Happy 24th of July.

I want to take this time to acknowledge my pioneer ancestors, one in particular stands out in my mind today. Her name is Mary Lawson Kirkman

Here is the journal entry from one of her sons, John Kirkman
November 11, 1856
"Before we left Iowa my dear Mother had given birth to a son, Peter. She was naturally weak with the care of a nursing baby and five other children. Father was weak from want of food, having denied himself for us. The terrible strain of the journey was too much for him and one night, near the Sweetwater, he passed quietly away at the age of 35. Our little brother, Peter, died the same night. They built a fire to thaw the ground so that a grave could be dug, then with my baby brother clasped in his arms, they wrapped him in a blanket and laid him tenderly away. My darling Mother had to take up the journey alone with us five children. Provisions were almost gone, desolation reigned.
"The company passed off the main road to 'Martin's Ravine' to escape the terrible blizzards and storms for we had little clothing and had given up all hope. Death had taken a heavy toll and the Ravine was like an overcrowded tomb. No mortal tongue could describe the suffering. Such was the condition when word was received that help was on the way."
(Virginia Kirkman Nielson, A Pioneer Woman of Faith and Fortitude, Mary Lawson Kirkman [Ephraim, Utah: October, 1994], 4.)

She was only 33 when she made the trek to Utah and when her husband died, he was only 35. I realized just now that that is how old my husband is! I don't know how she did it.
She made it to the valley on Nov. 30th 1856 and settled in what is now Springville. She remarried 2 more times- outliving both husbands. She is buried in the Springville Cemetery.
When I lived in Utah our ward had the amazing opportunity to go to Martin's Cove and experience a little bit of what they went through. We got to pull handcarts and walk through the actual Cove. I won't go into details of what I felt during those 2 1/2 days but it was life changing.
I was in charge of assigning pioneer names to everyone that went and for those couple of days they were that person. I even made booklets where in the front was a short bio of the person and the last page of the booklet was taped shut and on the last day they got to unseal it to see if they survived or not. I had the honor of walking in Mary Lawson's name and it was such a spiritual experience, one that I will never forget.
I owe so much to my pioneer ancestors and I should like to think that some of Mary's strength, courage and faithfullness somehow got passed down to me.
Thank you Mormon Pioneers for making the sacrifice to join the saints in Salt Lake City.