A Child of the Sea; and Life Among the MormonsWilliams, Elizabeth Whitney
History
A Child of the Sea; and Life Among the Mormons
Williams, Elizabeth Whitney
Beaver Island (Mich.); Latter Day Saints -- Michigan; Strang, James Jesse, 1813-1856
Our home was in a small town in New Jersey. We had a little farm and
were very comfortable. It was spring time, our crops were planted and
growing. It was told us one day two men had asked for our little church
to hold a meeting in for a couple of evenings and the whole neighborhood
was invited to attend. My husband being an elder in our little church
we, with many other neighbors went to hear the men speak. They were both
good talkers and we were all greatly interested. They continued the
meetings a week and we all became so interested they were invited to
remain longer. One claimed to be a minister, the other an elder. They
told a great deal about the Land of Promise they had found. My husband's
two brothers were ready to join and prevailed upon my husband to come
with them. About thirty were ready to follow the new preaching. They
left us to go to other parts and told us to be ready at a certain time,
when they would come back and take us with them. We sold our little farm
and stock at a great sacrifice, keeping only our bedding and clothing,
as they told us it was a long journey. We waited for them to come until
November and had almost given up in despair, when one day they came.
When we started there were twenty-five grown people with their children.
We had two small children, twins, a boy and a girl. Our hopes were high,
we were going westward they told us. We took a steamboat at Buffalo, as
they told us no railroad had yet been built to reach there. The trip was
hard, cold and tedious. Not one of us had ever been on the water before.
We were afraid and we were all sick, but we stood it as bravely as
possible and hoped for better times.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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