Diary or Log of Magnus Cederstrom, written on his ocean voyage when emigrating to America in 1866.

Monday May 28, 1866. At one o'clock p.m. the emigrants went on board the steamship "Aurora." The weather was quite good. Nevertheless (the boat) rolled a little which caused seasickness among some of them.

The 29th at 7:30 a.m. we arrived at Kiel's. At 10 o'clock we left there by train to Hamburg, Germany. At 3:15 we arrived there. We were taken by tug-boat to the sailing bark Cavour on the 30th, and on the 31st we still lay there.

Friday the 1st of June at 3:15 the boat was loaded and was towed out by steam tugboat. The weather was clear and pleasant and a soft wind blew and filled the sails. All the passengers were in good health, with probably the exception of two adults and one child, who were ill with the fever.

June 2nd - A heavy fog came up so that the anchor was thrown out at 4 o'clock in the morning. We lay still then until a quarter to eleven in the forenoon when the anchor was hauled in and the sails were raised and they were filled with a soft breeze which lasted until Monday the 4th at 9 o'clock p.m. when it began to lightening and rain which lasted the whole night. During the favorable periods the Saints busied themselves with all kinds of pleasantries to liven up their spirits and to strengthen their courage so they might remain happy and patient in the face of possible difficulties to come.

Tuesday the 5th there was a brisk wind most of the time and a large part of the passengers suffered from seasickness.

Wednesday the 6th - Same wind, the some [UNCLEAR, PROBABLY same] seasick.

Thursday the 7th - The greater part were well again and good weather, the whole day.

Friday the 8th - Entered the English Channel. Light wind.

Saturday the 9th - calm in the evening but a light wind caught the sails so that before the evening was over we had been driven forward about 13 1/4 miles.

Sunday the 10th - slight wind, clear and good weather. At 8:30 a.m. Anna Christina Hansen, a 64 year old widow died after eight days of being ill with fever. From the Islands Conference.

Monday the 11th - Good wind. Most of us seasick.

Tuesday the 12th - The same. Also Wednesday.

Thursday the 14th - Bad wind - less sickness.

Friday the 15th - entered the Atlantic Ocean.

Saturday the 16th - A weak wind blew against us in the morning.

Sunday the 17th - Strong wind storm.

Monday the 18th - A weak wind blew against us.

Tuesday the 19th - Calm in the evening. C. [Carl] W. [Whilhelm] Ohlsson was released as captain of the watch and Olof Nilsson was chosen to take his place.

Wednesday the 20th - Strong wind and rain in the morning but later good clear weather.

Thursday the 21st - Good wind. At 7 o'clock in the evening Lars Larsson's son from Sjelan, died after a long illness. He was one year, six months and one day old.

Friday the 22nd - good wind. At 10 o'clock in the morning the boy that died the previous day was buried with the greatest solemnity.

Saturday the 23rd - Good wind - calm in the evening.

Sunday the 24th - In the morning a rather good congregation. In the evening the Saints occupied themselves with all sorts of amusements.

Monday the 25th - Calm.

Tuesday the 26th - Storm

Wednesday the 27th - Good wind. General health good.

Thursday the 28th - Good wind. At three o'clock in the afternoon a tragedy occurred when seaman Isaac Ohlsson perished in the ocean. (drowned)

Friday the 29th - Good wind. [p.1]

Saturday the 30th - Calm.

Sunday July 1st - Strong wind. At 11 1/2 p.m. Lars Larsson's wife Lissa Christine died at the age of 42 after a long illness.

Monday the 2nd - at 2 p.m. she was buried with the greatest solemnity which can exist at sea. There was a strong wind against us. The general health was otherwise good.

Tuesday the 3rd - A slow wind.

Wednesday the 4th - calm. A general search for parasites and cleaning.

Thursday the 5th - A soft wind in the morning. At 11 o'clock we had a rather good congregation. The crew was invited to be with us.

Friday the 6th - Slight wind.

Saturday the 7th - Strong wind and fog. General health good.

Sunday the 8th - Calm and foggy. Had a little recreation in the evening.

Monday the 9th - Fog in the evening and a light southwesterly wind.

Tuesday the 10th - Light wind against us and fog.

Wednesday the 11th - Weak breeze half the day. Good wind but cold.

Thursday the 12th - Clear-light wind against us. Sighted some fishermen on the banks of Newfoundland. A little recreation in the evening among the Saints.

