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        Pioneer Database

        1847–1868

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        Date Unknown

        Date Unknown

        Birth Date
        22 October 1834
        Death Date
        16 September 1917
        Gender
        Male
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        John Bethewel Thatcher

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        Search for this pioneer on Early Mormon Missionaries Find this person in FamilySearch
        • John initially traveled with his family to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake in 1847. Sometime after this, the Thatcher family moved to California, settling near Salmon Falls (near present day Folsom CA) by 1850. In 1857, heeding the call for the Saints to come back to Utah, the Thatcher family organized a small company, and headed East on July 6. They met a group of Saints in Carson City NV, and on the July 15, they reorganized under the leadership of Perrigrine Sessions. John then returned to California to help the remaining Saints return to Utah. A group traveled from San Juan to San Bernardino under the direction of Henry Boyle, but at San Bernardino, the group was dissolved and other companies were formed to continue on to Utah. Further research is needed to determine which company the family left San Bernardino with.

        Daniel Spencer/Perrigrine Sessions Company (1847)

        • Age at Departure: 12

        Traveled with

        • Alena Thatcher (Age: 39)
        • Hezekiah Thatcher (Age: 38)
        • Joseph Wycoff Thatcher (Age: 17)
        • Catherine Mary Thatcher (Age: 15)
        • Aaron Dunham Thatcher (Age: 10)
        • Harriet Ann Thatcher (Age: 9)
        • George Washington Thatcher (Age: 7)
        • Moses Thatcher (Age: 5)
        • Hyrum Smith Thatcher (Age: 2)

        Hezekiah Thatcher Company (1857)

        • Age at Departure: 22

        Traveled with

        • Alena Thatcher (Age: 49)
        • Hezekiah Thatcher (Age: 48)
        • Joseph Wycoff Thatcher (Age: 27)
        • Harriet Ann Thatcher (Age: 19)
        • George Washington Thatcher (Age: 17)

        Perrigrine Sessions Company (1857)

        • Age at Departure: 22

        Traveled with

        • Alena Thatcher (Age: 49)
        • Hezekiah Thatcher (Age: 48)
        • Joseph Wycoff Thatcher (Age: 27)
        • Harriet Ann Thatcher (Age: 19)
        • George Washington Thatcher (Age: 17)

        Company Unknown (1857)

        • Age at Departure: 22

        Sources

        • 1850 California Census, Eldorado County.
        • Anderson, Washington F. to Editor, 12 Aug. 1857, Bear River Ferry, in Historian's Office, History of the Church 1839-[ca. 1882], 414-18, 12 Aug. 1857.
        • Boyle, Henry Green, Reminiscences and diaries, 1846-1888, fd. 1, 119.
        • Find a Grave (Website)
        • Frederick W. Hurst autobiography and diaries, 1855-1877, Journal, 1857 April-1860 April. 
        • Journal History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 21 June 1847, 11.
        • Missionary Department Missionary Registers, 1860-1959, Volume 1.
        • Utah, Early Mormon Missionary Database