Julia Sophia McKee

McKee, Julia Sophia, Autobiographical sketch, 1892-1898, [3].

RELATED COMPANIES John Tidwell Company (1852) RELATED PERSONS Julia Sophia McKee In the spring of 1852, by the providence of the Lord, we were permitted to leave the states and come to the Rocky Mountains. We crossed the Missouri river on the 15 of June, 1852. There we waited three weeks for the rest of the company, then started on our journey. The first month was very pleasant. We held our meetings and we gathered together and sang the songs of Zion. We would stop one day every two weeks and repair and clean the wagons. At the end of the first month, disease came in our midst. Cholera broke out. Many were laid in the grave. Timber to make coffins,--we had none, and they were wrapped in blankets and laid to rest. It was a dreadful sight. Well I remember of seeing three little children playing. One took sick and died. The other two were carrying it to the grave. They took the disease and died in a few hours. You never knew when you got up in the morning, whether you would live to see the sun go down or not. But I feel very thankful for the blessings and mercies which were shown to me and my family.

Although we had but two meals a day, our provisions were scarce. We were comfortable anyway. We arrived in Salt Lake City the 15 day of September 1852. We were three months crossing the plains. After our arrival, the next thing to do was to find work and shelter for the winter.

[Another version was also published in Julia Sophia Raymond McKee, [Journal], in James Albert Jones, comp., Some Early Pioneers of Huntington, Utah and Surrounding Area [1980], 191.]