Above is an infographic from The Trek West page of history.lds.org.
The first section shows major events that took place in the lives of pioneers before and after they survived the trek to the Salt Lake Valley. The graphic depicts the timeline of the lives of two pioneer women whose lives spanned a 200-year period.
Mary Ann Pulver VanLeuven (28 March 1768 – 7 April 1861) was approximately 84 years of age and a widow when she crossed the plains with the Robert Wimmer Company. Prior to embarking on the trek west, she witnessed many events from the Declaration of Independence to the first Saints departing Nauvoo, Illinois, and following Brigham Young to Utah. She was the daughter of John and Mary Ann (Spenser) Pulver. She married John VanLeuven in 1790. He passed away in 1847. She was also the mother of 12 children: Cornelius, John, Ransom, Frederick Matthew, David, Carson, Davis, Ann, Elizabeth “Betsey”, Calvin, and Benjamin. Benjamin and Frederick took her to San Bernardino, California, by wagon train. She was captured by Indians en route and stripped naked before they where able to rescue her. They were among the first to bring oranges and citrus to Southern California. Many of their descendents still live in the area.
Hilda Anderson Erickson (11 November 1859 – 1 January 1968) was born in Ledso, Skaraborg, Sweden. She was the daughter of Pehr Anderson and Maria Kathrina Larson Anderson. She was the wife of John August Erickson and had 2 children, Amy Dorothy Erickson Hicks and John Perry Erickson. She had 3 siblings, John Pehr, Claus, and Charles Pehr Anderson. She trekked across the United States as a young girl. During her lifetime she witnessed events from the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad to the first successful human mission to space.
The second section of the infographic shows a day in the life of a pioneer traveling with a wagon train. In order to accomplish everything that needed to be done in a day’s time, the pioneers had to make a schedule to include making all of their food from scratch, as well as taking care of any accidents that might occur and repairs to their wagons.
The third section of the infographic is a Then and Now comparison.
Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having been born and raised Baptist. He was studying to be a Baptist minister at the time of his conversion to the LDS faith. He was baptized on 10 March 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland while serving on active duty in the United States Navy in Keflavic, Iceland. He currently serves as the First Assistant to the High Priest Group for the Annapolis, Maryland Ward. He is a 30-year honorably retired United States Navy Veteran.
Watch a video about the restoration of the gospel on lds.org
Mary Ann Pulver Van Leuven was my 4th great grandmother. I was excited to locate this little bit of history about her. I did not know that she was one of the original Mormon settlers in Utah. In fact, I did not know that most of my Van Leuven ancestors were Mormons! My 3rd great grandmother, Elizabeth (Betsey) was the renegade member of the family who did not follow the rest of the Van Leuven family west. She was married to my 3rd great grandfather, Ambrose Roswell, and their family came from Canada into Ohio, where they lived and died. I would like to know why they did not become Mormon and follow the rest of their family, including her mother Mary Ann, to Utah. The history of the settlement of this country is so very interesting!
Linda Barta