By Jordan Hanzon, Marketing & PR Account Executive

Pioneer Day is celebrated in Utah every July 24th and typically begins with the Days of ’47 parade honoring the year when pioneers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints arrived in Utah.

While there are many stories to tell of the pioneers’ journey, one such begins in 1843 when John Boylston Fairbanks joined the Church at the age of 25. He married Sarah H. VanWagoner the following year and moved together to Nauvoo, Illinois to help with temple work but were quickly met with anti-Mormon sentiment. To escape persecution, in June of 1847, he and his wife joined the Jedediah M. Grant & Willard Snow Company to head west to Utah. His diary, part of the American Westward Migration digital library collection, recounts the early days of their journey.

*Note: Transcription of text has maintained spelling errors and verbiage of the time to retain historical accuracy.

June 20th, 1847

Clear weather waters down in crick. Crossed over shore to the Elkhorn river & crossed & was organized into the company of ten of the 2nd fifty and Third hundred by J. M. Grant, Capt. of 3rd 100. I was appointed Capt. of the ten. Stood guard half the night.

June 21st, 1847

Stayed at the horn & helped crop some waggons together with the artillery, made out the roll of members in my ten & handed to Capt. Grant 

June 22nd, 1847

Cropped Father Cutler & some others, to go back to winter quarters, took the roof off of the raft & started for the Platte river arrived at Platte about 4 o’clock P.M. and Camped with our Brethren that were ahead of us 

June 23rd, 1847

The whole company of about 600 waggons started up the river…

…in Companies of hundreds, fifties & tens, with their capt’s at their head travelled about 12 miles & camped.

June 24th, 1847

Started about 9 o’clock A.M. & travelled about 12 miles & stopped for the night. 

June 25th, 1847

Capt. Grant called his company together & suggested the idea of starting earlyer mornings. The company acceded to the proposition. Seven o’clock was appointed the time of starting we started accordingly and drove about 14 miles & camped about 5 o’clock P.M. The whole camp ever called together in council, to regulate the hours of traveling & it was agreed that we should travel as we had done three days. 

June 26th, 1847

Started out in regular order…

The journals continue for several days up until July 15th, 1847. It ends with how most days were filled, prayer and breakfast.

…A Company went to hunt, killed one Buffalo. Lent my six shooter pistol to B. Baker & he lost it. Prayer, supper. Company meeting, changed our mode of travelling—each 50 travel & camp & heard cattle desperate. 

July 15th, 1847 

Prayer, breakfast.

The Next John B. Fairbanks

John and Sarah had 11 children in total  including two, Harriet & Henry, during the early days of their journey together. One of their children, John B. Fairbanks, was born in 1855 and would grow up to be the mural artist for the Salt Lake City and Mesa Arizona Temples after serving an artistic mission in France. He is featured in the Utah Artists Project along with some digitized versions of his work.

None of that would have been possible without the strength of the pioneers like John Boylston Fairbanks and Sarah H VanWagoner. Preserving their histories and telling their stories is one way to honor their sacrifice for the journey they paved.

John Boylston Fairbanks’ diary and those of many other pioneers, can be seen up-close and personal by making an appointment with Special Collections.