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Show Morgan Pioneer History Binds Us Together Pioneer Trail Experience of Ann Elizabeth Smith Ann Elizabeth Smith was born April 8, 1855 in Tomstown, Franklin, Pennsylvania. She lived there with her parents until she was five years old. Her family was converted to Mormonism by missionaries who labored in that area in the 1830's. Ann's father, Conrad Smith, was instructed to take his family to Florence, Nebraska, where a company of wagons and hand carts would be organized to make the trip across the plains. While they were in Florence, Ann's mother, Eliza, had a baby boy named Thomas Goldman Smith born May 16,1860, but he died six days later on the 22nd and was buried there. Shortly after that, they started on their long journey to the Salt Lake Valley so they could be with the main body of Saints. Ann was excited about the trip because she thought they would be traveling over both land and water to get to the Salt Lake Valley. When the company finally started, a menacing black cloud appeared on the western horizon and everyone was ordered to return to town for safety, but the storm struck suddenly and no one had a chance to return to town. The handcart company was stranded out on the prairie in the midst of a furious storm with no protection from the wind and rain. Just as the storm hit the company, Ann's father put his two daughters in his cart and pulled the canvas over them, staking the cart firmly to the ground to keep it from blowing away. He then went to help his neighbors who were also having trouble because of the wind. Although the storm lasted only a few minutes, it caused a great deal of damage to the carts and wagons in the company. By the next day everyone had their carts and wagons repaired and were eager to be on their way. It was getting late in the season and they didn't want to be caught on the open prairie during the winter storms. It was cold at night and extremely hot during the day when they started. Ann was too young to realize everything that was going on around her, but she knew the people were suffering from the heat and cold, especially the women and children. Ann also knew her mother was ill and had extreme difficulty walking. Ann's Uncle William Robison persuaded her mother to ride in his wagon with his son, Davie, who was also too weak to walk. One scorching hot afternoon, Davie died and his body was left on the plains to be buried by some kindly Mountain Men who had visited the hand cart company earlier in the day. Toward the end of their journey, possibly somewhere in Wyoming, Ann's mother, Eliza, had to get off the wagon because the horses were weak and could not pull the wagon with added weight on it. Because she was unable to walk, Ann's father put her in the shade of a large service berry bush and told her to stay there and he would return for her after the company stopped and made camp for the night. He was afraid to stop to take care of her because the company would go on without them. If they did that, they could left alone on the open prairie and it would be extremely difficult for them to catch up and join the company again. He knew if this happened, they would have to travel to the valley alone. When the company stopped and made camp for the night, he asked a neighbor if he would look after his daughters while he went back to get his wife. When Ann and her little sister saw their father go out into the dark that night, they wondered if they would ever see their father or mother again. When the little girls saw their parents return, their fears ended and all was well once again with the family. Best of all, their mother was able to walk with the aid of a staff the next morning. While they were traveling, Ann's shoes began to wear out. Ann's mother wrapped rags around her feet to help preserve her shoes, but the shoes wore out anyway. She had to walk this way until they met a band of Indians and her father bartered some supplies for a pair of Indian moccasins for her. The country through which they were traveling at that time was destitute of trees or wood of any kind; however, there were an abundance of buffalo chips along the way. The women and children were assigned the task to gather all the chips they found along the way and store them in their carts. Those chips were the only source of heat they had when they camped at night. From then on all cooking and heating was done over the burning chips until they arrived to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Toward the end of the journey, the food supply began to run low, and it had to be rationed out to make it last until the company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. The portion allotted to each person was hardly enough to sustain life under such trying physical conditions. It was August 28, 1860, when the foot- weary, tired group of people arrived at the mouth of Emigration Canyon. Other children of Conrad and Eliza were: Conrad Alma Smith, February 4, 1862; and Nancy, July 19, 1864, both born in Farmington, Utah. Born in Morgan, Utah: Hyrum Smith, July 19, 1864; Joseph Alexander Smith, November 24, 1870; and Samuel Bailey Smith, October 13,1873; eight children in all. I 83 |