. In 1850 he visited the area of Parowan, Iron Co., where he later moved and was called as bishop. He explored Beaver Valley in 1858, where were found rich deposits of lead and iron. The Lewis family opened a mine and lived in beaver about 14 years. Then they moved to Joseph City and to Richfield in Sevier Co., Utah, and in 1877 he was set apart as bishop of the Richfield 2nd Ward, and remained in that calling until bad health led to his resignation a year later. A colorful figure, he was often referred to as "the Grand Old Man." He died at the home of his son Beason Lewis outside Teasdale, Wayne Co., Utah, on Nov. 29, 1890, at age 85.
Little, Jesse Carter – (2nd Ten) Born Sept. 26, 1815, in Belmont, Waldo Co., Maine, to Thomas and Relief Little. He joined the Churchin the eastern states and was ordinaed a high priest in 1845. He was appointed president of the Eastern States Mission in 1846, where he helped the Saints receive a redree of grievances suffered in Missouri, by enlisting 500 LDS men to form a battalion that would march to California. Little traveled to Nauvoo to inform leaders of this plan and then helped raise a battalion from among the members. He traveled with the enlisted men as far as Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and then returned east. Called to join the first company of pioneers, he left his wife in New Hampshire early in 1847 and traveled 3,000 miles west. He met the company April 19, 1847, about 70 miles west of Winter Quarters, then had to return to Winter Quarters for his supplies and come back to the wagon train. On the trek, he was an adjutant, and served as a scout on several occasions. After reaching Salt Lake Valley with the advance company, he immediately returned east and resumed his mission for four years. He returned to the valley with his family in 1852, and remained in Utah for the rest of his life. He held many important community and Church positions. He opened a hotel in the Warm Springs area of Salt Lake City. In 1856 he became chief engineer of a fire department. Te same year, he was ordained bishop and was a counselor to Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter until 1874. That year he moved to Morgan, Morgan Co., Utah, and lived in nearby Littleton for many years. He died in Salt Lake City on Dec. 26, 1893, at age 78.
Losee, Franklin G. – (7th Ten) Born in 1815 in Belmont, Waldo Co., Maine. It is believed he died in Lehi, Utah Co., Utah.
Loveland, Chauncey – (6th Ten) Born Aug. 1, 1797, in Glasgow, Conn., to Levi and Esther Hill Loveland. He married Nancy Graham at Madison, Ohio. The Loveland family moved to Carthage, Ill., in the 1840's where his wife and a son died. He had not joined the Church, but was kind toward members. In 1846 h married Sally Horn Crockett. While living at Mt. Pisgah, Iowa, he was baptized. After arriving in the Great Basin, he returned with Brigham Young to Winter Quarters to bring his family west. The Loveland family settled on a tract in Bountiful, Davis Co., where he began farming and breeding horses. When the California gold rush began, he left the state in search of fortune. He eventually returned to Utah and resumed farming. He died in Bountiful, Utah, Aug. 16, 1876, at age 79.
Lyman, Amasa Mason – (2nd Ten) Born in Lyman Township, Grafton Co., N.H., on May 30, 1813, to Boswell and Martha Mason Lyman. He was baptized April 27, 1832, and a week later left home and traveled to Hiram, Ohio and worked on the John Johnson farm until August, after which he began missionary labors. He labored in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. In 1837, he was in Missouri in the company of the Prophet Joseph Smith when captured by a militia and sentenced to death. The pioneers were later released. He served additional missions to secure means to help build the Nauvoo Temple and preached in Tennessee. In 1842, he was ordained as an apostle and continued missionary work in nearby states. He returned to Nauvoo in 1844 after the martyrdom of the Prophet. When the company arrived at Chimney Rock, Neb., Elder Lyman, for diversion, rode his horse up a rock and did an impersonation of Napoleon Bonaparte crossing the Alps, and the pioneers "thought it good," wrote clerk Thomas Bullock. When the company reached Fort Laramie, Lyman was sent to Pueblo, Colo., to bring the colony of Mississippi Saints and others to Salt Lake Valley. He and the party arrived at City Creek in the Salt Lake Valley on July 29, 1847. He brought a large company west the following year. In 1851, Charles C. Rich and Elder Lyman headed a colonization effort in San Bernardino, Calif., that lasted until the threat of Johnston's army to Salt Lake City in 1857. Elder Lyman was called on a mission to Great Britain in 1860 where he preached false doctrine that eventually led to his excommunication in 1870. He died at Fillmore, Milllard Co., Utah, Feb. 4, 1877, at age 63. He was posthumously restored to good standing.
Marble, Samuel Harvey – (5th Ten) Born Oct. 6, 1822, at Phelps, Ontario Co., N.Y., one of 11 children of Nathaniel and Mary (Polly) King Marble. He was baptized in Nauvoo. After crossing the plains in 1847, he returned to Winter Quarters the same year. He returned to Salt Lake City in 1849 and was shortly called as one of nine men under A.L. Lamoreaux to establish a ferry on the Green River in Wyoming to earn revenue by transporting California and Oregon immigrants. The group also established a blacksmith shop. After this assignment, he returned to Utah and settled in Manti, Sanpete Co., where he was elected a city councilman in 1851. In 1853 he became a member of the 23rd Quorum of Seventies. He lived in Manti for several years until moving to Round Valley, Apache Co., Ariz., where he died March 16, 1914, at age 91.
Markham, Stephen – (Captain of the 1st Hundred; 12th ten) Born Feb. 9, 1800, in Avon, Livingston Co., N.Y., to David and Dina Merry Markham. After the death of his father, his mother moved to Geauga Co., Ohio. He later followed the Church to Nauvoo. During the exodus, he became captain of 200 families en route to Council Bluffs, Iowa. In the spring of 1847 he was named captain of a hundred in the first pioneer company. He took charge of the first company during a brief absence of Brigham Young and other apostles. He was also a colonel in the company. During the journey, he often joined the apostles in speaking to the men. He arrived in the Salt Lake Valley with the advance company and was soon put it charge of supplying fresh teams for plowing land along City Creek. He returned to Winter Quarters that fall and was immediately placed in charge of 140 people at Council Bluffs. He returned to Utah in 1850 in charge of a company of 50 wagons. In the fall of 1851, he and 17 other families settled in Spanish Fork, Utah Co., Utah, and formed a settlement of which he became president. A year later he as ordained the bishop of the settlement of Palmyra. He remained on his farm for the rest of his life. He served as a colonel during the Walker Indian War, and in 1856 was sent to Fort Supply in Wyoming. He died in Spanish Fork on March 10, 1878, at 78 years of age.
Matthews, Joseph Lazarus – (Captain of the 14th Ten) Born Jan. 29, 1809, in Johnston Co., N.C., the son of Lazarus Matthews and Delia Howard. After his marriage to Rhoda Carroll, they moved to Neshoba Co., Miss. After hearing Elder Benjamin Clapp preach, he joined the Church and in 1845 sold his holdings in Mississippi and moved to Nauvoo. He entered the Salt Lake Valley with the advance company of the pioneers. In 1849 he took part in a company exploring southern Utah. In 1851, he joined Apostle Charles C. Rich in colonizing what became San Bernardino, Calif., where he remained until the colony was recalled in 1857. He then settled in Santaquin, Utah Co., Utah, and from there served in the Southern States Mission. He worked at farming and freighting until 1880 when he settled in Pima, Graham Co., Ariz. He died there May 14, 1886, at age 77.
Mills, George – (12th Ten) Born about 1878 in England. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he suffered from cancer. In 1854, he asked for an operation by Dr. Samuel L. Sprague in hopes of halting the incurable disease. The doctor, in consultation with three other physicians, concluded that the operation could well prove fatal. Brigham Young was consulted and gave his permission for the surgery. After arranging his will and taking care of his affairs, he was operated on Aug. 29, 1854, in Salt Lake City and died during the surgery.
Murray, Carlos – (10th Ten) Born march 12, 1829, in Ontario Co., N.Y. One of the younger members of the company and a nephew of Heber C. Kimball, he was assigned as a scout in the pioneer company. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley, he helped build the settlement, then returned to Winter Quarters that fall. He returned to the valley in 1848. He later went to California and was traveling by the Humboldt River in 1855 in what is now Nevada when he, his wife and a Mr. Redden were attacked and killed by Indians. A gold pencil and an earring were found and later identified as their property. His revolvers were found in possession of travelers who said they had bought them from Indians on the desert.
