Today as we travel down our modern freeways it is hard to imagine the hardships tht the pioneers endured as they traveled in their covered wagons. As we enjoy our fine homes now, do we stop and think that our ancestors carried all of their earthly possessions in a wagon. Perhaps we should take a moment and ponder on our great blessings and be grateful to our forbearers who helped settle the Provo area and made it “blossom as a rose”.
In Sarah Ann Roe Scott’s autobiography, she stated that “those that didn’t come to the mountains in those days do not know what it is like to travel over the plains in wagons drawn by oxen and pass only one house in 1000 miles and sometimes camp where there was no water for men or beast and no wood to make a fire. But we traveled on our journey trusting in our Heavenly Father to preserve us to the end of our journey.”
Previous to this part of the journey Sarah Ann and Andrew Hunter traveled over a thousand miles from Philadelphia to Kanesville, Iowa, which took over a month, probably traveling by train and water part of the way.
The route taken by Andrew, Sarah Ann, and Martha Ann to gather with the saints.
Sarah Ann states “April 3, 1850 bade farewell to the home of my birth (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and many dear connections and friends, and with my mother and brother and 133 Saints and the Presidency of Elders Jacob Gilson and Edson Whipple, all bound for Kanesville on the Missouri River (en route for Salt Lake City) where we all arrived May 14th in good health and spirits, rejoicing in our deliverance from Babylon.
“Circumstance compelled me to stay in Kanesville till the next spring. In that winter, January 1851 I was married to Elder Andrew Hunter Scott of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who came out in the same company that I came with. Started out for the Valley of the Great Salt Lake in the spring of 1851 in Captain Morris Phelps Company, as the Elk Horn river was very high and getting late in the season the captain concluded to head the horn which was a tedious journey as only one company had started that way….
“Crossed the mountains into the Salt Lake Valley on my nineteenth birthday, September 26, 1851. Stopped n Salt Lake City that winter, lived in our wagon till the latter part of November.” Sarah Ann does not mention the fact that she was expecting her first child, which must have made the journey much harder. Her son, Franklin, was born 1 December in the 9th Ward.
The only thing Andrew Hunter Scott wrote about the journey was recorded in his journal: “Ready to leave in the Spring of 1850…..took my two sons, George and Hiram and left (Vincentown, New Jersey) for Philadelphia. There I made preparations and in three or four weeks (I think it was April 3rd 1850). I set sail in company with Elder J. Gilson and E. Whipple and 133 Saints from Philadelphia all bound for Kanesville on the Missouri River (en route for the Salt Lake Valley), where we all arrived May 14th in good health and spirits. Rejoicing in our deliverance from Babylon or nearby—at this place the company separated, some fitting up for the valley to cross the plains, others purchasing farms to remain in Kanesville for the want of means to gather to the valleys.
“By this time my means was so far reduced that I was forced to stop in Kanesville until I could regroup a little. I bought a farm of woods with house and other improvements of Mr. Solon Foster for 75 dollars. Farms were cheap here at that time.
“I then purchased one yoke of young cattle 3 years old and a new wagon. I got in Pittsburg, PA, on my way to this place and many other farming utensils—and went to farming upon my new farm. I soon found myself quite handy for I had been raised a farmer.” Andrew ends his journal here and does not resume writing until 11 July 1855, so he did not record his experiences while crossing the plains.
Coincidentally, Martha Ann Norton crossed the plains at the same time as Andrew and his wife Sarah Ann. Hollis Scott in his history of Martha Ann, recently published in the book Sarah Ann’s Legacy Letters, stated that Martha Ann’s parents joined the LDS Church in 1840 in Shelby County, Tennessee and later the family moved to Tippah County, Mississippi, in order to be with other members of the Church. In 1846 they moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. Because of all of the violence and problems in Nauvoo the family moved to Lee County, Iowa. It was here that Martha’s mother, Dorothy, died in childbirth in 1846. The baby died shortly afterwards. Then John Warren Norton, Martha’s father, moved his family to Mt. Pisgah, Iowa. There he married a young widow, Martha Ann Covington. Three children were born to them, but only one grew to maturity. At Mt. Pisgah John Warren arranged for the children of his first wife, William David, Jacob Wesley, Caroline Chloe, Isaac, John Alfred, and Martha Ann, to live with other families. They crossed the plains with the John Brown wagon train. Martha Ann was ten years old and turned eleven on the day they arrived in the Valley.
