Reddick Newton Allred: A Handcart Rescuer of 1856 (1822–1905)

Reddick Newton Allred was born February 21, 1822, in Bedford County, Tennessee. In October 1856, news reached Salt Lake City that the Martin and Willie handcart companies were stranded and perishing in the early-winter snows of Wyoming. Brigham Young sent rescue parties eastward to bring them in, and Reddick Newton Allred was one of those rescuers—riding out into the blizzards to find the starving, freezing Saints and carry them to safety. He kept a very detailed written record of the rescue, which has been preserved and bears witness to the courage and faith of both the rescuers and the rescued. He is portrayed in the film '17 Miracles.' He married Lucy Hoyt and died October 10, 1905. His rescue of the handcart pioneers is one of the great deliverance stories of the Latter-day Saint pioneer movement.