The Laughlin Family

The Laughlin Family of Ireland and Virginia


"Family legend says that the Duncans, Sharps, Laughlins, Porterfields, and others all came together to America from Belfast, Ireland. If so, they probably came at the urging of Thomas Sharp's brother-in-law, Thomas King, who came much earlier. This was the pattern for later generations. One or two families would go first, followed by the rest of the clan over later generations."
Putative Ancestry of John Laughlin
http://lawlib.samford.edu/laughlin/genealogy/maclachlan/maclachlan.html



Some of the excerpts from biographies which I have included in this blog post are a little hard to follow without a family tree to look at because of the Irish naming patterns that repeat the names generation to generation, so I am including our decendancy at both the top and the bottom.  For a fuller family pedigree, see my Ancestry.com tree.  I'm including more than you may want to read because they give such a wonderful picture of the people and the times.  Family histories such as these are notoriously unreliable as to names, dates, and places, but they do give a starting point to begin looking for documentation in putting together a reliable family record..

How We Are Related:

John Luke Laughlin 1710-1783

John Luke Laughlin 1736-1812

Jane Laughlin McGaughey 1764-1847

Sarah McGaughey Ewing 1800-1857

Rebecca Ewing Dulaney 1820-1894

Elizabeth Buenvista Dulaney Brewer 1848-1935

Holland Nathaniel Brewer 1871-1950

Ina Beatrice Brewer Johnson 1900-1978

Marion Allan Johnson Speakman 1923-1998

The first of the Laughlins to come to America was the family of John Luke Laughlin who was born in County Down, Ireland in 1710 and died 1783 in Washington County, Virginia.

From the diary of John Laughlin:
My great grandfather John Laughlin, of the date of whose death I have no knowledge, is represented by Mr. Benjamin Sharp in his cor-respondence, who knew him well, and by my father and grandfather-all of the same name-as having been a most exemplary man. He was a native of, and came from the County Downe, Ireland. My grandfather, John, as I have him repeat often, was sixteen years old when they arrived in the United States, then colonies. My grandfather, as his father was before him, was a man of remarkable piety, benevolence, and active cheerfulness. They were both of the branch of the Presbyterian Church denominated Seceders. In the latter years of my grandfather's life, he contributed himself nearly the entire support of the Rev. Mr. Harper, a clergyman of his own sect-but his charity, as was that of his father, was universal for all sincere christians. I have a full recollection of the person and character of my excellent grandfather. Up to extreme old age, he had all the cheerfulness and vivacity of a boy. My father is of the same temperament.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=122662722

Part of the extensive writings of Samuel Hervey Laughlin are quoted below.
Samuel is my 1st cousin 6x's removed.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~varussel/families/samuelherveylaughlindiary.html

A Diary of Public Events and Notices of My Life and Family and Of My Private Transactions including Studies, Travels, Readings Correspondence, Business Anecdotes, Miscellaneous Memoranda of Men, Literature, Etc From January 1st, 1845 to August, 1845 and Sketch of my Life from Infancy by Samuel Hervey Laughlin
This diary was transcribed by Anabel Easley Tidwell, a direct descendant of Samuel Hervey Laughlin, and her daughter-in-law, Janet Malone Tidwell. It is their hope that in reading these pages their children and grandchildren, and any other interested parties, will have a greater understanding and appreciation for the life and times of this illustrious gentleman.

A Diary, Etc. for the year 1845-

These reminiscences, hastily and promiscuously inserted here, before I commence my brief journal of passing events, I have deemed it proper to enlarge by the following miscellaneous souvenirs of the same kind, mostly in relation to my own past life, and my ancestors and family, in the hope that they may hereafter not be wholly uninteresting to such of my children as may not remember, or who may, perhaps, never see my memoranda formerly made, in a less permanent diary, which has a printed title page, with names of months, days, etc. I therefore think proper here to add the following memoranda in regard to my ancestors and myself.

From my grandfathers, John Laughlin, and John Duncan(who sometimes spelled his name properly, Dunkin, being a Scottsman by descent) and from my father, my mother in her lifetime, and from my Great Uncle Benjamin Sharp, of Warren Co., Missouri, I have learned the following particulars concerning my forefathers.

John Laughlin, my great grandfather, came from Ireland, with his family, consisting of three sons, John, James, and Alexander, James being the eldest, and Alexander the youngest, and three daughters, Jane, Elizabeth and Margaret, and on arriving in the then Colonies, at Philadelphia, about the year 1740, removed first to Chester County and then to the vicinity of where Harrisburg now stands in Pennsylvania, now Dauphin County I believe. About the year 1760, as Benjamin Sharp, my great uncle believes, (see his letter to me in my books of letters of 4 January, 1845, written from Warren County, Missouri) and about the year 1764, as my father remembers from family tradition, my great grandfather and his family, and many of his connections, intermarriages with the Sharps, Duncan's, etc. having been formed, removed from Pennsylvania to Virginia. My grandfather John Laughlin had married Mary Price in Pennsylvania, removed to what is now Bote Tounte County, near the place where the town of Fincastle stands previous to the year 1766, for in that year his second son, John who is my father, was born at that place.

They must have found pristine wilderness, because Fincastle, not founded until 1772, was something of the last outpost before the Western frontier, serving as a supply station for settlers heading West. From its inception until the Revolutionary war, Fincastle oversaw a massive governmental district that stretched to the Mississippi River and included parts of modern-day Wisconsin. Town lore says that folks who lived more than 500 miles away were excused from jury duty. Fincastle's courthouse was designed by Thomas Jefferson and today still houses county government functions.

Mary Polly Price Laughlin

Birth:  1745 Death:  1810 This information comes from a letter sent Sept. 1893 by Adelaide Berry Duncan to her grandchildren. A gal named Polly Price, before she was married to that weaver, Luke Laughlin. When she was a little girl, this Polly rode a fine young mare that was a great favorite in the family some miles to a neighbor's, and as she was coming home, a bull was roaming in the woods and took after her. She ran the mare and got home safe and she wanted to keep the mare put up until the bull left, but no, her husband would turn her out, saying the mare could keep out of the bull's way; but the next day they found the mare dead, gored to death by the bull. I tell this so his great grandsons may know to heed their wives.

