Elvira Egbert (1822 - 1908) Profile

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Elvira Egbert

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Carson, Elvira Egbert, Memoirs 1901

Carson, Elvira Egbert, Memoirs 1901.

They [
Elvira, her husband, and family
] left Garden Grove for Great Salt Lake Valley in 1851 and traveled in Capt. Walton’s Company as also did her father’s family.
Several incidents of the trip to the tops of the mountains are worth mentioning. One, a stampede of the animals where a woman was killed, trampled to death by the oxen and wagons. Grandmother [Elvira] stated that they had been advised to stay with their wagons while they were stampeding and not try to jump out, and this woman, in fright, had attempted to free herself from the wagon and met death as a result.
Another interesting circumstance was when, near Utah, they had run out of flour. A prayer of her heart was that her children would not cry for something to eat; on the day in question, when they camped for the night, she spread down a sheet and shook a cracker sack free of crumbs, and told her three children that that was their supper. They crawled around and gathered up every crumb, and went to bed without a whimper. When morning came, she was able to borrow a pan of flour, which along with milk they had, she was able to make it last until they arrived in the valley Sept. 25, 1851.

Transcript for Carson, Elvira Egbert, Memoirs 1901

Elvira E. Carson Autobiography and Photographs, circa 1898-2016

Elvira E. Carson Autobiography and Photographs, circa 1898-2016.

In 1851 we started for Utah.  Then we came to Canesville [Kanesville], and had to lay over for two are three weeks on account of high water.  After we crossed the river we either had to lay over are go a round to the head of the other stream what was called the Elk river and the plat [Platte] river.  So our Captain though[t] we would follow the Company that had gone.  We had a rough time of it had two are three stampedes, tipovers, And had to build bridges to cross the waters with.  Once we built a bridge had to go about three miles to get timbers got it finished and getting The Teams acrossed when the water begin to raise just as The last wagon was over, The bridge went down. 



We traveled on ‘till we struck The plat river.  we was only 250 miles on our journey and we had traveled 550.  There was a judge coming to Utah and had a wagon that marked every mile.  He passed us on the forth [fourth] of July so when we struck the plat river we knew just how many Miles we had traveled he had marked it. 



Out on Green river we met a wagon coming loaded with Potatoes my brother and some other man had loaded them and got some one else to bring Them.  Before he got to us he sold them to the Companys ahead of us so when he reach our Camp there was not only about a pan full a piece for us and I thought I had never tasted any thing better.  I cooked once out of them and keep the rest to eat raw.  When we got over the big Mountain between the Mountains we did not have a bit of flour are bread so we went to some of the Companys and they were all about in the same fix.  And we did not succeed in getting any.  So I shook the cracker sack and let the Children eat the crumbs then we went to bed.  In the Morning one of the Neighbor heard that we did not have any flour and brought a pan full to the Camp.  His name was John Eless [Elliss] and have never forgotten him.  It lasted till we reached Salt lake City.

Transcript for Elvira E. Carson Autobiography and Photographs, circa 1898-2016

Historical Department journal history of the Church, 1830-2008

Historical Department journal history of the Church. Supplement after 31 December 1851: Page 7.

Historical Department journal history of the Church, September 24, 1851, Page 1-2.

The "Garden Grove Company" of Saints arrived in Salt Lake City This company left Garden Grove, Iowa May 17, 1851, with sixty wagons and twenty-one families. They also brought a threshing machine. (Letter of Mrs. Susan Zimmerman Terry, daughter of George G. Zimmerman, members of the company.)


Following is a copy of Mrs. Terry's letter:


"Fairview, Idaho, 14 Sept., 1916.


Bro. Andrew Jenson: "On 17 May, 1851, a company of Saints consisting of twenty-one families left Garden Grove, Iowa to join the Saints at Kanesville. There they were organized into a company led by Captain Harry Walton. The families were as follows:


<blockquote xmlns:its="http://www.w3.org/2005/11/its" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">1 George G. Zimmerman and wife, Julia Hoke Zimmerman. Their children were Christena G. Stevens, a widow and Sarah Julia Stevens, her child. Also Julia Ann, Elizabeth, Margaret, <s>Hannah,</s> and Susan Zimmerman [writer of letter]. 2 Bro. &lt;(George)&gt; and Sister &lt;(Ann Huff)&gt; Carson: their family, David, George and Washington. 3 William Carson; (Their oldest son) and wife, Corrilla [Corilla] Egbert Carson, and children John Alma and Mary Ann and an infant. 4 Their second son, John Carson and wife Alvira [Elvira] Egbert Carson, and children, William and Elizabeth. 5 Patison Griffeth, Elizabeth Carson Griffeth, his wife; their children, Phebe and George Andrew. A babe [Louisa Emily] born at Green River. 6 Thomas Ewings, his wife Polly Ann Carson Ewings, and an infant. 7 Brother [Hugh] and Sister [Sarah Jane] McKinney and their family, James, Hugh, Jacob and Sarah. 8 Dr. [Daniel] Roberts, wife [Eliza] Aldura and children Don [Carlos], Boliver, Clark, William, [Delbert] Homer. 9 Cynthia Clyde, a widow and children Soloman, Edward, Lucy, Albert and James. 10 Joel Drury (blind and a cripple), his wife Terzy [Tirza]Drury; their children, Charles Horatio and Ruth [Sawyer] Drury Davis, a widow. 11 William [Coe] Critchlow and wife Harriet Hawkins; their children Charlotta [Charlotte], [Benjamin] Chamberlain and William [Fuller]. 12 Thomas Crooks, a widower, and two children, a boy (name forgotten) and Agnes. 13 George Crooks and wife Ellen Crooks. 14 James Crooks and sister Betsey Crooks. 15 John Miller and wife [Janet Crooks] and two small children. 16 Bro. William and Sister [Mary Ann Hales] Thompson; his children Orvilla and Maria and her children (named Hale). She died on the Platte River; do not remember the date. 17 Charles Hale and Julia Hale, some small children. 18 George Hale, wife Sarah and several small children. 19 Stephen Hale, Eveline his wife and some children. 20 Henry Hale, wife Eliza Ewings Hale. 21 Brother [John] and Sister [Jane] Tilford; their children, Robert, Ann [Anna], John, Eliza and a young man, Charles Stoddard.</blockquote>


 


After we left Kanesville we traveled around the Horn; there were so many buffaloes that we had several stampedes in the night and one in the day time, when Ellen Kingsley or Kingston, was killed. She tried to jump out of the wagon at the back, and the next team and wagon ran over her; the next teamster pulled her from under his team. There were only two tens ran, but more would have run if a young man, Frank Owen and his sister Emeline had not stopped the rest by having presence of mind and jumped out when they saw the first teams run and hold a quilt in front of their oxen and kept them from running. And the team ahead was a span of blind horses, on a large buggy and they stopped the train. We lost some cattle in the stampede and quite a lot from alkali, so we had to travel slow and help each other along. On 24 September, 1851, we arrived at Salt Lake City.


Respectfully, Mrs. Susan Zimmerman Terry, Preston Idaho, R.F.D. No


P.S. There were sixty wagons and a threshing machine. 
(Letter on file)


Note: Captain Harry Walton was not a Mormon but had come back from California after his family; he had been gold mining. But later, several members of the company became prominent and the Church and in civic affairs in Utah.

Transcript for Susan Zimmerman Terry letter, 24 September 1851, 1-2.

Historical Department journal history of the Church, 1830-2008.

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