GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS
GEORGE CORRY AND MARGARET
CLIMIE
as Recorded in the Journal
of Robert Gardner
A few years ago, I came across the journal
of Robert Gardner online and discovered that our great great grandfather,
George Corry (Jr.) and his family were in the same group as Robert Gardner from
the time they joined the Church in Canada (about 1844) until they arrived in
the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Sadly,
there is no journal from our George Corry (let this be a lesson to us to write
down our lives) but since their experiences are similar, we can learn quite a
bit about how our ancestors lived during the period from joining the church to
arriving in the Salt Lake Valley from this journal of Robert Gardner. I have extracted a few paragraphs from Robert
Gardner’s journal.
The whole thing is online at:
The brief history of George Corry and
Margaret Climie is in the Corry Book and also here on our Corry Family History
Blog:
From the Gardner Journal:
“My father emigrated to Canada in the year
1821. He located in the backwoods of
Canada in the Township of Dalhousie, Upper Canada. This was a very poor part of the country
consisting of rocky ridges covered with heavy timber mostly hemlock, pine,
cedar and some hardwood. Some swamps and mud lakes, and here and there small
patch of land that would do to cultivate, after cutting and burning the heavy
timber then there was a kind of a thistle that came up among the grain which
compelled us to reap it with gloves or mittens on our hands, cradles, reapers,
and thrashing machines was not in fashion in that country in those day. And it
was hard, cold country to live in but we lived in it about twelve years. Here I
lost my education, or rather never got it. As the people was poor and in such a
scattered condition they could not have school. When after a while we got a
school I was grown and father needed my work on the farm as I was the youngest
and the only one at home, so six weeks was all the time I ever went to school
when I started I was spelling in two letter words and when I quit I was a fair
reader in the Testament and the best speller in school but there I had to stop
which has been the lament of my life what little I have learned since I have
had to pick up the best I could.
Robert’s Uncle Archibald Gardner was tired of the poor country and
started west in search of a better country which he found about 500 miles of in
the township of Warwick, Canada West, near the lower end of Lake Huron. My
father, William, and our family followed Uncle Archibald there.
Great great Grandfather George Corry with
his parents (George Corry and Margaret Cold), brothers (Isaac, Thomas and
Henry) and one sister (Charlotte) immigrated from London, England, in about
1817 and settled in Bathurst which is about 33 miles from the above mentioned
Dalhousie. The description of the land
for them is similar to what is stated above.
So eventually George, his parents and brothers Thomas and Henry left
that area and traveled west to Plympton, Lambton County and settled there. (Their brother, Isaac, stayed in Bathurst,
raised his family and eventually died there.)
The distance from the above mention Warwick to Plympton is about 9 miles.
Gardner Journal:
“I think it was about 1843-1844 that an
elder named John Baraman [Borrowman] brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to our
neighborhood. I did not oppose but I
went to their meetings to hear and judge for myself. The Methodist minister used
to hold meeting in his house but where the meeting come at the same time as the
Mormon meeting he would go two miles to hear what the Mormon's taught. I would
tell them they could go ahead hold their meeting. My wife and father and mother
would take care of them. They advised me not to go near them for if I did I
would be deceived but I went when I pleased and never went out of my way to
shun meeting them.
“In the beginning of January 1845 in
company with a few Saints we went a mile and half into the woods and cut a hole
in the ice about 18 inches thick and was there baptized in the township of
Brook in a stream called Brown's Creek. I was there baptized by his brother
William who had been ordain elder, and I was confirmed by another elder, named
Samuel Bolton, on a log by the water's edge that was the happiest day of my
life up to that date. I can't describe my [feelings] but I felt as humble as a
little child to think I had lived to have my sins remitted and received the
Holy Ghost. It being winter time there was little work done by me for he wanted
to spend all his time studying the scriptures and the Book of Mormon and other
latter-day work.”
John Borrowman is the same missionary
who taught great great grandparents George Corry and Margaret Climie. (article about John Borrowman: https://www.lds.org/ensign/1996/09/a-halfpenny-and-a-pearl?lang=eng
) George was baptized in 1843 and
Margaret in 1844.
From the Gardner Journal—leaving Canada
for Nauvoo:
“He soon got ready and started early in March. They went with horse teams. It was a very wet
time and very muddy. They traveled through Michigan and took the nearest route
for Nauvoo. The company met Brother
Archie, he having gone ahead we met him at Otaway on Fox River. They had
started to load ox teams some time before and they overtook them a few days
before they got to Nauvoo. Arrived at that place on the 6th day of April. They
were having conference and apostle Orson Hyde was in charge of affairs there
then for the main part of the church had gone west. The Canada company went to
conference and they stayed a few days and bought our fitout; such things as we
would need such as flour, corn meal and corn to parch to eat for food and such
things as we would need on the journey.”
