Niels Ditlov Nielsen

Niels Ditlov Nielsen is the son of Peter Nielsen and Mette Kirstine Hansdatter, from Denmark. The family booked passage on the ship “Kenilworth” to sail to America. After arriving, they traveled to Nebraska and joined the Andrew H. Scott Company with other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint destined for the Salt Lake Valley. The company left Nebraska on the August 8, 1866. A sister recorded that Niels had been ill from the time they left Denmark. The day after leaving Florence, 11-year-old Niels died and was buried in a shallow grave dug by his father.

From a story by Niels’ sister, Marie Nielson Robins, she wrote: “From the time we left our home in Denmark, my eleven year old brother had been ill. Most of the time so bad he had to be carried from place to place. We left Omaha, August seventh in Captain Scott's company and at noon, August 9, just as mother was preparing the meal, my older brother who was left in the wagon called, “Oh, Mother! Ditlow is dying!” He had been so anxious to reach Zion where he could rest but was the first of the company to be left at the sides of the trail. In one hour the train moved on, but before that time a shallow grave had been dug by father. The little body was wrapped in a blanket and laid away and the stricken family fell in line with their faces ever to the West. The morning before his death one of the teamsters had given him a stick of peppermint candy which was taken from his hand after death and divided among the children, being the first candy I had ever tasted.”