730 West 1500 South
Woods Cross, Utah 84087
* Cemetery Burial Records
* Directions to Cemetery
* Map
* Facts
* History
Directions:
From the North, take exit 320 (Bountiful - 500 South exit) off I-15 and
turn right (west) to 800 West. At 800 West, turn left (south) and travel to 1500
South. The cemetery is near the park on the southeast corner of 800 West and 1500
South.
From the South, take exit 318 (Woods Cross - 2600 South exit) off I-15 and
turn left (west) to 800 West. At 800 West, turn right (north) and travel to 1500
South. The cemetery is near the park on the southeast corner of 800 West and 1500
South
Map: not available
Owner | Woods Cross City |
Acreage | Very small! |
Year Established | 1849 |
Cemetery Age | 150 Years |
First Burial | 1849 |
Last Burial | 1856 |
Number of Burials | Approximately 20 |
History:
Monument erected May 26, 1940:
"In the early summer of 1849 a death occurred in Session's Settlement and this plot
was selected as a cemetery. Nearly a score of people, including Pioneers, Indians,
and a California emigrant (whose head stone is on opposite side of monument), were buried
here. Later sub-irrigation caused the settlers to locate a new cemetery. This
spot unites in common brotherhood, the Indians, the Mormon Pioneers and other emigrants,
who died in the conquering of the West. -- Eutaw Camp." (Marker Inscription)
THE OLD CEMETERY
In the summer of 1849, Charles Peter Hogan, the eighteen month old
child of Eric G. M. and Halga Hogan, died form a sickness caused by eating poisoned
parsnips. This occasioned the beginning of a cemetery. This cemetery also
marks the route taken by many of the early California Pioneers around the north end of the
Great Salt Lake. The cemetery was the second in the State of Utah.
The remains of the following people are buried here:
Fannie Dack Parrish, pioneer of 1847, red-headed Irish woman, living in
Centerville on the John Willy Farm, born October 28, 1795 at Wicklow, Ireland; died
September 27, 1851. The cause of her death was attributed to loneliness.
Liza A. Beebe Cheeney, born January 11, 1815; died October 6, 1851.
She was a pioneer of 1850. Four months later (February, 1852) her husband,
Nathan Cheeney, age 41, died, leaving five children orphans. The oldest was
fourteen. The baby, Franklin Cheeney, five years old, born January 23, 1848, died
1852.
Thomas Day, the son of Joseph and Ann Hardy Day, born March 12, 1842;
died November 1853, of inflammation of the bowels.
William Bidwell, born August 29, 1795, at Stillwater, Saratoga County,
New York. This family was in the Haun's Mill Massacre. They came to Utah and
arrived September 14, 1850. They made their home in Bountiful. He died January
4, 1851.
Ira Robert Hatch, the infant son of Ranson and LaVerne Bidwell Hatch,
died in infancy. Born April 1857 and lived only two weeks.
John Thomas McKechinie, the three year old son of Jane McKechinie, a
widow, died about 1855.
The stone bearing the name Olive Cynthis Ormsby, was placed in the
cemetery in remembrance of a California emigrant. This marks the route taken by
Major William Ormsby of San Francisco between 1849 and 1852. She was the child of
Major Ormsby, and died March 17, 1851.
In one of the histories of Utah there is an article prepared by Dr.
Oliver Ormsby, who passed through Sessions Settlement when he was twelve years old, on the
way to California. Quote from history: "Major William Ormsby and his
brother John S. Ormsby, left Pennsylvania in 1849 and went to California. Early in
1852 Major Ormsby went back to Pennsylvania to bring his and his brother's families to
California. There were about one hundred souls in the company and they were fitted
out with the finest horses and equipment. However, when they reached Salt Lake, they
had lost all of their horses and carriages and remained in Salt Lake two weeks to rest and
recruit."
In the early 1800's the land where this cemetery is located was high
ground, but due to sub-irrigation in later years, it was necessary to stop burying people
there. After 1957, most people who died in Sessions Settlement were buried in
Bountiful. Sometime afterwards, roads were laid and some graves were found outside
the fence. These graves were then moved to the Bountiful Cemetery.
Thanks to Woods Cross City, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, and the Utah State Historical Society for providing this information.
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This page was updated on 04/19/99 by Annette Nelson.
Please let me know if you find a broken link.