Richard Harrison Carter - Mormon Battalion Pioneer

 

Richard Harrison Carter – Mormon Battalion Pioneer

By Robert Givens (August 20, 2020)

With the 200^th anniversary of Richard Carters birth approaching, this is an appropriate time to revisit his life in an attempt to construct an accurate depiction of his life and times.  Until now there was only one compilation of his life written by his great niece, Almira T Bethers, and filed in the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers collection.  On reading this account of his life it was easy to identify several instances where recent research has proven statements in that account of his life to be inaccurate.  That being said, this account of his life will still rely heavily on the earlier biography when possible. 

Birth and His Family 

On 20 August 1820 a son named Richard Carter was born to John Carter and Hannah Knight Libby Carter in Newry, Oxford, Maine. (Office of Town Clerk, Newry, Maine, Town Records, 1805 - 1846, Family History Library film #11589, pages unnumbered) John and Hannah were in their mid to late thirties and this was the ninth child born to them and Richard was their sixth son.  In a time when there was high infant mortality the Carter family was fortunate in that they had only lost one child previously, John Harrison, who had died on 11 April 1815 in Newry at just short of three months of age.

John Carter and his wife were both from families that had been in the Americas since at least the mid-1600’s.  John Carter’s parents, Richard Carter and Jane or Anne McKenney Carter lived in Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine.  The farm on Broadturn Road had been in the family going back to at least John’s grandfather, Benjamin Carter.  Richard had inherited the farm from his father and had purchased several tracks of land in the vicinity increasing his holdings significantly.  It was surely this Richard Carter, his grandfather, that the baby born in 1820 was named.

Hannah Knight Libby was also born in the Scarborough area quite close to where John lived.  Today the old Libby farm is located on Watson Mill Road in Saco, Maine and is just a mile or so to the west of the land owned by John Carter.  Hannah’s parents, Zebulon Libby and Lydia Andrews had inherited this land from Zebulon’s father, Thomas, who had accumulated a large tract of land, of which the Zebulon Libby farm was but a portion.  Zebulon was a patriot having served three years in the Revolutionary War, and was afterward a captain in the state militia.

Little is known of John Carter’s early life until in 1804 a remarkable deed is found that describes his purchase (with another man) of a home in Portland, Maine. John is described as being a “mariner” on[RG1]  the deed. Family lore has always said that he was a sea captain at one point in his life and that rumor, at least, has some substance as the 22-year-old John was living in one of the main seaports of New England in 1804.  Unfortunately for John, by 1806 the prosperous trade business in Portland virtually shut down as the British passed the Non-Intercourse Act that essentially said any American ships not trading with the British could be confiscated and their crews held.  This act would be one of the main actions that would lead to shortly to the War of 1812.

John did not long remain in Portland.  On 7 Nov 1805 John purchased 72 acres of land that was between the farms of his parents and Hannah’s parents and on 2 March 1806 John and Hannah married.  It was on this farm that their first three children – Dominicus, Almira and Hannah – were born.  By 1809 John had sold half of his Scarborough land and was purchasing land in upstate Maine in Newry.  This was undeveloped land and it apparently took him some three years to clear and develop it sufficiently to actually move his young family to this remote community.  But move they did, and it was on their farm in Newry that the rest of their family were born.  Before Richard was born, they had five children in Newry – William Furlsbury, Philip Libby, John Harrison (who died in 1815), another John Harrison and Eliza Ann.  After Richard two more children would be born here, Mary Jane and Rufus, who died on his second birthday in 1827. 

Early Life 

It is true that we know very little about Richard in his early years but we can assume many things base on what we know about life in Newry and nuggets of information found in the town records.  The first thing we learn is that when the family registered their children in the town records he was recorded simply as Richard Carter.  He was not listed with a middle name.  It doesn’t mean that he wasn’t born Richard Harrison but it wasn’t until the Nauvoo time period that we find him with a middle name.

By 1820, when Richard was born, the Carters had been in Newry for about a decade and were firmly established there.  Life in Newry was close to being at a subsistence level. Farms had to be as self-sufficient as possible as this northern forest land required great effort to clear and the growing season was short. Most of the arable land was used to grow foodstuffs for the family or to produce forage for their animals. Hunting, trapping and fishing was important for food and for the skins that could be traded for needed food. The forest, which was everywhere and plentiful, was a source for logs and cut timber. Still the bottom line was everyone needed food so food was king. John Carter had an extra skill that would help them in this time of resettlement. He had learned the blacksmithing trade since his marriage to Hannah. He probably learned this from Hannah’s father Zebulon Libby who was a farmer-blacksmith back in Scarborough. John most likely plied his trade on the side accepting barter in commodities which his family would need. (Life Story of Hannah Knight Libby Carter, p. 36 at https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KWVM-MGY)

From 1820 to 1827, few or no details about the family are known. The family farm seems to have done well. For the most part John tilled 1.5 acres, though some years just a half acre. He consistently mowed 2.5 acres to provide food for his livestock and finally had about one acre of pasture. His livestock usually consisted of two oxen, a horse, between 2 and 4 cows, between 2 and 8 cattle, and between 2 and 5 swine. Assuming that John was probably earning extra income from blacksmithing, the family was probably doing fine by Newry standards.  (Life Story of Hannah Knight Libby Carter, p. 39 at https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KWVM-MGY )

These were the formative years of Richard’s life.  His older sisters Almira and Hannah probably played a big part in helping their mother in raising the young Richard.  The education he did receive was probably from his mother while sitting at her knee.  It was likely that from his early days he was trained in working on the family farm and by age seven he  was being given chores to do to help the family. 

1828 – 1833 

The dynamic of the John Carter family began to change in 1828 and with this Richard must have had to take a more important role in helping run the family farm and business.  In 1828 and 1829, when Richard was just 8 and 9, his three oldest siblings married and left the home.  In May of 1828 Dominicus married Lydia Smith.  In January 1829 Almira married Alvin Baron Tripp and in December of the same year Hannah married Aaron Mereon York.  When Richard was just 12 William married Sarah York.  Thus, by the time he was 13 the family living at home consisted of Philip age 21, John age 16, Eliza Ann age 14, Richard 13, and Mary Jane 10. 

With the family shrinking Richard’s role in the family probably grew rapidly.  Richard and his brothers, John and Philip, would have had plenty to do with clearing land and probably helping their father with his blacksmith work.  In any case, this was the way of life in the 1800’s – the sons helped on their family farm until they were old enough to marry and go out on their own. 

1834 – 1838 

There are often seminal events that change the course of a family’s experience.  This event could be natural disaster, an accident or a war.  The event that changed the course of the life of the entire Carter family was the sickness of Richard’s mother, Hannah, in early July 1834.  This event would have a lasting impact on each and every member of the John Carter family.  It was on 4 July 1834 that Mormon missionaries, Daniel Bean and John F. Boynton, appeared at the Carter home and while healing Hannah of her sickness also brought the message of the restoration taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Daniel Bean was a first cousin once removed of Sarah York and Aaron M York, spouses of William F Carter and Hannah Carter – older siblings of Richard.  Daniel was baptized in 1833 and lived some 15 miles from Newry.  He was paired up with John F. Boynton, who had joined the church in Ohio.  They had been traveling through towns in the backwoods of Maine having much success converting people to the Gospel.  It appears that they had actually baptized Richard’s oldest sibling, Dominicus and his wife, Lydia just days earlier on 30 Jun 1834. 

