Jane Walters

Jane Walters is the youngest of two children born to John Walters and Esther Caulfield, both came from Wales.

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the family immigrated to America and joined the John A. Hunt Company to journey to the Salt Lake Valley. When they were in Florence, Nebraska, Esther gave birth to a baby girl, Jane.

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. On October 7, cattle ran through the camp, causing mayhem and overturning wagons. Esther fell out of a wagon that had tipped over. She was injured so badly that she passed away a few minutes later. Her baby, Jane, was still in the wagon.

From the journal of John A Hunt: “Sister Esther Walters from Wales was knocked down and so badly injured that she expired in a few minutes afterwards, leaving a babe four weeks old, which at the time was in the wagon. The remains of Sister Walters were interred in the evening at 5 o’clock”

Four weeks later, 2-month-old Jane passed away and was buried by Independence Rock in Wyoming.

From the company journal: “November 5, 1856: “Jane Walters, daughter of John Walters, died at 9:30 a.m., aged 8 weeks. The company started at 11 o’clock a.m., passed Independence Rock at 2 p.m. and arrived at the log house at Devil’s Gate at 8 p.m.”