The following letter was written by various members of the Floyd family. We learn from the letter that Enoch Floyd (1808-1855) and Sarah Ingersoll (Harvey) Floyd (1816-1889) made the overland journey from the Great Salt Lake over the Sierra Mountains to the vicinity of Sacramento in the spring of 1856 with their family of five children. They were Enoch Harvey Floyd (1834-1860), Lyman Floyd (1837-1863), Leonard Floyd (1837-1916), Sarah Elizabeth Floyd (1841-1866) and Julia Ann Floyd (1852-1860). Two of their youngest daughters, Martha and Lucy died within days on each other in 1853 probably from some childhood disease. The family resided in Newbury, Essex county, Massachusetts, before making the overland journey.
Transcription
June 27, 1854
i now am in california but where in hell i can nont tell you yet a while but we had a fine time from salt lake heer we had 8 wagons in ower compeny about 150 miles down the humbolt we came to mud slew about a quarter of a mile long and about half of the distans we had to pack the goods in the mud up to hour asses and have ont to stidy us through and we had to ferry in our wagon boxes across the steemes we started from salt lake the 4 of aprill we had 7 cows when we started frome there one of them got poisand and we sold her for 25 doars and when we got up to bairriver one more had a calf and laid down the wolves bit her tail off snug up and tore hur bag all to peaces we sold hur for 20 dollars and she dide the next day when we got up to carsan valey we had one stray from us that we could have sold for a 100 dollars
we are now in prairie sitty all well at this time Enoch is in hangtown to work in the mines for 60 dollars a moth and his board lyman and i have not got enny work yet they are agoin to opin a new mine here and we think taking up a claim or tow and see how we can makit i don’t know of enny thing more to writ
from your obedident servant—Leonard Floyd
Dear frien i will write a few lines i have not got rested enough yet to write or do much else we have had a very tedious journey from Salt Lake here we was from the 4 of April to the 25 of june geting to hangtown or placerville 800 miles from Salt Lake i had rather come from kanesville to Salt Lake 4 times than to come from there here once we are all well but about tired out crosing the siera nevada mountains is enough to kill anybody or thing that ever stood on feet we were one whole day climbing one mountain one and a half miles it is like going up and down the roof of a house with the exception of the sharp edge and rocks in the road as high as the wagon bodys the rocky mountains is nothing to compare to these.
Enoch has kept a journal of Our journey and some time some of us will will write it enoch is 30 miles from us now.
[in a different hand]
if you read this you will do well write as soon as you get this and direct it to sacramento we are 20 miles north of it but where we shall stop i do not know but we shall get the letter When we had all of the goods out of our wagon we had on nine yoke of Oxen to our wageon that would girt from 6 to 7 ft and we spird and sashed them til the blud run their sides to take the empty [wagons] over the siinavada Mountain. Enoch Floyd, Jr.
July 1 since the above was writen we have moved within 5 miles of sacramento Leonard and Lyman are at work for two dollars per day for A short time and their board board is from 6 to 9 dollars per week for constant boarders transient ones more when we got to Carson valley we expected to wait for the snow to go of the carson route so Enoch came on ahead of us he had to pay 11 dollars A week but he got work and i hope will do well but we came the joHnson cut off this road is worse than the other but no snow in the road.
this is A mixed up letter but never mind as long as we know how better in hangtown they have up bets so i am told as high as fifteen hundred dollars to see who will go down to Carson valley and steal the most cattle from emigrants the whites are A great deal worse than the indians the indians seldom troubel any companies unless they are as small as from 5 to 8 men than they will steal their cattle and sometimes fire upon the men but where there is from 15 to 25 men there is no trouble we had 22 men Mr Silas Barn[e]s from Boston with his family came through with us from Salt Lake he lived there two years and A half 1 and Mr. William Paterson formily of haverhill Mass.
We had no serious sickness in our family or company nor Deaths little Julia is cuting Double teeth and it makes her rather cross but she is a good littl girl Sarah send her love to grandmother and grandfather and all the rest of the folks if you could see the style that i write in you would say it is time to say good by till A more conveint time. so good by — Sarah I. Floyd
1 Silas P. Barnes was born in Deering, New Hampshire in 1805. He moved to Boston as a young man and married Olive Chapman. In 1851, he settled up his business in Boston and embracing the doctrines taught by Joseph Smith, made his way with his family of nine children to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where they joined a caravan of 60 wagons to journey to Salt Lake City. They lived near Dry Creek until Indian troubles threatened danger and in so they decided in April 1854 to go to California. After a three month’s journey they reached the Golden State and settled in Yolo county. Silas died there in 1888.
Spared & Shared 23 