Rachel Eleanor Wagstaff (1829 - 1884) Profile

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Rachel Eleanor Wagstaff

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Claudius V. Spencer Company report, 1853

Claudius V. Spencer Company report, 1853, Page 13.

Claudius V. Spencer Company report, 1853.

Wagstaff, William, Biographical sketch, 3

Wagstaff, William, Biographical sketch, 3.

My Mother [Mary Bathsheba Wagstaff], my sister, Rachel and her husband, Brother [John Joseph] Hayes, came to America from England and when they arrived her they did not have money to get their luggage off the boat. Brother Hayes found out where I lived and he came and told me. I advanced the money to him and was very glad that I had it. Then, of course, we all wanted to came to the Valley of Salt Lake. What to do? I did not know. I knew I had not money enough and I knew they had none. Finally there was a family came by name of Western [Weston], William Western and his wife, Martha, and a niece, Martha [Chitty]. A man and his wife came along with them, the man was named George Gills. The Gills family backed out when they got to St Louis so the Western's wanted me to drive them across the plains. I told them it was a job that I had never been used to but I would do it. Brother Western was very sick at the time and trusted everything to me to buy everything as they knew nothing about American money. So I had to buy the whole outfit out of their money. We came in Claud[ius] Spe[nc]er's company across the plains, and nothing particular occurred.	
Brother Western was very sick and I tried to do everything I could for his comfort. Sister Western was taken very sick with the diarrhea. We got everything we thought needed to do her good. Nothing seemed to check it. At last we got some thickened milk and I think that this checked it too suddenly for she died very sudden. The day before it had rained all day and when we camped at night everything was so wet that we could not kindle a fire. In the night she lay in the wagon and it seemed she was so very thirsty. She made the remark, "Will someone get up and give the dying a drink of water?" "Yes," I said, "I will give you drink of water." I had no thought that she was dying, but she was, and in the morning we had to bury her. There had been so much rain the day before and all that night that the road was so very slippery I was afraid my two yoke of oxen would not be able to get up the hill. I asked Bother William Jeffe [Jeffs] and Charles Boan [Bourne] if they would lend me just one yoke to get up. They said no and I got up without any help. I think our captain said the place was Spring Town (no longer on the map.) When we buried Martha Western, Brother Spencer could see Brother Western would not live very long and he asked him what was to be done with the property when he died, if he would not give it to the church. He said, "No, his niece was to have half of it and me the other half. If she and I got married when we got to the valley it all belonged to us." When we buried Sister Western, all the company had passed and we had to follow.	
We drove about five miles that night. Just before we got to where we camped for the night, Brother Jeffs and Charley Bourne was behind all the rest of the camp and they got stuck in the mud hole and their oxen could not move their wagon. Brother Hays let them stick and said, "If I were you, I would not help them out; they would not help you this morning." I told him, very well but, no. I told him again, very well, I would take the oxen and as soon as he saw I was determined to help them, he took the oxen and helped them. It was a good thing that he did as Uncle Western died that night. They helped bury him and to dig the grave. I never saw two men more humble than they were after that. They did everything I asked them to do. Nothing worse than that occurred of any not that I can remember.	
We arrived in the Valley, if I remember right, about the 22nd of September 1853.

Rachel Eleanor Wagstaff

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