John Moses Wyatt and Sarah Caroline Horsecroft

John Moses Wyatt was born May 22, 1829 in England. Sarah Caroline Horsecroft was born on January 25, 1829 in England as well. They are Steve's great-great-great grandparents, married on December 25, 1838.  About three years after they were married, John Moses was coming home from work in the evening when he was attracted by two Mormon missionaries who were holding an open air meeting. He afterward reported that the truth of their message came to him with great force. It seemed to him that the message they brought was what he had been waiting for. When he got home he said to his young wife, "Sarah, I have heard the true gospel that has been restore to the earth. Tomorrow evening we will go together and hear these messengers again." Without reservations they accepted the gospel and were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on June 21, 1852, by Frederick Moore and confirmed by Henry Hollis. The spirit of the Gathering was immediately manifest in their lives and preparations for immigration to America were made. They were immediately met with opposition. Their families became very bitter toward the church and tried to prevent them from bringing their young son John (Steve's great-great grandfather) with them by hiding him. Fortunately the boy was found in time for the family to leave with a company that sailed from Liverpool, England on February 23, 1853.   There were four hundred immigrants cramped in this small vessel. This was stormy season on the Atlantic. The passengers endured many hardships in the ten long weeks they were in crossing. The company reached New Orleans on April 23, 1853. They traveled up the Mississippi River to Iowa where they were organized in an ox team company and walked most of the way across the plains, experiencing many of the hardships incident to pioneer life. The threat of attack from Indians was ever present. Food and water was often scarce. Their second son, Charles, was born September 2, 1853 in Green River, Wyoming. They were not able to stop for the birth of the child because of the urgent need of water for camping. When they left England they were not aware that a child was on the way and had made no preparation for its arrival. As a result it was necessary to use pillow slips, underwear, and other available articles to provide for the infant's clothing. They struggled on in the face of these hardships and arrived in Salt Lake City, October 5, 1853, almost nine months from the time they left Liverpool. Before leaving England, Sarah had a dream in which she saw Brigham Young. As the company entered Salt Lake Valley they were met by Brigham Young. She pointed him out and said "there is the leader, and the man I saw in my dream". They lived in Salt Lake City for seven years working for Brigham Young. Five years after their arrival, in 1858, Brigham Young led the entire population of Salt Lake City as far south as Provo because of the threat posed by Johnson's Army. The saints took all their livestock with them. When they returned the Wyatt family found their home and garden in good condition. In the year 1860 they moved to Cache Valley. Their plans were to go to Providence but the Little Bear River was in flood, so they remained in Wellsville. The first year they lived in a dugout in the hill just east of the fort. Later they moved into the fort. The houses were close together because of the danger of Indian attacks and the men took turns acting as sentries to insure their safety. After some time the town was surveyed into blocks of ten acres each with eight lots to the block. The families purchased lots and built houses of logs with dirt floors. John Moses Wyatt bought the lot across the street west from where his son John Horsecroft later lived. A few years later the family moved to Franklin where they stayed only one summer. They returned to Wellsville and made this their home until their deaths. John Moses worked on the Logan Temple as a rock mason for one year and later he helped to build the school house. His wife Sarah, was always ready and willing to aid the sick and needy. She went many times to help sisters in confinement. She was the mother of eleven children, seven boys and four girls. Three of these children died in infancy. Two of her sons, John and Franklin filled missions to their native land of England. The family did much to build and sustain the Church and community in this pioneer period. Sarah was a brave and hardy woman. On one occasion after they had moved to Wellsville, she had left her baby outside the cabin while she gathered firewood. On returning she found two Indian braves with her baby. They threatened to take the baby if she did not give them sugar. Instead of being frightened into granting their request she chased them away with a rolling pin. The next morning the chief and the two braves came to her cabin with a gift of venison and the chief called her a "brave squaw." (source)