The Morris Phelps Company and the John Brown Company and the John Brown Company crossed paths several times during the journey. Since neither Andrew, Sarah Ann, or Martha Ann kept a journal telling of personal travels, we have to rely on others who journeyed in the same company to provide more information as to what it was like to cross the plains.
In the Daughters of Utah Pioneers book An Enduring Legacy, Volume 10, pages 193-240, Jean Rio Griffiths Baker gives quite a detailed account of the journey in her journal. She was of French ancestry and lived in England, married but widowed when her husband died. She left England in 1851 with her six sons and daughter and a daughter-in-law, arriving at New Orleans in March, 1851. From there she traveled to Kanesville and joined the John Brown Company, of which the Nortons were members. Excerpts that pertain to our ancestors are printed below:
July2, 1851. Arrived at Kanesville. Quite a pretty town and the surrounding scenery very beautiful…
July 5, 1851. We stayed two days in Kanesville where I purchased some more provisions. Met with some pleasant people and this morning recommenced our journey; crossed over the Missouri bottom, four miles wide, the whole distance under water caused by the late heavy rains. Most of the distance the water was running over the axles of the wagons; however, we came out on high ground in the midst of the wood, were ferried over in safety and came up to the main camp at twelve p.m.
July 6, 1851. Mr. John Brown was appointed captain of the whole. We mustered forty-two wagons, with four other of the brethren to take charge of ten wagons each, subject to the orders of Mr. Brown.
July 7, 1851. Came to the Elkhorn and encamped…We are now in the country of the Omahas.
July 8, 1851. Ferried over the Elkhorn in safety…Encamped on the bottom which, I am told, was under water two weeks ago, making the river four miles in width.
July 9, 1851. Crossed Elkhorn bottom; very hard days’ travel; plenty of chains broken. Encamped by the side of the Platte River where we found an Indian grave…
July 16-17, 1851. Very hard traveling, with deep ravines to cross and a very bad swamp, then a wide creek with a very steep hill to finish with. Encamped on the high ground; violent thunderstorm with rain during nearly the whole night…
July 22, 1851. Bad sandy road. We saw a number of frogs, hares, doves and the skull of an elk with a message written on it with pencil, informing us that the Indians were on the lookout for opportunities to steal the cattle from the passing emigrants.
July 24, 1851. The hottest day we have had; crossed fourteen miles of prairie, then came to the side of a wood when we were met by a hot wind. One of my finest oxen fell down and died in a few minutes…
July 29, 1851. Met three wagons, one of them from Salt Lake…They reported that three companies of fifties are eight days ahead of us and that we are still ahead of Elder Pratt’s company, which left Kanesville two weeks before we did, and in consequence of the high water, went around the Elkhorn instead of fording it, making the journey 150 miles longer…Orson Hyde, who went on alone, they tell us has overtaken those ahead of us, but had been previously stopped by Indians and robbed of nearly everything he had.
July 30, 1851. Much bothered by buffalo, which are very numerous. Stragglers are apt to run in among our cattle, terrifying them very much, and it has been all the horsemen can do to prevent their doing mischief when we are encamping for the night. We saw another company of 115 wagons about a mile before us; they had endeavored to head the [Elk]Horn, but found it impracticable, so crossed higher up than we did. They have come 460 miles, have had a very trying journey and have had their cattle stampeded by Indians and lost sixteen head of them. Sister Kingsby, who was among them, was run over and killed. They are under Elder Phelps.
August 2, 1851. Passed Elder Phelps’ company and came to a small creek in safety, making one hundred miles since Monday morning…the country wild and romantic…
August 6, 1851. Met a company of returning Californians. They had passed through Salt Lake City where the people were just finishing their harvesting, which had been abundant…
August 9, 1851. Phelps’ company overtook us, all well. We afterwards passed them. Saw Chimney Rock. I clambered to the top of a bluff in order to get a view of the country. The scenery grand; we encamped early…
August 15, 1851. Indians with us all day; very fine looking fellows and very gaily attired. The dresses of the women, some of them, nearly covered with bead work. They came to camp with us and stayed till dusk.
