Month: September 2003

Titus Billings History By Diantha Worsl?? with Eunice B. Snow


Written Under the Direction of Eunice B. Snow, August 1914, by Diantha Worsl?? Worsley

Grandfather Titus Billings

Titus Billings with his wife and two children, George P. who drove a team for H.C. Kimball as a pioneer, and Eunice B. W. Snow, left Nauvoo. in 1847 with Vincent Shurtliff, came as far as Council Bluffs, but being too late to cross the plains wintered at Punckaw (?) Ponca then went back to Winter Quarters and then to St. Jo and earned means to come to the Valley, leaving their son Alfred Nelson at St. Louis to come later.

The statement that they “wintered at Punckaw (?)� is Ponca, a place way north of Pawnee Village where the Running Water River (now called Niobrara River) branches off of the Missouri River. At the invitation of the Ponca Indians, Bishop George Miller led a group of saints to that location. Titus Billngs was sent as a Branch President to bring the group back to the main camps.

They arrived in Salt Lake after a jouney of three months, staying there over winter in the canyon eight miles north of Salt Lake, where I, Eunice was married to John E. Warner. There he put up a log house, in July building another log house, sawing the logs with an upright saw and making the shingles with a drawing knife. Then after completing the hosue, ate only one meal when we were called to Manti and settle the country where the Indians were the first settlers. (At October Conference)

We prepared for our journey and started in the latter par of October. The trip occupied three weeks, which is strange to say when one thinks we make a continuous journey, only camping overnight and making our own roads as we traveled along. On our way mother was quite ill and I had to prepare the meals when I was not driving a yoke of cattle. My father drove the other yoke of cattle and my husband was busy attending to the loose which we had with us.

We reached Manti on the 21st of November.