On Oct 29, 1855, the First Presidency of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints issued the
Thirteenth General Epistle which contained the
following instructions:"Let all Saints who can, gather
up for Zion, and come while the way is open before
them. Let the poor also come. Let them come on
foot, with handcarts or wheel barrows. Let them
gird up their loins and walk through, and nothing
shall hinder or stay them."
These instructions would profoundly affect the lives
of the saints in England, including my great grand-
parents, George A. and Elizabeth Broadbent
Wadsworth and the family of his Uncle James.
Several years before this time, George had been left
a widower with an infant son, also named James.
George was a coal miner and lived in Coal Aston,
England. His Uncle James and Aunt Elizabeth lived
just a few miles away in Pilley. Since George had to
work, they took little James into their home as a
foster child. Even after George married Elizabeth,
little James continued to live them. They also had
a daughter, Mary, age 19.
In the spring of 1885, the annual call for members to
immigrate to America had been issued. James and
George sent their names, and those of their family,
to the president of the European Mission, along with
a recommend from their local church leaders. From
the long list of those who applied, the Mission
President chose those who could immigrate in 1856
according to the length of their church membership
and their age and marital status. Both Wadsworth
families were chosen to go. James' family consisted
of James, age 46, his wife Elizabeth, age 50, daughter
Mary, age 19, little James, age 8, Elizabeth's mother,
Mary Hutchison, age 70, and her brother Edward
Hutchison, age, 25. George's family consisted of
George, age 30, his wife Elizabeth, age 24, and their
infant son, Nephi John, age 3 1/2 months (my
grandfather.)
They began their journey from England on May 25,
1856, and sailed to America on the ship, Horizon. It
was crowded and uncomfortable. Many had not
known what to expect and were dismayed at the
conditions. The Wadsworth's were able to pay their
own way and so fared a little better, but for most on
board, "the poor and faithful" who had waited for
years to gather to Zion, those for whom the Thirteenth
General Epistle and the PEF made immigration
possible, this passage would be one of meager
supplies. Even so, morale was high and the saints
were kept busy.
After June 9th, the women commenced making tents
and wagon covers. Church leaders had arranged for
3,426 yards of nankeen (canvas), 105 pounds of
thread, and 2-1/2 cups of needles to be on board. The
patterns to be used called for 44 yards of material for
a tent and 26 yards for a wagon cover. All but 996.31
yards of the material were for the PEF passengers.
From the remaining material, James had purchased
96 yards which would make one tent and two wagon
covers. By Friday, June 2oth, 45 tents and 8 wagon
covers had been completed. On June 28th, land was
sighted and the saints heard the joyful shout of
"Land, Ho!" It was Cape Cod and the Horizon
sailed into the harbor and dropped anchor two
miles out of Boston, Ma.
After leaving the Horizon, they traveled to a camp-
ground near Iowa City, where the Saints were
gathering. It was July 4, 1856. The tents that had
been made on the ship were immediately set up. It
was very crowded with four to five families being
assigned to a tent. The assembled saints began
immediately to prepare for their trek across the plains.
Despite their excitement and enthusiasm, they had
been warned by leaders and others who had been
over the trail, that it would be dangerous and fool
hardy to start the trek so late in the season. They
were warned of terrible weather, roads that would
be impassable, and the lack of needed supplies to
be found along the way. Most of the saints from
the small European countries had no concept of
the vastness of the American plains or the size of
the mountains and the number of rivers they would
have to cross. However, as they had been told by
others who had been over the trail that it could
still be done, the enthusiasm of those saints who
had been waiting for years to come to America,
could not be dampened.
The James Wadsworth family was assigned to
the last wagon train out. It was to be led by Dan
Jones as Captain and would be following the
Edward Martin and James Willie Handcart
companies. There was a delay in it's time of
departure. This was due, in large part, to the
handcarts. 260 of them had to be made. Since
there was no seasoned wood available, they were
having to be constructed from green wood.
The axles for those green handcarts were also
made of wood that sweated and gathered grit, and
the wheels were not iron bound and wore down.
Their whole structure warped in the dry desert air
Precious time was lost as they struggled to over-
come these obstacles.
George and Elizabeth had decided not to make the
trek in 1856. Perhaps they took the warnings
seriously and were worried about the high mortality
rate of infants making the long journey across the
plains, or perhaps it was that they wanted more
time to be be prepared and more means with which
to equip themselves. Their decision was made and
they moved from the campground into Iowa City
where George found work. The parting from James
and Elizabeth and little James had to be very sad.
Even though little James had not lived with his
father since he was an infant, they had lived close to
each other and saw one another often. So, when
George saw his son heading west while he went a little
east, the distnce between them was to be greater than
it ever had been, or ever would be again.
On August lst, the Dan Jones wagon train departed
following the two handcart companies. The handcarts
were moving very fast, happy and singing as they
went. In the beginning, they averaged 20 miles a
day compared to 10 miles a day by the wagon train.
As the journey progressed and the weather worsened,
the trials and tragedies of the handcart companies and
the Dan Jones wagon train, most notably the William
B. Hodgetts and John A. Hunt companies, became part
of church history. James and his family were part of
the Hunt company. He had started the journey with
two wagons, five yoke of oxen, one cow, and two loose
cattle. They were also well armed. Before their
journey ended they lost much of this and shared much
of what was left with others. Despite the trials and
tragedies, by December 15, 1856, the last of the saints
who began that journey, arrived in Salt Lake City.
