"ON THEIR WAY. -- The Scandinavian company of Saints, numbering 598 souls, arrived at and left Liverpool July 15, on the steamship Minnesota. They were all well and in excellent spirits, and have the faith and prayers of the Saints that they may arrive in Utah safely and in good time. They were in charge of Elder O. C. Olsen, with Elders A. Gudmundsen and J. K. Johansen for his counselors, who with Elders G. K. Reese and O. B. Shaw and Hans Petersen are returning from their several missions."
MS, 31:30 (July 24, 1869), p.483
"Thurs. 15. [July 1869] -- The steamship Minnesota sailed from Liverpool, England, with 598 Saints, mostly from Scandinavia, under the direction of O. C. Olsen. The company arrived at New York July 28th, and at Taylor's Switch, near Ogden, Aug. 6th."
CC, p.81
". . . The Union Pacific Railroad having been completed all the way to Utah, crossing the American Desert with teams was a thing of the past, and when the presidency of the European Mission decided not to send the emigration any longer by sailing ships, a new chapter in the history of the emigration of the Saints began. It no longer meant a journey of six of more months' duration to get from Europe to the gathering place of the Saints in the mountains of the far west; but on the other hand it required more means than before, as the emigrants had to pay for the entire journey themselves. This, of course, hindered many poor Saints from emigrating. Nevertheless, preparations were made during the forepart of the year 1869 for a large company of emigrating Saints, and thus a company, numbering 567 souls, besides five returning missionaries, viz., Ole C. Olsen, Saamund Gudmundsen, Jens Johansen, George K. Riis and Hans
Petersen, sailed from Copenhagen July 10, 1869, bound for Utah. A severe storm at seat necessitated the ship seeking safety near land, anchoring near Skagen. On the 12th the voyage was continued and the steamer arrived at Hull, England in the afternoon of the 14th. At 10:30 p.m., the same day, the company proceeded by railway to Liverpool, where it arrived at 6 a.m. on the 15th. Here the Saints were at once transferred to the steamer 'Minnesota,' which sailed from Liverpool the same day about 11:45 a.m. Elder Ole C. Olsen was appointed president of this company with Saamund Gudmundsen and Jens Johansen as his counselors. Christain H. Halvorsen was appointed captain of the guard with Johan B. Hesse as his assistant. The company was divided into four divisions with Elders George K. Riis, Hans Petersen, L. Johansen and Peter T. Nystrom in charge, the latter also acting as interpreter. The fore half of the steamer was set aside for the company, while the after half was assigned to about 600 other emigrants, making a total of about 1200 passengers on board besides a crew of 125 men. The unmarried men were placed in the foremost part of the ship, next to them the families, and then midships the unmarried sister. During the voyage prayers were regularly attended to by the Saints in each division at 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Four couples were united in marriage during the voyage, and only a very little sickness prevailed among the passengers, and no deaths. After a successful voyage of 13 days the 'Minnesota' arrived safely in New York on the 28th of July. The following day the emigrants proceeded westward by train, and on Aug. 8th arrived at 'Tailors Switch' near Ogden, Utah. Two children died on the train. This was the first company of Scandinavian Saints who traveled all the way from New York to Utah by railroad. The whole journey from Copenhagen to Utah took 27 days. From Ogden the emigrants were conveyed by teams north and south to their destinations, as the railroad from Ogden to Salt Lake
City was not yet completed. . . ."
HSM, pp.204-05
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