Susannah was born on Christmas Eve, the first child in a family of eight children. She was an avid scripture reader ad attended a Wesleyan Sunday School. She wished she had lived in the days of the apostles and prophets. When she heard the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she was converted. Susannah was baptized when she was seventeen. She found employment and saved her money to go to America.
In 1856, Susannah prepared to emigrate. She wrote, "My parents, relatives and friends did all in their power to keep me from coming to America, but I had the spirit of gathering, and the Lord opened up my way, and I came to Utah in 1856 with the handcart company..."
After reaching Fort Laramie, their food rations had to be cut extensively. Due to a buffalo stampede and loss of cattle, it became necessary for each handcart to carry and additional load of the provisions that were left. She writes, "We waded through the cold streams many times, but we murmured not, for our faith in God and our testimony of His work were supreme. Only once did my courage fail. One cold, dreary afternoon, my feet having been frosted, I felt that I could go no further, and withdrew a little from the company, and sat down to await the end, being somewhat in a stupor. After a time, I was aroused by a voice, which seemed as audible as anything could be which spoke to my very soul of the promises and blessing I had received, and which should surly be fulfilled, and that I had a mission to perform in Zion, I received strength and was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and arose and traveled on with a light heart. As I reached camp, I found a search party ready to go back to find me, dead or alive."
She gathered her courage and continued on. Susannah was engaged to a young man in this company, but had been advised to wait until they reached Zion to marry. Her fiance died. " I had no relatives, but many dear and devoted friends, and we did all we could to aid and encourage each other... in the blizzards and falling snow, we sat under our handcars and sang, "Come, Come, Ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear, but with joy, wend your way. Though hard to you this journey my appear, grace shall be, as your day." While we were traveling thru the Untied States, the people tried to discourage us by telling us there was famine in Utah, that the grasshoppers had eaten up everything and that there had been a grasshopper war, etc. but we traveled on, trusting in God."
As the company neared the Salt Lake Valley, she tried to make herself more presentable, "I had sold my little looking glass to the Indians for buffalo meat, so I borrowed one and I shall never forget how I looked." Susannah was weather-beaten and tanned She wrote: "Some of my old friends did not know me!"
One old friend who came to meet the handcart company was handsome Thomas Lloyd who had emigrated the year before from England. Thomas must have recognized her because he married her the day after her arrival in the Valley! They became the parents of 14 children, 10 boys and 4 girls. She was active in the Relief Society and supported her husband's missionary efforts. Her frozen feet gave her trouble for many years but she stayed a woman of great faith. years later, she remarked, " I am thankful that I was counted worthy to be a pioneer and a handcart girl. It prepared me to endure hard times in my future life. I often think of the songs we sang to encourage us on our toilsome journey. It was hard to endure, but the Lord gave us strength and courage."
Susannah lived to be 94 years old. Her great-granddaughter, Agnes Pearl Lloyd Poulsen, was also age 94 years old at time of her interview with the author of this book. Agnes was ten years old when Susannah died. Agnes spent many a night with her grandmother in her feather bed, hearing this story repeated many times. Many of the Susannah's daughters carried on the Lloyd name by giving their sons the first name of Lloyd. two of theses descendants are Lloyd Newell who narrates "The Spoken Word" with the Tabernacle Choir every Sunday morning, and Lloyd Poulsen, retired physician, son of Agnes. The following is and excerpt from an interview with Agnes Poulsen in December 2004:
"I had the beautiful, wonderful privilege of sleeping with her (Susannah) in her feather bed. It was a tall bed and we would kneel on the steps. There were steps on both sides of the bed to get in it, and we'd kneel and say our prayers and grandmother would never let me get in the bed before she was ready. But she prayed a lot longer than I did, and so I'd stand and shiver before she'd get through. And then when she was through she would throw the covers back and state "Jump" and we'd jump in the bed together. There would be a rock under the blanket at our feet and we'd cuddle up. I've sat many an hour many an hour, at her feet as she sat by the pot-bellied stove with a shawl around her and a little black cap on her heard. Now, as a young girl she told me when she was eight years old, she carried her mother's train when she was presented to Queen Victoria, so they must have been a well-known family... Grandmother joined the Church in her late teens and was disowned by her family and she came to Utah all alone... in the Willie Handcart Company.
"Grandfather Lloyd was a little orphan boy who had been raised by an auntie and was not very well treated. When he joined the Church as a teenager he was put out of the home. He came to Utah two years before Grandmother id. When they needed rescuers to come out after the handcart company, Grandfather was asked by Brigham Young to take his outfit and got help rescue them. he noticed this lovely lady and asked her if she would ride on his conveyance into Salt Lake. By the time they got to Salt Lake...he had proposed to Grandmother ... they went to Brigham young when they got to Salt Lake and asked if they could get married... They were a great couple and (Had a large family)... and I remember every one of those great aunts and uncles.
"When they were stranded in Wyoming she was so discouraged and sick... she decided that she was going to wander away and sit down and just will herself to die, which she did. As she sat down she "heard a voice as plain as anyone could speak," She said. (The Voice) said, " You must get up and go on to Zion. Your mission is not yet finished." After that was repeated three times, she decided she better get up and go back to camp, which she did and that was when the rescuers came."
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