Written by P.^atience^ Loader

I was born in a small Vilelege called Aston Rouant in Oxfordshire England fifteen Miles from the City of Oxford Which place is noted for its great educational coleges and old fashion [page torn] buildings some which are black with age there Whare some of the Martyers burned in the city of Oxford three Bishops Ridley Granmer and Latimer¹———

I was born of good kind parents My Father was a hard working industerous Man by profession a gardener was head gardener to an English NoblerMan for twenty three years² I am the fourth child of...

[N]ow I will say My father and myself arived at Liverpool on December the 9^th [1855] staid and visited with my sister and husband untill the 12^th and in the evening we went on the ^old^ ship John J. Bayed¹ bound for New York after we had got all our bagage on board we found the ship would not Sail untill the next day so I said to my father and Mother that I would go back and stay all night with my sister^s as we left my sister Tamar to stay with My Sister Zilpha to help her to...

[A]t last we landed all safe in Casell gardens New York in Febuary 1856 about nine oclock in the evening¹ I forgot to mention that poor old brother William Haley went on deck to the cook house and the wind blew his stove pipe hatt over board and when he came and told his poor old wife that he had lost his hatt she scolded him and said now you can go the rest of the way without a hatt for I will not let you have your new hatt or you will loose that so she tied a red...

[W]e left there and arived at Dunkerk¹ the next Morning ^at^ four a clock : the fourth of July on enquiring we was told that the boat would not leave untell some time in the afternoon the next day for Cleaveland so we had all that time to wait we went to the restrant to get breakfast then we went back to the Depot one of the guard^s was very kind he told My father that there was alarge room up stairs and he could take his family into that room and all his bagage and we could occupie that...

[H]ere I well return to my Journey across the plains Many hard and severe trials we past through at ^the^ first part of our journey¹ we seemed to endure the days travel pretty well for the first hundred Miles then My poor dear father^s health began ^to^ fail him and before we got to Florance² he became very weak and sick his legs and feet began to swell some days he was not able to pull the cart and when we arrivd at Florance we put up the tent made the bed and he went to bed we did not...

I will now conclud my hard Journey across the plains by handcart and Say that we that lived through this terrable Journey arived in salt L city Sunday Noon the thirtieth ^day^ of November 1856 .. we was Meet and warmly greeted by our ^kind^ breathren and Sister and taken to there homes and made comfortable and welcomed to Share there home and food with them¹ Brother William Thorn Bishop of the seventh Ward² took home with him My Mother and ^my^ brother Robert my-Self and Sister^s Maria Jane and Sarah My sister Tamar went with Br Thomas Ricks to...

[I]n the summer of 1858 . I became acquainted with 1 Sargent John Rozsa¹ of the tenth Infintry U S Armey stationed at Camp Floyd Ceder Valley Utah ^Co^² he was on furlow boarding at Mr Littlewood ^in^ Lehi there he joined the Church of Jesus Christ and became amember of the Mormon Church he was baptized by Able Evens³ and on the eight day of December 1858⁴ we was Marred by the Same Able Evens in alittle log caben at the Jorden bridge⁵ the tole bridge was kept by William Ball and his Wife⁶ thay was very good kind...

[W]e left camp Floyd¹ ceder Valley the 27th day of July 18 [ink blot] 1861 . about noon it was alovely day our first days march was to the Jorden river we campt there for the night we arived there early in the afternoon² as So many of the cattle was So whild and the teemsters was inexperenced driving cattle thay had aterrable time with there teems and was late geting into camp and some did not come in untill the next morning the QuarterMaster had been to Lehi to buy hay for the aniMels and some man came to...

[T]he day we arrived in washington is aday that I will ever remember we was ^camped^ all in the street for several hours it seemed every place in the whole city was occupied¹ My husband came to me after he had attended to his company . he said Patience I dont know what to do with you nor were to take you too . I said cannot I go with you and your men No he Said our Men I expect will have to stay in the street all night he said he did not think there was room to...

So at last captain Thayer and his wife left for Fort Lyons and we prepared for our journey to Utah and on the eighteenth of April 1866 we left ^fort^ Leavenworth My husband accepted aposition as Clerk to Magor John L Mclintock¹ to Fort Duglas Utah² we started with fine outfitt two span of Muels and one Span of fine black horses one freight wagon and carage we was well fitted out for our Journey ^with^ plenty of provisions for the Jurney

[T]he Morning was quite damp and chiley when we started and after we campt for night it rained...

My husband wrote to my brother or ^unknoon to me^ Mother previous to his death requesting her to send My two Brother^s in law to come out to meet us in Echo Canyon and accordingly Br Paul and George Harris¹ my brother in law came into camp one evening enquiring for Mr^s Rozsa I can say we was very pleased to meet each other after an absence of five Years . in one way it was apleasant meeting . but on learning that my dear husband had died on the journey and his body buried and left on the plains...

And with that, in the middle of a dangerous wintry trek down the mountainside in American Fork Canyon, Patience Loader Rozsa Archer abandons her readers and abruptly brings her autobiography to an end. Remarkably, her fascinating manuscript terminates at a point some fifty years before her life ended; she has shared only half of her wealth of knowledge and experience. But what a half!

Fortunately, we can pick up the threads of the story to at least get her down the mountain, and from that point on we can piece together bits of information from a few documents and several...