Elizabeth's Story
Birth: June 24th, 1843 | female | in Marylebone, Middlesex, England
Death: August 6th, 1855 | 12 years old | by Vermillion Creek South of Sweetwater, Wyoming
Memorial: Stone 5 | right column
Elizabeth Sarah Graves (Betsy) is the second of eleven children born to Daniel Graves and Mary Newman, both of England. On April 2, 1855, Elizabeth was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The family immigrated to America and joined the Charles A. Harper Company in 1855 bound for the Great Salt Lake Valley.
Exhaustive travel, disease, injury, lack of food and medicine, prematurity, and extreme weather were some of the greatest threats to pioneers. Near Vermillion Creek, just South of Sweetwater in Wyoming, 12-year-old Sarah died after falling out of the wagon.
From the journal of company member Matthew Rowan: “Monday, August 6th, 1855, We left our place of encampment about 8 a.m., and travelled 15 miles to “Vermillion Creek” Today about half past 1 p.m. Betsy [Elizabeth Sarah Graves] daughter of [Daniel] Graves of England, fell out of the wagon while attempting to get off and was killed by the wheel of the wagon running over her neck and head, she died instantly. Her age was 12 yrs. She was buried this evening after Sundown at Vermillion Creek."