15 Wilton StreetLiverpoolFeb. 3rd 1855Elder Henry StocksDear Brother

I have great pleasure in informing you that I shall endeavor to send you out this season by the Perpetual Emigration Fund, & you may prepare for emigration. Please send your names for that purpose.

May the Lord bless you in this opportunity of gathering to Zion.

Your brother in Christ,F. [Franklin] D. Richardsper J. [John] Linforth

This makes me rejoice & be glad. Likewise my wife & dear children & begins to prepare my boxes & other things as far as I can but is desperate short of means. [p. 146]

1855. [1855 IS WRITTEN AT THE TOP LEFT HAND CORNER OF EVERY PAGE OF THE DIARY EXTRACT, BUT I HAVE ONLY INCLUDED THE YEAR IN THIS ONE INSTANCE.] On the 14th Feb. I had another notice to get ready immediately and be down in Liverpool on the 16th or 17th. I had a hundred things to think about & also to do. I along with my dear wife & children went to work unitedly with heart & hand assisted by brethren & sisters in the Church, brothers & sisters in the flesh & friends. The Lord moves upon the hearts of all & though things appears to be impossible to accomplish the Lord is gracious & opens up the way before us as we persevere.

I asked my brother John in London for two pounds. He very willingly sent it. I asked George (my brother) for two pounds but had not time to wait the result but Samuel advanced in his name. Samuel, my brother, has been very kind. Likewise his wife sent money in past days & also at this important time to the amount of [-] likewise clothing & provisions. Samuel Sims & Mary, my sister, has been kind. Pheby came from Manchester to see us & to help us away. One William Wright has been very kind. For all these favors I thank these my friends & truly thankful to God, the giver of every blessing. [p. 147]
Started for Zion

On the 17th Feb. 1855 we started for America, Angus age 10, Moroni age 8, & Simeon age 6, Henry age 4, myself 33, my wife Mary about 34. One Elizabeth Smith, age 19, went along with us under our care with the consent & assistance of her parents. I may say that my wife stopped to settle a few things & followed on Monday 19th. Took up the boxes by ass & cart, charge 1 shilling 6 demies. 2 miles then by railway 16 miles, cost 5 shillings 4 demies. Luggage about 6 demies. Went to one Brother Tilley's with the children & stopped until 19th when the children slept on board in the care of mother (name vessel Siddons) for Philadelphia. We slept at a friend's house. We was to have sailed on Sat. 17th, but cargo not ready on account of heavy frost. Canals & rivers frozen over. More ice (frozen over) on the Mersey than known for 20 years. Seven or eight thousand out of work in Liverpool on this account. Great distress, breaking into shops &c.

We brought various things for use (on sea) & on Friday 23rd Feb. two o'clock came out of Waterloo Dock. Sailed two miles down the river. Cast anchor. 24th Saturday 25th Sabbath remained stationary waiting of more cargo. This day being Sabbath Elder F. [Franklin] D. Richards came to see us. Held a meeting giving necessary instructions, choosing Elder [John] Fullmer to preside. [p. 148] Also two counselors, Elder [Isaac] Allred Elder [James] Pace. Had another meeting at night. Various elders spoke. I amongst the rest felt well. A child died 5 months old.

26th Waiting of cargo. Elder Fullmer, president of the company, appointed me to take charge & preside over one half of the Saints in the steerage department & to hold meetings every night when the weather would admit of it & sickness did not prevent. Night came, the Saints was called together. Elder Allred laid these things before them then left me in charge & I proceeded with the meeting. Very good one [-] we had.

27th Eight o'clock, Tuesday a.m. We set sail (very calm), seven o'clock. On account of some being sick we sung & prayed & then closed our meeting half past eight o'clock. Same evening two couple was married by (Allred). On our left this day saw the Welsh Mountains. Slept well all night.

28th Rather more wind. Felt very sickly but could not vomit but was rather better. Family all very well considering. Saw Ireland to the right hand 12 o'clock. [p. 149]

1st of March Fine morning but contrary wind. Nearly all sick. I very sickly. Vomit a little. Sister [Mary] Stocks but sickly. Likewise Elizabeth, Angus, Henry. (Moroni & Simson pretty well. Moroni became a little sick.)

