Jane Manning James: Miraculous 800-Mile Walk to Nauvoo — Feet Healed, Baby Healed, River Crossed

Jane Elizabeth Manning (later James), born a free Black woman in Wilton, Connecticut, around 1820, heard the gospel preached by LDS missionary Charles Wesley Wandell and was baptized in 1842. Her family’s journey to join the Saints in Nauvoo stands as one of the most faith-filled and miracle-laden accounts in early Church history.

After being refused passage on a canal boat in Buffalo because they were Black—while their white branch companions were permitted to board—Jane led her family of nine on an 800-mile walk to Nauvoo, Illinois. They had no money, no guaranteed food, no shelter, and no protection except their faith.

Miracle 1: Their feet were healed

Jane later recalled: 'We walked until our shoes were worn out, and our feet became sore and cracked open and bled until you could see the whole print of our feet with blood on the ground. We stopped and united in prayer to the Lord, we asked God the Eternal Father to heal our feet and our prayers were answered and our feet were healed forthwith.'

Miracle 2: A sick baby was healed

As they approached La Harpe, Illinois, the family prayed over a sick baby—and it was healed. Jane wrote that it gave them 'the energy and drive to finish the last leg of the journey to Nauvoo.'

Miracle 3: The river crossing

When they reached a deep, cold river with no bridge in sight, they waded through it. The water rose to their necks. Wet, cold, hungry, and exhausted, they continued— 'singing hymns, and thanking God for his infinite goodness and mercy to us, in blessing us…protecting us…and healing our feet.'

Miracle 4: The Providence in Illinois

In Peoria, Illinois, local authorities demanded to see their 'free papers' proving they were not runaway slaves—or face imprisonment. Jane convinced them her family had been born free. They were released and continued.

On arriving in Nauvoo, they were directed to Joseph Smith's home. Emma Smith welcomed them with 'Come in, come in.' The Prophet sat next to Jane and asked her to tell her story. After hearing it all, he turned to John Bernhisel and said, 'What do you think of that, Doctor? Isn't that faith?'

Joseph then said to Jane: 'God bless you. You are among friends; now you will be protected.'

Jane lived with Joseph and Emma Smith until the Prophet's martyrdom. She was faithful until her death in 1908, when President Joseph F. Smith was among those who spoke at her funeral.

Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):

We started from Wilton, Connecticut, in the fall of 1842. We traveled by canal boat to Buffalo, New York. We were nine in number, namely: Isaac Manning, my brother; Lewis Manning, my brother; Peter Manning, my brother; Sarah Manning, my sister; Nancy Manning, my sister; Fanny Manning, my sister; Jane Manning, myself; my sister-in-law, Lucinda Manning; and my brother-in-law, Anthony Stebbings. At Buffalo we were told we could not go any further on the canal boat, as we were colored people. We had to walk the rest of the way, which was eight hundred miles. We walked until our shoes were worn out, and our feet became sore and cracked open and bled until you could see the whole print of our feet with blood on the ground. We stopped and united in prayer to the Lord; we asked God the Eternal Father to heal our feet and our prayers were answered and our feet were healed forthwith. We walked on until we came to a river, and as there was no bridge, we walked right into the stream. The water was up to our necks, but we forded it and went on our way rejoicing, singing hymns, and thanking God for his infinite goodness and mercy to us in blessing us as he had, protecting us from all harm, answering our prayers and healing our feet. We arrived in Nauvoo in the winter of 1843. We went to the home of Joseph Smith and told him our story. He said, 'God bless you! You are among friends. You shall have a home with us.' He told Brother Joseph B. Noble to take us to his home and see that we were well cared for and provided with the best of everything until we could get settled.