Thus, we come to 4 July 1834.  John probably had sent one of the children living at home to make the short trip to the homes of his married children informing them their mother’s grave illness and possible impending death.  Fortunately, we have one account of that day thanks to the then 15-year-old Eliza Ann Carter Snow who wrote of that day in a short diary recorded in 1892.  In her own words here is her account of that day: “I first embraced Mormonism in 1834, in the town of Newry, Oxford County, State of Maine.  The first Mormon elders I ever heard preach were John F. Boynton and Daniel Bean.  They came to my father's house, and my mother lay very sick.  The doctors had given her up.  The elders told her they were preaching a new doctrine and they told her that she could be healed if she could have faith, that they would hold hands on her.  They did lay hands on her and said, 'In the name of the Lord Jesus be thou made whole.'  And she was made whole and arose and called for her clothes and said I must go to the water.  She walked one-half mile and was baptized in the river called Bear River and confirmed.   And there was a large branch raised up in that place."   (Eliza Ann Carter Snow, Autobiographical Sketch, 1892 April 10, LDS Church History Library, MS 9676 – microfilm of the original handwritten record transcribed by the author, 14 Feb 2012.)  The quote of the day was John’s comment on this event, “That beats doctor bills.” (Ibid.) It should be noted that the date of the baptism is not recorded by Eliza Ann, or anyone else in the family for that matter but is recorded in the records of the Church.

The joy that Hannah experienced surely led her to want her other children to partake of this new faith of hers.  Along with Dominicus, who appears to already be a member, Hannah was joined in baptism by her children John H (age 18) and Eliza Ann (age 15) on the day their mother was baptized.  The exact baptism date of the subject of this sketch, Richard Harrison (age 13), appears to have been about 31 Oct 1834.  Two other married children William F (baptized 17 Nov 1834) and Hannah (who appears to have waited until 1844 to be baptized) shows the effect of the married children having a harder time to convert.  Her oldest daughter Almira, who was already married in 1834 never did join the church.  The then 21-year-old son, Philip Libby, soon left home for Massachusetts and didn’t join the church either, though he and Almira and their families joined the family in Tioga, Illinois years later.  Lastly, the youngest daughter Mary Jane, just 11 in 1834, never joined the church but lived with John and Hannah until her marriage in Missouri in 1840.

On 15 August 1835, Brigham Young and Lyman Johnson visited Newry.  They held a conference at the home of David and Patty Sessions, and Brigham Young crossed the Androscoggin River to preach at the Middle Intervale Meetinghouse, in Bethel, which at the time was without a settled pastor.  At the meeting in the Sessions home, Young spoke of “establishing Zion” somewhere in the west, a place where Saints could live together and practice their religious beliefs without fear of persecution.  He encouraged the local Saints to sell their farms and travel to Missouri to join others in this endeavor.  On August 21 of the same year, the Sessions were visited by another Mormon elder and missionary, William McLellin, who recorded in his journal that he had preached about two hours at a “bro Cessions… Brigham Young and other members of the Twelve Apostles visited Newry again in August 1836, and once more preached in at Middle Intervale.  He again urged the members of the Newry branch to sell their farms in Maine and travel to Missouri where the Saints were gathering.”    (Mary E. Valentine, WESTERN MAINE SAINTS, [Part 2] - A Newry Family Who Joined the Latter-Day Saints in Seeking a Home in the West, The Courier, Volume 29, No. 2 (2005))

The year 1836 witnessed the beginning of the division of the Carter family as the Latter-day Saint members began to heed the call of their Church leaders to gather in the West.  The two married sons, Dominicus and William, did heed this call and left for Kirtland, Ohio in 1836 (probably in the spring.)  At this point Richard’s mother Hannah faced a difficult dilemma. She had two single children, John approaching 20 and Eliza 18, who if they stayed in Newry, would find it difficult to find someone of the faith to marry.  Surely it was their mother, Hannah, who was behind the fact that these two unmarried children left with their married siblings that spring and traveled to Ohio.  Hannah would be vindicated for this move as both John and Eliza found mates and married within the Mormon faith during the short time they were in Kirtland.  This left just four members of the family in the Carter home in Newry – John, the father, Hannah his wife, Richard, who would turn 16 in 1836 and Mary Jane, who was 13.  At this point Richard’s role in the family grew as he was the only son left to help his father in his farming and blacksmith work. 

1838 – 1841 

In the short biography of Richard (Treasures of Pioneer History – Stories of the Mormon Battalion, pp. 456-7) it is stated that Richard, along with the rest of the John Carter family, traveled with the Saints to Kirtland, Ohio and Far West, Missouri.  This just isn’t so.  The evidence for John and Hannah being in Kirtland is that there was a John Carter in the Kirtland Company that traveled to Missouri.  The problem with that fact is that the John Carter of the Kirtland Company was in a party of 2 so this has to be John Harrison Carter and his young bride, Elizabeth Runnels Sweet whom he married in Kirtland in April of 1838.  The Kirtland Company left the Ohio gathering place between July and October of 1838 for Missouri.  At this time Richard, Mary Jane and their parents were still living in Newry.  The town records of Newry do give us an approximate time of the family’s departure for the west.  There is a notation in the Newry town records that on 10 Sep 1838 that John Carter called the meeting that month and was paid $1.50 for calling meetings that year.  This is the last mention of John while he lived in Newry. For on 25 October 1838 we read that Andrew N Stowe was chosen in Newry as collector of taxes to fill the vacancy of John Carter.  At the same time Stephen E Frost was chosen to take John’s place as highwayman and surveyor. (Town and Vital Records, 1805 - 1891; Newry, Oxford, Maine, FHL Film #11589, pages unnumbered.) Since John was in attendance at the meeting of 10 Sep 1838, we can narrow the date that John and Hannah left Newry to between mid-September to late October 1838.  Since the rest of the family had left Kirtland on July 5 of that year, they had a large head start but were making very slow time.  The Kirtland Camp groups were financially strapped and had trouble obtaining supplies and therefore had to stop to work to earn money to buy supplies.  Their progress was extremely slow and they would not reach their destination at Far West, Missouri until October 2^nd.

The trip to Missouri for Richard and his family was accomplished in a very short time when compared with the part of the family who left Kirtland around July of 1838 and didn’t arrive in Far West until early October of the same year.  Richard and his family left Newry between 10 September and 25 October and on 10 November 1838 Richard’s father John purchased 40 acres of land in Monroe County, Missouri. (Monroe County, Missouri, Deeds, Book E, p. 574 - Family History Library Film 975063) It is significant that Monroe County is three counties east of where the rest of the Latter-day Saints were settling in the Far West area. 

Richard spent the winter of 1838 through early 1841 in Monroe County, Missouri.  His father, John, had not been willing to move to the Far West area, which was a wise choice as by the time Richard and his family reached Missouri, the Saints were already being driven from their land and were making a winter pilgrimage eastward which would culminate in their settling in the Commerce, Illinois area, which in time, would be called Nauvoo.  Richard and his family laid low during this time farming their land in northcentral Missouri.  It was here on 27 Aug 1840 that Richard’s sister, Mary Jane, married Jacob Dooley. (Ancestry.com. Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: Missouri Marriage Records. Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives. Microfilm. Marriage date – 27 Aug 1840 – Monroe Co., Missouri.) This left Richard as the last child living at home.  His presence in the home as his parents who were growing older (his father turned 58 in 1840) must have been a great comfort to them.   It is not an accident that Richard and his parents were keeping their distance from the main body of the Saints.  Richard’s father, John, was not interested in getting involved in the mob actions directed towards the Saints.  He surely had had communications with his Latter-day Saint children and he appeared to not want to be involved in that kind of life. 

1841 – 1846 

As Richard’s immediate family continued to live in Monroe Co., Missouri, most of the rest of the family had left Far West back in the winter of 1838 under the direction of Isaac Morley and would ultimately settle some 33 miles south of Nauvoo along the Hancock and Adams County lines near modern-day Tioga, Illinois.  It appears that John Carter was not interested in getting his family into the middle of the “Mormon” issues but along the way his wife, Hannah, must have convinced him that moving to where the children settled would be safe because of its distance from Nauvoo.  For whatever reason, we do know that by May of 1841 they had moved to Morley Town or Yelrom settlement.  At that time John purchased a tract of land, of not quite 23 acres, from Richard’s brother William Furlsbury Carter. (Hancock County, Illinois Deeds, Book I, p. 227 – 228 (FHL Film 954,598). Transcription found in Susan Eaton Black, et. al., Property Transactions in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois and Surrounding Communities (1839 – 1859), Vol. II C-F, p. 749.)

