. . . On the 30 Apr. 1862 we left our old home and our dear fatherland. It was hard for us to part with our oldest sister Anna who was married to Ulrich Hoederli and had quite a family. (She was also a member of the church, but her husband at this time was not. A few years later he, their bad luck, lost all his property. He changed his mind and became a member of the church.) It was right hard, too, for us to leave our home, friends and relatives. There were quite a number of people to bid us goodbye. I did cry, but we left for the gospel's sake and we had faith in the Lord. [p.17]

From Urdorf we traveled to Zurich where we had our picture taken (tintype) and the 2nd of May we were in Basel, the next day in Paris. We stayed there one day. You may guess how it was, never away from home before. Mother took the lead and we went to see the most interesting points. The funniest thing was my mother dressed in her old-fashioned clothes about two hundred years behind time. Now guess, going thru the most interested part in Paris, the people stood right still and, of course, looked. Of course I looked and they pointed their fingers at us and hollered "look!" Mother had her old-fashioned cap on; it was sure interesting to me. The city people had never seen any bonnet like hers; neither had I.

From Paris we went to the seaport tour of Le Havre, France (May 4, 1862) expecting to sail the next day, but to our disappointment the boat had gone, [p.18] so we had to remain behind for two weeks. We boarded an old freighter which was only fit for cattle, but was fixed up to accommodate the 150 or so people who were seeking passage. They built berths, three high, in it for the people to sleep in. There were two kitchens on the old vessel, in which the passengers cooked their own meal which consisted of potatoes. The ship was manned by a very rough set of Irish sailors. We left the port of Le Havre on the 15th of May. The other Saints who came with us were: Henry Mathis and sweetheart, (he was Ferdie's chum) Brother and Sister Wintch and their two sons and the older son's wife and family. Our family consisted of father, mother, Ferdie, Elisabetha, Dorothea and myself, Jacob.

The ship took a route south along the coast of France, then west along the coast of Spain, then south along the coast of Portugal and came in view of [p.19] the city of Lisbon, Portugal on the 5th of June. On May 19th a male member of the church died and was buried at sea. A terrific storm came up while we were at sea, during our vessel by Portugal. The storm lasted three days and three nights and it was impossible for anyone to walk on the deck and the children on board had to be tied in their berths to keep them in, the sea was terribly rough. During the storm the kitchens were broken in splinters and caught fire. The second time the fire broke out in the kitchens, they were so badly damaged that it was impossible for the passengers to cook in them. Two children died and were buried at sea. The ship nearly run against icebergs but we finally landed in New York after 54 days on the sea 8 July 1862 and the ship had to pass then quarantine and custom officials.

We left the ship in New York harbor on the 9th of July, and the next day [p.20] we took a train to Albany, then to Niagara Falls. And from there to Chicago arrived there July 13th. We were in Quincy, Illinois on the 15th and from here we crossed the Mississippi River and traveled to St. Joseph, Missouri. When we reached St. Joseph (July 16th) Jacob Wintch was ill. We stopped overnight in a hotel there. That night mother and Dora stayed up with Brother Wintch who was Dora's intended husband. They fell asleep and someone entered their room and began searching their clothes and the contents of the room, when mother awoke and jumped up. The intruder made a clean getaway, but mother went to the hotel keeper and gave him a good lecturing for allowing such characters to enter his hotel and he didn't seem to be concerned about it.

We left Florence or Winter Quarters on July 18th going by boat up the [p.21] Mississippi River. We arrived there on the 20th of July. This was the outfitting place for immigrants to go west. We stayed in Florence 18 days to prepare for the journey across the plains. . . . [p.22]

BIB: Zollinger, Jacob. Autobiography (Special Collections, File Ms #33-34), pp. 17-22. (Utah Sate University)
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