Savoia Pioneer Cemetery

This account was written by Faye McGrath Meier in June of 1991:

In the fall of 1876, James Alonzo McGrath, his wife, Nancy Warnick McGrath, and 1 year old son, William, left their home in the South, together with a few other families, to travel to Des Arc, Arkansas. This small group had recently joined the Mormon Church and they were attempting to escape severe religious persecution because of their faith.

They remained in Arkansas for the winter and in the spring of 1877 joined a wagon train of 27 wagons and 137 people going west. They called themselves the “Arkansas Travelers.” Recent research has given us a graphic account of the experiences and hardships of this trek. En route, they were instructed by Brigham Young to go to Northern Arizona and settle with other Mormon colonists on the Little Colorado River.

In September, 1877, they arrived in Savoia Valley, New Mexico, where they encountered a small pox epidemic and Grandfather’s wife, Nancy, and new-born baby girl, Mary, both died from the disease. They were buried there with others of the group who died also. Grandfather James Alonzo went on to Northern Arizona where he became one of the first settlers of that area and also of the Gila Valley to the south.

I first heard this story as a small girl, growing up in Florida. It was told to me by my Grandmother, Alice Hendricks McGrath, James Alonzo’s third wife. I determined to one day visit Savoia Valley and attempt to find the graves of Nancy and Mary. Last summer I had the opportunity to do so and was saddened to find the small cemetery almost obliterated by time. For the most part, the old carved sandstone markers were no longer legible. The cemetery was surrounded by a rusty wife fence with rotting posts and filled with weeds and prairie dog holes. I felt a great urgency to try and save this small piece of history with its tragic story.

[Note: Faye worked hard to arrange for contributions to restore the cemetery. The picture shows the improvements.]