Sarah Gadd

The Sam and Eliza Chapman Gadd family crossed the American plains to the Salt Lake Valley in 1856 with the Willie Handcart Company. They made the trek after Sam Gadd was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1841 in England and knew he wanted to take his family to the Salt Lake Valley. The Gadd family, which consisted of Samuel (age 40), his wife Eliza (also age 40), children Alfred (age 18), Jane (age 16), William (age 12), Samuel (age 10), Mary Ann (age 7), Sarah (age 5), Daniel (almost age 2) and Isaac (age 1) sailed on the ship Thornton, the same ship that the Tolley family sailed on. Crossing the plains, Sam and 3 of his sons--William, Samuel, and Daniel--died within a few days of each other because of extremely harsh weather conditions and lack of food and clothing. Now left with out a father and strong brothers, Sarah, a 6 year-old at the time, led her mother, the snowblind Eliza, as her mother pulled the "lowly cart mile after mile along the road." (Our Pioneer Heritage, pg 331.) Sarah Gadd married William Fisher Tolley at the age of 18 and bore 14 children. William and Sarah Gadd Tolley lived in Nephi, Utah for a few years, and then Sarah moved her children to Milo, Bonneville, Idaho and farmed.

Samuel, son of Sam and Eliza, pictured here.

Trek to Utah was with:

James G. Willie Company (1856)

Departure: 15 July 1856

Arrival: 9 November 1856

Company Information:

4th handcart company which had about 500 individuals, 100 handcarts, and 5 wagons in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Iowa City, Iowa.