On Feb 18, 1856, the Ship JOHN J. BOYD, Thomas Justin master, arrived from
LIVERPOOL. It appears that a good half of the passengers are from Norway
with the rest from England, Great Britain, USA and Italy. The passengers on this ship were a group of Latter-day Saints.
She was built in 1855 by S. G. Bogart at New York City, New York, and named after John J. Boyd, an early marine merchant. The ship was owned by William Tyson of New York. She had a buthen of 1311 tons, her length was 195 feet x beam 38 feet and depth 28 feet. She was a three- decker with a square stern, round tuck,
and billethead. Apparently in 1860 this packet ship was damaged by fire and
salvaged. In July 1863, probably because of the Civil War, the vessel was
sold to foreign owners.
We had this information posted to TheShipsList by John Faludi. John thought he'd mention it because there are none of the usual clues that
would tip you off to a ship with Norwegian passengers and there's an off
chance it's been overlooked.
Nearly two thousand Latter-day Saints were transported to America in three voyages by the full-bodied ship John J. Boyd of New York. Her first voyage began at
Liverpool on 12 December 1855, just a few months after she was launched. The shipmaster was Captain Thomas Austin. He had
previously skippered the 1418-ton ship Jacob A. Westervelt and the 1448-ton ship Cultivator. It was a well-ordered company. Rules of cleanliness and conduct
were established. A trumpet called the emigrants to prayer morning and evening, and religious services were held frequently in the English, Danish, and Italian
languages.
During the crossing the square-rigger encountered severe gales and hurricanes and midway in the Atlantic came upon the clipper ship Louis Napoleon in a sinking
condition. The stricken craft was from Baltimore and bound for Liverpool with a cargo of flour. Her mast and spars were blown away and her leeward bulwarks
smashed. Realizing the hopeless situation, her master and crew asked to be taken off their ship. They were welcomed aboard the John J. Boyd, whose own hands
were suffering from sickness and exhaustion. The emigrants were also suffering. Measles had broken out, and the death rate was high among the children. In
describing the weather and health conditions, Elder Charles R. Savage, a returning missionary, wrote:
Our captain got superstitious on account of the long passage, and ordered that there should be no singing on board; the mate said that all ships that had preachers on
board were always sure of a bad passage; however, the Lord heard our prayers, and in His own due time we arrived at our destination. On the evening of the 15th
of February we were safely at anchor-having been 66 days out from Liverpool.... On our taking the pilot, he informed us that there had been many disasters during
the months of January and February; many ships had been wrecked. We made the passage without the loss of a single spar. On 16 February the emigrants landed at
New York.
Under the command of Captain J. H. Thomas, her master since 1857, the John J. Boyd sailed from Liverpool on 23 April 1862 with 702 Latter-day Saints aboard.
Apostles Charles C. Rich, Amasa M. Lyman, and George Q. Cannon organized the company and appointed Elders James S. Brown as president and John Lindsay
and Joseph C. Rich as his counselors. There were also five other returning missionaries besides the presidency. After a thirty-nine-day voyage, which though
successful was somewhat longer than usual because of head winds, the Saints landed on 1 June at New York.
On 30 April 1863 the John J. Boyd with 767 Mormons aboard sailed from Liverpool again under the command of Captain J. H. Thomas. Elder William W. Cluff
presided over the Saints, assisted by Elders Knud H. Bruun and William S. Baxter-three of nine returning missionaries. Most of the emigrants were from Denmark,
Norway, and Sweden. During the twenty-nine-day voyage sanitation and food were commendable. The emigrants sighted a number of icebergs and whales. The
vessel arrived at New York on 29 May.
Named for an early marine merchant, the John J. Boyd was owned by William Tyson of New York. She was a three- decker with a square stern, round tuck, and
billethead. Apparently in 1860 this packet ship was damaged by fire and salvaged. In July 1863, probably because of the Civil War, the vessel was sold to foreign
owners. https://www.vii.com/~nelsonb/ship_desc.htm#jboyd
