Died on the Oregon Trail.∼Ephraim Brown
His grave is located near Rock Creek, outside Atlantic City, Wyoming, on the main Oregon-California Trail.
~~
Brown was a native of Ralls County, Missouri, and was traveling with his wife Nancy and several children to California when they camped at Rock Creek the evening of August 1, 1857.
Arthur Menefee was traveling with the Brown family and kept a diary of the journey. His entry for August 2 contains this passage: "Next morning at the point of leaving a conflict took place which terminated in the death of E. Brown. Buried him & left at 12 A. M. traveling over a tolerable road..... still not satisfied with the justice unfortunateness of the past day, owing all [to] the Women's tongue."
Menefee never gets specific, but a careful reading of his diary makes it clear that some of the women of the wagon train were in nearly constant conflict. As early as May 24 while still in Missouri he wrote:" Nim [Menefee] and Ephraim coming up at noon. Great joy in camp. All supted together in mutual friendship and harmony & continued until next morning when a little storm arose between Mary {Menefee] and Nancy [Brown]."
Whatever the trouble was it continued during the course of the journey and culminated with the fight that ended the life of Ephraim Brown," owing all to the Women's tongue", as Arthur Menefee put it. On August 11 he wrote, " we tried the Boy & dismissed him from the Train after finding him guilty, thence pursuing our journey, over a very good road. " Unfortunately, the diary provides no other details including the identity of the Boy.
Kentucky born Ephraim Brown was 34 at the time of his death. It is not known what became of Nancy Brown and their children. The grave is still marked by the headstone put up by Brown's companions on August 2, 1857.
~
Nancy Ann Shekels (wife) remarried Chester Stephens Swift in Nevada. Chester Swift abandoned the family and Nancy had to leave her 3 Swift children in an orphanage in Vallejo, California. Later she was living in Merced, California where her daughter, Ann Louise Brown and her daughter's first husband, James E. Carter. Nancy then married a man named William Newman in 1882 and able to retrieve her children from the orphanage. In the 1890s Nancy Brown Swift moved with her daughter, Lillie May Swift, to a ranch near Winslow, Arizona. Lillie May Swift married F.M. French in 1886. They had 5 children as of 1901: Ella Lester Ada Elsie Frederick.
His grave is located near Rock Creek, outside Atlantic City, Wyoming, on the main Oregon-California Trail.
~~
Brown was a native of Ralls County, Missouri, and was traveling with his wife Nancy and several children to California when they camped at Rock Creek the evening of August 1, 1857.
Arthur Menefee was traveling with the Brown family and kept a diary of the journey. His entry for August 2 contains this passage: "Next morning at the point of leaving a conflict took place which terminated in the death of E. Brown. Buried him & left at 12 A. M. traveling over a tolerable road..... still not satisfied with the justice unfortunateness of the past day, owing all [to] the Women's tongue."
Menefee never gets specific, but a careful reading of his diary makes it clear that some of the women of the wagon train were in nearly constant conflict. As early as May 24 while still in Missouri he wrote:" Nim [Menefee] and Ephraim coming up at noon. Great joy in camp. All supted together in mutual friendship and harmony & continued until next morning when a little storm arose between Mary {Menefee] and Nancy [Brown]."
Whatever the trouble was it continued during the course of the journey and culminated with the fight that ended the life of Ephraim Brown," owing all to the Women's tongue", as Arthur Menefee put it. On August 11 he wrote, " we tried the Boy & dismissed him from the Train after finding him guilty, thence pursuing our journey, over a very good road. " Unfortunately, the diary provides no other details including the identity of the Boy.
Kentucky born Ephraim Brown was 34 at the time of his death. It is not known what became of Nancy Brown and their children. The grave is still marked by the headstone put up by Brown's companions on August 2, 1857.
~
Nancy Ann Shekels (wife) remarried Chester Stephens Swift in Nevada. Chester Swift abandoned the family and Nancy had to leave her 3 Swift children in an orphanage in Vallejo, California. Later she was living in Merced, California where her daughter, Ann Louise Brown and her daughter's first husband, James E. Carter. Nancy then married a man named William Newman in 1882 and able to retrieve her children from the orphanage. In the 1890s Nancy Brown Swift moved with her daughter, Lillie May Swift, to a ranch near Winslow, Arizona. Lillie May Swift married F.M. French in 1886. They had 5 children as of 1901: Ella Lester Ada Elsie Frederick.
