MEN OF THE SEA

We note with interest that the profession of some of the McBride's was connected with the sea. John McBride (#4), son of Daniel, held a position in the Port Surveyor's Office and his son Robert Ist was a seaman. Subsequent records, though very limited, show also that others of their descendants were men of the sea. This is in keeping with a dominant characteristic of the Scots. Historically, Scotsmen have been seamen (in addition to being meticulous farmers and tradesmen). Always an industrious, clever and thrifty people, they not only built ships for other nations but manned them. This due in part to their country's topography. Scotland's rugged and mountainous inland gave little inducement to many industries found in other parts of the world. The people naturally took to the sea. Scotland's irregular coastline abounds with firths, peninsulas and islands with many natural harbors.

Ireland also, though lacking the type of seacoast of Scotland, does have natural harbors at the mouths of principal rivers, providing ample opportunity to follow seagoing professions.

It is important that Robert Ist father-in-law, James Lakey, as the record states, was a "shopkeeper." The term had a more extended meaning then than it does now. A "shop" in those days, in most cases, referred to a place of business that handled a wide variety of items. Such "shops" were closely associated with merchant seamen, whose goods of various kinds from other ports were unloaded and turned over to the "shopkeepers" for sale to the public. Since Robert is said to have been a mariner, it is within the realm of possibility that he owned a ship which transported goods to the shop of his father-in-law. There may very well have been some such business association between the two.

Records are lacking of the date, place or circumstances of Robert lst death.

Robert 2nd (#8), son of Robert 1st, was born February 14, 1783, in Derry County, Ireland. It is not surprising to learn that he followed the profession of his father. A seagoing man of whom we know comparatively little, his exploits at sea were apparently very extensive, ranging over most of the waters in his part of the world. It is said by one of his grandchildren who knew him well that he "had landed in every port that a ship could stick its hull." (Peter Howard McBride, Journal). Also, he had a comfortable home that he was seldom around to enjoy. Like his father, Robert 2^nd, may very well have owned his own shipping business.

Though exact dates are not available, we do know that just prior to 1803 he lived for a time in Rothsay, on the Isle of Bute, Scotland, married to a Scottish Lass, Janet Sharp (#9).

Janet Sharp was born about 1780 (or 1783) at Nairn, a small village in the Highlands of Scotland. Her name is spelled variously as Janet, Jennette and Jane. Little is known of her life except for her marriage to Robert McBride 2nd and their living on the Isle of Bute. This couple may have had a home elsewhere, but if so, they moved back to the island, for there is where Janet died a tragic death. History has it that her thirteen-year-old granddaughter, Janetta Ann McBride, often stayed with her. Janetta left her grandmother one day sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace while she went over to a neighbor's to look at some crocheting. The grandmother either fell asleep, fainted, or, from dizziness, fell into the fireplace. Her clothing caught fire and she suffered severe burns. She lived a week or so before she died, Aug. 11, 1853. Her remains were taken for burial to Argylshire County, Scotland.

A few years after his wife's death (1860), we find this Robert 2nd in a home for the aged in Scotland, called Wood's Asylum. (This is not a mental institution. It was a home for retired sea-farers). Being a member of some sort of a seamen's organization (union), entitled him to live there as a retiree. He resided there until his death, February 10, 1862. Buried in Greenock, Renfrew County, Scotland, this Robert would be remembered with special affection by his posterity.

When this Scottish seaman, Robert 2nd, was about twenty years of age, he and his wife Janet resided in Scotland. There a son was born to them. They named him Robert (#10), the third of that name in as many generations. Of the multitudinous family which had become, or was to bear, the name of McBride, this son of a young seaman was destined to break the mold and become the most revered of all. He it is to whom we, his progeny, point with gratitude for possessing the simple faith to recognize truth when he heard it. The authors of this book and those who read and cherish its message will recognize this man, whom we designate as Robert 3rd, as pivotal in this genealogy. The story we tell evolves both backward and forward from him.

This third Robert, born November 16, 1803, in Rothsay, Isle of Bute, Scotland, was likely his parents' first child. There may have been other children. Certain evidence points to a daughter, Martha. Very little is known of Robert's early manhood, but it is family tradition that he also followed the sea until about thirty years of age.