Newman, Elijah – (8th Ten) Born Sept. 17, 1793, in Hampshire Co., Va., to build Solomon and Jane James Newman. He joined the Church in 1832 and followed the Saints during the next 15 years. He was named to the advance group that entered the Salt Lake Valey July 22, 1847, and afterward was one of three men to ensure that drags and plows were available for those working the land. He also helped build the first fort and provided gates for the structure. In 1850, he was among those appointed to colonize "Little Salt Lake Valley" in southern Utah. He and others traveled to Parowan, Iron Co., arriving Jan 13, 1851. On various exploration trips, he and others found a supply of chalk, as well as locating iron, salt and coal. He was ordained a high priest in 1861 and on Feb. 13, 1869, was enrolled in the Parowan School of Prophets under Elder Erastus Snow. He served as a justice of the peace in Parowan for several years and was one of the first city councilmen. He died at Parowan on Dec. 12, 1872, at age 79.
Norton, John Wesley – (12th Ten) Born Nov. 6, 1820, near Lisbon, Wayne Co., Indiana, to David and Elizabeth Heaton Norton. Baptized March 6, 1838, and resided in Kirtland, Ohio, from 1841-43, where he was clerk of the elders quorum in the fall of 1841. He was ordained a seventy in Nauvoo, in 1845 and was endowed in the Nauvoo Temple in 1846. While in Winter Quarters, he married Rebecca Hammer, whose father, Austin, had been killed at Haun's Mill in 1838. He served as a foot hunter with the original group of pioneers, and while traveling near Sulphur Creek, Wyo., discovered an oil fountain. Pioneers used the oil to lubricate their wagons. After arriving in the valley, Norton returned to Winter Quarters. He worked in Missouri during the winter to earn money to bring his family to the Salt Lake Valley. They arrived in September 1848 and he worked for public works for two years. In 1854 he traveled to Australia on a mission, where he labored for three years. Upon his return, he assisted in establishing settlements in southern Utah, and for a time, resided in Panaca, Nev. He died four years later in Panguitch, Garfield Co., Utah, on Oct. 20, 1901, at age 80.
Owen, Seeley – (6th Ten) Born March 30, 1805, at Milton, Rutland Co., Vt., to Ethan and Hannah Owen. He married Lydia Ann Owen. She died during the exodus from Nauvo in 1846 and was buried at Winter Quarters. In crossing the plains with the original company, he was assigned to the crew that hauled a cannon. The cannon was fired a few times as a warning while in Indian country, but was not used against the Indians. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley, he returned to Winter Quarters. His daughter was brought west with relatives, and he soon returned to Salt Lake Valley. For a time he lived in Provo after which he was called to help with the settlement of Wallsburg, Wasatch Co., Utah. He later moved to Arizona where he died at age 76, in 1881 near Flagstaff in an accident while working for the Atlantic Pacific Railroad.
Pack, John – (10th Ten) Born in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, on May 20, 1809, to George and Phylotte Green Pack. He moved to Watertown, N.Y., and was baptized there March 8, 1836. A year later he and his family moved to Kirtland, Ohio, and the following year to Missouri. In 1840 he settled in Nauvoo, and was commissioned a major in the Nauvoo Legion. He was designated a major in the original company. A member of the advance party that entered Salt Lake Valley July 22, 1847, he was chosen to ride back and report their progress to an ailing President Brigham Young. He returned to Winter Quarters that fall and returned to Salt Lake Valley in 1848 where he established a home in the Seventeenth Ward. There he opened his home for classes, the beginning of the University of Utah. Classes were held in his parlor. Orson Pratt, Cyrus W. Collins and Orson Spencer (chancellor), formed the first faculty. In 1856, he was called to assist in the settling of a colony in Carson Valley, Nev., and remained there until being recalled in 1858. He died in Salt Lake City, on April 4, 1885, at age 75.
Peirce, Eli Harvey – (4th Ten) Born July 29, 1827, in Uwchland, Chester Co., Pa., to Robert and Hannah Harvey Peirce. His parens moved to Nauvoo in 1841 and were baptized March 27, 1842, by Joseph Smith. He received his endowments in Nauvoo in 1846 and was ordained a seventy the same year. At age 20, he was part of the pioneer company as a teamster. After arriving, he helped build the settlement in Salt Lake Valley. On his return to Winter Quarters, he met his parents and other relatives coming west in the Edward Hunter Company, so he returned with them. He was commissioned to travel to California to obtain seed grain that fall, which he did with Jefferson Hunt and others. He married Susannah Neff in 1850 and they moved to Brigham City, Box Elder Co., Utah, in 1851. After living in the Brigham City fort during Indian hostilities, they moved into their own home. He was ordained the second bishop of this settlement in 1855. He crossed the plains eastbound with a handcart in 1857 as a missionary bound for Europe. A year later he returned to his father's home and succumbed to an illness contracted while serving his mission. He died in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Aug. 12, 1858, at age 31.
Pomeroy, Francis M. – (10th Ten) Born Feb. 22, 1822, at Somers, Tollard Co., Conn., to Martin and Sybil Hunt Pomeroy. He was hired out to an uncle ata young age and when he reached 15, he joined a whaling crew. He eventually became harpoonist, and worked his way to first mate. At 21, he was in a shipwreck off Peru, of which he was the lone survivor. A Castillian family took him in and he stayed for two years, learning Spanish. He returned to Salem, mass., where he married Irene Ursula Haskell and was baptized in 1844. They moved to Nauvoo. With the original company on June 18, 1847, he was among nine men left to operate the upper ferry of the Platte River. While at the ferry, his wife arrived in a westbound company and he continued west with them. They settled in the Twelfth Ward in Salt Lake City, but he was soon called on a mission to Lower California with Apostle Charles C. Rich that lasted a year. He returned to Salt Lake City where he acted as host and interpreter to a delegation representing Mexico President Benito Juarez, who met with Brigham Young. In 1862, he moved to Weber Co., Utah, until 1864 when he helped settle Paris, Idaho. He moved to Salt River Valley in Arizona and became a founder of the city of Mesa, Maricopa Co., Ariz. He was widely respected by the Indians there and was set apart as president of the Indian Mission in 1881. Two years later, on Feb. 28, 1883, he died in Mesa at age 60.
Powell, David – (13th Ten) Born May 26, 1822, in the Edgefield District, S.C., to John and Rebecca Powell. HE was ordained a seventy in Nauvoo and was at one time associated with the Mississippi Saints. On the trek west, he was in the advance party that entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 22, 1847. He returned to Winter Quarters in the fall, coming back to Salt Lake City in 1853 with his wife, Ann, and son, David Jr. He later moved to California where he died near Santa Rosa in 1883.
Pratt, Orson – (1st Ten) Born Sept. 19, 1811, in Hartford, Washington Co., N.Y., to Jared and Charity Dickinson Pratt. In 1830, his brother Parley P., taught him the gospel and baptized hi on his 19th birthday. Orson traveled to Kirtland, Ohio, to meet the Prophet, who received Section 34 calling the young man as a missionary. Within four years he traveled nearly 8,000 miles in the Northeast baptizing more than 150 persons and organizing several branches. He joined Zion's Camp in 1834, and a year later was called as an apostle. He extended his missionary labors to Canada and Scotland in 1841. On the trek west, he used scientific instruments from France to determine position and altitude of the trail. He designed a mechanical mileage counter. He also determined an exact location of the South Pass on the Continental Divide. As the company neared the Great Salt Lake Valley, he was named to head the advance party. His group blazed the trail and hacked at making a road down Echo and Emigration canyons. Later he and Erastus Snow were the first to enter the valley on July 21, 1847. From 1848 to 1850, he presided over the Church in Europe during which time the membership doubled. He organized 20 ships bound for Zion, wrote 15 pamphlets, as well as lecturing to large audiences in England and Scotland. He returned to the Salt Lake Valley in 1851. In the following years he presided over the eastern branches, Europe, and divided the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants into chapters and verses, among many contributions. He died Oct. 3, 1881, in Salt Lake City, Utah, at age 70, the last of the original apostles of this dispensation.
Rappleye, Ammon Tunis – (4th Ten) Born Feb. 2, 1807, in Ovid, Seneca Co., N.Y., to John Ranson and Margaret Tillier Rappleye. He was baptized Nov. 20, 1832, and took part in building the Kirtland Temple. He married Louise Cutler. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he returned with Shadrach Roundy to Winter Quarters. Upon returning to the Salt Lake Valley the second time, he was employed as head gardener by Brigham Young. He also filled a mission in the Eastern States. He helped settle Millard Co. ad died Dec. 25, 1883, in Kanosh, Utah, at age 76.
