History(of(Edmund(Walker(and(Marie(Antoinette(Swallow(by(Maxine(Walker(Davie(
History of
Edmund Walker 1818-1903
and
Marie Antoinette Swallow 1816-1889
Edmund Walker and Maria Antoinette Swallow were both born in
England of apparently comfortable circumstances, but in January of
1851, they, along with their young sons, sailed from England, looking
toward America and “Zion.” With toil and tears they would sow so that
we could reap. This is their story
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England……………………….. 2
Conversion…………………….11
Leaving England……………...13
Arriving in the New World……20
The Path to Utah……………...22
Arriving in Zion………………..27
Peoa……………………………30
The Legacy……………………54
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England
Edmund Walker was born in London on June 11, 1818 in the Islington,
Clerkenwell area. This is in central London, near the Thames River and within the
sound of the Bow Bell. At the time, being born within the sound of that bell was the
requirement that Londoners set on being called a “true Londoner,” so Edmund was a
true Londoner and would have had the strong cockney accent. When we read the few
pages that remain of his journals, then, we can imagine his voice speaking with that
strong regional accent.
He came into the world at a pivotal time for England. Edmund records in his
journal, “I have heard my dear mother often say, at the time I was born it was the
happiest time of her life—London City and the people of Great Britain were nicely
getting over the long wars—Waterloo was won; wars were over. Business was brisk;
everybody was full of hopes of good times coming. Everything was cheap.”
According to historical writings, the ending of the Napoleonic Wars also ushered
in a time of unrest and rebuilding in England and especially in the London area. The
numerous battles that had raged across Europe had taken many of the 365,000 British
soldiers and 300,000 seamen that had fought. Those that returned home, often found
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that their occupations had been eliminated by the Industrial Revolution. Areas like the
one in which Edmund was born, which had previously been considered fashionable
residences were changing. Clerkenwell had a special reputation for making clocks,
watches, and jewelry, occupations which employed many people from around the area,
including Edmund and his father who were both listed in trade directories as jewelers.
The growth of industry added breweries, distilleries and printing industries.
(images of England in the early 1800’s)
We can get a vivid picture of Edmund’s environment from one of England’s greatest
writers. Edmund and Charles Dickens were born only a couple of years apart, and for a
time lived in the same area. Dickens visited the same places that Edmund walked many
times in person and through his writing. He was particularly intrigued by the densely
populated areas Clerkenwell and Islington in his writing, using the scenes and the
people as influences. His description of Islington and Clerkenwell are recorded in
Sketches by Boz, Oliver Twist, and Our Mutual Friend. Areas such as Pentonville, Battle
Bridge, St. Luke’s Hospital for Lunatics and Old Street are written about, including one
of ‘noxious trades’ to the east of King’s Cross Station. In one writing Dickens describes
a declining section of Islington in these words, “Between Battle Bridge and that part of
the Holloway district in which he dwelt, was a tract of suburban Sahara, where tiles and
bricks were burnt, bones were boiled, carpets were beat, rubbish was shot, dogs were
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fought, and dust was heaped by contractors. Skirting the border of this desert, by the
way he took, when the light of its kiln-fires made lurid smears on the fog, R. Wilfer
sighed and shook his head. ‘Ah me!’ said he, ‘what might have been is not what is!’”
Edmund could read and write well so we know that he was educated, but we can
only guess at how that education occurred. In an early court record, Edmund’s father
Joseph is bringing up one of his servants for charges of theft for stealing a silk
handkerchief. This seems petty, but at the time any object made of silk was very
expensive. In any case, it tells us that the family was wealthy enough to have a servant.
If they were wealthy enough, Edmund may have been educated at home with a
curriculum weighted towards the classics - the languages and literature of Ancient
Greece and Rome, with the goal of going on to a university afterwards. If they were
more middle class (the middle class had servants too but not so many) he might have
been educated in church schools where a basic curriculum at that time probably
stressed reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, history, and geography and Christian
piety. Teaching in those schools was often done by more advanced pupils teaching
younger children.
However he learned, he was a lucky child for the time. In the 1830s and 40s,
many children in London would have been working in textile mills and coalmines, where
working conditions were often deadly. The Industrial Revolution required more workers
than there were adult workers and small bodies and hands fit more easily around some
of the machines so many were employed in mills. Children as young as five went into
domestic service while others worked as street hawkers, selling matches or sweeping
streets. Educational reform didn’t result in practice until later in the century.
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Educated or not, children heard stories, learned rhymes and played games.
These were likely to be didactic—intended to teach the children moral lessons. Often it
seemed that the method was to scare the children into obedience. A rhyme that
Edmund is likely to have known refers to various church tower bells that would have
been audible in various parts of London. One version of the rhyme goes like this:
Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of St. Clement's.
You owe me five farthings,
Say the bells of St. Martin's.
When will you pay me?
Say the bells of Old Bailey.
When I grow rich,
Say the bells of Shoreditch.
When will that be?
Say the bells of Stepney.
I do not know,
Says the great bell of Bow.
Here comes a candle to light you to bed,
And here comes a chopper to chop off your
head!
An adaptation of the words is used in a children's game similar to “London
Bridges” in which the players file, in pairs, through an arch made by two of the players
The challenge comes during the final lines:
Here comes a candle
to light you to bed.
Here comes a chopper
to chop off your head.
Chip chop, chip chop,
the last man's dead.
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On the last word, the children forming the arch drop their arms to catch the pair
of children currently passing through, who are then "out" and must form another arch
next to the existing one. In this way, the series of arches becomes a steadily
lengthening tunnel through which each set of two players have to run faster and faster
to escape in time.
Islington was within the sound of several of the bells mentioned in the nursery
rhyme. It was only a couple of miles away from the Bow Bell, which referred to the bell
on the St. Mary-le-Bow Chapel. As mentioned, living there reinforced his designation as
a “cockney” since he could have answered yes to the question of “Are you a cockney
born within the sound of these bells?”
Since Edmund’s father was a jeweler and Edmund, as an adult, was listed as a
member of the jeweler’s guild, we can assume that he apprenticed in his father’s
workshop. As a young apprentice, he would have trained for several years with his
father who by then was certainly a master goldsmith. Later in his journals when Edmund
is 49 years old, he compares his age to “seven apprenticeships on the earth,” so likely,
if he did apprentice with his father, it would have been for a period of seven years. Their
workshop was probably located in a large room on the ground floor of their house. If
Joseph was an independent jeweler, part of that room or an additional room might have
served as a retail area. Jewelers were in demand at the time. Not only did women wear
gold jewelry, but men also valued expensive cuff links, buttons and a sort of buckle that
went around their neck scarves.
As an apprentice, Edmund probably owned such tools as files, punches, scales,
drills, engravers, burnishers and a “dapping block” to form shapes. He would have worn
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a leather apron, and used it to carefully catch any valuable silver or gold filings to melt
down and use again. It is interesting to consider the younger Edmund in this clean and
careful setting since his path brought him to such a different end.
Edmund’s parents were Joseph Edmund Walker and Caroline Simpson Walker,
both of whom were born in the Islington area. His sister, Caroline Elizabeth, was five
when he was born, and another sister, Clarissa, fit in between the two. There may have
been other children for which records have not been found. Some records show a son,
Joseph, born in 1834, but the time span between that possible child and Edmund, and
the fact that no supporting documents can be found at this time, shed doubt that there
was such a child.
In his journal, Edmund mentions an event that occurred 25 December 1837 that
was significant enough to him to be remembered thirty years later: “Dinner at Thomas
Hankey Squire, Governor of the Bank of England, South Audley, West end of London.”
Thomas Hankey (name is correctly Thompson Hankey) was a British merchant, banker
and politician. Hankey would have been 32 years old in 1837. By then he was already a
member of his father’s law firm and was director of the Bank of England, but he didn’t
become Governor until 1851. The “West End” would have referred to a fashionable area
to the west of Charring Cross. It was favored by the rich elite as a place of residence
because it was usually upwind of the smoke drifting from the crowded city. It was also
located close to Westminster, which was the political seat of power, which Hankey
would have found attractive.
Edmund would have been 19 when this occasion occurred that he later notes. It’s
possible that the Squire may have been a friend of his father’s--the West End was only
a few miles from Islington so they might have been acquainted. It is probably more likely
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that Edmund at 19 could have been serving dinner rather than actually sitting down to
eat it with such a prominent citizen as Thompson Hankey.
In November of 1887 Edmund notes that it had been 50 years since he first
became acquainted with Nettie so we know that they met in 1837 when he was 19 and
she had just turned 21. We can only guess at how they met. One thought is that since
his father, Joseph, isn’t recorded in the 1850 London census, and since he isn’t listed in
trade directories at that time, he may have moved for a time to Hampshire with his
family. It’s also possible that Edmund traveled to Titchfield or that Maria traveled to
London as young women often did at that time. Since Maria had been blessed in
London at St. Marylebone, there was surely a connection to that area.
Information we have about Maria shows that she was born in Guilford, Surry,
England, but she was blessed at St. Marylebone in London, which would have been
unusual. On her birth certificate, her father’s occupation is listed as “Gent” or
gentleman, which even in Victorian times could have different meanings. We could
assume though that her father had some money and influence. On the marriage
certificate, her father’s occupation looks like it says “victualler” which would be an
innkeeper or someone who sells food and drink. We assume an innkeeper could have
been wealthy enough to be called a gentleman.
