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The Miraculous Making of the Mormon Trail Map
By Mormon pioneer great-great grandson, Frank Nielsen
Written October 2nd, 2014
By Mormon pioneer great-great grandson, Frank Nielsen
Written October 2nd, 2014
Inspiration came from Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake
Today is my 61st birthday, and it is 36 years since I first had the idea that I could create a Mormon Trail map, which was just finished today! Here I want talk about the 1899 lithograph (pictured above with me holding it) to tell you where it came from and how it inspired me to eventually make my own Mormon Trail maps.
In 1899 in Salt Lake City, Utah, my grandfather, John Franklin Nielsen (Grandpa Frank), was 19 years old when he bought a pictorial wall map entitled, Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake (seen in the photo above, with me holding it). It is a 14" by 41.25" color lithograph by an unknown artist, tracing the historical 1846 to 1847 route of the “Vanguard Company” of Mormon pioneers, led by Brigham Young.
This amazing wall map has a dashed line that goes from east to west depicting the trail route, with a dot for every stop along the way, with the dates and distances from camp to camp. The map has a beautiful montage of the most notable sights and experiences of the Mormon pioneers.
The science of map-making is called “cartography,” but I would call this lovely map “artography” because it is so amazingly artistic.
My guess is that Grandpa Frank and many others of pioneer progeny bought the Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake map when it was brand new in 1899 for the reason of honoring their own Mormon Pioneer ancestors, as well as because it is a fabulous, historical picture. Fortunately, Grandpa Frank kept his wall map in good condition.
On October 9th, 1953, I was seven days old, and it was the 35th birthday of my Dad, Merrill Rasmus Nielsen, when Grandpa Frank passed away. Dad inherited the map, and I inherited the name Frank.
My first memory of the map is from 1973, when I was 19 years old. My father had the original lithograph on an easel in his art room. Dad often painted nice oil paintings of nature scenes like the Teton Mountains, but he decided to paint a duplicate of this 1899 lithograph, which he was doing on a separate easel. When I first saw the lithograph, dad had glued it to a composite board, trying to save it from deterioration. Next to it he was sketching and painting this same scene on a same-size art board. He was planning to repaint it from scratch, although he was using watercolors and India ink instead of oil paints.
I had never heard Dad talk about the Mormon pioneers in general, and I had never even heard Dad or Mom talk about pioneer ancestry either. In fact, I don’t even know if they knew whether they had any Mormon pioneer ancestors. I didn’t know it at the time, but I have found that this rare 1899 commemorative map was made to honor Brigham Young's Vanguard Company of original Mormon pioneers from 1846 and 1847. It also was intended to honor tens of thousands of other Mormon pioneers from 1846 to 1869 as well, particularly the famous Mormon handcart companies of 1856 to 1860. Seeing this map for the first time got me interested, but then I got REALLY interested five years later, when Dad gave me the original 1899 lithograph.
The 1899 wall map was given to me in 1978
When I turned 25 years old in 1978, my dad gave me the map, which enlightened me regarding Mormon pioneer history. As of 2014, I can say that it actually changed my life, because it has caused me to learn about my own personal Mormon pioneer heritage. As a result, I now feel an urgency to inspire people to understand the importance of the Mormon pioneer migration, and to love the warm spirit of our ancestors and their immense faith.
Even in my ignorance of pioneer and family history, the 1899 map and dad's painting inspired me. It gave me an idea to make a map where I would show the old Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake as is, and make a modern map parallel to the old one, showing the country from Illinois to Utah. In 1978 I figured I would like to make a map showing where the Mormon pioneer trail actually went on a modern map, including what you can still see along the way. I had a burning desire and became intensely interested in my idea to make a modern guide map, even though I had zero map-making training, and I had no particular art skills. It was because of my interest in 1978 that Dad gave me the 1899 map for keeps. However, by then it was in poor condition, with gaps where the flaky paper had disappeared. I wanted to find a good condition copy to use for my own map making idea, but with no internet, and with information being hard to come by in those days, details or a replacement map were a challenge to find.
