James' Story
Birth: ?? ??, 1850 | male | in Texas
Death: June 22nd, 1855 | 5 years old | near Atchison, Kansas on the Mormon Trail
Memorial: Stone 5 | right column
James Jones is one of seven children born to Marvin Jones from Kentucky and Rachel from Arkansas. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the family joined the Seth M. Blair / Edward Stevenson Company of 1855 to journey to the Great 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. Twenty miles after beginning their journey, the company was exposed to cholera (a bacterial disease caused from contaminated water). On June 19, 1855, James' father, Marvin, was the first of the family to fall victim of this deadly disease. Three days later, 5-year-old James died. His sister, Sarah, passed away the same day. They are buried near Atchison, Kansas.