. . . On the 6th of April I went to Liverpool and stopped for one month, I then came home and went to Hillsboro and in the summer I went to Lerchfield to Mr. Mussentines to do work for Richard Akin. He violated his contract and I had no witness to prove my contract so he rouged me out of 8.19 pounds; so I then left and went into Belfast and commenced to work for William. Low and he sent me down to learn to work for him, and on the 5th of Nov. I came home and Sister Margret Leach, daughter of Hugh and Ann Leach was joined into the holy bands of wedlock by Brother Andrew Hennyy, and elder in Israel, we being the first that was married in Ireland by the holy priesthood on the 7th Nov. 1842 in Hillsboro. Then after we was married decided to gather with the Saints in the land of America so we left Hillsboro and on the 31st of Dec. we sailed from Belfast in the "Mibernia" at 9 o'clock in the evening, and after 22 hours sailing we arrived at Liverpool at 7 o'clock in the evening. 8 hours of the time was spent in sickness.

We landed in Liverpool on the 1st of Jan. 1845. We then proceeded to Mr. Thomas Carrelle who lived on Milton Street. We stopped there until the 3rd then we went on board the Swanton and on Sunday the 8th we had a meeting on board. Prayer by Brother Lorenzo Snow, preaching by Elders Filding and Clark. In the afternoon we went to the music hall where we heard Elders Ward and Mitchlson and partake of the sacrament and we saw four confirmed. During our stay in Liverpool there were 6 of the passengers embraced the fullness of the gospel, we wrote home on the 4th, 7th, and 9th of Jan. from Liverpool, and on the 12th of Jan we had a pleasant walk to George's monument and James's Cemetery and seen the statue of Mr. Huskison M. P. and Engineer.

On Sunday the 15th we had a meeting in the ship where there was four confirmed and one child blessed. We went to the hall and attended Sacrament and in the evening we heard Brother W. Anley give a fine lecture followed [p.6] by Brother Wilkie. We wrote home on the 16th the day we sailed from Liverpool. There was nothing particular occurred for some time. The most of the time the passengers spent the first week in sickness. We had one birth on the 15th and died on the 24th.

On Friday 20th we passed by the Wicklow mountains.

On the 22nd we passed by Cape Clear, and Monday 23rd we had a great squall of wind in the morning that was very alarming and caused great confusion with the luggage.

On the 25th of Jan. we had a fine day and calm day.

On Friday 27th Elder Howard's [Samuel Howard] child arm was broken by fall down in the hatch, and on Sunday 29th we had a fine day and good meetings. The weather in general was calm but the winds kept contrary to us.

On Sunday the 5th we had our morning meeting on deck and our afternoon and evening below. Elder [Lorenzo] Snow gave us a fine lecture in the evening.

On Wed. 8th we had a very rough sea and some heavy squalls that lasted to Thur. night. There was through the day a great surge came over bulwarks and wet a number of the Saints. There were a great many sick that day, we were of the number.

We are now on the 9th of Feb. through the Barbary and Canary Islands and in the Trade winds. Sunday at 12 we had our morning and Sacrament meeting on deck. The day being very hot the Captain caused a canopy to be erected to shade us from the sun. Preaching by Elder [John] Sheffield and MacCauley [McAuley].

Thursday 14 Brother Charles Smith and Reves [William Reeves] bore their testimony. On the 19th we had a fine meeting on deck.

On the 16th of the winds turned favorable to us.

Tuesday 21st Brothers [Thomas] McCann and [John] Charleston bore their testimony.

Thur. 23rd Brother Night [William Knight] gave us a fine discourse.

On Sunday 26th Brother [Lorenzo] Snow gave us a fine lecture.

On the 27th Feb. after sailing six weeks we came in sight of land. The first was the island Antega on the right and Guadeloupe on the left.

Friday March the 2nd the sea was rather rough.

Sunday the 5th we passed by the island of Jamaica. In the Gulf of Mexico we was blown back from the evening of 11th to the morning of the 12th of March, and about 2 o'clock we were taken into the steamer "Togart" and the [p.7] pilot came on board of our ship, but the pilot being drunken was not capable of his duty run our ship aground on the bar of the mouth of the Mississippi River where we stuck fast till 4 o'clock on the 13th. By the help of the Lion boat, we had a new pilot. We moved up the river and landed at New Orleans. About noon 16th of March all well and in good spirits. Brother [Lorenzo] Snow chartered the "Goddess of Liberty" to St. Louis distance 1200 miles; the river being low we were 11 days in coming. We arrived in St. Louis on the 27th of March. We were then the 5th company of Saints that had come form England during the fall and spring, but the river was not fit for boats to run on account of the ice. We remained in St. Louis to the 7th of April when Brother [Lorenzo] Snow chartered "Amornath" to take us to Nauvoo where we landed on the 12th of April, and we were met at the landing by the Prophet of the Lord and some of the 12 Apostles and a great number of the Saints. I was then full rewarded for all that I passed to see with and hear with my ears a living prophet of God and hear the sweet words of his mouth blessing us in the name of the lord God of Israel. Conference had just come to a close; we was the first boat that had ascended the river that spring. Brother P. [Parley] P. Pratt landed the same afternoon with another company of Saints in the boat "Maid of Iowa". . . .[p.8]

BIB: Harper, John Nelson. Autobiography [ca. 1861] (Ms 7766), pp. 6-8. (CHL)
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