All the others, on removing, settled near the same place, or went on farther west and settled in what is now Russell County. My grandfather and great grandfather afterwards also removed to what is now Russell County and before the commencement of the Revolutionary war two or three years, to what is now Washington County, Virginia near Abingdon. There my great grandfather died before I was born. My grandfather, John, finally settled on the head of a creek under the Knobs, as a chain of mountains are called, called I believe, Sharp's Creek. He lived there until his death about 1813 or latter part of 1812.

Washington County, Virginia

My father, John Laughlin, was born on November 4th, 1766.

My mother, Sarah Duncan, was born on Sept. 3rd. 1773 in what is now Russell County, Virginia.

My great grandfather's son, John, married Mary Price, as has been stated, and had a numerous family of children. His final residence, about nine miles southwest of Abingdon, the farm having been inherited by his youngest son, Alexander now (1845) being a citizen of Coles Co. Illinois, is now, with the old farm of 7 or 8 hundred acres the property of John Thomas of Sullivan Co. Tennessee; and on the final adjustment of the boundary lines, by Mr. Taylor and other commissioners on the part of the States of Tennessee and Virginia, was ascertained to lie in the former state. In the time of the excise taxes of Washington's and Adams' administrations, it was claimed by both states, and lay in a strip of country a few miles between different lines, run by different boards of commissioners and neither state by law having exclusive jurisdiction, and even the Acts of Congress being enforced in neither between these lines because of some defect, the whole country, and every farm where water could be procured, was the site of a distillery. The repeal of the excise laws put an end to this state of things.

*For an account of the hardships of the first settlers on Holston and Clinch, and where Abingdon now stands, see Benj. Sharp's letter of June 15th 1842, in 1 Vol. Williams ' American Pioneers, published at Cincinnati, page 333.

The sons of my grandfather were Thomas, who died in June 1844 in Whitley Co. Kentucky at an advanced age, and married my mother's elder sister, Elizabeth Duncan who is yet living. They reared a numerous family of children. Thomas, their eldest son, is a citizen of Philadelphia, Monroe County East Tennessee, who has a numerous family of sons and daughters-one of whom, his son, Marshall Ney, a graduate of East Tennessee University is now (March 1845) a student of law at my house and in my office at Hickory Hill, Warren Co. Tennessee. My uncle's second son, John Sharp, is an old batchelor of my age, and lives with his mother in Kentucky. He was a member of the Kentucky Assembly in 1823, in Old and New Court times. His other sons, Alexander, Joseph etc. live in Missouri. His eldest daughter married Andrew Craig of Knox Co. Ky. about 1808 or 1809, and is now dead. His second daughter, Jane, married Isaac King, and lives in Whitley Co., Kentucky. His daughter, Eliza, and other children, have emigrated and settled in the west after marriage, but where, I do not know.

My Uncle Thomas fought gallantly in the Revolution at Kings Mountain, and commanded a Battalion in Col. Micah Taul's Regiment of Kentucky volunteers at the Battle of the Thames in the late war.

Alexander, the third son of my grandfather, married Lavinia King, daughter of the late venerable William King of Sullivan Co., Tenn., and with a numerous family, lives in Illinois. Many letters from him will be found in my bound books of letters from friends.

My grand uncles, James and Alexander, died, the former about 1811 in Washington Co. Virginia, at the place at the mouth of Spring Creek where Jonathan King, Esq. now lives. His children married and removed West. His two sons, James and Alexander, died in Rutherford Co. Tenn. many years ago. The latter, Alexander, died in Sullivan Co. Tenn. near Paperville, about the year 1816. Of my grandfather's sisters, Jane, Elizabeth and Margaret, Jane married Richard Price of Russell, Va. (Note by Michael A. Dye: I believe this to actually be Thomas Price, brother of Richard Price. Richard Price is known to have married Priscilla Crabtree and names her in his will which can be viewed here. Thomas Price has been reported to have been married to Jane Laughlin and names his wife as Jane in his will which can be viewed here.); Margaret married Samuel Vance, a remarkable man who survived her some years, after rearing a numerous family, and died about the year 1834, aged about 90 years, near Abingdon, Virginia. His sons, Robert, Samuel and Andrew were merchants of Clarksville, Tennessee, now all dead. James, one of his sons, lives near Abingdon. John another, lives near Memphis, Tennessee.

Elizabeth, my grandfathers’ sister married John Sharp of Sullivan, Co. Tennessee. They were married early after or about the time of the removals of the families from Pennsylvania. He was a soldier of the Revolution, fought at Kings Mountain, and was with my grandfather, John Duncan (properly Dunkin), a member of the Convention of North Carolina for ratifying the Constitution of the United States in 1788. The place where they then lived, was at that day, believed to be in what is now, and which then included all East Tennessee, Washington Co. Tennessee, then North Carolina. By an honorable life of frugality and industry as a farmer, he made a large fortune. His wife, who died before him, was deranged for some years before her death. He had a number of daughters-Sally, married to Thomas McChesney of Washington, Va. now both dead; Ann, married to Dreron Longacre of Sullivan Co., Tenn., both alive and surrounded by a numerous family of married and prosperous children; Margaret, married to the late Col. George W. Craig of Knox Co. Ky.; Marianne, married to Thomas McConnel of Washington Co. Va. now dead though her husband survives and is married again; Clarrissa, married to Mr. Cowan, of Sullivan Co. Tenn, who is, I believe also dead. He had no sons.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

One of my father's sisters, Hannah, the youngest, married Wm. Easley, a worthy man, who died soon after the late war, in Whitley Co. Ky., leaving his widow, still living, and a number of children. His son, James Hervey Easley, was a member of the Kentucky legislature (of the H. of R.) from Whitley in 1855-45 (see letters from him in 1844-5 in my bound collections).

My father's sister, Jane, I think, married Maj. Samuel McGaughey, of North Alabama. A lame son of his named William visited me several times while I lived in Rutherford, Tenn. His son, Maj. McGaughey, lives in Greene Co. Tenn. and has often represented that county in the Assembly. In 1832-3, I drew up for him, which he introduced and had passed, perhaps it was 1831, strong resolutions against the United States Bank, and approving General Jackson's policy.  

(Our Ancestor)

My father's sister, Sally, married a man named Robert Boyd, also of Blount Co. Tenn. She died early, perhaps childless, and I have never hear of what became of Boyd. I can just remember to have seen him at my grandfather's when I was an infant.

