Mary Hurren left England at the age of seven, accompanied by her grandfather, David Reeder; his children, Caroline and Robert Reeder; her parents, James and Eliza Reeder Hurren; and two little sisters, Emma and Sarah. A third sister, Selena, would be born in Iowa City while the Willie Handcart Company made final preparations for their 1,300 mile march through the wilderness to the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Mary walked most of this way.
The majority of the records of the pioneers record the difficulty of the wolves following their camps, hungry for the dying cattle and ever ready to exhume the shallow graves of their people. Even so, out of reverence and respect for the dead, shawls, linens and other coveted items were donated for burial coverings. Newlywed Sarah Ann Bitton of the Martin Handcart Company even tore up her wedding dress and donated it for this purpose.
On Sunday, October 26,1856, Brigham Young issued yet another of numerous calls for rescue of the handcart companies from the public pulpit. Many responded as quickly as possible, but Ephraim Knowlton Hanks had already been called by a voice during the night to go and help the handcart people:
Emily Hill, age 20, and her sister, Julia, age 23, were members of the Willie Handcart Company. Faithful to the cause they espoused, the sisters’ deeds were consistent with their beliefs. In traveling through Iowa, Emily and Julia were handed anonymous notes as inducements to stay there and not continue to Utah. They faced many trials but continued on.
