Utah Pioneers
from Cleve and Anita Raymond's Progenitors
The story of the Utah pioneers is inspiring. Many thousands of people left homes
and family to gather with "the Saints" of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints in the Utah territory. Many lost their lives. All faced extreme challenges in
taming this area of the American West. Their dedication and their stories stand as
their witnesses that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that Brigham Young was His
prophet in their day.
Personal Histories
Aagesen, Bertha Cathrine (1826) - Mother died
when 13. Disowned when she joined the church. Sold their belongings to
emigrate to Utah. Six weeks on the ocean in "Monarch of the Sea." By rail to
the Missouri. Came to Utah by wagon. Two children died on the trail. SLC, Hyde
Park, Logan, Richmond.
Brown, Rebecca (1818) - Daughter healed
of fits when rebaptized. Pioneers of 1869. Crossed on the steamship Manhattan,
which departed Liverpool, England on Sept. 22, 1869 (Wednesday) with 239
Saints, in charge of Joseph Lawson. The company arrived at New York Oct. 7th
and at Ogden Oct. 16th. This was one of the first groups to take the railroad
all the way, from NY to SL. (The first company came June 25th, 1869.) Rebecca
was perturbed that her mother failed to record her birth date so all her life
she didn't know her birthday.
Davenport, Almira (1847) - Born at Winter
Quarters in 1847 while her father was gone with the Brigham Young company. He
came back and the family crossed in 1850.
Dorris, Drusilla (1810) - Deeply religious
from the time she was a child, Drusilla had the gift of dreams. Joined the
church in 1835 in Kentucky. Suffered through Missouri persecutions. Husband
shot and paralized at the Battle of Crooked River. Moved to Nauvoo. After the
martyrdom of Joseph Smith, saw Joseph's mantle fall upon Brigham Young.
Reached the Salt Lake valley in 1847. Richmond.
Elston, Nancy (1806) - Wife of Austin Hammer, who
was killed by a mob at Haun's Mill in 1838.
Ewing, John Jackson (1835) - Pioneer of 20 Oct
1847, Jedediah M. Grant company, the 3rd company to cross the plains. Was 12
yrs. old. Mom died on plains. Lived in Provo, Lehi, Cedar Fort. Part of
handcart rescue companies.
Frost, Martha McKinney (1825) - Joined church
in 1841, present when Brother Woodruff healed sick with handkerchief of the
prophet. Present when B. Young assumed mantle of the prophet Joseph. Left
Nauvoo in 1846. In May, Heber C. Kimball company, arrived Sept. 25th, 1848.
Her husband at the time, George Langley, built the first adobe house in Salt
Lake City and was the first person buried in the Salt Lake Cemetary.
Frost, McCaslin
(1785) - Married Peninna Jane Smith. Converted to the church about 1840.
Moved to Nauvoo. Endowed in Nauvoo temple. Crossed the plains to Utah in 1848
when 63 years old.
Hammer, Austin (1804) - Joined the church in
1835. Killed by a mob at Haun's Mill in 1838.
Hammer, Julia Ann (1836) - Born 3 or 4 miles
from Haun's Mill. In 1846, at the age of 9 her family went to Council Bluffs
and Winter Quarters. It took them 3 months to cross the plains. They lived in
an adobe hut in Farmington. Later she lived at Bear Lake.
Hendricks, James (1808) - Joined the church
in 1835 in Kentucky. Suffered through Missouri persecutions. Shot and
paralized at the Battle of Crooked River. While mostly an invalid the rest of
his life, he walked after Joseph Smith, Sr. blessed him. Moved to Nauvoo.
Reached the Salt Lake valley in 1847. Richmond.
Hendricks, William Dorris (1829) - Born in
1829. Drusilla Dorris Hendrick's son. When father paralyzed in battle of
crooked river, he was 9. Played fife in Nauvoo Legion. Present when mantle of
Joseph fell upon Brigham Young. One of youngest members of Mormon Battalion.
Built first bridge over City Creek in SLC. First mayor of Richmond in 1864.
Had wives named Alvira and Almira. Stake President in southern Idaho. Fled to
Mexico during polygamy persecutions.
Hillyard, Elizabeth (1838) - Joined the
church in 1850. Immigrated from Liverpool in 1853. Jan 23 - Mar 26. SLC by
Oct. Second settler of St. George.
Isaacson, Mary Ellen (1851) - Joined in
Norway in 1859. In 1861 crossed the Atlantic in the Monarch of the Sea. Six
weeks to New York. On rail journey to Florence, as a 9 year old, parents
missed train. Hyde Park, Logan, Richmond.