Martha, another sister of my father, married Maj. George Singleton, who removed at an early time from Sullivan Co. Tenn. to Wayne Co. Ky. He lived there many years, much esteemed, and represented the District in which Wayne County was included, one term of four years in the State Senate, at, or before the close of which, about the year 1809 or 1810, he removed to Louisiana, Parish of Oppeloosas or Attakapos. He succeeded well there, on the Lafourche I think as a sugar planter, but he and his wife both died soon after the late war. He was a Philadelphian by birth, and inherited from an uncle, a batchelor of Blountville, Tennessee, who was all his days a merchant's clerk, a good property and a fine library of the best old English standard works. The uncle's name was John Williams. From this library, in those day a rare thing in Western Virginia, East Tennessee, or Kentucky south of Green River, he became a cultivated and well informed man. He left several sons, with whom I have no acquaintance. One named George, I think is still in Louisana. Another, Owen I believe to be his name, came back to Wayne, and possibly still lives there. He married a daughter of John Laughlin, a son of my father's uncle Alexander L. who married a Miss Newton in Virginia or East Tennessee and removed to Knox Co. Ky. first, and then to Wayne, and finally perhaps to Red River, Louisana.

In this tedious, desultory, and confused way, I have gone through "the books of generations" of many, but not half, the numeous kindred of my family; a matter which may, possibly, some day to some of my children, or to myself in old age, be of some interest in taking a retrospect of old things. There is a good deal more to be added, for I have not come home to my own immediate family yet- nor to some of the Kings, Porters, Berrys, McFerrins etc. who will yet be in some way noticed according to the best recollections I have.

Jane Laughlin and Alexander McGaughey married in 1784 in North Carolina, and both died before the 1850 Census.  More about the McGaugheys and their life in Alabama in an upcoming post.

Their daughter, Sarah married John Mose Ewing on the 12th of December 1816 in Blount County, North Carolina.

They are listed on the 1850 US Census of Itawamba County, Mississippi, with 3 sons: Henry, Moses, and Gilbert, their five older children having already left home.

Their second daughter, Rebecca, married Gilbert Dulaney in Itawamba County on the 13th of November 1838.  They lived in Arkansas and Texas before returning for good to Mississippi.

Rebecca Ewing Dulaney

Rebecca's daughter Elizabeth Buenvista Dulaney, who was born in Texas, married John Mead Lesir Brewer in Itawamba, Mississippi, on the 10th of October 1870, but within 5 or 6 years they uprooted their family and went to Texas, settling in Johnson County, where they are buried.

Other Resources:
Joel Hager on Rootsweb World Connect

How We Are Related:

John Luke Laughlin 1710-1783

John Luke Laughlin 1736-1812

Jane Laughlin McGaughey 1764-1847

Sarah McGaughey Ewing 1800-1857

Rebecca Ewing Dulaney 1820-1894

Elizabeth Buenvista Dulaney Brewer 1848-1935

Holland Nathaniel Brewer 1871-1950

Ina Beatrice Brewer Johnson 1900-1978

Marion Allan Johnson Speakman 1923-1998

Christian's Into "Trouble"

CHRISTIAN’S INTO “TROUBLE”
This week's offering is something a little more lighthearted.

Roger and I drove to Utah for Thanksgiving of 2001.  Mark and Wendy graciously hosted Thanksgiving dinner at their home.  Aaron and family were there, along with Anne and Chris, and B.J. Salters.  Roger and I arrived at Mark’s on Wednesday so we could help with the preparations and visit with the children.

I liked to play games with Christian, and the game he was the most interested in at this time was “Trouble.”  He thought it was great fun when he got to send one of my men home, and if I looked disappointed he would shrug his shoulders and say, “Well, that’s the way you play the game, Grandma.”

Christian, November 1999

He did not, however, think it was entertaining if I sent one of his men home, and he was not above bending the rules a little to even things out.  To make it seem like he had more men moving around the board, I suggested that he play two colors at once and pop the die and move the men as if he were two different people.  Christian thought that was a great idea and he popped and moved, and popped and moved again with great enjoyment.  He was green and blue.  I was yellow.  One of the red men was missing, so we avoided that color.

TROUBLE

Roger drove home the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but I stayed a few extra days and rode the bus home Tuesday evening.  Late Saturday afternoon I went to Mark’s to watch the three children while he and Wendy did some Christmas shopping.  I brought one of Anne’s maternity jumpers with me that needed to be hemmed shorter.  I wanted to finish it and leave it at Aaron’s where I was spending the night so that Anne could pick it up there in a few days when she was scheduled to babysit Aaron’s girls.  When Christian wanted to play trouble I agreed, but I tried to take a few stitches on the jumper each time he took his two turns.  He could see that my attention was not wholly on the game, so finally he said, “That’s OK, Grandma.  I can pop and move for you.”

So Christian happily popped and moved for three people while I finished hemming the jumper.  I lost, of course.

William Speakman 1816-1872 & Sarah Scarth Young Speakman 1832-1916 - Part III

William and Sarah Speakman - Part Three - Established in the Mountains

Much of the information here is taken from a history collected and organized by Gene Speakman.

After arriving in Salt Lake, William and Sarah were initially in the Salt Lake City 15th Ward.  They received their Endowments in the Endowment House on March 24th, 1854.

Also in the 15th Ward was Ann Hutchins of Whatford, Essex, England who had arrived with the Livingston and Kinkead Freight Train on August 15th,1855.

William was sealed to Sarah & Mary Newsham in Brigham Young's Office on October 12th,1856. William and Sarah were the parents of a daughter, Mary Jane, who was born May 14th 1856, but child to parent sealings were not performed in these years.  On the same day William also married and was sealed to Ann Hutchins.  The three were rebaptized on the 10th of March, 1857. This marriage and sealing to Ann Hutchins was later canceled and Ann Hutchins Speakman was remarried to Henry Holley in 1859.  The reasons are not known by the family.

William and Sarah's daughter Lavinia gave this history of their lives after they left Salt Lake City:

"Then they were called to Beaver to work in the factory (woolen mills).  For the next years ahead, they went between Fillmore and Beaver.  Going where they were called.

When Pa was called to Beaver first, the country round about was as a wilderness to him, and not much better when Ma went down.  It was before my sister Emeline was born.  Do you think you have a hard time?  Well, Ma went in a wagon, with a board across the box for a seat, and rode that way three weeks before the baby was born.  The roads then were rough and rocky.  It would be difficult to keep that board in place over good roads, but when the Speakmans were called they went.  Ma nearly lost her life, and that of her unborn child as well.  But the lives of both were saved.  Emeline grew to maturity and married.

