So I had big plans for Pioneer Day this year that didn't come to fruition. But we did give these johnny cakes a try. They weren't that great, but they were kind of pioneerish. I talked to my Grandma Smyth the Sunday after Pioneer Day and she told me a few interesting facts from our pioneer ancestors:
Mary Seely Wilcox (on GG Smyth's side) was 17 years old when she came across the plains in the John Taylor Company. She was responsible for 3 yoke of oxen. She recounts that it couldn't have been harder on the body and soul. When someone would get out the violin and play for a bit, it made it easier to get back in the wagons and keep going. She was present the winter that the Mississippi River froze over. Mary was witness to Brigham Young taking on the countenance of Joseph Smith following his martyrdom. She met John Henry Owen Wilcox, who was a bodyguard for Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, and they were the first white couple married in Utah. Brigham Young gave them a piece of land as a wedding gift. One bit of advice Mary was know to say was, "feed the Indians, don't fight them."
One night during the Black Hawk War, John was standing guard. He heard a voice three times telling him to go home. He finally did and that night the Indians raided the camp and burned it down. Because he listened, his life was spared.
As a grandpa, John Wilcox made some slippers out of old boots for his lovely granddaughter, Clarissa Jane. She was so pleased, she wore them to bed.
Thanks for the stories Grama!!
Mary Seely Wilcox (on GG Smyth's side) was 17 years old when she came across the plains in the John Taylor Company. She was responsible for 3 yoke of oxen. She recounts that it couldn't have been harder on the body and soul. When someone would get out the violin and play for a bit, it made it easier to get back in the wagons and keep going. She was present the winter that the Mississippi River froze over. Mary was witness to Brigham Young taking on the countenance of Joseph Smith following his martyrdom. She met John Henry Owen Wilcox, who was a bodyguard for Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, and they were the first white couple married in Utah. Brigham Young gave them a piece of land as a wedding gift. One bit of advice Mary was know to say was, "feed the Indians, don't fight them."
One night during the Black Hawk War, John was standing guard. He heard a voice three times telling him to go home. He finally did and that night the Indians raided the camp and burned it down. Because he listened, his life was spared.
As a grandpa, John Wilcox made some slippers out of old boots for his lovely granddaughter, Clarissa Jane. She was so pleased, she wore them to bed.
Thanks for the stories Grama!!
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