“ My mother was very serious and devout in her views and had a strong testimony of the gospel from the time she joined the church in 1850. She and our family had a great desire to emigrate to Utah so we could live among the Saints who were gathering in Utah. In 1854, my grandfather, John Aaron Gibbons, and his two brothers emigrated to Utah and lived in Ogden. In 1868, fourteen years later, my grandfather sold some property which he had acquired and sent the money to Liverpool, England, in order that our family could emigrate to Utah. With the money, he sent plus some we borrowed from the perpetual emigration fund, my father, mother, and three sisters (Lucy, Annie, and Rosina, my adopted sister), myself , also two uncles and their families (there being 12 persons in all) obtained enough to emigrate to Zion. This was a great blessing and privilege for all of us. As my mother often said, “Our prayers have been answered and we are going to Zion to live among the Saints in peace without the fear of mobs and violence which we have endured in England.” I remember times when we were compelled to close our meetings as the mobs broke out the windows in our little church. Finally, we had to meet in private homes. The ministers of other churches were always exciting the people against the so-called Mormon Elders.

On the fourth day of June 1868, we sailed on the ship John Bright, a sailing vessel from Liverpool, England, to New York with over 800 passengers aboard – nearly all Mormons.

At the time my sister Lucy was 18, I was 16, Annie 14, and Rosina was six years of age. With faith and hope, we felt sure of a safe journey to the place where we could mingle with the Saints and worship without being molested. The journey on the ocean was pleasant most of the way. One night a storm arose and all the passengers were ordered below deck. The ship rocked to and fro. The wind blew terrifically. Trunks and other luggage of all kinds were thrown from side to side. We held on to our bunks as we expected to be thrown out every time the ship gave a lurch. My mother often said after the voyage was over that she would never forget that storm at sea. Toward morning, the storm abated and it was so calm, hardly a ripple could be seen on the water. Everyone was thankful to see morning come. A storm at sea at night is one of the most weird and mournful experiences one can witness. The following morning we were called to prayer and a meeting each morning at nine o-clock as we always had prayer after breakfast. This particular morning, the president of the company, Brother James McGraw, said, “This morning the Captain of the ship would like to talk with us.” He said that the storm was the worst storm he had ever seen or experienced and he had been in charge of many loads.

He said that if he had not had a company of Mormons on board, he was sure that we would have been at the bottom of the sea. He knew from previous experiences that the Lord protected and watched over the ships when Mormons were aboard, that he was sure he would land safely for this reason. He also stated that there was something about the Mormons he could not describe. They were so well behaved and gave him no trouble. This was a great testimony to all present. We landed in New York the 15th of July, having been six weeks and three days crossing the ocean. We stayed two days in Castle Garden, New York at which time we went by train to Laramie, there were teams and wagons from Utah waiting for us. The majority of these teams were mules which seemed strange to me. The young people and those who were able, were supposed to walk as the wagons were to carry the food and bedding needed for the journey. Also, those who were unable to walk. We averaged 25 to 30 miles a day. Sometimes if we did not find water we would travel further. Part of the way we carried water with us. One part what I remember which was called the Bitter Creek Route and the water was bitter, unfit to drink. Mother and my two younger sisters rode in the wagon. The rest of us walked nearly all the way. By the time we reached Salt Lake City, our shoes were worn out. We arrived in Salt Lake City on August 19, 1886 (Gable Roth: Error in Transcription: This is 1868 and not 1886)

And we arrived in Ogden three days later. Our relatives were living in Ogden and we lived there for two years. We were four weeks and three days coming from Laramie to Ogden. We had enormous appetites and Grandmother was able to satisfy them which I know was no small task.”

“History of Joseph Gibbons," database, FamilySearch, (www.familysearch.org : accessed 29 March 2023), entry for Joseph William Gibbons (KWNT-MKK), undocumented family tree, public memory, stories.

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