Job Welling

Job Welling is the second of eight children born to Job Welling and Frances Elizabeth Yeoman, both born in England.

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the family immigrated to America in 1856. After their arrival, they traveled west to join the Edmund Ellsworth Handcart Company.

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. As the company began the trek west, 1-year-old Job passed away from “canker” (might have been caused by malnutrition, or from an immune deficiency causing tissue destruction and gangrene.)

A company journal reported: "On June 17 at 4:00 a.m. the bugle was blown for all to turn out and at a quarter to seven, the camp moved off. Traveled 10 miles and rested two hours. At twenty past two, we pitched our tents. The journey was performed without any accident. No wood but plenty of water. About twenty minutes past three, Job Welling, son of Job Welling, died, age 1 year and seven months. Died of canker or inflammation of the bowels.

June 18, at 4:00 a.m. the bugle sounded for all to turn out, and traveled 10 miles without any accident. Pitched tents at 35 minutes past eight o'clock to give sisters an opportunity of washing the clothes. Today the body of Job Welling was interred three feet from the North East corner of Mr. Watron's farm, Section 25, Township 80, Range 17 on the plains of Iowa."