Sailing to America:
"Regardless of the route they took, all migrants traveled the 140-mile
journey to Liverpool by steam train. The scenery they passed through
varied as greatly as the diverse backgrounds of the passengers on board.
From the flat hinterlands of the Humber to the rugged terrain of the Pennines,
the journey was an experience they would never forget"1
"Regardless of the route they took, all migrants traveled the 140-mile
journey to Liverpool by steam train. The scenery they passed through
varied as greatly as the diverse backgrounds of the passengers on board.
From the flat hinterlands of the Humber to the rugged terrain of the Pennines,
the journey was an experience they would never forget"1
Leaving Scotland to never to return, Alexander Baird along with his wife Sarah Mary Theresa Delacy, and their two children, Agnes and Alexander, Alex's older brother Peter and his girlfriend, Jessie McGilroy, and a sister, Agnes started their adventure that would change their lives forever in ways that they never expected. Upon arriving in Liverpool, they boarded the ship "Cynassure". (Alexander's history said that they sailed on the Amazon, but their names are listed on the passenger list of the Cynassure. I did verify that they were not on the Amazon by looking at its passenger list as well. 2
We can learn more about their voyage to the United States from the history of another passenger aboard the Cynosure, Hannah Molland Byington; "Shortly after the ship left England it was stopped because of no wind. For three days the ocean was so quiet they could almost see the bottom. The Saints aboard held a meeting and in prayer, they asked the Lord to cause the wind to blow. Their prayers were answered and the next day the ship sailed on. They had favorable winds for sailing for several more days.
Many of the passengers became seasick. There was a measles outbreak and some of the passengers died and were buried at sea. Their drinking water on the ship became stale and was rationed. They ate bread called "hard-tack". They slept in bunks in little cabins way down in the ship. A storm came up suddenly one day and they all rushed down to their cabins. The port holes were closed up. For three days they were locked in their cabins with no air, no light and no cooked food - just hard-tack.
The trunks bumped from one side of the cabin to the other, so they couldn't sleep. The ship tossed and rocked so much they were afraid of falling from their bunks. The wind was so strong that the captain had to let the anchor drag to keep the ship from going backward. When the storm was over they went out on the deck. The waves were still strong enough to almost wash them overboard.
At last a great shout went up, "land, land, and one more, land". My what a noise. Some of the people laughed and some cried for joy. After six weeks on the ocean they were just as happy as Columbus and his sailors were to see land.
America at last! They arrived in New York City about the middle of July. It was a beautiful sight after seeing nothing for six weeks but ship and water. For those who were going to Zion the trip was not over yet. From here they journeyed to the Mississippi by train. The train cars had no comforts, no upholstered seats. They had no water and so every time the train would stop they would get off and fill everything they could from the railroad tanks. On and on, day and night they rode until they came to St. Louis.
Here they were having an outbreak of cholera. Some of the Saints died here and had to be buried along the way. From here they went on a steam ship across the Mississippi River and up the Missouri River.
Their destination was Florence, Nebraska. They thought they could be comfortable there, but to their surprise, no houses were to be had.
A man met the steamer with a wagon and team. The sickest of the company were put in the wagon. The rest had to walk from the river in the night. They put them in the only place that was available, a stable where the government kept horses for the soldiers who had to protect the people from the Indians. It had clean straw and was dry. Most of the company were glad to get under shelter from the drizzling rain. No stoves were available, they had to cook their food on camp fires.
The stay in Florence was about three weeks. It was terribly hot and there were so many flies. It was a miserable time. One of the children in this company died while they were at Florence.
In this three week period, they made ready for the last part of the journey. It was by no means the easiest part. From now on they would probably walk most of the way.
The leaders of the company went to Omaha, Nebraska to purchase provisions for the long trip, while others stayed to make ready the wagons and tents, shoe the horses or oxen, wash and mend the clothes, etc.
It would be interesting to know what Hannah did to prepare. Did she have extra money so she could buy food or did she work for someone so she could share what they had?
The trip from Florence, Nebraska to Utah would be another twelve week long, scorching trek across miles and miles of endless prairie.
Aunt Martha Byington Reed said that Hannah met Joseph Henry Byington when she came across the plains. Joseph Henry made several trips with a team to assist in bringing immigrants to Zion. He must have been with the Thomas E. Ricks company, because that is the one that Hannah traveled with.
The journey was hot and humid for the first part, since it was mid summer.
Coming across the plains they would sleep at night under the wagons or in a tent if they had one.
Saturday the train stopped early because it was wash and scrub day. Everything was taken from the wagon box, scrubbed and put back clean. They never traveled on Sunday.
At one place the company was held up for hours by a herd of buffalo.
Another time a young buck from the Sioux tribe stole some crackers from one of the wagons. This was probably the first time Hannah had ever seen an Indian or a buffalo.
While crossing the Platte River, some teams on the wagons ahead became entangled while struggling in quicksand. The bedding and clothing in the wagon fell into the water and floated away.
Sometimes wood was scarce. The women, as they walked along, would pick up buffalo chips to be used with scanty bits of wood, gathered to make the campfires. As the company traveled along the well marked trail, they would pass newly-made graves of some unfortunate person in the company ahead. At the head of the grave was the familiar buffalo skull to mark the spot.
The writing on the skull would sometimes be in Danish, sometimes in German and other inscriptions would be in English. The message given by all was that some faithful saint had perished on his way to his beloved Zion.
By the last weeks of the trek, the weather had cooled and now the nights and days were rather chilly.
They were a sorry looking crowd when they reached the valley-weary, dirty, ragged, with chapped and burned faces.
Captain Thomas E. Rick's Company arrived the 4th of October, 1863. Just about five months after leaving England." 3
To be continued...
1 Latter-day Saint Scandinavian Migration
through Hull, England, 1852-1894
Fred E. Woods and Nicholas J. Evans
http://home.byu.net/few2/pdf/Migration%20through%20Hull,%20England.pdf
2. Ancestry.com, New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 Source Citation: Year: 1863; Arrival: New York , United States; Microfilm serial: M237; Microfilm roll: M237_230; Line: 26; List number: 677.Source Information: Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Original data:
Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls); Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36; National Archives, Washington, D.C. Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; (National Archives Microfilm Publication T715, 8892 rolls); Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives, Washington, D.C
3. History of Hannah Byington by Fay Byington http://auntroma.com/hannah_molland.htm
