On July 24, 1847 Brigham Young entered the Salt Lake valley and declared “This is the Place.” Shortly thereafter some of my great-great-great grandparents entered the valley and said “This is the place?” but they made the best of what proved to be a difficult existence in that first year. One of them became Brigham Young’s barber.
Two decades later in 1863 George Taylor and his wife Eliza and there three children set sail for America. They had worked for six years to earn enough money for the voyage. George was heard repeatedly saying “If only we can get there by the skin of our teeth I will be happy.” As they passed over London Bridge on their way to the docks, they had four cents in cash to make their long journey.
On June 4, 1863, George Taylor and his wife Eliza and their children, Harriet Clarissa, age 5; Mary Ann Emma, age three; and Parley G, ten months; left London on the vessel “Amazon” for their seven week voyage to a new life, and to be with the people of their faith. It was a difficult trip. The boat was tossed about by storms and illness plagued the people in the belly of the ship.
They landed at Castle Gardens, New York on the third week of July. An old friend loaned them they money they needed to continue westward. They traveled by boxcar sleeping in straw scattered upon the floor. The distress of the trip was too much for their three year old daughter. Mary Ann Emma died before they reached St. Joseph. An undertaker met the train and took the body of the little girl for burial. No one knew where her body was laid to rest.
Transportation from St. Joseph to Florence was by boat on the Missouri River. George became sick and so did baby Parley. The little boy died three days out of St. Joseph. His body was buried in Florence.
From Florence the trek began west with a wagon and three oxen. After two months of traveling across the plains, they arrived in Salt Lake City in October of 1863. The family eventually settled in Provo where they lived in a two room adobe house; windows were covered with blankets to keep out the storms and the cold.
The family’s financial situation eventually improved and George became the owner of the first furniture store in Provo. The building still stands. He was also one of the first photographers in the region and took many of the historical photos of Provo that exist today.
I am proud of my Pioneer heritage. These people were resilient, courageous, faithful, and hopeful. Despite terrible hardship they pressed on to settle the territory that would become Utah. It was not easy. It is a story repeated, one that shaped not only Utah history, but also the history of the west. It is reason to celebrate.
