Sarah Jane Morris

Sarah Jane Morris is the daughter of William and Sarah Morris. In May 1862, the Morris family immigrated from Liverpool to America. After a seven-week voyage, the family travelled by boat and train to Florence, Nebraska. There the family pooled their meager savings with another family and jointly purchased a wagon and six oxen for the trek to the Great Salt Lake Valley.

Exhaustive travel conditions, disease, injury, lack of food and medicine, prematurity, and extreme weather were some of the greatest threats to pioneers. Sara Jane, 10-years-old, became very ill and died, joining the many others who were buried along the trail. Her mother couldn’t stand to see her beautiful daughter buried without a fitting burial dress. She took a white lace curtain she was taking to Zion from England to adorn her new home. She cut it up and sewed a lovely white dress for Sarah to be buried in.