[i]... BRITISH ISLES, THE CHURCH IN  -- Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.1,

             When the novelist Charles Dickens visited the Amazon before it set sail from London on June 4, 1863, to see what the Mormon emigrants were like, he noted: "I . . . had come aboard this Emigrant Ship to see what eight hundred Latter‑day Saints were like. . . . Nobody is in an ill‑temper, nobody is the worse for drink, nobody swears an oath or uses a coarse word, nobody appears depressed, nobody is weeping, and down upon the deck in every corner where it is possible to find a few square feet to kneel, crouch or lie in, people, in every suitable attitude for writing, are writing letters. Now, I have seen emigrants ships before this day in June. And these people are strikingly different from all other people in like circumstances whom I have ever seen, and I wonder aloud, "What would a stranger suppose these emigrants to be!' . . . I should have said they were in their degree, the pick and flower of England" (Dickens, pp. 223‑25).

[ii]... Windmill, Elizabeth

The 1850 US census 

            Elizabeth Winmill as being enumerated at Toledo, Ohio in 1850/51 and a  Liz Windmill later married and settled in Richland County, Ohio

[iii]....  Council Bluffs (Kanesville), Iowa

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.1, COUNCIL BLUFFS (KANESVILLE), IOWA

            Between 1846 and 1852, Council Bluffs, then known as Kanesville, was  the headquarters for a substantial LDS presence in western Iowa. During the exodus from Illinois to the Rocky Mountains in the late 1840s, thousands of Latter‑day Saints wintered at the Missouri River. After many proceeded westward, winter quarters, their original headquarters on the western bank, was abandoned in early 1848 in response to governmental pressure to leave Indian lands. Latter‑day Saints who had not gone west relocated on the east bank of the river, in Iowa.

            The new townsite was laid out in December 1847, on what originally had been Henry W. Miller's encampment on Indian Creek, in a hollow below the east bluffs of the Missouri River. That same month, Brigham Young was sustained as president of the church in a reorganization of the First Presidency in Kanesville. The new town of Kanesville took its name from a non‑Mormon emissary of U.S. President James K. Polk, Colonel Thomas L. Kane, who had proven himself a friend of the Latter‑day Saints.

            President Brigham Young assigned Orson Hyde of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to remain in Kanesville to supervise the movement of Latter‑day Saints to the West as quickly as possible. The town's location on the Missouri River was particularly advantageous for several thousand British converts who had postponed their migration to America until a new gathering place and headquarters in the West had been established. By sailing to New Orleans, steamboating to St. Louis, and then upriver to Kanesville, these immigrants were spared the rigors of overland travel at least that far.

            At one time, as many as thirty‑one small encampments were clustered in and about Kanesville. At its height, Kanesville consisted of 350 log cabins, two log tabernacles, a post office, and numerous shops, stores, and other business establishments. Wheat, corn, and many vegetables thrived then, as they do today, in the rich riverbed soil near the bluffs. The town's most pressing problem, to provide adequate food, shelter, employment, and wagon outfits for large numbers of poor immigrants "passing through," was made easier by the California Gold Rush of 1849‑1851, which resulted in a boom for Kanesville and other outfitting towns. The gold rush greatly expedited LDS migration while transforming Kanesville from a Mormon into a "Gentile" town.

            By the summer of 1852, more than 12,000 Latter‑day Saints‑‑6,100 from Great Britain alone‑‑had traveled west via Kanesville, ending the period of concentrated LDS presence in the area. In December 1853, non‑LDS residents incorporated Kanesville and renamed it Council Bluffs, in memory of Lewis and Clark's council with the Indians in 1804 on or near the city site.

            Kanesville is also remembered as the place where Oliver Cowdery was rebaptized by Orson Hyde in November 1848, ending years of estrangement from the Church he had helped organize in 1830.

[iv]...  Watt, George D.

