. . . August 31 "...A little after 10 a.m. President Teasdale & others from the office came aboard & President T. [Teasdale] proceeded to organize the company. Elder W. [William] P. Payne was appointed president of the company & set apart, with Elders L.H. Durrant & W.H.Farnsworth as assistants and D.[Daniel] K. Greene clerk & recorder. All went off smoothly until about 12:30 when friends began to big their friends goodbye & many lips quivered & eyes were moist with tears. Shortly after 1 o'clock the old vessel began to move slowly out of the harbor. About 1:20 a tug gave us a turn or swing & we soon left the docks bidding farewell to old England and perhaps forever for a great many at least. We waved a farewell to the friends on shore with our handkerchiefs as long as we could see them. . . .soon we were running at full speed a little more than 14 knots an hour, or about 15 with the tide. . .During the afternoon President [William] Payne & his council arranged the Saints in wards of which there are 6 designated a. b. c. d. e. & f. Elder W.[William] J. Kelson was appointed to preside over ward A; E.[Ephraim] Marshall ward B; Robert Parker ward C; T.[Thomas] B. Davis ward D; J. S. Howard* [AT BOTTOM OF THE PAGE READS THIS ASTERISKED NOTE: This missionary was instrumental in Adeline Allen, later to become Mrs. D. [Daniel] K. Greene, coming to America] ward E; & D. [Daniel] K.Greene ward F. Each elder is to preside over & instruct the members of his ward as the Spirit of the Lord shall direct & shall get them together & hold prayer with them nightly & morning each day. . .

. . .We had a rough voyage all the way. . . .Tuesday Sept. 10th we reached Sandy Hook between 4 & 5 o'clock & were obliged to lay there all night. The sea was so rough the pilots did not find us although there were 27 out hunting for us. . . .The storm and sea were so rough the captain dared not leave the Sandy Hook light ship without a pilot. Between 9 & 10 o'clock a German vessel came along going out to sea. Our captain signaled for a pilot and received the welcome answer that they had one. . . .We were anchored about two o'clock."

This was Wednesday and members of the company found they had to remain in NewYork until Friday to catch the next boat to Norfolk, Virginia. Fortunately they were granted accommodation and meals aboard the Wisconsin without extra charge.

Elder [Daniel] Greene made a thorough report of the voyage and before sending it to PresidentTeasdale, he read it to Captain Worrall for verification. "He pronounced it correct, eulogized our people highly, and assured me that there was no man living he thought more of than he did of President Teasdale." (President Teasdale, incidentally, was a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles at the time). [p.60]

By Saturday afternoon the "Roanoke" had delivered the voyagers to Norfolk and at 4:10p.m. the special immigrant train consisting of three coaches and a baggage car was on its way west. The remaining events of that day are best told in the words of a witness to them.

"Before we left Norfolk it set in raining. As night came on the storm increased. At eleven o'clock the rain was coming down in torrents and the wind fairly howled. Precisely at 11:35 p.m. as we were crossing a small stream called Stony Creek near the James River in old Virginia, the bridge gave way and caused one of the most wonderful and miraculous wrecks that was ever known. The engine, tender and baggage car with first coach got over the bridge but were thrown from the track off an elevated grade. The tender and baggage car and baggage were a complete wreck, boxes and trunks being broken to pieces and the goods were scattered far and near. The baggage master was badly bruised about the back and hips. The engineer was slightly scalded, but not a life was lost.

The first coach was crowded with immigrants: men, women and children with ElderThomas B. Davis standing guard so that no pickpockets could come in and rob the poor tired Saints. I was to have relieved him at twelve midnight. At the time the accident happened many of the people were partially undressed; some of them lost their boots, some hats, coats, shawls, dresses, etc. Three sides of the first coach were pretty well mashed to pieces, several persons were slightly scratched and bruised, one lady had her collar bone fractured or broken, but not a life was lost. As soon as they were fairly stopped, Elder Davis struck a match (which he fortunately had in his pocket) by the light of which he picked up a little girl which was fastened between the stove and the side of the car. Then he pulled the door of the car down which made a small hole through which they all made a miraculous escape and were conducted to a house nearby where they found shelter and the wounded ones were comforted as best they could be until a doctor could be brought from Lynchburg to dress the wounds, set the bones, etc.

The second coach was stood on its end, one end resting against the butment of the bridge at the bottom of the creek, the other remaining on the rails on the opposite side, standing at an angle perhaps of sixty degrees. The people in that car were all thrown to the front end of the car, but not many received injuries. One young woman had her left arm broken near the shoulder.* [AT BOTTOM OF PAGE IS THE FOLLOWING NOTE: This young woman was to be Elder [Daniel] Greene's wife before the year was out.] Elder [p. 61] L.H. Durrant who was standing guard in that car had one leg badly bruised. The third coach remained all right on the track. No one in that was hurt. The people in the second and third coaches all escaped at the rear end of the third coach. After the luggage had all been taken out of those two cars that could be found in the dark, and after the Saints had got thoroughly wet through to the skin, it was discovered that there were two or three houses a short distance back on the line, so the people made their way to them and were made as comfortable as possible by the inmates of the houses.

About 1:30 a.m. a passenger train came up behind our wreck and our valises and such goods as we had with us, were put into their baggage car out of the weather. A number of the Saints got into their coaches and the train was run back onto a switch a mile or more from us. As soon as I saw things straight on that side of the creek, I made my way through the third and second coaches, crawled through a small hole into the wreck of the first coach and got there in time to assist Elder [Thomas B.] Davis in getting out the last remains of the goods such as hats, bonnets, shawls, dishes, etc. etc. About four o'clock a train came out from Lynchburg bringing a doctor, a railroad official, a few other white men and a large force of Negroes. As soon as possible the doctor set the broken bones, dressed and comforted the wounded. The official cut the telegraph wire, fixed up a battery and was soon communicating with the offices each way. He also sent orders to the people living at the houses nearby to make breakfast for all the immigrants at the expense of the railroad Company.

The Negroes were employed to build a temporary bridge across the creek over which the luggage and Saints could be transferred. When the bridge was completed the Negroes were set to carry the luggage over. When that was done, they were put to gathering up our luggage and putting it into a car. When all was gathered up and put into the car and our company had all had breakfast, and got aboard the train we were whirled away from Lynchburg. While conversing with the official this morning he assured me that the Saints should have the privilege at Lynchburg of overhauling and repacking their goods at the expense of the railroad company, but instead when we got there we were transferred to other cars as soon as possible, our baggage being slammed and scattered about in a ridiculous manner and all this on Sunday the fifteenth of September."

Mormons immigrating to Salt Lake City or other areas in the Western States as late as 1889 had an unpleasant time, not from pushing handcarts, but from calloused, indifferent railroad men. Daniel reports another minor accident this time on Monday, September 16. The train carrying the immigrants was stopped on a siding while another train passed, but through some carelessness the engine of the other train struck the last coach of the immigrant train and derailed it. No one was hurt bodily, but the luggage was greatly damaged by the railroad hands who moved the travelers to a new car. Daniel exclaimed energetically over incidents like this because he had been put in charge of the luggage for the train journey. Immigrants were certainly not left to be a prey of unscrupulous men. . . . [p. 62]

BIB: Greene, Daniel Kent, [Diary] in Greene, Gordon Kay, Daniel
Kent Greene: His Life and Times, 1858-1921 (privately printed, 1960) pp. 60-62. (CHL)
(source abbreviations)