Friday the 13th — Clear in the morning and good wind in the afternoon.

Saturday the 14th - Foggy in the morning. Wind against us. Clear in the afternoon with a good wind.

Sunday the 15th - Clear. Wind against us. At 4 p.m. we had a rather good meeting.

Monday the 16th - Rainy weather. Clear in the evening. A soft breeze filled the sails.

Tuesday the 17th - Clear and calm. A slight breeze filled the sails in the evening with rain.

Wednesday the 18th - Foggy with slight breeze. The wind was against us in the evening.

Thursday the 19th - Fog. Wind against us in the afternoon. Light favorable wind in the even.

Friday the 20th - Clear Good wind all day. Remarks by Brother Nilsson concerning the lack of regard for being united in prayer at prayer time, etc.

Saturday the 21st - Clear and warm in the morning. A mild favorable breeze filled the sails in the afternoon.

Sunday the 22nd - Clear in the morning. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon we held a rather good meeting. Rain in the evening.

Monday the 23rd - Calm before noon. Rain in the evening.

Tuesday the 24th - Good wind in the afternoon. At 3 o'clock this afternoon Janne Jansson and Miss Inga Christine Svensson were united in marriage. The ceremony was performed by N. J. Nilsson.

Wednesday the 25th - Clear. Light wind against us.

Thursday the 26th - Clear with light wind. Almost calm in the afternoon. Several sharks were seen. The Brother Nilsson shot at them. At 7 o'clock in the evening Jens Larson's adopted son Rasmus Martensen, died at the age of 4 years, 7 months and 26 days, after an illness of six weeks.

Friday the 27th - Clear, soft favorable wind. At noon the aforementioned body was buried with the greatest solemnity and a salute. Cloudy in the evening.

Saturday the 28th - Clear. Light wind against us. At 10 o'clock this morning a pilot came on board. Good wind. Thunder and lightning, together with rain. At 4 o'clock p.m. we sighted land. This gladdened the hearts of all of us and many of the women could not hold back the tears. At 7:30 we cast the anchor over the side and all went to bed.

Sunday the 23rd - At 4:30 a.m. the anchor was hauled in and the sails were raised. We had to make our way against slight wind. At 9:30 we threw out the anchor again because of the calm. We lay still until 1 o'clock when we hauled in the anchor again and raised the sails. A light but favorable wind pushed us forward. At 4:30 a doctor came on board and because of the sickness among us he forbid us to go farther. The anchor was thrown out at 5:30. At 6 o'clock the captain and the pilot went on land. All the sails were then hauled down and everything was set in the best order possible so we could get a good refreshing rest. [p.2]

At 9:30 Hans Hansen from Sjellan died at the age of 26 years after five weeks of illness. Directly thereafter all the passengers and crew were called together for prayer. Brother Nilsson expressed his feelings and thanked God from the bottom of his heart for bringing us across the mighty deep and asked him to bless the captain and all the crew for their love, goodwill and humanity toward us to which we all said amen, and also that they might come to a knowledge of the truth and acknowledge it, to which the Saints also said amen, and that all the honest in heart in our dear fatherland might understand and accept the gospel and like us be freed before the wrath of the Lord is poured out over the wicked, to which all the Saints said amen. At 11 o'clock Margarita Christine Sandersen died at the age of 1/2 of a year after a five weeks illness.

Monday the 30th - This morning seven tug boats visited us to find out if we were going to land. At 8 o'clock the inspecting committee came on board and the passengers were all registered. At 7 o'clock B. K. Larsen died. He was sick 14 years.

At 9 o'clock the sick were taken to the hospital. Their names and ages follow: Lars Larsson from Sjellan-37 years; his son Nils-14 years; his son Hans-8 years; daughter Caren Christine-5 years; Moren Federsen-27 years. At 9:30 the dead were taken on land and the ship was fumigated. At 10 o'clock the captain again went on land. At 3:30 the pilot again came on board. The anchor was partly raised and the sails were set and at 4:30 a tug boat came and towed us nearer to the land. At 5:30 the anchor was thrown out again. The weather was rainy. The greater part went to bed, but because it was so warm and there was so much confusion they were called to get up again. They then began to march and then the Saints danced for two hours.