The Way West book miracle in 1983
Then came the book miracle. On a lunch break in 1983, I went to a bookstore in Orange County, California, looking at books about the American westward migration, and thinking about the map I would like to make someday. I had the 1899 map on my mind.
In the bookstore I looked high up on a shelf eight-and-a-half feet high and spied a large book, entitled The Way West. "Wow! This is going to be good!", I said to myself as I tiptoed and stretched as high as a 6'-4" man can reach, and just got my middle fingernail under the edge of the book. I scooted it forward until it fell. I caught it with both hands and it opened right to page 100. What do you think was on page 100? Yes, my astonished eyes beheld a photo of the 1899 wall map, Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake.
My unbelievable find led me to call the museum in Fort Worth Texas, where the map in the book was on display, and they sent me a high quality photo of their map for five dollars. In my view, this miracle affirmed the feeling that I was supposed to make my map, as if I had been called to do so. Remember that at the time, I knew nothing about my pioneer ancestry, yet it seems that I was already destined to honor them, and to inspire others to honor the Mormon pioneers as well.
I was off to a start on my mapping project, and knew that I had to do it, although I still didn't get to it for three more decades. I have excuses, such as I was young, starting a family, working full-time, and so on. Plus, with zero map-making skills or artistic training, and the non-existence of computer graphics, the old days were good times for me to find information and have ideas, but it was next to impossible for me to create the map yet. That was still over thirty years off.
Becoming a map maker and learning computer graphics
Ten years later, in 1993, I actually became a map maker and published my first of over 150 beautiful, interesting maps. I had actually become an "Artographer", as originally inspired by the 1899 map.
My first map was called Franko's Map of the Santa Ana Mountains. It was hand drawn on a drafting table, still pre-dating my computer graphics skills by six years. The Santa Ana Mountains map satisfied my want for a trail map for local mountain biking, and it sold well, along with other maps that I made.
Once I began making maps using computer graphics in 1999, my maps became very colorful, and my thoughts repeatedly turned to the Mormon Trail map idea. Computer graphics enabled me to employ similar colors on my maps as the 1899 map has, which I call "shades of chartreuse." However, with work and a family, and then a growing but very difficult maps business, I put off working on my Mormon Trail map indefinitely.
Commissioned by my stake president to make the Mormon Trail map
In 2010 I had a unique opportunity to revisit my map idea with my LDS stake president. It was President Paul Burch's last week of living in Corona, California, before moving to Arizona. I asked him if he would like to hear my Mormon Pioneer Trail map idea, which I hadn't told anybody about for years. I admitted that I had a map idea that I’d been working on in my head for over thirty years, told him about the inspiring 1899 wall map that I had gotten from my father, and said that I wanted to make an interesting historical map that also included what to see along the pioneer trail today. I even animated the story about reaching for the book The Way West, and how it fell off the high shelf and opened right to page 100. I found myself very excited to talk about the idea.
President Burch was interested and touched by my idea, and listened as I intensely expressed my idea. We then discussed how much good it could do to inspire people about the story of the Mormon pioneers. He clearly got the picture of what I intended to create and said, "Frank, as my last act as your stake president, I commission you to get this map done. This is important. You do it!"
Creating the Mormon Trail map in 2013 to 2014
After 35 years, on Christmas Day 2013, my Christmas gift to myself was to finally get started on creating the Mormon Trail map that I had been thinking about since 1978.
In May 2014, with my map about 90% finished, I asked my genealogy expert wife a simple question: “Why am I so compelled to make this map?” I rephrased it in a follow-up question: “Why am I so driven to make this map?” Then I asked, “Do you think I have pioneer ancestors?” I was implying that maybe my ancestors are calling me from beyond the grave, so that I will use my talents to create a map and inspire people to be interested in the Mormon pioneers, as well as their own genealogy. It was as if I was commissioned to do the work, even long before I had developed the talent to do so.