Sometime prior to November, 1853, Robert moved to England. In the small village of Churchtown, in the English countryside, some twenty miles inland from the port city of Liverpool, he courted a young English girl by the name of Margaret Ann Howard (#11). The circumstances under which they met are not known; but she probably lived with her parents, and despite the fact that she was eleven years younger, they married November 25, 1833, she about nineteen, Robert thirty. Research by Laura McBride Smith has produced a copy of their marriage certificate.

Details of Margaret Ann's life before her marriage to Robert McBride are lacking. However, pedigrees of both her father and mother, Peter Howard and Ann Wright, indicate that those families had lived for five generations in a small geographical area, namely in North Meols Parish, in the towns of Churchtown and Rowelane, Lancashire, England. Margaret's immediate family consisted of eight children, she being next to the eldest. No doubt she shouldered much responsibility for younger brothers and sisters. Her father's occupations are given as harness maker and weaver. The business of making harnesses was probably inherited from his progenitors, and we discover that he passed the business on to one or more of his sons. Knowing these facts gives us a clue to Margaret's character and early life, and why her father strenuously opposed her break with tradition upon her acceptance of the Mormon Faith. Being from the old established gentry, young Margaret was no doubt a solid, serious minded, and deeply religious person.

Nearly sixty years from the time of which we speak (marriage of Robert and Margaret), their son Ether, living in America, filled a mission in England and discovered dozens of his mother's people still in the same area and living much the same as they had always lived.

Apparently by the time of this marriage, Robert had given up his seagoing life and settled on the land. Sober minded and resourceful, he took up the trade of plasterer and related vocations. The couple made their home in Churchtown, where their first child, Elijah James, was born August 24, 1835. Soon the small family moved to a neighboring town of Preston. Though of humble circumstances, the happy couple welcomed a second child to their home, a beautiful little daughter, Sarah Ann, born March 15, 1837.

Preston, a large industrial center noted mainly for the manufacture of cotton fabrics, had grown up on the banks of a beautiful stream, the River Ribble. No resident of Preston could have known at that time that both their city and river, though of some importance in England, would soon play a unique roll in a segment of American history.

Sunday, July 30, 1837, must have been a pleasant day in Preston, England. Ordinarily it would have been an uneventful day. Other than work at the mills, not much of interest ever went on in the typical English manufacturing center. However, during the past week excitement had been mounting - something special wafting in the wind on this next to the last day in July. Huge crowds had gathered on either side of the river. Many others occupied the bridge which spanned its lazy waters. The numbers of people is not definite, estimates varying from 7000 to 9000. (Joseph Smith and the Restoration – A history of the Church to 1846 – By Ivan Barrett – p. 348).

At a signal two men broke from a starting point and raced along the grassy riverbank. Something on the order of a hundred yard dash ensued as the pair sprinted toward other men standing farther along the river's edge. Excitement ran high among the huge throng of onlookers assembled from Preston and the surrounding countryside as the younger of the runners reached the finish line ahead of the other. The victor, George D. Watts, had a special reward coming - to be the first person in the British Isles to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Cheering and shouting accompanied the event as first George and then the other contestant entered the water to be baptized by Heber C. Kimball, he and others officiating at this sacred ordinance Elders of the "Mormon" Church. Other candidates followed, a total of nine being baptized that Sabbath day.

The throng included many scoffers not especially pleased with the goings on. Present primarily out of curiosity of what they had seen or heard about the Mormons, the crowd seemed apprehensive of these men from America and their strange teachings. Baptism by immersion? They had heard of it, but few had witnessed it; least of all in a river! Talk of new revelation, a modern Prophet, the Book of Mormon, Priesthood, gifts of the Spirit, a true Church, worried most of them. But the Mormon Elders had not promoted the crowd. They never intended to stage an exhibition. People had gathered of their own volition. Only a few who had listened carefully and had asked in faith to know the truth would come forward for baptism.

It is highly probable that Robert and Margaret stood among those who witnessed this historic event of July 30, 1837. But they professed to be more than curious spectators. Deeply moved, Robert was baptized by Orson Hyde along with another group just two days hence, August 1, at the same spot in the River Ribble.

