Excerpt from "Desperate Passage, The Donner party's Perilous Journey West", by Ethan Rarick
Page 70....
"Luke Halloran hope the West would cure him, not kill him. A young, entrepreneurial Irishman who owned a small store in St. Louis, Halloran was a success - he owned six lots in town - but decided to give up his comforts to search for better health. He hoped that the western climate might cure his tuberculosis, what emigrants called "consumption." Little is known about the early part of his journey, but at the Parting of the Ways he was abandoned by the family with which he was traveling. Alone and in poor health,, he sought refuge with George and Tamzene Donner, who displayed a characteristic kindness and took him in. Too weak to walk, Halloran rode in a wagon, though even such luxury could not stop the ravages of his disease. he traveled with the Donners for more than a month, but died just after they came down out of the Wasatch and was buried in the salty soil of Utah. having rescued him from abandonment once, perhaps the Donners did not want to leave Halloran alone in the wilderness again. They dug his grave next to that of an earlier emigrant who had also succumbed to the rigors of the great journey west."
Reportedly, Halloran was buried beside John Hargrave, who was traveling with the Harlan-Young Party, in advance of the Donners. Hargrave was said to have died from pneumonia on August 22, 1846, and was buried the next day.
The exact location of the two graves may never be known, but a panel has been set to commemorate John Hargrave and Luke Halloran as the first emigrants buried in Utah soil.
Page 70....
"Luke Halloran hope the West would cure him, not kill him. A young, entrepreneurial Irishman who owned a small store in St. Louis, Halloran was a success - he owned six lots in town - but decided to give up his comforts to search for better health. He hoped that the western climate might cure his tuberculosis, what emigrants called "consumption." Little is known about the early part of his journey, but at the Parting of the Ways he was abandoned by the family with which he was traveling. Alone and in poor health,, he sought refuge with George and Tamzene Donner, who displayed a characteristic kindness and took him in. Too weak to walk, Halloran rode in a wagon, though even such luxury could not stop the ravages of his disease. he traveled with the Donners for more than a month, but died just after they came down out of the Wasatch and was buried in the salty soil of Utah. having rescued him from abandonment once, perhaps the Donners did not want to leave Halloran alone in the wilderness again. They dug his grave next to that of an earlier emigrant who had also succumbed to the rigors of the great journey west."
Reportedly, Halloran was buried beside John Hargrave, who was traveling with the Harlan-Young Party, in advance of the Donners. Hargrave was said to have died from pneumonia on August 22, 1846, and was buried the next day.
The exact location of the two graves may never be known, but a panel has been set to commemorate John Hargrave and Luke Halloran as the first emigrants buried in Utah soil.
Excerpt from "Desperate Passage, The Donner party's Perilous Journey West", by Ethan Rarick
Page 70....
"Luke Halloran hope the West would cure him, not kill him. A young, entrepreneurial Irishman who owned a small store in St. Louis, Halloran was a success - he owned six lots in town - but decided to give up his comforts to search for better health. He hoped that the western climate might cure his tuberculosis, what emigrants called "consumption." Little is known about the early part of his journey, but at the Parting of the Ways he was abandoned by the family with which he was traveling. Alone and in poor health,, he sought refuge with George and Tamzene Donner, who displayed a characteristic kindness and took him in. Too weak to walk, Halloran rode in a wagon, though even such luxury could not stop the ravages of his disease. he traveled with the Donners for more than a month, but died just after they came down out of the Wasatch and was buried in the salty soil of Utah. having rescued him from abandonment once, perhaps the Donners did not want to leave Halloran alone in the wilderness again. They dug his grave next to that of an earlier emigrant who had also succumbed to the rigors of the great journey west."
Reportedly, Halloran was buried beside John Hargrave, who was traveling with the Harlan-Young Party, in advance of the Donners. Hargrave was said to have died from pneumonia on August 22, 1846, and was buried the next day.
The exact location of the two graves may never be known, but a panel has been set to commemorate John Hargrave and Luke Halloran as the first emigrants buried in Utah soil.
Page 70....
"Luke Halloran hope the West would cure him, not kill him. A young, entrepreneurial Irishman who owned a small store in St. Louis, Halloran was a success - he owned six lots in town - but decided to give up his comforts to search for better health. He hoped that the western climate might cure his tuberculosis, what emigrants called "consumption." Little is known about the early part of his journey, but at the Parting of the Ways he was abandoned by the family with which he was traveling. Alone and in poor health,, he sought refuge with George and Tamzene Donner, who displayed a characteristic kindness and took him in. Too weak to walk, Halloran rode in a wagon, though even such luxury could not stop the ravages of his disease. he traveled with the Donners for more than a month, but died just after they came down out of the Wasatch and was buried in the salty soil of Utah. having rescued him from abandonment once, perhaps the Donners did not want to leave Halloran alone in the wilderness again. They dug his grave next to that of an earlier emigrant who had also succumbed to the rigors of the great journey west."
Reportedly, Halloran was buried beside John Hargrave, who was traveling with the Harlan-Young Party, in advance of the Donners. Hargrave was said to have died from pneumonia on August 22, 1846, and was buried the next day.
The exact location of the two graves may never be known, but a panel has been set to commemorate John Hargrave and Luke Halloran as the first emigrants buried in Utah soil.
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