Maria was in London at least until 1826 when her sister Isabella was born and
blessed at St. Marylebone, but somewhere before 1841, the family had moved to
Titchfield. She is not listed with the family in that year’s census so she may have been
employed somewhere or was staying with someone else.
Girls growing up in England in the 1800’s lived under the direction of their fathers
and brothers until they were married. Society expected them to find a husband,
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reproduce and serve their husbands. When she married any property she owned would
belong to her husband. Women were broken up into three different classes: Women of
the upper-working class, women of the lower-working class, and the underclass
women. We might assume that Maria would have been in the upper-working class. She
would have worn nice dresses, corsets, veils, and gloves for both beauty and modesty.
She may have received some general education, but this wasn’t considered important
for girls. When she was old enough, she might have had a position as a governess or a
lady’s companion.
Because Maria is not shown with her family in 1841, it’s possible that she might
have had such a position, but somewhere during that time, she was also being courted
by Edmund. They married on July 14, 1842 at a church in the parish of Portsea, a
county of South Hampton. A genealogist suggests that the place of marriage would
indicate that one or both families was somewhat privileged since a poor person was not
likely to be married in that place. On the marriage record, Edmund’s signature looks
distinct from the other writing, but Maria’s looks like her father’s. Girls were often not
educated, so her father probably signed her name. At the time of the marriage Edmund
lists his occupation as a servant. Their address is recorded on Lake Lane. The couple’s
family grew steadily with all sons at first. Stephen was born in 1842, Walter in 1844 and
Charles in 1848 all in Titchfield. In 1850 a fourth son, Cyrus would be born in nearby
Warsash.
Edmund records that he was with William Hornby, for eleven years. He must
have started the association then in 1838 when he was 19. In 1847, he writes that he
“came to Hornby” so the place was somewhere else before then—maybe London. In
December of 1847, the year he came, he records that he had dinner at William
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Hornby’s, The Hants, England. The Hornby’s were
very prominent so it is most likely that Edmund
was employed by the family, perhaps as a servant
at Hooks Hants since he states that as his
occupation during that time. In 1849, he left Hook
Mansion. In his 1867 journal he says that this has
been a cheerful home for eleven years. On 1 April 1887 he notes “38 years ago today I
left Hook Mansion for good. It had been a happy home for many years for me, but all
the dear ones I left are gone to the graveyard.” The Hornby’s had connection to
Islington and some of their records are found in St. Marylebone. A brother, Edward
Owen lived in Islington and in Hampshire. Edmund may have worked for the family
before he went to Titchfield. The Hook Mansion that he mentions was modeled after the
Government House of Bombay and eventually passed on to the William that Edmund
would have known. It must have been a large estate, since it is recorded that this
William Hornby expanded the property, adding a number of work buildings and cottages
for the workers. Edmund mentions the sale of the mansion and the death of the last
owner’s wife. He calls those he left “dear ones,” and again adds that it has been “A
cheerful home it had been to me for 11 years.”
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Conversion
Information of births and marriages in the Walker family are recorded in the
parish churches of St. Mary’s and St. Giles, which would indicate that the Walker family
belonged to the Church of England, as did the majority of the people. Up until that time,
religion had been pretty much decided by the monarchy, but during this period of
change, religion also made an evolution. Beliefs and practices were influenced by the
“Evangelical Revival” and a rapid expansion of the various “nonconformist churches,”
especially Methodism. Religions were becoming more democratic and appealed more
to the poor and those who questioned. The humanistic concerns that influenced religion
also had impact on social movements such as the abolition of slavery, child welfare, the
prohibition of alcohol and the development of public health and public education.
It’s seems that Edmund always had a religious inclination, judging from his
second christening in 1834 at the age of 26. This adult christening or baptism would
have been a sign of devotion from someone with the ability to appreciate the
significance of the baptism. The writings we have from Edmund often indicated faith; in
one entry he writes, “…modern prophets have foretold great things are to come to pass
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about this time, and many think that by the end of this century, Jesus will have come to
this earth and reign as king over the saints, but who knows, God only knows and He
only.” His course in life would have us believe that even though Edmund didn’t know at
the time, he believed that great things would come to pass and that Jesus would return.
Somewhere during his spiritual quest he met missionaries from The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). The church had begun to send a few
missionaries to England as early as 1839. Over the next decade, in England’s fertile
ground of religious questioning, missionaries baptized thousands of members each
year. It’s impossible to know when Edmund heard about the church or began to
investigate its doctrine, but we know that in August of 1849, both he and Maria were
baptized into the church by an Elder Clive at a mission recorded as Theobald Road,
London Conference, British Mission. Their address was listed as 8 Street, which was
likely temporary or the address of Edmund’s parents since their fourth son was born in
Warsash near Titchfield.
Church records also show that Elder Hyde and Elder Shorten, also in the
Theobald Road, London Conference British Mission, also baptized a Caroline Walker
and Joseph. The age recorded for Caroline is 62 and the address 128 St. John St.,
Clerkenwell, St. James. The age and the address would strongly suggest this Caroline
Walker was Edmund’s mother. The Joseph may have been his father or brother. A short
history of Edmund and Maria in “Conquerors of the West, states that Edmund and Maria
were the only members of their family to join, so the Caroline and Joseph baptized may
have not been Edmund’s family.
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Leaving England
Understanding the condition of England in 1850; it would be fair to wonder
whether Edmund and Maria were more intent on traveling to Utah or away from
England. The Industrial Revolution was inflicting rapid and painful change. After the
wars, the population was exploding with larger families and longer life expectancies.
Adding to that pressure was the Great Irish Famine, which forced thousands of poor
Irish people to immigrate to England, further crowding the cities especially those near
the seaports. Unemployment became a growing problem, leaving large numbers of both
skilled and unskilled people out of work. Even those lucky enough to have jobs
struggled; wages were low, barely above subsistence level. We wonder about
Edmund’s employment situation at the time he was making the decision to leave. He
records that in 1849 that he left Hook Mansion. We don’t know if he quit or was laid off.
He was baptized only a few days later in London so it seems likely that that was
somehow related.
In the midst of employment challenges, an outbreak of cholera struck England in
1848 and 49, killing approximately 70,000 people. Edmund records in his journal that in
1849 a friend, Dan Dimmick, died, and then later, his wife and child also died. If Dan
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lived in Titchfield as Edmund did, it is quite possible that cholera could have been the
cause of death since the disease often hit hardest in the places near the seaports.
Meanwhile, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was growing at a
phenomenal rate. Hundreds of converts were baptized each month in England and
Wales, but Zion was in America. Tens of thousands of new converts immigrated to
America, leaving everything behind them for their faith and desire to be with fellow
members. Of the 60,000 to 70,000 Saints who immigrated to the Salt Lake Valley in the
late 1800s, more than 75 percent were from Britain. The British converts began to
immigrate with the arrival of Brigham Young to Britain in 1840. Even though they knew
that members in America were facing persecution, new European members brought
strength and refreshment. Brigham Young stated that, "They have so much of the spirit
of gathering, that they would go if they knew they would die as soon as they got there or
if they knew that the mob would be upon them and drive them as soon as they arrived."
Edmund and Maria must have had that spirit of gathering, because they joined
the seventeen thousand new members who sailed from European shores just between
1847 and 1856, bound for Utah. Most came from the factories and mines and were
unable to save enough out of their meager wages to buy passage across the sea.
Statistics reported 28 percent were common laborers, 14 percent miners and about 28
percent mechanics. The remaining 30 percent were merchants, doctors, professors,
skilled engineers, artisans and artists. Most were poor and were hungry for the
possibility of gainful employment. Many dreamed of owning and farming their own land
even though, like Edmund, few had farming experience. One of the new converts who
emigrated with Edmund’s family recorded, “I often think there is no person so
independent as an American farmer, for his land is his own. He has beef, mutton, pork
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and poultry. He shears his own sheep and his wife spins the wool, dyes it of various
colors, and in many cases weaves it into cloth for dresses and for other articles of
clothing, blankets and flannels. I have been in many farmhouses and never could
discover anything like scarcity of the comforts of life.” The writer of those words
undoubtedly discovered that scratching out an existence in the virgin Utah soil would
not be so idyllic as what was described.
Other writings indicate that the newly baptized saints made the decision with full
awareness, knowing that their new life would not be one of ease. An article from a
Philadelphia paper records: "It is unfair to characterize these Mormons as unlettered, or
charge them with embracing the creed for the mere sake of promised happiness in an
ideal country. On the contrary, they seem fully to realize the hardships before them and
to have their eyes open to the fact that they must earn their bread by patient toil, upon
arriving in Utah."
Even with awareness of the challenges they would face, the saints appeared
eager for the test. In 1863, Charles Dickens visited the London dock to observe the
emigrant ship “The Amazon,” and in his words, "to bear testimony against” them.
Instead he writes, "I had come aboard this emigrant ship to see what eight hundred
Latter-day Saints were like," he wrote. "Indeed, I think it would be difficult to find eight
hundred people together anywhere else, and find so much beauty and so much strength
and capacity for work among them…Nobody is in an ill temper, nobody is the worse for
drink, nobody swears an oath or uses a coarse word, nobody appears depressed,
nobody is weeping, and down upon the deck, in every corner where it is possible to find
a few spare feet to kneel, crouch, or lie in, people in every unsuitable attitude for writing,
are writing letters."
