Mary's Story
Birth: April 29th, 1860 | female | in Jersey City, Hudson, New Jersey
Death: September 7th, 1862 | 2 years old | near Horseshoe Creek in Wyoming
Memorial: Stone 11 | right column
Mary Matilda Luker is the oldest of four children born to Caleb Luker from Ohio and Catherine A. Hand from Ireland.
The Luker family immigrated to Nebraska and joined the Ansil P. Harmon Company to travel 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 1, 1862.
Exhaustive travel conditions, disease, injury, lack of food and medicine, prematurity, and extreme weather were some of the greatest threats to pioneers. After traveling for more than a month, 2-year-old Mary Matilda passed away of unknown causes. She is buried seven miles west of Horseshoe Creek, near the South side of the Platte River in Wyoming.
From the journal of William Priest: “7 horn Blew Early this a.m. forward at 7 a.m. & camp for dinner at noon. We Bured a child here [Mary Matilda Luker.] feed for Cattle very Poor, onward at [-] P.m. and Camp at 7 Pm. D.18, M. 580., W. Plenty”