 1864 - 1865 (1 year) Has 2 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.
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| Name |
George Allan Watson |
| Birth |
14 Jan 1864 |
Provo, Utah, Utah, United States  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Initiatory (LDS) |
Not Needed |
| Death |
17 Jan 1865 |
Provo, Utah, Utah, United States |
| Headstones |
 Submit Headstone Photo |
| Person ID |
I175803 |
mytree |
| Last Modified |
25 Feb 2024 |
| Father |
Andrew Watson, b. 13 Oct 1832, Kettlebridge, Fifeshire, Scotland d. 14 May 1915, Provo, Utah, Utah, United States (Age 82 years) |
| Mother |
Jean Allan, b. 29 Aug 1830, Carnoustie, Forfarshire, Scotland d. 21 Mar 1883, Provo, Utah, Utah, United States (Age 52 years) |
| Marriage |
16 Oct 1860 |
Provo, Utah, Utah, United States |
| Family ID |
F43262 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Notes |
- George Allan Watson was born 14 January 1864 in Provo, Uta h , Utah Territory to Andrew and Jean Allan Watson.
His father, Andrew Watson was born in Kettlebridge,Fifeshir e , Scotland on 13 October 1832 to James and Janet Rumgay Watson. He joi ne d the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 5 December 1852 a t t he age of 20. He wanted to come west with the gathering of the saint s.
On Thursday 1 May 1856 the Ship “Thornton”(Collins Captain ) r eceived the saints, 761 in number, on board in the Bramley Moore Dock , Li verpool, and on the following Saturday. President F. D. Richards , accom panied by the Government Inspector and Doctor, came on board an d the sain ts underwent the usual inspection, and were all pronounced b y those offic ers to be in good health. President Richards appointed J. G. Willie, cap tain of the Company and elders Millen Atwood, Moses Clough [Cluff], and [J ohan August] Ahmanson, counsellors; and afterwards, i n a few appropriat e remarks, exhorts the people to strict obedience on t he passage, as othe rwise they could not expect and would not have a pros perous voyage. Presi dent Richards then blessed them in the name of the L ord, and by the autho rity of the Holy Priesthood. Captain Willie then ma de the usual appointme nts for the promotion of cleanliness and good orde r.
Andrew Watson traveled by himself at the age of 24. This i s f rom his journal: “We travelled from New York by railway and steam bo at a cross Lakes and up the Rivers to Iowa, where we pitched our tents, m ade o ur hand carts previous to starting for Salt Lake City, thedate in s tartin g from there I don't remember. We finally came to Council Bluffs , here w e stopped to recruit and repair our carts and lay in provision s previou s to crossing to the Great Plains as it was then termed.
On the 15th of July we started from the Iowa camping groun d , for old Winter Quarters, now known as Florence, and pursued our journ e y as far as till the 20th. when Adelaide R. Baker, of the Portsmouth br an ch of the Southampton conference, with her two children, Ann and Sabin a B ird of the Eaton Bray branch of the Bedfordshire conference, and Harr ie t Smith, of the Bristol branch of the south Conference left us for th e le eks and onions. I would here mention an act of kindness performed b y a ge ntleman Mr. Charles Good, of Fort Desmoines. He presented me wit h fiftee n pairs of childrens boots, which I readily accepted, as he seem ed to b e influenced by a sincere desire to do good.
After stopping at Council Bluffs a short time we started f o r the Plains. They were with the James G. Willie Handcart Company. "17 "l bs. of luggage to the person was allowed and one man to the handcart w it h a wife or a girl or two to help push. We started with one hundred po und s of flour on each cart to lighten what few teams we had with us to c arr y the sick and infirm. It was considered necessary to make a stil l furt her reduction in the ration of flour, and accordingly, i t was fix ed at 10½ oz. for men, 9 oz for women, 6 oz for children, an d 3 oz for in fants.
This turned out to be a very salutary arrangement, as it ju s t enabled us to eke out our provisions until the very day that we recei ve d material aid from the Valley, which arrived, (when the little ones w er e crying for bread,) on the 20th of Oct., in the shape of 14 wagons la de n with flour, onions and clothing. The last bit of breadstuffs,(whic h con stituted all the provisions we then had,) was served out two night s previ ously. We all felt rejoiced at our timely deliverance, and attrib uted i t entirely to the hand of God which had been over us during the wh ole o f our journey.
I feel to conclude by saying, that on the whole, the Saint s b ore the heavy trials of the journey with a becoming and praiseworth y fort itude. I may add too, that in consequence of their having to cros s the No rth Fork of the Platte, and the Sweetwater several times, thru t he cold w ater, and to sleep on the snow, each person having only sevente en pound s of luggage including bedding, and thru other privations necess arily inc ident to the journey at so late a period of the season, many o f the age d and infirm failed in strength and died.
The diahrea [diarrhea] took a firm hold. – our wagons we r e crowded with the sick, which broke down our teams; and thus we ofte n we re obliged to refuse the admission of many who were really worthy t o ride . In crossing the Rocky Ridge, we had to encounter a heavy snow st orm, ac companied by a strong north wind. It was the most disastrous da y on the w hole trip, 15 dying from fatigue and exposure to the cold. W e had on thi s day as on subsequent days, to clear away the snow, in orde r to make pla ces for pitching our tents. Notwithstanding the disadvantag es of our posi tion in crossing the Rocky Ridge, we traveled 16 miles o n that day with o ur hand–carts.
The total number of deaths in this company, from Liverpool, was 77, besi d es one child belonging to Capt. Silers wagon.
Had it not been for the prompt action of President Brigham Y o ung and the Blessings of the Lord in sending teams with provisions to m ee t us, we would have perished on the plains and in the mountains. Histo r y will never fully reveal the sufferings of those belated handcart comp an ies, but I have ever felt thankful that I got here. Finally after muc h to il and suffering and many deaths, we arrived in Salt Lake City on th e 9t h of November 1856, A. D.”
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