Within 2 months of their arrival in Nauvoo James, Sarah and their oldest daughter, Jane performed baptisms in the Nauvoo Temple for their deceased ancestors. They were living in a small cabin just north of the temple. These temple records show us the importance our ancestors placed on gathering where there was a temple so they could be baptized for their ancestors. The Lord had required all baptisms be recorded in Doctrine & Covenants 127:6. But it is both obvious the recorder wrote down what he heard the person in the font say and obvious James spoke with less of an Irish accent than Sarah or Jane! The recorder wrote down James McDonald, but wrote down Sarah McDunn for Sarah Ferguson McDonald and Jane McDonough for Jane McDonald! We know they our our ancestors because of who they were baptized for. At that time the proxy could be baptized for ancestors of either gender. The stated relationship is a helpful tool to verify these are records of our ancestors being baptized for their deceased ancestors. It is interesting that James was baptized for his older brother John, who died as an infant. The concept that those who died as infants need not be baptized was not clear in 1844 as the doctrine was only recently restored (late 1841) and had been paused until a wood font was built within the Nauvoo Temple basement. The wood font must have been where our ancestors were baptized. It wasn’t replaced by a stone font until 1845.

A Daguerreotype of the Maid of Iowa appeared in a local newspaper, the Iowa City Standard. Although smaller than many riverboats, it was loaded with over 200 Saints when our ancestors boarded her in March of 1844. This mention in the Iowa City Standard said, “the Iowa-built Maid of Iowa was the first steamboat to steam up the Cedar River to Cedar Rapids. It also hauled out a full load into Iowa City as well as a keelboat full of freight. On its return trip, the keelboat caught on a snag and lost its cargo of corn when it split in two. The Maid of Iowa came back to Iowa City on July 5 and Sept. 1, 1844. It looked like the Maid would be making regular trips until she was impounded in St. Louis after her last trip.”