So fully five years after the family had been split due to the westward migration of the Saints, Richard was reunited with most all of his family.  In fact, except for his older brother Philip, who wouldn’t arrive in Morley Town until the mobs were driving the Saints out, virtually all the family was now living within a short distance of each other in southern Hancock County or across the county line in northern Adams County.  It is not known for sure exactly where Richard lived at this time. Richard left no record of land dealings so it should be presumed that he probably continued to live with his parents. 

One can’t help but think that Hannah had pushed to move to be near her children for more than to just be in their company.  By 1840 Richard was 20 years old and surely Hannah hoped that he would marry someone in the Church.  Living in central Missouri would have made that dream virtually impossible.  They wouldn’t want to send him to Illinois to live with his siblings as then they would be without any help with their farm and other business.  Thus, it is likely that the move to Illinois was motivated by a hope Richard could find a good Latter-day Saint young lady to marry while still helping his parents.

If the goal was to have Richard marry in the Church, then they were successful as on 29 Nov 1840 in Lima, Adams, IL Richard married Hannah Parker. ("Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940," database with images, FamilySearch at https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFK3-XCJ : 5 November 2017), Richard Carter and Hannah Parker, 29 Nov 1840; citing Hancock, Illinois, United States, county offices, Illinois; FHL microfilm 229,486.) Hannah Parker was born in York County, Maine on 24 June 1822 to Samuel Parker and his second wife, Molly (Mary) Bracey Trueworthy.  Samuel Parker was an early convert to the LDS Church in Maine.  Hannah’s mother died in Quincy, Illinois in 1839.  Her father would live to die in Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1846.  Unfortunately, nothing else is known about her life prior to 1840.  With no land records known for Richard it is possible that they lived either with Hannah’s family or with John and Hannah Carter after their marriage in 1840.

While living in Illinois, Richard and Hannah had two children who all the family have traditionally recognized.  If the place of birth for their first-born child is accurate, they were possibly in Hancock County when their first child, Mary Trueworthy Carter was born 23 Sep 1841.   There is some discrepancy with the births of Mary Trueworthy Carter and the next sibling, Samuel Parker Carter, as family tradition and his death certificate give his birth as 10 Feb 1842 which is too soon after Mary’s birth to be accurate.  Without any evidence the family has changed Samuel’s birth to 1843 so the dates now work.  Family tradition gives Samuel’s birth place as Lima, Adams, Illinois which is the home of Alvira Carter Tripp, Richard’s sister.  It is possible that they had moved down there to live with her family or possibly the Parker family may have lived there.

In addition to Mary Trueworthy and Samuel Parker, it appears that Richard and Hannah had a third child born to them in Illinois, Angelina Carter.  Little is known of her and in fact no primary sources can be found to document her birth in this family.  That being said there is substantial secondary evidence to support her placement in the family.  In recent years the BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy has tried to document all the Latter-day Saints that lived in the Nauvoo area in their “Nauvoo Community Project, 1839 – 1846.”  They have Angelina Carter as born in 1845 in Lima, Adams, IL and died in 1848 in Mt. Pisgah, Union, IA the daughter of Richard Carter and Hannah Parker.  (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL3Z-G94C)  Her half-brother, Franklin Fitzfield Carter mentions her in his family record, and Hannah Parker Carter’s last husband Cornelius Brown, after Hannah died,  told his subsequent wife that followed Hannah that he had buried Hannah and two children on the prairies of Iowa.  In Union County, Iowa today is the Mount Pisgah Cemetery State Preserve which contains a 12-foot high white obelisk whereon are inscribed 60 of the presumed 300 people who were buried in the cemetery there.  On the north side of the obelisk is inscribed Angelina Carter.  This is the only record outside of family tradition to actually prove that she lived and died.  For what it is worth, Franklin Fitzfield Carter had her sealed to Richard and Hannah in the Salt Lake temple in March of 1918.  We should be grateful that Franklin didn’t want this little girl to be forgotten or we might not know of her today.

Richard and his young family passed through the persecutions in the Nauvoo area but absolutely nothing has been found regarding their specific experience.  We know they were there as Richard and Hannah were the last of the Carter clan to take out their endowments in the Nauvoo Temple.  They attended the temple to receive their endowments on 7 Feb 1846.  The evacuation of Nauvoo was in process having actually begun 3 days before Richard and Hannah attended the temple. Since there is no record of their being sealed together in the Nauvoo Temple after 7 Feb 1846 it must be assumed that they left Nauvoo shortly after that date. 

1846 – Exodus to Iowa 

Richard and Hannah left Nauvoo during the Mormon Exodus of 1846 as mentioned above sometime after they were endowed on 7 Feb 1846.  There are no family records describing the crossing of Iowa during that winter and spring.  The travail of the Saints as they fled west is well documented.  Depending upon when they actually left, they either had to plow through snow drifts or later, after the spring rains, through mud making the trek miserable and exhausting.  It was this journey that inspired William Clayton to pen his song “All is Well.”  We do not know for a surety if Richard and his family traveled with other family members or separately.  All we know is that Richard and his family arrived at the Grand Encampment east of the Missouri River in and around modern-day Council Bluffs.  The only thing we know for sure is that they had to have arrived sometime prior to July 13 as later events will show.

1846 – Mormon Battalion

 Shortly after arriving at the Grand Encampment, the Richard’s life took a sudden and ultimately fatal turn as the call went out from Brigham Young for young men to volunteer for service in the United States military.  It is hard to imagine how the Saints first reacted to this news as they were fleeing from United States land because of the government’s refusal to protect them and now the government wanted their service against the country of Mexico. 

Following the 1845 annexation of Texas by the United States, tensions with Mexico grew until on April 26, 1846 fighting broke out between the U.S. and Mexico.  On May 13th war was officially declared. At this time the Mormon refugees were in the midst of crossing Iowa.  While crossing Iowa Brigham Young and the rest of the Quorum of the Twelve, through Jesse C. Little, President of the Eastern States conference of the Church, had petitioned President Polk seeking assistance from the Federal Government.  On June 2nd President Polk authorized Col. Stephen W. Kearney to recruit a few hundred Mormons to help in the war but also “to conciliate them, attach them to our country, and prevent them from taking part against us.” (Polk, James K. (1929), Nevins, Allan, ed., Polk: The Diary of a President, 1845–1849, London and New York: Longmans, Green & Co., p. 109) This was an unusual symbiotic relationship, as the Church members as a whole had very negative feelings towards the government after receiving no redress from being driven from their homes, and the government who wasn’t willing to support the Saints in their time of need turning to them for help.  Young and the other leaders of the Church did see this as an opportunity for some much-needed financial help and ultimately agreed to the arrangement. One author suggested that the Battalion’s enlistment would be a public relations victory for the church, demonstrating additional evidence of its loyalty to the United States. (McLynn, Frank. Wagons West: The Epic Story of America's Overland Trails. Grove Press. pp. 386–7.)

The men were given a clothing allowance at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., of US$42 each, paid in advance, for their one-year enlistment. The men generally used their own clothes so they wouldn’t spend all their pay.  Ultimately about a quarter of these funds were sent back to Council Bluffs, some to their families, some to the Church, and some for the poor still in Nauvoo. The infusion of cash given to the Church was used to purchase food, wagons, teams, and other necessities for the Church exodus. The actual wages paid over the next year to the Mormon Battalion totaled nearly $30,000 of which about $6,000 sent back to Council Bluffs. ("The Pioneer Story: Pioneer Trail Map", LDS.org, archived from the original on March 5, 2012.) The reason more money was not sent back to the Saints was that the Battalion members still needed to provide for themselves so clothing, shoes and any personal gear that the Army didn’t furnish.  The one added benefit to the Saints left in Iowa in addition to the funds that were sent, was that, thanks to the Army, the Saints had 500 less people to feed.