Redden, Return Jackson – (10th Ten) Born Sept. 26, 1817, in Hiram, Portage Co., Ohio, to George Grant and Adelina Higley Redden. As a boy he sold wooden clocks and worked on a Mississippi riverboat. He was baptized in the Ohio River in 1841. He was closely associated with the Prophet Joseph Smith and was one of his bodyguards. His wife, Laura Traske, died in childbirth. He married Martha Whiting, who died at Winter Quarters. He was a hunter and a trailblazer on the original company. Near the Bear River about at today's Utah-Wyoming border he discovered a narrow, deep cave where trappers or others stored property. Originally named Redden's Cave. It is today called Cache Cave. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley, he assisted in planting and then returned to Winter Quarters with Brigham Young. He brought his family west the following year. He accompanied Apostle Amasa M. Lyman to California, returning by way or Carson Valley in Nevada, where he lived two years. He moved to Grantsville, Tooele Co., Utah, and then to Coalville, Summit Co., where he helped build many of the early buildings. He lived successfully in Summit and Tooele counties and was justice of the peace in both. He was a member of the 35th Quorum of Seventies when he died in Hoytsville on Aug. 30, 1891, at age 73.
Richards, Willard –(2nd Ten) Born June 24, 1804, in Hopkinton, Middesex Co., Mass., to Joseph and Rhoda Howe Richards. A physician by profession, he abandoned his practice to seek the truth after reading the Book of Mormon. After reading it, he traveled to Kirtland, Ohio. He was baptized by Brigham Young, his cousin, in Kirtland, Ohio, on Dec. 31, 1836. A year after his baptism he was set to England with Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde. Shortly after his return, he was ordained an apostle and in 1841 was appointed clerk to Joseph Smith and to the Church. He was with the Prophet during the martyrdom. He used his walking stick to parry musket thrusts through the door. He escaped uninjured. His wife died in Nauvoo. Upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley with the first pioneer company, he was appointed to lead prayers, consecrating and dedicating the land to the Lord. He returned to Winter Quarters where he was chosen as second counselor to Brigham Young, in Kanesville, Iowa. He returned to Salt Lake Valley in 1848, captain of a large body of pioneers. He later served as secretary to the government of the State of Deseret, postmaster of Salt Lake City and member of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund committee. He was the first editor of the Deseret News. He died of the palsy in Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 11, 1854, at age 49.
Rockwell, Orrin Porter – (10th Ten) Born June 25, 1815, in Manchester, N.Y. to Orrin and Sarah Witt Porter Rockwell. He became a good friend of Joseph Smith Jr. He was baptized early in 1830 in Fayette, Seneca Co., N.Y., and in 1831 traveled to Kirtland, Ohio, with the Prophet's mother. Charged with an assassination attempt on Gov. Lilburn Boggs, he was imprisoned until charges were dropped by the Missourians. Rockwell provided valuable service as a hunter and scout on the trek west. He was part of the advance company that entered the Salt Lake Valley July 22, 1847. In the west, he gained considerable influence with the Indians, and often helped avoid troubles. He became a terror to the lawless elements and would ride a thousand miles in the harshest of weather in the interests of the Church. A volume of folklore has accumulated about his service as a deputy marshal of Salt Lake City. He also rode for the Pony Express and his house, 25 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, was a station for them. He died in Salt Lake City on June 9, 1878, at the age of 63.
Rockwood, Albert Perry –(Captain of the First Hundred; 3rd Ten) Born June 9, 1805, in Holliston, Middlesex CO., Mass., to Luther and Ruth Perry Rockwood. In 1837 Brigham Young and Willard Richards preached in Holliston and among their converts were Albert and his wife, Nancy Haven Rockwood. They relocated in Kirtland, Ohio, and later in Missouri. He became one of Joseph Smith's bodyguards and a general in the Nauvoo Legion. He was set apart as one of the First Presidents of the Seventy Dec. 2, 1845. In 1847, he was chosen as a captain of a hundred in the first pioneer company. Upon arriving at the Bear River in Wyoming, he contracted mountain fever and by July 14 "was much the sickest man in camp." He recovered a few days later. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he returned with Brigham Young to Winter Quarters. He brought his family west in 1849. Two years later he was in the Territorial Legislature and continued to be re-elected every term until his death. In 1862, he was elected warden of the state penitentiary. He directed prison works to open a number of roads and was also director and organizer of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society, watermaster of the Thirteenth Ward, road commissioner of District 11, and territory fish commissioner. He died Nov. 26, 1879, in Sugar House in Salt Lake City, Utah, at age 74.
Rolfe, Benjamin William – (11th Ten) Born Oct. 7, 1822, at Romford, Oxford Co., Maine, to Samuel and Elizabeth Hathaway Rolfe. His family accepted the gospel in Maine and moved in 1834 to Kirtland, Ohio, and later to Nauvoo, where both father and son helped in the construction of the temple. Although not a member of the Church, he volunteered to take his father's place in the first company. He assisted in establishing the new settlement in Salt Lake and returned east with Brigham Young in the fall. When the group reached Chimney Rock, Neb., Rolfe was selected to return to the Salt Lake Valley as a mail carrier. He was baptized later and was appointed to accompany the 1855 Salmon River Mission in Idaho. When this mission ended, he pursued carpentry work in Salt Lake City. He was ordained a member of the 16th Quorum of Seventies. He died May 31, 1892, in Salt Lake City, at age 69.
Rooker, Joseph – (11th Ten) Born Jan. 22, 1818. After the trek west, he was appointed in Salt Lake Valley to be one of a committee to take teams to meet the oncoming companies, relieve them of their burdens and assist them to reach their destinations. He later resided at Black Rock, Salt Lake Co., and was a member of the 9th Quorum of Seventy. About 1857 he left Utah and went to southern California. He died about 1895 in Oceanside, Calif.
Roundy, Shadrach – (13th Ten) Born Jan. 1, 1789, Rockingham, Windham Co., Vt., to Uriah and Lucretia Needham Roundy. He married Betsy Quimby in about 1814. After hearing the gospel preached, he traveled to Fayette, N.Y., in the winter of 1830-31 to meet Joseph Smith, after which he was baptized. He gave of his resources to build the Kirtland Temple. He later moved to Missouri. He was captain of the police in Nauvoo and once intercepted an attempt to kidnap Joseph Smith. He was appointed a major in the first pioneer company. A member of the advance party, he was one of three men to plow the first furrow's in the Saint's newfound home. While returning to Winter Quarters, he met his son, Lorenzo Wesley, enroute to Salt Lake Valley in the company of Orson Spencer. So father and son traded places and Shadrach spent the winter of 1847-48 in the Salt Lake Valley. There he became a member of the first high council and the Territorial legislature. He was the first bishop of the Sixteenth Ward and served from 1849-56. He crossed the plains five times to assist poor immigrants. He was one of the founders of Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Association. He died in Salt Lake City on July 4, 1872, at age 83.
Schofield, Joseph Smith – (3rd Ten) Born Aug. 2, 1809, in Winchester Co., N.Y., to Elijah and Hannah Thompson Schofield. He became a skilled carpenter and joiner. In 1838 he married Clarissa Aurilla Terry. The couple joined the Church in Ney York and he became branch clerk of the 20-member branch. They soon moved to Nauvoo. After arriving in the valley with the first company, he helped build homes and public buildings. He assisted in the building of the Salt Lake Temple Salt Lake Theatre and Salt Lake Social Hall. He also worked on the St. George Temple. He died March 8, 1875, in Bellevue, Utah, at age 65.
Scholes, George – (5th Ten) Born Feb. 2, 1812, at Chadderton, Lancashire, England, to George and Sarah Scholes. He was baptized Nov. 3, 1839, and immigrated to Nauvoo, where he built a brick home and planted an orchard. While in Nauvoo, his wife and three children died. In the original company, he was assigned to the crew that brought the cannon. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley, he immediately prepared the land and planted vegetables and helped construct the fort. He returned to Winter Quarters and was then sent to St. Louis, Mo., to conduct business for the Church. He returned west in 1850, bringing his wife, Mary Spencer Scholes. They settled in the Cottonwood area. He died Aug. 14, 1857, in Cottonwood, at age 45.
Sherwood, Henry G. – (5th Ten) Born April 20, 1785, in Kingsbury, N.Y. He was among those who contracted malaria when the Saints first arrived at Commerce, Ill., later to be Nauvoo. He was healed by Joseph Smith. Later he was appointed city marshal at Nauvoo. At Winter Quarters, he was appointed commissary general for the westward journey. Sherwood came down with mountain fever near the end of the trek, but recovered. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley, he made a drawing of the first city survey on a sheepskin, no paper being available. He became a member of the high council and spoke at an Independence Day celebration July 4, 1852. In 1852, he left to help colonize San Bernardino, Calif., and became surveyor for San Bernardino County. Recalled in 1856 because of Johnston's army, he became a Pony Express agent for a time. He later returned to San Bernardino, where he died Aug 15, 1857, at age 71.
