A Day In The Life With Sarah Rousseau
Excerpts from Sarah J. Rousseau’s wagon train diary.
July 29, 1864
Friday
Our horses, poor things, were about to give out. … It was said about 2 or 3 miles further we would find good grass and water, and the conclusion was we should go that much further and stop. … But the company is divided, some for going on, while others for staying. … Mr. Earp said he would rather stay… but the decision was left to Mr. Curtis and he said to go on although he was aware our horses were nearly give out.
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July 31, 1864
Sunday
This day is the Sabbath, how unprofitable have we spent it. Mr. Earp got angry with the whole train because they passed him, he took it as an insult, talked pretty hard to all, some thought he had taken a little too much liquor. … He told the whole train he would give up his Captaincy unless they would adhere to the rules he gave.
October 4, 1864 (Petersburg, UT)
Tuesday
Mr. Hatten [sic] and his family are making preparations to go with us in about two weeks to Southern California. They are Mormons from the Old Country. They appear to be a very friendly people.
October 5, 1864
Wednesday
One of the oxen Mr. Earp had was seen this morning with an arrow shot in his shoulder. Mr. Earp came pretty near getting us all in trouble with his temper, swearing and cutting up. The Chief [Kanosh] got dreadfully mad at him and swore at him. … Mr. Hatten was close by … tried to explain to Kanoss [sic], and get Mr. Earp and him to shake hands. … Mr. Hatten at last got Kanoss and Earp to shake hands, and I hope that will be the last of it.
October 18, 1864
Tuesday
Last night the Dr., Messrs. Earp, Curtis, [and] Hamilton met out at Mr. Hatton’s for the purpose of reorganizing our company for the remaining portion of our journey from Petersburg (commonly called Corn Creek) to Southern California. Writing down certain regulations to be governed by. All that go in our train with us shall sign their names or go in some other way.
Meet the Characters: Nicholas Earp & Richard Hatton
Copyright: Janelle Molony
Nicholas Porter Earp (51), dipsomaniac father of ten, set his sights on the fruitful lands of San Bernardino, California after a lone mining trip he’d been on years before. With the election of Governor Wm. Stone, the provost marshal and recruiter was hard-pressed to meet draft quotas and confronted with Black citizenship in Marion County, Iowa. Earp promptly retired, packed up his farm, his socialite wife, five young children, and a mysterious cowhand escaping the Confederacy. The military man knew the roads and wasn’t afraid of firing guns. This made him an easy hire (or elect) as wagon master besides Dr. “Do No Harm” Rousseau, Baptist reverend and draft evader Curtis, and placid Methodist preacher Hamilton. As long as everyone obeyed Earp, no trouble would be had.
Richard Henry Hatton (39) and wife Elizabeth (42), both working children from the Industrial Revolution, married shortly after emigrating to the U.S. They lived in Illinois for eight years before migrating on foot in 1853 toward the Mormon Zion of “Deseret.” In Fillmore, the territorial capital of Utah, several waves of Putrid Throat (Diphtheria) besieged residents and by 1863, five of the seven Hatton children had died. Their 14-year old and 9-year old worked as stagecoach drivers, while Mr. Hatton was postmaster of Petersburg, later renamed Hatton.
After a series of violent encounters with tribal warriors in July, Earp’s manners were all but lost. The Pahvant tribe, led by Chief Kanosh, had established a thirteen-year friendship with the Mormon community and a reputation for protecting their White neighbors. To get across the Mohave Desert, the Pella Company would need a leader with more diplomacy. Mr. Hatton’s new assignment proved, as President Lincoln has been quoted, “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”
More on Sarah Rousseau’s experience in the Corn Creek Settlement and through the Moapa Valley (Coming Soon!)
Researcher Comments
Cleanliness Versus Godliness: Diphtheria, a highly contagious bacterial infection, was nicknamed the “strangling angel of children” and a scourge that could fatally suffocate its’ victims within 72 hours. Treatments included salt gargles and a semi-toxic bloodroot salve used as an expectorant. Non-Mormon emigrants were blamed in the papers for bringing the sickness into towns they passed through. As a preventative measure, local Utah leaders insisted travelers remain camped outside of town, which, in all likelihood, helped the Pella Company skirt the deadly disease that claimed the lives of the Hatton children.
More on the characters
FindAGrave.com – Richard: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/43111467/richard-hatton
FindAGrave.com – Elizabeth: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20014867/elizabeth-hatton
FindAGrave.com – Kanosh: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29638434/chief-kanosh
Utah Historical Profile:
https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/k/KANOSH.shtml
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For an exclusive interview with Earp family expert, Nicholas Cataldo, see below!
Excerpts come from Across the Plains by Sarah Jane Rousseau, 1864. Interpretative material by Janelle Molony, family researcher and author of the creative narrative based on the Pella Company, From Where I Sat. The original Diary covers May 13, 1864, to December 18, 1864, and includes locations from Pella, Iowa to San Bernardino, California. (NOT available for public resale or distribution.)
Author Byline
Janelle Molony is the g-g-g-granddaughter of Dr. James and Sarah Rousseau and current family historian. With the cooperation of other descendants, Molony is authoring a novel based on the 1864 wagon train.
For questions, or to interview the historian regarding the novel project, please Contact Me.
Special thanks to the Pella Historical Society (https://www.pellahistorical.org/) and San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society (http://www.sbhistoricalsociety.com/) for your cooperation and support!