50 Fun Facts About Mormon Pioneer

Roughly how many people made the pioneer journey to the Salt Lake Valley?

Advance parties left in March 1846; the organized wagon trains began in earnest in April 1847.

Which country governed the Salt Lake Valley when the exodus was planned in 1846?

The valley only became US territory with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.

The Mormon Exodus is conventionally said to have ended with what 1869 event?

Those who came by rail afterwards are not usually counted as pioneers.

From which Illinois city did the Saints depart in 1846?

Mobs burned the city's temple in 1848, two years after the exodus began.

Where were Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon imprisoned after the 1838 Missouri conflict?

Rigdon got out on habeas corpus and rejoined the refugees in Illinois in 1839.

In which Illinois town were Joseph and Hyrum Smith killed by a mob in 1844?

Their deaths made it clear the church could not stay in Illinois.

Which Missouri governor issued the order expelling Mormons from the state in 1838?

The so-called extermination order was not formally rescinded until 1976.

Brigham Young is sometimes called the American what, for leading the migration?

He personally reviewed every report on the Great Basin before choosing the valley.

Which non-Mormon Philadelphian won permission for the Saints to winter on Indian land?

The site was first named Kanesville in his honor; Young trusted him for life.

Which Jesuit missionary familiar with the Great Basin did Young consult?

Young wanted a place no other colonizers wanted, and decided the valley qualified.

How did the vanguard company's Platte River route avoid Oregon Trail traffic?

Leaders wanted to dodge conflicts over grazing, water and campsites.

How many men were in the 1847 vanguard company?

Three women and two children also made the trip, along with 73 wagons and one cannon.

How many wagons did the vanguard company take west?

They carried enough supplies to provision the group for a full year.

On what date did the vanguard company roll west from Winter Quarters?

They started at 2 p.m. and made just three miles the first day.

What time did a bugle wake the vanguard camp each morning?

Travel ended at 8:30 p.m. and everyone was in bed by nine, with Sundays kept as a Sabbath rest.

Who served as the vanguard company's scribe and later wrote an emigrants' guide?

His The Latter-Day Saints' Emigrants' Guide gave later travelers his distances and notes.

What device did Clayton and two companions build to measure distance?

The "roadometer" showed the company averaged fourteen to twenty miles a day.

Which apostle served as the vanguard company's scientific observer?

He logged geology, minerals, plants and animals, and later entered the valley first as a scout.

How many women were in the original vanguard company?

Harriet Page Young was chosen first because her husband feared leaving her behind in ill health.

Which trading post did the company reach on June 1, 1847, after six weeks on the trail?

There they were joined by sick members of the Mormon Battalion who had wintered in Pueblo.

How much did the Saints charge other travelers to use their Platte River ferry?

Nine men under Thomas Grover stayed behind to run it and raise cash for the migration.

Which mountain man met Young on June 28, 1847, to discuss routes into the valley?

Bridger favored Utah Lake for its fish, fruit and grazing but warned of frost.

Whose trail from the previous year did Young follow through the mountains?

The ill-fated California-bound group had cut the route through the Wasatch in 1846.

Which tick-borne illness struck Young and others after they crossed the Green River?

The sick detachment lagged behind while scouts pushed ahead into the valley.

Which two scouts were the first of the company to enter the Salt Lake Valley, on July 21?

Pratt wrote that they could not hold back "a shout of joy" at the view.

What were the first crops planted in the valley on July 23, 1847?

Irrigation ditches were dug the same day the land was dedicated in prayer.

Who was driving the wagon from which Young first saw the valley?

Woodruff recorded the words "This is the right place, drive on."

Which summit did Young say he had seen in a vision before arriving?

A monument now marks the spot where he declared the valley the right place.

How soon after arriving did Young pick the site for the Salt Lake Temple?

He chose the spot on July 28 and presented a city plan for approval.

Roughly how many pioneers wintered in the valley in 1847?

More than half were under nineteen, so the adult labor force was small.

Which family buried a piano in buffalo skins east of the Rockies in 1847?

An ox team dug it up the next spring and hauled it to the valley.

How much flour did the church newspaper suggest each family wagon carry in 1845?

The 1845 list also called for two or three yoke of oxen, two milk cows and 15 pounds of iron.

Which newspaperman chartered the ship Brooklyn to carry Saints to California?

He later met Young near Green River and tried to talk him into continuing to California.

How many passengers sailed on the Brooklyn from New York in February 1846?

The fare was $75 for adults and half that for children.

Around which southern tip did the Brooklyn sail on its way to California?

The voyage took five months and twenty-seven days, with a stop in Hawaii.

The Brooklyn docked at Yerba Buena, which is now known as what city?

The US Navy had raised the flag there just three weeks before the Saints arrived.

Where in Utah did the largest number of Danish pioneers settle?

Danish immigration took off after Denmark wrote religious freedom into its constitution.

Which town, founded in 1851, was intended to be the capital of Utah Territory?

The capital moved to Salt Lake City within a few years.

From which trapper did the pioneers buy the land that became Ogden?

Goodyear ran a trading post at the mouth of the Weber River.

On what date is Pioneer Day celebrated in Utah?

It marks Brigham Young's 1847 entry into the Salt Lake Valley.

In what year was the first Pioneer Day-style celebration held?

A brass band led it; the name Pioneer Day only caught on in the 1870s.

News of which approaching force interrupted the 1857 celebration?

It heralded the start of the Utah War and years of subdued celebrations.

What tongue-in-cheek alternative do some non-Mormon Utahns mark instead of Pioneer Day?

Say it fast and it sounds like the original.

During which years did the handcart migration take place?

About 3,000 emigrants in ten companies pulled their belongings across the plains.

What share of the 1846–1868 emigrants traveled by handcart?

Despite the small share, the handcart has become the defining symbol of the pioneer era.

Which two 1856 handcart groups were caught by Wyoming snow with tragic results?

More than 210 of their 980 members died despite a dramatic rescue effort.

Which church program lent poor European converts money for the journey west?

Handcarts were adopted in 1856 after contributions fell following a poor harvest.

Where were handcart emigrants outfitted from 1855 to 1857?

It was the western end of the rail line; later companies outfitted at Florence, Nebraska.

How many people were assigned to each handcart?

Each person was limited to 17 pounds of clothing and bedding.

Which returning missionary urged the Willie Company to winter in Nebraska?

He was overruled but went with them anyway.