Harriet Spinks Brooks (see her entry on the website Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868) traveled to Utah with the John D. Holladay Company in 1866. This company consisted of 350 people traveling in 69 wagons. Its departure point was Wyoming, Nebraska, which is about 40 miles south of Omaha on the west bank of the Missouri River.
It must have been a wonderful reunion between John and Harriet when the wagon train pulled into the valley on 25 Sep 1866. The marriage date that I have listed for them simply says "Sep 1866." That means that they probably tied the knot sometime within the next five days after she arrived in the valley.
John had been baptized a member of the LDS Church in 1862. He probably would have been unable to travel back to England between 1862 and 1866 because, as far as I can tell, he had deserted the Royal Navy. I would venture the guess that penalties for deserters were harsh. From a previously posted history on this site, we know that after arriving in Utah John "earned and saved his money to send for his sweetheart Harriet Spinks Brooks whom he had left in England." Four years of earning and saving money to send for his sweetheart represents a significant amount of devotion and commitment. It's not quite the seven years that Jacob worked for Rachel, but it's pretty impressive nonetheless.
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