Joel's Story
Birth: ?? ??, 1838 | male | * in Bastard, Leeds, Ontario, Canada
Death: June 15th, 1850 | 12 years old | on South side of Platte River by Sweetwater Wyoming
Memorial: Stone 1 | left column
Joel Knapp Judd is the fourth of five children born to Levi Judd and Lois Judd, both from Canada. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Judd family desired to be with other Saints and journey to the Great Salt Lake Valley.
The trek was difficult. Exhaustive travel conditions, disease, injury, lack of food and medicine, prematurity, and extreme weather were some of the greatest threats to pioneers. Along the way, Joel passed away from undocumented causes and is assumed to be buried by the Platte River.
* Records on Pioneer Overland Travels registered him as being born in 1835, being 15 years old at the beginning of the journey.