Joseph Anderson Hanna

“ I know one minister who, during the decade from 1850 to 1860, was immersed twelve times, each time having a good horse under him. On one occasion in January, after swimming a stream and being wet to the shoulders, he rode twenty-five miles and preached that night and twice on Sunday in the same wet clothes. And he still lives and loves to tell of the arduous work of those days. Those pioneer ministers frequently traveled two hundred miles on horseback to attend special meetings or conferences, and were of necessity absent from home a great deal. ”

“ There were a great many old bachelors among the early settlers of the country. They were required to live on their claims to hold them. Lonely and disconsolate, they sighed for the joys and comforts of a real home. The married man could double his possessions, as the government gave the wife also, in her own name, one-half of a section of land. Hence on each fresh arrival of immigrants these anxious bachelors were on the lookout for a fair young lady to share their comforts and increase their possessions. Too often they married in haste and soon parted. ”

“ When death did visit a family the neighbors came to their assistance, comforted the bereaved, made the coffin, dug the grave, and conveyed the remains to its final resting place. The minister of the gospel directed the mourners to the true source of all comfort. Thus we assisted and comforted one another without compensation or cost. Now it requires a great deal of money to die and receive a Christian burial.
The first work of the pioneer was to build a house to shelter the family. ”