Died on the Oregon Trail.∼Ephraim Brown
His grave is located near Rock Creek, outside Atlantic City, Wyoming, on the main Oregon-California Trail.
~~
Brown was a native of Ralls County, Missouri, and was traveling with his wife Nancy and several children to California when they camped at Rock Creek the evening of August 1, 1857.
Arthur Menefee was traveling with the Brown family and kept a diary of the journey. His entry for August 2 contains this passage: "Next morning at the point of leaving a conflict took place which terminated in the death of E. Brown. Buried him & left at 12 A. M. traveling over a tolerable road..... still not satisfied with the justice unfortunateness of the past day, owing all [to] the Women's tongue."
Menefee never gets specific, but a careful reading of his diary makes it clear that some of the women of the wagon train were in nearly constant conflict. As early as May 24 while still in Missouri he wrote:" Nim [Menefee] and Ephraim coming up at noon. Great joy in camp. All supted together in mutual friendship and harmony & continued until next morning when a little storm arose between Mary {Menefee] and Nancy [Brown]."
Whatever the trouble was it continued during the course of the journey and culminated with the fight that ended the life of Ephraim Brown," owing all to the Women's tongue", as Arthur Menefee put it. On August 11 he wrote, " we tried the Boy & dismissed him from the Train after finding him guilty, thence pursuing our journey, over a very good road. " Unfortunately, the diary provides no other details including the identity of the Boy.
Kentucky born Ephraim Brown was 34 at the time of his death. It is not known what became of Nancy Brown and their children. The grave is still marked by the headstone put up by Brown's companions on August 2, 1857.
~
Nancy Ann Shekels (wife) remarried Chester Stephens Swift in Nevada. Chester Swift abandoned the family and Nancy had to leave her 3 Swift children in an orphanage in Vallejo, California. Later she was living in Merced, California where her daughter, Ann Louise Brown and her daughter's first husband, James E. Carter. Nancy then married a man named William Newman in 1882 and able to retrieve her children from the orphanage. In the 1890s Nancy Brown Swift moved with her daughter, Lillie May Swift, to a ranch near Winslow, Arizona. Lillie May Swift married F.M. French in 1886. They had 5 children as of 1901: Ella Lester Ada Elsie Frederick.
His grave is located near Rock Creek, outside Atlantic City, Wyoming, on the main Oregon-California Trail.
~~
Brown was a native of Ralls County, Missouri, and was traveling with his wife Nancy and several children to California when they camped at Rock Creek the evening of August 1, 1857.
Arthur Menefee was traveling with the Brown family and kept a diary of the journey. His entry for August 2 contains this passage: "Next morning at the point of leaving a conflict took place which terminated in the death of E. Brown. Buried him & left at 12 A. M. traveling over a tolerable road..... still not satisfied with the justice unfortunateness of the past day, owing all [to] the Women's tongue."
Menefee never gets specific, but a careful reading of his diary makes it clear that some of the women of the wagon train were in nearly constant conflict. As early as May 24 while still in Missouri he wrote:" Nim [Menefee] and Ephraim coming up at noon. Great joy in camp. All supted together in mutual friendship and harmony & continued until next morning when a little storm arose between Mary {Menefee] and Nancy [Brown]."
Whatever the trouble was it continued during the course of the journey and culminated with the fight that ended the life of Ephraim Brown," owing all to the Women's tongue", as Arthur Menefee put it. On August 11 he wrote, " we tried the Boy & dismissed him from the Train after finding him guilty, thence pursuing our journey, over a very good road. " Unfortunately, the diary provides no other details including the identity of the Boy.
Kentucky born Ephraim Brown was 34 at the time of his death. It is not known what became of Nancy Brown and their children. The grave is still marked by the headstone put up by Brown's companions on August 2, 1857.
~
Nancy Ann Shekels (wife) remarried Chester Stephens Swift in Nevada. Chester Swift abandoned the family and Nancy had to leave her 3 Swift children in an orphanage in Vallejo, California. Later she was living in Merced, California where her daughter, Ann Louise Brown and her daughter's first husband, James E. Carter. Nancy then married a man named William Newman in 1882 and able to retrieve her children from the orphanage. In the 1890s Nancy Brown Swift moved with her daughter, Lillie May Swift, to a ranch near Winslow, Arizona. Lillie May Swift married F.M. French in 1886. They had 5 children as of 1901: Ella Lester Ada Elsie Frederick.
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