Ensign & Stewart — Life as members of the first company of Latter Day Saint pioneers to come to Utah in 1847
Compiled By Wendy Kay Smith
The vanguard company was the group who went ahead of the main group of pioneers with Brigham Young to find the place to settle and to prepare a way for the rest of the pioneers. In this company there were 142 Men, 3 woman and 2 children. 72 wagons were in the company. The men were organized into one regiment with 14 groups of 10 or more. (1)
Horace Datus Ensign Jr was selected to be in the Vanguard Company of Pioneers with Brigham Young. He was 21 years ago and the oldest son of Horace Datus Ensign Sr and Mary Bronson Ensign. Horace Datus Sr died at Winter Quarters in Nov 1846 leaving Mary and 6 children to cross the plains alone. Horace Datus Ensign was in the 7th Ten with James Case as the captain.
James Wesley Stewart was selected to be in the Vanguard Company with Horace Datus. He was 22 years old. He was the oldest son of George and Ruthinda Baker Stewart. George died in Dallas County Missouri leaving Ruthy and 9 children to cross the plains alone. James Wesley Stewart was in the 8th Ten with Seth Taft as the captain
I can only imagine how Ruthy and Mary must have felt as their sons left to join Brigham Young and the vanguard company. I am sure they were very proud and honored that they were selected to go with that first group with the Prophet and some of the Apostles. At the same time, it was hard for them when they depended on Horace and James for so much since their husbands passed away. But knowing what I know of the great faith of these women I am sure they knew that the Lord would help them with their needs.
The group started out from Winter Quarters Nebraska on April 5, 1847 and arrived in Salt Lake valley on July 24, 1847. The went 1031 miles in 111 days. This trip was not a leisurely or easy one. Brigham Young demanded that the company be disciplined they rose to the sound of bugle every morning at 5:00 am, that same bugle let them know that it was time for prayers and it was time to move on and when it was time for bed at 8:30pm. (2)
“Stephen Markham was appointed captain of the guard and was instructed to select out of the camp 50 men in whom he could place implicit confidence. These were to be the standing guard to watch the camp at night, 12 of them to act as sentries at a time, and there were to be two parities of 12 every night, each party to perform guard duty one-half of the night. In cases where the horses and cattle were staked out to graze at night some distance from the camp an extra guard was to be selected from the balance of the company, the standing guard not being permitted to leave the immediate vicinity of the wagons.” (3)
Horace was one of those men who Brother Markham implicitly trusted and had confidence in and was selected to be a member of the guard. There were many nights that Horace stood guard even when it was bitter cold and sometimes with not much to eat. (4)
When they reached the Platt River in Wyoming they built a ferry to get the wagons across the river. This was called the “Mormon Ferry”. James Stewart was one of the men who helped to build the ferry. They left 9 men behind to operate the ferry and the helped many people cross that river.
Once they arrived in the Salt Lake valley, they began plowing the land so they could plant crops for food for themselves and the others that would be coming. Martin Luther Ensign, Horace’s’ brother talks about the plowing in his autobiography “They (Horace Datus and Burr Frost) took a plow ready stocked and were the first to plow a furrow, going a few rods and broke the beam. (The remains of this plow, after bring worn out were put in a museum as a relic). (5)
James Wesley Stewart helped to dig the irrigation ditch to bring water to the newly planted crops. (6)
After spending three weeks in the valley getting things ready for those who would come after them. Brigham Young and many others including Horace and James started back across the plains to meet their families. Little did they know that soon they would be brothers-in-law when Horace married James’s sister Eliza Jane Stewart.
Sources:
- https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/chd/organization/pioneer-company/brigham-young-vanguard-company-1847?lang=eng
- Ronald O. Barney, The Mormon Vanguard Brigade of 1847: Norton Jacob’s Record, Login Utah, 2005: Utah State University Press, page 107.
- Andrew Jenson, Day by Day with the Utah Pioneers 1847: A chronological record of the trek across the plains, Provo, Utah: Griffin Associates, 1997, page 12.
- Hal Knight & Dr Stanley B Kimball, 111 Days to Zion: Day-by-Day Trek of the Mormon Pioneers”, Salt Lake City, Utah: Big Moon Traders, 1997, page 59.
- Ensign, Martin Luther, “Autobiography of Martin Luther Ensign”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KWJ6-SKC: accessed 23 July 2022), pages 2-3).
- “The Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City)”, obituary, March 29, 1913, page 5, entry for James Wesley Stewart; Film# 008649696, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3HY-Z9WY-Q?i=660&cat=298158: accessed 23 July 2022), image 661 of 687.