Emigration. The ship, Fanny of Boston, was to sail on the 15th of January from Liverpool to New Orleans. I had only two days to see my parents and pack up my clothing. My brother William came home to big me good-by. We had family prayer in which he was mouth, and we asked our Heavenly Father that we might meet again in this life and that he would take care of me. On the morning of the 12th, I left home with a heavy heart, having never been far from my tender parents. Mother gave me a little Bible saying: "Oh, Tom, how can I let you go?"...That Bible remained with me all my life.

It was still dark when we left Malvern. We walked 10 miles to the station and arrived by rail to Birmingham. Our train stopped there until 4 a.m., then we continued to Liverpool. There we learned that we would have to wait and feed ourselves until the 21st of January, and were very disappointed. Our voyage on the sea cost 25 dollars per capita and lasted six weeks; we cooked our own food. At New Orleans we were delayed three days, then started for Nauvoo by way of the Mississippi on the steamboat, "The Little Maid of Iowa." A sad incident occurred the first night, about 3rd of March, 1844. The passengers had been asked to help pack cord wood into the steam boat. In doing so Robert Burston, husband of my cousin, Hannah Steed, with his arms full of wood, fell into the river and never could be found. My cousin married again and lived childless in New Orleans. We finally landed in Nauvoo on April 13th, 1844, after a tedious journey of six weeks on the river. It was perhaps the last trip of the little "Maid of Iowa."

The Prophet Joseph Smith was at the pier. At first glance I could tell it was him, by him [his] noble expression. He came on board to shake hands and welcome us by many encouraging words, and express his thankfulness that we had arrived in safety. . . . [p.8]

BIB: Steed, Thomas, "The Life of Thomas Steed from His Own Diary, 1826-1910," (privately printed, 1935?) p. 8. (CHL)
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