Howard Egan was born in Ireland. The family moved to Montreal, Canada. Young Howard went to sea for a while, and then settled in Salem Massachusetts. There he married Tamson Parshley in 1838. In 1842, they converted to Mormonism and moved to Nauvoo. His family traveled from Nauvoo with the Mormons. Howard was one of the first pioneers to enter the Salt Lake Valley, a messenger in the Mormon Battalion, an explorer during the early days of Utah and California, and the superintendent of overland mail. and pioneered new trails to the Pacific. With extensive genealogical tables.