As of mid-2014, I knew that for the first time ever, I was truly in tune with what we Latter-day Saints call “The Spirit of Elijah”, which is the spirit of kinship and unity of family, and I was intent on inspiring people to tie their families together. I was thinking, “I desire to inspire before I expire!”
To my surprise, my wife indeed had information that my own Nielsen great-great grandparents were Mormon pioneer immigrants, arriving from Denmark in 1866. There is not a word for how emotional and excited this made me feel, learning that I am the great-great grandson of Mormon pioneers! I have since learned that I have 29 direct ancestors who immigrated to Utah by traveling the Mormon Trail.
In the process of creating this map, during 2014, I drove about 5,200 miles from Corona, California to Salt Lake City, Utah, and then to Nauvoo, Illinois, and back, including a 500-mile detour to Independence, Missouri. My wife Cindy and I were so excited to make this wonderful trip, spending a few days in Nauvoo, a few more in Salt Lake City, and visiting every site along the way. Without firsthand experience in places such as Carthage Jail, Mount Pisgah, Chimney Rock, Martin’s Cove, the Sixth Crossing of the Sweetwater River, Fort Bridger, and Echo Canyon, this map could not have been completed.
Our trip made my map authentic and accurate. Seeing these places and understanding what the Mormon pioneers had gone through supplemented and gave light to my ever-growing information base, which includes books, brochures, maps, websites, personal histories, as well as the precious 1899 wall map, titled Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake, which had begun my thinking about the Mormon Trail map in the first place.
All of the information came together, and was at last put down on paper, so to speak, just as I had envisioned ever since 1978.
The Mormon Trail folded map
Side One shows the 1899 Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake scaled down in comparison to the original, with a parallel map from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah. It is 37.5” wide by 25” tall, and it folds down to 4” x 8.5”. It is printed on high quality, waterproof, durable, synthetic paper. There are 5,367 words and 38 different captions, and 20 photos, all taken by me. The title block, with Nebraska’s Chimney Rock at sunset, was taken by my wife Cindy on her iPhone. Although this is a folded map, it is basically a guide book.
Side Two has details of the route of the Mormon pioneers, including Nauvoo (which was our favorite place to visit along the Mormon Trail), Salt Lake City and Temple Square (our other favorite place to visit), Echo Canyon to Salt Lake City, including Emigration Canyon (which is my new favorite mountain bike location), ten zoom-in detail maps, 45 photos, and dozens of captions, including 6,645 words. Side Two supplements Side One with details that the scale of Side One would not allow. Side Two reminds me of all the enjoyable stops that my wife Cindy and I made along the way, as I imagined my own ancestors walking along the Mormon Trail to the Salt Lake Valley.
Reproducing the wall map Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo, Illinois to Great Salt Lake
Separately, I’ve reproduced the 1899 wall map. My original from 1899 is 14” x 41.25” and my reproduction, enhanced with computer graphics, is enlarged to 15” x 48”. It looks amazing, and I’ve made it available on fine quality soft-laminated paper, canvas, or canvas framed. The map specifically honors Brigham Young’s Vanguard Company, who arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley in 1847, although it honors tens of thousands of other Mormon pioneers as well. My wish is for you to have a copy of this map in your family for generations to come, just as I’ve had in mine.
Finished and available to all after 36 years in the making!
Like you, I want to learn all about Mormon pioneer history. After 36 years in the making, my map, which I call Frank Nielsen's Mormon Trail Map, is complete. My colorful "Artography" is full of photos and words that will tell you the amazing story of one of the great chapters of American history.
Whether you desire to trace the Mormon Trail by car, or by bike; if you want to pull a handcart across a piece of Nebraska, Wyoming, or Utah; or if you just want to learn about the history, this map will inspire you and help you to understand how amazing the Mormon pioneers truly were. Please study your very own copy of the Mormon Trail map, which was patiently compiled and depicted 100% by yours truly.
