Samuel Carter was born on 22 June 1815, in Thornton Hough, Cheshire, UK. He married Hannah Huntingdon in 1836 in Liverpool. She was born on 2 June 1806. In 1862 they sailed from Liverpool on the William Tapscott, arriving in New York on 16 July. They had four children, and a further three born in USA.
Their trip was funded by the Perpetual Emigration Fund. They are listed in the passenger manifest:
Samuel Carter 45
Anna do 57 (Hannah)
William H do 17
Fredrick 13
John 7
“The trip of 1862 was the third voyage, and carried the largest company – 807 Saints sailed on 14 May 1862. Prior to the vessel’s departure Apostles Amasa M. Lyman, Charles C. Rich, and George Q. Cannon came aboard and organized the company. Elder William Gibson was appointed president, and his counselors were Elders John Clark and Francis M. Lyman. The Saints were then divided into nineteen wards, and during the voyage prayers were held morning and evening. After a successful forty-two-day passage the ship reached New York on 25 June. ” http://www.celestialfamily.org/Genealogy/histories/Tapscott.html
A Typical Day Onboard Ship
The historian Leonard Arrington wrote:
“The companies arose at an early hour, made their beds, cleaned their assigned portion of the ship, and threw the refuse overboard. At seven they assembled for prayer, after which breakfast was had. All were required to be in their berths ready for retirement at eight o’clock. Church services were held morning and evening of each day, weather permitting. Many of the companies had excellent choirs which sang for the services. During the time of passage, which occupied something like a month, concerts, dances, contests, and entertainments of various types were held. Schools were held almost daily for both adults and children. The classes were particularly popular with Scandinavians who learned English en route” (Great Basin Kingdom [1958], 103).
“It was then typical to take a steamer up the Hudson River to Albany. During the next few days, they saw Niagara Falls, after crossing a suspension bridge into Canada. They then went to Windsor and crossed over to Detroit, They left by railway for Chicago, arriving the next morning. From Chicago they boarded a first class carriage to Quincy and then took another steamer and moved up the Mississippi to Hannibal, Missouri. From there left went by rail to St. Joseph, Missouri. From St. Joseph they took another steamer to Florence, Nebraska.”
Wagon Train
They made the long overland trip to Utah by wagon train, travelling in the Henry W. Miller Company. It set out on 5 or 8 August 1862, and arrived on 17-18 October 1862. 665 individuals and 60 wagons were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Florence, Nebraska (now Omaha).
“On Friday, 17th; about noon, the fifth church train, Capt. H[enry]. W. Miller; arrived, in which were about six hundred and fifty immigrants, and sixty wagons. It seems there was considerable sickness in the company on the plains; and about thirty deaths, mostly children. The teams generally returned in very good condition. “Arrival of Trains,” Deseret News [Weekly], 22 Oct. 1862
Samuel’s family was listed in the company register:
Carter, Fredrick 15
Carter, Hannah Huntington 54
Carter, John Huntington 10
Carter, Samuel 47
Carter, William Huntington 19
Source: Mormon Pioneer Database
Hannah died on 24 July 1876 in Springville, Utah, and is buried in Springville Cemetary, Block 13 Lot 4.
In 1879 Samuel married Sarah James, with whom he had a daughter, Sarah Maud on 18 April 1881.
He died on 6 March 1888 in Springville, Utah. Samuel and Hannah’s daughter, Eleanor, also emigrated with her husband John Parry and their children sometime between 1872 and 1874.
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