            Comment: Early Church records tell us  that a William Watt joined the church and residing in the Watsford branch of the London conference.  He emigrated to the America in August, 1849.  George D. Watt was in England at that time as a missionary.   Historical records available suggest this William Watt could probably not have been George Watt’s natural son.  Journal of Discourses, Vol.10, p.325, Brigham Young, July 31, 1864

 [v]... McKee , Mary

The US 1850 Census -- Pottowattomie County, Iowa Page 92 shows a widow, Mary McKee, age 55 lived a five houses down the street.

[vi]... Russell, Alonso H.

The Iowa State Census of 1851 shows Richard Windmill, age 11, residing in the Russell household with Alonso, age 30,  as the head of household.  Alonso and wife Nancy had three small girls and a 20 year old woman named Sylvia Foster at home. 

[vii]... Watts, Sarah Winmill

The Iowa State Census of 1851 shows William Watts, age 32, married to Elizabeth Watts. age 23.  Sarah apparently died in Feburary of 1851.  The census was taken in Pottowottomie in the fall that same year.

[viii].... Hardy, Leonard W. (Wilford).

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.4, Appendix 1

First counselor to Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter, Oct. 6, 1856‑Oct. 16, 1883, and to Bishop William B. Preston April 6, 1884‑July 31, 1884; b. Dec. 31, 1805, Bradford, Massachusetts; d. July 31, 1884, Salt Lake City, Utah; m. Elizabeth Harriman Nichols; practiced plural marriage, eighteen children on record; farmer, businessman.

[ix].... Parley’s Canyon

Andrew Jenson, Church Chronology, July 4, 1850 (Thursday)

            Parley's Canyon, Utah, was opened for travel under the name of the "Golden Pass"; Parley P. Pratt, proprietor.  The toll was 75 cts. for each conveyance drawn by two animals, and 10 cents for each additional draught, pack or saddle animal, etc.  The Newark Rangers, of Kendall County, Ill., was the first company to follow Apostle Pratt through the pass, which opened a new road through the mountains from the Weber river to G.S.L. Valley 

Hardy's Station

Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 15, p.272

            Parley's Canyon was named in honor of the esteemed pioneer and churchman, Parley P. Pratt. The extreme length of the canyon from where it enters the Valley to the summit is about thirteen miles. About six miles up the canyon it branches into two main forks, one bearing to the east and still called Parley's Canyon, the other bearing to the north and named Mountain Dell. Lovely streams of water run continuously in each of these forks, and in the spring of the year, from the melting snows, they [p.273] often become raging torrents. At the junction of these creeks, the canyon widens considerably forming quite an area of land suitable for farming.

            R. G. Hardy wrote: It was at the junction of two creeks that Leonard Wilford Hardy acquired a piece of land, as well as another piece about a mile farther up the canyon which was used as a hay farm. The remainder of available lands were acquired by other men desirous of making a home in the canyon. The names that I recall were: Richard Winmill, Wm. Taylor, Bines Dixon, Wm. Hardy, Edward Laird, Seymour B. Young, Martin Garn, Sven Olson, Don Carlos Young, J. C. Neilsen, Wm. Roach and James Bullock.

            As the pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley increased each year it became very urgent that a supply of timber be made available for the building of homes, and Parley's Canyon had quite a supply in the upper forks. Sawmills were built and vast quantities of lumber and timber were hauled into the Valley. Later it was found that a road could be built over the summit having a very gradual slope, and down into East Canyon joining up with the pioneer trail and making a better road than the one over the Big Mountain and down Emigration Canyon. So the road was built and the original Pioneer Trail over the Big Mountain was partly abandoned and the traffic diverted through Parley's Canyon. Grandfather Hardy had quite a supply of hay and many outfits camped at his place and adjacent camp grounds, and his home was known for many years as Hardy's Station.

            About 1888 a school district was organized in Mt. Dell as the 55th District of Salt Lake County. A board of trustees was elected, Wm. B. Hardy was selected as chairman and secretary of the board, which position he held until the district was dissolved in 1899. About 1892 enough money had accumulated to warrant the building of a new school. This was a two‑story building, the lower part made of stone from the local quarry, the upper part being of brick hauled from Salt Lake.

