Martha's Story
Birth: October 19th, 1861 | female | in London, England
Death: September 7th, 1862 | Infant | on the North side of the Platte River, Nebraska
Memorial: Stone 11 | left column | 4th name
Martha is the fifth child of nine children born to her parents, Thomas Josiah George Mitchell and Ann Butler, both of England.
After the family came to America from England, they went to Nebraska and joined the Ansil P. Harmon Company to go west to the Salt Lake Valley. The company left August 1, 1862.
From the very beginning of the journey,measles came into camp and attacked the children.
Martha contracted measles and passed away on 7 September 1862. She is buried along the Mormon Trail on the North side of the Platte River.
From a journal of one of the Saints on the journey:
“Some fifteen children had died on the plains from measles.”
A comment from one of the journals of a pioneer:
“there was considerable sickness among them during the first four or five weeks after leaving the Missouri river, principally the measles, which unfortunately prevailed among the children., as we are informed and proved fatal to some ten or fifteen.”