Soon after Howard was born, the Egan family was converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, moving to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1842. After the assassination of Joseph Smith in 1846, the Egan went to go find refuge in Winter Quarters. While there, Howard's father enlisted in the Mormon Battalion and was left in the care of his mother.1

In 1848, Howard's father returned to Winter Quarters and helped his family move west. They joined the Heber C. Kimball Company and left on June 7, 1848, and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on Sep 24. 

Howard's father participated in the creation of the Pony Express in Utah along with his brother-in-law William F. Fisher. Howard Ransom Egan married Amanda Ann Andrus on Oct 10, 1863 in Salt Lake City, Utah. They stayed in the Salt Lake Valley until their second child was born in 1866, then returned to Deep Creek. In 1870, Howard closed up business with his father and moved up to Richmond where Amanda's family had settled.1