            Salt Lake City was growing very rapidly and a need for additional water became very evident. The city built a dam at the mouth of the canyon for the purpose of diverting the water into mains which would carry the water into the city. This dam was built about 1891. The farmers in the canyon still owned the water rights and when it became dry in the summer they used a big share of the water for irrigating, leaving only a small stream for the city which really required all the water. The city began to negotiate with the farmers for their water rights which they were not willing to give up unless the land was sold too. The city also claimed that the drainage from the stables and yards was contaminating the water, making it unfit for culinary purposes, thus endangering the health of thousands of people. So [p.274] the fight went on for several years and finally resulted in a victory for the city and the farmers were practically forced to sell.

            By 1900 there was not a farmer left in the canyon and the city had acquired all of the water rights. However, this was not sufficient for the fast growing city, and it was evident that storage was necessary to conserve the waters of the spring floods, etc. Shortly after the turn of the century preparations were made to investigate the feasibility of constructing a dam in the canyon which would be sufficiently large to store all the run‑off water. The report was favorable so the dam was built about a half mile below the Hardy farm, which backs up the water so that our old homesite is entirely submerged when the reservoir is full. In 1899 my father, Wm. B. Hardy, sold out his holdings in the canyon and moved his family to Alberta, Canada, where I have lived ever since. I still cherish many fond remembrances of the dear old canyon where I spent my boyhood days.

            From Records of Tacy Hardy Winmill: In 1850 Leonard W. Hardy purchased a farm in Parley's canyon, and moved a portion of his family there, keeping a station for Ben Holladay's Overland Stage Line. At this place he owned a seven‑room log house and a large barn where the stage company kept extra horses. They drove two span or four horses at a time on each stage, which would come from Salt Lake City and stop at the station. The passengers would be served meals at Hardy's home while the hostelers changed the horses. The station was continued until the arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad. We went to school in the meetinghouse, which served as recreation hall, schoolhouse and chapel. We had parties and dances in it and we danced to the music of the accordion. At our school we had only one teacher for all the grades, so we could not advance as fast as we should have done. In 1894 the new schoolhouse was built, a two‑story building with the school downstairs and the recreation hall upstairs. That gave us more advantages in school as our teachers were better educated to teach.

            Mountain Dell Ward consisted of Latter‑day Saints residing in Parley's Canyon, in the heart of the Wasatch Mountains, and on Parleys Creek, originally called Canyon Creek and its tributaries. It was 14 miles southeast of the center of Salt Lake City, and its altitude about 5300 feet above sea level. All kinds of vegetables were raised, including potatoes, of which some samples weighed four pounds each. In 1850 Parley P. Pratt built a toll road from the main forks of this canyon, which road was opened to traffic July 4, 1850 under the name of the Golden Pass. This road, however, was soon afterwards washed out by floods. Among the first settlers in Mt. Dell were Ephraim K. Hanks and Augustus P. Hardy, who in 1858 established a trading post in the canyon for the accommodation of travelers. At their [p.275] hotel meals cost from $1.00 to $2.50, and a hundred pounds of sugar sold for $125.00.

            Hanks and Hardy left the canyon, and when in 1860 Leonard W. Hardy took charge of the locality and remained there for several years, it became known as Hardy's Place. For the benefit of these pioneer settlers a branch of the Church was organized in March 1867.... In 1869 a more completely organized branch, named Mountain Dell, was established, with James Laird as presiding elder, the branch being under the jurisdiction of the Sugar House Ward Bishopric. The Saints erected a log meetinghouse, which in 1894 was replaced by a substantial rock schoolhouse, which served also for religious services. On Sunday, August 20, 1882, the Saints at Mt. Dell were organized as a ward with Wm. B. Hardy as bishop. At that time the ward population, including children, was about 100. Wm. B. Hardy presided at Mountain Dell until 1895 when the ward organization was discontinued and Bines Dixon appointed as presiding elder.                            

