Recollections of a Handcart Pioneer of 1860: A Woman's Life on the Mormon Frontier

by Mary Ann Hafen, Donna Toland Smart (Introduction)

In the summer of 1860 the author of these recollections, Mary Ann Stucki, then six years old, walked beside her parents’ handcart from Florence (Omaha), Nebraska, to Salt Lake City, Utah. The family, converts to Mormonism, had left their comfortable home near Bern, Switzerland, to make the long journey to the Mormon Zion. Nearly eighty years later, Mary Ann Hafen published this account of her life, giving us an unparalleled, candid, inside view of the Mormon woman’s world. Called to go with the Swiss company to settle the “Dixieland” region of southern Utah —a hot, dry, inhospitable land—Mary Ann’s family lived in thatch, dugout, and adobe houses they built themselves. While still hardly more than a child, Mary Ann cut wheat with a sickle, gleaned cotton fields, made braided straw hats for barter, and spun and dyed cloth for her dresses. Always sustained by her faith in the church, she took part in a millenarian scheme that failed—a communal order—and entered a polygamous marriage, raising almost single-handedly a large family. Mary Ann Hafen has left an authentic, matter-of-fact record of poverty, incredibly hard work, and loss of loved ones, but also of pleasures great and small. It is a unique document of a little-known way of life.

Genres: History, Mormonism, Religion, United States, Biography, Nonfiction, Historical

93 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Molly Steur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating account of the Mormon church from the memory of Mary from childhood to old age. Incredible source if you’re interested in female agency in the church and the rise and development of the Church of Latter Day Saints before federal intervention in Utah

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short, quick read. I was looking for information about the Handcart pioneers, which covers only 6 pages in this book. I was more fascinated by her life as the wife of a polygamist. She first married her Uncle, John Reber. He was married to her father's sister. But the day after they returned home from being married, He was run over by a wagon and died. So, she married again being the second wife of John Hafen. Mary Ann Hafen had seven children and lived most of her married life in a different town from her husband.

I admire women who worked so hard, providing for their children, and who rarely complained about their life. This woman seems to be a remarkable person full of love and kindness. There is definitely something to be learned from the kind of lives these type of women lived.

[Bobi Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love first hand accounts. She gets into the nitty gritty of her life without the outsider bias/judgement that often comes from historians. I got a new window into emigration and polygamy and the founding of the west from a straightforward woman's perspective.

[Bret Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book detailing a life from the later pioneer period pairs well with the Thanksgiving celebration. Bountiful harvests and scarce harvests depended much on weather, pests, and human illness or injury or other reasons to absent from the plow or the workbench--most often the plow. The male help (father, husband, brother, or son) might have been absent due to a call to serve on a distant missionary or other church assignment, to relocate at the direction of a church leader, or due to tending to multiple households, sometimes distant from each other.

The story from the author's childhood of eating potatoes that arrived in somewhat damaged condition (frozen then thawed in transit): "We had to eat them though. I remember that they tasted good--pleasantly sweet--but we children would cry with the stomach-ache after each meal" (p. 36). Mary Ann's father, Samuel Stucki, walked "three days without eating" in the early part of his journey to engage himself in temporary carpentry work for which he was paid in wheat and potatoes. The family was grateful to "gather in" what they did; they had to eat to live.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, interesting read of life in southern Utah

Things that stuck out to me
- She remembers her family converting because one of her uncles had a dream a few weeks before and thought the missionaries visiting fulfilled his vision
- There were several times as a kid where she would've been hungry
- She entered a plural marriage with her (non-related) and much older Uncle, who passed away while on their honeymoon due to an accident. She then reluctantly entered another plural marriage with a different man (who I believe was 16 years older than her) and dealt with some feeling of neglect
- Sickness played a large role in their life. She told several stories of infant mortality
- She moved to a new settlement and raised her seven kids mostly by herself. Her husband had three other families to look after
- The United Order was tried multiple times but eventually stopped working due to jealousy

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a quick read and I’m so glad that Mrs. Hafen and her family decided to write it. I picked the book up at Fort Laramie, Wyoming in June 2021 on my road trip across Nebraska to follow the history of the various pioneer wagon trains. We are blessed to have a real and honest account of her travels and the courageous trip these emigrants from Europe took and all they gave up to have a better life in America. These are the stories our children should be reading. There are other books on the Mormon-Pioneer exodus to the west so I picked up another recommended by the US Park Rangers. It’s in my books if you’re interested in taking a look.

[Pam Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Ann Stucki Hafen's journey began in Switzerland when they chose to go to America to be with other Mormon pioneers. She kept a journal. She wrote about the ship and the journey across the Atlantic Ocean. She wrote about walking with the pioneers in 1860 to Utah with their handcart. She spoke German and had to learn English. They went to southern Utah to settle in 1861. She was cheerful and optimistic during illnesses, floods, drought, starvation, etc. She loved her family. She had neighbors who helped her even though they were miles apart. Her journal is easy to read. The reader can see her trials and joys through her writing.

[Kathryn Pritchett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful details of a Swiss pioneer's life.

[Wesley Redfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! A plainly-written account of child who walked the Mormon Trail while her father pushed a handcart. She cites the hardships of living the Mormon life in the desert southwest.

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent account from a woman who experienced trials and joy while raising her family in southern Utah.

[Rubyandbrandbrandonhotmail.Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was so good!!! I love firsthand accounts of hardships and triumphs!!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this story of her life.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short book really opened my eyes to some of the struggles of the pioneers. Much of the focus is on her life in the St. George area where her family was asked to settle. This book really fostered my appreciation for all the hard work and strife they patiently endured. I really appreciate all the modern conveniences I have, and I'm more motivated to work hard - since women like Sister Hafen pretty much did nothing but work, even when in pain. And she didn't seem to ever complain!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book to put up for my grandaughter and LOVED IT. Great book for young women.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read. I am so grateful I live nowadays because there is no way I would have survived being a pioneer in 1860

[Mtalley2]

I loved the fresh outlook on a hardship.

[Malauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to read about a pioneer woman straight from her mouth. I found it interesting to read about the author's adult life especially her reaction to/dealing with polygamy.

[Kathee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yikes.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this sweet recollection of a hard life. Made me think and feel very thankful for the life we enjoy.

[Jerrina]

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