Lest We Forget

In May of 1853 Catharine Houtz Boyer gathered her six children and departed from her beloved Pennsylvania to go towards Zion. She left family and friends and two lonely graves containing her husband, Augustus, and daughter, Bregetta. As yet, Catharine and her children were all un-baptized but that did not alter her desire to gather with the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints already settled in the valley of Salt Lake, Utah. 

Traveling first by team, railway, and steamboat to Council Bluffs, Iowa they would ultimately travel in a very unique independent wagon company consisting of only twenty-four persons; the Orson Spencer/Joel J. Terrell company. They had seven wagons, five of which were pulled by ox teams and two lighter wagons pulled by horses.

They left Council Bluffs on Thursday, July 28, 1853. The oldest member of the company was fifty-two years old; the youngest was the age of two. More than half (thirteen) were under the age of twenty. The company consisted of nine females and fifteen males. Only two of the females were adult women. One of those was Catharine Houtz Boyer.

Clearly there is much more to this tale! How did her husband die? How did she learn of the gospel of Jesus Christ? What motivated Catharine to leave her home? When were she and her older children baptized? These questions, and countless more, are the reason this blog is being created. This is the place to recognize that as we honor Catharine Houtz Boyer and the legacy she created - we honor ourselves.

Learn more about Catharine from our documentary powerpoint - download it here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18087048/CHBfinal.pptx

Be sure to read the rest of the pages on this blog too! You can find their links at the top of the column on the left.

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