I was born in the Parish of Bishosfroom, in the country of Hereford, England on the 27th day of February 1816. My father's name was John. My mother's name was Elizabeth. When I was about 7 years old my father moved to Castle-froome, the adjoining parish, where we lived until my mother died about six years later. My father died, I was about 23 years old. I had lived with my father from the time I was born till he died. They had a family of 12 children, 8 sons and 4 girls. I was the 10th child and the 7th son. When my father died he left me in possession of the farm. I lived there until 1840 when I heard the gospel of Jesus Christ preached by Elder Wilford Woodruff and I was baptized in August. Embracing it I had much opposition while I remained there but in August 1841 I left my native land and brothers and sisters which then numbered 7 besides myself (5 boys and 2 girls). My sisters one of them, (Ann) had been baptized accompanied me to Liverpool where older one (Elizabeth) was baptized by Elder J. [John] Taylor, but both went back and left the church. We came through Worcester where my brother William lived. He was very sick in bed, having fallen off a load of hay and had broken two of his ribs. When I went away from his bed he jumped up and followed me to the office where we were going to take coach. He appeared a great deal better. We went to the railroad station where we took the cars for Burmingham, then to Liverpool the same evening and took lodgings for the night. We were 7 in number, a brother by the name of Fido [John Fidoe] and his wife [Lydia] and a young man by the name of [Edward] Chamberlain that had lived with my father and me a good many years. I paid their passage to America. When morning came we went in search of some of the twelve apostles. We soon found Brother Woodruff and Brother Brigham Young and several others and took fresh lodgings and made arrangements for a passage to New York and on the 20th [p.1] of April we set sail on board the Rochester in company with
7 of the twelve apostles, name Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Willard Richards, Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith. There were about 200 saints on board. My two sisters went back, myself, Miss Eliza Brewer, John Fido [Fidoe] and is wife [Lydia] and E. [Edward] Chamberlain pursued our course onward for Nauvoo, the home of the Saints. We had tolerable good passage excepting one rough storm which tore away some of the sails, filled the deck with water and such little things
. We arrived at New York 28 days later where I got married to Miss Eliza Brewer.

After touring for a few days we started again for Nauvoo via Pittsburgh where Brother Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and John Taylor (three of the apostles) overtook us and took passage on the same boat for Nauvoo. The water was very low and we had a tedious time going down the Ohio River but we all arrived safe at Nauvoo on the first day of July. The Prophet Joseph Smith met us at the upper landing. We met some of our old acquaintances from England which made our hearts glad and we had a time rejoicing. . . . [p.2]

BIB: Ockey, Edward. Reminiscence and journal, (Ms 11746), pp.1-2. (CHL)
(source abbreviations)