George
and Margaret and their family were in this same group. Their son Andrew Corry was born 28 April 1846
in the wagon as they crossed the Fox River in Ilinois. We read in the Gardner Journal about when the
“Canada Company” arrived in Nauvoo and their brief experiences there before
leaving to follow the Saints who had already left in February. It is sad to note that George and Margaret
had five children when they lived in Plympton.
Two died there before they left for Nauvoo—Charlotte (1840) and
Elizabeth (1845). Their older daughter,
Janet and two others, Margaret and George, left Canada with their parents and
then Andrew was born as they crossed the Fox River. So now there are four living children arriving
in Nauvoo.
From the Gardner Journal: “We
crossed the Mississippi River and passed Montrose and went a few miles north
and camped. My father went up in Iowa
to try and trade horses for oxen but the oxen had been bought up and they were
scarce and could not be bought at any price. I had one Canadian horse that was
very bad with the heaves, but I was told he would get over it out west. I met a
man and inquired if he had any oxen to trade for this horse. He said, "No,
but I have a fine mare," he would give me for him. I went to see her, but
rode my horse very slow lest he would begin to heave. His mare was a very ? one,
but I had to give him 14 dollars to boot. I got on my mare and rode away and
thought I had done it.
“I rode about two miles and I met a man. He
asked me if I had bought that mare. I said "Yes, wasn't she a fine
one." He said "Yes, but she was stone blind;" that took me down
a notch. But I did not go back
“After that I traded that horse for one
yoke of cattle and I bought another yoke and a cow, went back to camp we then
rigged up our ox teams instead of horses and started west.
“We traveled about twelve miles and camped
for the night, 22 of May, 1846 in Lee County, Iowa. The next morning we fixed
mother and baby as comfortable as possible and started on for the companies
from Nauvoo was all ahead. And we loaded in more flour at Bonapart for we had
strengthened our teams and we were pushing on for the Missouri River expecting
to overtake the main camp of Saints there. By this time our company had got the
name of the Canada Company for we traveled so close together. There was in the company
John Park, William Park, David Park, and their families. James Hamilton and
family, James Kilfoyal and family, Samuel Bolton and daughter, James Crage,
John Baroman, George Coray and family, Andrew Coray
and family, Brother Johnes and family, and John Smith
and family, my brother William and family, Archibald and
family, father and mother Rodger Luckham and family, myself and family.”
Of course, the George Coray and family
is our George and Margaret. The Andrew
Coray is a mistaken first name since there wasn’t an Andrew Coray. I am 99 and 44/100 per cent sure that it
should be Thomas Corry and family.
Thomas is George’s older brother and he lived in Plympton with George. I’m pretty sure he was baptized and then left
the church probably in Winter Quarters and came back into Iowa where he lived
with his family and died. More about
Thomas soon.
Gardner
Journal: “Iowa was a new and thinly settled territory, and
many of the Saints were poor and not having teams to travel with was counseled
to stop where the land was not taken up and put in crops until they could help
themselves. They had settled a place
called Garden Grove and another called Mount Pisgah and other places. Some of
our camp began to drop off at some of these places and others went on. We
overtook what was known as Orson Hyde's camp near Mosquito Creek close by the
Missouri River. Here I began to see some of the suffering of the Saints. The
first night we come to Hyde's camp there come up a storm thundered and the wind
blew very hard so very hard rain. Next
morning it was painful to see the Saints with tents down (blown) down and wagon
covers tore off and everything wet with the rain.
“I went to one tent that was blown down and
found a woman sitting on the ground and a very young baby both shaking with the
ague and a number of larger children sitting around in their wet clothes,
shaking with the same disease, no one able to help the rest. I asked where her
husband was and she said he was called to go to Mexico to fight for Uncle Sam
[Mormon Battalion] who had driven us to the wilderness to endure these
hardships. I tried to gather up her tent but I could not; it was wore out. They
had been driven from Nauvoo in the dead of winter, in the depth of poverty,
traveling through deep snow. The men having to leave part of their family by
the wayside, and travel on perhaps for a week, then leave that part and go back
for the rest with the same team, until themselves nearly everything they had
was wore out. And many died by the way from hardships.
“We next traveled on a few miles to the main
camp at the liberty poll on Mosquito Creek where President Young and council
was making the rest of the 500 hundred men of the Mormon battalion to go to
Mexico.
“We then traveled on about half a day to a
camping ground near a grove of timber which was called Cutler Park. The season
now being so far spent and so many of our best young men gone to Mexico,
President Young thought best to go no further this fall but find winter
quarters, cut hay for our stock and start on early in the spring. A town site
was selected down the river called Winter Quarters. Streets, blocks and lots were layed out and
given out to the people. And in a few days a town of houses were in sight. Lots
of hay was cut and stock taken to herd grounds, a large log meeting house was
build and a good grist mill was built to grind our corn and wheat. Wood had to
be provided for the family of the men that had gone in the battalion and there
was a meat market erected and several blacksmith shops, shoe shops, chair
makers and nearly all kind of work as if the people was going to stay for
years.
