Wednesday, July 24, 2019

PIONEER DAY 2019


FAMILY TREE FULL OF MORMON PIONEERS

At age 20, I took a family history class at BYU and started gathering my family history from my grandparents and aunts. I discovered that I had Mormon pioneers on all but one of my family branches. (See chart below.) As a young girl, I remember my mom making me a pioneer costume to wear for my first grade program in Eureka, Utah. In 1947. We were celebrating the centennial of the pioneers coming to Utah on July 24, 1847. I didn’t realize then that I was a pioneer descendent as I marched in my first pioneer parade with my cousins. All of us were in costumes pulling a small cart decorated like a pioneer wagon.

Mormon pioneers had been driven from their homes in Nauvoo, Illinois by mobs who persecuted them for their religious beliefs. Other pioneers had gathered later to the Church in Utah after being converted in their homelands. My ancestors were from England, Iceland, Scotland and other areas. Many took sailing ships to America, then came across 1000 miles of desolate plains, walking, riding in covered wagons or pushing handcarts to settle in ZION or the promised land where they could worship God as members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Click to enlarge and see my Johnson, Vernon pioneers family tree