William Clayton's Journal: A Daily Record of the Journey of the Original Company of "Mormon" Pioneers from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake

In Short

William Clayton's Journal records the 1847 migration of the first Mormon pioneer company from Nauvoo and Winter Quarters across the Great Plains to the Salt Lake Valley, alongside Clayton's return trip east that same autumn. Serving as camp historian and clerk, Clayton details the daily realities of overland travel—buffalo hunts, broken axles, river crossings, encounters with Indigenous tribes, and mountain passes—while tracking exact mileages using an early odometer. The diary endures as a founding document of Utah history, capturing both the mundane friction and the religious conviction of a historic western trek.

The Story

The journal begins in the spring of 1846 amidst the exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois. Clayton, a British-born convert and clerk, juggles administrative duties, camp chores, and personal anxieties. While camped in Iowa, he receives news that his wife Diantha, left behind in Illinois, has given birth to a son. Overjoyed, Clayton composes the hymn "All is Well" (later known as "Come, Come, Ye Saints") and celebrates with the camp band. By the winter of 1846–1847, the emigrants establish Winter Quarters on the Missouri River, where Clayton works in the local store, deals with domestic accidents like his young son Moroni being burned, and copes with severe illness, drafty housing, and scarce feed for livestock.

In April 1847, the primary pioneer company led by Brigham Young sets out toward the Rocky Mountains. Clayton takes on the role of meticulous chronicler. As they travel along the Platte and Loop Fork rivers, he describes the landscape, timber groves, Pawnee and Pottawattamie villages, and vast herds of buffalo. To replace the imprecise method of estimating daily distances, Clayton collaborates with mechanics in camp to construct a "roadometer"—a gear-driven mechanical odometer attached to a wagon wheel. Throughout May and June, despite occasional breakdowns of the wooden cogs, he logs exact mileages from creek to creek, measuring landmarks like Ash Hollow, Chimney Rock, and Scott's Bluffs.

The expedition faces physical hurdles as it enters higher terrain. The company ferries wagons across the treacherous currents of the Platte and Green rivers, charges fees to non-Mormon emigrant companies heading to Oregon, and navigates rough trails filled with thick willow brush and steep canyons. Clayton suffers from bouts of severe mountain fever, but the party presses on through the mountains, eventually descending Canyon Creek into the Salt Lake Valley in late July 1847.

Upon arrival, the pioneers immediately begin building bowers, planting crops, and holding councils with Mormon Battalion soldiers who arrive from the south. However, Clayton's journey is only half over. By late August 1847, he joins an eastern-bound company to return to Winter Quarters. The return trip involves harsh weather, burned prairies, straying cattle, and minimal food beyond dried buffalo meat. In October 1847, after traveling over a thousand miles back, Clayton arrives at Winter Quarters to find his family alive despite widespread sickness. He concludes his record with gratitude, having successfully charted a total distance of 1,032 miles to prepare a definitive guide for future emigrants.

How It Unfolds

Life in the camps Clayton manages daily chores, music practice with the camp band, and family health while encamped along the trail in 1846 and early 1847. He celebrates the birth of his child from afar and documents the harsh winter conditions at Winter Quarters.

Crossing the plains The pioneer company moves west along the Platte River in the spring of 1847, encountering massive herds of buffalo, hunting parties, and friendly Pottawattamie villagers. Clayton begins meticulously calculating daily distances, eventually helping implement a wagon odometer.

River crossings and landmarks The travelers navigate major geographical markers including Ash Hollow, Chimney Rock, and Fort Laramie. They build rafts and operate ferries over swift rivers, charging passing Oregon-bound settlers for transport while conducting internal camp business and councils.

The mountain pass The trail becomes increasingly rugged through the Rockies, forcing the party to clear thick brush, cross crooked mountain streams dozens of times, and endure illness and wagon damage. The company successfully enters the Valley of the Great Salt Lake in late July.

The journey home Clayton joins a return party heading east in August to reunite with family at the Missouri River. Facing freezing nights, burned prairie grass, and limited rations, he arrives back at Winter Quarters in October, having completed a comprehensive log of the 1,032-mile route.

The People

• William Clayton: The journal's author and camp clerk. He wants to serve his community, record the expedition accurately, and maintain his family's welfare. He endures physical sickness, blistering feet, and long separations from loved ones, transforming into a seasoned transcontinental traveler and cartographer.
• Brigham Young: President of the church and leader of the migration. He seeks to maintain order, secure safe passage across the wilderness, and establish a new settlement. He directs camp movements, resolves disputes over equipment, manages interactions with Native Americans and competing emigrant groups, and oversees spiritual worship.
• Heber C. Kimball: A senior leader and close associate of Clayton. He works to assist wagon teams through difficult crossings and rough roads, offering counsel and fellowship throughout the journey.
• Diantha Clayton: Clayton's wife, who remains behind during the early stages of the migration. She endures illness and childbirth in Illinois before being reunited with her husband in the pioneer settlements.

In Its Own Voice

"The boys seemed to learn the words our teamsters used to drive the cattle and would run and in their way help to drive."

Clayton describes the friendly interaction between local Pottawattamie youth and the Mormon wagon trains as they pass a village.

"There is something romantic in the scenery around here, and the prospect cannot well be exaggerated."

While camped near the Loop Fork of the Platte River, Clayton reflects on the natural beauty of the western landscape.

"I find the whole distance to be 1,032 miles and am now prepared to make a complete traveler's guide from here to the Great Salt Lake..."

At the conclusion of his return journey, Clayton summarizes the primary practical achievement of his grueling daily measurements.

What It's Really About

Beneath its daily entries of mileage and weather, the journal is a record of communal organization under extreme stress. It examines how a displaced religious society maintains social structure, spiritual devotion, and administrative order while traveling through unfamiliar terrain. Clayton's obsessive record-keeping highlights a desire to impose mathematical clarity on a wild, unpredictable landscape. The text contrasts the harsh physical demands of trail life—disease, extreme temperatures, and mechanical failure—with an unwavering belief in divine providence. It also captures the complex dynamics of the American frontier, recording interactions between Latter-day Saint pioneers, Native American tribes, and Oregon-bound migrants as they navigate the same overland routes.

Why Read It Today

William Clayton's Journal appeals to readers interested in western American history, pioneer narratives, and historical diaries. Reading it feels like sitting alongside a methodical observer who records the practical realities of nineteenth-century travel without romanticized flourishes. Clayton notes small details that flesh out daily life on the trail: the sound of camp bands playing in the evening, the struggle to haul wagons through dense willow thickets, the taste of wild gooseberries, and the frustration of broken wooden cogs on an odometer.

The text does present challenges for modern readers. The narrative follows a strict, repetitive diary structure, filled with mundane logistics, weather reports, and stock counts that can feel monotonous over long stretches. Clayton's entries also reflect the period attitudes and casual prejudices of a nineteenth-century European-American traveler observing Native populations and non-Mormon emigrants. Yet these unvarnished observations are precisely what give the journal its value. It remains a grounded, highly specific account of endurance, human logistics, and geographic discovery.