The story is a familiar one in Church History: Only eight days prior to the first baptisms, seven young men from America had arrived in Preston. Two of them were Apostles, Heber Kimball and Orson Hyde, the others Elders and fellow missionaries; Joseph Fielding, Willard Richards, John Goodson, Isaac Russell and John Snyder. The date Saturday, July 22, 1837; was election day in Preston with festivities in progress. As the missionaries' coach arrived, participants paraded a large banner along the street, hoisted almost directly above the heads of the new arrivals. It read: TRUTH WILL PREVAIL. Taking the coincidence as a good omen, the seven messengers of truth cried out in unison, "Amen! Thanks be to God! Truth will prevail!"

The missionaries had disembarked at the port of Liverpool two days before. Divine inspiration had led them to this place where a Reverend Fielding had recently led his congregation away from the mainline churches. Studying the Bible closely in search of the true Gospel, they believed the true Church had been lost. One of the missionaries, Joseph Fielding, was a brother to the minister, who gave them ready acceptance to the Sunday meetings being held at Vauxhall Chapel.

Weeks earlier the congregation had prayed earnestly for light and truth. Some of the more spiritually inclined had seen in vision those who would bring them the true Gospel. They knew their prayers had shaken the Heavens when Elder Kimball appeared on the scene that Sunday, the day following his arrival in Preston. To some at Vauxhall he was no stranger for they recognized him as the very one they had seen in vision. The minds and hearts of these devout people were ready for the message of the Restoration which Heber C. Kimball delivered when invited to speak. Others bore testimony, and thus the doors swung open, the first time the Restored Gospel had been preached in a foreign land.

An exciting week had followed in which the presence of these strangers from America began to be noised abroad and people, curious about their teachings, heard their message in a series of meetings in people's homes and in the town square. Robert and Margaret McBride, among the truth seekers, had been inclined toward the teachings of Reverend Fielding. Indeed, Robert had been in attendance at the Vauxhall Chapel and the Holy Spirit had borne witness to him of the inspired words of Apostle Kimball. He and Margaret had attended other meetings during the week, being deeply religious and ready to accept the truth.

A tendency to be calculating and deliberate in his actions may account for the fact that Robert had waited until the second day of baptisms to present himself for that fateful step. Margaret, though apparently wholeheartedly accepting the missionaries and their message, may have had good reason for waiting a while before joining, for we discover that her parents, the Howards, were ill disposed toward the Church. In any event, Margaret put off baptism until five months later, January of 1838. The delay was not for any lack of conversion; only in hopes of avoiding any division in her family because of her avowed intentions.

From the very beginning Robert and his little family were firmly planted in the Faith. At a meeting held August 6 (the Sunday following the first baptism) in the home of Ann Dawson, twenty-nine persons were confirmed and a branch of the Church organized, Robert being one of those confirmed on this date.

In the McBride home the missionaries were always welcome. They came there often, food and lodging always provided. Meetings were held in their home on many occasions, Margaret providing the items for the sacrament.

Church History tells of the phenomenal success of these great missionaries. Very rapidly the work spread throughout Britain, reminiscent of the rise of Christ's Church in ancient times.

It is interesting to note that the oldest, continuous branch of the Church is in Preston, England. It may be the one Robert helped organize. The area became the seedbed of the Church in that country. Due to the work of these missionaries, assisted by those faithful who had so readily accepted the Gospel, within nine months (April 1838), British membership had risen to 2,000. Later, in 1840, with the arrival of Brigham Young and several other members of the Council of the Twelve, Church membership took another big leap ahead. The work of these inspired brethren set in motion a continuous flow of faithful, and often skilled, converts to Zion, who became the stalwarts in the Faith and did more than any other group to build up the Church, first in Nauvoo, Illinois, and eventually in the Intermountain West.

Heber Kimball and Orson Hyde returned to their homes in America April, 1838, leaving Joseph Fielding to preside over the British Mission. By April of 1840, Apostle Kimball, in company with others of the 'twelve, including Brigham Young, had returned to England to bolster the missionary effort. Upon visiting the Preston area and at a special meeting, Brigham Young gave a number of the brethren a significant calling; "Devote as much time as possible to the work of the Ministry." Robert, among those who pledged to do so, had begun to prove his mettle. Though records are lacking, it seems evident that both Robert and Margaret were given many responsibilities that put them in the forefront of the work as it progressed wherever they lived.

