Levi Savage was born in Greenfield, Ohio, on March 23, 1820. In 1833 his family moved to Antwerp, Michigan, where he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He enlisted in the Mormon Battalion at Council Bluffs, Iowa, and marched 1,400 miles on foot to San Diego, California, in 1846–1847, part of the longest military march in United States history. After reaching San Diego and seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time, he and other discharged companions traveled toward the Rocky Mountains, crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains and what is now Nevada and part of Utah on a route south of the Donner Party's path, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley on October 16, 1847. In 1848 he married Jane Mathers, who died shortly after the birth of their first son in 1851. In 1852 he was called on a mission to Siam, leaving his infant son in the care of his sister and departing first for India and then Burma, but attempts to enter Siam were unsuccessful. After returning to America following a four-year mission, he joined the Willie Handcart Company in 1856. At a tense meeting in Florence, Nebraska, he warned that leaving so late in the season was dangerous and urged the company to spend the winter in Nebraska, but after being overruled he went forward with them and pledged to help all he could. The company left Florence on August 17, 1856, with 120 handcarts and 6 wagons and about 500 people, of whom 66 died from cold, exposure, hunger, and disease. Young and strong despite his own hardships, Levi became a source of strength and support to many of the suffering and dying Saints on the journey, and the company reached Salt Lake City after great suffering from scarcity of provisions, cold, and exposure. After his arrival in Salt Lake City, Levi married Ann Brunimel Cooper, a member of the Willie Handcart Company. In 1858 he moved to Lehi, Utah, and worked as a supplier for the U.S. Army at Camp Floyd. He was then called by Brigham Young to help settle Kanab, Utah. In 1865 he moved to Toquerville, and in 1866 he settled there permanently, living the rest of his life as a farmer near the Virgin River south of Toquerville, growing alfalfa, grapes, and fruit. He was active in civic affairs and in the growth and development of southern Utah, remained a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and died on December 13, 1910.