Martha Matilda McGill Nelson - Life Story Part Five

Martha Morgan: A Journey to Zion

by Alan Morgan Kendall
(pictures and documents added)

The Journey to America 

The Morgan's traveled from Scotland to Liverpool, England in August to begin their sea voyage.

Their passage was actually paid by James Watson, an agent of the Church16. Some have

assumed this to be through the Perpetual Emigration Fund, but that program did not begin for

another month. Either way, it seems that the Morgans received some assistance on their ticket,

which may explain their future delay in arriving in Utah. William was probably resolved to

work off an obligation before proceeding to the valley.

Music Hall in Liverpool

In Liverpool, the Music Hall had been rented to receive the passengers until their ship was

ready, so the family may have stayed there for a time, making final preparations and last minute

purchases. On the first of September they boarded the James Pennell, the sailing ship that would

take them across the Atlantic Ocean. There were 250 LDS passengers, about half of them from

Scotland. One can imagine the busyness of preparing to get underway. William was probably

engaged in lashing down their trunks while Martha and Jane were preparing the bunks or cooking.  How wonderful and strange this must have seemed to the children. Journals of the trip describe a spirit of harmony among the saints, all working together for a common good.

On the morning of 2 September the James Pennell was tugged down the Mersey River to the

Irish Sea as nearly all the ships company was on deck, singing hymns. It must have been a bittersweet farewell to their native land. On the third day, they had cleared the coast of Ireland and were into the open sea, which meant the rolling and shifting of the vessel bringing on the agony of sea sickness.

The passenger's journals described the captain of the ship to be exceptionally considerate of his

passengers, and he successfully made efforts to provide a pleasant journey to those in his stewardship.  This was very fortunate, for they were underway for over 6 weeks. There was a violinist and accordionist on board as well as singers, so entertainment was available. The only cause for sorrow was the death of two sick babies. They also received a bit of a fright during a storm in the Gulf of Mexico, during which the top mizzen mast was broken off.

On the evening of 20 October, a steam tugboat fastened to the James Pennell and pulled her into

the mouth of the Mississippi River. The Morgans were probably up past midnight watching as

the ship entered this great river, and likely up at dawn the next morning, standing on the quarter

deck to get a better view of the strange plantations bordering either side of the river. They

reached New Orleans on the 22nd, and tied up to the levee. They were in America!17

New Orleans Dock 1849

After they disembarked, rental houses were provided for some, but most continued by steamboat

up the Mississippi to St. Louis, Missouri. On the way up the river the Morgans may have

discovered that coal mining was common in nearby Jackson County, Illinois. Jane Morgan

stayed in St. Louis with the Saints waiting to cross the plains, while William and Martha and

the children returned about 60 miles to the south, where William obtained work in the coal

mines there. He was earning money to get outfitted for the overland journey to Salt Lake City,

and probably to honorably settle the debt for passage over the Atlantic. A year later, the 1850

census shows the Morgans to still be living in the south district of Jackson County, with William

working as a miner.18 The sweltering Mississippi River summer of 1850 must have been a

new experience for Martha and the children. They may have missed the cool Scottish weather.

Crossing the Plains

The names of the Morgan family don't appear on any of the known rosters of pioneer companies

crossing the plains, so we can only speculate on when and how they made the trek. It does

seem reasonable, however, that they would have stayed close to sister Jane for the crossing.

Jane Morgan met and married another Scottish immigrant while staying in St. Louis. Her new

husband was recently widowed Andrew Patterson. They had undoubtedly known each other in

Scotland, as Andrew had been a member of the Dunfermline branch. They had made their way

to Council Bluffs, Iowa by May 1852, for their first child was born there19. It seems very likely,

then, that they all made the crossing in the summer of 1852.20

A William Morgan appears twice on the Annual Bishop's report of 1852. One, possibly this

William, in the Salt Lake 15th Ward, and another, very likely our subject, in the Nephi Ward.21

This suggests the scenario of the Morgans stopping briefly in Salt Lake City, with William laboring for public works temporarily to completely discharge the emigration debt, and then being called to strengthen the new settlement at Salt Creek, soon to be called Nephi.22 Jane Patterson and Andrew, an iron miner, were called directly to the Iron Mission in Cedar City. Their paths would cross again soon.

16. The History of the Morgan Family.

17. Mormon Migration, Liverpool to New Orleans, Ship: James Pennell. http://lib.byu.edu/

mormonmigration, 2011.

18. Ancestry.com. 1850 U. S. Federal Census [Database on-line]. Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.

com Operations Inc. 2009

19. Sly, Jeffery. Notes on Andrew Patterson, new.familysearch.org.

20. Jane and Andrew Patterson are thought to have crossed in the 1852 Higbee/Bay company

( Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868 at www.lds.org) with her brother John Nelson

and his family. Her 18 Sept 1878 obituary in the Deseret News incorrectly states that she arrived

in Salt Lake valley 13 May 1852, but probably intended to say that their company left

Council Bluffs at that time.

21. Utah Bishops’ Report 1852. Family History Library [FHL] Microfiche 6051208, Family

History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.