The Voyage of the Ellen Maria, 1853

BYU Studies Quarterly, Dec 1987

By Rulon A. Walker, Published on 01/01/87

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The Voyage of the Ellen Maria, 1853

The V oyage of the Ellen Maria, 1853 Rulon A. Walker Recommended Citation Follow this and additional works at; https; //scholarsarchive; byu; edu/byusq - Thi s Article is brought to you for free and open access by the All Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact , . the voyage oofdfttthhheee ellen maria 1853 rulon A walker the ellen maria a good looking craft in the eyes of one of her passengers lay quiet as a sleeping duck at mosely docks in liverpool england in early january 1853 from a distance the crosshatch pattern of her masts and yarddaarms blended with those of other sailing ships into a forest of bare horizontals and verticals reaching skyward along the banks of mersey river As a square rigger packet out of the yard of harrison springer in richmond maine the ellen maria was of modest dimensions among the ships engaged in carrying converts to the church of jesus christ of latter day saints over the north atlantic in that year 2 her rated tonnage of 768 was third to the lowest of the ten ships chartered she would carry 332 latter day saints in completing this her third and last voyage 3 As with dinosaurs sailing ships came in assorted shapes and sizes packets were built for speed and these strong and sturdy square riggers were built to fight the seas 4 three naked tree trunks or masts to which the yards and sails were attached were the basic superstructure ellen marias hull from the bow to stem measured 150 feet 9 inches at the widest point her sides were 3333 feet 5 inches apart 5 if the vessel could have been set down in a comer of a football field with her stem on the goal line her bow would barely have crossed the meiddfffiiieeelldd stripe she and a twin sister ship would have been comfortable side by side between the sideline and its hash mark while the ship herself was inert the activity around and aboard her was abruussttllee liverpool at miiddcceennttuurryy was a hub of eEgnnlgalnanddss maritime trade her docks were fed by an extensive network of railroads stage roads and canals the flow of latter day saint emigration had gathered considerable volume through the missionary work being conducted in western europe especially in the british isles fawn M brodie declared in 1853 the mormon missionary system in great britain was an astonishing force t1y1g6 in order for the yearly emigration to reach great salt lake city utah territory before the snows of early winter blocked the highlands of wyoming the voyages across the north atlantic had to begin in the dead of winter railroad lines converged at liverpool station rulon W walker is a retired civil servant living in falls church virginia 58 BYU studies like the arteries of commerce which they were dgiossgrogrginingg passengers and their paraphernalia from the various conferences in england then scurrying on their return trip it must have been a very picturesque scene as the trains came smoking in preceded by the shrill atonic warnings of the steam whistle the audible signature ushered in by the age of steam and chuffing to a standstill it was a time of excitement eagerness and mixed emotions ranging from parting from friends family and lifelong attachments to village town or shire to high anticipation in going to the new land the new zion with her opportunities and new uncertainties ahead stowing luggage and other personal possessions paying for passage and getting berth assignments occupied the efforts of the passengers who were to embark on this voyage and their agents the temperance hotel at number three manchester street was a center of much of this activity in the interim before sailing daily meetings were conducted at the ssSaaaiininnttstscschChahapappeeelll where speakers from among the missionaries assigned to perpetual emigration fund duty prepared the emigrants for the journey 7 warnings were frequently uttered against such evils as drinking brandy and falling into temptation along the way especially in st louis 18 A principal topic of the season was the doctrine of celestial marriage which had been announced the previous august in great salt lake city at a special early conference called to launch 107 missionaries to worldwide fields of labor 9 this was the first season to witness the ripple effect of that announcement in the lives of the emigrants now gathering in liverpool on 9 january in the evening gathering at the chapel elder S W richards made some good remarks on the subject opfopPloollylllygygagaammmyyy showing the wisdom of the celestial order and the evils of the present state of society followed by elder orson spencer on the same subject in his usual plain and simple manner so that no one could gain say his word for he spoke by the spirit the house was crowded and sanctioned the address by a hearty amen 10 the ellen maria had been scheduled for departure on 11 january given fair wind s (...truncated)


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Rulon A. Walker. The Voyage of the Ellen Maria, 1853, BYU Studies Quarterly, 1987, Volume 27, Issue 1,