Richard Carter, Hannah’s youngest surviving son, was one of the early volunteers as he was enrolled in Company B of the Battalion.  On July 13^th an “All Camp” meeting was arranged at the Council Bluffs bowery where a call was made for volunteers.  Captain Allen expressed to the Saints that the Battalion, as it was later called, would probably see no battle action but would instead fill a supporting role. What Captain Allen failed to tell was the extreme conditions that the Battalion would encounter in their trek – over a trail that was much more challenging than the Mormon Trail route the bulk of the Saints would take to Utah.  The Battalion route was through deserts where food and water were scarce, they had limited rations, and struggled with their wagons through sand and hilly unimproved paths.  Considering the arduous nature of their travels, it is amazing that more Battalion members didn’t succumb during this trek. In any case, the volunteers began to sign up with Captain Allen’s dragoons acting as clerks.  Some officers were selected and three companies and part of a fourth were organized.  Approximately 250 to 350 men signed up that day. That evening they held farewell dance in the Bowery at the west end of the Grand Encampment.  The Carter family probably attended the dance with heavy hearts.

On July 14^th and 15^th the recruitment continued and four full companies were raised suggesting that Captain Allen now had approximately 400 volunteers.  July 16^th was formally Muster Day – the day the recruits were officially accepted into service.  At mid-morning Captain Allen accepted the 4 and a half companies into service and assumed their command.  He thereby was elevated to the rank of Lt. Colonel of volunteers.  His first official order was to formally name this unit the “Mormon Battalion.”  On the afternoon of the 16^th the command marched about 5 miles south to Peter Sarpy’s Trading post at Trader’s Point where they established their temporary camp.

July 17^th and 18^th were taken up by the men outfitting as they drew some supplies (blankets, cups, plates, etc.) from Sarpy’s stockpile.  The 18^th, being a Saturday, a dance was organized in the afternoon at the Soldier’s Camp near Sarpy’s at 1 pm.  At 5:30 that evening President Young and others gave them "their last charge and blessing," which included a promise that their "lives should be spared and [their] expedition result in great good, and [their] names be handed down in honorable remembrance to all generations." (William Hyde, The Private Journal of William Hyde (privately published, 1962?), 19; spelling standardized. Cited at:  https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/historic-sites/journey-of-the-mormon-battalion?lang=eng 

On Sunday, July 19^th most of the men were given furlough for the day.  Many hiked back to the Bluffs to see family again.  It is assumed that Richard most likely did this so he could see his wife and young children and parents one more time.  The day was given to much preaching in the Bowery as the now Lt. Colonel Allen was still filling out his 5^th company of volunteers.

The plan was to leave and head south on the 20^th but the volunteers were not ready yet.  More men actually enlisted that day.  The 21^st began with rain in the morning.  This caused a further delay and they finally pushed off that afternoon and only made 3 or 4 miles to Mosquito Creek and had to encamp there for the night.  On the next day (the 22^nd), the last of Co. E left Sarpy’s and joined the main command and they all proceeded towards Ft. Leavenworth. (Ironically the first Battalion death occurred that night of the 22^nd/23^rd when Pvt. Boley died in camp.) Thus, it was on July 23^rd Richard finally marched off towards Ft. Leavenworth and to his destiny.

Nineteen or twenty members of the Mormon Battalion died during the march.  All died from diseases or accidents - as the Battalion never had to engage in any military actions, though they did skirmish with Indians a couple of times in California.  The 2000-mile trek from Council Bluffs to San Diego was arduous and two different sick detachments were sent back to Pueblo, Colorado and then on to Utah or in a few cases to Iowa.  Richard was a member of Lieutenant Willis's Pueblo detachment of the sick. He and Pvt Elijah Freeman, also of Co B, both died on 19 Nov 1846 as the detachment was traveling north along the Rio Grande. Lt. Willis in his letter (transcribed below) reported the graves were four miles south of Sacora on the Rio Grande.  No grave marker memorializes his last resting place.  The modern-day spelling of the earlier Indian village is Socorro, New Mexico, and can be found on the western side of the Rio Grande River on maps of the region. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socorro,_New_Mexico) 

(Much of the detail above and edits to the information from Lt. Willis’ diary below was graciously provided by Kevin Henson, a historian for the Mormon Battalion Association.  They have an interactive map of the Battalion route at https://www.mapntour.com/viewer/?c=487  Their recent research has narrowed the last resting place of Richard as being between ¾ and 1 ½ south of Socorro.)

To try to provide the family with some feeling of what this journey was like in the last days of Richard’s life the following excerpts are from a letter dated 6 Aug 1869 written by Lt. William W. Willis found in the Church Historian’s Office correspondence files.

(see: https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=3442a609-08a3-41f4-ad8b-5c4629b96c58&crate=0&index=0) It must be noted that his account was written many years after the fact and without his original journal to refer to, so that are some inaccuracies which will be noted.  

The narrative begins with page 4 of the letter as Lt. Willis leaves Santa Fe.  “I think, on the first day of Nov. Col Cook issued marching orders accordingly the Battalion marched with 40 (actually 60) days rations being the only outfit deemed sufficient for that mighty march. His mules and oxen being in very low condition having made the trip from the States our road lay down the Rio Grande passing through the principal settlements of New Mexico to a place called Sacora at this place Col. Cook took the right-hand side of the river no wagons ever having traveled on that side.  His route lay over a rough rocky and sandy country so the Colonel attached ropes and pull and so walk that the wheels of the wagons would follow in their track.  This labor was so hard that men were daily dropping under the excessive fatigue on the morning of the 10^th Nov (I think) (actually Nov 3) the sergeant reported James Hamilton (Hampton) fit for service and before night he was dead he died in the wagon the team stopping about 20 minutes to let him depart as it were in peace in the evening where we camped we buried him.

We continued our march till about the 12^th (9^th) when Col. Cook called a halt… On that portion of the Rio Grande over which we traveled fruit and vegetables were abundant and we all eat freely of both then the hard and excessive toil and labor that we had to perform under the scorching heat of  an almost tropical sun and the frequent use of the old iron spoon out of which all kinds of medicine was freely administered produced so much sickness in the ranks that the Col. Was obliged to order a halt and issued the following orders viz: …

iii That Leiut W W Willis assume command of the invalids and that he call upon Capt Berguin (Bergwin) at Alberquerque for assistance and report to the commander at Santa Fe and for orders… Active operations now commenced to carry into effect the forgoing orders and by 4 o’clock of same day we had collected fifty six invalids one big government wagon, four yoke of poor cattle, five days rations and two dressed sheep as a luxury for the sick Our bedding for the one wagon consisted of the clothing blankets cooking utensils tents and tent poles and their knapsacks(?) fifty six in number which surly made load enough, there on the top of all that must be placed those that were unable to walk.

With some difficulty I got a spade or two and a shovel but was provided with no medicine or other necessaries for sick men and only five days rations for a journey of three hundred miles.  Thus provided we commenced our lonesome march back to Santa Fee we traveled about two miles and camped and were visited that even by Capt Hurst (Capt Jefferson Hunt, Co A’s senior captain) and others who spoke words of comfort to us & blessed us administering the Church ordinances to the sick and bidding us God speed they left us.

Next day we resumed our march, in the evening camped near some springs of water, one yoke of our oxen got mired in the mud we took the yoke off and one got out the other we undertook to pull out but unfortunately broke his neck, our team was then too weak to pull our load, in the night Bro John Green died and we buried him by the side of Bro. Hampton (Nov 15^th), what to do for team we did not know this was a dark time and many were the earnest petition that went up to our God and Father, to our joy the next morning we found with our oxen a pair of splendid good steers which cheered our spirits for we looked upon it as one of the kind providences of our Father in Heaven.

