George Mason and Mary Ann Beard

Mason, George

Birth Date: 21 May 1826
Death Date: 11 Feb. 1907
Gender: Male
Age: 26
Company: Henry W. Miller Company (1852)

Pioneer Information:
with 1 male, 1 female and 1 child

Sources:
"20th Company," Deseret News [Weekly], 18 Sep. 1852, 2. Read Trail Excerpt

http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/library/pioneerdetails/1,15791,4018-1-9181,00.html



Source of Trail Excerpt:
Mason, George, Autobiographical sketch [ca. 1883], 2-3.
Read Trail Excerpt:
In the winter of 1851 or 52 Brother Ezra T. Benson, one of the twelve apostles, came and councilled all to get together to move to Salt Lake the next spring. So father and I went to work to get out, but it looked rather gloomy as we had nothing to start with, but we went to work and asked the Lord to help us and by the last of June we were ready to start. There were some ten or twelve families around where we lived and we all started together and crossed the Missosuri River on July 4th 1852.

On the 8th of July we organized into a company of 64 wagons with Henry Miller as our captain and Apostle Orson Hyde as President of the company in all things. When we reached the Big Horn River we had to ferry all the wagons across and swim our cattle and horses. We all got over safely and started out again next morning. When we got to Lipe [Loup] Fork we had to ferry and swim our cattle and horses again. After we crossed Lipe [Loup] Fork and got camped we unhitched and turned our cattle out and they all stampeded. We had quite a time getting them rounded up but we finally got them together again. Next morning we again started on our journey and traveled right along till the last of July when we stopped on Sunday to rest our cattle. That day my brother William took the cholera and died. He was only a young man of 22 years of age and oh, how we did hate to leave him there by the way side. He had been driving a team for William Price, who was captain of our 10 wagons and from then on I had to assist Brother Price till we got to Salt Lake City, which we reached 28th of Sept. 1852. But let me say that to cross the plains, a trip of 1,000 miles through an Indian country and drive team all day and stand guard at night whether it rained or snowed or was cold, it was all the same no play. But we had to do it for safety for ourselves and stock, for our stock was our salvation in crossing the plains. There was no house or white man in that one thousand miles. Nothing but the wild buffalo and Indians and there were thousands of them both. We would see lots of them every day, so it was quite a task to come to Utah.

We arrived in Salt Lake City Sept. 18th. 1852.


Source of Trail Excerpt:
"20th Company," Deseret News [Weekly], 18 Sep. 1852, 2.
Read Trail Excerpt:
20th Company, H. W. Miller, Capt.. and 13 persons; L[ewis] R[ice] Chaflin [Chaffin] and 10 persons; Orson Hyde and 9 persons; Daniel McIntosh and 5 persons; Lewis Robins and 3 persons; E[dward] W[atkins] Clark and 5 persons; Jonathan Browning and 16 persons; John Galliher and 4 persons; Bingham Bement and 4 persons; Luther Reed and 2 persons; Wm. Daley and 2 persons; D[aniel] R[andall] Williams and 2 persons; wm. Price; [John] Lovell and 3 persons; wm. Beam [Bean] and 6 persons; [William] Mason and 1 person; G[eorge] Mason and 2 persons; w[illiam] Mason; [John] Carlin[g] and 3 persons; [Isaac] Carlin[g], jun.; [Alexander] Melvin [Melville] and 2 persons; R[ichard] Bentley and 4 persons; C[harles] Price and 3 persons; w. Chapman and 3 persons; [Edwin] Bryant and 2 persons; Nathan Staker and 10 persons; N[icholas] V[ance] Sheffer and 3 person[s]; E. Frost and 5 persons; Jacob Lance and 3 persons; E[benezer] wiggins and 9 persons; John Staker and 3 persons; wm. Staker and 4 persons; Enoch Cowell and 1 person; Frederick Cook[e] and 5 persons; John worthin [Worthen] and 5 persons; wm. Manhard and 6 persons; [William] H[enry] Manhard and 5 persons; R[oyal] Durfee and 3 persons; Geo. A[ugustus] Neal and 3 persons; O[liver] C. [Boardman] Huntington and 3 persons; Richard Maim [Mann] and 3 persons; O[wen] M. Cole and 9 persons.