Tarleton Lewis — Dream of Family Preservation

While traveling as a member of the Brigham Young Vanguard Company in the spring and summer of 1847, Tarleton Lewis experienced significant distress regarding the safety and health of his wife, Malinda, and their children, whom he had left behind in the difficult conditions of Winter Quarters. According to the history recorded by Eugenie R. Hunt, Lewis received a comforting dream or spiritual manifestation while on the trail. In this vision of the night, he was shown his family and given a divine assurance that they were being watched over and would remain safe until his return. This experience provided him with the necessary peace of mind to fulfill his responsibilities as a captain of fifty during the historic trek to the Salt Lake Valley.

Recording note: This account is recorded in Eugenie R. Hunt, 'History of Tarleton Lewis, Pioneer of 1847,' Daughters of Utah Pioneers History Collection, which is not available online. Tarleton Lewis (1805–1890) survived the Hawn's Mill Massacre in 1838, served as a captain of fifty in the 1847 Vanguard Company, was called as the first bishop in the Salt Lake Valley, and later helped settle Parowan and Minersville. His published biographies do not include the dream, so no verbatim first-person text is included here.