2nd March. Last night head wind. Fine a.m. but still a head wind. Not so sick today. Held prayer this A.M. Laid hands on a few sick. P. M. but sickly. Wind began to arise. Many sick. I did not go to meeting but they came & administered to me. I arose & went & joined with them. Afterwards we laid hands on a great many. A compete gale came on. The vessel tossed very much. Boxes, pans &c. became very numerous on the floor. Could not sleep. Arose assisting to put things in order, cleaning the floor. Held prayer. On (Saturday became calm).

3rd Laid hands on a great many sick assisting them on deck &c. Held prayer meeting as usual 7 o'clock. I then had to keep watch till half past eleven. Very much fatigued.

4th Sabbath. Fine calm a.m. Sun shining in splendor &c. My family arose washing, dressing & breakfast. On deck for some time [p.150] assisting others to do the same. Had prayer past 10. Spoke a little. Meeting in afternoon. Very good feeling. Administered sacrament. Brethren & sisters speaking.

5th March, Monday, fair wind. Prayer in a.m. I may here say that Sister [Simson] Stocks officiated as midwife. Brought forth a child (boy) about 6 o'clock A.M. was over very quickly & all appeared right but the child died during the day. Was buried same evening. This fulfills prophecy predicted on her head. Held prayer meeting & speaking.

6th Fine a.m. Fair brisk wind. Prayer a.m. Little sickness. Meeting in the evening.

7th March Prayer meeting a.m. Rough sea. Very much tossed about during this night. Some of brethren & sisters sick.

8th Very fine a.m. Went on deck with all the family. Held prayer. Spoke to the Saints. Felt well. Meeting at night. Wind pretty favorable.

9th Fine a.m. Prayer. Administering to some sick. (Fine day). Good meeting at night. Good night rest. [p. 151]

March 10th Arose this a.m. with my family in good health & spirits. Most of the Saints much the same. Some few unwell. Held prayer at 11 o'clock. As usual laying hands on the sick, blessing oil &c. P.M. held prayer at 7 o'clock & preaching afterwards by few of the elders. I give some instructions to the priesthood to avoid speaking so much on the faults of others & as long as I presided I would look after & correct if needed, that they must speak upon doctrine or try to build up the Saints, bring love, union and the Spirit of God in our midst & all would be well. Those few that persisted in stealing & doing wrong they would be found out & have their reward.

Wheat & tares will grow together until harvest &c., we would not make ourselves miserable because of a few. We are Saints of the Most High & we will rejoice & worship our God & go to Zion with songs of everlasting joy upon our heads (or tongues) as this has been prophesied upon us scores of times. [p.152]

11 March, Sunday. Last night was on watch 2 hours. Had to get up at 5 o'clock this a.m. to assist to sweep & scrape the floor from one end to the other. Family arose going through the usual drill. Had meeting as usual. Preaching by a few elders. Good meeting. Separated for one hour. Commenced again. Had a good time. Threw the meeting open for anyone. The Spirit of God was with us, though the sea was rough & the ship tossing about. We had to hold ourselves fast either sitting or standing. Very inconvenient to sit down to eat the vessel tossing backward and forward, sideways &c. We did as well as we could & went to bed early.

12th Last night but stormy. Arose this a.m. I felt but weakly. Wife felt rather unwell. Had prayer at 11 o'clock. One elder spoke a little. The wind is not favorable, but gaining a little. Meeting at 7 o'clock.

13th Wind nearly ahead of us. Prayer at ll o'clock. Meeting at night when I addressed those under my care with regard to being satisfied with the [p. 153] with the [SIC] provisions that we receive from the ship & that we will live without a murmur, in order that the Lord may bless us & His Spirit be in our midst in abundance & show to the captain, likewise the sailors, to angels & God, that we are Saints of the most High. Five or six elders spoke in the same strain. I proposed that we live without murmuring & that we are satisfied with our position. This was seconded & carried without a dissenting voice. A note we sent to President John S. Fullmer to this effect which give satisfaction.