August 16, 1851. Some cattle strayed during the night and were not found till noon. I purchased four fine hams at the trading post, also a yoke of oxen for which I paid sixty-five dollars…
August 18, 1851. A very hard road all day; crossed some mountains but the view from the top no pen can describe. We managed to get twenty miles but it was hard work; did not get to camp until eleven o’clock…Loads of berries and currants.
August 21, 1851. Horrible roads. Crossed the Platte twice; encamped along with the Phelps company by the riverside…
August 28, 1851. Captain Brown passed the word for all wagons to keep as close as possible as there were Indians in the vicinity. On looking forward I saw a little army of them about a mile distant, coming down the side of the mountain. Our men at once loaded their guns so as to be in readiness in case of an attack, but on our approaching the Indians, they opened their ranks and we passed along without any trouble. The government agent was with them in a buggy, and sitting between his knees was the daughter of the chief, a pretty little creature of about three years old who seemed to be quite pleased at our appearance. The agent told us that they were some of the Shoshones and that three thousand more encamped on the banks of the Sweetwater twenty miles from us; that those present were ninety of the principal warriors, with their families, going to a great council of various tribes to endeavor to settle their differences and bury the tomahawk. They made a grand appearance, all on horseback and very gaily dressed, some with lances, others with guns or bows and arrow, also a number of ponies carrying their tents. The men passed on one side of us, the women and children on the other, but all of them well mounted. Their clothing was beautifully trimmed with small beads. Altogether it was quite an imposing procession. After leaving them, our road was among mountains till we came to camp.
August 29, 1851. We are now among the Rocky Mountains…The scenery is grand and terrible. I have walked under overhanging rocks which seemed only to need the pressure of a finger to send them down headlong; many of them resemble the ruins of old castles and it needs but a little stretch of the imagination to fancy yourself in the deserted hall of a palace or temple. There seems to be much metal among the rocks. I picked up some specimens which I am told are silver and iron ore; also some lumps of coal which burn brightly. Our road is so steep that it seems like we are almost going down a staircase…
September 8, 1851. Met the mail from Salt Lake. With it was Dr. Bernhisel, the Utah delegate. All the news he brought was of a cheering kind. Traveled on till noon and halted for the rest of the day on some very good grass; very pretty scenery.
September 10, 1851. Remained in camp all day…One of Brother Norton’s daughters had her leg broken by a kick from a cow while milking. Her father set the bone and she seems to be doing well, no inflammation having appeared…Two other men overtook us today, having six mules; they are from Laramie and tell us that there are a thousand lodges round about the Fort and many more expected. They seem to be apprehensive that there is trouble brewing, also that two Shoshones had been killed by a party of Cheyennes, that the Shoshones had in return slaughtered twenty-seven out of thirty Cheyennes they had fallen in with on their way to the great council of the tribes. Poor prospect, this, of peace among them, as those thirty were actually delegates from their own people. The atmosphere is much warmer since we crossed the mountain ridge.
September 11, 1851. Pretty good traveling all day except the scarcity of grass. Encamped on Pacific Creek. The wolves very troublesome all night with their howling, which was accompanied by the barking of all the dogs in camp…
September 14, 1851. Sunday. Lovely morning!…Three wagons from Salt Lake came up to us; they had brought out provisions, but to my chagrin had sold all they had to the companies ahead of us, and were then going to meet those in the read in order to see if they needed any assistance. They also told us that there were some wagons laden with flour to meet us, so we hope to see them in a day or two…
September 15, 1851. ….We encamped in a grove of timber on the banks of this beautiful stream, which seemed like paradise after the long stretch of desert country through which we have been traveling for the last four weeks. While we were eating supper, a stranger visited us. He told us he was a servant at a trading post two miles off and come to inquire if we wanted any cattle or provisions…purchased us some bacon, which we found of very good quality. The trader told them that he had lived among the Indians fifteen years and had not visited the States for ten years. His habitation was surrounded by the Indian huts belonging to the Snakes, who had among them four of the Utah squaws who had been taken prisoners when children and adopted into the tribe. Each of the white men (four in number) had an Indian wife and each their own habitation, several hundred head of cattle and 150 horses and seemed to be very happy in their wilderness way of life.
