Transcript

Then we traveled to Florence Neb[raska]., there we had to stop as we had not yet the means to go farther on, nor any money for my Father was counselled to help with his money as far as he could so he paid the passage to Florence for one Brother Pether Nelson and Sister Skog; they became man and wife after they came to Utah.

We camped at Florence for some time, starting for Utah July 4th with the times [teams] that had come to bring us across the plains. I can not remember a great deal about the journey across the plains only a couple of incidents. My youngest Brother being picked up by a teamster and given a ride and had fallen asleep and when we camped that night he was no where to be found and his Mother frenzied by grief supposed him left on the plains but he turned up alright before a searching party got started to hunt for him. And another one of my oldest Brothers came near getting drowned in the Platte River as all the men and largest boys had to wade across for there was not enough room in the wagons for all, and they would take ahold of hands and try & help one another. My Brother got loose by some case or another and he was carried down stream some distance, the river being very swift. Our captain's name was Mardock [John R. Murdock]. We arrived in Utah Sep. 22nd 1862, poor and no one we were acquainted with and no where to go and no money, 75¢ being all my Father had and 5 children and a wife to find shelter for,