In the midst of our meeting a tremendous wave came over & down the hatchway in our midst. Though some got a little wet, it created a laugh.

14th I was unwell during the night, but felt better. Wife in a moderate state of health. Children & Elizabeth well. The Saints generally pretty well, one or two exceptions. One Brother, John Knight, [POSSIBLY Knighton] very unwell in a very weak state, fainting fits very frequently. Meetings morning & evening as usual. [p. 154]

15th March Last night very rough tossing the ship about very much. Prayer a.m. Meeting at 7 o'clock. Good many spoke. Continues to be very windy likewise ahead of us. Tacking about but making little progress.

16th Wind a little more favorable last night. (Quite cold. Hail showers often.) Some continues to be ill. Continually administering to them the ordinance & doing them all the good I can. Prayer a.m. Meeting at night. One elder opened the meeting & spoke a few minutes when I arose & addressed them showing that we was in a position for the Lord to try us & that we could not but make manifest our either good or bad qualities, our tempers, our patience, our benevolence & kindness. Now was the time to do good, be kind to the sick & that man or woman that would not assist & try to do good was not in a right position, was not Saints & I called upon them to do all they could for each other that the Lord might bless us & the winds & waves be in our favor to waft [p. 155] us to our destine haven.

We had to be perfected & these things must be standed to & shake off all our old Babylonish feelings. Mankind was selfish, but we must not be selfish, only to do right. I had the Spirit of God. I felt well & give satisfaction.

17th Meeting a.m. also meeting at night. Spoke for some time. Had to keep watch for 2 hours. The vessel rocked to & fro very much. (Contrary winds.) I got into bed but could not sleep. We had to hold ourselves or we should have been pitched out of bed. Got up & swept & assisted to clean the vessel.

18th Sabbath. Had meeting in a.m., likewise afternoon. I had to attend a counsel meeting in second cabin with all the other presidents. I opened the meeting with prayer.

Trial was one brother striking another. Made him a black eye. Confession was made, but it is hard for some people to become humble. Had another meeting at night when Elder [Isaac] Allred addressed us upon the subject of obeying [p. 156] counsel & living without murmuring & try to live without so much cooking & eating & that two meals cooking was sufficient instead of three. I spoke upon the subject & I proposed which was seconded & carried that we comply with the counsel.

19th According to a proposition in our meeting I made known to the president (Elder [John S.] Fullmer) that two men be stationed at each side of the galley, one to take in & the other to receive out cooked provisions & to see that proper order existed. This was complied with, which has made things more comfortable. Prayer a.m. Meeting at night. Wind a little better.

20th Prayer a.m. Meeting at night.

21st Today extremely fine (sun out). Quite a calm (scarcely moving). Not come above 240 miles this last 7 days. Two meetings as usual. Today I got cloth for tent & wagon. Collected 1. 18. 0 for the cook. [p. 157]

22nd this a.m. wind north which is favorable. Good breeze. Nearly all the sails in operation. Meeting as usual 11 o'clock A.M. likewise 7 at night.

23rd Wind favorable all day. Prayer a.m. likewise meeting at night.

24th This a.m. the wind ahead of us. Prayer a.m. & night but the wind became so boisterous that we could not hold meeting to do any good. This night my turn for watch but I feel so unwell that Elder [Robert] Baxter proffered to watch for me. The waves come on deck very heavy, likewise through the hatchway. Wet some through. The hatches was nailed down. The ship tossed about very much. I arose & assisted to clean one side of the vessel.

25th Sunday the wind calmer & a little more in our favor. Held counsel meeting p.m. along with the sacrament & I give some general instructions on cleanness & striving to obey counsel in all things as much as possible, to be kind and faithful. A meeting. [p. 158]

A meeting we held in the evening when President [John S.] Fullmer & Counselor Isaac Allred addressed us upon the importance of obeying counsel, cleanness &c. much the same as in the p.m. in a very interesting & spirited manner.

26th Last night I was taken very ill, something like a fit. Wife called for the elders and administered to me & soon came to my senses, but they make sad work with me. The wind somewhat favorable & moderate. Meeting a.m. After prayer I was administered to by the elders. I attended counsel meeting p.m. after which I went to bed. The Saints meet, held their meeting.

