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.
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.
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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