Thomas Edmund

Thomas Edmund is one of two children born to James Edmond and Marion Carmichael, from Scotland. Thomas was raised in a family that was often destitute and continually moving while his parents sought employment. Eventually, Thomas and his sister were taken in by his grandparents.

In 1851, the family boarded the Ellen Maria and sailed to America, arriving in New Orleans in April. The voyage was difficult. The passengers were malnourished, as they were only given hardtack (a type of dense biscuit or cracker made from flour, water, salt) and dried meat. Upon arriving in New Orleans, they boarded a paddle wheeler (a large steam-driven ship with a paddle wheel) and traveled to Kansas City, Missouri. As they waited for a company journeying to the Utah Territory to be formed, they found themselves beset by two plagues: cholera (a bacterial disease caused from contaminated water) and mobsters. Fear of the cholera epidemic, the mobsters were held at bay. However, in their weakened state, it took a devastating toll on many in the company.

On June 1, 1852 the Edmund family began their journey to Zion with other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They had gone a short distance when Thomas’ grandfather succumbed to cholera and was buried in a hastily made box on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River. Eight days later, 9-year-old Thomas died of the same disease. He was lovingly wrapped in his favorite blanket, and with little ceremony, he was buried in a shallow, unmarked grave somewhere on the plains of the mid-western prairie. His heartbroken family pressed on to the Salt Lake Valley.

The bones of young Thomas rest in an unmarked grave on a desolate plain, but his story of faith will never be forgotten.