At this time many of the converts were being encouraged to migrate to America. A close friendship had developed between the presiding Elders and the members in the Preston area, Churchtown and Southport. Indicative of the love and concern he held for the McBride family is a letter written by Apostle Heber C. Kimball from London. Addressed to Robert, the Apostle requested that the letter be read to the branches of the Church in that area. It follows: (Punctuation and spelling are original)

London, December 17, 1840

Dear Brother Robert in Christ and to all the Saints in Churchtown and Southport:

Greetings and may God bless you with peace, love, joy, long life and the good things in this life and that which is to come, and I say unto you all if you will be faithful and keep the commandments of God you shall go to that land before long and I shall see you there and eat and drink with you and when this time comes to pass then you will know that I told you these things. Now, my dear brothers and sisters, let your hearts be comforted, for all things will work for good for them that love the Lord and keep his commandments. I would say one word to Alice for her comfort, be of good cheer for the time will come when your loss will be made up, for you will have your little one in the next world. You say it has got through with its troubles. When you begin to see what is coming in the world you will rejoice. I have lost two, Sister McBride has lost two. (Elijah James and Sarah Jane McBride) We know how to sympathize with you. Be of good cheer for all things will go good in the end. I received your letter this morning. Was glad to hear from you. It was written part by you and part by An. McBride. (No doubt, Margaret Ann, Robert’s wife) I feel glad to hear of the prosperity of the work in that part. I say Brother, roll it on till thou hast gathered out thy people and prepared them for thine own use that thy servant may see them crowned in the Celestial world in the presence of the Father and Son where we can see each other face to face, where death mourning, sorrow, pain will be swept away for Christ's sake, Amen. The work is going on steady here in the great city. I have baptized five since I came here, Elder Woodruff baptized four before I came. I baptized four last evening. There are others hanging by the gills that will come in soon. The only way is to have patience with the generation. If we are merciful with them the Lord will be merciful with us, for he says as we measure to them it shall be measured to us again, so let us do good the rest of our days, for this in the law, this is what the Lord has placed us on this earth for, to do all the good we can to each other. You say you have the gift of tongues, then I am glad, but I wish to give you some counsel, that is, not to speak before the world but it is for the edifying of the Church. When you speak let it be when the Church is together, as part of it; when there is an elder and a priest present; and open your meeting with prayer then all things will be in order and the devil will not have power over you. All the meetings are to be led by the Elders as they are led by the Holy Ghost; It is the Priesthood that governs the Church and not the tongues. God hath set in the Church first, Apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors; after, the miracle of tongues for the work of the ministry. So you see, the Priesthood is what, governs the Church, and not tongues. You see that I have much love for you and that all things may be right before God. I have had some experience in these things. If all things are done right at first and do not have to undo what we have done. I know you want to do right and this is the reason I want to give you counsel. Pray for the gift of wisdom. The Lord is pouring out his spirit on all the churches. The work is spreading in all parts of this land, not only here but in the land of America. On the third day of October the Church held a conference that continued for three days. There were five thousand people. There were so many baptized there were ten elders in the river baptizing at once. Such a time has not been known since Christ's day. The glory of God shone upon them. The Church is growing through England, Scotland and Ireland. The work will be great and powerful in these places. Great and terrible trouble is coming to the inhabitants of America, that one year will bring much of it to pass. Read this epistle to the Church and not to the world. You know that the Prophet Joseph told us of the Nephites and that Moroni came with the plates that contain the Book of Mormon. Speaking of your situation and of the work in Lancaster - If you are in a situation to go to America, you go. It is not wisdom to go without your circumstances will admit (permit), but you know your own situation. When you go there let them support you, if they will not, learn them, you know the labor is worthy of the hire. Go ahead and the way will be open for you. And it is your privilege to go when you can. I must close. Elder Young only stayed a little more than a week. He has gone to Hirilpond Shire. I didn't expect to stay here when I came but the spirit said it was wisdom for me to stop and the brethren thought it best. Elder Woodruff is here and sends his love to you all. Give my love to your wife, Brother John and his wife, Brother Laide and his wife and all the Saints for I have much care for you all. Please read this to the Church. May God bless you forever. I need your prayers and you shall have mine. Give my love to Mother Dickerson. When you receive this please write. I remain your brother in Christ.

(to Robert McBride) H.C. Kimball

Letters such as this one written by the ancient Apostles, under the spirit of inspiration, became scripture; i.e., Paul's Epistles to individuals and to various branches of the Church. In like manner, this Epistle from a Latter-day Apostle was received as the Word of the Lord by those faithful Saints. Note the counsel given concerning the gift of speaking in tongues.