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Another account of the Mormon emigrants is recorded in The Edinburgh Review:
"The ordinary emigrant is exposed to all the chances and misadventures of a
heterogeneous, childish, mannerless crowd during the voyage, and to the merciless
cupidity of land-sharks the moment he has touched the opposite shore. But the Mormon
ship is a Family under strong and accepted discipline, with every provision for comfort,
decorum, and internal peace. On his arrival in the New World the wanderer is received
into a confraternity which speeds him onwards with as little hardship and anxiety as the
circumstances permit, and he is passed on from friend to friend, till he reaches the
promised home."
As Edmund and Maria prepare to join these parties of saints, they traveled with
their sons to Liverpool. Trains were in use in England at that time and it is likely that, if
they were still in Titchfield at the time, they traveled by rail to London where they were
each examined and found to be healthy to travel. On January 10, they stepped from
British soil for the last time and aboard the sailing ship, the George W. Bourne, bound
for America and for Zion. They sailed as part of the “Fifty-Third Company” with 281
persons on board, under the presidency of Elders William Gibson, Thomas Margetts
and William Booth. The Walker family including Edmund, Maria, Stephen, Walter,
Charles and Cyrus are all recorded on the ship manifest. Edmund’s trade is listed as
“jeweler,” an occupation he would never again fulfill. The ship record shows that he paid
500 pounds for the voyage. That would be about 5000 pounds today or 7,650.00 dollars
at the time of this writing (2013)—a steep price, but the dollar bought more at the time.
Compared to what a dollar could buy, the voyage would have cost maybe one quarter of
that or around $2000. Even a payment near that amount would have been challenging
to gather at that time.
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Edmund was an educated man and a writer of journals, but we know of no record
of the journey in his hand. We wish we knew the thoughts in his and Maria’s mind as
they were leaving England. According to their oldest son, their relative and friends in
England tried to persuade them to stay. We are grateful that they had the faith and
bravery to go ahead with their plans. The ship record shows the ship sailed on January
9; diaries say that it was towed out into the river on the 11th, waiting for favorable wind.
The next day was Sunday and the Saints met on the deck in the afternoon where they
sang until evening. Some of the songs that the pioneers would have sung might be
unfamiliar to us now, but ones we would recognize included “Oh My Father”; “Come
Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.”
At the beginning of the journey, provisions were given for a week. One family
recorded that they received 70 pounds of oatmeal! Water was also rationed, but the
passengers said they always had a plentiful supply. It was measured and evaluated
regularly. Each family cooked their own meals and had space assigned in front of their
berth in which they could eat their meals together or they sometimes ate their meals on
their laps on the deck.
There were some challenges of navigation as the journey began. A passenger
recorded that “The wind blew against the ship and the boat lost her largest anchor and
cable, which had to be fished up” and later “Another Sunday spent waiting for wind
which was still blowing in the wrong direction.” Finally on January 23 the wind blew
favorably and a tug hauled the ship into the Irish Sea.
As you might expect on a ship full of Mormon emigrants, the days were
organized and purposeful. At six each morning passengers were awakened with a bugle
call. They recorded that “they had morning prayer at 7:30 and after that, breakfast. They
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usually sat on the deck and ate their meals in their laps. Each family cooked their own
food. After making beds and general tidying, they were free to spend the day as they
wanted. Sometimes a few of the passengers played music.”
The wind continued sometimes favorably and sometimes against, allowing them
to advanced less that 20 miles in six days. Some days were calm with the ocean as
smooth as glass. Other days were foggy and stormy with winds that caused the ship to
roll and appear as if it might turn over. Some days the winds drove them back many
miles and other times the ship would sit almost motionless waiting for winds. When they
did travel forward, they went at about 6-11 miles per hour.
Nettie must have been extremely busy keeping track of four young boys ages 8,
6, 2 and 8 months, on a vessel that must have been filled with dangers. We can only
imagine 8 month-old Cyrus fussing to get down on the deck and crawl to the edge. The
heat was something that the English passengers weren’t used to, and many of the
passengers were bothered with “prickly heat.” A compassionate captain had a large tub
filled with water so that the mothers could bathe their babies to cool them and relieve
the rash. Men put on a “thin pair of drawers” and poured water over each other. The
women, being bound by the strict modesty of the time, suffered most from the heat.
The journey must have seemed long but those who wrote also described it as
interesting and beautiful. One journal keeper, Jane Rio Griffith Baker, describes it in this
way: “I can hardly describe the beauty of this night, the Moon nearly at full with a deep
blue Sky, studded with stars the reflection of which makes the sea appear like an
immense sheet of diamonds, and here are we walking the deck at 9 o’clock in the
evening without bonnet or shawl; what a contrast to this day three weeks, when we
were shivering between decks, and not able to keep our feet, without holding fast to
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something or other, and if we managed to get on the upper deck, the first salute was a
great lump of water in the face; Well I have seen the mighty deep in its anger with our
ship nearly on her beam-ends, and I have seen it, (as now) under a cloudless sky, and
scarcely a ripple on its surface, and I know not which to admire most.”
They passed by the Irish coast with the Welsh Coast in the distance. They saw
the Island of Great and Little Isaacs, Green Turtle-Island, Bush Island and DoubleHeaded-Shot, which was not an island but a long chain of rocks, and the Gulf of Mexico
which they also called the Gulf of Florida. Along the way they saw flying fish and
porpoises, which they ate--probably a welcome change from the oatmeal and other nonperishable rations. The typical day for emigrants began in the early hours. They made
their beds, cleaned their assigned portion of the ship, and threw the refuse overboard.
At seven they assembled for prayer, after which they prepared and ate breakfast.
Passengers were required to be in their berths ready for retirement at eight o'clock.
Church services were held morning and evening of each day when weather permitted;
many of the companies organized choirs. Concerts, dances, contests, classes and
entertainments of various types were held. The journey was described as “a pleasant
passage of eight weeks,” Elder Gibson, one of the leaders, stated in his report to the
presidency in Liverpool that he thought no company of Latter-day Saints had ever
crossed the Atlantic with less seasickness than this company. During the voyage, one
marriage, three births and one death occurred. Two of the ships crews were converted
to the gospel and later baptized. And others asked to accompany the Saints to the
Valley.
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Arriving in the New World
On March 18, passengers on the George W. Bourne could see the shores of their
new country. That same day, a steamer came and attached to the boat, pulling it up the
river until it anchored off of Biloxi, Mississippi. From there, the ship continued to New
Orleans where it anchored on March 20. The day following, the passengers de-boarded
and first touched their feet on American soil.
Their new country was described as strikingly beautiful with sugar and cotton
plantations, large gardens, groves of orange trees and peach and plumbs growing wild on
the banks. Game was said to be in abundance. They saw wild geese, foxes, raccoons,
deer, storks and many other birds and animals.
To these English born citizens, food seemed plentiful and cheap. They could
purchase a goose or duck for as little as 25 cents each; butter was 10 cents a pound, milk
was 50 cents for an entire bucket full. A writer said that a pig, weighing 70 pounds was
purchased for a dollar.
Although the English were opposed to slavery, they were impressed with the
condition in which they lived—at least those visible to the emigrants. They reported that
slave huts were built of wood, painted white with verandas in front and each cottage had
its own garden. These dwellings, they felt were far superior to those of the English poor.
They wrote that the citizens appeared to be “living in very luxurious style--the upper class
dressed in English style; the ladies especially handsomely dressed and their slaves as
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well.” One writer commented that although there was no nobility in America, there were
never people more fond of titles. In her words, “colonels, majors, captains, judges and
squires were as plentiful as blackberries.”
On March 23, the steamer “Concordia” came alongside to offload their luggage
and they started for St. Louis. The boat was flat bottomed and light and the pilot steered
carefully to avoid submerged trees and other debris. On past voyages, many steamers
sunk when they hit snags in the river. They arrived in St. Louis, Missouri on the 29th.
In St. Louis, they experienced the changeable weather of that part of the world. On
April 4th it snowed heavily, but the next day they were able to open all of the windows.
Spring was fickle and summers were extremely hot. The English emigrants said that they
were not used to thunder, but they experienced plenty of it with torrents or rain that
converted the streets to rivers. St. Louis was an open-minded city that welcomed diversity.
The city was filled with churches including Catholic, Baptist, Episcopalians and
Independents. The Mormons had six meeting rooms and were able to use the Concert Hall
on Market Street for Sunday meetings. This room, designed to hold three thousand was
filled to overflowing with the staircases and lobby so crowded that some couldn’t get in.
They had finally made it to America, but they were not home yet. Even for those
who had the money to travel, there were miles ahead. A few purchased teams and
wagons there to begin the long journey toward Zion. Others left by steamboat to travel to
Alexandria and then to proceed overland to Council Bluffs to join the company of saints
who would travel to the Valley later that year. Many, possibly including Edmund and
family had been sponsored by the Perpetual Emigration Fund and would spent months or
years earning money to repay the loan and then earn enough for the journey to Utah.
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The Path to Utah
In order to repay their debts, many emigrants took advantage of employment
opportunities in the East. A history of one of Edmund’s grandsons mentions that the
family settled in Council Bluffs, Iowa, but if they were there at all, it was only for a few
months since Edmund’s journal records that he arrived in Cincinnati in June of 1851.
