Susannah Goldthorpe Heaps — Divine Preservation of Children on the Plains

In 1863, Susannah Goldthorpe Heaps traveled from England to the Salt Lake Valley as part of the Daniel D. McArthur Company. She was responsible for five young children during the trek: Lorenzo (9), Mary Elizabeth (9), Alice (8), Eleanor (4), and the infant Willard (1). The journey was marked by the typical hardships of the era, including the threat of disease and physical exhaustion. Susannah recorded that through constant prayer, she was granted the physical strength to care for her family, and all five of her children were preserved from the illnesses and accidents that claimed others in the company. The family arrived safely in Utah on October 3, 1863, an outcome they attributed to divine intervention.