Pioneer Stories - Jane James

William James was a farm laborer in England who suffered from poor health for most of his life. Jane Haynes was a woman of strong constitution and spirit who was raised by a grandmother because her mother had passed away while Jane was an infant. As soon as Jane was old enough, she had to make her own living.

William and Jane married in 1835, and during the next 20 years they had eight children. William struggled to provide for the family because of his health, so Jane and their older children worked to earn additional income. Jane was an expert glove maker, and each week she walked six miles to the market to sell the gloves she had made.

The James family joined the Church in 1854. William and Jane’s third daughter, Mary Ann, explained her mother’s process of conversion and what it meant for the family’s future:

Mother was a devout Christian, being a member of the Church of England during her early life. She was a great believer in prayer, and like the Prophet Joseph Smith, when in doubt, sought her Maker for wisdom. When the principles of the gospel ... were taught in our village, she was greatly impressed with its truths. The apostasy and restoration, unthought of before, appealed to [Mother], and she was led to prayer. The answer came, and she was ready to leave all we had, and with an almost invalid husband and eight children, brave the journey to an unknown land.

William James also wanted to gather to Utah, but he thought it might be better to wait until his health improved. Jane felt more urgency. The children were getting older—Sarah was almost 19—and Jane wanted to emigrate before they began leaving home. Additionally, the introduction of the handcart plan in 1856 made it economically possible to emigrate. The family went to Liverpool, and in early May they boarded the Thornton and set sail for America.

 The three oldest daughters of William and Jane—Sarah, Emma, and Mary Ann—later wrote accounts of their journey. A common theme in each account is the strength of their mother. Jane’s strength was needed early. The family’s youngest child, an infant named Jane, died just four days before the ship before reached New York. Mary Ann recalled:

My parents were called upon to part with their baby, ... and we were obliged to place the precious bundle in a watery grave. Mother’s heart strings were torn, but the brave little mother that she was felt not to murmur against the will of Him who gave.

Of the three sisters, Emma provides the only account of the meeting in Florence, Nebraska Territory, when company leaders spoke about whether they should continue the journey that year or wait until the following spring. Emma’s recollection unfolds the dilemma and again emphasizes the strength of her mother:

The thing which I will remember for the rest of my life and wish that we had heeded was said by a Brother Savage. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he pleaded with the people, “Brothers and sisters, wait until spring to make this journey. Some of the strong may get through in case of bad weather, but the bones of the weak and old will strew the way.”

I can remember that when he finished, there was a long time of silence. I was frightened. Father looked pale and sick. I turned to mother to see what she was thinking, and all I saw was her old determined look. She was ready to go on tomorrow. There were many others like her. We really didn’t have much choice. There was no work here for us to keep ourselves through the winter, and our family had to live. “We must put our trust in the Lord as we have always done,” said mother, and that was that.

The miles were especially hard on William James. Nineteen-year-old Sarah described her father’s condition—and once again her mother’s strength—on the night William told his family that the company’s flour was gone:

Father was white and drawn. I knew that Mother was worried about him, for he was getting weaker all the time and seemed to feel that there was no use in all the struggle. Mother had taken as much of the load off his shoulders as she could in pulling ethe cart. We girls and [14-year-old] Reuben did most of the work so that Father could rest a lot. Mother didn’t have much to say, and I wondered if she remembered that council meeting in [Florence] and wished that we had taken the advice of the more experienced people. I am sure that many of us had those thoughts.

The rescue company from Salt Lake City finally reached the Willie company on October 21, two days after the handcart Saints had run out of flour and the storms had begun. Sarah recalled the arrival and service of the rescuers with joy and gratitude:

On October 23 the Willie company faced the most daunting day of their journey. “I will never forget [that day] as long as I live,” Sarah said. From their camp near the base of Rocky Ridge, they had to travel about 16 miles through the snow to reach the next good camping place. Three of those miles were mostly uphill, ascending Rocky Ridge to one of the highest points on the trail. In some places the snow was knee-deep.

