Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868

Knight, Sally

Birth Date: 1 Dec. 1836
Death Date: 1 Oct. 1916
Gender: Female
Age: 14 at time of crossing
Company: Edward Hunter Company (1850)

Departure: 29 June 1850
Arrival: 13 October 1850

Company Information:
261 individuals and 67 wagons were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Kanesville, Iowa (present day Council Bluffs). This company was organized at 12-mile creek near the Missouri River. It was the first Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company.

Family that traveled with her:

Knight, Hyrum Helaman (3)brother
Knight, James Philander (12) brother
Knight, Jesse (5)brother
Knight, Joseph (10)brother
Knight, Lydia (6) sister
Knight, Lydia Goldthwaite (38) mother
Knight, Newell (8)brother

Newel Knight-Father
Died: 11 Jan 1847 Place: (on Plains To Utah), Fort Fort Neobrara, Ponca Camp., Ne



Spouse: Zemira "Jim" PALMER
Marriage: 1 Dec 1851
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Ut


Father: Newel KNIGHT 1800-1847 died on the plains
Mother: Lydia GOLDTHWAITE



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Sally Knight was born into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the oldest child of Newel Knight and Lydia Goldthwaite. She was born Dec. 1, 1836, in Galletin, Missouri, but soon moved with her parents to Nauvoo, Illinois.

At 11, Sally left Nauvoo with her family to emigrate to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah. Along the way, her father died; she witnessed members of her company remove a box from her father's wagon to use as his coffin. He was buried on the plains in Nebraska. A few months later, Sally's mother gave birth to Sally's brother, Hyrum. 1850 acrostic by Zemira Palmer to Sally

Success to thee during life,
And may you be some good man's wife.
Long may you live with plenty blest
Like a fair queen enjoy the best
Young youth and age by friends caressed.

During one rainstorm on the journey, Sally brought clothing and quilts to her mother and Hyrum to help keep them dry, but to no avail; the rain kept coming and finally Sally's mother sent Sally to bed. However, Sally witnessed that "through the will of the Lord her mother and the baby did not suffer, though they were soaked through during the night."

Sally arrived in Salt Lake with her remaining family and settled with them in Provo, Utah. Records describe her at this time as "a young lady with auburn hair and soft brown eyes flecked with yellow." She enrolled in school and soon met Zemira Palmer, who was studying carpentry.

Zemira tried to write Sally an acrostic (verses which rhyme and the first letter of each line spells a name), but got Sally's name mixed up and accidentally wrote one to Martha, Sally's cousin. Sally found the note and was worried because she liked Zemira--but was too shy to inquire further. Zemira finally solved the mystery, much to the amusement of the school, and wrote an acrostic to Sally (given above).

On Sally's 15th birthday she married Zemira and settled with him in Provo, where their first six children were born. In 1856 Zemira entered plural marriage with Caroline Jacques, a French-Canadian, and brought her to Provo also. About 1861, the families moved to Heber City, Utah.

Sally stayed in Heber City for six or seven years but then moved again with Zemira to Nevada--first to Panaca and then to Eagle Valley. However, the Church soon called Zemira back to southern Utah to help organize and be in charge of the cotton industry, and he moved his families again. The families finally ended up in Orderville, Utah, where Zemira helped supervise a branch of the United Order.

Sally had two more children in Heber City, one in Panaca, one in Eagle Valley, one in Springdale, Utah, and one in Santa Clara, Utah, giving her a total of 12 children with Zemira. Zemira died in Orderville at 49 in 1880, leaving Sally and Caroline alone to care for their children.

Sally did many things to earn a living for her children. She could make attractive new clothing out of materials already used and could make plain food into palatable dishes. At one time she and her youngest son milked as many as 47 cows night and morning; many were wild and had to be tied. She died at 79 in Orderville Oct. 1, 1916.

-BY DARYL JAMES
FROM 'JAMES/HATCH ONE MINUTE HISTORIES' (1994)