LDS Witness
Protection & Deliverance

Priscilla Merriman Evans — Divine Protection on the Samuel Curling

Published October 25, 2026 at 4:35 PM

1850s · 1856
Atlantic Ocean
Priscilla Merriman Evans·Thomas D. Evans·Captain Curling

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While traveling from Liverpool to Boston in 1856 on the sailing vessel Samuel Curling, Priscilla Merriman Evans noted that the ship's captain, Captain Curling, expressed a preference for having Latter-day Saints aboard his ship because he felt safe with them. Priscilla later learned that the ship eventually sank with all on board, but at a time when no Latter-day Saints were passengers, which she interpreted as a providential protection during her own voyage.

In Their Own Words

“Captain Curling said he preferred to take Saints aboard his ship, as he always felt safe. We learned that later his ship went down, with all on board, but there were no Saints on board. — Priscilla Merriman Evans, Autobiography, [ca. 1907]”

Sources & References

Autobiography of Priscilla Merriman Evans | Saints by Sea (https://saintsbysea.byu.edu/mii/account/1138) (research confidence: high)

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Filed under

Protection & Deliverance1850sInternational Waters

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Questions about this account

Who was involved in this account?
The account involves Priscilla Merriman Evans, Thomas D. Evans, Captain Curling. Each person named here also has a witness page collecting the other accounts involving them.
When did this account take place?
The account is set in 1856, in the 1850s.
Where did this account take place?
It took place in Atlantic Ocean.
What kind of miracle is this?
It is filed as a Protection & Deliverance account reported in International Waters.
Where does this account come from?
Autobiography of Priscilla Merriman Evans | Saints by Sea ( (research confidence: high). The full source citation appears in the Sources section below, with links to the original where available.

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