Elmira Charlotte Wilcox

Elmira was born to Henry Wilcox of New York and Martha Simmons of Canada who were married about 1845 in Iowa. Elmira was their first child.

The Wilcox Family joined the James Pace Company to come West with other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The family left on June 11, 1850. Exhaustive travel conditions, disease, injury, lack of food and medicine, premature birth, and extreme weather were some of the greatest threats to pioneers. Cholera, a bacterial disease caused from contaminated water, infected many of the travelers.

When cholera savaged the company, many passed away along the way. The Wilcox Family were among those who suffered from the disease.

On July 1, three miles West of Ft. Kearney in Nebraska, 4-year-old Elmira passed away. Her father also succumbed to the disease. They are buried along the Mormon Trail.

From the journal of Redd Hardison he wrote: “Sunday morning July the 2nd. fine weather this morning[.] we are encamped 10 miles East of Fort Carney[.] Capt Pace returned in to camps last evening with intelligence that Capt. Bennetts’ Company was moving on cheerfully about 12 miles in the reare with no other misfortune than the breaking of two axletrees[.] we had the misfortune to loose one of our number yesterday morning a girl about 3 years of age the daughter of Brother Henry Wilcox—name Elmira Charlottee Monday morning July the 3rd. fine weather this morning we are encamped about 3 miles west of Fort Carney where we have buried Brother Henry Wilcox who died Yesterday. Brother Wilcox was about 37 years of age supposed to die with Cholrea. (This is Elmira's father).”