Shumway, Andrew Purley – (6th Ten) Born Feb. 20, 1833, in Millbury, Mass., to Charles and Julia Ann Hooker Shumway. His parents were baptized in 1840, and the family moved to Nauvoo, where the lived until the 1846 expulsion. His father was chosen as captain of Fifty. At Winter Quarters, his mother died. That spring when his father prepared to leave for the trek west, Andrew burst into tears and said that because his mother had just died, it was more than he could bear to be left alone. His father received permission from Brigham Young to take the 13-year-old youth along, although they were both sick at the start of the journey. After being on the trail a while, Andrew and his father became well. He caught mountain fever near the Big Sandy Creek in Wyoming but was healed when administered to by Brigham Young. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley, he and his father returned to Winter Quarters and came back west the following season. In 1856 he was called on a mission to England but returned prematurely because of the troubles with Johnston's army. He married Amanda S. Graham in 1859 and moved to Mendon, Cache Co., Utah. He died in Franklin, Oneida Co., Idaho, on June 12, 1909, at age 76.
Shumway, Charles – (Captain of the 6th Ten) Born Aug. 1, 1808, in Oxford, Worcester Co., Mass., to Samuel and Polly Shumway. He joined the Church in Illinois in 1841, and soon afterward moved to Nauvoo, where he took part in defending the city as a police officer. When the exodus of 1846 began, he was the first to cross the Mississippi River. His wife, Julia Ann Hooker Shumway, died at Winter Quarters. Selected to leave with the pioneer company, Charles received permission for his son Andrew to accompany him. After completing the journey, he was one of three assigned to have plows and drags ready as land was tilled and planted along City Creek. He went back to Winter Quarters for the rest of his family and returned to Salt Lake City about a year later. In 1849, he moved to Sanpete, Sevier Co., where he started a gristmill in partnership with Brigham Young. He also built a sawmill in Sanpete and later a sawmill in Payson, Utah Co. He served a short mission in Canada and then moved to Cache Valley to help in its settlement. He settled in Wellsville and then Mendon, both in Cache Co., Utah. During his residence here, a 3-year-old daughter was carried away by Indians and never heard of again. In 1877, he moved to Kane Co., in southern Utah, and then to Shumway, near Taylor, on the Little Colorado River in Arizona. There he built his last gristmill. He returned to Johnson, Utah, where he died May 21, 1898, at 89 years of age.
Smith, George Albert – (1st Ten) Born June 26, 1817, at Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., N.Y., to John and Clarissa Lyman Smith. He was baptized Sept. 10, 1832, and in 1833 his family moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where for the first time he met his cousin Joseph Smith. He cleared a heavily wooded 10-acre farm of his father' and soon became acquainted with Brigham Young, then a carpenter hired to finish the Smith's home. He helped with the Kirtland Temple hauling the first loads of rock. He took part in Zion's Camp in 1834. He became the junior member of the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1835, and for the next two years performed missionary service in the East and in Ohio. In 1838 he immigrated to Daviess Co., Mo., and from there he served another mission in Kentucky and Tennessee. He returned to Far West, Mo., and was ordained apostle April 26, 1839. He then filled missions to England, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. He was in Michigan when he heard of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. On the journey westward, unknown to anyone else, he locked away 25 pounds of flour. As the journey wore one, "I issued my reserve flour, cup by cup, to the sick, some of whom attribute to this circumstance the preservation of their lives." In 1849, he took charge of organizing pioneer companies and brought the year's last company himself. It was a large, late-leaving and trouble-plagued company that took 155 days (a month and a half longer than the first company) and arrived Oct. 27. In 1850, he took a group of settlers 265 miles south and founded the city of Parowan, Iron Co., firing a canon in celebration of their arrival, a celebration re-enacted annually. On 1868, he was called as first counselor to Brigham Young. He was active in territorial governments and is considered father of the southern colonies, the largest of which, St. George, Washington Co., is named in his honor. He died Sept. 1, 1875, in St. George at age 58.
Smoot, William Cockran Adkinson – (7th Ten) Born Jan. 30, 1828, in Tennessee and became the adopted son of Abraham O. and Margaret Thompson Smoot. He was baptized Feb. 8, 1836, and that same year moved with his family to Far West, Mo., and later moved to Nauvoo, where he helped with the Nauvoo Temple and was given his temple blessings and ordained a seventy at a young age. He was assigned as a guard in the first pioneer company. He stood guard duty every three nights, missing only one night during the entire journey. He was the last man of the company to enter Salt Lake Valley, but once there assisted in laying out the city, "carrying and driving stakes." He spent the winter in the north fort, then moved to Canyon Creek and began farming. He served as a missionary to the Indians in the vicinity of Las Vegas, Nev., and made several trips across the plains to bring converts who lacked the means for transportation to Salt Lake Valley. He was set apart as counselor to his father in the Sugar House Ward, and took charge of the ward from 1866-77. He married Martha Sessions, and after she died, he married Matilda Garn. He filled a mission to the Southern States. He was the last surviving member of the company. He died Jan. 31, 1920, a day after his 92nd birthday.
Snow, Erastus – (6th Ten) Born Nov. 9, 1818, at St. Johnsbury, Caledonia Co., Vt., to Levi and Lucina Streeter Snow. He was baptized at age 14 on Feb. 3, 1833. He immediately began missionary work and in 1835 traveled to Kirtland, Ohio, where he met the Prophet Joseph Smith and lived in his home for several weeks. Soon after, he was ordained into the 2nd Quorum of Seventy. He served additional missions, during which he faced mobs but baptized many converts. In 1838 he moved to Far west, Mo., where he helped defend the city aginst mob action. Later he visited Joseph Smith, who at the time was incarcerated in the Liberty Jail. Following a foiled escape attempt, Snow was imprisoned with them. He became the Prophet's attorney and, though he'd never studied law, pleaded the case. Later freed, he persuaded the judges to change the Prophet's trial venue to Boone Co. As they were being transferred, Joseph and his companions escaped from the illegal proceedings. In 1839 he moved to Illinois, then commenced about four years of missionary work in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts in which he brought in a number of converts. He returned to enjoy the winter of 1843 in Nauvoo and in the spring embarked on another missionary journey to the east. However, news of the martyrdom brought him back and he was among the exiles of Nauvoo, in 1846. In crossing the Mississippi River, the boat capsized and his family suffered additionally. A member of the first company, he carried a letter to Orson Pratt as Pratt arrived near Emigration Canyon, leading into Salt Lake Valley. The two men went ahead into the valley. "When we ascended Red Butte, near the mouth of Emigration Canyon, which gave us our first view of the blue waters of Great Salt Lake, we simultaneously swung our hats and shouted, 'Hosannah!' for the spirit told us that here the Saints would find rest," remembered Snow. They traveled a half circle in the valley of about 12 miles. He returned to Winter Quarters that fall, and then traveled to the eastern states to solicit aid for the impoverished Saints. He took his family west in 1848, and in 1849 he was ordained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was shortly after called to open missionary work in Scandinavia, beginning in Denmark. He baptized the first 12 Danes on Aug. 12, 1850. By the time he had completed his mission in 1852, more than 600 people had been baptized by Elder Snow, his companions and other missionaries. In 1854 he organized the St. Louis, Mo., Stake, and began publication of the St. Louis Luminary, a Church newspaper. After 1861 he was engaged in helping and supporting the settlements of southern Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. The town of Snowflake, Ariz., was originally named Snow Flake, in honor of Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake. He died in Salt Lake City on May 27, 1888, at age 69.
Stevens, Roswell – (2nd Ten) Born Oct. 17, 1808, at Grand River, Upper Canada, to Roswell and Sybil Spencer Stevens. He was converted to the Church through the teachings of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon and was baptized in 1834. He married Mary Ann Peterson, and they moved to Nauvoo, where he became a member of the local police force. After the exodus from Nauvoo, he enlisted in the Mormon Battalion and marched south. However, when John D. Lee and Howard Egan overtook the Battalion's march at Santa Fe, N.M., to collect and carry wages back to Winter Quarters to the soldiers' families. Stevens was sent back to accompany them. He was assigned to be a foot hunter in the first company. Upon reaching Ft. Laramie, he was one of three chosen to accompany Amasa Lyman to Pueblo, Colo., where the Mississippi Saints and sick detachments of the Mormon Battalion had wintered, and bring them to the Salt Lake Valley. When he arrived in the valley, he lived first in Alpine, 30 miles south of the new city, then moved to Weber Valley, some 40 miles to the north. His daughter Martha was the first white child born in this valley. He was sent in 1879 as part of an expedition to explore southern Utah. The explorers found a location for a settlement near the San Juan River, where the town of Bluff, San Juan Co., now stands, and there he died May 4, 1880, at age 71. He was placed in a rude coffin made from his wagon box and buried in the site selected for the town cemetery.
