Sarah Ellen's family was converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and they made plans to sail for American. Sarah's parents, William (33 or 34) and Betsy Barlow Ashton (33), their children Betsy (11), Sarah Ellen (10), Mary (4), and Elizabeth Ann (1 or 2), left Liverpool, England in may 1856 on the ship "Horizon".
While at sea (or in Boston), Sarah's sister, Elizabeth, died. The family arrived in America and traveled to Iowa City, Iowa. They had to wait there nearly a month for their handcarts to be finished. they then joined with the Martin Company.
They traveled several weeks and on August 4, 1856, a baby girl, Sarah Ann, was born on the plains in Nebraska. A short time later on August 26, 1856, Sarah Ellen's mother, Betsy, died. Two weeks later on September 11, 1856, the new baby, Sarah Ann, also died.
After this sad tragedy, Sarah's father became discouraged, left his three little girls with the company, returned to New York, and later went back to England. The Saints cared for the little girls as well as they could. They all suffered greatly from food shortages and the lack of warm clothing. Sarah Ellen's oldest sister, Betsy, froze to death. This left Sarah and her sister, Mary, to continue walking on to the Salt Lake Valley. They arrived on November 30, 1856.
They were met by a group of Saints who took them in and cared for them. Later, they found a home with the Hatfield family in Farmington, Utah. They remained there until Sarah married Thomas W. Beckstead when she was 15. Sarah and Thomas had 10 children, four of whom died as infants.
Sarah devoted her life to her children, her husband, and her church. In 1887, the Beckstead family moved to Idaho. Sarah read in the paper where her father was advertising for his family. Sarah Ellen sent to England for him to come and join her family. Sarah's father accepted her invitation and Sarah cared for her father until his death.
Sarah Ellen lived a good life helping the sick and needy. Surely, she learned to trust in God and be forgiving. She lived to be 92.
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I think this needs to be researched a little more. Though there is a family legend that William Ashton left his family because of discouragement. evidence indicates that he and several members of the handcart company stopped at FT Laramie to join the Army. These enlistments provided much needed money for the handcart company.
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William Ashton served in the infantry for five years and discharged Benicia. From there he returned to England. Later in life he would immigrate to Idaho.
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