Traveling east on Ohio Route 52 aside the Ohio River I came upon this graveside assemblage. The grave is of Diana Whitney, 16, daughter of Lemuel and Sarah Whitney, and who died on July 23rd, 1823. Diana has the unusual distinction of being the only person known to have died in Ohio while in a wagon train headed west. It is believed she died of cholera. The tree stump with the cross carved into it was once a sapling planted to commemorate Diana's death.
The marker, well, I'm not sure what to say about the marker. Here's what is written:
There rests here, in the quiet beauty of the valley of the Ohio, the dust of a young girl.
On July 23 1823, a wagon train, creaking toward the west, came to a halt close by.
When the train moved forward, one of it's party had been left along the trail, a hostage against time.
Diana Whitney, sleeping where the morning sun paints with strange scarlets and magic golds of the surface of the river, was sixteen on that summer's day long ago.
In a later summer this tablet was placed on Diana Whitney's grave to remind those who pause to read of a humble sacrifice woven into our country's greatness.
On July 23 1823, a wagon train, creaking toward the west, came to a halt close by.
When the train moved forward, one of it's party had been left along the trail, a hostage against time.
Diana Whitney, sleeping where the morning sun paints with strange scarlets and magic golds of the surface of the river, was sixteen on that summer's day long ago.
In a later summer this tablet was placed on Diana Whitney's grave to remind those who pause to read of a humble sacrifice woven into our country's greatness.
How very sad. I'd never heard of this.
Posted by: Dane | 11 January 2009 at 11:09 PM
It is easy to miss.
Oh, that should be US-52 not Ohio Rte 52.
Posted by: Joe | 13 January 2009 at 01:17 PM
That's my birthday, creepy!
Posted by: Emma Mattson | 25 June 2011 at 08:47 PM