Stewart, Benjamin Franklin – (7th Ten) Born Oct. 22, 1817, in Jackson, Monroe Co., Ohio, to Philander Barrett and Sarah Scott Stewart. He married Polly Richardson in 1837, and they moved to Van Buren, Iowa, where they met missionaries. She was immediately converted and baptized, but he waited three years before being baptized Feb. 2, 1844. On the trek west, he was among a group left to operate a ferry for the Oregon Trail wagon trains and oncoming Mormon wagon trains at the last crossing of the Platte River in Wyoming. He remained there until his family, traveling in the Abraham O. Smoot Company, arrived and he went to Salt Lake Valley with them. He first settled at Mill Creek near Salt Lake City and operated a sawmill for several years. He was part of an expedition to explore southern Utah led by Parley P. Pratt. From that expedition, he became interested in the area near Payson, Utah Co. He moved there and operated a nail factory near town. He later filled a mission to Iowa and Illinois and afterward returned to start a small settlement north of Payson. This settlement was named Benjamin in his honor. There he was struck by lighting and died on June 22, 1886, at age 68.
Stewart, James Wesley – (8th Ten) Born May 19, 1825, in Fayette Co., Ala., to George and Ruth Baker Stewart, who were baptized when Elder Benjamin Clapp came to the town and preached. They moved to Missouri where George Stewart died of fever. Chosen to accompany the first pioneers west, James Stewart was one of the men assigned o remain at the Platte River to ferry oncoming Oregon and Mormon pioneers across the river. Upon arriving in Salt Lake Valley, he helped make the first irrigation dam on City Creek. Of the first winter, he wrote: "During the winter of 1847 it was hard picking for us, being without bread, and a thousand miles to go for flour; so we lived on cowhides at times and in the spring, sego roots." He was later sent on a mission to the Southern States where he met Jane Grover, whom he married. They built a home in Farmington, Davis Co., Utah, and later in Morgan Co., Utah. He was later ordained a high priest. He died in Cokeville, Wyo., March 22, 1913, at age 87.
Stringham, Briant – (3rd Ten) Born March 28, 1825, in Windsor, N.Y., to George and Polly Hendricksen Stringham. By 1838 the family was in Kirtland, Ohio, preparing to travel to Missouri. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley with the first company, Stringham remained and prepared for his family to come the following year with Brigham Young's Company. To them he wrote: "By the time you get here, I shall be literally naked, and bareheaded, without shoes or clothing…If Jed has any horses have him not fetch them, but trade them for steers and heifers, for they are the best team you can have to come through with… The thought of seeing my brothers and sisters and friends, together with my aged father and dear mother, to think of you all settled in your inheritance in this godly land fills my soul with joy I cannot express with a pen." He helped plant trees and develop the community. He was appointed probate judge in Cache County in 1856. During Indian wars, he was in charge of the commissary department. For 15 years he had charge of the tithing stock of the Church that was kept on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. He lived on the island much of the time and took part in an annual round-up of the near-wild horses, described as a "thrilling event" by visitors. In 1871 as he was caring for the livestock, he was three days in a wind and rain storm, became ill, probably from pneumonia, and died a few days later, on Aug. 4, 1871, in Salt Lake City at the age of 45.
Summe, Gilbard – (14th Ten) Born Aug. 22, 1802, in Randolph Co., N.C., to John and Caroline Summe. In the first pioneer company, he joined the advance company who entered Salt Lake Valley on July 22, 1847. On April 6, 1850, he was sustained counselor in the general presidency of deacons. He was active in preserving the safety of the settlers during the Walker War. He settled San Bernardino, Calif., and later worked in the lead mines in the Mountain Spring, Nev., area. He returned with the others when recalled in 1857, and continued to assist in the southern colonies. In 1865, he was called to the Muddy Mission in Nevada's Moapa Valley. He settled in St. Joseph, a settlement that no longer exists. When this mission ended, he returned to southern Utah where he died at Harrisburg, Washington Co., on June 13, 1867, at age 64.
Taft, Seth – (Captain of the 8th Ten) Born Aug. 11, 1796, in Mendon, Worcester Co., Mass., to Seth and Staples Taft. He married Harriet Ogden in Michigan in 1826. Missionaries converted his family in 1841 and they moved to Nauvoo. In the trek west, he was among the advance company that arrived in the valley July 22, 1847. After arriving, he helped locate a site where potatoes, beans, corn and buckwheat could be grown. He began his trip back to Winter Quarters on Aug. 17, but on Sept. 4 he arrived at the Little Sandy Creek in Wyoming, and turned around when he met Daniel Spencer's company, which included his wife, who had driven an ox team across the plains. A year later he was ordained bishop of the Ninth Ward in Salt Lake City. He was called to settle the Manti area but lost his cattle during a severe winter. He returned to Salt Lake City and resumed his duties as bishop of the Ninth Ward until 1856 when he was ordained a patriarch. He died in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Nov. 23, 1863, at age 67.
Tanner, Thomas – (3rd ten) Born March 31, 1804, in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, to William and Judea Tanner. He immigrated to America in 1831, married in 1834 and was baptized in New Rochelle, N.Y., in 1841. He was assigned to be captain of the artillery in the first company, and placed in charge of the cannon crew. On the way across the plains, he often drilled his crew and occasionally fired the piece, especially if Indians were around. A blacksmith, his forge was useful in welding broken iron wheels and axles. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley, he built a blacksmith shop of adobe brick and worked as a blacksmith until he became foreman of the Church public works blacksmith shop. He died after a fall in Salt Lake City on Aug. 2, 1855, at age 51.
Taylor, Norman – (14th Ten) Born Sept. 15, 1828, at Grafton, Lorraine Co., Ohio, to Benjamin and Ann Mennel Taylor. He was teamster of the first company drove the second wagon that entered Salt Lake Valley. He assisted in preparing for the oncoming pioneers and then returned to Winter Quarters, where he married Laurana Forbush. He brought his family to Salt Lake Valley in 1850, and in 1851 went to southern California and settled in San Bernardino. Recalled because of the threat of Johnston's army, he settled in Santaquin, Utah Co., Utah. He moved his family again in 1881 to settle in Moab, Grand Co., Utah. There he set up a blacksmith's shop, operated a ranch and was owner and operator of a ferryboat across the Colorado River. He was a merchant in his later years and died Nov. 25, 1899, at Moab at age 71 years old.
Thomas, Robert T. – (8th Ten) Born Jan. 8, 1820, in Richmond Co., N.C., to Henry and Esther Covington Thomas. The family joined the Church in 1843 after listening to the preaching of Elder Benjamin L. Clapp. The family moved to Nauvoo, where Robert was ordained to the office of seventy and sent on a mission. He preached in the Southern States for a year, then returned. He was a wagon maker in the first pioneer company. He was in the advance party that arrived in Salt Lake Valley July 22, 1847. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley, he worked for others, including William Stuart and Perrigrine Sessions. In 1848, he was given 60 pounds of shelled corn for his wages by Stuart and he planted in Bountiful, only to have the crickets destroy his crop. He moved back to Salt Lake City and attended school, then joined a group that went south and settled Provo, Utah Co. Just as their crops were growing a severe frost ruined most of them. His wife, Mary Ann Turner Thomas, was the first school teacher in Utah County. When Johnston's army advanced in 1857-58, he was in charge of a company called "Lost Camp" in Echo Canyon. He was also set apart as senior president of the 45th Quorum of the Seventy, a lifetime calling for him. He was elected justice of the peace in 1861, which office he held for 11 years, and was alderman of Provo from 1861-64. He served a mission to Nebraska and Iowa in 1870. Upon his return, he surveyed for a canal at the mouth of Spanish Fork to Springville, and from Provo River to Spring Creek. He organized the Upper East Union Irrigation Company. He was general watermaster of Provo from 1872-82. He died Feb. 28, 1892, at Provo at age 72.