Because of this letter it must have seemed only a matter of waiting for the propitious moment for the McBride Family to join the Saints in America. This idea when voiced to Margaret's parents, Peter and Ann Howard, drew bitter criticism. With her father it caused a virtual estrangement. Just when this confrontation occurred is not clear, but it no doubt happened prior to 1851, for Mr. Howard's death is recorded as March 6, 1851, he being not quite sixty years of age. Subsequent events, including frequent visits, indicate a probable reconciliation between Margaret and her parents. Furthermore, the children always spoke highly of their Howard grandparents.

The lives of Margaret and Robert now centered around his work as a plasterer and their activities in the Church. For a reason not known, they moved back to Churchtown. In the interim their two little ones, Elijah and Sarah had died, supposedly of common childhood diseases, which left them childless. But before long a baby girl arrived, Janetta Ann (#12), born December 24, 1839. This Scottish, English Lass, destined while yet in her youth, to become a heroine of the McBride family, would leave a legacy in a land half a world away. But that remained years in the future.

How they must have cherished this little daughter, for as the years went by, she became "big sister" to a number of brothers and sister. Within the next six years Margaret gave birth to three more children while living in Churchtown. Only Heber Robert (#13), the middle one of these three, survived. Born May 13, 1843, Heber remained a strong healthy boy, his destiny to be beside his older sister in a trauma that neither could envision.

Around the year 1846 (Janetta then six years of age), Robert moved his family back to his native land, Rothsay, on the Isle of Bute, Scotland, the home of his parents. It appears that for some time Janetta had been in poor health and, thinking that being near the sea would bring about an improvement, Robert and Janetta went ahead of the others to stay at the home of his parents. After about a year, when the others joined them, they possibly had a home of their own on the Island. As time went on two more children were born in Scotland, Ether Enos (#14), February 29, 1848, and Peter Howard (#15), May 3, 1850. All the children of this little family had fond memories of their childhood in Scotland. Later in life they all spoke fondly of their associations with their grandparents, Robert 2nd and his wife Janet.

It was during this time when the children were growing up and enjoying their association with their paternal grandparents that their beloved grandmother Janet Sharp McBride died of burns she incurred upon falling into the fireplace. Though a shock to all, the event must have been especially traumatic to young Janetta McBride, who seemed especially close to her grandmother. During their sojourn in Scotland, a period of at least seven years, the family remained somewhat isolated from the Church. Janetta's brief autobiography gives us this interesting insight into their religious affairs on the Isle of Bute: Since there was no branch of the Church there, we belonged to the Glasco (Glasgow – on the mainland,
only a short boat trip from their home) Conference. We were the only Mormons on the island, but the Elders from Glasco often came to see us, and we often went to Glasco to their meetings.

Janetta speaks also of attending school in Glasgow, stating that at eight years of age she attended a Presbyterian Church school.

At age six Heber also began to attend school, but according to his own statements he may just as well never have started. Heber, bent on becoming a seaman, seems to have inherited his love for the sea from as far back as his great-grandfather, Robert 1st. When supposedly in school, like as not he would run away, get in a boat and play in the ocean. Whipping, scolding were all to no avail; he simply would not go to school. Furthermore, close by stood the old Rothsay Castle, abandoned and beckoning, made to order for adventurous lads like Heber and Ether. (The authors have had experience roaming hills and riverbeds of Arizona and playing in old abandoned houses. We think we know something of the fascination and adventure two young Scots must have experienced playing along a rugged seacoast and in an old castle, imagining themselves as pirates or warriors defending the fortress to the wailing of bagpipes and the clashing of arms. No wonder Heber wouldn’t go to school!).

Nothing definite is known about Robert's employment during their stay in Scotland. Whether or not he pursued his trade of plasterer is not known. Janetta no doubt had improved her health, shown progress in school and had further ambitions. Heber presented a hopeless case as far as school went, and the two younger boys were growing up.

For a number of years they had been in semi-isolation from the Church. This and other considerations prompted the move back to England, not far from where they had lived before. They settled in the beach city of Southport sometime in 1853. Perhaps here the youngsters could better go to school and have closer association with the Church.