Cincinnati was part of Mormon history from the early days of the church. From emigrant
records in the 1900’s, we can see that Cincinnati was one of the common destinations
for the saints having arrived at New Orleans. When Edmund arrives in 1851, it was
considered “a boomtown in the heart of the country, rivaling the larger coastal cities in
size and wealth.” There was probably an abundance of employment opportunities and a
number of LDS members. It is possible that employment for the new arrivals was
organized before their arrival.
Family stories differ on the families’ financial status. Some records claim that
Edmund was financially well off and that he bought a newspaper, which he edited and
published. A short history of Stephen, the oldest son, says that the family didn’t have
sufficient means to travel west immediately. We know that Edmund was at least
employed by a newspaper he called the Times because in his journal, he records that
he “sold the Times route” in 1959 before leaving for Utah. The “Times” he refers to is
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likely, The Cincinnati Times Star which, at different times was called the Spirit of the
Times, the Daily Times or just the Times. Since Edmund speaks of selling a route and
not just giving it up, he would have at least had control over a certain area, perhaps
contracting out to other people who actually delivered or sold newspapers. He does
mention in his 1867 journal that he was much better off in Cincinnati that he was in his
early days of farming.
While living in Cincinnati, their only daughter Isabella was born on June 9, 1853,
but sadly died a year later on September 29,1854. A little boy Harry was born April
21,1855 and he died only days after his birth. Edmund records that Harry died of croup,
but there is a possibility that the initial cause for either or both of their deaths was the
cholera epidemic that killed almost 6,000 people in Cincinnati during those years. He
also records that Harry was buried beside his sister Isabella.
On March 8,1856, a son William was born. Some family information suggests
that William was adopted, but documentation hasn’t been found to prove or disprove
this. There is just enough time between Harry and William’s births that he could have
been a biological son, but it is also possible, with so many dying of cholera, there would
have been babies without mothers and mothers without babies. There is a record of a
child blessed on August 3, 1856, showing Edmund & Maria Walker as parents. This
would have been William. He was blessed by L. Merryweather and other babies blessed
by Joseph Beam but none by fathers. Probably, church leaders more often blessed
children at that time than their fathers. If William was adopted, the fact that he was
blessed within months suggests that he was theirs from the beginning of his life.
Whether biological or adopted, “Willy” as he was called by the family became the last
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child born to the family. Edmund often mentions Willie in his journal, on his birthdays
and citing different activities, often with “young Steve” who must be Stephen’s son.
While in Cincinnati, Edmund and his family stayed involved in the church.
Records show Edmund as an Elder, Stephen as a deacon and then as a priest. They
show Stephen ordained a Deacon September 14, 1856 and Walter also later ordained
as a Deacon. While Edmund was listed as an Elder, Maria Antoinette Walker and her
sons Stephen, Walter, and Charles were listed as members. In a short history written
about their son Walter, he said that while they were in Cincinnati, their home became a
frequent meeting place for church members. In a book about Parley P. Pratt, he
mentions staying with a Brother Walker in Cincinnati; Edmund specifically mentions the
death of Parley P. Pratt in his journal so perhaps this could be our forefather. Edmund
makes note of having Christmas dinner in Cincinnati in 1857. Since he was there years
before and after that date, it’s unclear why that year was mentioned.
Edmund may have stayed in Cincinnati longer than he had hoped. If he had a
debt from the Perpetual Emigration Fund, that would have had to be repaid, but also the
cost of outfitting a team and wagon and buying the provisions needed to travel west had
more than doubled since he had arrived due to the heavy migration resulting from the
discovery of gold in California and the announcement of free land in Oregon. This
increased cost was the reason that many of the early saints crossed the plains with
handcarts. Another source said that the family waited in Cincinnati until they had word
from the church leaders to travel to the West. This may have also been true if the influx
of new members was overwhelming resources in Salt Lake.
Finally in 1859, Edmund was able to leave for Utah. From church records of the
Cincinnati Branch, Ohio Northern States Mission, we see noted that Edmund and his
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family finally departed for Salt Lake on April 3, 1859. Sixteen other members left for Salt
Lake that day. Some of the names include Beam, Hillam, Wasden, John Hill, Horton,
Paul, and Shipp. Edmund’s sister married a Hill in England so it is possible that Edmund
may have had a connection to John Hill.
Each leader and each party of travelers had learned from the groups before, so
by the time Edmund crossed with his family, the journey was a little easier. There were
more established rules, more enforced discipline, better roads, ferries, bridges, and
even a number of trailside services like blacksmithing, medical assistance, military
installations, trading establishments, and the telegraph. They would have traveled by
wagon, usually just a reinforced farm wagon, which were about ten feet long, arched
over with a cloth or waterproof canvas that could be closed at each end. Pioneers rarely
traveled in the huge Conestoga wagons that are seen in movies. The farm wagons
weren’t comfortable, but they efficiently hauled their provisions and their few
possessions. They could live in them or alongside them on the trail and, when they
arrived at their destination, they could be a temporary shelter until something permanent
could be built.
Emigrants recorded that at least the first part of the journey the trail was filled
with many flowers like the ones that the English had cultivated at home—violets,
primroses, daisies, bluebells, lilies, columbines, stocks, and wild rose. There were also
plenty of gooseberry bushes and wild plumb and peach trees. They wrote about being
fascinated with fireflies, which they had never seen.
Along with the pleasures were challenges. Even though the roads were better,
they were still a long succession of hills, valley, bogs, mud holes, low bridges and
quagmires. The wagons were frequently damaged by startled oxen or by wheels sinking
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into deep, sticky mud. Sometimes people were able to figure out a way to continue with
broken wagons, but they sometimes had to stop while wagons were repaired. Although
the journey was easier than those who first traveled the path, it would still take a little
over five months.
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Arriving in Zion
They arrived in Salt Lake on Sunday, October 11, 1859 with a train of eight
wagons with eighteen members in the company. Records say that they were all well
and in good condition. Like all emigrants arriving that year, they gathered and camped
on what is referred to as the Eighth Ward Square, Washington Square, and Emigration
or Immigration Square. One young arrival records her impressions upon arrival: “When
we came into Salt Lake City, it was a small ‘city’ then, we camped on 8th Ward Square,
where the City and County Building now is. We drew our wagons into a circle and the
Saints hailed our coming by the band playing, ‘Home, Sweet Home.’ I shall never forget
how my tired and weary body and soul responded to that song. We had reached our
goal, worn and hungry, with nothing but the strength of a mighty purpose to support us.
Some of the arriving saints were met by family and friends, but if Edmund and his
family had people to greet them, we don’t know about them. Most arrivals were
strangers and needed assistance from Church leaders, and from fellow Church
members, especially on the day of arrival. It has always been customary for the Saints
to assist the incoming emigration. A new arrival records “carts arrived and all the new
arrivals were in clean clothes, the men washed and shaved, and the girls, who were
singing hymns, habited in Sunday dresses. Another writer records, “Immediately on the
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arrival of the train, the brethren and sisters came forward with soup, beef, potatoes,
pies, sugar and coffee, to supply the wants of those who had just come in from their
long and tedious journey across the plains. The brethren saw to the plentiful distribution
of the food among the passengers. They also provided for the sick, and had them made
comparatively comfortable in the 8th Ward School House.”
In a short time arrangements were made to house and employ all who required
work. We don’t know what Edmund did in Salt Lake before he was sent to Peoa.
Whatever their official occupation, the settlers were busy. They were taught to produce
as much of their own needs as possible. Discourses from leaders were often about such
practical matters as farming, planting orchards and gardens, raising livestock and
building roads. Many of the emigrants were like Edmund—without farming experience—
so what they learned was as necessary as spiritual doctrine for his new life.
Nettie was probably learning too. Early settlers had to produce their own food
and make their own clothes. Spinning wheels and looms were common in homes. We
know from family stories that Nettie was an artist with the needle and probably made
articles for her family that were attractive as well as useful. Women were instructed in
practical matters like the men—to be frugal and not waste and to find a use for
everything. While the saints were encouraged to prosper and live in as much comfort as
they could, they were also counseled not to develop tastes that would lead them to
excessive indulgence. This second counsel may have been more easily observed
considering that there was so little excess in which they could indulge at that time.
The newcomers worked cooperatively with those more established citizens,
building homes, digging canals and ditches and plowing fields for the common good of
the people. People understood that they would all eventually derive benefit. Shoulder to
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shoulder, they built mills and factories, using streams to produce power and developing
natural resources for the use of the people and for commerce. If as we say, Utah
“blossomed like a rose,” these early saints were the ones who planted the roots and
nurtured the first tender buds.
In June of 1860, Edmund is recorded in the Salt Lake City census along with
Maria, Stephen, Walter, Charles, Cyrus (whose name is recorded as Silas) and William.
A close neighbor at that time was Thomas Wright whose oldest daughter Charlotte
would later marry the Walkers’ second son, Walter. On that census, Edmund is listed as
a laborer as were most of the other men at that time. The value of his personal estate is
listed as $100, which was about the median for those listed on the page with him.