Most of the company got an early start that morning. The James family stayed behind while William and Reuben helped with a burial. After a brief service, Sarah led five younger siblings ahead with the family’s lighter handcart. William, Jane, and Reuben soon followed with the heavier of their two handcarts. Sarah described her father’s struggles, as related by her mother:

Father collapsed and fell in the snow. He tried two or three times to get up with mother’s help, then finally he asked her to go on and [said that] when he felt rested, he would come on. Mother knew in her heart that he had given out, but perhaps, she said, in a few minutes with some rest he could come on.

Mary Ann explained the predicament her mother faced: “Mother was placed in an awful position, her husband unable to go farther, and her little children far ahead hungry and freezing; what can she do? Father said, ‘Go to the children; we will get in if we can.’ ”

Jane left Reuben with his father and hurried ahead to catch up to her other children. The family became scattered over many miles, with Sarah and the younger children in front, Jane somewhere in the middle, and William and Reuben in back. Jane eventually found her children huddled on a river bank, afraid to cross. With her help, they waded through. “The water was icy, and soon our clothing was frozen to our bodies,” Sarah said. “Our feet were frozen numb. Cold and miserable, we reached the other bank, put on dry clothing, and joined the rest of the company.” Meanwhile, William was able to resume walking but could go only short distances before stopping to rest. He and Reuben fell far behind, and each rest carried the risk of their freezing to death.

When Jane and her children reached camp that night, they asked if anyone had seen William and Reuben, but no one had. Mary Ann recalled, “We watched and listened for their coming, hoping and praying for the best.” Some of the men left camp at about midnight to help those who were still on the trail, giving hope that William and Reuben would be among this later group. “All night we waited for word,” Sarah said. Finally, at about 5:00 a.m., when the last wagons arrived in camp, the family learned that their hope for a good outcome was not to be. Sarah explained:

Toward morning some of the captains who had gone out to gather up the stragglers came into camp bearing the dead body of my father and the badly frozen body of my brother Reuben. His injuries were so bad that he would suffer from them for the rest of his life.

When morning came, father’s body, along with others who had died during the night, were buried. ... Brush was thrown in and then dirt. A fire was built over the grave to kill the scent to keep the wolves from digging up the remains.

Along with the enduring image of their father dead and their brother frozen, the James sisters saw another unforgettable image that morning: their mother’s expression. “I can see my mother’s face as she sat looking at the partly conscious Reuben,” Sarah said. “Her eyes looked so dead that I was afraid.” Jane was having to recalibrate what her family’s life would be like without William and perhaps without Reuben. With another 250 wintry miles still to go, would any of them make it? If it could be done, Jane would see to that. Sarah continued:

She didn’t sit long, however, for my mother was never one to cry. When it was time to move out, mother had her family ready to go. She put her invalid son in the cart with her baby [four-year-old John], and we joined the train. Our mother was a strong woman, and she would see us through anything.

Mary Ann likewise paid tribute to her mother’s strength during this most difficult time:

Imagine, if you can, my mother only a young woman of forty-one, her husband lying dead in a frozen wilderness, with seven little children, starved and freezing, crying for comfort. Her physical and mental endurance was surely nothing short of miraculous.

From Rock Creek, most members of the Willie company had to pull their handcarts another nine days before they met up with enough rescue wagons that they could ride the final week to the Salt Lake Valley. “We were cold all the time,” Sarah recalled. “Even when you wrapped up in a blanket your teeth chattered.”

The James family suffered two deaths on their journey to Zion: their baby during the voyage and William on Rocky Ridge. Jane and her other seven children all survived.

As I read this story this week, I was struck by the tremendous strength and faith possessed by Jane James. I honestly cannot imagine having to make a choice between helping her husband or her children. My heart just aches imagining her feelings in that moment. Therefore her determination and ability to maintain her faith and continue on is truly remarkable!

Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. (D&C 78:17–18)