I am Frank Nielsen, the great-great grandson of a Mormon Pioneer, and professional "Artographer", at your service. Thank you!
Today is my 61st birthday, and it is 36 years since I first had the idea that I could create a Mormon Trail map, which was just finished today! Here I want talk about the 1899 lithograph (pictured above with me holding it) to tell you where it came from and how it inspired me to eventually make my own Mormon Trail maps.
In 1899 in Salt Lake City, Utah, my grandfather, John Franklin Nielsen (Grandpa Frank), was 19 years old when he bought a pictorial wall map entitled, Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake (seen in the photo above, with me holding it). It is a 14" by 41.25" color lithograph by an unknown artist, tracing the historical 1846 to 1847 route of the “Vanguard Company” of Mormon pioneers, led by Brigham Young.
This amazing wall map has a dashed line that goes from east to west depicting the trail route, with a dot for every stop along the way, with the dates and distances from camp to camp. The map has a beautiful montage of the most notable sights and experiences of the Mormon pioneers.
The science of map-making is called “cartography,” but I would call this lovely map “artography” because it is so amazingly artistic.
My guess is that Grandpa Frank and many others of pioneer progeny bought the Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake map when it was brand new in 1899 for the reason of honoring their own Mormon Pioneer ancestors, as well as because it is a fabulous, historical picture. Fortunately, Grandpa Frank kept his wall map in good condition.
On October 9th, 1953, I was seven days old, and it was the 35th birthday of my Dad, Merrill Rasmus Nielsen, when Grandpa Frank passed away. Dad inherited the map, and I inherited the name Frank.
My first memory of the map is from 1973, when I was 19 years old. My father had the original lithograph on an easel in his art room. Dad often painted nice oil paintings of nature scenes like the Teton Mountains, but he decided to paint a duplicate of this 1899 lithograph, which he was doing on a separate easel. When I first saw the lithograph, dad had glued it to a composite board, trying to save it from deterioration. Next to it he was sketching and painting this same scene on a same-size art board. He was planning to repaint it from scratch, although he was using watercolors and India ink instead of oil paints.
I had never heard Dad talk about the Mormon pioneers in general, and I had never even heard Dad or Mom talk about pioneer ancestry either. In fact, I don’t even know if they knew whether they had any Mormon pioneer ancestors. I didn’t know it at the time, but I have found that this rare 1899 commemorative map was made to honor Brigham Young's Vanguard Company of original Mormon pioneers from 1846 and 1847. It also was intended to honor tens of thousands of other Mormon pioneers from 1846 to 1869 as well, particularly the famous Mormon handcart companies of 1856 to 1860. Seeing this map for the first time got me interested, but then I got REALLY interested five years later, when Dad gave me the original 1899 lithograph.
The 1899 wall map was given to me in 1978
When I turned 25 years old in 1978, my dad gave me the map, which enlightened me regarding Mormon pioneer history. As of 2014, I can say that it actually changed my life, because it has caused me to learn about my own personal Mormon pioneer heritage. As a result, I now feel an urgency to inspire people to understand the importance of the Mormon pioneer migration, and to love the warm spirit of our ancestors and their immense faith.
Even in my ignorance of pioneer and family history, the 1899 map and dad's painting inspired me. It gave me an idea to make a map where I would show the old Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake as is, and make a modern map parallel to the old one, showing the country from Illinois to Utah. In 1978 I figured I would like to make a map showing where the Mormon pioneer trail actually went on a modern map, including what you can still see along the way. I had a burning desire and became intensely interested in my idea to make a modern guide map, even though I had zero map-making training, and I had no particular art skills. It was because of my interest in 1978 that Dad gave me the 1899 map for keeps. However, by then it was in poor condition, with gaps where the flaky paper had disappeared. I wanted to find a good condition copy to use for my own map making idea, but with no internet, and with information being hard to come by in those days, details or a replacement map were a challenge to find.
