The "Josiah Bradley"

Shortly after the baptism of John Rees, his father and John, along with his sister, Maria, immigrated to America. Their voyage on the “Josiah Bradley” lasted two months and three days. It was a long, hard journey which ended in New Orleans. Their journey by sea forced them to cross the “Belt of Calms” which caused everyone concern, as not a breath of air would stir in these calms. John tells of an experience where the people anxiously waited, praying that sufficient wind would blow so they could continue their journey to America, but not a tiny breath of air stirred. The minutes grew into hours and the hours grew into days. It began to look like the days would grow into weeks.

The passengers secretly harbored the thought that they might be left there to perish. After several days, all hope was slowly vanishing. At that very moment, a voice pierced the calm. An elder stood up and declared boldly, “Calm your nerves. There is no need to worry. God will not leave us here to perish. This vessel will start moving at 10:00 tomorrow morning.”

This positive declaration provided a glimmer of hope. All through the night many passengers prayed. The following morning the air was still and quiet as usual. At 10:00 A.M. everyone gathered on the deck, wanting to believe. Promptly at 10:00, to the wonder of everyone there, a gentle breeze began to blow. The vessel started to move and gracefully kept moving until it reached the port in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ship’s records are housed in the Church Historian’s office, Salt Lake City, Utah. They show the passengers ages as: William Rees, age 49, boilermaker, Maria Rees age 19, and John Rees, age 15. These new converts had arrived in the U. S. but their journey was far from over for the little family from Wales.

From New Orleans they sailed up the Mississippi River to St. Joseph, Missouri and from there John and his father walked 150 miles to Council Bluffs where they secured employment a few miles distance from each other. They needed to both work so that money could be saved for the family to go west.