The Handcart Story Part 7: The Journey of the Martin Company

A large group of Latter-day Saint emigrants left Liverpool on May 25,1856, on the ship Horizon. They arrived at Iowa City July 8,1856. They were the poorest of the Saints to emigrate that year, three-fourths of them being women, children, and the elderly. A large number of them were organized into two handcart companies - the Havens Company and the Martin Company. They left Iowa City and arrived in Florence, Nebraska, on August 22, 1856. As with the Willie Company, there was a serious discussion at Florence about whether to go on, and the camp voted overwhelmingly to continue. Three days later, with the two companies now combined under the leadership of Captain Edward Martin, they set out for the Salt Lake Valley. They would become known to history as the Martin Handcart Company.