Georgianna Hoagland Cannon

Georgianna Hoagland Cannon is the fourth of 11 children born to George Quayle Cannon of England and Elizabeth Hoagland of Michigan. George Q. Cannon was in England serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his family joined him there. Elizabeth and three children returned to America in 1863. (George came the following year.) Elizabeth and her children went to Nebraska to join the Peter Nebeker Company, departing for the Great Salt Lake Valley on July 25, 1863 for Salt Lake City.

Exhaustive travel conditions, disease, injury, lack of food and medicine, prematurity, and extreme weather were some of the greatest threats to pioneers. Georginna’s health had weakened from having measles and then she suffered from whooping cough. Her small body could not recover, and 2-year-old Georginna passed away. She was placed in a small coffin and her body was taken with them to the Salt Lake Valley for burial in the Salt Lake Cemetery.

From correspondence written by George Peacock in a letter to George Q. Cannon: “She had the measles when at Florence, after leaving she took the whooping cough yet we hoped that she would soon be over that as she kept very smart. Unfortunately, on Friday the 28th of August she was taken very ill with fever, we anointed her and administered the ordinance, she seemed to get some better but relapsed again. Everything that could be done was done exercising all the faith we were master of administering to her three and four times each day. On the 1st of Septr we had bright hopes as she appeared so much better but towards noon of the 2nd she was taken very bad and continued so. We camped about noon and laid over. I watched over her, prayed for the Lord to spare her; but found she gradually sank. About an hour before her death she called my name, "Mr Peacock," afterwards said "Ma," and spoke no more, although she suffered through the day the last few hours, her illness was not painful and she died without a struggle.”