Rebecca Burdick Winters
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Twenty thousand pioneers lost their lives in the effort to reach the Golden West. They had no means of marking the graves of the dead in those prairie stretches. Only one grave out of all twenty thousand, so far as we know, is marked. This is the grave of a pioneer mother near Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
Over the years the Rebecca Winter's grave has served as a reminder of the hardship on the old Mormon Pioneer Trail. It would be impossible to know how many people have visited the site over the years, but her grave has had a profound effect on many. Rebecca was part of an early Mormon expedition to the Great Salt Lake area of Utah, when she contracted cholera and died as the group passed through Nebraska's western Panhandle region. |
Rebecca was born December 16, 1801, at Cayuga, Cayuga County, New York, to Revolutionary War Private Gideon Burdick and his wife Catherine Robertson. Rebecca married Hiram Winters about 1824. They had five children: Oscar, Alonzo, Hiram, Rebecca, and Helen.
While en route to Utah, many members of the wagon train Rebecca was traveling with contracted cholera. She helped care for them until she became afflicted and passed away on August 6, 1852, in Scotts Bluff, Bluff County, Nebraska,
According to the testimony of her husband, Rebecca Winters was buried wrapped in blankets and placed between two levels of wood planks to protect her body.
A family friend, William Fletcher Reynolds, obtained a steel wagon wheel rim that had been found on the trail, and spent the night chiseling "Rebecca Winters - Aug 1852 - Age 50" on the rim. His young daughter, Ellis Reynolds, held a candle to give him light.
Lorenzo DeMott homesteaded the land where the grave stands. He included a provision that the grave would not be disturbed when he sold the Burlington Railroad Company a right of way through his land, but the 1899 survey would have taken the line directly over the grave. DeMott spent a great amount of time legally fighting the railroad which was required to survey again.
In 1902, a granite headstone was placed to the west of the iron rim by family members. "She died a faithful Latter-day Saint August 15, 1852, aged 50 years, while making that memorable journey across the plains with her people to find a new home in the far distant Salt Lake Valley. She gave her life for her faith. Her reward will be according to her works," is the epitaph.
The Katahdin Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution has maintained the gravesite since its formation in 1921. In 1929, the chapter placed a Real Daughter Marker at the site. The marker was stolen during WWII, possibly to sell the bronze plaque. Several years later the chapter replaced the marker with the one seen today.
In 1994, Burlington Northern officials decided to relocate the grave due to its proximity to the railroad tracks. The grave was located just 6 feet from the tracks.
The new grave site, located about 900 feet east of the original grave, was rededicated on June 22, 1996. It looks identical to the old one, with the original wagon wheel iron and the two monuments.
While en route to Utah, many members of the wagon train Rebecca was traveling with contracted cholera. She helped care for them until she became afflicted and passed away on August 6, 1852, in Scotts Bluff, Bluff County, Nebraska,
According to the testimony of her husband, Rebecca Winters was buried wrapped in blankets and placed between two levels of wood planks to protect her body.
A family friend, William Fletcher Reynolds, obtained a steel wagon wheel rim that had been found on the trail, and spent the night chiseling "Rebecca Winters - Aug 1852 - Age 50" on the rim. His young daughter, Ellis Reynolds, held a candle to give him light.
Lorenzo DeMott homesteaded the land where the grave stands. He included a provision that the grave would not be disturbed when he sold the Burlington Railroad Company a right of way through his land, but the 1899 survey would have taken the line directly over the grave. DeMott spent a great amount of time legally fighting the railroad which was required to survey again.
In 1902, a granite headstone was placed to the west of the iron rim by family members. "She died a faithful Latter-day Saint August 15, 1852, aged 50 years, while making that memorable journey across the plains with her people to find a new home in the far distant Salt Lake Valley. She gave her life for her faith. Her reward will be according to her works," is the epitaph.
The Katahdin Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution has maintained the gravesite since its formation in 1921. In 1929, the chapter placed a Real Daughter Marker at the site. The marker was stolen during WWII, possibly to sell the bronze plaque. Several years later the chapter replaced the marker with the one seen today.
In 1994, Burlington Northern officials decided to relocate the grave due to its proximity to the railroad tracks. The grave was located just 6 feet from the tracks.
The new grave site, located about 900 feet east of the original grave, was rededicated on June 22, 1996. It looks identical to the old one, with the original wagon wheel iron and the two monuments.
The information on these pages cannot be used as proof of service or lineage for purposes of joining DAR. For membership inquiries, please contact a chapter near you, our state membership chair, or fill out the membership interest form on the NSDAR website.
