I’m glad so many appreciated the same thing in this poem that I did. DCL noted something important, I think — the stolid, pedestrian nature of the poem right up to the kicker line. That may have been deliberate on the poet’s part: not only did it make the contrast with David Y.’s “bit but” so great, but it also perhaps reflected the steady, sturdy, unremarkable daily plodding of the pioneer … until you unexpectedly caught a glimpse of his soul. What secret yearnings lie hidden in any of us? as TOClark poignantly notes, and what unacknowledged sacrifices for the gospel.

It’s a little hard to find information on him; there do not seem to be any histories put online by his family. His baptism is listed in New Family Search as May 1868, which was just a month before he left Liverpool on the Constitution. The ship records show that he was a shepherd.

He traveled overland by train and then in the John Gillespie Company which started in Benton, Wyoming, and traveled to Utah. He was 16 at the time, had 70 pounds of luggage, and had no other people named McDonald traveling with him.

There is a history of him in the DUP collections. Too bad those aren’t online!

Francis McDonald served a mission in the Southern States and was there at the time of the Joseph Standing murder and faced threats and persecution for his beliefs.

He was a farmer in Salt Lake County. He is listed in Utah state records as having a registered brand.

He had two wives, Zenobia Anderson (1847-1904) and Emily Rozella Stevenson (1865-1946), and large numbers of children. It’s hard to tell exactly how many in New Family Search with the merges and disputes, but probably around 18-20. His first son was named Francis, after himself, and then his next two sons were named William Wallace and Robert Bruce.

You’d have to say he was proud of his Scottish heritage!

The author of this poem was one of the later children of his second marriage, and by the time she came along, he may have not spoken much about the home he left when he was a teenager. In fact, his second wife provided the information for his death certificate, and his place of birth, Forfar, or Forfarshire, was listed as “Fordforshire.”

So, in answer to Clark’s question, I think it’s fairly safe to say that the “Pioneer Father” of the poem was Francis McDonald and any history of the man should include this lovely poem by his daughter.

In a future world, when the books of life are opened and communication is perfect, I think we’ll all be surprised at the longings and heartaches so many of our neighbors silently bore.