HELP US IDENTIFY and memorialize 500+ valiant pioneers buried in unmarked p
DONATIONS will pay for memorial markers listing the names of brave men, women and children buried in D-7, in the SLC Cemetery
inspired by their courage and sacrifice
Elaine Dalton, guest speaker at the dedication shared these feelings the following morning:
"I stood there last night and absolutely felt angels all around us and gratitude because we had remembered...It was one of the most spectacular situations I've been in. There aren't words to describe it, only the people who were there can relate the feeling. But we were in the presence of angels last night. I'm just so grateful for pioneers and for their sacrifice.
--Elaine Dalton, former President of the Young Women organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2008-2013; guest speaker at the Dedication of the D-7-1 Memorial Marker on Sunday, June 8, 2025. The plaque lists the names of 80 individuals buried in Plat D Block 7 Lot 1.
THE MISSION OF "IN REMEMBRANCE"
1. FIND THEIR NAMES
Working closely with the SLC Cemetery we spend a great deal of time researching death and interment records to identify the paupers. Next, we use a number of sites including FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com, etc.
2. TELL THEIR STORIES
Our mission to remember and honor these 526 paupers includes sharing their inspiring stories and the hardships and losses they faced on their journey to settle in the Salt Lake Valley.
3. HONOR THEIR SACRIFICES
On Sunday, June 8, 2025, over 100 people attended the dedication our first memorial marker listing the names of 80 individuals buried in Plat D Block 7 Lot 1.
Second Plaque Installed March 2026
We are so grateful to the support we have received from so many who care about giving a name to thes
Stories FROM d-7 pioneer paupers
Mary Davies Thomas, 1823-1865
I was born in Wales, the fourth of six children born to Jonah Davies and Jeannette Short. My father was an iron works laborer. I married Thomas Foster Thomas, also an iron works laborer, when I was 24 years old and he was just 18. As a young couple, we had no idea of the hardships, pain and heartache that awaited us as parents. Over the next 18 years, Thomas and I had ten children, six boys and four girls. Seven of our ten children died as infants. Only three of our children would live to adulthood. Thomas and I were introduced to the Mormon missionaries and baptized shortly afterwards. In 1856, Thomas and I made the decision to leave our homeland and emigrate to America to join the saints in Great Salt Lake. On April 9, 1856, our family of six set sail aboard the S. Curling. My husband was 27, I was 32, Jane was 7, Thomas Jr 5, Janet 3 and Nephi 18 months. Once we arrived in America, the six of us made our way to St. Louis where we had to remain much longer than we planned. This was a difficult time in our lives. Not long after our arrival Nephi died and six weeks later Thomas Jr died. The following year, in April 1857, I gave birth to Moroni who only lived three days. The following year, I gave birth to Alma, who died shortly after his birth. It is impossible to explain my intense grief. One year later, a baby girl, Elizabeth Mary Thomas was born and the year after we had a son, Jonathan Davis in 1859. Finally, on July 8, 1862, we departed Florence, Nebraska with the James Wareham Company traveling with about 250 individuals and 46 wagons. Surviving the hardships of the trek across the plains, we arrived in Salt Lake on September 26, 1862. Just three years after our arrival, in the March of 1865 our beautiful six-year-old daughter Elizabeth Mary died of scarlet fever. It was so hard to bury her in an unmarked pauper's grave in D-7-1. I was pregnant when Elizabeth Mary died in March, and the first week of July I delivered twins, a little boy, Thomas, and a daughter named Mary. Our sweet little twins both died just days later on July 9th. They would be buried in a shared grave in the SLC Cemetery. After this difficult delivery and their death, my strength was gone; my heart was broken. I would pass from this life, on July 10th, 1865, the day after the death of my twins. I would be buried in a pauper's grave located in D-7-1 where my six-year-old Mary was buried four months earlier.
In the photo of my family, I am in the middle on the back row.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING OUR SITE
memorials4pioneerpaupers@gmail.com
We would love to hear from you! Thank you for your support!
IN REMEMBRANCE, INC
A 501(c)(3) Charitable Entity
Salt Lake City, Utah
