Elizabeth Kemmish arrived in England three months before the Mormon Missionaries. She was born 17 April 1837 in South Sea, near Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Her family–Father Charles, and Mother Elizabeth Wilkey were happy to welcome her into their home on the windswept coast of the English Channel. She was especially precious to them for their first child, Serrah Jane had died when she was only three years old and their first son John had died at age twelve and they were buried in the Kinston Cemetery.
During the next seven years, Elizabeth was on hand to welcome a sister Jane on 27 January 1842 and two years later a brother Peter Charles was born on 8 February 1844. About this time, the missionaries had spread across England from Liverpool to Portsmouth, and father and mother Kemmish became interested in their message of a restored gospel and in spite of much harassment from family and friends, Charles was baptized on 7 September 1844, and a week later on 14 September, mother Elizabeth joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Little Elizabeth wished she were more than seven so she too might be a member. In 1846, mother presented them with another baby sister whom they named Mary after her maternal grandmother, Mary Lacery Wilkey.
In 1847, Little Elizabeth was baptized and confirmed a Mormon too. Life was busy and on 15 July 1848, baby Daniel came to their home and when he was three, mother gave birth to James Ephriam on 16 January 1851.
The family continued to learn more about their religion, remained in touch with the missionaries, developed a strong desire to go to America, and began making plans for the trip that would alter the entire course of their lives.
In 1853, Elizabeth was a wisp of a young lady, but ready and willing to join the family in their journey to another continent. The family traveled to Liverpool, England (probably by slow train) and on Sunday, 23 January 1853, they boarded the Sailing Ship Golconda. There were 321 Saints under the direction of Elder Jacob Gates and although the Kemmishes had grown up on the seacoast, 321 people seemed a lot of pounds to sail over an ocean.
They boarded the ship and presented their papers: Charles Kemmish, 40; Elizabeth W. Kemmish, 40; Elizabeth, 15; Jane, 11; Charles, 9; Mary,7; Daniel, 5; Ephriam, 2; ( where was Ruth, born 1852? I don’t know). With them were mother Elizabeth’s uncle John Wilkey and his wife Ann G.
A little tug boat pulled their ship into Liverpool Bay and they were on their way. The wind filled the sails and the Golconda sailed into the Irish Sea, down St. George Channel and into the Atlantic Ocean. By the next morning there was nothing left of England for them to look at. Only the water and the rocking of the boat. Many were sea-sick and when a storm rose they were “hatched in” below deck to protect them, but the terrible pitching of the ship, the dishes being thrown to the floor and many being literally thrown out of their bunks was a frightening experience. They prayed individually and as a group for the Lord’s protection, and it was given. The worst storm only lasted half an hour, but when they were allowed on deck, they saw the three Top Masts were broken, but they limped along as best they could.
The Saints on board were like a big, happy family. There were two marriages, four births and the sadness of two deaths. On 27 January, they celebrated Jane’s 11th birthday, and on 8 February, Charles was nine years old. On 17 February 1853, mother Elizabeth presented them with a baby sister, whom they named Eliza Golconda. For mother and the ship.
They had church services twice each Sunday, and in the afternoons, if the weather were nice and not too cold, they were singing and dancing on deck.
The happiest day was 26 March when the ship docked at Balazie, Louisiana at the mouth of the Mississippi River. They all gave three cheers for Captain Keer and were once again on land. They stayed in Balazie for twelve days and on 7 April they boarded a steam packet ship, the Illinois, and went up river to St. Louis, Missouri. The river was long and winding, but there was much to see, the weather was nice and they enjoyed the trip. Elizabeth got her turn as a birthday girl on 17 April, but at sixteen, considered herself a young lady. From St. Louis, they traveled up the river still farther to Keokuk, Iowa. What strange names they gave their towns. This was where they celebrated their father’s forty-first birthday on 11 May. After staying there for six weeks preparing to cross the plains, they began their journey on 19 May 1853. They were assigned to the Ten Pound Company as members of the Joseph Young Company. They had little idea how far a walk of 1500 miles would be. Only the very old, the very young, or the sick rode in the big cloth covered wagons pulled by big cattle called oxen, or sturdy horses.
The one thing they learned quickly, was that this was not just a walk. They had seen so many Native American Indians from the boat on the river, and they didn’t look too hostile, but they were told that they should always be on the alert. These Indians were not glad to see them, and their prancing horses, half naked bodies, long spears of bows and arrows were not a friendly sight. Guards were posted front and back on the wagon train, and no one dared stray very far. Wild animals were a blessing for meat, but a threat if you were not prepared. They saw so many things never before seen in England, big, shaggy buffalo by the thousands, deer, elk, coyotes, the funny curious prairie dogs, sometimes bear or cougar, snakes and ever so many flies and mosquitos to torment them.
Evenings were good times with the wagons pulled in a circle and the supper fires sending out good smells and warm glow. Someone usually had a fiddle to brighten them with music and they all sang, danced or just clapped hands, and the cares of the day were eased away.
Cooking was done over an open fire and the big iron pots and brass skillets were hard to handle, and as the days passed, there was less and less to put into them. As they walked along during the day, they picked up any stick of wood for their fire, and even dried Buffalo manure, called Buffalo Chips, were gathered in the hopes they would provide some flame to their cook fires. Each morning, father milked their cow. Some of the milk was drunk for their breakfast and the rest was poured into covered cans and hung on the tongue of the wagon between the oxen. By supper it had been churned into a pt of butter and a drink of buttermilk. At the beginning of the journey, they each had a pound of flour ration. Then it was cut in half and again in half to a quarter pound. Then there was scarcely enough food left in camp. On 1 October, Elizabeth’s aunt, Ann Wilkey gave birth to a baby girl, and finally, wagons of supplies reached them from Salt Lake City.
With this help, they climbed the last mountain, maneuvered down the last canyon and reached Salt Lake. It was not much to look at, but they felt such a sense of accomplishment at having survived the long journey, they were very happy.
Elizabeth was able to get a job working for a Mrs. Remington. There was much to do, but after the ordeal of crossing an ocean and walking 1500 miles, Elizabeth was equal to the task.
Most of her life in the Salt Lake Valley centered around the Mormon Church, and she was eager to be a part of it, whether at church meetings or socials. At one of these socials, she was attracted to a tall , mature man of 38. His name was Hugh Moon. However, these earliest feelings were a little crushed when she learned he was a married man and father of several children.
The Mormons of Utah at this time were practicing Plural Marriage, and a man could have as many wives as he could support. By 1854, Hugh had courted and won the heart of 17 year old Elizabeth and another lass name Janatte Nicol. On 11 June, he married both of them in the Council House with President of church Brigham Young performing the marriage.
(picture of Elizabeth and a picture of the endowment house.)