Sunday, November 9, 1856. Rhoda R. Oakey, an 11-year old girl from Eldersfield, Worcestershire, England, died at Grant Camp or Little Mountain. “Sadly, Rhoda R. Oakey, age 11, died as everyone prepared to go into Salt Lake City. Her mother, Ann Collett Oakey, age 43, had stayed up all night nursing her father, Thomas Oakey, age 42. When Ann called the children she discovered Rhoda’s lifeless body. Rhoda had walked the entire distance, only to die a hill away from their destination. [“The Handcart Pioneers,” in Treasures of Pioneer History, comp. Kate B. Carter, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City: Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 1952-57), 5:258]
Rhoda’s death was the 40th in the company since October 20th. Hers was the final death in the Willie Handcart Company.
From the cache site, looking south and east of the road, you can see the marker for Grant Camp where Rhoda died. The company left the next day and crossed the mountain behind you (as you look at the road) into Emigration Canyon and then into the Salt Lake Valley.
Rhoda Oakey was buried in Salt Lake's City Cemetery. A recent headstone marks her resting place.