Robert had entertained the idea that moving back to England would somehow get Heber into the classroom, he faced big disappointment. Every inducement failed. Heber claimed that he didn't mind going to school, but he just couldn't learn. This self-appraisal proved to be incorrect many times, for we discover that the young man learned readily enough the things that interested him. Between his tenth and thirteenth year he took on several different jobs in which he excelled, and learned quickly how to make the most of his opportunities. The fact that he would rather work than go to school does not brand him as an incorrigible. A good boy, Heber was destined to take on the responsibilities of "being a man" at an unusually early age. The reader will find a rare treat in reading Heber's own account of his life. Conditions in Southport (the sea being not nearly so handy as it had been on the Isle of Bute) caused Heber's interest to be directed toward other things.

The family had been in Southport only a few months when Margaret Alice (#16) blessed their home June 29, 1853. She would be their last. With her mother's name, she carne to be called "Little Maggie," and by age three was destined to experience the harshness of the wilderness, privation and hunger to an extent seldom required of one of such tender years.

ROTHSAY CASTLE, Rothsay, Isle of Bute, Scotland.
 Near the home of the McBride family when they lived in Scotland.
Courtesy Cole Porter - taken during 1987 visit to Scotland.

From the time Robert and Margaret had accepted the Restored Gospel it became evident that their lives and the lives of their children would be inextricably entwined with the fortunes of the Church. Persecution against the Church in America had its counterpart in Great Britain. Vilified and discriminated against, the Saints were put on the defensive. This to a large extent by the clergy who were envious of their success, and by many public officials.

Information flowed freely into Britain through organizational channels concerning the trials of the Saints in America. The period in which Margaret and Robert accepted the Gospel (1837-1838) marked the dark cays of the Church in Missouri.

The letter from Apostle Kimball written in London in 1840 had advised Robert that he should join the Saints in America if and when he felt able to do so. Already some of the new converts in England had migrated to America and no doubt such a move had crossed the minds of the McBride's. Perhaps several reasons existed to prevent them from doing so at that early date. No doubt finances headed the list. Family problems were many. Their little girl Janetta had just turned two years old, and we note that shortly thereafter they were expecting another child. Then came the disquieting news of the persecution of the Saints in Nauvoo, culminating in the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum. Soon after this time (in 1846), the Saints were driven out of Nauvoo and had subsequently established a foothold in the Salt Lake Basin in Utah. The great migration to the West had begun. Latter-day Israel, now on the march, had acknowledged Brother Brigham (B. Young) as their inspired leader and Prophet of the Church.

Although the McBride Family was at this time still in Scotland where association with the Church was extremely limited, their hopes and aspirations were with the Saints in their affairs in America. Every bit of news that flowed over 2000 miles of wilderness and 3000 miles of ocean seemed to be a part of their own lives. They rejoiced in the joys and sorrowed in the trials of the main body of the Saints. Brother Brigham's call to assemble in the western mountain area had gone out to all Saints. Over a period of the next few years, many thousands from the British Isles would respond. How Robert and Margaret must have longed to be a part of the great Latter-day movement in the choice land of America! Now that they had moved back to England, their chances for America may have seemed a mite closer.

It appears that Robert had built a comfortable home in Southport, England. Their involvement in the Church is evidenced by the fact that Robert served as secretary of the branch and the youngsters often spent Sunday afternoons canvassing the neighborhood, handing out missionary tracts.

Janetta and Ether were able to go to school in Southport, though not without some difficulty. Schools there operated by Protestant denominations would not allow Mormon children to attend. The Catholics, however, took them in to one of their schools. They were not required to learn the Catholic Creed. Along with her schooling, Janetta hired out to a lady as an apprentice and learned the dressmaking trade.

Being faithful Church members, the McBride family had often felt the effects of bitter opposition. Whatever sacrifices or inconveniences this had caused them they had willingly accepted for the Gospel's sake. To them the Church remained foremost, their pillar of strength. Though still in rather poor financial straits, the idea of migrating never strayed far from their thoughts. Then certain conditions came about which hastened the decision to go.

Until 1856 the means of transportation westward beyond New York Harbor had been by rail as far as the trains went, then by especially equipped teams and wagons. All this entailed considerable expense, and many who wanted to "come to Zion" were not financially able to do so, despite some assistance from the Church. But now, Brigham Young had devised a new and more economical plan for bringing people across the 1300 miles from the rail terminus in Iowa City, Iowa, to the Great Basin. Word reached the Saints in Britain and the Scandinavian countries that, beginning in the early spring of 1856, large two-wheeled carts would be provided, and well organized companies would cross the plains, pulling their belongings in these handcarts. The McBride family was now caught up in the fervor, as hundreds of others in their vicinity began to make plans to sail early enough to be a part of the spring trek to the West. The spirit of the gathering had taken hold as Robert envisioned his family helping to build the great Mormon commonwealth proposed by their Prophet leader.