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Peoa
In the early spring of 1861, Edmund and his family crossed the Wasatch
Mountains in a wagon, traveling for two days to a beautiful but untamed little settlement
called Peoa, a long valley covered with pine and brush with some good meadowland
along a river. Along with a few treasures from home and anything they had been able to
save or acquire on their journey through America, were the tools needed to clear land,
cut timber, plow the fields and reap the harvest. The Walker family is listed among the
original 19 families who settled Peoa, coming just one year after the first party that
arrived in 1860. They must have felt both apprehension and excitement as the wagon
train rounded the point that marked the valley and they first viewed the low rolling hills
bursting with spring. Edmund, Nettie and their boys had finally arrived “home.”
It had taken six long years to make their way across the country to Zion, but the
couple was still young enough to invest the many additional years that would be
required to make their own little part of this western desert blossom. Edmund would
have turned 43 that summer and Nettie 44. Their five sons would add to the family
workforce. Stephen was almost 19, Walter close to 17 and Charles 13. Cyrus had
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probably already turned 11. Even little Willie at 5 would have been assigned
responsibilities.
Activity from the moment the early settlers entered the valley must have been
intense. Their first priority was to roughly survey lots of 10 to 20 acres—enough for a
family to sustain themselves and their livestock. President Young taught that a man
should have as much farm land as he could actually cultivate and not more, and was
divided on that principle. Edmund, along with the others, received a tract of land. Many
years later, in Edmund’s will, several pieces of land are mentioned. These may be
additional pieces he acquired or parts of his original allotment of ground. In a publication
celebrating the sesquicentennial of Peoa, the author describes the laying out of the little
settlement in this way: “A small piece of land was laid out for a town site, then each
settler took a strip across the valley some twelve rods wide, making about twelve acres,
running east and west, from the road toward the West Hills. On the top of each farm
were two building lots right next to the road. As the entire town site was not used up,
there was a strip on the south end that was divided into was called “meadow claims” of
about six acres each. These meadow claims, south of the central part of Peoa, ran
north and south. After these claims were taken, one claim for each family, there still
remained a portion that was undivided and the land goes by the term, “The Undivided”
to this day.”
Some kind of temporary shelter was also needed—a very basic cabin or
sometimes a dugout. Better homes would be built later, after immediate needs were
satisfied. A cottonwood grove along the Weber River provided logs for these first homes
as well as building material for corrals, rough barns or lean-to’s for the livestock. The
first homes were built close together and were constructed of rough logs held together
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with wooden pegs. Round poles were hewn into square logs with notched ends that
would be fit together and then be plastered with mud or cow manure. At first, there was
only one room and the floors were bare ground, compacted and swept. Full logs and
split logs were formed into tables, chairs and beds and a simple fireplace was built from
rocks and clay. Split logs formed roofs that were covered with clay or thatch and topped
with soil to keep the rain out. They were not watertight however, and the occupants
claimed that when it rained one hour outside, it rained three hours inside. Edmund talks
about the rain in his journal several times. In one entry he writes “Snowing and raining
all night. The rain was pouring in every house in Peoa. O’ the wet in the house, not a
dry pot in the house.”
When Edmund had been in the valley six years, he records in his journal that he
is given a lot next to Stephen and of digging postholes and fencing the land. Soon after
that, both he and Stephen began to build their houses and on June 13 he records
simply “moving house.” We might assume then, that for those six years, the family had
made do with whatever shelter they had built in the year they arrived.
As soon as they understood what sections would
be their responsibility and their livelihood, ground was
broken and wheat, barley and oats were planted. Ditches
were dug to provide drinking irrigation for the crops and
also for drinking water. Each family also had a garden plot
and grew as much as possible to eat and to store. The
soil was said to be a rich, loamy soil and produced well.
Common vegetables included corn, lettuce, tomatoes, turnips, squash, melon,
cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, beets, peas and cabbage. Edmund, our jeweler
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forefather, was now a full-fledged farmer, busy planting along with his neighbors. In his
journal he writes, “”Sowed oats in Homers Bend, planted corn, lettuce, tomatoes,
turnips, squash, melons & cucumbers. Quite a rainstorm came in the evening. The grain
is springing up all over the land.”
If the settlers would travel with grain and produce, roads had to be built. At first
only the road to Salt Lake was improved, but later roads were extended to other
settlements as they sprung up further along the trail. In his journal, Edmund mentions
working on the roads several times as part of a “poll tax” which might have meant that
each man was assessed a certain portion or length of time to work on the roads.
While the men worked, the women worked at least as hard. A typical day for
Nettie probably began before daylight. She would have gathered wood from the stack
on the porch to start the fire. Coals would have been banked from the night before so
the fire could start easily. Many mornings she would have quickly kneaded biscuits and
loaded them into a Dutch oven to cook over the coals. Since the family raised chickens,
there would probably be eggs and sometimes smoked meat. A hearty breakfast would
be needed for Edmund and the boys to work in the fields all day. While she prepared
breakfast, she may have started to soak beans or prepare other food for later meals.
Since she didn’t have a daughter, she would have needed to fetch water herself.
After breakfast she may have milked the cows, filling a clean crock and pouring it
through layers of clean cloth to strain out bugs or dust. Later she would separate the
cream from which she would churn butter, which she might have stored in a cellar or
"spring house" to keep it cool. Cream and butter were considered too valuable for the
family to eat themselves; these were sold whenever possible. Sometimes there was an
overabundance. Edmund wrote in his journal of a time when the store didn’t want to buy
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the eggs or butter at any price. Her husband and boys were always looking for work and
she did what she could to make the few dollars they earned stretch as far as possible.
Her sale of the eggs and butter brought in a little that was probably sometimes used to
purchase materials for clothes for the family. These would have been made of coarse or
homespun cloth and were cared for as carefully as possible. They wore clothes until
they had been patched over and over again. Stockings were knit and handed down from
older children to younger. After milking, women fed the chickens and gathered the eggs;
emptied chamber pots; straighten the beds, and swept the hard packed dirt floor.
Weeding the garden was especially important because it could mean the difference
between having food for the winter or being hungry. In the fall, there were also berries to
gather and fruit and vegetables to can.
If she stopped for lunch, it would have been something simple but dinner would
be a full a meal for six hungry men. If they were lucky enough to have deer meat or
other game, dinner might include fried steaks with potatoes and a fresh or canned
vegetable. In leaner times, maybe just the potatoes and vegetables, or beans and
cornbread.
On Saturdays, she probably heated water to fill the washtub so they would be
ready for Sunday meetings. In a pioneer home, this ritual usually took place in the
kitchen, both because it was warmer from the fire and because the woman had less
distance to travel with the heated water. Each family member would take their turn in
the same water and the dirty water be poured on the vegetable garden in the morning.
The same washtub was filled several times a week to scrub clothes by hand, then rinse
and hang them out to dry.
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Both clothing and people were cleaned with home made lye soap. Making soap
was an exhausting process that took all-day. All fats were carefully saved throughout
the year for this purpose and then the soap was made in the spring when the weather
was nice enough to get out the large brass bucket, set the fire and begin the process. A
recipe that has survived from early Peoa goes as follows:
Homemade soap recipe:
3 quarts fat drippings
12.7 oz. lye (wood ashes were often used)
4 ½ quarts cold rain or soft water
3 tsp. Borax
1 tsp. salt
2 t. sugar
¼ cup ammonia
Thoroughly clean fats by boiling in equal amount of water. Place kettle in a cold
place to firm fat. Cut fat from kettle sides. Pour off water and waste. Scrape off
excess wastes from bottom of lard cake. Clean kettle and replace lard cakes,
melt over low heat. Dissolve lye in 1 quart cold water and let stand until cool,
then add melted fat slowly. Stir constantly. Mix other ingredients together and
add to first mixture. Stir until the mixture is thick and honey colored. Pour into pan
lined with clean white cloth. Before soap becomes hard, mark pieces into cakes
or form into balls. When hard, store to allow further air-drying.
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Just a simple chore like doing the dishes required a lot of work for pioneer
women. Water had to be drawn from the well, poured into a bucket, carried into the
kitchen, poured into a kettle to heat, poured from the kettle and then into the dishpan
where dishes were washed and rinsed. The used water then had to be carried outside
and dumped. It is estimated that each bucket of water had to be handled at least six
times. A bucket of water would average about 20 pounds so that would mean in just
doing the dishes, she would be lifting 120 pounds each day. Add to that, the water used
for cooking, cleaning the house, washing clothes and bathing and it would be easy to
assume that these women were lifting and manipulating hundreds of pounds of water
each day.
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When they first settled, women created make-shift candles by tying a button with
a piece of cloth and emerging it in a dish of rendered fat. The button was positioned in
such a way that the corners of the cloth stood up, out of the fat, and acted as a wick.
While these gave some light, the quality was very poor light and when the flame was
blown out, the fat gave off an unpleasant odor. Eventually women made tallow candles,
which gave slightly more light and could be carried from room to room. As coal oil
became available, oil lamps came into use.
Many converts were like Nettie, coming from urban backgrounds that were
certainly more privileged, but with faith and tenacity, they learned and became proficient
in the skills of survival. Not only did women survive; they thrived. And in the midst of
their labor, they made their homes both comfortable and beautiful. Plants and cuttings
that had been lovingly nurtured along the trail were planted and traded. Christmas
cactus was a popular plant, being somewhat cold tolerant. Needlework added beauty to
their course clothing or was displayed in frames inside their cabins. Nettie was known
as being an artist with a needle, and one of her embroidered pieces survives today. A
descendent of Edmund and Nettie said that she also did hair embroidery which was
popular at the time.