Facilities were scarce and they could not keep the factory going.  So William and Sarah were at the ‘beck and call’ whenever needed.  It wrung their heart strings to leave little Marintha in her silent grave while they went again to Fillmore to find means to live on until they could go back to Beaver again.  For William was reliable and resourceful and the running of the factory was about as dependent on William as William was on it, maybe more so.  At one time he was called back to Salt Lake to work on the Tabernacle, then back again to Beaver and Fillmore.

The factory closed two years after that (Emeline’s birth) and we had to go back to Fillmore– I say we–I should not for I was not born then.  My oldest brother William was born in Fillmore in 1859."

Drucilla Skinner Speakman supplied this information:

Their (William and Sarah) third child William, Jr. was born in Fillmore on April 13th,1860.  He was still a small child not two years of age when President Young called William and others to go 30 miles west of Fillmore and start a community there which was called Deseret.  They lived in a tent. William began at once to clear land and plant his crops.  To enable them to use the water of the Sevier River for irrigation, the men built a dam across the river forming a small reservoir and they were able to...thus irrigate their crops.  The dam broke several times, wiping out their crops.  Now, again, they were faced with deprivation, their chief diet being being bread made from a coarse meal made by grinding wheat between two rocks, and they were able to shoot an abundance of wild ducks.

More from Lavinia:

"The story I will tell now, I have heard all my life, so it seems I can remember it.  The place was very new and the only things that were plentiful were Indians and courage.  The Indians were a smelly, shiftless tribe, and were always scaring the life out of the women and children.  There was a scarcity of everything and especially of that we wanted and should not have.  Oh! I mean coffee! The church leaders had not frowned down (on) coffee as earnestly as they do now and Ma craved coffee...craved it night and day.  But there was no coffee to be had on the whole flat.  So Pa walked to Fillmore to get some (35 miles).   

You see both of these people shared their every joy and sorrow.  Their anticipations and disappointments!  They sang in the choir together, had done since they landed in Utah in 1850. Aside from the bond furnished by the gospel, they had no one else in the whole wide world.  So William walked to Fillmore!   The roads were dusty and dry and rough.  The sage brush and rabbit brush were shoulder high and he kept the trail with difficulty.  In the tent house on the lonely Deseret flat Sarah with the little ones were alone.  The children slept and she was thankful they did!   But there was no sleep for her.  Four projects she attended to with earnestness.  First she tried to sleep for the sake of the unborn child.  Second she prayed for the dear one on the lonely road to Fillmore.  Third she cared for each whimpering child, lest it cry out in the stillness. Fourth she watched and listened for the tent flap to be thrown back and the frowzy head of the semi-civilized Pahvant Indian (to) poke through and demand, “white squaw give shetkup (food)”.  Every woman and child would run a mile to keep from meeting one of the tribe.  The next day William came back, not so tired as sad with disappointment.  For there was not a bit of coffee to be found in Fillmore.  But Ma said the craving was easier to bear after that.

All this time they were writing as often as they could to their families in England to try to interest them in the teachings of their Church.  They loved it so much, they were very anxious to have them understand it also.  But never did they convert any of their dear ones over there."

Lavinia continues:

"When my father built the house I do not know but he built the first brick house in Fillmore.  That was where I was born 16 May 1862."

Heart Throbs of the West

          A Brick Home. Probably the first brick house to be built in Fillmore belonged to William and Sarah Young Speakman. It was not a large house, since it had but two rooms, but it was considered one of the most beautiful houses in Fillmore at that time, and it is still standing one block west of main street.

          No one can imagine the hours of planning and work that these early settlers put into the building of a home. Today, with our lumber yards and handy tools, it requires only the necessary finance and in a few weeks a handsome house is at our disposal. William Speakman, who was first of all a farmer, had also to be carpenter, architect, brick-maker, and bricklayer. He had but a good axe and a saw with which to get his lumber, although some of the floor boards and window and door casings he was able to purchase at the saw mill in "Paradise" canyon.

          Sarah Young Speakman, his wife, went with him to select the colored clay which was to make the brick. She had a choice of gray, yellowish white, or gray-pink. They finally chose the latter, because it was nearer water, and William could mix the mud by the clay bed. The fine art of mixing, shaping, stacking, and finally baking the bricks was finally accomplished and they were hauled to the spot where the house was to be built. Another period of delay was necessary before the building could be done, however, because William had to go into the mountains east of town and cut sandstone rocks for the foundation. It took almost three months to build the house, as other work had to be kept going, but when finally the white chalk roof was on and the doors hung it looked beautiful. It was cozy inside. Sarah had not been idle, but had a new rag carpet to put on the floor in the big room, that was bedroom and living-room. The fireplace was in the north end, the one window in the east, and one door led into the kitchen, and another to the outside. There was plenty of room for two beds, a rocking chair, two straight chairs and a spinning wheel. A huge trunk served as clothes closet, dresser, and linen-press.

          The kitchen was a smaller room and had the luxury of two windows. The outside door was on the west. A big, hand-made cupboard was the chief piece of furniture in the kitchen, and Mrs. Speakman was very proud of it. The lower half was a flour bin (with a shelf inside to keep left-over food out of sight), and above that were two drawers, then two shelves, broad and deep: one for supplies and cooking utensils, the other for dishes. A neat calico curtain decorated the top part, and added a touch of color to the room. Sarah had braided several rugs to place about the floor, and these made the broad, clean boards very attractive. Although the table was clumsy and rough, it was strong, and for special days it was covered with a cotton spread of red-and-white checks, that made it look festive enough for the best of people.

          Tallow candles furnished the light, along with the blaze from the sagebrush fire. Conspicuous in the room was the brass kettle, in which they carried water from the creek a block away. The curtains were muslin, and for many years were the very special admiration of all callers who came to the little brick house. —Mrs. J. B. Davies.


Heart Throbs of the West"
Source Information:
Ancestry.com. Heart Throbs of the West [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1998. Original data: Kate Carter. Heart Throbs of the West. Vol. I-XII. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 1947.

