Susanna's Story
Birth: October 21st, 1841 | female | in Küsnacht, Zürich, Switzerland
Death: August 17th, 1856 | 14 years old | in Florence, Nebraska
Memorial: Stone 6 | right column
Susanna Elliker is the daughter of Hans Heinrich Elliker and Margaretha Studer, both of Switzerland. After immigrating from Switzerland to America with other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Letter-day Saints, they joined the Daniel D. McArthur Company to go west to the Salt Lake Valley.
As the company prepared for the journey, cholera invaded the camp. Susanna, 14-years-old, and her sister Elizabeth succumbed from the disease and were buried in Florence, Nebraska. Their brother stayed behind “because of tired.” They never did see him again. The family was again plagued with sorrow when their father passed away. A family history records: “Father is laid to rest on the plains with only a pile of stones to mark the hallowed spot.”
The company journal records: “Though it was a hard thing to do, to go on and leave their son and brother, yet they must go on with the Company or perhaps all perish. This was on the 2nd of September. The father's illness was aggravated by the grief of losing his son and two days later he passed on and was put in a trail-side grave on the 4th of September 1856. He was only 59 years old.