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A sign shares information about the brief life of Sidney Sheen, who was born at sea on April 17, 1856, and died along Fourmile Creek near present-day Des Moines, Iowa, on June 24, 1856. A gravesite marker and memorial was dedicated May 4, 2024.2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Susan Sims, for the Church News
Estimates vary as to how many pioneers perished on the various routes of the Mormon Trail over the 20-plus years it was used for emigration. And while many journals and wagon or handcart company clerks recorded deaths and approximate burial locations, it is rare for such locations to be known today.
Thanks to officials in Polk County, Iowa, and local leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one such burial has now been marked with a memorial sign that was dedicated by Des Moines Iowa Stake President Jason Morales on May 4 in the public Sleepy Hollow Sports Park.
The interpretive panel honors Sidney Sheen, who was born at sea on April 17, 1856, on the ship Enoch Train, which carried more than 500 Latter-day Saints from Liverpool, England, to Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. From there, the Sheens traveled by train to Iowa City, Iowa, the end station in 1856.
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A marker rests near where Sidney Sheen was buried. He was born at sea on April 17, 1856, and died along Fourmile Creek near present-day Des Moines, Iowa, on June 24, 1856. The site was dedicated May 4, 2024.2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.After camping for some time and building handcarts and securing supplies, the Sheen family was assigned to the Edmund Ellsworth company. Baby Sidney had yet to have a roof over his head when they began to walk west on June 9, 1856. Unfortunately, he died near Fourmile Creek on June 24.
His burial was documented in the company journal and other records. Most members of his family made it to the Salt Lake Valley and settled in northern Utah. They never forgot Sidney, but it was not until now that they could know his likely burial place.
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A journal log notes the death of Sidney Sheen (misspelled as Sydney Shinn) and his burial along Fourmile Creek in Iowa on June 24, 1856. The site was later located and then dedicated on May 4, 2024.2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Sidney’s grandparents were among those who joined the Church in England as a result of Wilford Woodruff’s missionary efforts.
“Missionary meetings were often held in the Sheen home, and it was always open to missionaries coming and going,” said Mike Stephenson, the great-great-nephew of Sidney Sheen. His remarks were read by Iowa City Iowa Stake President Jaron Wilde at the dedication ceremony.
Stephenson and his wife, Sandi, were unable to attend because they are serving in the New York and Pennsylvania Historic Sites mission. A live stream of the short program was provided to the Stephensons and other family members watching from other states.
Doug Sheeley, a member of the Des Moines Stake, works for Polk County Conservation. At the dedication, he recounted the county’s acquisition of the property, an archaeological review that identified the area as a possible resting place for Sidney, and his experiences in bringing the sign to its current location on a small walking path connecting various elements of the park.
A few weeks before the installation, county officials authorized an effort to use dogs trained in finding historic remains to assess the area along what was once the east bank of Fourmile Creek. The dogs hit on a spot that, based on available documentation, could be the actual burial place for the baby. Thus, the project included a burial marker and nameplate not far from the interpretive sign along the walking path.
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From left, Doug Sheeley; Iowa City Iowa Stake President Jaron Wilde; Des Moines Iowa Stake President Jason Morales; and Elder Jeremiah J. Morgan, Area Seventy, at the dedication of a memorial and marker for Sidney Sheen, a handcart pioneer baby who was buried along the Mormon Trail along Fourmile Creek near present-day Des Moines, Iowa, on June 24, 1856. The site was dedicated May 4, 2024.2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.“This is a great reminder of the history of this area, and it’s something that will draw people to this park,” Sheeley said. But, more important, “this has been somewhat of a tender process” that led him to see the Lord’s hand in the details.
Commenting on the memorial’s title, “A Baby With No Home,” Elder Jeremiah J. Morgan, Area Seventy, said of Sidney: “In a spiritual sense, he will always have a home. And his home is designed and prepared by his Father in Heaven. … It wasn’t the end of him that he was buried at Fourmile Creek. It was just a way station, if you will, on the way to his eternal home.”
“Jesus Christ, because of His sacrifice, made it possible that no one will be forgotten,” said Elder Morgan, “and, in time, all the blessings that Jesus Christ made possible will be possible for Sidney and for his family.”
The program concluded with a dedicatory prayer delivered by President Morales, in which he asked that the area along the path would know peace, the sign would be protected, and that it would inspire those who stop to read it, drawing visitors to “contemplate the eternal blessings that the Sheen family and all other pioneer handcart members sought and relied upon.”
The prayer concluded with a plea for a blessing “that we may remember what great things Thou hast done for each of us in our individual journeys. And may we all draw near unto Thee and Thy Son in that process.”
The dedicatory program can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/paWVCfxbVWc. Visitors to the park should note that construction between the parking lot and memorial sign may divert foot traffic to another path.
Copyright 2024 Deseret News Publishing Company.