In the meantime, at a meeting of church leaders held
on the 6th of August, George was asked to establish a
branch and preside over it until the following summer.
While doing this, he and Elizabeth were preparing for
their journey to the Salt Lake Valley in 1857. Often
the difference between survival and tragedy was in
being well equiped. George had purchased a sturdy
wagon and began looking for draft animals to pull it.
He must have known through his researching of the
records of previous wagon trains, that 80% of the
wagons crossing the plains in pioneer trains, those
to the gold fields, or to establish settlements, were
pulled by oxen. Oxen were stronger, calmer and more
adaptable than the much more expensive horse.
Unlike oxen, horses did not thrive on the dried grasses
of the plains and often refused to drink the tepid, dirty
water that was available to them along the way.
Another option was the mule. They were less ex-
pensive than a horse. They were durable and tough
and adapted better to the grasses and water of the
plains than the horses. However, their temperament
was often driven to mayhem which could cause
trouble in a wagon train.
George purchased a fine team of oxen which he named
Brock and Bawly. Oxen always worked as a team of
two, called a "yoke of oxen". A yoke is a wooden beam
which is used between a pair of oxen to allow them to
pull a load. They were not always driven from the seat
of a wagon. A person, referred to as a teamster or
drover, walked on the left side of the team and directed
them with verbal commands and whip cracks. The
care of the oxen's feet was different than that of the
mule or horse. They didn't wear the traditional shoe.
If their feet got sore, they were smeared with butter
or axle grease, and then boots made of buffalo hide or
other animal skin, were fastened on. Being a coal
miner, these were just some of the many things George
had to learn.
George was released from the presidency of the Iowa
City branch on March 25, 1857 and was immediately
assigned by Erastus Snow, James A. Little, and
William C. Hunt to help in emigrating. He left almost
immediately for Lexington, Kentucky to buy cattle
and other frontier provisions for the immigration.
He was gone from his family for nine weeks during
which time he was preaching, purchasing and
preparing.
Returning home, George, Elizabeth and little Nephi,
left Iowa City on July 1, 1857, for Florence,
Nebraska, where they joined a wagon train of 19
wagons, 55 souls, 83 oxen, four cows, and one mule.
William C. Young was appointed Captain and on
July 12, the Young Company left Florence to begin
their trek across the plains.
It was a much easier journey than that of James,
Elizabeth, Mary, her new husband Thomas Smith,
and little James, but never-the-less was fraught
with danger and tragedy; run away wagons, the
danger of Indians, torrential rains, swollen rivers,
swarms of mosquitos, and the loss of life.
George's oxen, Brock and Bawly, became well known
for their strength, stamina, and intelligence. One
day the the company came to one of the many
rivers they had to cross, but because of the most
recent severe storm, this river was swollen with
rushing water much higher than usual and the
animals balked at having to cross. But Brock and
Bawly went through. After taking the Wadsworth
wagon across, they were unhitched, taken back
across, hooked up to the next wagon and commanded
to pull. After taking that wagon across, they would
plunge into the water and return without being
driven, to be hitched to another and take it across.
They performed this service twelve times.
The Young Company reached Salt Lake City on
September 26, 1857. Brock and Bawly had safely
taken the Wadsworth family across the plains to
Salt Lake City. They stayed there for four weeks
before moving to Little South Cottonwood, near
Salt Lake City. At that time, President Brigham
Young asked George to donate Brock and Bawly
to the church for the use of future immigrating
companies. Though he loved them very much
and they were the only draft animals he had at
the time, he unhesitatingly did this. I do not
know exactly how many trips they made back
and forth across the plains but have always been
told that it was a substantial number.
The Wadsworth brothers in Panaca, my father
James, Uncle Frank, and Uncle Lafe, shared the
draft horses that were used for the heavy work
on their farms and ranches. Shortly after dad
returned from France when World War I ended,
he wanted to have his own team of draft horses.
He went to Alamo, 76 miles from Panaca, where
retired Artillery horses were being pastured and
purchased a team of bay horses. He named them
Brock and Bawly after his grandfather's oxen. He
had a great love and respect for the Artillery
horses. During the war, he was stationed in France
as a member of the Ammunition Trains, a part of
the Artillery of the 91st Division. His job was to get
the supplies that were needed to the front lines.
The artillery horses Dad loved pulled the wagons
carrying these supplies and also the huge guns. He
would be a natural candidate for this job because as
a young man, he had driven freight wagons and was
well trained in driving a six or eight team hitch of
draft horses.
I called Leo to ask what he knew of Dad's wonderful
team, Brock and Bawly. Among the information he
shared with me was this: In Pioneer days, if an
animal, horse or bovine, had speckles on their face,
they were referred to as a brock, and if they had a
white blaze on their face, they were called a bawly.
Dad's horses were marked that way and we presume
that George's oxen were, as well. These horses were
Dad's sole draft animals for many years and served
him well. Like George's oxen, they also served his
extended family and friends.
Brock and Bawly, the oxen, and Brock and Bawly, the
horses, make this story an even more personal one for
our family. It is tradition, and traditions tie a family
together with love and continuity. Put an animal in
a story and it is even better. I am grateful to parents
who established traditions, who told us stories, who
kept the written word, and who wanted us to know,
love, and appreciate, our ancestors. I consider it a
privelege and a blessing to write these stories for
my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
Information for this story is taken from the books,
Pilley to Panaca, A Century in Meadow Valley, from
the history of my father, James Allen Wadsworth, my
own research, and stories told by our parents to me and
my siblings.