Thornton, Horace – (8th Ten) Born May 7, 1822, at Hinsdale, Catteraugus Co., N.Y., to Ezra and Harriet Goodrich Thornton. He joined the Church in 1836 at Kirtland, Ohio, and followed the Saints to Nauvoo, and then to Winter Quarters. While crossing the plains, Thornton was a member of the cannon crew, a night guard and hunter. He was chosen for the advance company that entered Salt Lake Valley July 22, 1847. After arriving in the valley, he lived in Springville, Utah Co.; Parowan, Iron Co.; and Glenwod, Sevier Co., and then was called to do temple work in St. George and later in Manti. He was a member of the 69th Quorum of Seventy. He died at Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah, on March 21, 1914, at age 91.
Thorpe, Marcus Ball – (1st Ten) Born June 22, 1822, at New Haven, New Haven Co., Conn. He joined the Church but remained in his hometown until the Saints were at Winter Quarters in 1846. At age 25, he joined the first company and became part of the advance party. After arriving in the valley, he helped prepare the city for the coming wagon trains. He returned to Winter Quarters with Brigham Young's group and in 1848 came west again. He then went to California in search of gold. When he had earned enough to bring his parents and family to the valley, he placed the gold in a money belt fastened about his middle and took passage on a sailing ship, eastbound via Cape Horn. During the voyage on Jan. 9, 1849, he fell overboard and his body was not recovered.
Tippets, John Harvey – (11th Ten) Born Sept. 5, 1810, at Wittingham, Rockingham Co., N.H., to John and Abigail Pierce Tippets. In March of 1832, he heard of the Book of Mormon and walked 15 miles to read it. He was baptized in the fall of 1832. He remained with the Saints through the trials of Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. When the call came for volunteers to serve in the Mormon Battalion, he accepted and marched with them. He accompanied a sick detachment to Pueblo, now Colo., where the Mississippi Saints had laid over for the winter. From there he carried wages, mail and dispatches back to Winter Quarters, Neb. The 52-day trip was one of great suffering and danger. He and his companion were taken prisoner by Pawnee Indians and nearly burned at the stake. Later friendly Omaha Indians guided them to Winter Quarters. In the spring he joined the first pioneer company. When the company reached Ft. Laramie, he was sent with Apostle Amasa Lyman to go to Pueblo and bring those who had wintered there to Salt Lake. He did so and arrived in the valley on July 29. He returned to Winter Quarters that fall and brought his family west the following spring. They lived in Salt Lake City until 1856 when he was called on a mission to England. After he arrived in England, he received word that all missionaries were recalled because of Johnston's army, and he returned to find his family settled in Springville. He later moved them to Farmington, Davis Co., Utah. In 1878 he was ordained a patriarch. He suffered greatly from illness the last years of his life and died in Farmington of dropsy [edema] on Feb. 14, 1890, at age 79.
Vance, William Perkins – (6th Ten) Born Oct. 20, 1822, in Jackson Co., Tenn., to John and Sarah Perkins Vance. He was baptized into the Church in 1842 and he traveled to Nauvoo where he lived a time with the Prophet Joseph Smith. He later wrote of attending school in Ramus, five or six miles from Carthage, Ill., where he learned stenography from a Joseph Johnson. He wrote of the experience: "Eight young fellows were put into a class, and now I am going to tell you the truth whether you believe it or not – that everyone gave it up but myself." After the Saints arrived in Salt Lake Valley, he was chosen to join Parley P. Pratt's expedition to southern Utah and became one of the first settlers in Iron County. In 1884 he moved to St. George, Washington Co., where he lived until 1892. He then moved to Lund, Nev., where he died Dec. 5, 1914, at the age of 92.
Walker, Henson – (11th Ten) Born March 13, 1820, in Manchester, Ontario Co., N.Y., to Henson and Matilda Arnell Walker. The family moved to the Michigan frontier in 1835 where he became a skilled hunter. In 1840, he was baptized and a year later he married Martha Bouk. They moved to Salem, N.Y., where he was ordained a teacher. The following year they moved back to Michigan and visited Nauvoo, and met Joseph Smith. In 1843, his wife died and he moved to Nauvoo and he lived with his father-in-law. Here he became well-acquainted with Joseph Smith and once in 1843, as a member of the Nauvoo Legion, took part in a rescue effort when the Prophet was kidnapped. After the martyrdom, he worked on the Nauvoo Temple and was married there to Elizabeth Foutz on April 10, 1846. In May, they began the exodus to Winter Quarters. He returned briefly to Nauvoo to help defend the remaining, and then moved on to Winter Quarters. He volunteered for the Mormon Battalion, but was released. He joined the first company in the spring of 1847 as a hunter, though ill with a sever fever. He left his wife near death. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley, he started back to Winter Quarters but met his wife, now healthy, and father-in-law Bouk at the Sweetwater River in Wyoming. He returned to spend the first winter in Salt Lake Valley. That summer the crickets came and were devouring the crops. Promised by Jedediah M. Grant that "this present calamity will pass off," Walker and his family stopped fighting the crickets that came thicker than ever. That evening the miracle of the gulls occurred. "I wept for joy, as I saw how miraculously we had been saved from starvation," he said. In 1849 he was in a skirmish with Indians. In 1850 he went to the Platte River with others and operated a ferry, earning enough that he paid $75 in tithing. He settled at Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., Utah, where he was appointed presiding elder and later bishop. When the community was incorporated, he was its first mayor. In 1863 he was called on a mission to England and presided over the Scottish Mission until returning in 1865. He later filled two missions to the Northern States, and was president of the high priests of the Alpine Stake. He died in Pleasant Grove Jan. 24, 1894, at age 73.
Wardle, George – (1st Ten) Born Feb. 3, 1820, in Cheddleton, England, to Ralph and Ann Allen Wardle. He was baptized, and immigrated to America in 1842 with his bride of two weeks, Fannie Rushton. They lived in Nauvoo, where he worked as a wheelwright, a trade he learned in his fathers shop in England. On the trek west, he was among those selected to be in the advance party. He returned to Winter Quarters for his wife, brought her to Salt Lake Valley and then settled at Sugar House. An eager student of music and dancing while in England, he soon started a dancing school in a building of logs. Among his students were Brigham Young, George Q. Cannon and George A. Smith. He also helped organize the first choir and brass band in Salt Lake City. He was later called to Provo, Utah Co.; to Midway, Wasatch Co.; and Glenwood, Sevier Co. to teach his music arts. After John Taylor became president of the Church in 1880, Wardle was called by him to return to Midway and again teach dancing and vocal music to the members. He was later called to Vernal, Uintah Co., Utah, where he organized another school where he gave dancing and vocal lessons. He died in Vernal on Nov. 25, 1901, at age 81.
Wardsworth [or Wordsworth], William Shin – (6th Ten) Born March 5, 1810, in Salem Co., N.J. and baptized in Philadelphia, Pa., in the fall of 1841. He was ordained a seventy in February 1846. With the first pioneer company, he was assigned to be a road and bridge builder. After his arrival in Utah, he continued to make roads and build bridges and dig irrigation ditches. He also assisted in exploring the surrounding countryside. He died in Springville, Utah Co., Utah, on Jan. 18,1888, at age 77.
Weiler, Jacob – (4th Ten) Born March 14, 1808, near Chruchtown, Pa., to Joseph and Rosannah Stylers Weiler, one of 14 children. He was baptized March 16, 1841. The only member of his family to join the Church, he was subsequently disinherited. He moved to Nauvoo, and married Anna Maria Malin. He helped in building roads and bridges. On his return from the Salt Lake Valley, he met his family in an oncoming wagon train at Pacific Springs, near the Continental Divide in Wyoming. He brought them to the valley in Edward Hunter's Company. After arriving, he built a cabin in the northeast corner of Pioneer Square in Salt Lake City. He later moved to the Third Ward after drawing for land in that area. In 1856, he was ordained a high priest and called to be bishop of the Third Ward, a position he held for nearly 40 years. He was released because of his age in 1895 and ordained to the office of patriarch. He died in Salt Lake City on March 24, 1896, at age 88.
Wheeler, John – (11th ten) Born Feb. 3, 1802, in South Carolina, to William and Lucy Wheeler. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley, with the first company, he returned to Winter Quarters. He came back to the valley by 1851. In 1861 he was highly commended by the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society for his fine stock exhibited at the fair in Salt Lake City. Later he went to California.
