Posted by:
ificouldhietokolob
(
)
Date: November 07, 2017 03:57PM
I'm all with ya, Koryo.
Here's my "pioneer ancestry" story:
G-g-g-g grandpa and his family, French immigrants to England, converted to the cult in England. Were pushed hard to "gather in Zion." So they sold everything they had, and bought tickets on a boat to the US. G-g-g-g grandpa, mingling among the unwashed masses in Liverpool, caught something nasty...and died two days before their ship to Zion was to sail.
G-g-g-g-grandma buried him there, then took her 3 kids on the boat.
G-g-g-g-grandma got sick on the journey over, but managed to make it to New Orleans. She got to see 6 days of the new world (but not Zion) before she too was gone and buried.
So now g-g-g-grandpa, being the oldest son (17 at the time), took over for he and his two sisters as head of the family. They went upriver to St. Louis, but being out of money, couldn't go straight to Iowa to join the trek to Zion. So they wallowed in poverty in St. Louis for almost a year, taking whatever jobs they could find to earn some money. All 3 kids (oldest daughter, 19, son 17, and other daughter 14) worked. They finally scraped up enough money, and went to Iowa -- where some mormon "company leader" took all their money, and put them in a poorly-made wagon with what little possessions they had.
Fortunately, it wasn't handcart company (it was the David Wood company, heading out in 1852 -- g-g-g-grandpa was 18 when they left). Still, they had plenty of hardships & sickness, and the youngest of the 3 kids died along the way, leaving only two of the five who set out for Zion.
They arrived in SLC right around Oct. 1 in 1852. Before Nov.1 the same year, g-g-g-grandpa had been married (sort of an "assigned" marriage), and was sent down to Parowan to "colonize." His older sister, his only surviving family after 3 deaths en-route, was pawned off as wife #3 to some guy in Nephi. As far as I know, they never saw each other again.
G-g-g-grandpa, being young and strong, did fine in Parowan. He became great friends with William Dame of Mountain Meadows Massacre fame. Joined the Nauvoo Legion. Took another polygamous wife (from whom I come), and was part of the group that was sent up to Panguitch to "re-establish" it after the first group that went there gave up amidst no viable crops and a nasty winter that killed a bunch of them.
So the original mother & father who converted to the cult, and set off for Zion, never saw it. They died along the way. Lost everything they had. Left their children orphans, to fend for themselves, and one of them died along the way. It's hardly a glorious story. Yet mormon relatives praise them for their 'faith and perseverance' -- WTF, they died along the way!
I've often wondered what might have happened had they told the mormon preachers back in England to take a hike, and had continued with their life there (g-g-g-g-grandpa was a reasonably successful merchant, they owned a home and had a decent life). The parents almost certainly would have lived longer. What else...who knows.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2017 04:00PM by ificouldhietokolob.