We marched two days more without meeting with any accident.  The night of the 15^th Nov.(16^th) we camped as usual. Bro Elijah Freeman was to night taken very ill, we hauled him next day (17^th) in our wagon, he suffered extremely this night camped as usual, lay by next (18^th) day for the benefit of Bro. Freeman whose groans and lamentations could be heard throughout the entire day it was a very cold and snow day Next (19^th) day we resumed our march.  This day we halted for Bro. Freeman to die after which we continued our march till the usual time of camping we then buried his corpse To night Bro Richard Carter died next morning we buried him by the side of Bro Freeman, their graves are four miles south of Sacora on the Rio Grande…”  (Note: spelling and punctuation are as written.  Paragraphing is provided to help break up the narrative.) As to Richard’s cause of death, it was probably due to exposure and fatigue.  No one will ever know for sure.

Richard had turned 26 on 8 Aug 1846 and died three months and 11 days later.   Thus, ends the all to short life of Richard Harrison Carter.   It is fitting to end this short biography with two quotes.  The following is from President Brigham Young at the first reunion of the Mormon Battalion on 6 February 1855 where he stated:

The Mormon Battalion will be held in honorable remembrance to the latest generation; and I will prophesy that the children of those who have been in the army, in defence [sic defense] of their country, will grow up and bless their fathers for what they did at that time.  And men and nations will yet rise up and bless the men who went in that Battalion. ...As the Lord lives, ...you will never be forgotten, worlds without end, but you will be had in honorable remembrance, for ever and ever.  (Report of the First General Festival of the Reknowned Mormon Battalion, Which Came Off on Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 6 and 7, 1855, in the Social Hall, G.S.L City, reported by J. V. Long, reported by T. S. Williams, Deseret New Office [1855], p 17.  Copy in Historian’s Office Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Vault P, M273.42, R-425, 1855. https://ia800500.us.archive.org/14/items/reportoffirstgen00unse/reportoffirstgen00unse.pdf.)

Lastly, on 1 Nov 1997 at the rededication of the Mormon Battalion monument on the grounds of the State Capitol in Salt Lake City, President Gordon B. Hinckley stated: “I think our people generally don't know much about the Mormon Battalion. They know a few broad brush strokes, that's all. In my judgment, with the exception of the sufferings of the handcart pioneers of 1856, the Mormon Battalion suffered more than any other body of our pioneers. That's saying a very great deal, and I believe it with all my heart…Tremendous was their contribution!" he exclaimed. "Great was their suffering. Their loyalty can never be questioned. Their dedication, I think, was equal to any in all of the history of our people."  (Held 'in honorable remembrance,' by R. Scott Lloyd, Church News, 8 Nov 1997.)

Note:  To learn more about what happened to Richard’s family after his passing please see The Life of Hannah Parker (Wife of Richard Harrison Carter) by this author. It can be found at: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KWV3-YWX).

 Again, more can be found about the Mormon Battalion at http://www.mormonbattalion.com/

CARTER REUNION - DAY 2 - June 17, 2017

Day two of the reunion dawned beautiful again with the temperature that never quite hit 80.

We started out at the Carterville Park - named for John H Carter who farmed to the south of the park on the Provo Bench.  This is a beautiful park and a most fitting place to meet.  At 10 AM we held our business meeting.  Val Dunn gave our financial report.  We then brought the group up to date on the Carterville Cemetery situation back in Iowa.  The group elected to not do anything at this time with regards to attempting to purchase this property.  We will discuss this further in future communications with the group.  We did discuss the possibility of placing a headstone or memorial in the Fletcher Cemetery in Tioga, IL for John Carter.  Robert Givens said he would talk to the cemetery people and find out if this is a feasible project.  The Charter for The John and Hannah Knight Libby Carter Family Organization was amended as proposed with two minor additions.  Next we elected the officers of the organization. The slate of previous officers, since they were willing to continue, were elected to serve for the next two years (with the two new positions added.)  The list is as follows:

Robert Givens - President
Cody Carter - Vice President
Val Dunn - Treasurer
Dr. Andree Swanson - Secretary
Charles Carter - Webmaster
Glenda Wright - Genealogist
Scott Allen - Publicist
Todd Robbins - Social Media Specialist

Our last item of business was to discuss where we want to meet in 2019.  Two years ago the group that met in Omaha chose San Diego to be our next reunion site so we could recognize Richard Carter, who died on the Mormon Battalion march.  There was a real division in this group between that site and Nauvoo.  We chose to table this decision for a short while and will get back to the group as a whole to find out who would be willing to attend our next reunion at either site.

We then adjourned to the Provo City Cemetery for the highlight of our reunion - the recreation of the 1941 dedication of Hannah Knight Libby Carter's headstone.  A little history is needed here for those who might not know the whole story.

Hannah died on October 20, 1867 in Provo probably at the home of Dominicus Carter, her son, since she appears to have lived with him.  She was shortly buried on a cold winter day in an old pioneer cemetery not far from Carterville Park.  This cemetery, Grandview Cemetery, was located at the point that three pioneer land grants met.  It was started about 1860 when one of the land owners needed to bury a child.  From that others asked to bury they family there too - including our Hannah.  About 1879 these farmers were unhappy that this little cemetery had grown to over 60 burials and decided to allow no new burials and requested that the families of those who were buried there remove their departed loved ones at the family's expense.  Hannah was then moved to the Provo City Cemetery.

About 1940 or so a former Carter family organization decided the headstone on Hannah's grave needed to be replaced and this was done in 1941 with a ceremony that we created last Saturday.  We were helped by finding a letter describing the event and obtaining a copy of a movie film of the actual event.

Hannah's stone with the children's roses

So on Saturday, June 17th, 2017 (150 years after her death and 74 years after the present headstone was dedicated) we again met as a family at her grave.   (I need help here and will edit this post as i am given the names I don't have.)  Robert Givens giving an abbreviated version of the life of Hannah.  Gary Carter, the grand son of  John F Carter who sang two songs at the original dedication, sang one of the songs - An Angel from on High   Children in the group were given roses to place on the headstone just a the children had 74 years ago.  ???? the oldest descendant in attendance also was given a rose to place on the stone.  ??? closed our simple ceremony with a touching prayer.   

Some of the group at Hannah's grave

We also recognized Charles Carter who was instrumental in forming this organization and has worked tirelessly on its behalf for over a decade.  He gave a short talk about the granite bench that the organization placed here a number of years ago.  It recognizes all the pioneer children of our family buried here and across the plains and nation who lie in unmarked graves.  It is shaped as a bench so family members may come here and sit and reflect on our family's history and the sacrifice of those who came before.

Grandview Cemetery Marker

Yummy Luncheon

After this ceremony the family adjourned back to Carterville Park for a luncheon provided by the organization.  We had chicken, potato salad, regular salad, rolls, and cookies with ice cold water to drink.  Many hung around for a couple of more hours to visit with their new and old friends.  Near the end of our afternoon meal those that wanted to took a short trip over to the Grandview Cemetery site to see where Hannah was originally interred. 

Again we want to thank Layne Carter and any others that took the time to prepare and put on this excellent reunion. Recognition needs to go to Michael Lambert for his outstanding photographs which were used to illustrate this blog entry.

CARTER REUNION - DAY 1 - June 16, 2017

Well it was time for the biannual John and Hannah Knight Libby Carter Reunion again.  This year we chose to meet in Provo.  For day one we were at the LDS Church Pavillion at 350 East 2950 North, in Provo.  It was a delightful setting and the weather was wonderful - the high was right around 80 degrees.

Part of the group at the pavilion

Our goal was to share and record lost stories of our ancestors - our attempt to fill out the family tree with people that recorded life stories.  Several people brought their stories for us to copy and I for one prepared PDF versions of this blogs life stories of John and Hannah.

Boards were provided that showed all of John and Hannah's children and each of their marriages with children.  Attendees were asked to record their line back to the child of John and Hannah on the chart. This helped us know who was represented.

