William Francis Beal

William Francis Beal was the tenth of twelve children born to William Beal and Clarissa Allen, both from Vermont. William’s mother, Clarissa in 1851. A year later, Mr. Beal took his children and joined the Benjamin Gardner Company in 1852 to journey to the great Salt Lake Valley with other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Exhaustive travel conditions, disease, injury, lack of food and medicine, prematurity, and extreme weather were some of the greatest threats to pioneers. Two-year-old William caught a bad cold and passed away.

William buried his son in Nebraska. His history records: “It was especially difficult burying a child and knowing that the coyotes would probably dig up his little body.”