Lydia's Story
Birth: ?? ??, 1858 | female | in Smethwick, Staffordshire, England
Death: August 21st, 1863 | 5 years old | in Nebraska on the Mormon Trail
Memorial: Stone 12 | right column
Lydia Courts is the third of five children born to John Court and Elizabeth Smith, both from England. They immigrated from England to America and then traveled to Nebraska. It was there that they joined the Daniel D. McArthur Company to journey to the Great Salt Lake Valley with other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The company left Nebraska on August 6, 1863.
Exhaustive travel conditions, disease, injury, lack of food and medicine, prematurity, and extreme weather were some of the greatest threats to pioneers. After two weeks of travel, 6-year-old Lydia passed away from dysentery. She is buried in Nebraska along the Mormon Trail.
From the diary of Elijah Larkin: “21st Started at 6½ A.M. & went Shooting with Bro. Pinnock[.] Lydia, Daughter of Jno. Court of Birmingham aged 5 Yrs & 5 M died to day.”