Dr. Andree Brown Swanson recording her line

This is an example of out charts.

This allowed us to determine who descended from whom.  It was a great attention grabber and many people spent a pleasant time talking to their cousins (many whom they had never met.)

Many attendees  brought life stories and pictures to share.  This was just an enjoyable time getting to know one another.

We were excited to announce our announce our new effort - a YouTube Channel called The John and Hannah Knight Libby Family.   It can be found at  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN_sr85X-ns6q8ndsOd8DqQ

You can subscribe and be told when we add new videos. Currently we have two -

1) Carters of Maine Conversion Story - This tells the story of Hannah's conversion with some new twists.
2) Memorial for Hannah Knight Libby - This highlights the video of the 1941 dedication of the headstone that is on Hannah's grave - which ceremony we recreated today.

Thank you to Layne Carter and his son, Skyler for their efforts on doing these two short videos.

This final image is a chart Layne created to help show all the inner-connections between the Bean family and the Carters that surely led to Dominicus and later Hannah and several more of the kids being converted.  The missionaries what came to the door of Hannah's house on July 4, 1834 were not just missionaries but Daniel Bean was actually a relative on multiple levels.

Web of relationships leading to Hannah's conversion

ANNOUNCING: THE JOHN AND HANNAH KNIGHT LIBBY CARTER FAMILY YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Our family organization is going to begin branching out in our efforts to educate the descendants of John and Hannah Knight Libby Carter in the history of our family.  In addition to our web page - Carterville.com, this blog and our family group on Facebook - we are proud to announce our own channel on YouTube.

Check us out at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN_sr85X-ns6q8ndsOd8DqQ
You can subscribe and be told when we add new videos.  Currently we have two -
1)  Carters of Maine Conversion Story - This tells the story of Hannah's conversion with some new twists.
2)  Memorial for Hannah Knight Libby - This highlights the video of the 1941 dedication of the headstone that is on Hannah's grave - which ceremony we recreated today.

There will be many more to follow.

HANNAH KNIGHT LIBBY - Part 26 - Life in Utah and Death

At this point of Hannah’s life we truly reach a black hole as virtually nothing is known about her between her arrival in Utah in 1851 and her death in 1867.  Most references about her during this period of her life state that she lived with Dominicus in Provo.  This writer has found one reference to her that seems to disprove several things mentioned in this narrative. 

The Overland Travel site at https://history.lds.org/overlandtravel/pioneers/41831/hannah-knight-libby-carter states:  “Birth date is confirmed by Manti Ward records at the time of a rebaptism on 29 June 1851. She is listed in that record with the surname of "Morley." (Manti Ward, Record of Members. CR 375 8, Reel 3954.)  This roll of microfilm needs to be studied to see what else it might tell us about Hannah.  Was she in fact already in Utah in June 1851 and living in Manti? One warning about the family of Isaac Morley is that he did have a polygamous wife, Hannah Finch – which can also confuse people as you search for Hannah Morley.

We are left with basically no record of what Hannah’s life was in Utah.  With the exception of the Manti Ward record mentioned above, it is assumed that Hannah lived in the Dominicus’ big house in Provo.  In Chapter 9 of this narrative is found four firsthand descriptions of Hannah in her later years. Rather than reprint them here we will just quote from them.  Clara Melissa Carter, Dominicus Carters’ daughter, remembered Hannah as living in their home.  What specifically she did can only be guessed.  She surely helped the wives of Dominicus in household chores and with the dozens of children.  She was not young.  In 1851 she would have been 65 years old.  Francis Carter Knight, another granddaughter, stated, “…She did not look as old as she really was. Her hair was grey when I knew her. She wore a little lace cap. She had a good education and was always very industrious, keeping her knitting close by, and working when she was what might be considered too old to work.” Probably a later remembrance was from a great-granddaughter, Sarah York Tiffany, who remembered, “She sat in the chair or on the bed and pieced quilt blocks, and her sewing was neat. She was childish and would cry when left alone very long.”  That last comment would lead one to think that possibly in her later years she suffered some form of dementia.

Whatever the case, we are left only to guess what her life was like.  Did she hold Church callings?  Did her children travel to see her or did she ever travel and visit with them?  Over the years it appears that things that were known about her have been lost to our knowledge.  In a 1941 memorial to her entitled “Mother Hannah Knight Libby Carter” they recorded: 

“In June, 1852, Hannah Carter dictated the following message to her son, Dominicus, showing her deep interest in temple work for her kindred dead:

By request of your mother I am writing to you. She wishes to communicate to you some of her wishes with regard to her deceased relatives. She is well at present as common, but as life is uncertain, if it is not her privilege to live in this world to do the work for her parents and relatives that have gone the way of all the earth, she wants to leave this work so that it may be done and done right. She wishes to be ready to go when she is called. This is the way we all should leave.

Then followed a detailed list of relatives she remembered for whom temple work was to be done.

She remained at Provo during the time of the Echo Canyon War and when the body of the Saints moved south to Provo and adjoining towns. She lived in her later years at the home of Dominicus Carter.” 

One other letter of Dominicus opens a small window on Hannah’s last days.  On March 5, 1867 Dominicus wrote his brother, Philip Libby Carter of Illinois: “Mother is alive but very feeble.  I don’t think she can live long.  She is getting old rising eighty.  If you should want to see her before she should die you better come this spring and not wait til the railroad is finished.  Mother wants me to say to you that she does not expect to live long on this earth and she wants you to prepare to meet her in the world to come.  She says the path she has pursued for the last 30 years is the only path by which you can enjoy her society in the world to come and be accepted of the Lord.”   

Besides giving us a glimpse of the ravages of old age working on her body, this letter includes a strong final testimony of a longtime member of the church.  Thirty-three years had passed since her conversion but she still was strong in the Faith. 

Hannah Death Notice

Seven months after the letter to Philip was penned Hannah passed away.  For one hundred and fifty years we were in the dark as to when Hannah actually died. We have never known the exact date, only that on Nov. 2, 1867 a letter was written by Mary E. Whiting from Springville to a relative in Manti stating, "Mother Carter is dead."  And that is where things stood until February 2017.  At that time Virginia Bright (the wife of a descendant of Isaac Morley) contact the Carter family with a newspaper account of her death. The reason we had never found this document was that she was called “Hannah Libby Morley.”  The newspaper article is actually a letter from Apostle George A Smith.  At the time he had responsibility over the communities in Utah county and the news article was actually a letter he wrote detailing some of his activities.  The article reads: 

CORRESPONDENCE

Provo City

Sunday, Oct. 19, 1867

Editor Daily Telegraph:

     Dear Sir:  This city was visited with a cold storm yesterday, the mountains being covered with snow.

     There is considerable sickness among children; the whooping cough is prevalent, several deaths of late have occurred.

     I delivered two addresses in the new meeting house today also visited the Sunday School, which is making satisfactory progress.

     We are also called to mourn the death of a Mother in Israel, Hannah Libby Morley, who died this morning, the widow of the late Patriarch Isaac Morley.  She was born in the State of Maine, October 9, 1786.

     When 17 years of age she married John Carter, with whom she lived 43 years, and to whom she bore seven sons and four daughters.  She has upwards of 100 grandchildren, and 30 great grandchildren.  She is the mother of Dominicus, W. F. and John H Carter, prominent citizens of this county.

     One of her sons, Richard Carter, died in the Mormon Battalion.

     She was baptized in Newry, Oxford county, Maine, in 1834.  Prior to her baptism, she was taken dangerously sick, and was given up to die; in the meantime a Mormon Elder called in, whom she desired to pray for her, which was complied with, and she straightway arose, walked one half of a mile, was baptized, and became strong in the faith from that hour.

     She passed through the persecutions in Missouri and Illinois.

