This is almost certainly a Cenotaph
~~~~~
Riley was born 21 Mar 1796 in Blandford, Massachusetts, and died 14 Jul 1850 enroute to California. He married Elizabeth Streator 26 Nov 1822 in Aurora, Ohio. They had one daughter, Frances.
~~~~~
The follow info is courtesy of:
Richard Rieck
Professor Emeritus
Dept. of Geography
Western Illinois Univ.
On November 18, 1850, the St. Louis Missouri Republican published a letter written Sept. 22 in Sacramento, CA by "C" who had just arrived overland from the Missouri River. In the letter he provided the names of more than 100 individuals who died on the trail west that year. One of these entries was for Riley. From internal evidence in the article it can be determined that Cochran died on the Sublette Cutoff in western Wyoming about 10 miles north of present-day Kemmerer.
It was about 1000 miles (depending on the route) to the Missouri River from where he died and nearly as far to California. Because it was impossible to carry a body that distance in a slow-moving wagon in the summer heat he was buried where he fell. Indeed, "C" saw his actual grave. When the sad news of a trail death reached home, families often erected a cenotaph or memorial marker in a local cemetery (or had the information added to a pre-existing marker). Almost certainly Riley is still in Wyoming and so this marker is a cenotaph for him.
~~~~~
Riley was born 21 Mar 1796 in Blandford, Massachusetts, and died 14 Jul 1850 enroute to California. He married Elizabeth Streator 26 Nov 1822 in Aurora, Ohio. They had one daughter, Frances.
~~~~~
The follow info is courtesy of:
Richard Rieck
Professor Emeritus
Dept. of Geography
Western Illinois Univ.
On November 18, 1850, the St. Louis Missouri Republican published a letter written Sept. 22 in Sacramento, CA by "C" who had just arrived overland from the Missouri River. In the letter he provided the names of more than 100 individuals who died on the trail west that year. One of these entries was for Riley. From internal evidence in the article it can be determined that Cochran died on the Sublette Cutoff in western Wyoming about 10 miles north of present-day Kemmerer.
It was about 1000 miles (depending on the route) to the Missouri River from where he died and nearly as far to California. Because it was impossible to carry a body that distance in a slow-moving wagon in the summer heat he was buried where he fell. Indeed, "C" saw his actual grave. When the sad news of a trail death reached home, families often erected a cenotaph or memorial marker in a local cemetery (or had the information added to a pre-existing marker). Almost certainly Riley is still in Wyoming and so this marker is a cenotaph for him.
This is almost certainly a Cenotaph
~~~~~
Riley was born 21 Mar 1796 in Blandford, Massachusetts, and died 14 Jul 1850 enroute to California. He married Elizabeth Streator 26 Nov 1822 in Aurora, Ohio. They had one daughter, Frances.
~~~~~
The follow info is courtesy of:
Richard Rieck
Professor Emeritus
Dept. of Geography
Western Illinois Univ.
On November 18, 1850, the St. Louis Missouri Republican published a letter written Sept. 22 in Sacramento, CA by "C" who had just arrived overland from the Missouri River. In the letter he provided the names of more than 100 individuals who died on the trail west that year. One of these entries was for Riley. From internal evidence in the article it can be determined that Cochran died on the Sublette Cutoff in western Wyoming about 10 miles north of present-day Kemmerer.
It was about 1000 miles (depending on the route) to the Missouri River from where he died and nearly as far to California. Because it was impossible to carry a body that distance in a slow-moving wagon in the summer heat he was buried where he fell. Indeed, "C" saw his actual grave. When the sad news of a trail death reached home, families often erected a cenotaph or memorial marker in a local cemetery (or had the information added to a pre-existing marker). Almost certainly Riley is still in Wyoming and so this marker is a cenotaph for him.
~~~~~
Riley was born 21 Mar 1796 in Blandford, Massachusetts, and died 14 Jul 1850 enroute to California. He married Elizabeth Streator 26 Nov 1822 in Aurora, Ohio. They had one daughter, Frances.
~~~~~
The follow info is courtesy of:
Richard Rieck
Professor Emeritus
Dept. of Geography
Western Illinois Univ.
On November 18, 1850, the St. Louis Missouri Republican published a letter written Sept. 22 in Sacramento, CA by "C" who had just arrived overland from the Missouri River. In the letter he provided the names of more than 100 individuals who died on the trail west that year. One of these entries was for Riley. From internal evidence in the article it can be determined that Cochran died on the Sublette Cutoff in western Wyoming about 10 miles north of present-day Kemmerer.
It was about 1000 miles (depending on the route) to the Missouri River from where he died and nearly as far to California. Because it was impossible to carry a body that distance in a slow-moving wagon in the summer heat he was buried where he fell. Indeed, "C" saw his actual grave. When the sad news of a trail death reached home, families often erected a cenotaph or memorial marker in a local cemetery (or had the information added to a pre-existing marker). Almost certainly Riley is still in Wyoming and so this marker is a cenotaph for him.
Gravesite Details
Shares a stone with his father
Family Members
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Records on Ancestry
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