Lars Peter Lundgren

Lars Peter Lundgren is the third of eight children born to Pehr Nilson Lindgren and Metta Nilsdotter, both of Sweden.

The family immigrated from Sweden to America by sailing on the ship “Monarch of the Sea.” After arriving in America, the family traveled to Nebraska and joined the Isaac A. Canfield Company to journey to the Salt Lake Valley. With other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the company left Nebraska on July 27, 1864.

Exhaustive travel conditions, disease, injury, lack of food and medicine, prematurity, and extreme weather were some of the greatest threats to pioneers. According to records written by members of the Company, many suffered from cholera, a bacterial disease caused from contaminated water. While undocumented, this disease may have caused the death of 17-year-old Lars. He is buried at Devil's Gate in Wyoming.

From a tribute to Lars from his brother: “Devil's Gate for the night. I will here endeavor to give a desciption of the beautiful country, as I had a brother who died and was buried there September 13, 1864, whose bones were dug up and carried off by the wolves. Let this be as it may; he died a faithful member of the Latter-Day Saint Church and was obeying the commandments to gather in Zion. His wish was to see the City of Salt Lake - that he might be buried there when he died. He also prayed that he might live long enough to have a talk with me, I having immigrated the year before and lived in Fort Ephraim, San Pete County, Utah. He died at the age of 17 years, 7 months, 10 days. He was tall and slim in stature, of light complexion. He was baptized when he was 14 years old.”

From the journal of Carl Johan Sundback: “September 13, 1864

We were lying still all day in order to repair the wagon and to give the oxen a chance to rest up a bit. There was plenty of grass, but it was dry. A 75 year old man Mans Stangberg, died in the morning, and 17 year old Lars Lindgren died in the afternoon. They were both from Skåne.”