Our Trek West
As we approached the sesiquentennial anniversary of the Mormon Exodus
there were many ways to remember this event.
On July 4th, 1996 a group left Nauvoo, Illinois and begin their journey
to Salt Lake City. This western migration was't be as slow as the teams
& wagons used by our ancestors, but it certainly was equally arduous, as
they will cover the nearly 1,300 miles on bicycles.
If you are fortunate enough to have seen this modern caravan pass it probably
looked like any other group of long distance cyclists. I want to tell you
about one of the quiet heroes you saw pass. Sharon Tanner is most unique
amongst this group. Sharon has Cystic Fibrosis, is diabetic, and also blind.
She is the one riding on the rear seat of the tandem bicycle, behind her
father Lynn, and her mother (my sister) Beverly was driving the support
van.
To give a sense of our family's heritage that includes this route I have
assembled these pages which relate the journey our ancestors took.
- Robert & Jane Bodily
- Esther Broadhurst Matkin
- Daniel Mark Burbank
- Margaret Elzirah (Frost) Rawlins
- Ephriam Myers Lindsay
- William Buckminster Lindsay
- Harvey McGalyard Rawlins
- Elizabeth (Zimmerman) Lamb
- George Gottleib Zimmerman
- Those who travelled the Mormon Trail
- The Passengers of the "Ellen Maria"