Joel Hembree
Converse County, Wyoming
Overview
In May 1843, Joel Jordan Hembree, his wife Sara and their eight sons left Independence, Missouri, bound for Oregon. They were from McMinnville, Tennessee. On July 18, six-year-old Joel was riding on a wagon tongue and fell off. He was fatally injured when wagon wheels ran over him. He died on July 19 and was buried on July 20. A diarist wrote: “We buried the youth & engraved his name on the headstone.”
Location
West of Douglas, Wyoming
The site is on private property. The grave has been moved from its original location, and is now next to a Private Ralston Baker, killed in an Indian skirmish on May 1, 1867.
Source: Randy Brown and Reg Duffin, Graves and Sites on the Oregon and California Trails, OCTA, 2nd edition, 1998, pp 114-115
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