September 16, 1851. This morning three of the Indian women paid us a visit, remaining with us until we started; we came almost at once on a sandy, barren road which extended for fifteen miles; all streams were dry and we traveled along the bed of one for some distance, the banks of which were very high and steep…It was dusk before we arrived at a camping ground, and both men and cattle were much fatigued.
September 19, 1851. Arrived at Ft. Bridger and to my great joy I was able to purchase forty pounds of very fine fresh beef…I got three pounds of potatoes, for which I paid fifty cents…
September 20-21, 1851. Very romantic scenery all day, mostly ascending until we arrived at the rim of the Great Basin, where we encamped, the feed being very good…Obliged to travel for want of water, the scenery is sublime, our road being between ad around high mountains. We passed over one so long and steep as to make it very hard on the oxen. We had ten yoke to each wagon. On descending we came to the Bear River…
September 25, 1851. The country for the last three days had been beyond description for wilderness and beauty; we are indeed among the everlasting hills.
September 26, 1851. We had this day a view of Salt Lake Valley from the summit of a mountain 7,245 feet above the level of the sea. Here we were met by several men and teams ready to assist those who needed help…When I arrived at the base of the mountains, I turned to look at the coming wagons and was actually terrified to see them rushing down, though both wheels were locked, but no accident occurred and we are now at the entrance of a narrow gorge between rocks measuring eight hundred feet high, with a serpentine stream running through it, which we shall had to cross nineteen times.
September 28, 1851. Of all the splendid scenery and awful roads that have ever been since creation. I think this day’s journey has beaten them all. We had encamped last night at the foot of a mountain which we had to ascend this morning. This was hard enough on our poor worn-out animals, but the road after was completely covered with stones, stumps of trees, with her and there mud holes in which our poor oxen sank to the knees…One of my own teams was forced down a decline with such rapidity that one of the oxen fell into the stream and was drowned before it could be extricated. This makes six oxen I have lost on the journey…The mountains on each side of us seem to be solid rock, but in the crevices of their sides trees are growing in abundance and the tops covered with groves of splendid fir trees. In some places large pieces of rock have been detached, and have rolled down the mountainside, many of them as large as a small house…The grandeur of the scenery, to my mind, takes away all fear, and while standing in admiration of the view…I seemed to forget all the hardships of our long journey!…We picked our way as well as we could and at about sunset we emerged from the canyon and caught a faint view of our destined home…Thank God, however, it is over now and they tell us that five miles tomorrow will bring us to Salt Lake City and that after crossing the hill at whose base we are now resting, we shall have a road as smooth as a bowling green.
September 29, 1851. Arose this morning with a thankful heart that our travels were nearly finished…I ascended the hill before us and had my first view of the City, which is laid out in squares or blocks, as they call them here, each containing ten acres and divided into eight lots, each lot having one house. I stood and looked; I can hardly analyze my feelings, but think my prevailing ones were joy and gratitude for the protecting care over me and mine during our long and perilous journey.
Perhaps Andrew, Sarah Ann and Martha Ann experienced some of the same trials that happened to the author of this journal. But even through all the hardships there were things of beauty to behold along their long journey.
After their stay in Salt Lake for the first winter in the valley, Andrew, Sarah Ann, her mother Abby Jane, George, Hiram and baby Franklin settled in Provo in March of 1852.
Martha Ann was hired out to Morris Phelps to help his wives and children in Mountainville, whose name was later changed to Alpine.
In church records it has been estimated that about five thousand immigrants crossed the plains and mountains from the Missouri River to Great Salt Lake City in 1851. The population of the Utah territory was around 30,000 that year.
How grateful we are to be sons and daughters of these brave Utah pioneers who had a part in this historical event.
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