Little Laura Emily Hawkins was the 4th of six children born to Zachariah (1812-1845) and Nancy (White) Hawkins (1815-1895) while the family was living in Lee County, Iowa in the early to mid 1840's. She was born Feb 15th, 1840, with three sisters and two brothers. She had aunts, uncles and cousins, plus grandparents living nearby. The group made the life changing decision to resettle in the Oregon Territory in 1845, when an adult male could get 320 acres of land and, if he was married, his wife could also get 320 acres of land in her own name. They felt that most of the good farm land was already being used in the mid-West and the donation land claim program was too good to pass up, especially when they heard of the fertile land and herds of game that were there, although the trip would not be an easy one. So Zachariah and Nancy packed up their family and went to Kansas with their extended family to meet up with the great group of emigrants who had already left from Independence, Missouri. They all met up at Big Soldier Creek, Kansas to reorganize, electing Captains to lead the massive train that was divided into a total of seven groups. Laura's family was to be in the 3rd group, led by Cpt. Abner Hackleman, [son of Abraham/Abram Hackleman]. There was much reorganizing and last minute purchasing and selling until the entire massive group of emigrants set out on @May 15th, 1845. They crossed into Nebraska, following the Platte River for a time, then into Wyoming where they left the N. Platte River at Ft.Casper, and continued on into Idaho. The Hawkins party consisted of @18 persons who had to walk or ride many miles every day. Riding in the wagons was not very comfortable as they had nothing to absorb the shock of the hard ground except for blankets and quilts used for sleeping at night; those same blankets and quilts had to be hung up to "air out" each day while they traveled so they wouldn't mildew. All meals were cooked out of doors over open campfires and the women had to be very careful that their long skirts didn't catch on fire, especially when it was windy, usually in the late afternoon. Dishes had to be cleaned, as did dirty clothing and baby diapers, undergarments, and a bath was a luxury; usually mostly a cold bath would be taken or the same bath water would be used over and over again, so cleanliness was an issue. Many of the women were with child when they started the journey and a number of my ancestors gave birth to their children along the Oregon Trail (twins were born to the Reason & Martha Hall family while crossing the mountains in 1846). The emigrants had to decide, when they reached Three Island crossing of the Snake River just West of what is now Twin Falls, Idaho, if they were to continue on the Oregon Trail, or head South to California. The Hawkins had long ago decided upon Oregon, so went West, but, by now, Laura's father, Zachariah, was quite ill with "camp fever", which was actually Typhus caused from over crowding and lack of sanitary conditions. There was a crossing at Glenn's Ferry, Idaho, where an enterprising man built a ferry in 1869 which could carry two wagons at a time and cut nearly twenty miles off of their route. The Hawkins family was at this site 24 yrs. before the Ferry was built, as it was a treacherous river crossing on the Snake River. With the number of wagons in Hawkins' train, it took a few days for all to cross in late August, 1845. Per the diary of Claiborne Campbell Walker, Laura's father had been ill with "cold on lungs" (pneumonia?) per his entry on Aug 27th, 1845. Nancy, his wife, his parents Henry and Martha, his brother Samuel, and sisters Mary Anne and Martha would all have been trying to help nurse him back to health, but, as Mr. Walker's diary says on Aug 29th, 1845, "Z.Hawkins died 20 minutes after 7:00 leaving a wife and 5 children." They were all devastated, but knew they had to go on with the other wagons. Zachariah would have been buried in a way that would discourage wild animals from disturbing it, and they would have gone on; they had no choice, really, if there was safety in numbers. For now there was also a rumor circulating that the Walla Walla and Cayuse Indians might possibly attack the emigrants in the Blue Mountains of Oregon or along the Columbia River. Stephen Meek, older brother of Joe Meek, made his living as a wagon train guide, being an experienced fur trapper and explorer of the area. He was unemployed at the time and considered to be familiar with Eastern Oregon Territory so, when he offered the settlers an alternate way that would avoid the Blue Mtns., many decided to follow him. Approx. 200 wagons and 1,000 men, women and children, including the remaining Hawkins family, turned off the main Oregon Trail at Vale, Oregon and followed Stephen Meek off into the Oregon desert where no wagons had been before. They traveled southwest through the Malheur Mtns., following the Malheur River at first, then being forced into the hill country. Soon, stones became an issue in their route; it was so hard on the oxen that several died each day, according to travelers' records. More settlers were becoming ill with camp fever, among other illnesses, including the Cpt. daughter who died on Sep 3rd, 1845. Her gravestone is still in existence as of 2014. The very next day they had to climb a steep, narrow ravine "choked" with boulders, so that persons were walking ahead, throwing stones off of the trail to try to save their oxen. It was a 1,000 ft. climb with many wagons becoming damaged; they had to stop and make repairs before going over the hill and down to Cottonwood Creek. They finally reached the Harney Basin in Oregon's High Desert. 1845 was a drought year, so water was hard to find and the land looked different to Meek. By this point, some wanted to keep going West to find a pass over the Cascade Mtns. or go North, following a creek. West it was and they finally found a place with some water and grass, but not enough for all who brought up the rear of the party. A relief party, that had been sent ahead to The Dalles to bring back supplies took 3 times as long as they had hoped, causing more hardships. It was during this dire time that little Laura Emily Hawkins, weakened from malnourishment and exhaustion, finally succumbed to all of the hardships of the past four months and passed from this life somewhere along the Oregon Trail before the relief party reached them and before they reached help at Gateway, Oregon on Sept 20th, 1845. The Hawkins family was all but overwhelmed with grief, not only loosing Zachariah but now loosing his dear little daughter as well. She would have been buried somewhere near what would come to be known as the "Meek Cutoff" in a way that wild animals could not get to her remains. Her remaining family reached the Willamette Valley, settling in Benton County in late September or early October of 1845. Her grandmother would die within 9 yrs. and her sister, Mary Anne, would die by 1870. Life in the time of the Pioneers was not at all easy and took many lives, but their descendants continued on. May Laura Emily Hawkins rest at peace forever in Heaven with her family members. Written with respect and admiration on this July 11th, 2014.
by Kathie L. Webb Blair, a Cousin.