Aunt Druce gave this explanation:

“The city of Beaver played an important, and sometimes colorful role in the early days of the Church.  As a crossroads between mines in the county, as well as the midway point between Salt Lake City and St. George, Beaver became something of a commercial center with a thriving co-op store and woolen mills in the latter 1800's.”  The woolen mills were the reason William returned to Beaver several times."

Lavinia remembers:

"My (Lavinia) first memories were in Beaver, where Pa was superintendent of the factory.  I must have been about five years old and Pa took me with him everywhere.  He called me ‘Jimmie’.  I thought I was a prime favorite of his.  Maybe it was because he had not been able to supply my mother with the coffee she had wanted so bad before I was born.   I do not know.  But I do know that they did not ever deprive me of coffee or anything else it was in their power to give me.  As I think of it now my heart warms with gratitude for such parents as William and Sarah were to their children. Our home was a very happy one.  Each one of us interested in the welfare of the others. We sang together, played and worked together and when sorrow came we grieved together also. But in those happy days memories grew and flourished and it seems I must have known my father very intimately and thoroughly, for his devotion has stayed with me all these years.  

I realize I was only eight years old when he was called home, at the age of 56 years (December 14th, 1872).  There were in the family then seven children.  Sarah was not yet forty years old.  So the prime of her life was to be used for her children in the battle ahead.  And I defy any one on earth to find a trace of anything but nobility in the way she met the test.  (Sarah & he had 8 children: Mary Jane, Emeline, William, Lavinia, John Young, Anne, Marintha who died in infancy & Sarah Melissa.)

If we had needed something to make us appreciate our church membership before this, we certainly found it in the way we were made to love them after Pa died.  Every one was so kind and thoughtful of us. The leader of the Seventies Quorum, Orange Warner was kindness itself.  The hardships we met were often lessened by him and his men.  They looked out for work for mother and the family, interested themselves in their welfare, and were always ready and anxious to give a lift whenever they could.

Mother was a dressmaker and  nurse, and she, with the help of her growing family and the goodwill of the people, worked for our living.  Mother was busy all the time and as we grew up we assumed our own responsibilities in the family.  William was only 14 years.  But he assumed the care of the family.  He would borrow a wagon and bring a load of wood to us and then get one for the owner of the wagon to pay for the use of it.  He managed in such a way that we had a cow to milk and though others called him Billy Speakman we always called him William, and loved him. One day William was hauling wood and was stung by a scorpion.  He was alone.  He took his pocket knife and slit the finger and then tied a tight knot below so the poison would not get up into his arm.  It bled freely, but was badly swollen when he got home.  But he had saved himself a lot of danger if not his life."

Sarah was a dressmaker and nurse and was kept busy all the time.  There was no doctor in Fillmore and she delivered (many) babies, besides caring for the sick and afflicted.  Most of her sewing was done at night after her children were put to bed, her only light a sagebrush fire in the fireplace or tallow candles.  Many beautiful dresses she made too, with ten to fifteen yards of material in them, all pleated, tucked, and ruffled by hand.

Her daughters recall a little one gallon brass kettle she bought with some of her hard earned money. It cost her six dollars and the girls used it to carry the wash water from the creek, a block away, just a gallon at a time.  They also recall that soap at that time cost one dollar a bar and tea was nine dollars a pound.

In 1875 Sarah married Andrew Jackson Clothier.  He was a carpenter by trade and found plenty of work, so better times came for Sarah.  They had one son, Ira Clothier and were married nearly 40 years before he preceded her in death.

The 1880 Census ,Fillmore, Millard, Utah :

Name	Age
Andrew J. Clothier	55
Sarah Clothier	47
Ira A. Clothier	3
William Speakman	20
Lavinia Speakman	18
John Y. Speakman	14
Annie Speakman	12
Sarah Melissa Speakman	8

Though Sarah could be remembered sitting on her porch smoking a pipe late in her life, her granddaughter, Eva Robinson McGhie wrote:

‘My memory of grandmother is a very pleasant one, of a very lovely, always clean, neat and stately lady, always so cheerful with voice low, words spoken distinctly and it was a joy to be in her home."

Another granddaughter, Florence Speakman Hobson recorded:

“ I remember hearing father tell about grandmother receiving word from England that she had inherited some money.  She told no one in the family about this until after a certain time had elapsed which caused it to revert back if not claimed.  She told her family she did not want any of their tainted money.  She would take me into the hills to help her gather herbs, such as wild grapes, blackberry leaves, squaw bush and others.  She would steep these and make a syrup and feed to the sick to make them well.  She also gathered catnip to make a tea for babies with the colic.  (Another) plant she would pound to a pulp and make plasters for sores and bruises.   At one time when Lyman was a baby he became very sick.  He would have bad crying spells and when he started crying, mother would send us running for father, and if he got real bad, father would sen us for grandmother.  He got to be nothing but skin and bone, and mother had to carry him on a pillow.  Every little while grandmother would feed him some of this syrup she had made and he got better.  We feel that it was her wisdom that saved his life.” 

Sarah's grandson Lyman Speakman said:

Lyman, Eugene, and Dan Speakman

“She told me that she visited many times with Brigham Young, and one of his visits he told the Fillmore people not to build below the bridge or they would lose their homes and livestock.   At one time the water did rise in the creek and flooded much good farm land leaving huge boulders, some as large as 10 ton, on the land.  

Father always saw that grandmother had what she needed, such as food...and what money she needed.  She was a proud woman, and hated to have to depend on anyone, but father was her mainstay.  She never called him Billy...   Her home .....besides being the first brick home in Fillmore was also the last dirt roof house in town.  This I learned in a history class in school. I was so ashamed I went home and cried and cried.  Not long after this father went down and shingled the house, under grandmother’s protests.  When wire doors and window screens came into being, father told grandmother he would get her some, but she said, ‘No, she didn’t want her nice fresh air sifted.’  However later she consented.”

Sarah died December 13th, 1916.

The Millard County Progress, Friday, 15 Dec 1916:

Another Pioneer Passes

In the death of Mrs. A. J. Clothier who died in Fillmore on Wednesday afternoon of this week, the poor and sick as well as the active workers in the church have lost a sincere friend and helper.

Mrs. Clothier was born in England on April 5th, 1832, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Young and was married to Wm. Speakman in England in 1850, coming to this country direct to Salt Lake City with him in 1851, they having embraced the Mormon faith before leaving England.

