William and his daughter (Hannah) crossed the Atlantic on the ship Josiah Bradlee in 1850. They were joined at St. Louis by the rest of the family in 1852. The Comish family evidently began traveling in the Hindley company, but according to a "Deseret News" article (22 Aug. 1855, 189) they arrived in Salt Lake City with the Livingston and Kinkead freight train. Evidence that they came in 1855 is confirmed in information found in Church financial records. Their surname is spelled "Coomish" on the handwritten and printed Hindley roster.