Hannah Elida Baldwin Pt2 (Immigrating to Utah)

Hannah Elida Baldwin Crosby
in her 30s or 40s

Moving to Nauvoo

     When Jesse Wentworth Crosby who was serving a mission in the east and had been recuperating in Lowell Massachusetts left to return to Nauvoo, Hannah Elida Baldwin decided to go with him.  They left Lowell on March 12th of 1845.  In Boston on March 29, 1845 they joined Elder George B. Wallace and his younger sister Sarah E. Wallace, and headed to Nauvoo together with a group of other Mormons.[1]  The group went to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, then down the Ohio and up the Mississippi, arriving in Nauvoo April 25, 1845.[2] This trip would be XXX miles by land and 1355 miles by boat and would take them 45 days.

Hannah Elida Baldwin's Trip to Nauvoo Illinois

Getting Married

     Jesse Wentworth Crosby and Hannah Elida Baldwin were married in Nauvoo on 23 Nov 1845 by Brigham Young. The Nauvoo temple was not completed so they could not be sealed at this time. "The couple was endowed in the Nauvoo Temple on January 10, 1846 and then was sealed for eternity in the temple on January 28, 1846. Indeed, the temple figured prominently in their lives. As they were preparing to move west, Jesse labored a total of 262 days on the Nauvoo Temple construction between June of 1845 and May of 1846."[3] Later Hannah Elida Baldwin Crosby would serve as a temple worker in the St. George Temple for 30 years.[4]

Wedding Certificate of Jesse W. Crosby and Hannah E. Baldwin
Dated 23 Nov 1845, Showing them Married by Brigham Young[5]

Original Picture of  the
Nauvoo Temple circa 1847

Preparing for the Trek to Utah

     The movement westward had begun just 3 months after their marriage and so as Jesse and Hannah considered their situation they decided that they needed to get the savings which Hannah had accumulated while working in the mills at Lowell, Massachusetts. Hannah had left this with her family in Clinton Maine. We learn about this trip from Jesse's journal and letters between him and Hannah. When Jesse and Hannah made it to Keokuk Iowa on the Mississippi River Hannah left on her trip to Maine. Hannah left Keokuk on 10 Jul 1846 and was 5 months pregnant with her first child. Jesse received a letter from Hannah on the 8th of August that she wrote on 15 Jul. I include a part of Jesse's response to show how he felt about his wife:

Part of a letter from Jesse to Hannah written 8 Aug 1846[6]

     While Jesse worked for two Mormons who owned a mill in Farmington, Iowa, Hannah made her way to Maine.  During her trip, the pregnant young woman caught malaria (“fever and the ague” her doctor called it).  By the time she arrived in Fairfield, Maine, she could not move.  On August 24, 1846 she wrote to Jesse from Clinton:

Part of a letter from Hannah to Jesse written 24 Aug 1846[6]

     When Jesse received this letter it was on 23 September 1846, he immediately started for Maine and arrived on the 21st of October, four days before their first child was born. So George Henry Crosby was born in Clinton Maine. Jesse and Hannah stayed in Clinton until 14 January when they moved to Lowell for three months remaining "among friends"[7]. They waited until a company of "Saints" were ready to go west with them. They departed Lowell on 12 April. They made their way across the land to Saint Louis where they arrived on 1 May 1947. From there they found a steamer and traveled the Missouri River all the way to Council Bluffs Iowa arriving there on the 24th of May.

Jesse Wentworth and Hannah Elida Crosby with their son George Henry In Lowell MA April 1847

The Trek to Zion

     By the Time Jesse, Hannah and George arrived at winter quarters Brigham Young's advance company had already left. Jesse and Hannah somehow acquired a wagon and team and supplies and departed on the 5th of Jun 1847 as part of the Daniel Spencer/Perregrine Session Company.[8] Despite the conditions, Hannah Baldwin Crosby insisted on maintaining an clean and organized camp for her family.  One granddaughter, Mary Karma Crosby Stalker wrote in her biographical sketch of Hannah: "While crossing the plains [Jesse] suggested [Hannah] leave the dishes to wash when they got to their next camp, but Hannah could not do such a thing.  She was very neat and clean and a wonderful manager.  They had a cow and they carried milk in a small covered barrel on the back of the wagon and each night when they camped, there would be chunks of butter on top of the milk. Many times she divided the milk with her neighbors."
   The family arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on September 24, 1847.[8] I can only imagine that life for Hannah during the trek to the Salt Lake Valley was not an easy one. She had her first child, George Henry, who was 7 and 1/2 months old at the outset of the journey. However, as always Hannah showed great commitment and perseverance.

Other Posts on Hannah Elida Baldwin Crosby
    Hannah Elida Baldwin part1 The Early Years


Sources
1.  The History and Journal of Jesse W. Crosby.
2.  The History and Journal of Jesse W. Crosby.  The group must have divided at some point, for Elder George B. Wallace arrived in Nauvoo April 8, 1845, per his online journal http://www.usgennet.org/usa/nh/town/epsom/history/wallace.htm - accessed August 11, 2012).
3.  Connell O. Donovan, Mill Girl & Committee Member of the Lowell LDS Benevolent Sewing Society, downloaded from http://connellodonovan.com/hannah_baldwin.html on 13 Aug 2012.
4.  Mary Karma Crosby Stalker, Hannah Elida Baldwin Crosby: Biographical Sketch
5. Marriage Certificate scanned from "Jesse Wentworth Crosby Mormon Preacher - Pioneer - Man of God", by Samuel Wallace Crosby, 
6. Letter text copied from "Jesse Wentworth Crosby Mormon Preacher - Pioneer - Man of God", by Samuel Wallace Crosby, Note that it is not an actual picture of the letter.
7. Jesse served as the branch president in Lowell and Hannah served on the Benevolent Sewing Society so I am sure that they had lots of friends there. 
8. http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/library/pioneercompanysearch/0,15773,3966-1-2068,00.html