THE
EMIGRATION OF RICHARD LITSON
Richard Litson, Senior, having received the Gospel and being
converted to it, hungered for the blessing and advantages that Zion
offered and longed for the day when he could come to Utah, the beautiful valley of the mountains
where God’s true Church was established and men could live and worship in peace
with their fellow saints. But it took
money and time, and many sacrifices to get there. This Richard Litson knew but he was
undaunted. Working Very hard and
sacrificing many pleasures and comforts, he saved enough money to send his two
daughters, Jean, Jesnetta Litson and Mary Litson, in the year of 1863.
Three years after the journey of the two girls, enough money
had been saved for the rest of the family to start on their way to Zion and reunite their
family. They started from Porth Station,
lodging that night at Merthye and traveling by special train to Liverpool where they had to walk three miles to Bramley
Moore Dock. They sailed on the ship John
Bright, occupying berths numbers 417 and 418, or the 8th Ward. Brigham Young, Junior, came on board the ship
and held an excellent council meeting, giving the people encouragement and
advice and answering questions. After
the meeting was over, he left and went back to the ship Royal Alfred on which
he sailed.
The passengers were all examined by the doctor before
sailing on their journey on April 30, 1866.
The weather was fair and good progress was made. The Saints broke the monotony of sailing by
singing hymns, reading, and helping the sailors turn the sails. Sometimes a ship would go by and they waved
to those aboard. Often they saw sea pigs jump out of the water which amused them. On days that the sea was rough, huge waves
dashed at the front of the ship and as they lashed at each other they looked
like huge mountains. Many people became
seasick on such days and would have to remain in their berths. Mrs. Richard Litson was among those and felt
pretty bad for a few days. However, she
soon got used to sailing and enjoyed herself on sunny, smooth days, but felt
rocky and kept to her bed on rough ones.
After a rough night the sails had to be fixed and the
Litsens and other Saints helped the sailors in this task. One day the passengers were obliged to go on
top deck while the sailors fumigated on the lower decks to purify them so as
not to spread disease. The passengers
had to leave without their dinners and as some of them lived to eat instead of
“eating to live”, Richard Litson was posted to keep order
at the door of the cooking galley so some of the weak-willed would not run riot
until the sailors had finished with their task.
On one occasion the Saints had started a concert and many beautiful
hymns and selections were rendered, but because of a heavy rain, it had to be
finished another day, but there was no grumbling, the Saints took it as they
did every other discouragement, in good spirit.
As they neared New York
they saw several ships, some going in the same direction, and one, the Screw
Plackett, was headed for Liverpool. When the weather was foggy the sailors took
turns standing at the front of the ship blowing on a trumpet four times every
few minutes as a signal to other ships.
The passengers saw several fishing boats out to make their catch even
though the sea was rough and it was rainy weather. However, the ship plunged on through calm or
rough seas and the Saints praised God for his mercy on them in their
crossing. As they saw the ships passing
at a distance, and because distance was hard to determine on the ocean, the
younger Litsons amused themselves by likening the shapes of the ships to
objects such as a ball, a post, etc. as they sailed on the glimmering water.
The pilot came with the pilot boat, Edward Williams, No. 14.
and stayed by them.
The steamer Charlis Chamberlain came out to take them into the
harbor. As they came near the harbor
they were pleased with the beautiful scenery, the large houses, and the many
cottages. There were many steamers, the
names of which were: Northfield, Middletown, Thomas, Hunt,
America and
others. They sailed in the boat Ontario and the tug
Peter Gary pulled them to Castle Garden Emigration Landing Depot.
The first death they witnessed was that of Sarah Evans, wife
of John Evans who died at the Castle Garden Emigration Landing Depot.
They boarded the train and were very pleased with the good
cushioned seats and the accommodations which were better than in England. They saw lovely scenery of trees, meadows,
birds, animals and many little things they had not seen before. The train they were riding contained twenty
cars besides those the Saints were riding in.