     She kept the faith, and lately expressed to her children that she desired to depart this life and join a "sweet rest in Heaven,"

Geo. A. Smith

It is interesting that Smith called her Hannah Libby Morley.  He had known the family for many years and had many dealings with both Dominicus and William Furlsbury at least.  It is interesting that he used Morley instead of Carter in describing Hannah, but she had been sealed to Isaac, and as such she was considered one of his wives and would probably be known to many by the name of Morley.  This comes as a surprise to many of us in our generation but actually helps to point out how far removed from her day we are today.

We need to address the date of her death – as the article leaves us questioning the exact date of her death.  It is titled “Sunday, Oct. 19, 1867.”  The problem with that is that Oct 19^th was actually Saturday and Sunday was on the 20^th.  It seems logical that she died either on the 19^th or 20^th.  Since her death is mentioned as happening “this morning” right after he mentioned attending a Sunday school – it would seem most likely that her death date is 20 Oct 1867.

Sign at Provo City Cemetery

Shortly after her death, the body was originally buried at the Grandview Hill Cemetery. This was where three farms converged and is no longer in existence. She was moved along with her head stone to the Pioneer Cemetery in Provo, Utah.  On Memorial Day, May 30, 1941, 155 years after her birth, 90 years after she crossed the plains, and 74 years after her death, 90 members of her posterity held a memorial service in her honor, sang again the songs that were sung at her funeral, and listened to a sketch of her rich life story. Then once again they gathered at her graveside (in the Provo City Cemetery) and dedicated a bronze marker as a lasting memorial to her name and noble character. It bore this inscription (beside the motif of a covered wagon):

                Hannah Knight Libby Carter

                October 9, 1786-November, 1867.

                “Faithful in the day of Trial.”

Hannah's 1941 Marker

Bench to remember Carter children that have no headstones.

With this we end this account of her life.  May her ability to overcome trials and adversity be an example to us.  Also might each of us embrace truth with the strength that she demonstrated.  Hannah was a great example to her posterity of how to live an honorable life.   

HANNAH KNIGHT LIBBY - Part 25 - Crossing the Plains to Salt Lake

The years 1850 to 1852 saw the Carter families cross the plains from Winter Quarters/Kanesville to Salt Lake City in three groups.  The first to cross were William Furlsbury, John Harrison and their sister, Hannah Carter York and their families.  They crossed the plains with the William Snow Company, leaving on 21 June 1850 and arriving in Salt Lake on 1 to 4 October 1850.  The last sibling to come was Eliza Ann Carter Snow who traveled in her husband, James C. Snow’s Company.  They left Iowa on 5 July 1852 and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 9 October 1852.  In addition to her family they also brought the Richard and Hannah Parker Carter orphans – Franklin Fitzfield, Mary A and Samuel Parker Carter.

This leaves us with Dominicus, who by several accounts brought his mother Hannah along with his family in 1851.  The Church is developing a comprehensive database of the pioneers who crossed the plains called “Pioneer Overland Travel” – see:  https://history.lds.org/overlandtravel/  It is a database that is incomplete and constantly being updated.  The irony is that 1851 is the biggest weak line.  The Brethren encouraged all that could travel to come to Utah that year.  In response there were many groups that crossed the plains that year but they were poorly documented.  Not one group has yet been fully accounted for at this time. So this leaves us to surmise the best we can what transpired in Hannah’s crossing the plains.

So the question becomes when in 1851 did Dominicus and Hannah cross the plains.  Most of the accounts of Dominicus life state that he arrived in Utah in June, 1851.  To do that they would have had to leave in early spring before the snows had melted.  That just seemed to this writer to be too early for them to arrive.  After much futile searching it was decided to locate Dominicus’ obituary – which is located at Familysearch.org in his memories in Family Tree.  This obituary states "From Nauvoo he migrated to Boniplat, Iowa, and resided one year at Mount Pisgah, he removed thence to Council Bluffs, whe he resided two years.  He left the latter place on the 20th of June, 1851, and arrived in Salt Lake City on Sept. 25 of that year.  Two months later he came to Provo (Nov., 1851) where he has resided ever since." ("A Veteran Gone," Published in the Territorial Enquirer, 5 Feb. 1884. Seen in Journal History of the Church, Vol 5, Feb. 1884, page 7.) This is the only place where this writer has found absolute beginning and ending dates for their journey.

There is one other source that provides an extra tidbit of information.  Dominicus crossed the plains in 1851 according to the record in Frank Essholm’s book published in 1913 at Salt Lake City—a 4500 copy by subscription edition—Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, page 281. This record shows his picture and states “Dominicus Carter a native of Maine came to Utah in 1851 with Captain Homers Co.”  A search for Captain Homer’s Company has located no further references to the supposed wagon train.  There was a supply train that arrived in Salt Lake in late September what was lead by a Captain Horner.  In looking closely at a copy of Essholm’s book Homer could in fact be Horner, which would explain the non-existence of Captain Homer. 

Typical Wagon

Without any absolutely related documentation of their travels the following will have to suffice to help us to picture what this trip must have been like in 1851 (or thereabouts.)  To go west by wagon and teams was not cheap. People had to obtain their own outfits or pay to go with someone else. President Hyde reported in 1850 that outfits that year cost about $600 each, equivalent in today’s dollars to about $13,000.  It was not wise for any to head for Utah unless they had “team and wagon sufficient to come through without any assistance from the valley,” the First Presidency instructed from Utah in June 1849. “And they should bring breadstuffs sufficient to last them a few months after their arrival.” (The Ensign Magazine, August 2002 – “Pushing on to Zion: Kanesville, Iowa, 1846–1853” By William G. Hartley)

Ironically the year 1851 was a year of low emigration.  With the Mormons, Oregonians and Gold Rushers 1848-1850 had been boon years.  There was a significant drop off in 1851 but things picked up significantly in 1852.  The latter year (1852) was significant for Mormons as the First Presidency essentially told all remaining Saints in the Kanesville area to pack up and move to Utah and abandon all holdings in the States.  Four letters detailing this shut down of the settlements in Iowa were sent from Salt Lake during the 1851 year – at the time Dominicus packed up and left.  (See:  BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol 52, Issue 3, Article  - 10-1-2013 - The Closedown of LDS Iowa Settlements in 1852 That Completed the Nauvoo Exodus and Jampacked the Mormon Trail by William G. Hartley.  Online at http://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4463&context=byusq)

The initial cost of the outfit was just the beginning of the costs.  You then had to pay for food to keep you alive and to pay to cross rivers (on bridges or on ferrys.) Since it was impossible to carry enough food to feed your family during the whole trip, it was essential to have funds to resupply your stores as your traveled.   Prices for foodstuffs varied widely from year to year and trading post to trading post.  The following demonstrate this from 1850 and 1852 since no figures could be found for 1851.  In 1850 prices at Fort Laramie were as follows:  Flour $.12 to $.50 per pound; Sugar $.50 to $2.00 pound; Coffee $.50 pound; and Bacon $.50 pound.  In 1852 before Fort Laramie: Flour $.20 pound/$15.00 per 100 pound; Sugar $.50 to $.60 pound; Coffee $.50 pound.  At Fort Laramie in 1852: Flour $10.00 to $10.50 per 100 pounds; Sugar $.50 to $.75 pound; Coffee $.40 pound; and Bacon $.15 pound. (The Plains Across - The Overland Emigrants and Trans-Mississippi West, 1840-60 by John D. Unruh, Jr. [University of Illinois Press – 1979] pp. 276 and 283.)

Ferrying the Platt River

Crossing rivers was an expensive process if they couldn’t be forded.  With 1851 being a high river year the use of ferrys and bridges was essential.  Cost ran anywhere from $1.00 to upwards of $10.00 per wagon and often $1.00 per horse.  Bridges were an extra bonus as they cut down the wait that often occurred at ferry crossings as wagons would back up for days at many ferry passings.