Mr. Speakman later died and she was married to Mr. A. J. Clothier of Fillmore, who has also preceded her to the Great Beyond. She was an ardent worker in the church and her smiling face will be missed by more than a score of the poor and sick ones to whom she administered while among us. The funeral will be held from the L.D.S. Chapel today at 2 P.M., where all her friends may view her remains for the last time.

Mrs. Clothier is survived by the following children who were all with her when the end came: Mrs. Lavinia Robison of Provo, Mrs. M. J. Morris of Beaver, Mrs. J. B. Davies, Mrs. S. E. Brunson, William Speakman, J. Y. Speakman and Ira D. Clothier, all of Fillmore.

Rogers, Sadie. East Millard Pioneers, Death Notices, As Published in the

Progress 1913-1937, p. 46

How we are related:

William & Sarah Speakman

William Speakman, Jr.

William Daniel Speakman

Daniel Vaughn Speakman

William Speakman 1816-1872 & Sarah Scarth Young Speakman 1832-1916 - Part II

William and Sarah Speakman - Part Two - Journey to Zion


A compilation of various histories fills out the story of William and Sarah's trek across the plains:

After weeks on a sailing vessel, William and Sarah landed in America and immediately made arrangements to join the Saints in the mid-west.  In New Orleans the emigrants boarded the steam packet `Illinois' (a 682­ ton side­wheeler), on which they continued the journey to St. Louis, Missouri, and thence (up the Missouri River) soon afterwards to Keokuk, IA.  (Millennial Star v.15 p 105, 282, 288, 329. Brit. Mission J 23 Jan 1853 p83)

       "At Montrose they met for the first time their Captain, Joseph W. Young. Before starting out he gave this advice, ‘Contend with no one­­, pray for those who are set over you and they will prove to be a blessing unto you.
       We had one wagon and one tent to each ten persons. Our rations were one pound of flour and a portion of bacon each day, but we were at liberty to provide extra if we could afford it." ("Treasures of Pioneer History" vol 3 p38, 979.2 H2ca,  History of Mary Lois Morris.)++

       We had with us Elders Harmon, Fosgreen, Kendall, Speakman, Clausen & many others who did all they could to help the saints in their different companies. (Near Keokuk, MO, in wagons, trying to find work but taken advantage of by non­members). 17 Apr 1853 (J Farmer diary (Msf 418 reel 11 item 3 v2 p 2.):

"Keokuk had been selected this year as the outfitting place for the Saints who crossed the plains. Here and in the vicinity, the emigrants in charge of Capt. Joseph W. Young remained upwards of a month making the necessary arrangements and purchases of animals, wagons, tents, etc. On May 20th the company consisting of 56 wagons, 224 oxen and 420 souls were  organized at Keokuk and at once proceeded on the march out upon the prairie and camped at New Boston, Lee Co., Iowa where they waited several days waiting for the delivery of cows.  New Boston was a village about ten miles north of Keokuk.

"Friday, May 27: A meeting was held at the corral at New Boston of the first organized company of the ‘Ten Pound’emigrating Saints, at which Joseph W. Young was sustained as the president of the company." Elder Parry and Elder Rostrum were captains of Fifty and Elder Pugh was chosen as clerk. It was decided that each wagon should be numbered according to its respective fifty and ten in plain painted characters ­­that on the march the teams should move in order according to their number.

"Sunday May 29: Capt Joseph Young left camp for Keokuk to attend a meeting there called by Elder Isaac C. Haight. A storm of thunder, hail and rain occurred in the afternoon.

"Wed June 1: Rain in torrents continued until midnight. The roads soon became almost impassable.

"June 2: The roads were very muddy and we had to double teams.

"June 3: A dreadful thunder storm which continued all day.
(Somewhere in this trip William was ordained a Seventy.)

"Friday, June 17. the company proceeded on the journey at 7 am passed through Oskaloosa and entered upon the 35 mile prairie for the Dutch town Pella.

"Sat. June 18; Passed through Pella and proceeded towards Mitchell. (Here) traveling about 20 miles per day. The cattle have abundance of good feed and water and were fast improving and working well. (Journal History, 10 Oct, 1853 pgs 5-10.)

There are many interesting stories connected with their trek:

"One afternoon when we were traveling in the vicinity of the Platte River, we saw at a distance two objects coming toward us. As they approached, we saw they were Indians, Pawnees , a very savage tribe who were at war at that time with the Sioux, another savage tribe. At sight of these Indians, the teamsters stopped their wagons and reached for their guns, while the women came to the wagons for protection. As the Indians came to a standstill they said ‘Pawnees shoot, Pawnees shoot.’ Then more Indians came dressed in their trappings and war­ paint, their numbers increasing every moment. Their was no more traveling that night. After the fires had been lighted the Pawnee
Chief came and patrolled our camp all night to protect us from his own band. He seemed so noble and grand. (There was a) spirit of calm and serenity that surrounded us.. And so the night passed and the morning dawned, and we were permitted to continue our journey unmolested and unharmed and filled with gratitude to our Heavenly Father for his merciful protection."
(Treasures of Pioneer History, v 3, p37.)

On the 8th and 9th of August, we killed two buffaloes, one of which came into view in a singular way. We camped by the foot of a high cliff. All of a sudden a buffalo came running down the bluff at full speed with a large wolf hanging to its tail. When the wolf and buffalo came near our camp, the wolf gave up the chase and retraced its steps back up the bluff, but the buffalo ran along by our cattle and the men of our camp pursued it and killed it. ("Our Pioneer Heritage", Vol. 10, John V Adams J. p126)

Many discouraging conditions came to test their faith, but they went on undaunted. They crossed the plains with ox teams, but Mr. Speakman became ill, thus Mrs. Speakman had to walk much of the way in order to make room for her husband in the wagon.

