About the Exhibit
The journey to the Rocky Mountains was long and difficult. Due to limited storage space on wagons and ships, pioneers could bring very few belongings. The treasured possessions they brought reveal much about their values, ideas, and expectations.
Pioneers on the Plains, 1866
Keepsakes from the Old Country
From the British Isles
Robert D. Roberts (1837–1925) brought this dictionary to Utah in 1856.
This bowl with a castle design was brought across the plains in 1852. 
George Trowbridge (1844–1930) brought this porcelain figurine to Utah from England when he emigrated in 1871. 
Edward Robinson (1807–1896) received this watch when he resigned from his position as one of the world’s first railroad conductors. From the British Commonwealth
Elizabeth Birch Potter (1822–1899) brought this cup and saucer across the plains in 1849. 
John Davies (1815–1893) crafted this bottle art in Liverpool, England, before gathering to Utah. 
Grace Hesketh Liptrot Rigby (1841–1886) and her mother, Elizabeth Hesketh (1805–1857), made these samplers. Elizabeth’s 1820 sampler reads, “How Vain Are All Things Here Below.”
From Scandinavia and Germany
John Rudolph Nielson (1854–1939) owned this trunk. He gathered to Zion with his wife-to-be, Jensine, in 1880. 
We know little about this doll, except that it was brought across the plains.
This Scandinavian mangle board, brought by Saints to Utah, was used to smooth damp linen or cloth. 
Rebekka Pedersen (1863–1923) made this finely crafted miniature shirt at age fourteen as a school sewing project in Norway. 
Caroline Wilhelmina Nordstrom (1834–1898) carried this treasured family Bible to Salt Lake City in 1888.
On the Trail
An evening encampment along the trail was a time for cooking, sewing, repairing, and resting. Skilled hands fixed wagons, prepared food, and stitched clothing well worn from the rigors of the trail. Around their campfires at night, the Saints prepared for the joys and work to come in the settlement of Zion.
A Time to Sew
This sewing kit belonged to Caroline Amelia Owens Webb (1821–1895). 
This gown was sewn and embroidered by Hannah Smith (1837–1901) as she crossed the Atlantic Ocean and the American plains in 1863. John London, her betrothed, awaited her arrival in Summit County, Utah.
James McGuffie (born 1814) hand-forged these scissors from an old wagon tire for his wife, Margaret, and brought them across the plains in the Milo Andrus company of 1850. 
Levi E. Riter (1805–1877) brought this chair overland in 1847. Reminders of the Past
This tar bucket was carved from a solid piece of wood and was used for lubricating the axles of covered wagons. 
Thomas David Evans (1833–1906) of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, wore this leg when he crossed the plains in a handcart company in 1856. 
Thomas Bullock (1816–1885) brought this chair to Utah in 1848 when he and his family immigrated with the Brigham Young company.
To a New Home in Zion
Settlers brought and used those tools and implements essential for establishing households, businesses, and farms. Latter-day Saint pioneers also brightened their lives with music, reading, and the company of friends. Life in an active society required not only cooperation and production in the workplace but also the pleasures of the hearth, the table, and the arts.
Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic
Planning for the new communities to be established, Church leaders realized the need for a printing press to publish Church documents, books, and a newspaper. 
Joel Ricks (1804–1888) brought this large shelf clock to Utah in 1848. Clocks similar to this one were very popular in the mid-19th century in America.
This tureen was carried to Utah in 1847. 
Harriet Koyle Wilde (born 1835) carried this plate to Utah in 1851. Refinement on the Frontier Table
Thirteen-year-old Abiah Carter (1834–1876) brought this salt dish to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.
Setting Up Shop
John Wood (1811–1896) used this hand-cranked candy mold in his small shop in Brighton, England. 
Sidney Carter (1834–1912) hauled this anvil in the George W. Oman company of 1851 and later used it with forges in Kanosh (Millard County) and Joseph (Sevier County), Utah.
Handcarts to Zion
Between 1856 and 1860, European Saints pushed and pulled handcarts over one thousand miles to gather to Zion. Church leaders proposed handcarts as a way to overcome the usual expenses of emigrating by wagon. Without handcarts, many converts would not have been able to gather with the Saints in the West because of the high costs of emigration. Most of the handcart emigrants arrived safely in Utah after extreme trials on the trail.
