John McCleve, Handcart Pioneer

Merrill Eugene Cook>Joseph Wolcott Cook> Catherine McCleve Cook>John McCleve

I finally got around to buying the movie 17 Miracles. We'll be watching it tonight for FHE. So, in honor of the handcart pioneers, today I'm sharing a little about our handcart pioneer, John McCleve.

John, his wife, Nancy, and seven of their children came across the plains in the second handcart company, under Daniel D. McArthur. Their two oldest daughters, Sarah and Catherine, were already waiting for them in Salt Lake.

While pushing his handcart up a steep hill, John tried to keep a heavy chest from falling from the cart of the widow in front of him, causing him severe injuries. He continued to push the handcart the rest of the day.

That night he complained of not being well and his wife made a bed for him on the ground. He looked at the ground and said, "It looks so hard," whereupon Nancy Jane borrowed a pillow from a neighboring handcart couple. After suffering greatly for a few hours he passed away and was buried on the bank of the Weber River, only two days from Salt Lake.

His wife and daughter, Margaret, pulled the handcart the rest of the way into Salt Lake City.

You can read more about John HERE and HERE.