    Oct 7: Met by Pres Joseph Young with Brother Joseph A. Young son of Pres Brigham Young, coming to our assistance with 24 yoke of cattle.
    Oct 8: Passed through the canyon and commenced ascending the Big mountain.  Repaired much of the road.  Camped near the summit.
    Oct 9: Repaired the road and proceeded down the Big Mountain then we ascended and descended Little Mountain and camped in Emigration Canyon within 10 miles of the city.
    Oct 10: Arrived at the 7th and 8th crossing of Emigration Creek.  As these crossings were very bad they set about making a new road under the hill by which both crossings were obviated.  At 3 pm we ascended the hill on our right and to the joy of all we came in sight of the city where we arrived at 5 pm and camped on Union Square in peace and security.
    Oct 11:  “This morning the company was aroused by trumpet sound at 6 am to prepare for dismissing.  At 9 a meeting was called when Pres. Joseph W. Young spoke well to the Saints, enjoining upon them faithfulness, diligence, etc.  The Saints were also addressed by Pres. Brigham Young who spoke with power and a manifestation of the Holy Ghost, teaching the Saints that which was essential to their future destiny, also bidding them welcome to this delightful vale.  By request of the companies, Pres. Brigham young then broke up the organization, blessed the people in the name of the Lord Jesus and retired.” (JH Oct 10, 1853 pgs 10-27)

Entering Salt Lake Valley

"Before reaching the Great Salt Lake Valley we had another high mountain to cross called Big Mountain. We were anxious to get to it but dreaded the ascent. It was a fine day, October 10th when we reached it. We had previously arranged our attire as best we could after so long a journey in expectation of meeting our friends, as many of the Saints came to greet the companies as they arrived.

"Reunion of the Saints" - C.C.A. Christensen

"There was a great variety of trees growing on the sides of the mountain, the roads were hard, level and well trodden. As we descended into the canyon below the scenery was grand indeed.

"We had still one more mountain to cross called Little Mountain. Upon descending we began to feel more cheerful, upon meeting persons who had come out to meet their friends or relatives. (They were) neat, clean and fair appearance. We did not realize that as they looked fair and clean to us we looked correspondingly brown and grim to them."
(Treasures of Pioneer History, v 3, p37. "Our Pioneer Heritage", Vol. 10, John V Adams J. p126)

They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on October 10, 1853, and stayed in Salt Lake for five years. Their first child, Mary Jane, was born their in 1856.

To read more detailed accounts of the experiences of this emigration company go to the

"Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel" website and select the tab "View Company Sources"

https://history.lds.org/overlandtravels/companies/333/joseph-w-young-company-1853

Next:  Part Three - Established in the Mountains

William Speakman 1816-1872 & Sarah Scarth Young Speakman 1832-1916

William and Sarah Speakman - Part One - England to American

William Speakman

Note:  Several descendants of William and Sarah have written about their lives.  The main ideas are consistent, but the details sometimes vary.  I have sifted through, but have not included, everything I have found written.  The complete documents are readily available for those want to read more.  

It's easy to see how confusion can arise.  Consider these two birth records for towns that are 10 miles apart.         SAL

The database "England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975" shows that William Speakman was born on October 30th, 1816  (Findagrave.com shows birthplace as Blackburn, England; a child gave his birth date as October 4, 1815 in Preston) and was christened on the 22nd of December 1816 at Saint John in Preston, Lancashire, England.  His parents are listed as Jonathan Speakman and Mary.  Other records shows her name was Mary Wright.

William & Sarah's sealing record, thankfully, gives their birth information:

Endowment House Sealing Record

According to the 1841 Census, Jonathan was a weaver who married Mary Wright.   Jonathan's parents were of England but Mary's father was from Ireland, a land owner who left substantial inheritances to his children.

1841 England Census

This 1841 Census shows the Jonathan Speakman family with 5 children.  William's listed age is different than would be expected from his birth record, but is probably incorrect, as his next youngest sibling is listed as the same age.

Unsubstantiated family tradition says that William was a Protestant minister when he encountered the Mormon missionaries, but this may be conjecture.  According to church records William was baptized and confirmed on June 7, 1840 in the River Ribble by T. Walmsley.

William attended a General Conference in England 6 Oct 1840 with Elders Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, Willard Richards, Wilford Woodruff, & George A. Smith attending as officers of the Traveling High Council.  William was a ordained a Priest and soon received a Patriarchal Blessing.

Patriarchal Blessing of William Speakman

born 22 October 1816

Preston, England

A Patriarchal Blessing from

the hands of Peter Melling, the Patriarch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England Conference upon the head of William Speakman born in Preston on the 22nd day of October 1816 recieved (sic) his blessing at a meeting held in Preston for that purpose on the 23rd day of October 1840.  

          William I lay my hands upon thy head in the name of Jesus Christ and by the Authority of the holy Priesthood. I pronounce upon thee the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and inasmuch as thou has sought the Lord in thy youth and come down to the waters of Baptism and recieved (sic) a remission of thy sins I say unto thee thou art blest even with a remission of the same and also thy heart shall become large and thy knowledge increase and reach to Heaven for inasmuch as thou will be humble and faithful thou shall know the mysteries of Heaven and thy strength shall be according to thy day and in the perseverance of thy calling and in thy Labors thou will meet with obstacles and difficulties and thou shall also have great rejoicings and thy heart shall be made glad for the eyes of thy understanding shall be fully enlightened. Thou shall know the hope of thy calling and be blest in thy Labors and the Angel of the Lord shall go before thee and open thy way and inasmuch as thou will be faithful thou will be led by the Spirit of the Lord and be blest with Decernment (sic) yea and thou shall also in due time inasmuch as thou desires shall have a companion and also a posterity yea and thou shall have dreams and visions of God and also revelations and prophecies and inasmuch as thou will endure to the end in faithfulness to the Lord and to thy calling thou shall obtain a goodly inheritance even in the Land of Zion and be lifted upon high and be brought into his Kingdom.  These blessings I seal upon thy head with every other needful for thee in the name of Jesus Christ, amen & amen.

Patriarchal Blessings,  volume 8,  p.145          GS 392,687 index card.

William did much good missionary work, being one of the first English missionaries called to preach the gospel.  A letter he wrote from Greenock, Scotland, in February of 1841 was published in the Millennial Star.

William Speakman of Albert Street, a carder, married his first wife, Mary Newsham of Greenbank Terrace, a winder, on 18 August 1844.  Each were 27 years old, both unmarried to that date.  They were married by certificate in the parish church and by the rites of the established church.

There is an interesting record from the journal of Oliver Boardman Huntington, William's missionary companion, concerting Williams personal affairs.