The engines of the trains were different and had different names than
English trains, and the people were interested in this. They traveled 400 miles, seeing scarcely
anything but trees. They changed trains
at a small train shed and traveled in cattle cars that stopped several times
and were rougher riding. They changed
trains at Kingston Station and had better luck in securing a better riding
train. They passed Napanese Station,
Shanneville, Belleville, Coleburg, Newcastle, Fort Union and stations Berlin, Lucan, Ailsa, Craig, Enarge, and
Iova. On the road they saw horses, cows,
nanny goats and billy goats, geese, goslings in the various fields.
They stopped at Camlachie Station and got off the train and
stood on the side of the river waiting their turn to be taken across on the
steamer W.J. Spicer. While waiting they
sat on the platform to rest and watched the fish and the birds flying over the
water.
They boarded the train Dorchester and traveled to about 217
miles from Detroit. They saw many other engines and many new
scenes. They stopped at Chicago, Illinois
and spent the night in a train shed,, sleeping on the
floor, but the night was spent in peace and safety. A Brother Clark and Granddaughter died that
day, bringing the deaths of their party to a total of four since starting their
journey. They boarded the Harrie Ball
and St. Joseph,
railroad train. They managed to get two
seats after much hurrying and crowding.
After eight days of train travel, they reached St, Joseph, put their
luggage in the steamer to sail to Wyoming,
and slept in the train shed that night.
The steamer traveled quite fast, and they saw several other
steamers on the river. The most
thrilling sight was when they saw their first Indians who were standing on the
banks of the river watching the boats going up and down stream. They were filled with awe and wonder at the
copper-skinned natives, but could not form clear ideas as they had to leave
their positions for men who had to fire up the steamer. After eleven stops the party at last landed
at the place where they could secure their teams and wagons to start over the
plains. After several days of
preparation, they started on their way.
The first day they traveled 2 ½ hours and then stopped and camped for
the night by a beautiful house where there was water and wood. The next stop was made by water, but there
was not much wood to be had. They passed
several teams going east and pased two other trains going west. The passing of several graves, which marked
the trail and bore a testimony of those who had passed ahead, dampened their
spirits. They camped by the Platte River South, and as they
followed the river they saw many Indians who were friendly and made no
trouble. The party followed near the
river, getting their water from it, but had scarcely any wood for four or five
days. They passed through Kearney City which had a post office and
bakery. They had spasms of rainy weather
for a few days with lightening and thunder but made good progress considering
these circumstances.
One little girl was hurt very badly by falling off one of
the wagons. By using what medicine they
had on hand and by several elders administering to her, she got well and was
able to romp and play again. They camped
at a house called Junction House and then proceeded on their way, camping near
houses as much as possible so as to procure water and wood. They passed two graves, one inscription
reading, “H. Voigt, died June 2, 1864, late of Preston, England.”
One morning, after traveling about a mile from camp, they
were passed by a regiment of soldiers.
Further along the way they passed several graves with inscriptions as
follows: Lawken K. Stevens, aged 14 years; E. Hunter, died July 3, 1865; N.P.
Wells, late of Biethan, Missouri, killed by Indians, aged 39 years.
They had intended to cross the Platte
river, but decided the crossing too dangerous, so went
along further to find a safer place. All
the wagons crossed before it got dark, but two or three waited and crossed in
the morning. They traveled three or four
miles, then stopped for dinner and camped.
The next morning they started at 8 o’clock and traveled until 12
o’clock, stopping for diner and continuing again until 6 that evening. They traveled eight or ten miles the next
day, thinking to go North Platte,
but unexpectedly found water, so they camped.
There was a grave at this spot named John Brain Graon, crossed shore,
died August 23, 1844. The next day they
continued several miles and camped by a creek running close by the road. The next day they continued several miles and
camped by a creek running close by the road.
The next day they camped by North
Platte for dinner.
The first mule train passed there on the 30th of July. They camped again by the river that night and
the next day they crossed over some sand hills and after a few miles they met
some soldiers. After most of the wagons
had passed about a half dozen or so, the soldiers came forward and tried to
claim some of the mules that had the U.S. brand on them. The Litsons insisted that the mules belonged
to them, having bought them from rightful owners, but the soldiers argued and
took one of the mules. The company
traveled on and camped for the night.
