Son of Jesse Perse Harmon and Anna Barnes

Married Rosaline Chandler, 29 November 1962, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

Children - Anna Rose Harmon, Milo Ansil Harmon, Joseph Martin Harmon, Mary Sophronia Harmon, Lucy Elmeda Harmon, Emma Theresa Harmon, Jane Marinda Harmon, Zina Belle Harmon, Lily Orilla Harmon

Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, Ansil P. Harmon Company, 1862

HOW MANY ARE COMING?—Inquiries are often made relative to the number of immigrants on their way to Deseret this season; but so far as our knowledge extends, the exact number has not been reported. In a note from one of the teamsters in Captain [Ansel P.] Harmon’s company, written on the eve of their departure from Florence, homewards, it is stated that the number of immigrants to each wagon, in that company, averaged about eighteen. Should all the wagons sent down from the mountains return with a proportionate number, over five thousand souls will be brought across the plains by that means, exclusive of those coming in independent companies, of which there are many.

Trail excerpt by Gottlieb Ence - "Now the time has come and everything was readey to start, I received my Team 4 yoke of Cattel to drive. We left Salt Lake City about midel of April under the Captain Hansel [Ansel] Harman [Harmon]. We found it verey dificulty to travel, the road very soft and the Water very high. there not hardly a Day for nearly a month but were we had to go into the deep Rivers and got wete sometime lay in the Cloth[es] all night wete and cold[.] at a place called Hams & Blackfork two Rivers imposible to cross the Streams with our Teams, but we had to make Boats out of some of our best Wagonboxes in order to fairy our things acros the River, we [illegible] tightned the craks with rop & Tare [tar], Boat was loadet and we went acros with it. Now it was allright to get across the River down Stream, but how to get the Boat cross again up stream was the question, we had some long rop along, then we tide our rops on to the Boat and on the other side the River we heatched a yoke of Cattel to it and then they pulled it acros the same was with the Wagon, the Boxes and the runing gare were chained together so they would not come apart, the Wagon tonge was tide up perttey high so it would not stick into the Bank, a Yoke of Cattel were hitched onto the rop on the other side, the Wagon then was let into the Water and the Cattle kept on pulling for quite a while, all at once the Wagon was seen again, by every one that came across we Boys would schout for joy, the rop was every time [hauled] back in the boat this way the Way we got all our things acros the water, the Cattel had all to swin. We crosed the Greenriver in a Feryboa[t] this way we laboured untill we got down to the Sweetwater by the so called Indipendent [Independence] Roc[k] by crossing that river on a raft the first was over Ballanced and dipt into the Water and a few things were lost. It was strange to say for all we had to be in the water so much non of the Boys took sick and non were drowndt, the Lord had been with us Men. After leaving the Sweetwater, we got along all right only we incountered very heavey thunder storms and Rains. We arived after two month Travel at Florence all save, hundert of Saints were waiting theire for us to bring them home to Zion, they were all much pleased to see us come. We took anough Flour from Home with us for the Emigrants, we stationed it along the road by some of the Mail Station and have some of the Boys left with it to guard it. Groberies [Groceries] for the Saints was bought such as Sugar, dried apples a little Coffee & Tea some Rice. The Wagons were loadet with Saints thier lugage, Provisions and some fraight. In the first few weeks we got along very well, but after we got into the Sandy Plains the weather was very hot and the Water very hot and unhealthy, the People began to be sick mainy children and grown Person Died on what we called Diahhrea the same it was with the stock, they getin poisoned from Alcaly [alkali] and mainy Died. People and Cattel dieing to quite a alarming extent nearly every Night some one was dead.

Hansel Harman our Captain, called us Men together told us we must live nearer to God, do less swearing, do more parying [praying], and to aske God to remove the sickness from our Camp, we prayed and exercised faith in God and He answered our prayers. We get along all right after this untill we came into Ecko [Echo] Canyon, while traveling a little late one Evening too Wagons dipt over, one in the creek [illegible] were two Person where drowndet, the other with 8 Persons in it a Lady lately confined turned over a inbankment but no one was hurt[.] quite a gloom came over the Camp. When I reflected one of the Wagons turned over right on a head of me if I should had dipt [tipped] over it would had been a terrible thing, as I was loadet with 12 big cooking Stoves and through taking pitty on Sister [Helene] and two children I put her behind in the Wagon, but thanks be to God Nothing happened to me nor my Team all the way, but I returned with my heart felt joy Clear countious [conscience] with the knowledge that I have done my duty. We arrived in Salt Lake City in the beginning of October 1862."

The fourth Church train, Capt. Ansel [P.] Harmon, arrived in this city on Sunday evening. There were some five hundred immigrants in the train, most of whom, as represented, were in good health on their arrival, but there was considerable sickness among them during the first four or five weeks after leaving the Missouri river, principally the measles, which unfortunately prevailed among the children, as we are informed, to a great extent, and proved fatal to some ten or fifteen. A wagon or two upset, by which two children lost their lives, and one or two adults were injured. There were no other accidents worthy of note, and all seemed joyous on their arrival; the teamsters particularly, who had driven ox teams to the Missouri river and back, exhibited much satisfaction on getting back home again. Most or all of them, were residents of Great Salt Lake City.