Monday Jan. 4 (1847) Bro. Jacobs went to Accrington, and I stoped to meett Bro. Speakman to go to Bradford to a tea party to which we had been invited. ... In the evening, Elder Speakman came according to agreement, but his countinance was sack, and for why I could not tell at first. Elder Cottam and I went to lay hands on Sister Whitaker, who was ill of a fever, and she got better immediately and the next day she was about the house. In the evening, after I had returned, Bro. S_ began to open his mind a little and I found he was in trouble concerning his condition in relation to his family and ministry But soon the room was full of Saints, as the working hours were over and we had a very good season of conversation upon principle and things in general in the Church. After going to bed Bro. Speakman and I had a long talk upon his affairs. He had been in the Ministry for near 7 years in succession, and the two, last, he had been a husband and supported his wife and self, by the gospel, but now she was Pregnant and supporting herself ever since the Conference at Manchester, which took from him his means of support, the Presidency, and his wif was likely to kill her offspring if not herself by sadness, weeping and grief; and such sobs and cries, he said he never heard as when he left home or his wife. He had got so substanciated and engaged in the ministry that he did not know how to give it up; besideds that Bro. Hyde had, from hearing him talk, advised him to continue to Preach, but said he ""I do not know what to do. If Bro Jacobs had advised me, as I saw him comeing here, to go back, I should have done it."" Well, I said, ""I will council you and take all responsibility to myself; and now do you go back and sooth your wifes mind and lessen her cares and go to work, and let her be at peace in body and mind, you have been out a long time and the Lord does not require of you to go and leave your family in distress. I say in the name of the Lord return to your wife"". He said, ""I will,"" tomorow morning. After that we lay and talked upon the affairs pertaing to the work of the Gospel in that land, until near one Oclock. 

The missionaries from America made good use of William, calling him to act as presiding Elder over several branches in the Carlisle Conference.

British LDS History ~ A history of the Latter-day Saints in the United Kingdom

(webpage no longer available)

The Birth of the North Shields Branch
Posted by James Perry

         On December 12th, 1847, the Carlisle Conference was held at the Saints Meeting Room, 20 Nelson Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne.

          Within this conference, President William Speakman, who was serving as District President at that time. After the opening exercises and a beautiful oratory exhortation to care for the members of  the branches, a representation of the branches was called for.

          “Carlisle branch, represented by letter, 80 members, including 3 elders, 8 priests, 4 teachers,                  1 deacon. Standing good.
          Dalston branch, by letter, 16 members, including 1 elder, 1 priest, 2 baptized
                 since last conference. Standing good.
          Brampton branch, by letter, 26 members, including 1 elder, 2 priests. Standing good.
          Alston branch, by letter, 25 members, including 3 elders, 2 priests, 1 teacher, 1 deacon.                          President Speakman observed that this was a branch he never had any difficulty with when he visited them they were always at peace - in short he said they were a God blessed people.
          Newcastle branch, represented by Elder William Wanlass, 47 members including, 3 elders, 5 priests, 1 deacon, baptized 12 since last conference. Standing good.
          Sunderland branch represented by Elder William Knox, 38 members including, 2 elders, 1 priest, 1 teacher, 1 deacon; baptized 13 since last conference. Elder Knox here observed that he never knew the Sunderland branch in bad standing, but always good - they were a loving united people.
          Scattered members, 8. Total, 248 members, including officers.
          It was then moved by President Speakman and seconded by Elder Wanlass that the seven members lately baptized at North Shields be organized into a branch and added to the Carlisle Conference, and be called the North Shields branch. It was also agreed to Brother Robert Gillies belonging to the Newcastle branch, take the presidency of the North Shields Branch.
          Elder Wanlass rose and said he had represented the Saints at Throphill with the Newcastle branch as they had always been numbered with them, but he moved that they be organized into a separate branch called the Throphill branch, and added to the Carlisle Conference. Seconded by Elder Bainbridge and carried. Moved and seconded that George Robinson of Throphill be ordained Elder to preside over said branch and that John Robinson be ordained to the office of a priest for the same branch. Carried.

          The following motions were then unanimously agreed to, viz. that Father W Manghan be ordained to the office of an Elder for Alston branch; Cuthbert Charlton and Foster Hawkey be ordained priests and Robert Hawkey, teacher, for Sunderland branch, and that Thomas Greener be ordained teacher for Newcastle branch.”

Millenial Star, Volume 10; no. 4, February 15th 1848, pages 55-56

 Mary died 16 December 1848 and no record of children can be found.

After the death of his wife, William kept busy traveling about to oversee the various branches assigned to his leadership.  It was while William was acting as a missionary in New Castle that he met Sarah Scarth (or Scorth) Young.  He did a good job of teaching Sarah the Gospel, for when she encountered opposition at home and was told she must choose between her family and her religion, she chose the latter and was baptized in February, 1849. Her parents at the time requested that she leave their home, which she did, and she never saw them again, although in later years she corresponded with them

On the 25^th of July 1850, Sarah and William cast their lots and lives together and were married. They faced the shadowy future with no resources but their testimonies of the truth and their resolution to meet whatever was required to bolster it up.

Sarah Scarth Young Speakman

 On the 23^rd of January, 1853, Sarah and William sailed from Liverpool, England, on the ship “Golcondo” for America. There were 321 saints on board under the presidency of Elder Jacob Gates. Among other prominent Elders on board besides William, there were Claudius Spencer, A.M. Harmon, R. Rostron, and John Carmichael. These men also had been preachers and presidents of the conference for years, Elder Spencer and Elder Harmon being closely associated with William and his work.

They sailed out of the harbor on one of the most favorable days which had appeared for several months.

Golconda

 At this time William was 36 years of age and Sarah 21.

They were forty-four days on the water during which time a raging storm came up and tore off their 3 top masts. The gallant vessel was tossed about and it was feared they would all be lost. The ship's captain, Captain Kerr had much faith in the Mormons and said, “With the Mormons aboard we will not sink,” and they didn't. They were becalmed and drifted without sails for two weeks, but finally arrived at Balize, at the mouth of the Mississippi River. The health of the Saints during the voyage was generally good. There were four births, two marriages,, and two deaths on board, and on the March 20 Elder Spencer baptized a Swedish sailor Erik M. Casto, who accompanied the Saints to the Valley.  The conduct of Captain Kerr, and his friendliness to the saints, was a great satisfaction to all and, before departing the ship at Balize, a vote of thanks with three rousing cheers was tendered him.

 At Balize they waited twelve days for a steam tug to take them up the river to New Orleans. They arrived in New Orleans the 26^th of March where they boarded the steam packet “Illinois,” on which they continued their journey to St. Louis, and thence soon afterward to Keokuk, Iowa.

Next:  Part Two - Journey to Zion