Isaacson, Neils (Nels) (1817) - Sold their
belongings to emigrate to Utah. Six weeks on the ocean in "Monarch of the
Sea." By rail to the Missouri. Came to Utah by wagon. Two children died on the
trail. SLC, Hyde Park, Logan, Richmond.
McCauley, Elizabeth (1805) - Wife of William G.
Thompson. Immigrated from Scotland to Canada. Joined the church and moved to
Missouri. Driven out by mobs and died in Quincy, Illinois.
Pitcher, James Daniel (1860) - Parents
joined the church in Shepdham, England. Came to Utah in 1869, among the first
to travel by train. Farmington. Smithfield. Canada.
Pitcher, John (1816) - Daughter healed of
fits when rebaptized. Pioneers of 1869. Crossed on the steamship Manhattan,
which departed Liverpool, England on Sept. 22, 1869 (Wednesday) with 239
Saints, in charge of Joseph Lawson. The company arrived at New York Oct. 7th
and at Ogden Oct. 16th. This was one of the first groups to take the railroad
all the way, from NY to SL. (The first company came June 25th, 1869.) John
Pitcher was a short man.
Raymond, Alonzo Pearis (1820) - Mormon
Battalion. Pioneer of 1848. Lived in SLC, West Jordan, Lehi. Among 1st to
settle Cache Valley.
Robinson, Elizabeth (1838) - A Handcart
Pioneer of 1856 who came to Utah with the Martin-Tyler handcart Company when
she was twenty years old, was born May 17th., 1836. May 25th, 1856 sailed from
Liverpool on the ship Horizon. After 40 days arrived in Boston on July 3rd and
Iowa City, by rail, by July 8th. (Also on the Horizon was Sister Hinckley's
grandmother, Mary Ann Goble Pay, a girl of 13. She crossed with the wagon
company that followed the Martin company.)
Smith, Nancy Jane (1865) - Born in Bloomington,
Bear Lake Co., Idaho, while her parents colonized the area.
Smith, Peninna Jane
(1794) - Married McCaslin Frost. Converted to the church about 1840. Moved
to Nauvoo. Endowed in Nauvoo temple. Crossed the plains to Utah in 1848 when
54 years old.
Smith, Rebecca (1842) - Family joined church
in 1849. Pioneer of 1856 at age of 14. Father died at Platt River camp. Lived
in Tooele, Lehi.
Telford, John (1802) - Joined in 1838 and
went to Kirtland, only to be driven out to Missouri before year's end. Endowed
24 Dec 1845. Pioneer of 1851 Harry Walton Company. Sept. 1851. Three kids died
before the trip. Settled in Bountiful. Raised the 1st peaches in Davis County.
Lived in Richmond, Brigham City, and Lewiston.
Telford, Rebecca Ann (1862) - Born in Brigham City,
less than 15 years after the first pioneer company reached the Salt Lake
Valley. She is the daughter of John Telford and Elizabeth Robinson Telford, who
were both early Utah Pioneers.
Thompson, William (1836) - 1845, mother
died when he was 9. 1851 pioneer Henry Walton Company. Settled in Bountiful.
1860 helped settle Richmond at age of 24. Boasted he was one of the best
wrestlers around. Swam the Missouri at a point that was a mile wide. Had new
Levis catch in thresher; realizing the danger, he braced himself with enough
strength that his Levis were torn off him and were shredded in the thresher.
Thompson, William G (1806) - Immigrated to
Canada in 1833. Joined the church. Missouri. Illinois. Crossed the plains in
1851. Bountiful. Attended School of the Prophets in SLC.
Wiser, John McCormick (1826) - Father died
when he was 8, mother when he was 13. In 1849 his wife died in childbirth,
along with his child so he became a "Miner 49er". He wintered in Salt Lake,
joined the church and married Martha McKenny Frost. They lived in Cottonwood,
Draper, and Alpine (Mountainville). Miracle of wild onions and sugar lumps.
Walked to Draper to get grain. His name is carved in a log in Fort Richmond.
Helped bring in the handcart companies in 1856. In 1872 helped found Lewiston.
Wiser, Samuel Frost (1862) - A native born
pioneer in Richmond, Cache County, Utah just a little over two years after the
first settlers located there. He was probably born in the Richmond Old Fort,
as it wasn't abandoned until 1864.
Wool, Elizabeth (1810) - Widowed at 30.
Joined the church in England. Utah pioneer of 1853. Walked all the way across
the plains. Widowed again in 1864.