CONTINUE MY JOURNEY--LEAVE ELDER TAYLOR IN GERMANTOWN--ARRIVE IN
CLEVELAND--TAKE STEAMER FROM THERE TO BUFFALO--DELAYED BY A STORM--GO
TO FARMINGTON, MY FATHER'S HOME--DEATH OF MY GRANDMOTHER--MY UNCLE
DIES--I PREACH HIS FUNERAL SERMON--ARRIVE IN NEW YORK--SAIL FOR
LIVERPOOL--ENCOUNTER STORMS AND ROUGH WEATHER--ARRIVE IN LIVERPOOL.
After committing Elder Taylor into the hands of the Lord, though
painful to me, I gave him the parting hand, and started. I left him in
Germantown, Wayne County, Indiana, in the hands of a merciful God and
a kind and benevolent family, who promised to do everything in their
power to make him comfortable until his recovery.
This they did, though he passed through a severe course of the bilious
fever, and was sick nigh unto death. Through the mercy of God, however,
he recovered from his sickness, and continued his journey. We next met
in the city of New York.
I continued my journey with Father Coltrin, and we reached Cleveland
on the 18th of September. We there took steamer for Buffalo, but were
three days and a night in a storm before we made the harbor. We landed
at midnight, and in doing so we ran into a schooner, and stove it in.
From Buffalo I traveled to Albany in a canal boat, and had a stroke of
the ague daily.
While on my journey, at Albany, I took a stage in the night, and rode
to my father's home in Farmington, on the 21st of September.
I was glad to meet with my father's family and the other members of the
small branch of the Church which existed there upon this occasion, as I
found them all strong in the faith of the gospel, and glad to meet with
me.
I was still suffering with the ague daily.
On the 27th of September, my grandmother (on my mother's side), Anna
Thompson, died at Avon. She was eighty-four years of age.
It was a singular coincidence that she, with her husband, Lot Thompson,
also Mercy Thompson and Samuel Thompson, all of one family, died
when they were eighty-four years of age. I was not able to attend my
grandmother's funeral.
On the 4th of October, 1839, my uncle, Adna Hart, died, aged
forty-three years. I had visited him in his sickness, and preached the
gospel to him, and he was believing. I had also been associated with
him from my youth up.
On his death-bed he sent me a request that I would preach his funeral
sermon.
I was having the chills and fever daily at the time, attended with a
very severe cough, so much so, that my father thought that I would
never leave his home alive. But when they brought me the request of my
dying uncle, and the day came for his burial, I told my father to get
his horse and buggy ready, for I was going to attend the funeral.
He thought I was very reckless in regard to my own life, as I had
suffered with the chills and fever some fifteen days, and to attempt to
speak in my weak state, and to begin at the same hour that my chill was
to come on, seemed to him foolhardy.
My parents were quite alarmed, yet according to my request my father
got up his team, and I rode with him and my step-mother five miles,
through a cold, chilly wind, and I commenced speaking to a large
congregation, at the same hour that my chill had been in the habit of
coming on.
I spoke over an hour with great freedom, and my chill left me from that
hour, and I had no more attacks for many days.
On the Monday following, October 17th, I felt sufficiently restored to
health to continue my journey. I took leave of my father and sister,
and left for New York, where I arrived on the morning of the 8th of
November.
I spent two months and seven days after my arrival in New York, in
traveling and preaching in that city, New Jersey and Long Island, a
portion of the time with Parley and Orson Pratt. I had frequent attacks
during this time of the chills and fever, but I preached almost daily.
On the 13th of December I attended our conference in New York City,
with Parley P. Pratt, and on this day Elder John Taylor arrived in our
midst, and it was a happy meeting.
He had passed through a severe siege of sickness after we parted, but
through the mercy of God had been preserved, and was able to continue
his journey. He also informed us that others of the quorum of the
Twelve had suffered a great deal of sickness, and that it was with
difficulty that they could travel.
After spending six days in New York, Elder John Taylor, in company with
Elder Theodore Turley and myself sailed out of New York Harbor for
Liverpool, on board the packet ship _Oxford_, on the 19th of December,
1839.
We took the steerage passage, which cost fifteen dollars each. We had
storms and rough weather, but most of the winds were favorable for a
quick passage.
While on the ship a Methodist minister got into a discussion with some
Catholics who were in the company, and the arguments of the minister
ran rather more into abuse than sound argument.
Elder Taylor told the Methodist minister that he did not think it was
becoming in a daughter to find so much fault with the mother as they
did, for as the Methodists came out of the Catholics, Elder Taylor
thought the mother had as much right to enjoy her religion unmolested
as the daughter had. That ended the argument.
Our company consisted of 109 souls, composed of Americans, English,
Scotch, Irish, Welsh and Dutch.
We arrived in Liverpool dock on the 11th day of January, 1840, having
made the voyage from New York in twenty-three days.