27th I arose this morning feeling much better. The wind moderate & a little favorable. Held meeting. I spoke a little exhorting them to be kind one with another & seek the Spirit of God & do away with every selfish feeling. Held prayer meeting in the evening & speaking a little. During this day the wind arose to a complete gale. Ripped some of the sails up. The vessel tossing much. [p. 159]

March 28th The storm somewhat abated, but continues to be squally. The wind nearly ahead of us. Held two meetings as usual & a good feeling existed in our midst. Elder [Joseph] Bean spoke in a very interesting manner.

29th The wind much against us. My health is better likewise. Wife & children is tolerable. Went on deck this a.m. A beautiful sight we had, some scores of porpoises. They was rolling over the waves very close to the vessel. Meeting morning & night as usual. This morning at two o'clock my wife officiated in bringing a male child into the world name [-].

30th Very stormy & wind against us. Two meetings as usual.

31st Continues stormy. Wind ahead of us, making no progress. Meetings as usual. [p.160]

Sabbath April 1st Very stormy during last night. Vessel tossing about much. Very cold, hail, rain &c. This morning the wind abated & came a little in our favor. Wind continues in our (good speed). Commenced our meeting shortly after 12 o'clock. I give some instructions & then we partook of the sacrament. The Spirit of God was in our midst. We had a good time. I was called off to a special meeting in second cabin leaving another elder in charge. . . . We had another meeting at seven o'clock. I prayed & spoke some time & felt the gift of the Holy Ghost & felt as had been prophesied many times in England. Driven back to the same latitude as on the 18th of March during last night.

April 2nd Wind in our favor. Fine day. Two meetings as usual.

Apr. 3rd Wind Southwesterly which caused us to sail north. Extremely cold & misty. Everything denotes that we are near the Banks of Newfoundland. Two meetings as usual. [p. 161]

April 4th Wind, westerly (against us). Extremely cold. Two meetings as usual. Saw in the evening a tremendous large iceberg about 12 miles distance supposed to stand one hundred feet out of the water. Attended & spoke at a general meeting.

Apr. 5th Wind moderate & making a little progress. The evening became calm, very cold. Two meetings, spoke morning & evening giving such instructions as circumstances required. Other spoke making the meeting interesting.

Apr. 6th Good Friday. Beautiful morning. Making little progress. Very calm, but during the day the wind arose a little & favorable. Two meetings as usual. I spoke some little about the Church being 25 years old (today) & it numbering its tens of thousands & almost in every nation of the earth. Good meeting. Sister [Mary] Stocks is taken very ill. Bowel complaint.

Apr. 7th During last night & today wind in our favor. Making great progress 7, 8, & 10 miles per hour. Two meetings as usual. My dear wife continues very sick. Laid hands [p. 162] upon her & administering every comfort as far as we could being on ship board.

April 8th Easter Sunday. This a.m. the wind became calm. Very rainy. During the day the wind arose. Fine breeze & in the right quarter (east). Held two meetings. I along with some other elders spoke at night. The meeting was thrown open again, testifying & teaching & we had a good day. Sister [Mary] Stocks was called up to officiate in the capacity of midwife though her body was unfit for the duty. She was very weakly and sickly. However, by the blessing of God she was enabled.

The wife of Joseph Bean was safely delivered of a fine daughter name [-] at about 5 minutes past 12 o'clock at night 9th April 1855 five or six hundred miles from Philadelphia on board ship Siddons.

April 9 This a.m. rather squally, misty, rainy & cold. Wind rather favorable. This day has been so cold &c. that I been more uncomfortable than any day before. Two meetings as usual. [p.163]

April 10th The wind pretty calm but not so much in our favor. Sun arose beautiful & it became warmer, likewise running south added to the same. Two meetings as usual. Signed a paper of the cost betwixt Liverpool & Philadelphia.

11th April wind pretty much in our favor. Two meetings.

12th Last night wind against us. Went back some little this a.m. Fine. Went on deck. Saw some porpoises. Held one meeting.