The Way West book miracle in 1983
Then came the book miracle. On a lunch break in 1983, I went to a bookstore in Orange County, California, looking at books about the American westward migration, and thinking about the map I would like to make someday. I had the 1899 map on my mind.
In the bookstore I looked high up on a shelf eight-and-a-half feet high and spied a large book, entitled The Way West. "Wow! This is going to be good!", I said to myself as I tiptoed and stretched as high as a 6'-4" man can reach, and just got my middle fingernail under the edge of the book. I scooted it forward until it fell. I caught it with both hands and it opened right to page 100. What do you think was on page 100? Yes, my astonished eyes beheld a photo of the 1899 wall map, Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake.
My unbelievable find led me to call the museum in Fort Worth Texas, where the map in the book was on display, and they sent me a high quality photo of their map for five dollars. In my view, this miracle affirmed the feeling that I was supposed to make my map, as if I had been called to do so. Remember that at the time, I knew nothing about my pioneer ancestry, yet it seems that I was already destined to honor them, and to inspire others to honor the Mormon pioneers as well.
I was off to a start on my mapping project, and knew that I had to do it, although I still didn't get to it for three more decades. I have excuses, such as I was young, starting a family, working full-time, and so on. Plus, with zero map-making skills or artistic training, and the non-existence of computer graphics, the old days were good times for me to find information and have ideas, but it was next to impossible for me to create the map yet. That was still over thirty years off.
Becoming a map maker and learning computer graphics
Ten years later, in 1993, I actually became a map maker and published my first of over 150 beautiful, interesting maps. I had actually become an "Artographer", as originally inspired by the 1899 map.
My first map was called Franko's Map of the Santa Ana Mountains. It was hand drawn on a drafting table, still pre-dating my computer graphics skills by six years. The Santa Ana Mountains map satisfied my want for a trail map for local mountain biking, and it sold well, along with other maps that I made.
Once I began making maps using computer graphics in 1999, my maps became very colorful, and my thoughts repeatedly turned to the Mormon Trail map idea. Computer graphics enabled me to employ similar colors on my maps as the 1899 map has, which I call "shades of chartreuse." However, with work and a family, and then a growing but very difficult maps business, I put off working on my Mormon Trail map indefinitely.
Commissioned by my stake president to make the Mormon Trail map
In 2010 I had a unique opportunity to revisit my map idea with my LDS stake president. It was President Paul Burch's last week of living in Corona, California, before moving to Arizona. I asked him if he would like to hear my Mormon Pioneer Trail map idea, which I hadn't told anybody about for years. I admitted that I had a map idea that I’d been working on in my head for over thirty years, told him about the inspiring 1899 wall map that I had gotten from my father, and said that I wanted to make an interesting historical map that also included what to see along the pioneer trail today. I even animated the story about reaching for the book The Way West, and how it fell off the high shelf and opened right to page 100. I found myself very excited to talk about the idea.
President Burch was interested and touched by my idea, and listened as I intensely expressed my idea. We then discussed how much good it could do to inspire people about the story of the Mormon pioneers. He clearly got the picture of what I intended to create and said, "Frank, as my last act as your stake president, I commission you to get this map done. This is important. You do it!"
Creating the Mormon Trail map in 2013 to 2014
After 35 years, on Christmas Day 2013, my Christmas gift to myself was to finally get started on creating the Mormon Trail map that I had been thinking about since 1978.
In May 2014, with my map about 90% finished, I asked my genealogy expert wife a simple question: “Why am I so compelled to make this map?” I rephrased it in a follow-up question: “Why am I so driven to make this map?” Then I asked, “Do you think I have pioneer ancestors?” I was implying that maybe my ancestors are calling me from beyond the grave, so that I will use my talents to create a map and inspire people to be interested in the Mormon pioneers, as well as their own genealogy. It was as if I was commissioned to do the work, even long before I had developed the talent to do so.
