William Whitehead (1816 - 1885) Profile

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William Whitehead

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Deseret News

3rd Company

"3rd Company", Deseret News, September 18, 1852.

3rd Company, F. C. D. Howel, Capt., and family; Elijah Wilson; Thos. Lee and family; Henry Egleston and family; Stephen White [Wight] and family; Mary Smith and family; John Toone and family; Polly Pulsephur and family; Jane McKishney and family; Theadotia Hubbard and family; John Gornman [Goodman] and wife; John Ellison and family; Josiah Nichols; Mary Folker; Joseph McKinley and family; Frederick Wright [Weight]; Edward Bramain [Brain] and family; Edward Smith; Henry McCarthy; Geo. Shell; Thos. Hollis and wife; Henry Devonish and family; Thos. Neever and family; Elijah Tuttle and family; John Tuttle and family; Alexander Clark and family; Richard Button [Britton] and family; Thos. Barnes and family; John Burrell and family; Murdock McKinsey [McKenzie] and family; Robt. Yates and wife; widow Manson; Elizabeth Coolidge; Saml. Housley; Wm; Whitehead and family; W. Wm. Watkins sen; Wm. Atkin [Watkins] jr; Richard Slater; Mary Spencer; Alexander Stan[d]ley; Chattering; Jas. Clinger and family; David Osborn;Jefferson Osborne; Widow [Nancy Jane] Hammer; Josiah Hammer and family; Hannah Huntsman and family; Dudley Drollinger; Widow Drollinger; Wm. Jones; Capt. [Levi] McCullough and family, John Buckannan and family; Thos. Richarson and family; Sim[m]ons Curtis and family; Wm. Banks and family; T[homas]. Condie and family; J[oseph]. Hunter and family; — [Charles] Wil[l]den and family; J[ohn]. Boice and family; J. Newman and family; Albert Merrill and family; Andrew Moore and family; John H. Moore and family; Amos Moore and family; Daniel P. Young and family; Wm. A. Follet and family; Lewis [Louis] Sauntiseed [Saunsocie]; James B. Bracken; Mrs. Aldridge; James Maycock; Roswell White; Chas. Wilden; James Bevon [Bevan]; John Shields, John Smith[;] Widow [Sarah Curry] Head; Robert Walker and family.

Transcript for "3rd Company," Deseret News, 18 September 1852, 90

Deseret News.

DUP Pioneer History Collection

History of William Lampard Watkins

"History of William Lampard Watkins", DUP Pioneer History Collection, Page 6-7.

In 1851 the missionaries were sent by President Young urging the Saints to hasten to Salt Lake. Apostle Benson was laboring in our vicinity, it being decided to vacate Council Bluffs completely and all were required to unite and leave the next spring. I had on my claim a nice lot of timber suitable for wagon building, also for ox-bows, and by changing work succeeded in building my own wagon, which brought me across the plains in company with my father, mother and three brothers.


My brother Henry drove my team and traveled with us in a company of ten, William Whitehead being captain. There was a large number of cattle with the company. A brother Stan[d]ley owned the greatest number, which caused some dissatisfaction on account of the burden imposed on others. We came near losing all the cattle on the Platte River at the South Fork on account of quick sand in the river, and the cattle being frightened returned from the middle of the river and drifted down stream into an eddy which was very deep. Here they kept in a bunch with their heads just showing above the water, and we could not start them out. At last my brother Henry, seeing one of my steers which he was driving, got down among the cattle and caught him by the horns and led him out from the bunch into the river. The men got long poles and urged the herd to follow till all got fairly started. It was a very narrow chance by which a large portion of our stock were saved and there was great rejoicing.


After the scare, all felt thankful to God and gave great praise to my brother for the risk he made of his life to save the stock. He was only in his fifteenth year. We traveled on fairly well until one night we had to travel late to the camping ground where the stock could obtain food, and coming down a steep bluff to the river we had just come to a halt with the front teams, my team was the second. My father followed and the train of a dozen wagons still coming on with the loose stock. We had not got the steers from the wagon when a stampede was raised. It was dark and close to the river, the banks of which were high, and almost perpendicular. The cows had been liberated from the lead and Henry had started to unfasten the steers when off they went. I had just got onto the wagon tongue and stood in the front, holding on to my two little children in the wagon. My wife was on foot, wagons were coming in all directions but as a miracle they turned from the river bank and ran to the hills over deep gullies which looked as though it would have been impossible for teams with wagons to cross. My team ran in this manner until exhausted, when I slipped down between them and loosed them from the wagon tongue when they again ran off. I went into the wagon and made a light and soon lights were to be seen scattered about. It took a long time to find all the folks. We found Henry lying in a ravine as we traveled about with lantern calling out to the missing. He was very badly injured internally, but no bones were broken. A wagon had passed over him, crossing his body from shoulder to hips on the opposite side, and blood passed from him for several days. My wife was knocked down and her apron torn from her body and her head grazed. We were compelled to lay by for a few days to repair wagons and gather stock together. We had to fix a kind of hammock in our wagon to carry Henry as he was in great pain for several days. We had a few cases of cholera in the company and two deaths. On the crossing of Bear River, September 5, 1852 my daughter Sophronia was born. My parents remained with us with their team the rest of the company all continuing onto the valley. On the seventh, my wife's father came to meet us with a horse team and as soon as possible we continued our journey arriving at my father-in-law's home on Little Cottonwood on the 12th day of September, late in the evening.