13th April Head wind last night but favorable this morning. Meetings as usual.

14th April Last night I was taken very ill. Was administered to by the elders. Some kind of a fit. Meetings as usual. Not making much progress with regard to our journey. Alroyds had a child, died about 14 months old.

15th April Sabbath. Wind not favorable. Held two meetings. [p. 164]

16th April Making little or no progress. Quite calm. Two meetings.

17th Apr. A most beautiful morning but continues calm. Few vessels in sight. Various sorts of fish to be seen. Two meetings. Spoke at night. Good time. Saw land by glass [in] afternoon.

18th April Fine morning was tacking about all last night, not making much progress wanting daylight & pilot. Pilot came on board 7 o'clock 18th. Wind not in right direction. Two meetings.

19th Fine morning but the wind against us. Could not proceed. Had to cast anchor. Waited few hours & steam tug came up and they agreed to take our vessel in port for 175 dollars which caused great joy throughout. We then proceeded until 8 o'clock evening & then cast anchor. Very misty & in the river so that we had not room to rove about. Meeting on deck. A vote of thanks was given to captain & crew also to President [John S.] Fullmer, [Isaac] Allred & [James] Pace. [p.165]Landed in Philadelphia

April 20th Friday. Commenced to clean the vessel. Set everything in order then ourselves. The land is close on either side. Passed a town name Delaware. Few miles passed another name Newcastle [at] 12 o'clock. Kind of factory on the other side. Most delightful scenery on either side. Now in sight of Philadelphia & the desired blessing was gained at 3 o'clock on Friday 20th April 1855 making a long & tedious voyage of 8 weeks & 1 hour, a distance of 3500 miles from Liverpool to Philadelphia.

April 21st Saturday. Prepared to leave the vessel. Looked through the city. Streets are all very orderly set out. Can see two or three miles at once very straight & cleanly. The docks is nothing to compare with Liverpool.

April 22nd Sunday. Wrote a letter to my brother Samuel & including information for the Saints. Attended a meeting of the Saints. John Taylor present.

23rd April Monday. Got up at 5 o'clock & left the ship Siddons for which I am very thankful. Fine a.m. Left this city at 11 o'clock by railway. Seven of my family cost 18$. 150 extra luggage cost 1$ 88 cents. H. S. Jorden died this date 5 o'clock. Took it to Cincinnati (baby). [p. 166]Landed in Pittsburgh

There is very few stations. We went along side of a large river & came a great distance. Arose from the floor from sleeping & viewed the country.

24th April Tuesday. I may say that we are nearly all the time traveling through woods, thousands & thousands of acres of timber. Stopped at Altoona Station. I viewed the engine. There is four cast iron wheels (on each side) all connected, cylinders at sides 16 or 17 inches diameter. The driver has quite a house sheltered from rain or wind, burns wood & coal. Not so neat as the English engines they seem great & clumsy. Carriages is about 18 yards long, same width as English. They sit on two strong little lorries each having 4 wheels resting on swivels (at each end). When going round the curves they move accordingly. Windows all round to slide. Inside there is a passage from one end of the train to the other & seats with backs two feet high. A stove & potty or necessary & water barrel & [ -]. These are very accommodating.

We had fine flour biscuit & cheese for food. We went through Allegheny Tunnel 1 mile long in state of Pennsylvania. Landed at Pittsburgh quarter past four o'clock a.m.

25th April Wednesday. Left luggage at station likewise the Saints & went along with Sister [Mary] Stocks & Sister Clark [Mary Clarke] to bury the body of Jorden's child. [p.167]Left Pittsburgh

We found a Methodist minister. He certainly was kind & went along with me & found an English family. They was extremely kind. This English man went & bought [a] coffin. Wife made us a comfortable breakfast &c. I then went & found a place returned for the child. I paid 1 $ for permit, 1 $ for coffin, 1 $ for digging grave.

I then returned to station & got my luggage & family down to the key or dock to make them all comfortable on the steam packet but the packet was in great confusion & I may say we slept on iron bars on floor. We all disappointed [with] such confusion. Outside of vessels they have a noble & grand appearance four high of decks, two large iron chimneys fired with wood & coal.