Tuesday the 31st - Early in the morning all the passengers gathered up their belongings to be ready to land. The Saints turned in all their money to have it changed. At 9:30 T. Taylor came on board with his secretary and I turned all the money over to him. At 10 o'clock the pilot again came on board. At 11:30 Taylor and Brother Nilsson went on land. At 3:15 they returned with a ship that towed us to land. At 4 we disembarked with a hearty farewell and shouted hurrah from all sides. After that we stayed in [-] until ten o'clock in the evening. All the healthy passengers marched to the steamer. In the meantime all our letters were taken to the post office. At 11 o'clock the machinery was set in motion and the ship took us speedily forward.

Wednesday August 1st - at 4 o'clock in the morning we arrived at New Haven where the passenger's belongings were transferred to the railroad station. From New York to New Haven is 84 miles. At 8:30 the train started and it carried us forward with the swiftness of a bird, over the confusion of fields, hills and valleys. At 1 o'clock we had put 62 miles behind us and were now in Springfield and we continued from there.

Saturday the 4th - At 10 o'clock a.m. we arrived at Port Huron where we went over the river that separates Canada from Michigan.

Sunday the 5th - At 4:30 a.m. Anna Helena Warnick died 60-4 (probably 40 years and 4 months). She was left at [-] at 8 o'clock to be buried. At 11 o'clock we arrived at Kalamazoo. At 5 o'clock we could see Lake Michigan. At 6:30 we came to [-]. At 11:00 o'clock we came to Chicago where we stayed overnight.

Monday the 6th - While we were here cholera broke out so badly that many of the passengers became sick, and one of them by the name of Christen Hansen from Lolland had to be left behind because of his inability to stand or walk. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon Anna Malena Berbom [Bernbom] died at the age of 70. In the evening we arrived at Quincy where she was buried.

Tuesday the 7th-At 7 a.m. we went over the Mississippi River at Quincy. Erasmus Pedersen was left there because he was stricken so hard by the cholera. At 11 a.m. we continued our travels. At 6 p.m. the widow Anna Christine Larsen died at the [p.3] age of 38 years. At 9 p.m. we arrived at St. Joseph. At 11 o'clock Johan Gustaf [Augusta] Warneck [Warnick] of Sweden died at the age of 2 years, nine months and eleven days after eleven weeks of sickness.

Wednesday the 8th - laid over. At 10 a.m. the dead were taken away. We still had 6 who were stricken with the cholera and 4 sick with other sicknesses. Later a few friendly women came from the city with all kinds of mild foods to restore the sick. Before the evening a doctor came of his own free will to look after all the sick. At 11 o'clock Nils Ohlson from Falster died.

Thursday the 9th-At 3 a.m. Anna Henrickson from Lolland died at the age of 60 years. At 6:30 Carl Peder Ringquist from Norrkoping died after 1-1/2 days of illness. At 7 Christina Christjanson from [-] died after 4 days of sickness. At 8 o'clock Anna Sorensen from Lolland died after one day of sickness. She was 30 years old. At 9 o'clock the widow Hansen from Lolland died. At 10 o'clock the company went from St. Louis. At 11 o'clock the carpenter who made the coffins came and caused a great disturbance because he didn't get as much money as he wanted for burying the dead. At 11:30 the doctor came. The sick were then taken to the hospital. Their names were as follows: Jens Larsen, Dorothy, Warneck, Sophia Warneck. At 2 o'clock we had them all to the hospital and at 2:30 Jens Larsen died. At 4 o'clock he was taken away again. In the evening Cederstrom was severely stricken. He went to bed and took medicine.

Friday the 10th-At 7:30 the widow died. At ten she was removed from the hospital. At 11 o'clock Warneck died, and at 4 o'clock he was removed from the hospital. At 3 o'clock Dorothy's husband came to her. In the meantime I wrote a letter to Brother Nilsen and informed him of the condition of the sick and of the dead. At 7 o'clock Dorothy Christiansen died. In the evening we went to town and bought burial clothes.

Saturday the 11th-We went and got the dead. In the afternoon I wrote a letter to Brother Nielsen.

Sunday the 12th-I wrote a letter to Stockholm, Sweden. [p.4] [ABRUPT END TO THE ACCOUNT]

BIB: This journal typescript was given to Conway Sonne in Sept. 2, 1987 by Grant Davis as evidenced from a letter in the Conway Sonne papers (LJAHA MSS 8 Box 2 Folder 7) pp.1-4 (Utah State University).
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