The Journey of Margaret Elzirah Frost


While a small child Margaret's family moved to Hancock County and from there to Iowa, Jefferson County, here in the spring of 1840 her sister, Martha McKiney Frost (Patsey as she was always called) was married to Harmon Akes. The day before the wedding there came a big turkey before the door. Her father, being a strong Methodist hated to break the Sabbath, but did and shot the turkey and they had it for the wedding. When the folks went to the wedding they left little Margaret alone with a big dog to guard her, this being in the night and it was an Indian country.

Margaret's father rented a place about 5 miles from Carthage, and lived there several years, before the Prophet was killed and was living there at that time.

There was a break up among the people and her father moved on to another place he rented, stayed there till the mob began to burn houses. In May 1846 they left their home and started west, stopping at Council Bluffs, Iowa. In the fall of 1846 her father and brother Samuel B. went about 60 miles down the river to what was called Nishnabotna. My brother bought a place there and we all lived here.

Margaret was working out to a place and the man tore a large hole in his coat in going through the brush, as the lived a way out in the woods, the lady was sick and not able to mend the hole so Margaret offered to do it. She did such a nice job that other neighbors brought work for her, she was very neat in hand work of any kind. She was at this place when Harvey M. Rawlins came after her. His brother Joseph S. and wife, Mary Frost Rawlins came on 3 December 1846 and they were married in Nishnabotna. Then the men hired out to split rails for a man by the name of Jones.

The last of December they moved to a place called Honey Creek. On New Years morning Harvey went out hunting and got two big turkeys. They had these for their first New Years dinner. Father James Rawlins and Brother Joseph S. and Lucinda and husband all lived close together here, the men would go out hunting and got plenty of honey for the families for the winter. Harvey M. and Joseph S. went hunting up the river, the Indians got after them, stole their horses and Harvey's overcoat and other things but the men never got hurt. They took turns herding the cattle on the river, on the opposite side from where we lived, there they sit the milk in pans, let it freeze and sack it up and bring it to us sometimes they churned the butter and took it to the women.

The brother-in-law, William Barger went to the Battalion and the men folk moved his wife Fereba Frost Barger there with them and built her a house and supported her while they stayed there. The people built a school that winter of 1847. On the morning of 30 April 1848 there came a baby girl to the home of Harvey and Margaret. When she was two weeks old they started the journey to the Rocky Mountains, with two yoke of cattle three (3) of them being wild when starting, they got frightened and run over a large stump, came nearly throwing Mother and baby out. Harvey had a rope on the leaders horns to guide them.

That day they made their way to the Missouri River. Here they found a great many awaiting to cross. Stayed there several days before they got across the river. They camped in a vacant house until the company was made up. Here Mary Rawlins, Joseph S.' wife took very sick, and Margaret nursed both babies. They thought Mary would never recover but in a few days after they started she got better. Here the company was organized with :

James Blake Captain of 100
Barney Adams Captain of 50
Andrew Cunningham Captain of 10

They started and travelled in this way for a while. Some were not satisfied in the way it was divided so Brother Amasa Lyman divided them in three companies:

Franklin Richards Captain of one
Barney Adams Captain of another
Andrew Cunningham Captain of another

The third one was to travel behind but in a few days they were ahead. They had passed both companies and were the first in the Valley. There was one baby born on the Platt River and it was called Platt Lyman.

They landed in Salt Lake City 12 October 1848 and stayed in the Fort that night, next morning Father Rawlins, Joseph S. and Andrew Cunningham drove out to Little Cottonwood and there they camped for a while. They went on to Big Cottonwood, where Father Rawlins built a home, Joseph made a Dug Out, and Andrew Cunningham went back to Salt Lake. Harvey went down on the Jordan to help George Langley with the cattle. George Langley married Martha McKiney Frost Akes, after the death of her husband Harmon Akes. About this time David and George Carson, being twins married my sisters Millie Jane and Elva Ann, these brothers were out after the Indians and George was killed so David took his brother's wife and raised a family for him.

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