26th April Thursday Mrs. Stocks was called up to deliver Sister Woollon [PROBABLY Elizabeth Worlton] of a child (9 o'clock a.m.) Was over very soon & fine healthy boy.

Pittsburgh is a manufacturing city, a deal of trading going on, foundry, glassworks &c. (two railways), two rivers called the Monongahela & Allegheny, four large bridges over the river upheld by 7 or 8 abutments of stone six or seven hundred yards across. Left the city about 3 o'clock P.M. The two rivers comes together then it is called the Ohio. We go up the Ohio unto St. Louis calling at Cincinnati & several other places. Went under Suspension Bridge 1100 feet across. [p. 168]

April 27th Very fine a.m. Wood on either side of river nearly all the way.

28th April Keep watch 2 hours last night. I engaged to work a few hours. I was much fatigued. Payed us short. Captain & mate of vessel is very mean men.

29th April, Sunday. Very hot.

30th Arrived at Cincinnati 4 o'clock left same night at 7 a business place. There is railway from this place to Pittsburgh for 7$.

1st May Tuesday. Got a berth today. Little more comfortable. Watched 3 hours this night. We called at Louisville 12 o'clock. We stopped till 8 next a.m. The vessel had to turn on a canal two miles as there is falls on the river.

2nd May Got into the river after 7 hours on canal. We saw a giant at this place (name J. D. Porter) 7 feet 4 inches high, 45 years of age.

3rd May Fine a.m.

4th May Friday Wife but poorly, the others well. I am unwell, quite thin & poor looking. We are now in the state of Illinois where my brothers & sisters reside but cannot stop to see them (on watch 2 hours). Entered into the Mississippi River tonight 150 miles from St. Louis. [p. 169]

Atchison

May 5th Saturday I feel weakly.

6th May Sunday Landed at St. Louis four o'clock Monday morning.

St. Louis

7th May Moved the luggage out of this vessel into the one called the Polar Star for Atchison. A few Saints from the old country came to see us. J. [James] Evans came & I with two children went to tea with him.

8th May Tuesday. Went to dinner with B. Siddons family of Upholland . Give me four or 5 pounds of soap. We started out of St. Louis 4 o'clock p.m. Shortly entered the Missouri River.

9th May The river is very low.

10th Watched two hours last night. The Saints was divided into three districts. I was called to take charge of one.

11th May Fine day.

12th May We have to stop often. Low water.

13th May Sunday Two Sister sick with cholera & died. One name Mancom. My son Angus got burnt with powder from a cannon. Was a bad fuse. All the skin came off. (Three others besides him.) We landed at Atchison 5 o'clock. Carried my tent & bed on camping ground & pitched it & slept like Abraham of old.
Atchison [p. 170]

Mormon Grove

14th May Monday Got the other luggage from river.

15th Got timber, water &c.

May 16th Timber, water &c.

May 17th I kept sentry. Rained very heavy, thunder & lightening in an awful manner. Wet through. Had to put on next morning wet clothes.

18th May sold a piece of cloth. Bought spade & axe & rope. This day we had to move to Mormon Grove 5 miles from here by ox & wagon. . . . [p. 171]

. . . 6th Camp started on 1st Aug. 1855 nearly all belonging to the PEF [Perpetual Emigration Fund] Company. Milo Andrus was captain.

This was the last sent out. Arrived in the Valley 26th Oct. (making the journey in 12 weeks). . . . [p. 175]

. . . The distance from place to [ - ] I here insert. Started from Vulcan Foundry Newton Lancashire, England.

Miles

Vulcan Foundry to Liverpool by railway 0018

Liverpool to Philadelphia by sea 3500

Philadelphia to Pittsburgh by railway 0350

Pittsburgh to St. Louis by Ohio River 1200

St. Louis to Atchison by Missouri River 0500

Atchison to Mormon Grove by ox wagon 0005

Mormon Grove to Salt Lake Valley 1200

6773[p. 177]

BIB: Stocks, Henry, [Diary] , pp. 146-171, 175, 177 (CHL)
(source abbreviations)