(A tapestry said to be Nettie’s and an example of hair embroidery)
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The women braided, hooked and wove rugs with braiding being the easiest and
most frequently used method. They carefully saved scraps from old overcoats, trousers,
shirts, scarves, caps, blankets or any other available fabric. Sometimes they could wait
until they had enough materials on hand to begin, but many times rugs were started
with a few scraps and expanded as additional material was collected, resulting in the
unmatched and patterns that gave the rugs their character. Women often gathered to
enjoy rag making bees as well as quilting bees that were usually accompanied by food
and chatter.
Children also became part of the laborers. Even very young boys were expected
to help in the hay fields, driving teams, pitching hay or riding the horses used to stack or
rake hay, and if needed, girls worked alongside their brothers. If they could be spared,
they were assigned to household chores or to tending siblings while their mothers were
busy with other tasks. Both boys and girls tended livestock, milked cows, gathered eggs
and were on call for any other needed assignments. Edmund and Nettie must have
been considered lucky to have five sons to help.
At times, it must have seemed that the work would never end. There was so
much to be done in order to grow a community out of the untamed prairie. It’s no
wonder that in Edmund’s first journal, his tone is often weary and at time discouraged.
At one low point, he describes “a life of hard work and beggary and scarce shadow of
hope for the future but bread and cold water.”
This was a common condition of early settlers, although their faith most often
remained constant, their bones were weary. Understanding this, the early church
leadership, under the direction of President Brigham Young, encouraged scheduled
times for rest and recreation for the people. Unlike other religions of the time, early
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church members were not only allowed to play, they were admonished to do so. Dance
was probably the most common amusement and was enjoyed in every city and town in
Utah. One of the first homes built in Peoa devoted their main floor as a dance hall while
the family lived in the cellar. This home was later owned by Cyrus, but it is unknown
whether dances took place in his home at the time he lived there. Like other residents,
Edmund and his family looked forward to and enjoyed the dances and, in his journal,
records a “family dinner and dance.” Music and dance was an important part of every
celebration. President Young was quoted as saying:
“ Our work, our everyday labor, our whole lives are within the scope
of our religion. This is what we believe, and what we try to practice.
Recreation and diversion are as necessary to our well being as the most
serious pursuits of life. If you wish to dance, dance, and you are just as
prepared for prayer meeting as you were before, if you are Saints.”
Education was a priority for the early settlers of Peoa. Part of the better life for
which they toiled included an education for their children--knowing about the world and
how to read and write. The first school of Peoa was held in one of the log cabins and
soon after in a small schoolhouse. Edmund was the first schoolteacher, with reading,
writing and arithmetic as the main subjects. The first schoolhouse was built of logs, but
in 1867 Edmund writes about hauling rocks for a new schoolhouse. In 1869 the new
rock house was used. True to their pioneer thrift, history records that logs from the first
structure were chopped and burned to keep the second building warm.
We don’t know the conditions of Edmund’s teaching assignment; it may have
been a temporary assignment or perhaps it was seasonal. It’s hard to think that Edmund
would have been able to teach full time and run a farm at the same time, but he notes
occurrences at the schoolhouse several times. In one entry he records, “There has
been several discussions at the school meeting house, which has done the most good
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for America—Columbus or Washington; judgment was given Columbus had. Of the
sword or the pen, which has been the greatest influence on mankind; judgment given
that the sword has up to this present time.” Later he tells of a lecture given by W. H. Cox
on geography that he said was quite interesting. On March 23, 1887 he records, “the
school ended today.” That would probably have been about the time that families would
need their children to help with planting. In January of that year he notes, “There was no
meeting at the school house for school children.”
Not surprisingly, the first Peoa residents faced many challenges, often from
Mother Nature. Long awaited harvests were sometimes damaged or destroyed from
lightning or heavy rains and winds. Squirrels, chipmunks, woodchucks and other
animals took an alarming share of the much-needed food. Edmund wrote “The
chipmunks stealing a good deal of grain—harder on it than even the grasshoppers.”
Anything that made it to harvest was carefully gathered and preserved with none being
wasted, even grain scattered by winds or hail were carefully sorted from the soil by the
small, nimble fingers of the children. Perishable foods were not allowed to spoil. They
were bottled or packed into cellars that were dug into the earth, keeping the food cool in
summer and safe from freezing in winter.
Grasshoppers were a plague to Peoa and all of the
surrounding area for several years. Upon returning home from one
of his work trips. In 1867 Edmund wrote “got home; almost
everything has been destroyed throughout the territory by
grasshoppers. All along, they have swept away our oats and
barley, everything except the wheat.” In 1968 he writes,
“everybody so scared to death of grasshoppers that they will raise
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no crops this year. Everything is being destroyed by the young grasshoppers. They are
all around by the billions. It seems impossible that we can raise a bush of anything for
these destroyers are over all things, eating day and night.”
When Edmund described the grasshoppers in billions, it is hard to take the
number seriously, but the 19th century grasshopper (actually locust) plague in the west
was like nothing anyone had ever seen before. Scientists say locusts existed not just in
billions, but in the trillions. One swarm was estimated as being 1,800 miles long and 110
miles wide. It took five days for the swarm to pass a single point. These Rocky Mountain
locust are said to be the largest gathering of a living things ever seen on Earth.
Edmund’s contemporaries have described the sight as looking like a heavy
snowstorm so thick it darkened the sun and the noise that accompanied as deafening.
They stripped fields and orchards clean, devouring everything they landed on. They ate
leather and canvas, laundry off the lines, wool off the backs of living sheep, handles off
of wooden tools. If people sat still for any length of time, they would eat their clothing.
No amount of battering, spraying or burning had any noticeable impact.
The insects couldn’t have appeared at a worse time. Four million new farmers
like Edmund were trying to eek out livings in the largely barren west. Many were heavily
indebted, having invested all they had to make their journey and to buy supplies for
farming. Many would-be settlers were literally wiped out.
Most of the early LDS pioneers, like our ancestor, kept going. At the end of each
summer as the dreaded insects disappeared, their hope would surge, only to be dashed
the next summer when the locust swarmed again. There were several years of plague,
but around the time Edmund writes his first journal, this pattern repeats for three years.
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And then finally, the plague just ended. One year the swarms were much
reduced and the insects were oddly lethargic. The next year they didn’t come at all.
They didn’t just diminish in number or move to another location. They vanished all
together. It was a truly a miracle that saved Utah pioneers and many other farmers in
the west. The last living specimen of this destroyer was seen in Canada in 1902 and
none since.
Not until the next century did scientists understand that the farmers had
inadvertently eradicated the locust through their own actions. It turned out that this kind
of locust bred each year in the loamy soil that lay along rivers and stream. These were
the very soils that Edmund and others were plowing up and turning into the fields of
wheat and lucerne alfalfa that he describes in his journal as at one point, he lists the 11
acres of land that they had plowed and the crops along the Weber River. While Edmund
and his boys and hundreds of others kept faith and kept plowing they were killing the
adult locust and their pupae as they slept. Those who studied the insect said that these
early farmers couldn’t have devised a more effective remedy.
When the worry and work of summer ended, the bitterly cold winter soon
followed. When Brigham Young first sent men to evaluate Peoa, it was at first decided
that the area would be used for pasture and not for settlement because the winter
temperatures were thought to be too harsh for permanent communities. The people had
wanted to stay, however, so as winter temperatures dropped, they began to add layers
of clothing to retain body heat. Clothes were never too tattered to be kept for winter
layering. Rags were stuffed into cracks in the logs and doorframes; families slept
huddled together under heavy blankets to stay warm. Livestock had to be carefully
monitored and moved to keep them from freezing. In 1867, Edmund records that
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several yearling belonging to the Brethren froze to death. On March of that same year
he records “snowing all night; the snow up to the roof of the house.” That same winter
he tells of five feet of snow falling in some areas. Other historical records confirm that
year, 1867, as an extreme snow winter. Snows closed the roads both for those exiting
and for supplies being brought in from the valley; families conserved and waited for the
weather to change.
When spring finally came, it was more than welcomed, but even that brought
challenges. Yards, roads and corrals turned into thick sticky mud, often mixed with
manure. Moving a wagon at those times was out of the question; even walking was
difficult. Although trips “back to the city” were kept to a minimum, some journeys were
necessary such as attendance at conference, job seeking or obtaining essential
supplies. At certain times, those trips must have been a major undertaking. The Weber
River had to be crossed. Bridges were not completed for several years so travelers had
to maneuver the muddy banks and cross dangerously swift waters. It might be that
Edmund and his sons walked on some of these journeys. At one time he comments, “I
must have walked a hundred miles.” The time recorded to complete his journeys was
sometimes 16 hours or more. Horses were probably sometimes used. Speaking of one
trip back to the city, he tells of Kitt dropping dead, which we would assume is a horse.
“Started at 4 o’clock for S.L. City. Got there by 8 o’clock in the evening. Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday went to conference. A great number there, and a great deal of
good teaching. Got home in two days. Snowed all through the park and hard getting
through. Kitt dropped dead.”
From a book about early Peoa, we learn that finally, as the sun warmed the earth
enough to dry the mud and germinate seeds, the valley burst into spring. “Trees
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greened, budded, and leafed. Wildflowers and yard flowers cast sweet aromas and
splashes of color. Fruit and berries blossomed, promising autumn abundance.