Whipple, Edson –(9th Ten) Born Feb. 5, 1805, in Dummerston, Windham Co., Vt., to Timothy and Elizabeth Safford Whipple. He married Lavinie Goss on Feb. 16, 1832. He was baptized in Philadelphia, Pa., on June 15, 1840, and was set apart as first counselor in the Philadelphia Branch. They moved to Nauvoo, in September 1842. In 1844 he was called on a mission to promote Joseph Smith's candidacy for president of the United States. During this mission, the martyrdom occurred. He returned to help complete the Nauvoo Temple and spent the winter of 1845-46 making wagons. At Council Bluffs, Iowa, he was counseled to locate at Pony Creek, 30 miles south. There, his mother died Sept. 9 and his wife died Sept. 13, and their only daughter a few weeks later. "Of the whole camp, consisting of 14 families, all but two persons were sick," he wrote in his history. "Thus my whole family died, martyrs to Christ." In the first company, he was assigned to be a night guard, taking watch half the night every third night. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley he farmed for Heber C. Kimball and raised some 400 bushels of grain. He was a member of the first high council in Salt Lake City. He started east on a business trip with 11 members of the Mormon Battalion. While there, he was called to assist Wilford Woodruff to gather out the Saints from the Eastern States. Whipple was later a captain of Fifty on a wagon train to Salt Lake Valley that arrive Oct. 13, 1850. He married gain and went to Iron County with George a. Smith and helped settle Parowan. It was his city plan that was accepted and followed. He and a Brother Brimhall built the first water-powered threshing machine and threshed the first crop of grain grown in the settlement. He was elected to the Parowan City Council in 1851. Shortly after, Brigham Young visited the new colony and advised him to move to Provo, Utah Co., and he complied. He died in Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, on May 11, 1894, at age 89.
Whitney, Horace Kimball –(10th Ten) Born July 25, 1823, at Kirtland, Ohio, to Newel K. and Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney. His father was later Presiding Bishop. Well-educated and an expert mathematician and musician, he joined the first company and was assigned by his father to help prepare a place for the rest of his family. He was accompanied by is brother, Orson K. Whitney. The rest of the family arrived Oct. 8, 1848. He served as a major in the Topographical Engineers of the Nauvoo Legion. When Johnston's army marched through the empty Salt Lake City in 1858, he was one of the guards who stood ready to burn the city if the army stopped. He was for many years a member of the Deseret Dramatic Association, both at the Social Hall and the Salt Lake Theatre. A gifted musician, he played in the orchestra. He learned the printer's trade while in Nauvoo and when the Deseret News was founded in 1850, he set the type for the first edition and became its printer. He served in the management of the newspaper for 21 years, a period of tremendous growth for the newspaper. He died Nov. 22, 1884, in Salt Lake City, Utah, at age 61.
Whitney, Orson K. – (10th Ten) Born Jan. 30, 1830, in Kirtland, Ohio, to Newel K. and Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney. His father was Presiding Bishop. In the first company, he assisted his brother, Horace, in Salt Lake Valley to prepare a place for the family after they arrived in the summer of 1847. After the death of his father in 1852, Orson was called on a mission to the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands. A cabinetmaker, he earned his way to Hawaii without purse or scrip, arriving in Hawaii in August of 1854. He worked at a few jobs, such as making coffins, to support himself in the missionary work. When his mission was over, he again worked to earn passage back to the mainland. Upon his return, he assisted the Utah Infantry in Echo Canyon in November 1858. Later he fought in Indian skirmishes around Provo and Pleasant Grove in Utah Co. He was known as a daring and adventurous frontiersman. He died in Salt Lake City on July 31, 1884, at age 54.
Williams, Almon M. – (8th Ten) Born Jan. 11, 1807, at New York. He arrived with the advance party on July 22, 1847, and is mentioned in the Manuscript History as directing the digging of a coal pit at the same time land was plowed for crops. Later the same year he returned to Winter Quarters with William Clayton's company. In 1848, he was one of the signers of a petition to the U.S. Government to establish a post office on Pottawattamie lands. He died Dec. 13, 1884, at age 77.
Woodruff, Wilford – (Captain of the 1st Ten) Born March 1, 1807, in Farmington, Hartford Co., Conn., to Aphek and Beulah Thompson Woodruff. When 26, he and his brother, Azmon, heard the missionaries and he was baptized Dec. 31, 1833. Shortly after, he joined Zion's Camp, where he became acquainted with Joseph Smith. After traveling to Missouri with Zion's Camp, he remained in Missouri. He was ordained a priest and sent on a mission o Arkansas and Tennessee in the fall of 1834. He traveled some 3,200 miles to preach and was instrumental in converting many. He returned to Kirtland in the fall of 1836. He married Phoebe Carte in 1837, and left for a mission to the Fox Islands, Maine. On the way he converted many of his relatives in Connecticut. In 1838 he was called as an apostle, and traveled with a group of 50 converts to Illinois to join the Saints. In 1839 he left on a mission to England where in eight month's labor, some 1,800 people were brought into the Church. He returned to America in 1841, met his wife in Scarborough, Maine, and traveled to Nauvoo. He was on the city council of Nauvoo, and became the business manager for the newspaper Times and Seasons.
After the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, he went to England and presided over the British Mission during 1845. He returned, took part in the exodus, and began the trek west leading a small band, the first to pull into the prairie. He was described as the most energetic man of the entire company. Arriving at Ft. Laramie, he tied an artificial fly, and made fishing history as he did so. He later came down with mountain fever but recovered. When Brigham Young became ill a short time later, Woodruff put him and Albert Rockwood in the back of a wagon and drove the wagon that brought the Church leader into Salt Lake Valley. Later that fall he returned to Winter Quarters and soon went on a mission to the Eastern States, returning to the Salt Lake Valley in 1850. Upon his return, he was elected to the Senate of the provisional State of Deseret. In 1853 he and Ezra T. Benson took 50 families to strengthen the colonies in Tooele County. He became Church historian in 1883 and in 1880 he became president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He became president of the Church April 7, 1889, and in 1890, issued the Manifesto discontinuing plural marriage. He also officiated at the Jubilee Celebration of the arrival of the first pioneers held July 20, 1897, at which a statue of Brigham Young was unveiled. A year later, while staying in San Francisco, Calif., seeking relief from insomnia, he died on Sept. 2, 1898, at age 88.
Woodward, George – (12th Ten) Born Sept. 9, 1817, in Monmouth Co., N.J., to George and Jemima Shin Woodward. At age 15 he left home to be a clerk in his brother’s merchandising business at Homers Town, Pa. At 18, he went to Philadelphia and learned the mason trade. There he heard the missionaries and was baptized Sept. 7, 1840. In May 1841 he moved to Nauvoo, and helped with the temple and the Nauvoo House. He married Thomazin Downing in 1842 and was ordained a seventy. In te original company, he wrote near Ft. Bridger that Captain Jim Bridger “thought it a rash venture to plant so large a colony of almost destitute people in the Salt Lake or Bear River Valley.” Samuel Brannan “who had come from California sought to induce the pioneers not to stop in short of that part of the country.” When the company reached Green River, he recalled that President Young’s anxiety for welfare of the oncoming families behind them was so intense, he sent back five men “to see how they were getting along, I being one of them.” The five men advised the oncoming company to break up into groups of 50, which speeded up their progress. Among those in the wagon was his wife, “to my joy.” After arriving in the valley, they settled in the Salt Lake Eighth Ward where in 1850 he was called as first counselor to Bishop Elijah Sheets. In 1861, he was called to settle in St. George, Washington Co., where he worked many years as a mason and in later years was a temple worker. He died Dec. 17, 1903, in St. George at age 83.
Woolsey, Thomas – (6th Ten) Born Nov. 3, 1806, in Pulaski Co., Ky., to Joseph and Abigail Shaffer Woolsey. He was baptized in 1838 in Kentucky, and soon immigrated to Illinois. In Nauvoo, he married Julia Ann Mitchell. He was among those who volunteered for the Mormon Battalion. He left his family living in a dugout in Mt. Pisgah, Iowa, and traveled with the Battalion until being sent with a sick detachment to Pueblo, Colo. From there he carried dispatches and wages to Winter Quarters. On the way, he and John Harvey Tippets were captured by Pawnee Indians and were nearly burned. He later wrote: “We knew we were in a trap, and only through the power of God would we hope to escape, and believe me, we did send up a petition to God. Our prayers were answered.” They were guided to Winter Quarters by friendly Omaha Indians. There, he joined the first pioneer company and was a member of the cannon hauling crew. He accompanied the group to Ft. Laramie where he was appointed postmaster and carried a large bundle of mail to Pueblo where the sick detachments of the Mormon Battalion had gone to winter. He was accompanied by Elder Amasa Lyman, John H. Tippets and Roswell Stevens. Before they left, Brigham Young held a brief meeting, knelt in prayer and dedicated the four to God, and blessed them. Te Pueblo group arrived in the Salt Lake Valley a week after the first pioneers. He returned to Winter Quarters, where he was appointed to look after the Saints at that location, and did not return to Salt Lake Valley until 1852. After returning to the valley, he lived in several towns, including Mount Pleasant, Ephraim, Kanosh, Fort Harmony, and later in Wales, Sanpete Co., where he died Jan. 5, 1897, at age 90.