“Men that could work had to work nearly night
and day, for many of the older was taken with a disease called the black leg
and was entirely helpless and many died with it. Their legs from their knees
down would get as black as a coal.
“On the account of having to stay there that
winter and use up their provisions many had to go to Missouri to work or trade
for provisions and seed to take with them across the plains for it was the
intention to start west early in the spring.
“Brother John Taylor and Parley P. Pratt arrived
in Winter Quarters, from a mission to England while the Saints was getting
ready and we traveled with them across the plains, the most of the company left
Winter Quarters and other places early in June, went to the Elk Horn River
about 20 miles there or near there we was organized into companies and we
started on the 15th of June.
Now some more about the starting west. At the
river where we was all camped at the Elk Horn we had to make a raft to take the
wagons over the river. It was made of logs and pulled across by a rope by men's
strength. We concluded to try ox strength instead of men which proved a success
but my wagon was the first try with oxen and we lacked experience and the team
started before the wagon was blocked or balanced being too near the hind end of
the raft and the rope being hitched to the front and raised it up and my wagon
and family and all I had began to roll back into the river. I caught the hind
wheel and held it until we was across but the raft was nearly on end but God
helped me and we were saved. Next the rope broke that pulled the raft and I
swam the river twice to get it tied and kept on ferrying in my wet clothes
which gave me the chills and fever again and they stayed with me half way
across the plains.
“The company was divided into hundreds, fifties,
and tens, each having a captain; Apostle John Taylor was in our company. It was
all smooth traveling until we got about one hundred miles to a place, Pawnee
village, a deserted Indian town. The train stopped to fix a bridge and I being
several teams back I started on to help. I had gone but a few steps when my
nigh leader turned out to get a bit of green grass. My eldest boy, Robert R.,
being in the wagon and being very careful stepped down of the tongue of the
wagon to stand at their head till I come back. So the night wheeler kicked,
throwing him under the wheel then started up the wagon running both wheels over
his bowels. I was near enough but could not save him. We laid him in the wagon
and started on that afternoon and after awhile he got out and ran and played to
show me he was not much hurt to try and make us feel better, but he soon got
into the wagon and never got out again without help. He lived till we traveled
several hundred miles and died on Deer Creek on the Platte River. He seemed to
fail every day. He was hurt in his kidneys and suffered fifty deaths. He lived
till there was nothing left but he shin and bones. I had to drive my team all
day and sit up and hold him all night and see him suffer all the time.
“With many other difficulties we made our
way over rivers through the canyons and over the mountains and reached Salt
Lake Valley. At the mouth of emigration canyon on October 1, 1847 my wagon was
badly broken, my team nearly given out, and myself wore out. We looked over the
valley there was not a house to be seen nor anything to make one of. But we was
glad to see a resting place. And felt to thank God for the same. We then drove
down to the camping place, afterwards calling the Old Fort. It is now in the
lower part of Salt Lake City. I unyoked my oxen and sat down on my broken wagon
tongue and said I could not go another day's journey, and the rest of the folks
was nearly as bad off as me but they did not have so much sickness as I had in
my family. But that was happy day for us all, for we knew that was a place
where we could worship God according to the dictations of our own conscience,
and mobs would not come, at least for awhile.
George and Margaret lost two more children at Winter Quarters: Margaret and George, both in 1846. They are buried in Florence, Nebraska, (which was formerly Winter Quarters) in a private cemetery not open to the public. By the time they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, only two of their six children were left, Janet, the oldest who was born in Canada and Andrew, their youngest at the time, who was born in Illinois while crossing the Fox River.
George and Margaret lost two more children at Winter Quarters: Margaret and George, both in 1846. They are buried in Florence, Nebraska, (which was formerly Winter Quarters) in a private cemetery not open to the public. By the time they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, only two of their six children were left, Janet, the oldest who was born in Canada and Andrew, their youngest at the time, who was born in Illinois while crossing the Fox River.
“All of the families that belonged to the
Canada Company that reached Salt Lake at this time was John William and David
Park and their families, George Coray and family,
Rodger Luckham and family, my father and mother, William Archibald and myself
and our family, Rodger Luckham's wife was my sister, James Crage come with the
pioneers, and John Baraman went with the battalion and to the valley by way of
California. The rest of the company stayed back till they got ready by getting
teams and fitout. Some stayed back and apostatized.” (This included Thomas
Corry and family who stayed in Iowa as mentioned above.)
