Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while camped near Iowa City, present day Coralville, were exposed to the elements with scant provisions.
Emigrants from Europe, with few supplies, they had much to accomplish trying to ready their families for a westward journey of some thirteen hundred miles on foot.
In the weeks of preparation, with twenty people crowded into each tent, sickness multiplied and living conditions were difficult.
Archer Walters, a carpenter from England, was weary of the work it took to keep his family well, provide woodwork for the carts and also, the added burden of building coffins for those who could not carry on.
"On June 4 [1856], with a few boards, he fashioned his first for a child. Two days later he made another little one, and this was but the beginning." 1.
The first handcart company to depart was that led by Captain Edmund Lovell Ellsworth.
"L.D.S. Camp near Iowa City, June 22, 1856. It will give you much joy to learn that the handcart experiment is now being fairly and so far, most sucessfully tested. Captain Edmund Ellsworth left here on the 9th with 274 souls, accompanied by Elders Oakley and Butler as assistants." 2.
Sources:
1. Walters' diary, published serially in The Improvement Era (Salt Lake City), vol. XXXIX and XL.
2. Millennial Star, Aug. 2, 1856 (XVIII, p. 489).
"WE'LL MEET AGAIN"
A blanket wraps your tiny form,
As if it's presence can make you warm.
We cannot stop our freezing tears,
Nor think of future, empty years.
Nor even take the time to grieve,
For we must surely take our leave.
The handcarts slowly move along;
We, among the tattered throng.
We trudge along, behind the carts;
Choking sobs, with broken hearts.
Blinding sleet now numbs our pain;
Our only hope, "We'll meet again".
~~~~~~~~Shirleen C. Farley 2011
Emigrants from Europe, with few supplies, they had much to accomplish trying to ready their families for a westward journey of some thirteen hundred miles on foot.
In the weeks of preparation, with twenty people crowded into each tent, sickness multiplied and living conditions were difficult.
Archer Walters, a carpenter from England, was weary of the work it took to keep his family well, provide woodwork for the carts and also, the added burden of building coffins for those who could not carry on.
"On June 4 [1856], with a few boards, he fashioned his first for a child. Two days later he made another little one, and this was but the beginning." 1.
The first handcart company to depart was that led by Captain Edmund Lovell Ellsworth.
"L.D.S. Camp near Iowa City, June 22, 1856. It will give you much joy to learn that the handcart experiment is now being fairly and so far, most sucessfully tested. Captain Edmund Ellsworth left here on the 9th with 274 souls, accompanied by Elders Oakley and Butler as assistants." 2.
Sources:
1. Walters' diary, published serially in The Improvement Era (Salt Lake City), vol. XXXIX and XL.
2. Millennial Star, Aug. 2, 1856 (XVIII, p. 489).
"WE'LL MEET AGAIN"
A blanket wraps your tiny form,
As if it's presence can make you warm.
We cannot stop our freezing tears,
Nor think of future, empty years.
Nor even take the time to grieve,
For we must surely take our leave.
The handcarts slowly move along;
We, among the tattered throng.
We trudge along, behind the carts;
Choking sobs, with broken hearts.
Blinding sleet now numbs our pain;
Our only hope, "We'll meet again".
~~~~~~~~Shirleen C. Farley 2011
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while camped near Iowa City, present day Coralville, were exposed to the elements with scant provisions.
Emigrants from Europe, with few supplies, they had much to accomplish trying to ready their families for a westward journey of some thirteen hundred miles on foot.
In the weeks of preparation, with twenty people crowded into each tent, sickness multiplied and living conditions were difficult.
Archer Walters, a carpenter from England, was weary of the work it took to keep his family well, provide woodwork for the carts and also, the added burden of building coffins for those who could not carry on.
"On June 4 [1856], with a few boards, he fashioned his first for a child. Two days later he made another little one, and this was but the beginning." 1.
The first handcart company to depart was that led by Captain Edmund Lovell Ellsworth.
"L.D.S. Camp near Iowa City, June 22, 1856. It will give you much joy to learn that the handcart experiment is now being fairly and so far, most sucessfully tested. Captain Edmund Ellsworth left here on the 9th with 274 souls, accompanied by Elders Oakley and Butler as assistants." 2.
Sources:
1. Walters' diary, published serially in The Improvement Era (Salt Lake City), vol. XXXIX and XL.
2. Millennial Star, Aug. 2, 1856 (XVIII, p. 489).
"WE'LL MEET AGAIN"
A blanket wraps your tiny form,
As if it's presence can make you warm.
We cannot stop our freezing tears,
Nor think of future, empty years.
Nor even take the time to grieve,
For we must surely take our leave.
The handcarts slowly move along;
We, among the tattered throng.
We trudge along, behind the carts;
Choking sobs, with broken hearts.
Blinding sleet now numbs our pain;
Our only hope, "We'll meet again".
~~~~~~~~Shirleen C. Farley 2011
Emigrants from Europe, with few supplies, they had much to accomplish trying to ready their families for a westward journey of some thirteen hundred miles on foot.
In the weeks of preparation, with twenty people crowded into each tent, sickness multiplied and living conditions were difficult.
Archer Walters, a carpenter from England, was weary of the work it took to keep his family well, provide woodwork for the carts and also, the added burden of building coffins for those who could not carry on.
"On June 4 [1856], with a few boards, he fashioned his first for a child. Two days later he made another little one, and this was but the beginning." 1.
The first handcart company to depart was that led by Captain Edmund Lovell Ellsworth.
"L.D.S. Camp near Iowa City, June 22, 1856. It will give you much joy to learn that the handcart experiment is now being fairly and so far, most sucessfully tested. Captain Edmund Ellsworth left here on the 9th with 274 souls, accompanied by Elders Oakley and Butler as assistants." 2.
Sources:
1. Walters' diary, published serially in The Improvement Era (Salt Lake City), vol. XXXIX and XL.
2. Millennial Star, Aug. 2, 1856 (XVIII, p. 489).
"WE'LL MEET AGAIN"
A blanket wraps your tiny form,
As if it's presence can make you warm.
We cannot stop our freezing tears,
Nor think of future, empty years.
Nor even take the time to grieve,
For we must surely take our leave.
The handcarts slowly move along;
We, among the tattered throng.
We trudge along, behind the carts;
Choking sobs, with broken hearts.
Blinding sleet now numbs our pain;
Our only hope, "We'll meet again".
~~~~~~~~Shirleen C. Farley 2011
Advertisement
Advertisement
