Grafton Cemetery

Grafton Cemetery. , The Hard Year of 1866 , In the four years after Grafton's founding in 1862, death came in its usual manner, taking the young, the sick, the old: Mary Lavina Andrus died at one year of age; Mary Jane York, 28, died of tuberculosis, Byron Lee Bybee, 65, died of "poor health." And there were accidents: Joseph C. Field, 9, was dragged to death by a horse., But when the year 1866 hit, the settlers must have wondered if their Heavenly Father had abandoned them. Thirteen people died in rapid succession, taken by epidemics, a tragic accident and by the friction caused when new folks rub up against old., Many headstones are missing. It's believed 74 to 84 graves exist. The Grafton Cemetery also includes Southern Paiute people who worked and lived alongside early settlers., Date - Name - Age - Cause of Death , January 18, 1866, John William York, 10 years, Diphtheria . January 25, 1866, Asa Uriah York, 3 years, Diphtheria . January 25, 1866, James Jasper York, 5 years, Diphtheria . February 9, 1866, Frances Ann Field, 7 years, Diphtheria (Daughter) . February 9, 1866, Sarah Ann Brook Field, 37 years, Diphtheria (Mother) . February 1866, Sarah Ellen Field, 5 years, Diphtheria (Daughter) . February 15, 1866, Loretta A. Russell, 14 years, Accident-Swing Broke . February 15, 1866, Elizabeth H. Woodbury, 13 years, Accident-Swing Broke . April 2, 1866, Robert M. Berry (Brother of Joseph), 24 years, Killed by Indians . April 2, 1866, Isabella Hales Berry (Robert's Wife), 20 years, Killed by Indians . April 2, 1866, Joseph S. Berry (Brother of Robert), 22 years, Killed by Indians . August 4, 1866, George Judson Andrus, 1 year, Scarlet Fever . September 1, 1866, Medora Andrus, 6 months, Scarlet Fever . 1866, Else Marie Bybee, 45 years, Unknown, Grafton Historic District , On the National Register of Historic Places , The Berry headstone reminds us of a time when there wasn't enough to go around. When the Utah Territory was settled, the upper Virgin River was already inhabited by native Southern Paiute peoples. Pioneers often settled the same places required by these native people for their subsistence. This competition for land and scarce resources led to conflict., At the same time, Navajo people living south of the Colorado River were squeezed between pioneer settlement in Arizona to the south and Utah to the north. In December 1865, Navajo raiders stole cattle and horses from Kanab and the Shirts ranch at Paria. In January 1866, two ranchers were killed at Pipe Spring and their cattle stolen. Consequently, the Mormon militia killed Indians near Pipe Spring and in retaliation the Indians killed the Berrys, who were traveling home to Berryville (now Glendale on Highway 89), near Colorado City. At the time, Grafton was the County Seat, and their bodies were brought here for burial., During this time, Mormon Church leader Brigham Young ordered villages in southern Utah to coalesce in towns of at least 150 men. Grafton and other Virgin River towns were deserted as townsfolk consolidated Rockville. Grafton farmers returned daily to tend the hometown fields, and by 1868, Grafton was resettled. , Captions , (Photo #1) Historic photograph of Grafton Cemetery. , (Photo #2) Robert Madison Berry, 24, his wife Mary Isabella Hales Berry, 20, and brother Joseph Smith Berry, 22, were killed by Navajo raiders.