The next day, when they camped, the captain and two teamsters of the
soldiers’ regiment drove in and returned the mule that was taken the day
before, apologizing for having taken it.
In the next few days of travel, they saw Indians several
times, some distance and some close, but they did not molest them. On crossing a bridge, they saw Laramie to the left, and
had to stop and be examined before they could proceed further. During the time the company was stopped for
examination, a child of Brother and Sister Belle died and they buried her
beside a large tree on a hill.
The next time the train made camp, it was by some ox
trains. They continued the next day and
passed the other trains that were traveling.
When those trains camped, the Litsen train continued on, stopping by a
creek where a mule train was camped.
There was a notice here that read: “To Bridger’s Ferry, 15 miles. To Virginia
City, 425 miles.”
They found plenty of wood to use for the rest of the journey.
The next two days they traveled twenty miles the first day
and 18 miles the second, covering more ground than usual. They camped the next day on the Platte River. They followed the river, camping by it again
and saw a few soldiers there. On
crossing the North Platte River bridge they saw two
graves: Joseph B. Graves, a private of Company B. Ohio Calvary, died at Platte Bridge,
October 16, 1863, age 20 years. The next
one in memory of Phillip W. Rhod, a Private of Company Y, 110 V.C. killed by
Indians March 8, 1865, age 19 years.
They left the Platte
River and traveled a long
way, stopped at a creek, and then continued on again. That night when they camped, they discovered
one man named Robert Daybelle was missing.
The next morning men were sent out to look for him. The train continued on, crossed a bridge and
stopped by a shore. The men came to camp
but reported that they had not found the missing man. The men went out again the next day in search
of Daybelle and the train waited, but the men returned at midnight reporting
they could not find him. They traveled
on their way, and on the 17th of August they camped by the Rocky Mountain
River following it along,
crossing it twice, and camping nearby.
After continuing a long way they crossed a little brook and found the
country quite unlevel. They had to cross
several hills. One day, by traveling a
little later than usual they managed to cover thirty miles. That night a woman died and was buried by a
creek a little further on the road the next day.
At their next stop they did not have good water to drink,
but that night when they camped they found plenty of clean water and the
weather was warm, they had to cross the river twice the next day and camped
that night by it. They continued on
their way and crossed the Green River. A few of the wagons crossed on the ferry boat
instead of the usual way. As they knew
there would be no water available for several miles, they took some with them
from there, however they found water that night where
they camped. There were some soldiers
stationed there, but they were not to be trusted, so guards were stationed to
watch that night, and the men were on alert.
They traveled on and had water from the Green
River, crossed it and camped on the left side. After many miles they passed a house and some
trains. The water was scarce where they
stopped for dinner. Further on they saw
some miners going the opposite way.
They did not travel on one day because it was raining quite
hard. They had some potatoes from Salt Lake
for their dinner and everyone was thrilled with this luxury. The Litsons could not travel on with the
others the next day, as some of their mules got lost and they had to search for
them. They found the mules and started
on. They crossed many bridges and toll
bridges and finally caught up with the others.
It was a pretty dry camping place, and some of the mules
went in search of water making part of the company hunt them again. They found the mules and caught up with the
other wagons before noon. They passed Gush Cave on
the right hand side of the road and camped for dinner at Echo Canyon. A little further on they met Joan Jeanetta
Litson, daughter of Richard Litson, and friends who had come in Hammer’s Great
Salt Lake Express to meet them. The next
day the Litsons and their friends, Brother Glade and his little girl, started
out before the rest of the train and traveled on, reaching the mouth of the
Canyon and passing through Coalville, having breakfast at Elizabeth Kates. Traveling on they soon came in sight of the
city, arriving at 4 o’clock.
With God’s help they arrived at their destination, the
Valley of the Mountains. The family was
reunited and lived in happiness and religious security until the death of
Richard Litson, October 29, 1872.
[From an account by Mabel and Leo Turpin,
Blackfoot, Idaho,
February 14, 1940. Leo Turpin was
the son of Joan Jeanetta Litson named above.]
