An Unexpected Family Connection!

This is the home of Heber C. Kimball and his wife Vilate Kimball. It is one of my favorite sites to serve in because of a new found connection between my ancestors, the McBrides, and thier son David Patton Kimball. The McBrides were part of the Wille Martin Handcart Company of 1856 that left late to cross from Iowa to the Salt Lake Valley. I knew that Brigham Young had sent a rescue party out from Salt Lake and that 27 of them had met up with the near frozen and starving Saints at the Sweetwater River. It was then that 4 young men from the rescue party carried the women and children across the freezing river all day until all were on the other side. What I didn't know was that David Patton Kimball was one of those boys, 17 years old at the time, who would have helped carry my 2nd great grandfather and his newly widowed mother and siblings across the river. To say I am very grateful for his service and sacrifice isn't really enough. To serve in his families home here in Nauvoo is a sacred privilege.