Mormon Trail AssociationMormon Trail Association 1861 Emigration


1861 Emigration

Outfit Station Departure Captain Souls Wagons Arrival in SLC
Florence May 29 David H. Cannon 225 57 Aug. 16
Florence June 7 Job Pingree 150 36 Aug. 2
Florence June 20 Peter Ranck 100 25 Sept. 8
Florence June 25 Homer Duncan 264 47 Sept. 13
Florence June 30 * Ira Eldredge @300 @70 Aug. 22
Florence July 1 * Milo Andrus 587 72 Sept. 12
Florence July Thomas Woolley 150 30 Sept. 17
Florence July 1-4 * Joseph Horne 756 63 Sept. 13
Florence July 13 * Samuel A. Woolley/ Joseph Porter (split/rejoined) 338 70 Sept. 22
Florence @ July1 * John R. Murdock 300 80 Sept. 12
Florence July 11 * J.W. Young/Heber P. Kimball 300 90 Sept. 23
Florence July 11 * J.W. Young/Ansel P. Harmon @225 40 Sept. 23
Florence July 16 * Sixtus E. Johnson 200 52 Sept. 27
* Church (out-and-back) companies. The Tanner mule train has no statistics, but travelled close to the last 4 companies. Young organized his large company, but did not travel with it very long. It was split in two.
Totals:
    3895 732  

With the realization of an imminent conflict between the North and the South, President Brigham Young immediately made plans for bringing to Utah the many Saints who had crossed the ocean in 1861, and those who through lack of funds, were waiting in the East. The preceding spring Joseph W. Young had been sent to the Missouri River for the purpose of bringing both converts and needed supplies to the valley in the same season. The success of the Church train experiment of the previous year was pointed to as justifying the expectation that such a plan was practicable. In addition to the four yoke of cattle to the wagon, the plan also included the sending of as many loose oxen to Florence as the year's immigration that came independent of Church aid might want to purchase for their outfit; thus supplying for the people of Utah a market for their surplus cattle and a saving for the Church members from ten to thirty thousand dollars, which had hitherto been paid out yearly in cash for cattle and wagons. Full instructions were given in the circular sent out by the presidency . Some of the Saints were financially able to make the trip through to the valley (eg. Samuel Wooley's company) while others were aided wholly or partially by the Perpetual Emigrating Fund (Murdock's company).

After arriving in New York, immigrants travelled by train changing trains at the following places along the way: Dunkirk, Cleveland, Toledo, and Chicago, before arriving at Quincy, Illinois. From there, they boated to Hannibal, Missouri, where they took the train to St. Joseph, Missouri. From there it was about a multiple-day trip by boat to Omaha or Florence. They camped about a mile from Florence for two to eight weeks, waiting to be assigned a wagon train.



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