Another Anniversary

It was 161 years ago today that the Sessions family arrived in the Salt Lake Valley with the second group of pioneers. Perrigrine Sessions and Daniel Spencer were the leaders of the group. .

Fifty-two year old Patty wrote in her journal -

Sept, Friday 24: Got into the valley. It is a beautiful place. My heart flows with gratitude to God that we have got home all safe, lost nothing. Have been blessed with life and health. I rejoice all the time.

Sept, Saturday 25: PG (Perrigrine) went back to help up the rear of his camp. They have all got here safe, some broken wagons but no broken bones. I have drove my wagon all the way but part of the two last mountains PG drove a little. I broke nothing nor turned over, had good luck. I have cleaned my wagon and myself and visited some old friends.

Sept. Sunday 26: Put Lorenzo Young's wife, Harriet, to bed with a son, the first male born in this valley. It was said to me more than five months ago that my hands should be the first to handle the first born son in the place of rest for the saints, even in the city of our God. I have come more than one thousand miles to do it since it was spoken.

Perrigrine wrote in his journal:

Met the first Presidency of the Church on a stream called the Little Sandy. Here we called a halt and they gave us a brief account of the Valley with many instructions pertaining to the course that the camp should pursue when we got into the Valley. This was cheering to the camp as we had but about two hundred miles to travel before we could begin to build and inhabit.

Although in the midst of the wild men of the mountains, yet our spirits were refreshed and it seemed as though our burdens were light although we were worn out with the long and tedious journey.

When we got to the Big Sandy there fell about four inches of snow. This was the first of September and the weather was cold, the ground frozen, but after some two or three days the weather turned warm and we were able to travel on. The most part of the Saints were obliged to walk on foot and many without shoes, but after a long journey of almost four months we landed in the Great Salt Lake Valley on the twenty-fourth of September, all well and not a death had been while on the journey in my company of four hundred Souls, yet several children were born on the way.

Pretty cool people, I think