Young, Brigham – (3rd Ten) Born June 1, 1801, at Whitingham, Windham Co, Vt., to John A. and Abigail Howe Young. He married Miriam Works, and in 1829 moved to Mendon, N.Y. Where in the spring of 1830 he saw a copy of the Book of Mormon, distributed by Samuel H. Smith on the Church’s first official missionary journey. He was baptized April 14, 1832. His wife died Sept. 8 of the same year. He soon began missionary work and traveled to Kirtland, Ohio, to meet Joseph Smith. After that meeting, Joseph Smith said, “The time will come when Brother Brigham will preside over the Church.” He went to Canada on a mission the next year. In February 1834 he married Mary Ann Angell. He took part in Zion’s Camp in 1834, walking to and from Missouri, and on Feb. 14, 1835, was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He then began preaching, organizing and supervising branches and working on the Kirtland Temple. During the next few years he stood loyal to the Prophet during the turbulent times of Kirtland and the move of the Church to Missouri. His skills in moving people were valuable as he supervised the exodus of the Saints from Missouri under extremely difficult circumstances. On Sept. 14, 1839, he left his wife, a 10-day-old baby and other children ill and departed for a mission to England. While there, a great work was opened and a stream of emigrants began to flow toward Zion. He returned in 1841, and in 1843 began another mission in the Eastern States to collect funds to help complete the Nauvoo Temple. On another short mission in 1844, he learned of the martyrdom of the Prophet. He returned to find Sidney Rigdon claiming the right to lead the Church. In a speech, Young was transfigured so he appeared like the Prophet Joseph, banishing any doubt as to who should rightfully lead the Church. He organized the exodus and established two way stations, Mt. Pisgah and Garden Grove, to support the Saints as they crossed Iowa, and then Winter Quarters, Ne. During this difficult time, he agreed to supply 500 men to the U.S. Army to receive partial redress for the grievances of Missouri, assured the government of the Saints’ loyalty, and halted the U.S. Government from interfering with the exodus, as had been rumored. This made necessary the waiting for a year to go to the Rocky Mountains to find a permanent home for the exiles.
In the spring of 1847, he led a company of 144 men, three women and two children to the Salt Lake Valley, an untouched frontier far from their persecutors. He organized the company into units of hundreds, fifties and tens with captains over each. They also took considerable equipment with them, including surveying and topographical instruments used for roadmaking and laying out cities. After arriving in Indian country, he created a military organization, utilizing officers previously in the Nauvoo Legion. When the company came to buffalo, he gave strict orders that only those animals needed for meat were to be killed. As the company moved along, he acted as a scout, road builder and once even constructed a raft. He used buffalo skulls and whatever else could be found as road markers. On July 12, he became ill which delayed his entry into the valley, until July 24. Fifty years later, Wilford Woodruff, who was driving the wagon carrying Brigham on that eventful day, related the immortal words of the leader upon viewing the valley: “It is enough. This is the right place. Drive on.”
Recovered in health, he laid out the city in the pattern started by Joseph Smith, located a place for a temple to be built and organized those who remained. He returned to Kanesville, Iowa, where on Dec. 5, 1847, he was sustained president of the Church. He left his home in Winter Quarters, the fifth he had abandoned for the Church, and moved to Salt Lake City in 1848. He served as the first governor of Utah. As such he successfully resisted the advance of the United States Army under Gen. Albert Sydney Johnston. Johnston came west as directed by Pres. James Buchanan, a decision known to history as “Buchanan's blunder,” to quell a supposed insurrection. Finding none, the army camped peacefully nearby the city until withdrawn. Under Brigham Young’s direction, hundreds of colonies were started throughout the mountain west, missionary work extended around the world, temples built, mercantile and manufacturing efforts started, construction of telegraph and rail lines assisted and academies and universities were founded. He avoided many Indian troubles with a policy that “It is better to feed them than to fight them.” He died at his home in Salt Lake City on Aug. 29, 1877, at age 76.
Young, Clarissa Decker – (3rd Ten) Born July 22, 1828, in Freedom, Catteraugus Co., N.Y. To Isaac and Harriet Page Wheeler Decker. As a child she had delicate health and, complicating that, was once struck in the head by an ax. She came on the trek west to accompany her mother, who said she would die if she did not leave Winter Quarters. On the trail, she assisted the men in many ways. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley, she remained and spent the winter of 1847-1848, while her husband, Brigham Young, returned to Winter Quarters. She reared her children and cared for foster children as well. She was the last surviving woman of the pioneer trek when she died Jan. 5, 1889, at the age of 60.
Young, Harriet Page Wheeler – (3rd Ten) Born Sept. 7, 1803, at Hillsboro, N.H., to Oliver and Hannah Ashley Wheeler. After a first marriage to Isaac Decker failed in 1843, she married Lorenzo D. Young, brother of Brigham Young. When the men were about to leave for the West, she pleaded earnestly to accompany them, saying that the climate in Winter Quarters would lead her to death were she to remain another year. Permission was granted for her to go; she was accompanied by her daughter Clarissa Decker Young and Ellen Saunders Kimball. The women proved to be ministering angels to the sick as the company traveled. She also brought two of her children, Isaac Perry Decker, son of her first husband, and Lorenzo Sobieski Young, her husband’s son by a previous wife. Although she was not well during much of the journey, she did not contract the fever that afflicted so many in the camp, and was thus able to nurse the ill. She lived in Salt Lake City after her arrival. She died there on Dec. 22, 1871, at the age of 68.
Young, Lorenzo Dow – (3rd Ten)Born Oct. 19, 1807, at Smyrna, Chenango Co., N.Y., to John and Abigail Howe Young, a brother to Brigham Young. In 1832, he came in contact with the Church and was baptized and moved to Missouri, where he bought 160 acres of land and built a log house but was shortly driven from his home by mobs. He then moved to Nauvoo, and took part in the exodus. His wife accompanied him on the trek west. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley, he remained until 1849, then went east to Missouri ad returned the following year with 500 head of sheep, 80 head of cattle and several horses. He settled on the west side of the Jordan River and started a cattle and sheep ranch. He also raised vegetables. He was said to be the first in the valley to raise garden flowers. In 1851 he was ordained bishop of the Eighteenth Ward, serving in that office for 27 years. He later visited the settlements to encourage the well-to-do to assist and befriend the poor. He was ordained a patriarch by his brother, and he held that office until he died Nov. 21, 1895, at age 88 in Salt Lake City.
Young, Lorenzo Sobieski – (3rd Ten) Born March 9, 1841, in Winchester, Morgan Co., Ill., to Lorenzo Dow and Persis Goodall Young. He was 6 years of age when taken on the pioneer trek from Winter Quarters to Salt Lake City. He was given his second name in honor of his mother’s first husband, Edwin Sobieski Little, who died in Iowa during the exodus. After arriving in the valley, Lorenzo learned horticulture from his father and became a father. He lived in Huntington, Emery Co., Utah, where he farmed. He died in Shelley, Bingham Co., Idaho, March 28, 1904, at age 63.
Young, Phinehas Howe – (Captain of the 3rd Ten) Born Feb. 16, 1799, in Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Mass., to John and Abigail Howe Young, a brother of Brigham Young. He learned the printing trade and farmed. In 1818 he married Clarissa Hamilton, who later died. He them married Lucy Cowdery, half-sister of Oliver Cowdery. In 1830 he read a copy of the Book of Mormon and was baptized. In 1841 he and Franklin Richards filled a mission to Ohio. On the trek west, he often hunted and supplied the pioneers with fresh meat. When the company reached the Green River in what is now Wyoming, Phinehas was among the five men sent back to guide the oncoming companies. He later guided three additional companies across the plains to Salt Lake City. When he settled in the city, he built a two-story adobe house and planted one of the first orchards in the city. As his wife, Lucy, had refused to come west, he married an English convert, Phebe Clark. In 1853, he received his license to practice law but shortly after was called on a mission to England and Scotland. He returned in 1864 and was ordained bishop of the Second Ward. In 1871 he moved to Summit Co., where he stayed until he died in Salt Lake City in 1875. He died in Salt Lake City Oct. 10, 1879, at age 80.