Under the direction of Apostle Franklin D. Richards, well organized machinery went into operation. Edward Martin appeared on the scene, contacting the prospective emigrants, giving instructions, arranging passage and the sailing date. One of their spiritual leaders, he would be the captain of the entire company when the trek across the plains would get under way.

In Southport the McBride's were able to sell their home for a good price. Other possessions were sold at auction, financial matters settled and a farewell visit made to Margaret's mother. In Manchester at this time, Mrs. Howard lived only a few miles up the Mersey River from Liverpool. It had been only a matter of five years since her husband Peter had died, and one can well imagine how difficult it must have been to part with her daughter and grandchildren. The prospects of ever seeing them again were indeed remote. As indicated earlier, there had been hard feelings about Margaret's joining the Church, especially, one is led to believe, on the part of the father. However, at this time, as the McBride family was about to take its leave, one hopefully assumes that good relations had since been established. If Margaret's mother or other relatives in the area now made any effort to dissuade them from leaving we do not know of it. In any event the die was cast and after a day or two's visit at Manchester, our little family boarded the train for Liverpool, the point of embarkation for America.

Very little of record exists detailing their train ride to the port city, the boarding of the ship and the period of nearly a month and a half at sea. No doubt excitement ran high, especially for the youngsters. Except for Heber, none of the children had ever experienced anything like it before. Once aboard the Horizon, Heber was probably right in his element; and he it is who has given us a firsthand account of the rebellious ship's crew, the gunplay and the delay in setting sail. This is the account: The ship Horizon Half Clipper lay at anchor in the Mersey River, a short distance off the docks at Liverpool, England. Government officials and a doctor had completed the necessary inspection and had departed for shore. Tense with excitement, the passengers, anxious to sail for America, waited expectantly. Everything seemed in readiness on this spring day of 1856.

"I’ll shoot the first man that moves," shouted the first mate to the crew. For a few terrible seconds it appeared blood would be spilled, but the first mate’s menacing posture proved effective. The irate crew backed off. A ship’s officer sent up a distress signal. Quickly boats appeared alongside with policemen and the entire crew was taken ashore in handcuffs. What a dramatic beginning for this journey, and young Heber McBride, had managed to secure himself where he witnessed the whole affair. Heber figured his birthday had been well celebrated, for on that day, May 13, 1856, he turned thirteen. The Horizon remained at anchor in mid-river while a new crew was rounded up and brought aboard. Heber concludes the exciting episode with these words: "With a new crew, and a very jolly one, we set sail again, I believe on the fourth day…After we lost sight of land there came another steamboat that brought the Captain and took the Pilot." That exciting episode is taken from Heber's Memoirs written in his adult years. What little we have of the voyage, their arrival in Boston Harbor, the train ride to the readying camp in Iowa City, is primarily from the same source. Indeed, the only firsthand information we have of the handcart trek across the plains is gleaned from brief accounts written many years later by the several participants, all children at the time of the trek. Heber's and Ether's accounts are more detailed than the others.

Accounts by Church historians of the handcart pioneers are brief. Three small companies who started early in the spring of 1856 were very successful with no deaths and a minimum of sickness and hardship. The Willie Company, leaving in mid July, and the Martin Company, leaving the last of July, were the ones who suffered greatly. It appears there had been a breakdown in communications concerning the arrival at the readying camps in Iowa City, Iowa, of so many hundreds of travelers. Suitable equipment was not ready. Hurried preparations resulted in poorly constructed carts and wagons. The late start, coupled with early winter climate on the plains and in the mountains, set the stage for disaster for both the Willie and Martin Companies.

During the next four years, however, five other companies made their way to the Salt Lake Basin without serious mishap.

Edward Martin note: This young Elder had served in the famous Mormon Battalion and that unprecedented experience had qualified him as a veteran of plains and mountains. Subsequently having completed a Gospel mission, he was put in charge of the migrating Saints on Horizon Half Clipper.  

To continue this story see Cry Zion by Returning back to History of McBride's