[x].... See accompanying file HANDCART document  for more details

[xi]...Quinsy

Mayo Clinic Handbook -- CD ROM

            A peritonsillar abscess a serious infection involving the tonsils and soft palate which can close the breathing passage.

[xii].... Black Hawk War of the 1860s

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.1, COLONIZATION,

            Meanwhile, the extension of settlement beyond the Salt Lake Valley deprived Native Americans of prime hunting and fishing lands. After initial conflicts, President Young established a policy of feeding the Indians rather than fighting them, but still advised villages to build fortifications against possible attack. Latter‑day Saints sought to convert the Indians both to their religion and to the pursuit of agriculture. Even with the assistance of federally sponsored farms, however, few Indians made successful transitions. The continued influx of LDS immigrants and the failure of Church and government efforts to reverse the gradual impoverishment of the Native American population led to the Walker War of the 1850s and to the Black Hawk War of the 1860s. The subsequent resettlement of the surviving Indians to reservations removed one of the major obstacles to further colonization.

 

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.3, NATIVE AMERICANS, Black Hawk War of the 1860s

            Within a few years, LDS settlers inhabited most of the arable land in Utah. Native Americans, therefore, had few options: They could leave, they could give up their own culture and assimilate with the Mormons, they could beg, they could take what bounty they could get and pay the consequences, or they could fight. Conflict was inevitable. Conflict mixed with accommodation prevailed in Utah for many years. Violent clashes occurred between Mormons and Native Americans in 1849, 1850 (Chief Sowiette), 1853 (Chief Walkara), 1860, and 1865‑1868 (Chief Black Hawk)‑‑all for the same primary reasons and along similar lines. Conflict subsided, and finally disappeared, only when most of the surviving Native Americans were forced onto reservations by the United States government.

             Still, the LDS hand of fellowship was continually extended. Leonard Arrington accurately comments that "the most prominent theme in Brigham's Indian policy in the 1850s was patience and forbearance. . . . He continued to emphasize always being ready, using all possible means to conciliate the Indians, and acting only on the defensive" (Arrington, p. 217). Farms for the Native Americans were established as early as 1851, both to raise crops for their use and to teach them how to farm; but most of the "Indian farms" failed owing to a lack of commitment on both sides as well as to insufficient funding. LDS emissaries (such as Jacob Hamblin, Dudley Leavitt, and Dimmick  Huntington) continued, however, to serve Native American needs, and missionaries continued to approach them in Utah and in bordering states. Small numbers of Utes, Shoshones, Paiutes, Gosiutes, and Navajos assimilated into the mainstream culture, and some of that number became Latter‑day Saints. But overall, reciprocal contact and accommodation were minimal. By the turn of the century, contact was almost nil because most Native Americans lived on reservations far removed from LDS communities. Their contact with whites was mainly limited to government soldiers and agency officials and to non‑Mormon Christian missionaries.                           

[xiii].... Snake River Valley

 Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.2, IDAHO, PIONEER SETTLEMENTS IN

            Church members helped construct the railroad between Ogden, Utah, and Franklin, Idaho, in 1871‑1874, and beginning in 1878, they helped extend the line farther into Idaho through Blackfoot and Idaho Falls (then called Eagle Rock) to Monida Pass, on the present‑day Idaho‑Montana border. Many Latter‑day Saints homesteaded near the railroad and established such communities as Chesterfield, Egin Bench, and Rexburg. For the next two decades, Mormon settlements increasingly dotted the landscape for two hundred miles between Pocatello and Victor in the Teton Basin. By 1890, the Bannock Stake, centered in Rexburg, reported 3,861 members. Because the Snake River Valley was arid, LDS settlers devoted considerable energies to canal building. By 1910, more than one hundred canals operated in the Upper Snake River Valley, and LDS settlements were established (Moreland, New Sweden, Thomas, Springfield, and Aberdeen) where there were canals.