From a family memoir held by Robert Bartlett: (These are Mormon converts who sailed to America. They refer to each other as "saints") -------------------------------- My brother Jonas had gone to London to live and wrote that a friend of his wanted a girl to live with them. I said I would go, so when I was 18 I went to London and shortly obtained employment with a maiden lady by the name of Miss Hennion for the sum of £10 a year. She and her old housekeeper belonged to a denomination called the Independents. My mistress was engaged in a great number of religious societies and I heard nothing but religion spoken of, and she was ever talking to me to get me to join the church. But I was very lonely during my stay with her, and after 4 years I made up my mind to leave and moved to a situation with Mr and Mrs Henderson where I would do some needlework and wait on her and her daughter. It was at this time that I learned that Mormonism had come to my father's home and my father and mother and most of my brothers and sisters had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I did not embrace the new religion immediately but some time later I chanced to meet one Mr Dalling who was staying with friends of my parents. While I was at home visiting with my parents Mr Dalling set about trying to convert me to the Mormon faith. Before I left Aston Rowant to return to London I was baptised into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I had been working at the Burlington Hotel, a large hotel in the city of London, and I enjoyed my work there. However the new faith was not popular and when the housekeeper learned I was a Mormon I was dismissed. My sister Eliza was living with me in the hotel and she felt bitter towards me about my religion and rarely spoke with me. I soon found another position with higher wages at the home of Mr Turner and his invalid wife with whom I remained until I went to America. We sailed in December 1855 from Liverpool on the John L. Boyd. I will never forget the first night on the crowded ship. There were 500 Danish Saints, three German families, 2 Italian families, 1 French family, two Scotch families and 5 English families. There was not much sleep for anyone that first night. We could not get a berth, so we had to lie on the floor as best we could. I began to think we would smother to death before morning for there was not a breath of fresh air. I made my bed on a large box, and I had a big loaf of bread in a sack, which I used as my pillow to make sure of having bread for breakfast. Fortunately our accommodation improved after the first night when we were able to obtain berths on the deck above. We had a terrible voyage. After we had been at sea two weeks we were beset by a bad storm. We could not go up on deck and tons of water washed over the deck and came down through the skylights. Except for my father and brother John, we were all seasick and continued to be sick for 5 weeks after the week-long storm ended. There was much sickness and many deaths - 62 in all. My brother buried his little daughter Zilpha at sea. It was very hard to roll her up in a blanket and lay her on the great waves of the ocean and watch her float out of sight. Our company was at sea for 11 weeks due to the bad weather. One night the captain whilst intoxicated kicked over the stove and the ship caught fire. Had it not been for some of the men he would have burnt to death in his cabin and the ship and all aboard with him. We finally landed at Castle Gardens, New York in February 1856. My father and I rented three rooms in Williamsburg and having all found work we were soon comfortably situated for four months. We received orders to leave New York in July for Iowa, which was something of a surprise to us. At first we thought we never could undertake to pull a handcart from Iowa to Salt Lake City. My poor mother was in delicate health. She had not walked a mile in years, and we girls had never been used to out-door work. Besides, I could not see it right at all to do such a humiliating thing; to be harnessed up like cattle to pull a handcart loaded up with our bedding, cooking utensils, and food and clothing when by waiting a year we could have bought good teams and a wagon. We got ready to leave New York on the 3 July 1856. We took the train from New York to Davenport, Iowa there to be greeted by a great crowd, which gathered around us casting slurs at us asking father if he was going to take his fine girls to Utah to give them to Brigham Young for wives. The weather was dreadfully hot in Iowa City, with not a spot of shade. We stayed there for three weeks before the company was ready to start and during this time my brother in law John Jaques and sisters Zilpha and Tamar, and Zilpha's two year old daughter Flora, joined us. We left Iowa City on the 28 July with the Martin handcart Company for Florence, Nebraska. The company consisting of 576 persons, 146 handcarts and 7 wagons. We left Florence on the 27 August 1856 starting too late in the season, which would result in 150 not reaching their destination. At Florence, Nebraska, Tamar was taken ill. Throughout the journey Tamar had hurt her side pulling the handcart and then contracted mountain fever. At one point they thought she was dying. Bent over and unable to straighten up she was pulled on John Jaques handcart for 150 miles to the Missouri River, then Tamar's father pulled her on his cart until she was able to walk. One night while making camp after her Tamar's father's death they were unable to drive the tent pegs into the frozen ground and found it impossible. The wet tent filled with wind and froze in shape. -------------------------------- *** Created 31 December 2003 ***