Transcript for "History of William Lampard Watkins," 6-7.

Daughters of Utah Pioneers. DUP Pioneer History Collection.

Historical Department journal history of the Church, 1830-2008

Historical Department journal history of the Church. Supplement after 31 December 1852: Page 15.

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

Orson Welcome Huntsman diary, Library of Congress collection of Mormon diaries, 1935-1938

Orson Welcome Huntsman diary, Library of Congress collection of Mormon diaries, 1935-1938.

{Volume 1, pages 1-2.}



I was the eighth child of James William Huntsman and Hannah Davis, was born in Pottawatomy [Pottawattamie] County, Iowa on the thirty-first of March 1849. I was only a little over three years old when mother moved from Iowa to the territory of Utah, leaving Councel [Council] Bluffs on the 2nd day of June 1852 (in captain William Whiteheads Company of 50) with myself and six others [other] children with a rattle trap of a wagon or at least that is what it would be called by us today, as it was a home made wagon, wooden scane, linch pin, without any brake, had a little chain to lock with. My mother had one yoke of unbroken steers and three yokes of unbroken cows. My brother Joseph, a lad of 14 years drove them with the help of the rest of the children. We started in good shape. Athough I was only about three years old at the time I imagine that I laughed when we started with such an outfit.



What would people say today of a woman who was to start off with a family of six or seven children with an old wagon, four yoke of unbroken cattle to take on a journey of over a thousand miles in the wilderness? They would land her in the asylum. But that was the custom in those days, or at least the mobbers made it so for the Latter Day Saints, they were oblidged to leave the United States &amp; flee to the Rocky Mountains &amp; get out the best way they could, and hundreds were not fixed any better than my mother was for moving, and many were not as well fixed.



My father and eldest sister Sarah Jane left Councel [Council] Bluffs for the Rocky Mountains, or Utah, on the 10th day of May 1849, a year before mother &amp; the rest of the family came. My father and sister came to prepare for the family, they arrived in Salt Lake City some time the following October. Father worked here and there the best he could.



Father met us at, or about at Bridger some _____ miles from Salt Lake City and returned with us to the City. We arrived there on the 11th day of September, this making it in a little over three months, traveling from Councel [Council] Bluffs to Utah. It was a long, hard, and tedious journey over an almost tractless wilderness. It was very much this way when the Pioneers came over the road in 1847, of course they left the road for us to travel, but that was about all they could do and we did likewise.

Transcript for Orson Welcome Huntsman diary, Library of Congress collection of Mormon diaries, 1935-1938

Osborn, David, Autobiography 1860, 48-49

Osborn, David, Autobiography 1860, 48-49.

I do not rember the number of families that emigrated the summer of '52 but Capt. Howel[l] had charge the 50 to which belonged & I belonged to Capt. [William] Whitehead's ten 
we commenced fixing up &amp; on the 2nd of June were on the bank of the Mo. river with quite a comfortable fitout except clothing—3 yoke of oxen &amp; 4 cows. some of which we worked—occasionally. I took a bed chord &amp; wound it across the wagon box on which we put a bed for Cynthia [Osborn] to lie on. Jefferson &amp; Josiah [Hammer] my son-in law wer in the same ten I belonged to[.] we moved on quite comfortably. Cyntha doing bet&lt;ter&gt; than we had expected for 2 or 3 weeks when she began to grow worse as the weather become hotter[.] she had been troubled with convulsive fits at times &amp; they now returned harder than formerly—she gave birth to an in&lt;fant&gt; though not living—revived somewhat again &amp; lingered along about 2 weeks—&amp; departed this life July 2nd. 1852[.] she had her senses to the last—&amp; realised that her time had come—was worried with the tho&lt;ught&gt; of leaving her body on the plains. exposed to devouring &lt;wolves&gt;[.] her last dying request was "Take good care of my little children for I expect they'l[l] have hard times[.]" we were all present. The brethren were very kind to us in this our affliction—there no boards in all the camps to get to make a coffin—but they took pains go over the river &amp; cut &amp; bring cottonwood logs to place over the corpse to prevent the wolves getting it[,] then filled it with dirt. this was on the river Platte 250 m[ule]s. from the Mo. river. Thus terminated the life of my old &amp; worthy companion—a life which had [been] checkered with many afflictions[,] hardships and anxieties—but they have passed away &amp; she is now where the weary pilgrims are at rest—we lived toget&lt;her&gt; 24 years 2 months &amp; 22 days. during which time she brought me 10 children 4 boys &amp; 6 girls—&amp; justice requires that I should say she was a kind hearted &amp; affectionate wife &amp; mother; was truthful[,] industrious[,] cleanly and strictly virtuous. She received &amp; cherished the first principles of the gospel— maintained her standing in the church &amp; I hope, notwithstanding her imperfections, according to the promi&lt;se&gt; I received in my Patriarchal Blessing, to receive her again in the resurrection of the just—
we arrived in S.L. city on the 9th of september in tolerable health &amp; spirits[.] rested in the city a few days

Transcript for Osborn, David, Autobiography 1860, 48-49

Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company financial accounts, 1849-1886

Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company financial accounts, 1849-1886, Vol. A.

Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company financial accounts, 1849-1886.

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