Lovisa Thyland Nielsen

Lovisa Thyland Nielsen might have immigrated to America either by herself or with extended family members. Upon arriving in America, she traveled to Nebraska and joined the Miner G. Atwood Company. With other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the company began their journey to the Great Salt Lake Valley on July 31, 1865.

Exhaustive travel conditions, disease, injury, lack of food and medicine, premature birth, and extreme weather were some of the greatest threats to pioneers.

Somewhere while crossing the plains, 17-year-old Lovisa was run over by a wagon and killed. She is buried along the Mormon Trail West.

A Company journal recorded: “at one time four teams ware running with the wagons as fast as the oxen could run[,] a sister, Lowise Nilsen from Aalborg, was run over and killed!”