John Clark Dowdle Company (1868)

Date Unknown
- Type
- Wagon
- Category
- Church Train
- Direction
- Westbound
- Departure
- 1868
- Departed From
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Arrival
- 20 October 1868
- Captain
- John Clark Dowdle
- Number In Company
- 21
Baker, George | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Beck, Jacob | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Christensen, Niels Pedersen | 23 | 4 August 1844 | 18 May 1923 |
Clark, Frederic Charles | 16 | 18 April 1851 | 4 November 1936 |
Dowdle, John Clark | 31 | 16 December 1836 | 12 January 1913 |
Hansen, Martin | 20 | 30 January 1847 | 28 November 1934 |
Kelly, William Edward | 17 | 17 August 1850 | 26 July 1920 |
Ovard, William | 17 | 23 December 1850 | 7 April 1936 |
Toombs, Alma | 1 | 8 February 1866 | 27 February 1958 |
Toombs, Ann | 42 | 8 June 1825 | 21 May 1919 |
Toombs, Elizabeth J. | 14 | 26 January 1853 | 1936 |
Toombs, George Thomas | 7 | 30 August 1860 | 26 June 1940 |
Toombs, Hannah Sophia | 19 | 15 January 1848 | 30 January 1939 |
Toombs, James | 42 | 19 January 1825 | 6 June 1902 |
Toombs, James Ephriam | 17 | 26 January 1850 | 1943 |
Toombs, John | 4 | 23 April 1863 | 17 October 1909 |
Toombs, Joseph Moroni | 9 | 22 January 1858 | 30 August 1951 |
Toombs, Mary Ann | 12 | 8 June 1855 | 1 August 1938 |
Toombs, William | 22 | 3 December 1845 | 23 August 1915 |
Wagstaff, Amos | 18 | 4 April 1850 | 11 August 1931 |
Whitma, Thomas | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
John Dowdle is purported to have led this small out-and-back wagon company that arrived in Salt Lake on October 20. This company has little documentation and is a bit mysterious because it appears that they traveled all the way to Omaha to pick up the emigrants. If this is accurate, this would mean that on the return trip, the emigrants in this wagon company traveled a major portion of the distance over which they could have more easily and quickly traveled by train! A possible explanation is that the company had two purposes, the first to pick up emigrants, and the other to pick up freight or cattle that could not be transported by train. The only account that names the captain indicates it was a "John Doddle." However it also indicates that "Doddle" later moved up to Cache Valley, so we believe it was actually, John Clark Dowdle, because he lived in Cache Valley later in his life.