The modern roadmap was not in use in the early days of travel across the plains.  There were maps but they were expensive and in short supply.   Instead there were guide books that were produced to help travelers in their journey.  Perhaps the most famous of the guidebooks available to the Mormons and other emigrants was Lansford Hastings’s The Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California, which was written in 1844 and published in Ohio in 1845. Hastings is best known for forging the trail through Emmigrant Canyon into the Salt Lake Valley that the Saints so benefitted from.  He is forever linked in infamy with the Donner Party whose demise was partly due to following the “Hasting’s Cutoff.”  Of more value to the Mormon emmigrants was a guide written by William Clayton.  Clayton was charged with keeping a journal of the first pioneer wagon train of 1847.  His notes were later published as “The Latter-Day Saints Emmigrants’ Guide” which became an instant success with the Mormons and the Gold Rushers headed to California.  (William E Hill, “The Mormon Trail” [published by Utah State University 1-1-2006] see:  http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1098&context=usupress_pubs)  Mr. Clayton, the original publisher of this Guide, is justly entitled to much credit and great praise for his diligence, care, perseverance and untiring industry in measuring the distances from point to point on this route, in describing the country, in pointing out the streams and springs of water, showing the distances in English miles, from one camp ground to another, so that the traveler may always know, when he starts in the morning, how far he has to go before he finds another suitable stopping place. ("Emigrants' Guide to Salt Lake and California," Frontier Guardian, 7 Feb. 1851, 2. See: https://history.lds.org/overlandtravel/sources/6644/emigrants-guide-to-salt-lake-and-california-frontier-guardian-7-feb-1851-2)

Wagon Train Crossing the Plains

In researching this part of Hannah’s life one detailed account of a wagon train crossing the plains in 1851 was located.  It is found at FamilySearch.org  in the Family Tree attached as a memory for Elizabeth Carson Griffeth (“On the Trail With the Carsons in 1851” contributed by Nyla Skinner).  The Carsons traveled in what came to be called the Garden Grove Company as they left Garden Grove, Iowa on May 17^th and left Winter Quarters on July 3^rd (about 3 weeks after Dominicus left) and arrived in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, September 24 (the day before Dominicus arrived.)  Thus their two wagon trains surely shared the trail and probably were in communication with each other.  The experiences of the Carson group probably parallel what happened to the Carter wagon train to some extent.  The following excerpts from the Carson article follow.

In 1850, an article in the Frontier Guardian stated that the average fully loaded wagon weighed about 1,850 pounds. For each person, old or young, it was recommended that one hundred and twenty five pounds of flour be taken, "plus bacon, sugar, coffee, tea, rice, dried fruit and other necessaries in proportion." … Each family would also have stocked their wagons with clothing, household goods, cooking utensils, tools, farming equipment and seeds.  The article in the Frontier Guardian also recommended that for each wagon, the family should have "two good yoke of oxen and from one to three yoke of cows." If those traveling in the company have even four or five oxen, or cows with them, it means they are moving at least three hundred head of livestock. Most families also have several horses. Herding this large group of animals, finding food for them, and keeping them safe from the Indians is a daunting task that requires a good portion of the labor each day.

Winter Quarters had been abandoned since 1848 and was virtually a ghost town falling into ruins.  By the time the Carsons left Winter Quarters on July 2 the Elkhorn River had rose so high they had to make a 100 mile detour to travel to the head of the river so they could cross it.  A day into their journey they met the party of Brother Orson Hyde traveling east from Salt Lake.  Surely Dominicus’ group probably passed him on the trail too.   The Carsons described their early challenges in getting their oxen teams to travel the route they desired and how it took quite some time to train the animals and drivers on how to accomplish this task.  They then encountered Indians along the Elkhorn that drove off cattle and horses.  They also endured more than one spontaneous stampede of their livestock which lead to a couple of the party being trampled to death.  One day they crested a hill only to find gigantic herds of buffalo heading their way.  It took hours for the beasts to pass them. 

By late July the wet cool Spring had turned to a dry, hot summer.  Mountain Fever, or malaria, became a problem on the trail thanks to the wet spring conditions.  The disease is spread through water. None of the pioneer accounts I have read have described how they washed and bathed while on the trail, nor how they took care of other basic needs. They had no toilet paper, and I doubt they carried a four month supply of "corn cobs." It was customary at the time to make use of small pieces of cloth. These, naturally, were washed frequently in the streams. This is why it was possible for the disease to spread so rapidly.

Wagon Ruts in Wyoming

The pioneers passed several natural landmarks such as Chimney Rock, Lone Tree and Devil’s Gate.  Heading into Fort Laramie (or Fort John in those days) the landscape changed drastically from grasslands to dryer vegetation, sage and cactus.  This meant that livestock would now need more feed to survive.  Fort Laramie was a trading establishment of 12 houses enclosed in a wall 11 feet high.  He buildings were built of adobe – which the pioneers would see much of in the coming months.  Wagon trains would stop here to trade, to use the blacksmith shops to make repairs and generally rest up.  This fort was approximately half way between Winter Quarters and Salt Lake City.

The pioneers tried to keep spirits up with dancing, songs and story telling in the evenings.  These activities were important to break the monotony of the days and give the travelers something to look forward to.  This was often a 7 days a week journey with only part of the day on Sunday’s taken out to worship.  The trip was always arduous at best.  It was hard to keep everyone happy.  Discontent seemed to raise its head in every wagon train.  The trail included loose cobble stones, ravines and creek beds to pass.  Wagons were forever having souse wheels.  Every company needed a blacksmith traveling with it to help keep the wagons in repair.  (Dominicus would be very helpful to have around in this case.)

By late August the company spent a week traveling through a bleak and dangerous landscape of mineral springs, alkali beds, and poisonous swamps. It was remembered that many of the families lost cattle to the alkali during this portion of the trek.  The only good thing about this alkali land was the women could gather “salaratus, or soda, since this was the only source of this mineral on the trip. It could be used in place of yeast in baking.   Upon reaching the Sweatwater River they passed Independence Rock.  On August 31^st they reported that three companies were traveling together – the Garden Grove Company captained by William Walton, “Captain Brown’s” Company, and “Father Allred’s” company.  These companies would have been in competition for good camping places and for feed for their livestock.

As they passed from Nebraska into Utah their trials were not over.  The land was still dry and oxen died daily from exhaustion, lack of adequate nourishment and water.  This problem wasn’t resolved until they finally reached the Green River.  By this time they were only 120 or so miles out of Salt Lake but the teams were giving out and provisions were growing short.  The companies were throwing away all they could possibly spare in order to lighten the loads. It appears that all of the companies that were nearing Utah at this time were experiencing the same difficulties - shortages of food, and livestock dying nor near death from exhaustion.  On Tuesday, September 16^th 1851 the company arrived at Fort Bridger and drove pass it a mile or so and camped.  There they divided their teams up in preparation for crossing the passes of the Rocky Mountains that were ahead of them as it would take cooperation of all the families to make this last crossing.  They were just 112 miles from Salt Lake but the challenges were not over.

In the mountains east of Salt Lake City

The final week of their trek was not described – probably from the extreme exhaustion everyone must have had in crossing the mountains.  Others described the beauty of the scenery and the comfort of not having to breathe dust all day like they had done for months. On Saturday, the 20st of September, the Carsons were about seventeen miles from the valley. Here, the pioneers probably had their first view of the Salt Lake Valley. From the summit of a mountain which the Emmigrants’ Guide described as being 7245 feet high, it was possible to see in the distance the south part of the Valley. Here they met several men with teams ready to assist those who needed help. ... The descent of the mountain was awfully steep and dangerous for about four miles. The next two days saw them travel a whole 4 miles over the roughest, most treacherous landscape they would pass on the entire trip.

On Wednesday, September 24, 1851 the Garden Grove company had breakfast and then moved up and over the last hill and entered the Salt Lake Valley with 60 wagons.  The next day it is reported that Dominicus arrived.  Hopefully this account gives the reader a taste of what the journey for Dominicus and Hannah was like.