Bluebirds, jays, meadowlarks and many other birds reappeared and sang out their
joyous welcome to summer. And with the song and the summer, the hard work began
again.”
Sometimes these early settlers clashed with the true first settlers of the land. As
colonists moved further into the frontier, they encroached further into territory historically
claimed by Native Americans. Unlike some settlers in the West, the Saints were
reminded that these people were their brothers and sisters. They were counseled to
share food and other goods with them and to bring them into the Church. Women who
were members of the church’s woman’s organization called, The Relief Society, sewed
clothing for the Indians who visited the settlement. Despite their sometimes-uninformed
attempts to help and the principle of brotherhood, conflicts still arose. For centuries, the
Utah Territory had been home to the Utes, the Paiutes, the Apache and the Navajo.
Peoa, up to that point, had been occupied by a tribe of Ute Indians called the
Timpanogos. They were at first willing to cohabit with the white man, but after centuries
of surviving in a harsh land, they knew better than anyone that the resources of the land
were limited. They wanted respect and their share of the land. The settlers, though
initially friendly were not consistent in offering either.
The settlers, on the other hand, were putting back-breaking work into the land
and claimed it as their own. They became less willing to share. They had few resources
of their own and the added pressure of giving food and animals to the natives caused
friction. On June 30,1867, Edmund records: “We have been visited by bands of Indians.
The Bishop gave them a beef, 1 sheep and 50 pounds of flour then they left. Today we
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had another lot of Indians come. Some of Chief Tabby’s band wants beef, sheep and
flour. They say some of the Indians were fighting the whites down south this year.” As
the spirit of cooperation thinned on each side, conflicts increased. From 1865 until 1872,
there were over 150 military engagements with the Indians and many others involving
the settlers. In 1867 when the Black Hawk War was being fought, “Old Fort” or “Sage
Bottoms” (sometimes called Woodenshoe) was built near Peoa to protect settlers. 25
families moved there. Although Edmund makes no mention of living in the fort, short
histories in “Sons of Utah Pioneers” indicate that the family lived there for a time. The
temporary houses were built of split logs with clay chinking and were so close together
that a person could hardly walk between them; livestock was kept nearby and drinking
water came from a well.
There was sometimes strife among the community members as well. When
parties involved couldn’t settle the dispute, they appealed to church leaders, both
because they were the only real authority available and because church members
trusted their decision. In 1867, Edmund records, “The trial of Ralph Maxwell for an
assault on Cyrus Walker. Judgment was given by the Bishop that I was to pay the
expenses and Ralph Maxwell was to go free. The evidence was clear that Ralph
assaulted Cyrus, but the Brothers and his friends were so much on Ralph’s side that
they got the verdict in his favor and we had to pay all expenses.” Later in his journal,
Edmund tells of Ralph Maxwell being on trial again for shooting two cows, so he was
probably right in his assessment that Cyrus had been wronged. Yet he was willing to
accept the decision of the Brethren and apparently not become bitter.
Probably the harshest challenge of the early settlers was disease. This unseen
and little understood enemy swept through the settlement without compassion, often
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delivered by outsiders and fueled by the less than sanitary conditions of the time.
Typhoid, diphtheria, scarlet fever, chickenpox, measles and mumps sickened people
and took many lives, especially children. It is common for family group sheets from that
era recording several children from the same family, dying before they reach adulthood.
Edmund’s son, Stephen and his wife Lydia were one of the families hardest hit. In 1870,
their baby, Lydia Isabella died at 17 months; a year later, Maria Antoinette, named after
her grandmother died at 13 months. In 1878, Sarah Jane died at three months. Alice
would die in 1886 at seven years old; the next year three-month-old Anna Sophia would
die and in 1900 Charles died at eight years old. Of the eleven children born to Stephen
and Lydia, only four lived to maturity. In January of 1887, Edmund counts the children
who are taken in the same year as his granddaughter Anna Sophia—at first he records
two children dying of diphtheria and many others being sick. As the days pass, he
solemnly adds notes as the toll grows. By February, he has recorded eleven deaths of
children. Peoa was in virtual quarantine, but even with the lack of physical contact that
didn’t stop the diseases when people shared open water sources.
Although the pioneers seemed to work without ceasing, they seemed to always
be looking for more work to do. Even though they grew or created much of what they
needed to sustain them, there were always essentials that required cash. Especially in
his early journal, Edmund frequently talks of he and his sons looking for or working on
any job that would help sustain the family. They were willing to work hard at any task.
Jobs mentioned were cutting poles, plowing fields for other farmers, breaking cattle,
shearing sheep, working in the coal beds, and selling their own farm produce. A few
times trips to get cloth are mentioned, so there may have been some industry
associated with that. In one entry, Edmund tells of Cyrus fishing for two days and
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catching 65 fish, which he “sold at the co-op for the Park City market.” In 1867, a
section of the Union Pacific railroad was being completed through Echo Canyon, near
Peoa. Even though he notes that the wages were low, he wanted work badly enough
that he and one of his sons literally ran miles to the job site in order to get a place in line
to receive a contract for digging 1200 feet of roadbed. After several prior trips checking
to see if work had begun, he writes “Down to Echo me and Walter. We ran all the time.
At last we got 1200 feet given to us to work.” We get a glimpse of Edmund’s character
when, without complaint, he shared the contract with a neighbor who had not been fast
enough to get his own contract. Edmund speaks of he and his sons clearing the brush,
shoveling and prying large rocks, taking out 15 loads of rock in a day. Another day the
“dump cart” they were using to haul the stones broke and they spent half the day
repairing it. Later, Walter built a new one. He then speaks of plowing and clearing the
cut and filling 46 feet, steps apparently necessary to make the stone culvert they were
assigned to. He records its size as “44 feet long, 8 feet wide, and with a wall 3 feet
high.” Settlers like the Walkers provided much of the labor for the construction of the
railroads being built through Utah. Its completion became a blessing as the church
utilized it for its missionary and immigration programs. It also allowed industry in Utah,
such as mining, to develop, providing jobs for many of their posterity.
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He records that he was able to get a few days of work on the Salt Lake
Tabernacle. In one place writes of working four days, in another of working three days
and in one of going up to the Tabernacle, presumably to work. There were probably
other days that he worked that weren’t recorded. Edmund was in Salt Lake for several
years and that building would have been a major effort in those same years. The
Tabernacle was an engineering miracle at the time--a 200-foot long sandstone building
with a self-supporting roof that was held together with wooden pins and rawhide strips.
It would be interesting to know what job Edmund was assigned to, for whatever time he
was involved it its building.
Because there was such competition for the cash jobs, work was hard and
payment was meager. He and Cyrus worked for a business named Fox and Statten for
28 days and earned $42 for which they got $15 in cash, 200 pounds of salt, 75 pounds
of flour, and a half bushel of tea, coffee, and tobacco. They were still owed another $14.
In another journal entry, they worked for James Mayling “in the canyon” and went home
without their pay.
Although sometimes discouraged and weary, Edmund seems to have maintained
his testimony, and although he spoke of regret that life was not more abundant for he
and his family, he continued to hold fast to his conversion and his religion. Though
Edmund was not effusive about his testimony; we have to understand it from the
glimpses of a young man with enough faith to listen and accept what others called a
strange new religion; that he left safety and surety to emigrate to a new land; that he
was involved in the church and in the gospel at every step of his journey; and that he
loved his family and was compassionate toward his neighbor. The church remained
very much a part of Edmund’s life. In one journal entry he writes, “Quite an excitement
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got up. News came for a four-horse team to go loaded with flour to the South Pass to
meet the Emigrants who are starving and freezing and want help. Hal Marchant just
started with a team.”
He often mentioned the Bishop or the Brethren or his attendance at Sunday
meetings or conference. In 1887, he makes note of the statistical report—First
Presidency, 3; Apostles, 11; Patriarch’s 65; Seventies 6,444; High Priests, 3,723;
Elders, 12,444; Priests, 2,423, Teachers, 2,497; Deacons 6,854; members and children,
162,383.
In September of 1874, Edmund receives the following Patriarchal Blessing. Early
church members, like those today, valued their Patriarchal Blessings, which they
consider as personal revelation for their lives that will give insight and guide them:
A blessing given by John Smith, Patriarch upon the head of Edmund Walker
son of Joseph and Caroline Walker, born London, Middlesex, June 11, 1818:
Brother Edmund, Thou art of the House of Israel and have seen many
changes and have suffered privations thy life has been a chequered one but
thy guardian angel hath preserved thee from many of the evils of the world and
by the providence of the Almighty. Thou hast been brought from thy native
land that you might partake of blessings in Zion and do the work for thy
kindred who are now in darkness. Thou shalt live until thou hast fulfilled thy
mission. Thy name shall be handed down in remembrance with thy posterity in
favorable remembrance and written in the Lambs Book of Life. Thou shalt
be…Thou shalt be blessed in the labor of thy hands and shall not lack for food
or raiment. In the day thereof, it shall be given thee. Thou shalt council among
thy brethren and exhort them to faithfulness and shalt have an inheritance with
the Saints and will be rewarded. Israel thou art of Ephraim and entitled to the
blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This blessing I seal upon thy head
and I seal thee up unto Eternal Life to come forth in the first resurrection, even
so Amen.
