Practically every Utah family progenitors came early into the valley, provides material for a colorful biography, of three-generation dimensions. A number of these have been written. The Francom family is no exception in that its history provides rich and unusual material. It needs only the telling.

The beginning of this record as we know it in any detail was somewhere around 1815 when William Francom, the natural son of Elizabeth Francom, was born. Someone has traced an earlier beginning in barest outline back to the marriage of a Joseph Francom and a Jane Abbot in 1743 in Somerset, England. Their son Joseph was born in 1774. He married a Mary Olds in 1765. Their son, the their Joseph in the line, was born in 1765 in Somerset. A fourth Joseph, the son of this union, married a Mary Evan in 1788. These were the parents of Elizabeth Francom who bore the before-mentioned William, whose father is unknown. Is suggested that a "James Brown" was the father, others suggest that "James Brown" was in fact James Francom, a 1st cousin to Elizabeth. In 1837 William Francom married Amy Harding, who was 4 years older than William. William was a blacksmith by trade.

Nine years after the marriage of William and Amy, they and their three children migrated to South Africa. There was at that time a colonization movement in that direction. What prompted the Francom family to join that migration is not known. It has been suggested that his father or grand father financed the trip and sent him away to a new life. In South Africa he and his family settled in Uitenhage, a few miles from Port Elizabeth in the Cape Colony.

There, sometime after settling in Uitenhage, William with the help of his sons established and operated a traveling store, moving with portable supplies in a wagon or wagons to sell to the Dutch farmers. His third son Joseph, having learned the Dutch language, maned the store-on-wheels to the Dutch families in rural areas. Sometime later William and his sons expanded, establishing a blacksmith shop and a saloon in Uitenhage. Ten children in all were born to William and Amy, seven children to adulthood--William George, Joseph, John, Samuel, Mary Ann, and James, three children died befor the age of 2yrs-- Samuel, Jonathan, Elizabeth.

Few details of their life in South Africa are at hand. At sometime in the years between 1846 and 1865 some members of the family, in all probability the father William, joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; though his wife Amy and the younger members of the family were not baptized into the church until after they arrived the United States.

A journal, kept by Miner G. Atwood who organized and conducted the migration to the United State and as far as Nebraska in 1865, provides the following information:

On March 1, 1865 Miner Atwood began to organize a group of the South African Colonists and make arrangments for passage to the United States. The cost of the passage was 18 pounds sterling per adult, families for 20 pounds, with cabin passage for 25 pounds.

Mr Atwood mentions stopping with "Francoms" several times in his traveling from place to place during the time he was completing arrangements, but gives no pertinent information regarding the family. Amy and four of the children made preparation regarding departing from South Africa. The party boarded the ship Mexicano on April 1, 1865. Amy Francom and her children John, Samuel, Mary Ann, and James were amongst the group. The father, William,spent the night aboard with them as the ship lay in harbor. The next morning he took his farewell. He remained in South Africa with his son George. The son Joseph had migrated the previous year and was already in Utah. The oldest son William came to Utah first, 1 year prior to Joseph, and had made preparations in the Utah Territory for the rest of the family to come..

About six weeks had passed between the beginning of the journal and the day when the vessel sailed with its 42 Mormon or potential Mormon members of the South African colony, bound for New York and the long trek from these to the land of the dreams, Utah. The ship weighed anchor at noon on the 12th of April. The day-by-day report of the voyage offers sharp contrast to present day passage, though it was considered a reasonably comfortable voyage for that time. They were herded together in two compartments, one for men and another for the women and younger children. Atwood laid down certain rules and regulations amongst them one to the effect that smoking must be done on deck and not in the compartments.

He enforced and supervised the cleaning of compartments. This was not a very easy task as all possessions and food was stored there. They had had their own cook and steward and used the ships galley in which to do the cooking. Atwood warned them against complaining to the captain or accepting medicines or other things from him.

The long two months and four days of the passage cooped together as they were, it was inevitable that nerves would wear thin. There were bickering and an occasional rebellion against rules and "much complaining by the women". Mr. Atwood records that Amy Francom "took the office of chief of the grumblers".

The second day on board a school was organized for the children. Mr. Atwood and two others took turns as teachers.

Other disconcerting entries in the journal tell that Samuel Francom was so incorrigible that he would not respond to remonstrance and on two occasions it was necessary to tie him to the ship's mast until he promised to behave. Later his brother John was accorded the same treatment. Incidentally, they were the only children or young people mentioned in the journal, aside from the original listing of names.

Each day morning and evening prayers were held in each of the compartments. Sunday Services were observed. Guards were always posted during the night outside the compartments, on two occasions the "devil was on board", causing dissension amongst the crew and passengers, but he was soon dispersed with prayers and did not accomplish much. There was some sickness from time to time and one member of the group died and was buried at sea. They sighted other vessels, saw many flying fish and an occasional whale. Their greatest suffering was from bedbugs, which infected their compartments.

The vessel finally arrived in New York Harbor on June 19th. Their stay in New York was of one day duration. They traveled "in the cars" to Albany the next day, thence to Detroit, then Chicago where they were ferried across the Mississippi. Next day they went to Palmyra and onto St. Joseph by steamboat and finally "arrived in Nebraska". How this was achieved by boat is a complete mystery. The entry for July 8th records the baptism of "Sister Francom and her children, John, Samuel, Mary Ann, and James at Nebraska City".

The July 21st entry tells of the arrival of 66 wagons to carry the Saints west. At this point the Atwood record reports that he was assigned to conduct a group of Danish Saints to utah and so left the company of which the Francom family was a part. Subsequent events demonstrate that they all arrived in Utah, but their adventures between Nebraska and Utah are unrecorded.