Life Onboard a Mormon Emigrant Ship
The following was written by David H. Pratt and Paul F. Smart:
Below are some excerpts taken from a research article relating to conditions aboard emigrant ships. The article was written by an Assistant Professor and Ph.D. from Brigham Young University and the Supervisor of the British Reference Section for the Genealogical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is documented with forty-six references taken from various journals and texts.
Almost from the time The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1830, members of the Church were encouraged to gather to the headquarters of the Church. . . . From then until the end of the century, over eighty-five thousand members of the Church left Europe to come to America.
Their reasons for coming can be seen in the testimony of one emigrant: “I believed in the principal of the gathering and felt it my duty to go although it was a severe trial to me, in my feelings to leave my native land and the pleasing associations that I had formed there; but my heart was fixed. I knew in whom I had trusted and with the fire of Israel’s God burning in my bosom, I forsook my home.”
Although some ships left from London and Bristol, England, and from Hamburg, Germany, most left from Liverpool, England, where the Church set up a shipping office in 1849.
For his fare, each passenger was supposed to receive a portion of a berth, some food and water, and free passage for the first hundred pounds of baggage. . . . By 1850, each passenger was supposed to receive three quarts of water daily and the following rations weekly: two and one-half pounds of breadstuff, one pound of wheaten flour, five pounds of oatmeal, two pounds of rice, two ounces of tea, half a pound of sugar, half a pound of molasses, and one gill of vinegar.
Those who could afford to, secured extra provisions while they waited to sail. . . .
The naive emigrant, however, would not bring extra food or food of the right kind. He had to pay dearly for some of the ship’s private provisions once he was at sea if he wanted a more varied menu or if the journey took longer than planned. Under such trying conditions, a new mother might lose her milk, and adequate food for infants was usually unavailable. Besides extra foodstuffs, the passengers were expected to bring a straw-filled mattress, bedding, cooking utensils, and provision boxes. Utensils usually included cutlery, a tin plate, drinking can, tin quart pot, and the ubiquitous chamber pot.
Even though the emigrants were on board, they had to pass a medical examination before their passage was guaranteed. . . . As the ships at last set sail, there were many tender moments. “The vessel began to move out of dock,” one man recalled, “and what feelings of anguish stole upon my mind as I gazed upon my parents and relatives, perhaps never, never to see them again until we meet in an eternal world.” The life of the emigrants would never be the same.
Life on board emigrant ships was beset with many problems, not the least of which was overcrowding. . . . Four to six persons were packed into berths of wooden slats measuring six feet square. Two people might share a berth six feet long and three feet wide. The berths were arranged along both sides of the ship in double or triple tiers. . . . The hatches had to be closed during storms, but it might be wet below. . . . A constant characteristic of the steerage was the stench. . . .William Clayton wrote that “such sickness, vomiting, groaning and bad smells I never witnessed before and added to this the closeness of the berths almost suffocated us for want of air.”
Most of the passengers, and sometimes the crew, were seasick the first few days at sea. . . . Many blessings of health were given to those who requested them.
A typical menu for a week might be the following: Monday, rice; Tuesday, oatmeal; Wednesday, pork and potatoes; Thursday, rice again; Friday, oatmeal; and Saturday, pork and potatoes again.
. . .The water was frequently foul before the journey’s end. It was often drawn from an impure source, stored in rotten casks, or unchanged if there were a surplus from the previous trip. The vinegar ration could be used to dilute the taste and smell of water gone bad. . . . But what about the mother who lost her milk, did not have enough, or became seriously ill? In 1866, the one-year-old daughter of William Driver nursed on cold tea and sugar, sucked baked flour through a tube, and survived on a donated can of condensed milk.
“Our cooking arrangements consisted of a [galley] about four feet long, and three feet wide. The top full of holes over which to place vessels to boil. . . .” (In those days all did their own cooking.)
The ship’s president, appointed by the presiding Church authority in England and sustained by the emigrants . . . would also divide the steerage into smaller units, usually called wards, each with its own priesthood leader to conduct morning and evening prayers and to help keep order. . . . The size of a ward apparently depended on the number of Melchizedek Priesthood bearers, the space arrangements, and the discretion of the president.
A typical day on board ship began at 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. with a wake-up call from a bell or a trumpet, or from the frantic rolling of the ship. Cleaning was followed by prayers at 7:00 or 7:30 a.m. and then breakfast. The emigrants would pray again at 7:00 p.m. and retire at 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. The rest of the day’s activities were as diverse as dawdling in boredom or admiring a splendid sunset to singing, dancing, and giving concerts. . . . Tea parties and other celebrations were common.
Schools were conducted for both children and adults in English, French, and other subjects. . . . No account of the emigrants’ activities would be complete without mention of the religious services. . . . Meetings were often held Tuesday and Thursday evenings and two or three times each Sunday. There was usually preaching and, on Sundays, the sacrament and sometimes testimonies.
Finally, the long journey came to an end. To the emigrants, who had not seen land for weeks, the shore was beautiful. . . . All in all, the history of the Mormon migration is a story of success. With time, the life on board emigrant ships was made more secure, and the experience was used to fellowship converts into a new way of life and discipline them for survival in the Great Salt Lake Valley. Perhaps the words of William Clayton, one of the earliest emigrants, summarizes best the life and sacrifices of those who made the journey:
“It is impossible for pen to describe to you the difficulties you will have to endure. You must either come or suffer the vengeance of heaven, and for my part I will say that if I was in England now and had experienced all the journey it would not in the least deter me from coming. For I have often found that in the greatest seasons of suffering, we have the greatest cause of rejoicing. And so it has been with us for when we have been enduring things which we should once have thought impossible, even then were our happiest moments.”