Family seemed to be the center of Edmund’s existence. He mentioned his
children frequently in his writing. Even the babies that died in infancy were remembered
each year on their birthday. Although he had sailed away from his extended family to
build this new life, we see through his journal that he, at least in some degree, stayed in
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touch with his family in England. He makes note of posts from England. Included in
these are letters that he both sends and receives from his nephew, (George Edmund
Hill, his sister, Clarissa’s son.) The senior Edmund calls the younger both his nephew
and his godson, so they must have been close. In a journal entry, he records “Sent last
week a letter, and started one today for my godson Edmund Hill, received 23rd one
from Edmund Hill.” He also records that he is “writing little books for his niece, Amelia,
who is Clarissa’s daughter. In 1867, Edmund’s mother dies in Islington and the next
year his father, Joseph, dies.
Some records show that in May 1870, Edmund married a second wife, Dinah
Rawlins. The history or reasoning behind this marriage is unknown. He was already 52
at the time and she 54, so their intent is not to multiply and replenish. She had been
divorced from her first husband and had emigrated from the same part of England as
Edmund and Nettie. In 1851, Dinah Rawlins is listed as a housemaid at Hook Mansion
at the same time Edmund was there, so it’s possible that he and/or Nettie might have
had a prior friendship with her. She was baptized into the church six months after
Edmund and Maria, and at the same location. In his journal, Edmund only mentions her
one time in 1868, two years before their marriage, during a trip in which Cyrus
accompanied him—“Stop at Coalville. Went to the Meeting. Went to Dinner with Dinah
Rawlins.” There are no indications that they ever lived together or even in the same
town. Edmund didn’t seem wealthy enough to support another wife in a second
household. There were apparently marriages performed at that time in history that were
termed “marriages for eternity,” meaning that the couple would be bound in marriage
during the eternities, but not in the worldly sense. In these instances, the women usually
lived independently and supported themselves, which may have been the case with
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Dinah. While there was still polygamy at the time in the church, there was already
pressure to end it and those openly practicing were targeted. In 1887 Edmund records,
“The marshal and a number of deputies visited Peoa at midnight to catch polygamy men
and their wives. They scared the women and the children into fits. Returned again at 10
o’clock and took John Marchant and wives, Hannah and Jane, also George Wardle and
Jemmy Welch.” Edmund doesn’t mention his polygamist marriage in the entry and, in
fact, never again, we wonder how significant the marriage was to him or even if it
occurred.
It would have been nice to have a better picture of Nettie through Edmund’s
writing. Lowell W. Walker who transcribed Edmund’s 1867 journal also commented that
he also wished that Edmund had spoken more about his wife. While there isn’t a lot of
specific information, we do get the feeling that Edmund held his wife in high regard.
Edmund begins to talk a lot about Nettie as her health fails. We can feel his concern as
he makes almost daily note of her progress—“dear Nettie sick—summer coughing;
Nettie had an awful bad spell all night; Nettie still unwell; Nettie still poorly, her stomach
sore and weakly.” For a short time she seems to be recovering but within a month she
has another attack. His entries let us know that she is foremost in his mind. He writes,
“We have always lived our married life in peace, love and friendship. Nettie was always
gentle, good and kind. We have always been happy together.”
In November of that year he again seems relieved to write about small signs of
improvement. On Christmas day of 1887, Edmund records a quiet Sunday with freezing
temperatures and Nettie too lame to walk. On the 28th she has another bad spell and on
the 29th she is “some better.” We might guess that the course of her illness again
changes and that her declining illness consumes his complete time and attention
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because that is where the journal ends there. She lives for
another eight months, hopefully with good days among the
bad, and on August 24, 1889 she dies and is buried in Peoa
among family and friends. Edmund must have been
heartbroken to lose his companion, but perhaps comforted
by fact that they had been sealed together for time and all
eternity.
During her sickness, she was loved and attended to by her family, especially her
daughter in-law, Charlotte. In Edmund’s will, he designated $20 in gold to go to Nettie’s
nurse for caring for his wife in her last days. His will states, “To Caroline E. (West)
Wright, of Peoa, County of Summit and Territory, Utah, late faithful nurse, both night
and day, to my deceased and dearly beloved wife, Nettie, I give and bequeath Twenty
($20) dollars in gold.”
Four years later, on November 22, 1903 Edmund joins her in death. He lived to
be 85 years old--a long life for that time and place. It would have taken all of those 85
years to contain a life so full of faith, change, uncertainty, travel, adventure, hard work,
trials, love and joy. Those of us who descended from Edmund and Maria Antoinette
Walker can be grateful that in those years, so full of living, he took time to record some
thoughts and events that let us get to know him from the distance that time creates.
Only two segments of his journals remain as far as the writer knows and the tone
of the two, separated by twenty years, seems quite different. From our glimpse of him
through the pages in his first journal, we share his weariness from intense and constant
labor and his worry that his labor will be enough to provide for his family. The American
West at that time, was a harsh place where a living could be won only through some
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suffering, and yet he persevered. In September of 1867 he writes, “The boys have
worked hard this season and there seems but little to pay them for their hard work but
their father’s prayers and blessings unto God. Well, I see no use in fretting, but keep
trying and trying and surely Providence will bless us with a reward.”
Our view into the second window
shows a different picture. Here is a man
who has endured through the hard work
and suffering and is reaping at least the
first crops of that effort. His tone has
noticeably changed— we are hearing the words of a more confident and settled man.
He still speaks of the work to be done but without the urgency. Rather, he seems
satisfied. He talks of chickens, sheep, horses, calves, steers, and milk cows to which
they gave names like Pet, Doll, Lucky, Long-Legs, Browny and Nancy Cow. He tells of
selling butter and eggs. One entry notes 193 eggs laid in one day and in another one,
17 ½ dozen (210). In the spring his flock increased as his hens “had hatched 100 young
chicks with six hens yet to hatch their eggs. “
By then his house was a home, his fields had long ago been broken, picked of
stones and planted. Now was his time of harvest. He makes notes of his crops— winter
wheat, spring wheat, barley, oats, lucerne, and hay that might have been harvested,
wild grass, He also talks of garden plants, potatoes, currant bushes and pie plants
(rhubarb) that they apparently propagated and sold in Park City.
His five adult sons must have brought him great comfort security and pride.
Along with them devoted, daughter-in-laws, grandchildren and even great grandchildren
who cluster around and support he and Nettie. Though he always mourned his lost
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children and later lost grandchildren, he also had the pleasure of watching many of
them grow up. He speaks of having his sons and their family to dinner and of going to
their houses for dinners. He seemed proud to use Stephen’s title of “Bishop,” a position
of respect in the community that he held for almost 20 years. He talks of his sons
frequently, telling of Willie having his organ tuned by Parley P. Pratt, son of apostle
Parley P. Pratt and of Charles taking care of the land that he later inherited.
He speaks of good friends and good neighbors. In June 11, 1887 he records,
“About 5 o’clock there was a surprise party to let me know it was my birthday. The
Bishop (his son Stephen) and his wife Lydia and all their children came; Charlotte, little
Nettie Walker and all the children; Mrs. Wright came bringing lots of good edibles—
spread the table with good things and invited me and the boys. All partook of them. With
many thanks for their kind help. Fanny and our two great grandchildren were there.”
And on the 14th he records he and Nettie’s 47th wedding anniversary. “Bishop and his
wife and children, Cyrus and his wife and children, Charlotte and children, Charles and
Willie all came to supper. Music and songs.”
On July 24 1847, Edmund records “40 years since the Mormons came to Utah.
They have done wonders in the midst of cruel opposition. Turned the desert wilderness
into pleasant homes and fertile fields.” Edmund had begun his journey towards Utah
almost 34 years before that writing. Undoubtedly, the decision to make that journey and
the journey itself had included him as one of the recipients of cruel opposition and
certainly of a life of hard work and sacrifice. He had plowed and churned and planted
and along with those he praised, he had turned his little section of desert wilderness into
a pleasant home with fertile fields. He had cleared a space in the history for us, the
seeds of his posterity to take root and flourish. We thank you grandfather Edmund.
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The Legacy
Those of us who descended from Edmund and Maria will not get to know them fully until
some other time in eternity, but from their recorded actions and from Edmund’s journal,
we all know that they were faithful, solid, visionary, loving….. If they had chosen the
safe path we would never have been who we are. The decisions couldn’t have been
centered on what was best for them—that would have been the safe path. They must
have made their sacrifices for a better life for their children and their children’s children:
Edmund, Nettie, when we see you we will tell you, but until then, we hope that you know
that we are eternally indebted to you.
The Hungry Fires of Courage
They cut desire into short lengths
And fed it to the hungry fires of courage.
Long after—when the flames had died—
Molten Gold gleamed in the ashes.
They gathered it into bruised palms
And handed it to their children
And their children's children. Forever.
Vilate Raile,
This history is written by Maxine Walker Davie, a great, great, granddaughter with
research assistance from Kathy Walker, a great, great granddaughter-in-law. We have
referred to the 1867 journal transcribed by Lowell W. Walker, to the 1887 journal
(transcriber unknown, to the book “Peoa Was a Pretty Little Place” by Stanley L. Welch,
to museum exhibits and publications and to many other brief sources that have helped
us understand Edmund and Marie’s life.
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