John Jenkins (1845 - 1936) Profile

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John Jenkins

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British Mission manuscript history and historical reports, 1841-1971

British Mission manuscript history and historical reports, 1841-1971, August 29, 1883.

British Mission manuscript history and historical reports, 1841-1971.

First Presidency missionary calls and recommendations, 1877 - 1918

First Presidency missionary calls and recommendations, 1877 - 1918, August 9, 1882.

First Presidency missionary calls and recommendations, 1877 - 1918.

Index to the British Mission manuscript history and historical reports

Index to the British Mission manuscript history and historical reports.

Missionary Department missionary registers, 1860-1959

Missionary Department missionary registers, 1860-1959, October 13, 1882, Vol. 2, Page 67, Line 178.

Missionary Department missionary registers, 1860-1959, October 13, 1882, Vol. 1, Page 62, Line 2661.

Missionary Department missionary registers, 1860-1959.

Alder, J. Cecil, Utah, The Storied Domain [1932]

Alder, J. Cecil, Utah, The Storied Domain [1932], Vol. 3, Page 339.

Alder, J. Cecil, Utah, The Storied Domain [1932].

Jenkins, John Laird, in Utah Stake, Genealogical Committee, Personal Histories, ca. 1917, 240

Jenkins, John Laird, in Utah Stake, Genealogical Committee, Personal Histories, ca. 1917, 240.

John Jenkins autobiographical sketch, 1933

John Jenkins autobiographical sketch, 1933, Page 3.

<xhtml:p xmlns:its="http://www.w3.org/2005/11/its" xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">In 1864 I made another trip with Captain Israel [Isaac A.] Canfield of Ogden. We had a pretty good year except some trouble with the Indians. They stole some of our horses which were used only for riding. Each of our wagons were pulled by four yoke of oxen. </xhtml:p>

Transcript for Jenkins, John, Autobiographical sketch, 1933, 3

John Jenkins autobiographical sketch, 1933, Page 1-2.

Having no means with which to proceed to Utah, Apostle Ezra T. Benson advised my father to stay in Iowa until such time as he could get equipment to take us on our journey. During this time my mother gave birth to two pairs of twins; the first pair was born May 15, 1851 and the second pair was born May 16, 1858. When the first pair was born the family was driven from their home by a flood and had to live in a dirt roof house that leaked so badly that an umbrella had to be placed over the bed to shelter mother who lay confined with the babies.
A soon as possible my father took out his naturalization papers. He then homesteaded a quarter section of land on which we lived for eleven years. While we lived here our neighbors were Mormon apostates and Josephites who were very bitter against the church, with the exception of one family named Fisher. These people succeeded in influencing Mrs. Fisher and my mother to the extent that they refused to move on to Utah. When means were provided by which we could have moved to Utah, mother refused to sign the deeds so father could sell his land.
About 1859 or 1860 Brother Fisher took some wheat for a grist to the mill one day. Leaving it there, he stated that he would call back for it. When he went back for the flour he continued on to Utah, leaving his family behind him. When my mother learned of the Fisher episode she changed her mind in regard to signing the deed and father sold his land for five hundred dollars ($500). He equipped an outfit and we started for Utah in the first part of June 1861, in Homer Duncan’s company.
Our train was in independent outfit; that is, it consisted of people who fitted up their own outfits. Father had two wagons two yokes of oxen, eight cows, and two or three horses. Father drove one wagon and I drove one. The family was in the wagon father drove. I drove one yoke of oxen and one yoke of cows. We worked the cows as well as the oxen.
When we started in the morning the milk would be put in the churn and by noon when we stopped it would be churned to butter. The Indians caused us no trouble on our journey, although they often they and begged us for flour and sugar.
One of our sports was to stand a dime in the split end of a stick, place the stick on end at about 25 paces, and then let the Indians shoot the dime from the stick with their bow and arrow. The dime belonged to the Indian that could hit it. It was remarkable how often they hit the target.
In the company I was known as the little hunter, and with an old muzzle leading rifle, I obtained more meat than our family could use. So we often had some to give to other families. At one time between the Platte and the Sweet Water Rivers, I wounded an antelope. After tracking it, I got another shot at it and killed it. I then dressed it and started for the train of wagons which was traveling. I soon realized I was lost. I wandered around until nearly sundown. On reaching the top of a knoll I thought I saw a man and started running toward him. On seeing me he ran from me, thinking I was an Indian. My motions in trying to stop him he thought were signals to other Indians to close in on him. However, I finally overtook him and found him to be a member of our company. When I told him about the antelope, nothing could stop him from going back for it. We soon found the game and I split the cord in one front leg, slipped the opposite hind leg through the slit, and put his head between the legs so that the antelope hung on the man’s back. I carried the guns and together, we made our way back to the train, arriving at camp late in the night. I have often been out alone in the hills but have never again had the feeling of being lost.
At this time I was a boy of sixteen. I remember among other members of the company, Pres. Charles W. Penrose, Francis W. Armstrong, and Samuel Russell. President Penrose often took part in the programs held around the campfire. We had many good times during our journey. We arrived in Salt Lake City in September 28, 1861.

