George Facer

George Facer was my great-great grandfather. A brief history was written about him by one of his sons, so here are some excerpts and facts.
Born 4 Jul 1834, Eynesbury, Huntingdonshire, England
Died 22 Feb 1903, Willard, Box Elder Co., Utah
Parents- Henry and Mary Jarvis Facer
Baptized by J.B. Price in August, 1854
Married 6 Sep 1857 to Mary Prior in Eynesbury, by the Parson Mall.

George's father died when he was 2 years old. After George was baptized, he worked on the farm of Edward Peck, saving his money and making payments to an emigration fund for Church members to come to Utah. He gave all of this emigration money to the Church, by request, and then sorted onions for Peck to earn more to come to Utah himself. George and Mary started their journey on March 27, 1860 with their 16-month-old son George Henry. They arrived in Liverpool the next day and sailed for America on March 30 on the ship Underwriter with 594 other Church members. James D. Ross was president of the company. The journey was very rough, with much sickness on board. They arrived in New York after 32 days, landing on May 1, 1860. They continued to Florence on the Missouri River by boat and also traveled by rail. In Iowa, George worked for a Mr. Ford digging post holes for which he received some food. At Florence a handcart was prepared. It was a two-wheeled outfit with a tongue at which 2 people could pull. The box was about 6 feet long and 3 feet wide, with a cover, containing bedding and 1 week's provisions for 5 people. On June 14, 1860 the company started for Utah. Captain Dan Robinson was president of the company from there. It was the first company of the season, consisting of 233 people, 43 handcarts, 6 wagons, 30 oxen and 10 tents. The trek was difficult with blistered hands, bloody feet, and food shortages due to feeding the Indians. It was either feed them or fight. George shot and wounded a buffalo, but didn't kill it so it got away. The Indians were determined to have Mary and another woman in the company, Hannah Slater. They offered 3 ponies for the women, and caused a lot of trouble when they were refused. The company finally arrived in Salt Lake City on August 27, 1860.
More next week!