When John and his son reached Iowa City they found old friends from Yorkshire and new friends from other parts of England. They joined with the Edmund Ellsworth group where they met Thomas and Harriet Richins and John Deveraux. John Deveraux was 56 years old, Thomas was 30, Harriet was 22 and their little son, Albert, was 16 months. John Warburton was 33 and Teddy had just turned 7. (Proctor)

The handcarts were made of hickory and oak with axles of strong hickory or iron. The shafts were six feet long with three or four cross bars from the back part to the front. There was a space of four feet for the lead person to pull the cart. Canvas was stretched over the crossbars or boards, which was topped by a box frame three or four feet long and eight inches high. This cart held all the family’s belongings. (Fischio)

John Warburton was a great help in building the handcarts and getting them into shape. He had experience as a wheelwright and was a healthy, strong man. Though not large in statue, he had a great will to work. He also helped to repair the handcarts during the journey. Every tiny bit of oil and grease was important to keep them from drying out and falling apart, especially the wheels. They were built of wood to keep the carts as light as possible for the people to pull them. Thomas Richins, who was a blacksmith by trade, also contributed much to the success of the trek. (Proctor)

According to the Walker article, the members of the company were given one tent and four handcarts to twenty persons. However, in John Warburton’s life sketch it says that John and his son were issued a handcart of their own but they shared it with the Richins family. Harriet Richins wanted badly to take along her rocking chair. Her sewing machine was allowed in the supply wagon because sewing machines were in short supply in the valley. (Proctor)

To each company of twenty handcarts, there would be two or three covered wagons drawn by a span of oxen, a few milk cows and some beef cattle. The herd boys, who included Teddy Warburton, cared for the animals. The boys’ shoes wore out rapidly and after a few patchings they took burlap to wrap their feet in when the going was rough. They seldom complained. (Fischio; Proctor)

Mary Ann Jones, another member of the Ellsworth Company, wrote: "We left Iowa City 9 June 1856 and traveled to Florence, leaving there 16 July. The handcarts were flimsy and were continually breaking down...Our company [Edmund Ellsworth, captain] consisted of 274 members, the other passengers of the ship were in the second company [Daniel McArthur, captain]. We traveled from ten to twenty eight miles each day." (Walker, p45)

The ox teams started with them in the morning but would be from one to three hours behind getting into camp at night. The Ellsworth Company was a happy group and had little misfortune. There were four babies born, two died and one mother. All was good with them if the babies came in the night while they were in camp. But if they came in the daytime, the carts and wagons would just keep rolling along. Sometimes the supply wagons would have two mothers to care for at one time. (Fischio)

When the Saints would die along the way, they would dress and prepare the bodies, wrap them in blankets or canvas and dig a shallow grave in the evening. The next morning a short service would be held and the company would go on. Two or three men would stay behind to finish the burial and often John Warburton would be called upon to perform this service. They would say an extra prayer that the Indians or wild animals would not molest the grave and also leave a message for those coming on behind. (Proctor)

Provisions became scarce so they were put on rations, one pint of flour per person per day. This they cooked as best they could. One day Harriet mixed too much water with the flour and all they could do was drink it. One time Thomas was so hungry he cut pieces of rawhide from the cart to eat. (Hilton)

Harriet told how a band of Indians came into their camp. One of the Indian squaws who had a papoose saw a hungry pioneer woman trying to nurse a little undernourished baby. The Indian mother felt so sorry for them she took the baby in her arms and nursed it. However, it made the baby sick because it was not used to such rich milk. (Fischio)

The travelers did have some meat. Occasionally a deer or elk was served out and once Brother Ellsworth killed a cow. On the sixth of August they saw thousands of buffalo. Four were shot. The next day their hungry appetites were satisfied with buffalo meat, but they had to dig for water and it was very thick. A few days later, all or most of them had bad diarrhea or purging. They didn’t know whether it was the buffalo meat or the muddy river water that caused it. (Fischio)

Mary Ann Jones, wrote: