. . . We had a favorable voyage taking a cabin passage, having a room with 4 beds for my family. After 3 weeks on the ocean a son was born, but only lived an hour, being somewhat premature. Fortunately the sea was very calm & warm as we were passing by the West India Islands, but my dear babe had to be consigned to a watery grave. The captain was very kind, lending me things to add to my comforts and sent the ship's carpenter to put in a glass door in a porthole near to my bed so that I could have a little breeze from the sea. I had neither doctor nor nurse, but my husband. But I got a long splendidly. The sailors would call at the door in the morning to enquire about me and the old cook would send me something [-] to drink when he prepared something for the night watchmen. We were 9 weeks on the ocean when we arrived at New Orleans. My husband went ashore, he having a letter of introduction to a gentleman residing there. When we learned what family we had, he recommended that we should not stop in New Orleans. It was so unhealthy for children, so we took the steamer "Timour" to come up the Mississippi to St. Louis. We took a cabin passage. The captain & officers & chambermaid were all very kind to us and everyone was attracted with our little family. The colored waiters were quite delighted to wait on the children and also the chambermaid who was also colored. When about 60 miles from Memphis they had a fresh man to steer the boat. We ran against a snag which took away the provision house, blacksmith's house, and one of the paddle wheels so we had to be towed up to Memphis by another steamboat called the "Atlantic." We arrived at Memphis somewhere about Christmas time. Where we stayed a week for repairs. In the meantime, my little Conelius [Cornelis] died, nearly 19 months old. He had cut a number of teeth on the sea and change of climate affected him, Memphis also being an unhealthy place. One of the great trials was that when we took him to be buried, they had not dug his grave [-] the sorrow to leave him in the dead house, which they assured me that the interment would be attended to. It was hard, but had to submit, as the boat was ready to start again. We arrived at St. Louis on the 1st of Jan 1852. We were told if we reached St. Louis before breakfast we would have to leave the boat, but we did not find it so for the captain [p.62] told my husband that I and my family were welcome to stay until he found a comfortable place to take us to. It being New Years Day, we had a fine dinner of turkey & all the best good things. We were blessed in that respect for we found friends everywhere which we must ascribe to the loving kindness of our Heavenly Father who had inclined the hearts of strangers to be kind to us. In times of need according to his promise that those who leave all for the gospel's sake shall receive a hundred fold in this life and eternal life in that which is to come.

We found a good sized room with a fireplace in it which was in the cold month of January. My dear little girl Betsy took sick and died, she was about 4 years old. She wanted to live and said Momma make me well, I want to go to the Valley, but she went into convulsions and died. Thus, I had to lay another of my dear ones away. My husband would not allow me to go and see her consigned to mother earth, for I was not well and the weather very cold. We changed our residence to a more comfortable one having rooms in the same house as Brother & Sister Tingey. We remained in St. Louis till May, when we took again the old "Timour" which was the boat we came up on from New Orleans. It being a Missouri boat, they were anxious for us to travel with them again. We did not take a cabin passage, but the captain told us to go anywhere we like on the boat. Arriving at Council Bluffs we carted our luggage to Kanesville where we took a small house. It was quite a busy place, so many going on to the mines in California. Brother William Nixon was there with notions of different kinds for sale and had 2 of the Walker boys selling for him; those who are now rich bankers. My husband was enabled to do a little trading and called his fit out for the plains viz- 2 yoke of oxen and 2 yoke of cows and a wagon as well as provisions for the journey across the plains. To help us along our journey we parted with considerable that we brought from England. My husband being no teamster he engaged a Brother Green to drive the team across the plains, taking his wife and niece with us and finding food for them all, also to have 1 yoke of cows at the journey's end. The Lord was very kind to us in blessing us with kind friends, but found much to contend with on the plains. We crossed the Missouri on the 9th of June 1852 arriving in Salt Lake City on the 15th of September 1852 with 3 children viz: Eliza, Joseph, & Mary. [p.63]

BIB: Goddard, Elizabeth Harrison. Autobiography. pp. 62-63. (CHL)
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