Description

Rebecca Winters

It was the early summer of 1833, near Jamestown, New York when Rebecca Winters was given a remarkable dream. Her husband came to her and gave her a present. In the dream she could not tell what the gift was but “she realized it was something of very great value and her whole being seemed filled with light and joy that remained with her.” The next day she pondered what the gift could be. “She could not imagine anything that he could buy for her that could cause her to feel so supremely happy.” That evening her husband returned and handed her a book. “I will make you a present of that,” he said. She looked down at the book. It was a copy of the Book of Mormon. She had heard of this book and its origins. She opened the book and began to read, and as she did so, “her soul was filled with that same light and influence as in her dream.” Her dream was fulfilled.

Hiram and Rebecca Winters joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and faithfully followed and served wherever the saints went. The story would be powerful enough even if it ended there—it does not.

They were among the last to leave Nauvoo, being driven out by mobs in the fall of 1846. They worked hard to gather the means to go west with the saints. Finally, by the spring of 1852 they were ready to leave. They crossed the Missouri River and started across the plains, but in western Nebraska, cholera struck the camp, and many were taken down. Among them—Rebecca Winters. It was about noon, August 15, 1852, when, despite the best efforts of many to save her, that Rebecca Winters passed away. Her loss was felt deeply and so her grave was dug deep. They tenderly dressed her, placed her on a bed and lowered the bed. Nearby was the ruins of an emigrant wagon. Desiring that the final resting place of this good woman not be lost, they took a piece of wheel iron, bent it, and placed it in the grave. When the grave was filled in, the iron could not be pulled up. Then William Reynolds took a cold chisel and engraved her name and memory into the iron. Upon seeing it, Hiram Winters exclaimed, “That name will remain there forever.” Zebedee Coltrin would later say of her “If ever there was a good woman who lived on the earth, Sister Rebecca Winters was one.”

And the company moved on. The grave was lost and forgotten—that is—until the railroad was laying a line and ran into it. Out of respect, the line was rerouted and the grave spared. The grave and its marker are still there—a monument to Rebecca and the pioneers of the 19^th century.

I’ve been to her grave several times and always feel a spirit of reverence and respect. To me, she is more than a pioneer. She represents all those of you who give yourr lives to the Savior and follow Him. No matter what happens and when, the world may forget you, but He does not and never will.

Source: http://mormonhistoricsites.org/rebecca-winters-gravesite/

https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=2423529#t_2423529