The two of us might know more than most non-Mormons about the early history of the Latter Day Saints and especially of their time in Nauvoo since Karen has an ancestor that professed the faith in Nauvoo but then chose to not join the Saints when they migrated to Salt Lake City even though his second wife was determined to follow Brigham Young to the Promised Land and wintered in Council Bluffs. In search of more understanding of this part of family history we made our way today to the Mormon Trail Center at Historic Winter Quarters administered by the Mormon Church. One of the things that struck us in the introductory video was how the vast majority of the Mormon migrants were city folk and unprepared for the covered wagon journey. Another surprising aspect was how widely spread they were during the Winter 1846-47. Although many lived near where the center now stands in Omaha, Nebraska, many more were dispersed widely on the eastern side of the Missouri River. From our experience doing some family research when we visited Nauvoo, we hoped for records of those Mormons who wintered here and those who joined the Mormon batallion but all they have is a list those buried in the cemetery across the street. No new family history here but a little poking around the internet later in the day revealed that Great Great Uncle William is credited with discovering the first gold in the Comstock lode near Dayton NV in 1850 and naming the place Gold Canyon. Though he didn’t stay to pursue a claim but rather headed on to the California gold fields, as he traveled he spread the word of gold and sparked the Nevada gold rush. We wish we’d known that when we visited Virginia City in 2018!
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