Almost from the time The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1830, members of the Church were encouraged to gather to the headquarters of the Church. . . . From then until the end of the century, over eighty-five thousand members of the Church left Europe to come to America.
Their reasons for coming can be seen in the testimony of one emigrant: “I believed in the principal of the gathering and felt it my duty to go although it was a severe trial to me, in my feelings to leave my native land and the pleasing associations that I had formed there; but my heart was fixed. I knew in whom I had trusted and with the fire of Israel’s God burning in my bosom, I forsook my home.”
Although some ships left from London and Bristol, England, and from Hamburg, Germany, most left from Liverpool, England, where the Church set up a shipping office in 1849.
For his fare, each passenger was supposed to receive a portion of a berth, some food and water, and free passage for the first hundred pounds of baggage. . . . By 1850, each passenger was supposed to receive three quarts of water daily and the following rations weekly: two and one-half pounds of breadstuff, one pound of wheaten flour, five pounds of oatmeal, two pounds of rice, two ounces of tea, half a pound of sugar, half a pound of molasses, and one gill of vinegar.
Those who could afford to, secured extra provisions while they waited to sail. . . .
The naive emigrant, however, would not bring extra food or food of the right kind. He had to pay dearly for some of the ship’s private provisions once he was at sea if he wanted a more varied menu or if the journey took longer than planned. Under such trying conditions, a new mother might lose her milk, and adequate food for infants was usually unavailable. Besides extra foodstuffs, the passengers were expected to bring a straw-filled mattress, bedding, cooking utensils, and provision boxes. Utensils usually included cutlery, a tin plate, drinking can, tin quart pot, and the ubiquitous chamber pot.
Even though the emigrants were on board, they had to pass a medical examination before their passage was guaranteed. . . . As the ships at last set sail, there were many tender moments. “The vessel began to move out of dock,” one man recalled, “and what feelings of anguish stole upon my mind as I gazed upon my parents and relatives, perhaps never, never to see them again until we meet in an eternal world.” The life of the emigrants would never be the same.
Life on board emigrant ships was beset with many problems, not the least of which was overcrowding. . . . Four to six persons were packed into berths of wooden slats measuring six feet square. Two people might share a berth six feet long and three feet wide. The berths were arranged along both sides of the ship in double or triple tiers. . . . The hatches had to be closed during storms, but it might be wet below. . . . A constant characteristic of the steerage was the stench. . . .William Clayton wrote that “such sickness, vomiting, groaning and bad smells I never witnessed before and added to this the closeness of the berths almost suffocated us for want of air.”
Most of the passengers, and sometimes the crew, were seasick the first few days at sea. . . . Many blessings of health were given to those who requested them.
A typical menu for a week might be the following: Monday, rice; Tuesday, oatmeal; Wednesday, pork and potatoes; Thursday, rice again; Friday, oatmeal; and Saturday, pork and potatoes again.
. . .The water was frequently foul before the journey’s end. It was often drawn from an impure source, stored in rotten casks, or unchanged if there were a surplus from the previous trip. The vinegar ration could be used to dilute the taste and smell of water gone bad. . . . But what about the mother who lost her milk, did not have enough, or became seriously ill? In 1866, the one-year-old daughter of William Driver nursed on cold tea and sugar, sucked baked flour through a tube, and survived on a donated can of condensed milk.
“Our cooking arrangements consisted of a [galley] about four feet long, and three feet wide. The top full of holes over which to place vessels to boil. . . .” (In those days all did their own cooking.)
The ship’s president, appointed by the presiding Church authority in England and sustained by the emigrants . . . would also divide the steerage into smaller units, usually called wards, each with its own priesthood leader to conduct morning and evening prayers and to help keep order. . . . The size of a ward apparently depended on the number of Melchizedek Priesthood bearers, the space arrangements, and the discretion of the president.
A typical day on board ship began at 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. with a wake-up call from a bell or a trumpet, or from the frantic rolling of the ship. Cleaning was followed by prayers at 7:00 or 7:30 a.m. and then breakfast. The emigrants would pray again at 7:00 p.m. and retire at 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. The rest of the day’s activities were as diverse as dawdling in boredom or admiring a splendid sunset to singing, dancing, and giving concerts. . . . Tea parties and other celebrations were common.
Schools were conducted for both children and adults in English, French, and other subjects. . . . No account of the emigrants’ activities would be complete without mention of the religious services. . . . Meetings were often held Tuesday and Thursday evenings and two or three times each Sunday. There was usually preaching and, on Sundays, the sacrament and sometimes testimonies.
Finally, the long journey came to an end. To the emigrants, who had not seen land for weeks, the shore was beautiful. . . . All in all, the history of the Mormon migration is a story of success. With time, the life on board emigrant ships was made more secure, and the experience was used to fellowship converts into a new way of life and discipline them for survival in the Great Salt Lake Valley. Perhaps the words of William Clayton, one of the earliest emigrants, summarizes best the life and sacrifices of those who made the journey:
“It is impossible for pen to describe to you the difficulties you will have to endure. You must either come or suffer the vengeance of heaven, and for my part I will say that if I was in England now and had experienced all the journey it would not in the least deter me from coming. For I have often found that in the greatest seasons of suffering, we have the greatest cause of rejoicing. And so it has been with us for when we have been enduring things which we should once have thought impossible, even then were our happiest moments.”