John Richards Price

John Richards Price is the youngest of three children born to John Isaac Price from Wales, and Mary Ann Wingrove from England. The family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1857.

In 1864, the family fulfilled a desire to immigrate to America to be with other Saints. John Richards Price was born while Mary Ann was visiting her brother, Jacob Wingrove, in Manhattan. Afterwards the family traveled to Nebraska and joined the Warren S. Snow Company. On August 13, 1864, the company left for the Great Salt Lake Valley.

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. After the journey began, 1-year-old John Richards, contracted cholera and passed away. He is buried along the trail between Wyoming, Nebraska and Cozad, Nebraska.

The company records indicate: “Little John Richards, the baby, was ill but a short time, and soon a small mound was left beside the trail behind them.”

From family histories: “The Price family was traveling with the Warren S. Snow wagon train company and the accompanying Joseph W. Young freight train. Isaac was driving the wagon with household goods and extra freight, but did not get a chance to drink water. Mary Ann knowing this climbed from the wagon with a tin cup in her hand, thinking she could get Isaac a drink by running back to the stream, and then run and catch up with him knowing the train would move slowly then she could give him a drink.

“As she attempted to climb from the moving wagon her skirts caught on the irons of the wagon causing her to be thrown under the heavy wheels her head being crushed and she died instantly.”

From another journal: "Sept. 3 - Today a woman in Mr. Bates freight train was run over and instantly killed. At our noon halt a woman named Mary Ann Price was run over and killed. She was a member of the Church. Assisted to dig the grave. The day was exceedingly hot. The burial was near Peniston and Miller's ranch, her husband had charge of a freight train.”