Morgan Pioneer History Hinds Us Together We had oatmeal, split peas, bacon out of brine, hard tack, flat biscuits as big as saucers and as hard as iron, very few potatoes, brown sugar and a very small portion of flour. The water was in large wooden kegs which got very stale before the end of the journey "One day when the air was dense with fog, another ship rammed into us and made a jagged hole in the side of our ship which immediately began to fill with water. The sailors dumped all excess baggage overboard. About seventy-five Mormon emigrants were kneeling in prayer and singing songs to keep up their courage. It was with much rejoicing that the leak was repaired and the voyage continued. "On June 9, an elderly Welsh woman seventy years old passed away. She was sick, but had chosen to die among her friends rather than be left behind. An English sister was struck on the head by a piece of loose sail. A Swedish sister fell on the upper deck on account of high seas. She was thrown back and forth, got a blow on the head and a crushed kneecap. We are 1600 miles from Liverpool. A boy fell on the deck and broke his leg. A Scotch sister fell and broke two ribs while the ship rolled in high seas. Saw many fishing boats. One came with fish, codfish, haddie, and halibut, and we had a delicious dinner. Saw many whales. It took six weeks to cross the ocean. "Tuesday, July 14, 1868. We dropped anchor in New York. We left the John Bright and boarded a steamship which took us to Castle Garden (now called Ellis Island) where we were examined by doctors and our luggage was weighed. We were put on a steamer again and taken to the harbor of New York. Later we crossed the river to the railroad station where we spent the night. "We left New York on the train at 9:30 p.m. When on the train, we had to buy our food whenever the train stopped long enough. We passed through Albion, Lockport and stopped at a suspension bridge for four hours. Many of us looked at Niagra Falls. On Saturday 19th, we arrived in Detroit. Crossed the river and took a bath. We then resumed our way to Chicago. We traveled all night and crossed the Missouri River to Omaha, Nebraska where we bought food. Many were sick from the heat. We saw Grand Island, a big station and many houses, also saw two prairie fires and a large Indian camp. "In the evening of Thursday, August 23, we arrived at Laramie City, but stayed in the railroad cars during the night. On the morning of the 24th, we were told to get up and take our baggage out of the train and load it on the mule train. We followed about one mile, then camped by the river, washed our clothes and bathed. "As we traveled along the dusty, hot trail, we shot rabbits and other wild game so that we would have a change of diet. As evening drew near, the wagons were drawn into a circle for the night. The children would go out and fill their aprons with buffalo chips for the fire. One food we had was soda bread. It was as yellow as gold, and tasted as bitter as gall. After the evening meal, we took up our violins and played a merry melody. After the evening prayer, we all went to our various camps to rest." Brigham Young had deployed 500 men to Laramie to transport the immigrants to Salt Lake. This was the farthest point that passengers would travel by railroad in August of 1868. Some accounts said that as the Saints traveled by wagon from Laramie, they observed track being laid in many places. Upon arriving in Salt Lake, many of the immigrants were assigned to work on the railroad by President Brigham Young. As a result, Johan, Gunhild and little Clara eventually arrived in Mountain Green, Utah, where blasting the tunnel through the rocky mountain terrain was being done so track could be laid through Weber Canyon. They resided here and became members of the Mountain Green Branch of the LDS Church. Heber Franklin was born April 9,1871, The Olsen and Wold friends that had been passengers together on the John Bright were good friends forever. It was here in Milton that Johan and Gunhild settled by a creek known as Swan Creek and later named Smith Creek. The family had discontinued using the Thornell name and was rebaptized and was known as John Anderson on February 22,1878, by C. Hansen and confirmed by Eli Whitear using his middle name as his surname. His wife, Gunhild, was known in America as Gunhilda Gulbrandsen. She was also rebaptized on October 7, 1880, by Brigham Mecham and confirmed by Eli Whitear. Clara, age thirteen, and Heber, age nine, were also baptized that day. John purchased large tracts of acreage in Milton and cleared it for planting. The Anderson's home, located on the north side of Smith Creek, faced west and was built of red brick. Gunhild made a comfortable and nice home, where one of her specialties was making delicious baking powder biscuits and Norwegian delicacies that her family dearly loved. The family missed fish that was so plentiful in Norway, but they learned to enjoy mountain trout. Their daughter, Mary Lenori, was born May 3, 1874, then John William on December 14, 1876, and the last child, Edward, on May 24,1879. The little fellow passed away March 2,1881, two months prior to his second birthday of diphtheria that was rampant in the county that year. He was buried in a little wood i?