Dramatic Pioneers? You Bet

Proof that pioneers were more like us than we think.

I know you’re not supposed to pick favorites but… Sarah Cross Orme might just be my favorite Latter-day Saint pioneer because she was just so real. 

Most pioneer histories make sure to include something about how their ancestors “never complained”. 

Let’s say that it’s true. That they really never complained. That’s incredible. But, it paints the pioneers as these super strong, resilient, uber faithful people. Almost as if they’re super human. That’s definitely far removed from where I am sitting. 

But my girl Sarah? That was not her vibe.

While she was crossing the plains it was really freakin’ hot. And she let everyone know how she felt about it.

As Rebecca Powell tells it,

 “She would lie down on the prairie grass in the shade of her handcart and decide that she could not go on, that she would have to die there alone. As the sun got lower in the west and in the cool of evening, she would feel revived and decide to go on and at least have the company of friends when she passed away. With something to eat and a night’s rest, she would be quite ready to go on with the company the following morning. This experience was repeated many times.”

I suppose this could be taken in earnest, but the way I see it, Sarah was ahead of her time. Kinda like this:

The funny thing is, she was very motivated to make it to the Salt Lake Valley. For the love of her life, Samuel Orme was there, having recently crossed the plains himself with the Martin handcart company. Still, love wasn’t enough to mitigate the pure torture of walking 1,000 miles in extreme heat. 

(I’m from TX… she’s not wrong😂 ) 

Sarah met Samuel at a Church event a few years before in Loughborough, England. They didn’t live super close together, so they would often meet at a large tree between their two houses. Sarah walked 5 miles to get to the tree, Sam walked 10. If either one of them could not make it to the tree, the other would leave them a love note tucked inside the trunk. 

How stinking cute is that? 

Despite Sarah’s complaints to the contrary, she did survive her trek to the Salt Lake Valley. Once there she knew that it had all been worth it. After hearing Brigham Young speak, she reportedly said, “I am repaid for all my sufferings. These are my people, my brothers and sisters in very deed.” 

Sarah and Sam found each other in Salt Lake and they were married in September 1857. 

I love this story, not only because of the adorable romance (seriously, somebody turn this into a book) but because Sarah shows me that the pioneers were more like us than we realize. 

I’ve often said that I could never have been a pioneer… and perhaps that’s true, I do have a thing for modern appliances. But, I think that a lot of the pioneers probably didn’t think they could make it through their hardships either. They, like Sarah, probably thought that it was too much and too hard. Maybe they even wondered if they had what it took to make it just ONE. MORE. DAY.

But they did. 

Whether they were dramatically declaring their death by sun or quietly striving, they did it. They crossed the valley. They faced their trials and came out on the other side.

Even when they thought they couldn’t go on, they pushed forward in faith. 

And you can too.

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Have you gone through a trial you didn’t think you’d make it through? Let’s talk in the comments!

Powell, Rebecca. “A Nineteenth Century Love Story The Story of Samuel Washington and Sarah Cross Orme, Handcart Pioneers.” FamilySearch.Org, 27 Apr. 2014