Eli Davis

Eli Davis is the last of six children born to Moses Davis from Ohio and Phoebe Ann Woolley from Pennsylvania. The Davis family traveled from Ohio to Nebraska to join the John Riggs Murdock Company. The company of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints left June 29, 1864 to trek west to the Salt Lake Valley.

Exhaustive travel conditions, disease, injury, lack of food and medicine, prematurity, and extreme weather were some of the greatest threats to pioneers. From the beginning of the journey, Eli was not well, and with each day he became increasingly weak. On July 25, 1864, 4-year-old Eli Davis died and was buried in Nebraska along the Mormon Trail.

From the journal of Eli’s father: “…day after day went till the 25 of Augast when our dear little son was reliaved from his soffering by death we had in camped in the eaving he had bin more resless then common. th[e]y had him up more and he had aholt of the lines he was so weak he cud not hold his headup. he died vary easy…

“…he was fixed for burel th[e]y tuck 2 cracker boxes and put them to gather and put a blanket in them laid him on. then lapt a nother round. th[e]y carried me to the grave so I mite see him laid in. here we leaft him a little after sunrise on the 25 of August and persued our joiyney”