As of mid-2014, I knew that for the first time ever, I was truly in tune with what we Latter-day Saints call “The Spirit of Elijah”, which is the spirit of kinship and unity of family, and I was intent on inspiring people to tie their families together. I was thinking, “I desire to inspire before I expire!”
To my surprise, my wife indeed had information that my own Nielsen great-great grandparents were Mormon pioneer immigrants, arriving from Denmark in 1866. There is not a word for how emotional and excited this made me feel, learning that I am the great-great grandson of Mormon pioneers! I have since learned that I have 29 direct ancestors who immigrated to Utah by traveling the Mormon Trail.
In the process of creating this map, during 2014, I drove about 5,200 miles from Corona, California to Salt Lake City, Utah, and then to Nauvoo, Illinois, and back, including a 500-mile detour to Independence, Missouri. My wife Cindy and I were so excited to make this wonderful trip, spending a few days in Nauvoo, a few more in Salt Lake City, and visiting every site along the way. Without firsthand experience in places such as Carthage Jail, Mount Pisgah, Chimney Rock, Martin’s Cove, the Sixth Crossing of the Sweetwater River, Fort Bridger, and Echo Canyon, this map could not have been completed.
Our trip made my map authentic and accurate. Seeing these places and understanding what the Mormon pioneers had gone through supplemented and gave light to my ever-growing information base, which includes books, brochures, maps, websites, personal histories, as well as the precious 1899 wall map, titled Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake, which had begun my thinking about the Mormon Trail map in the first place.
All of the information came together, and was at last put down on paper, so to speak, just as I had envisioned ever since 1978.
The Mormon Trail folded map
Side One shows the 1899 Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake scaled down in comparison to the original, with a parallel map from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah. It is 37.5” wide by 25” tall, and it folds down to 4” x 8.5”. It is printed on high quality, waterproof, durable, synthetic paper. There are 5,367 words and 38 different captions, and 20 photos, all taken by me. The title block, with Nebraska’s Chimney Rock at sunset, was taken by my wife Cindy on her iPhone. Although this is a folded map, it is basically a guide book.
Side Two has details of the route of the Mormon pioneers, including Nauvoo (which was our favorite place to visit along the Mormon Trail), Salt Lake City and Temple Square (our other favorite place to visit), Echo Canyon to Salt Lake City, including Emigration Canyon (which is my new favorite mountain bike location), ten zoom-in detail maps, 45 photos, and dozens of captions, including 6,645 words. Side Two supplements Side One with details that the scale of Side One would not allow. Side Two reminds me of all the enjoyable stops that my wife Cindy and I made along the way, as I imagined my own ancestors walking along the Mormon Trail to the Salt Lake Valley.
Reproducing the wall map Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo, Illinois to Great Salt Lake
Separately, I’ve reproduced the 1899 wall map. My original from 1899 is 14” x 41.25” and my reproduction, enhanced with computer graphics, is enlarged to 15” x 48”. It looks amazing, and I’ve made it available on fine quality soft-laminated paper, canvas, or canvas framed. The map specifically honors Brigham Young’s Vanguard Company, who arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley in 1847, although it honors tens of thousands of other Mormon pioneers as well. My wish is for you to have a copy of this map in your family for generations to come, just as I’ve had in mine.
Finished and available to all after 36 years in the making!
Like you, I want to learn all about Mormon pioneer history. After 36 years in the making, my map, which I call Frank Nielsen's Mormon Trail Map, is complete. My colorful "Artography" is full of photos and words that will tell you the amazing story of one of the great chapters of American history.
Whether you desire to trace the Mormon Trail by car, or by bike; if you want to pull a handcart across a piece of Nebraska, Wyoming, or Utah; or if you just want to learn about the history, this map will inspire you and help you to understand how amazing the Mormon pioneers truly were. Please study your very own copy of the Mormon Trail map, which was patiently compiled and depicted 100% by yours truly.
I am Frank Nielsen, the great-great grandson of a Mormon Pioneer, and professional "Artographer", at your service. Thank you!