In 1838 he came west to visit a sister, Mrs. G. Reynolds at Victoria, Ill., and another at Trivoli. These sisters had moved west during the three years previous. Communication with friends and relatives in the east was kept up by letters for which the recipient paid a postage charge of 25 cents. All letters were written on large sheets of foolscap paper, sealed with sealing wax and some kind of stamp pressed on the hot wax. Potatoes are selling from 20 to 25 cents.
Times are very hard.
In the autumn of 1844 three wagons were loaded with household goods and a start made from a point one mile north of Victoria, with Lake Senachwine as the expected destination. Settlers were very few and the road, simply wheel tracks in the grass, were soon left behind. The compass was then used for determining directions. Sometime after leaving Boyd's Grove the important question how to descend the bluffs to the sand prairie arose. In time wagon tracks leading to a road that was known for many as the Sampson Rowe hill road, were found.