Transcript for Jenkins, John, Autobiographical sketch, 1933, 1-2

John Jenkins autobiographical sketch, 1933, Page 3-5.

But in 1866 I went again; this time with Captain Horton Haight of Farmington. The South Platte River at Julesburg where we crossed was three-fourths of a mile wide and we ferried our stuff over by taking the best wagon boxes and lashing four of them together. Thus they served as a ferry boat to carry our wagons and goods across the stream. This took about eight days, getting the train of about ninety wagons across the stream. Our train was extra large, having some boys from Dixie who belonged in another train. After we got our wagons and goods over, the captain called for volunteers to swim the cattle across, which consisted of about eight hundred head. Eight men volunteered. I being one of them. After about four hours of hard labor by the entire company, we got the cattle started through the water, and we eight volunteers followed them, swimming behind to keep them going. To do this we would take hold of the tails of the cattle that were behind and swim with them. When the ones we had hold of would swim into the bunch we would let them go and grab a fresh hold on another animal as it was unsafe for us to go into the bunch of swimming animals. Had we done so, we were in danger of drowning. We were in the water about six hours before we got them across. At that time there were about five hundred teams of Gentiles who were going west but did not dare to attempt to cross the river. We continued our journey on to a little village and landing place on the Missouri River called, Wyoming, which was about fifty miles down the river from the present city of Omaha and about six miles above Nebraska City. 
We were held at this place two or three weeks, waiting for European emigrants and resting our animals. While here I helped some of the farmers harvest their crops. There were not enough emigrants to complete the loads, so some wagons were loaded with telegraph wire; the first telegraph wire to go to Utah. When we were ready to leave, some apostates placed an attachment on the wire, claiming that President Young was indebted to them. A law suit followed, and it was proven that it was a mere scheme to hold us back until there would be so much snow that it would be impossible for us to get through the mountains. The court released us and we were soon on our journey. 
Upon arriving at Fort Kearney our train was held up for sometime by the United States soldiers. They said it was not safe to proceed because the Indians were so hostile, but we were finally allowed to go on our way by traveling with two trains together, making about 150 teamsters, all armed. 
When we got about twenty-five miles this side of Fort Kearney we came to a trading post called Plum Creek. I was driving the lead wagon as I usually did, and I came upon a man lying stretched across the road. I soon discovered he was dead. He had a double barrel shot gun across his chest and two buckets of alcohol by his side. He had been killed by the Indians. I drove around him and the entire train followed me. We camped near by for the night and some men were detailed to bury the man. The next morning, after driving about five miles, we found eleven men who had just been killed by the Indians. Their twelve wagons had been burned and a woman and two children were carried away. 
Proceeding westward, we came to the banks of the Platte River where we camped near a little knoll. During the night we could see the Indians on the knoll and hear them splashing in the river as they were fording across. Sleep came to no one in the camp that night. The next morning the Indians were all gone. But we could see them across the river all traveling eastward. As were going westward, that was the last we saw of the Indians on our trip. The distance from Winter Quarters to Salt Lake was about one thousand and fifty miles. Upon one occasion only my company made this journey one way in eight weeks. Ordinarily it took us about five months to make the round trip.

Transcript for Jenkins, John, Autobiographical sketch, 1933, 3-5

John Jenkins autobiographical sketch, 1933.

Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company general files, 1850-1887

Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company general files, 1850-1887, Vol. C, Page 636.

Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company general files, 1850-1887.

Salt Lake Telegram

Aged Ox Driver to Participate in Pioneer Fete

"Aged Ox Driver to Participate in Pioneer Fete", Salt Lake Telegram, July 22, 1931.

Salt Lake Telegram.

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Cowbridge, Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom

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William Thomas Jenkins

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The Church History Biographical Database is a powerful research tool that contains biographical entries on over 100,000 early Latter-day Saints, such as pioneers who traveled to Utah and missionaries who served throughout the world from 1830-1940.

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