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Lizzie Harriman gravemarker
Lizzie Constance Herriman
Born: 9 January 1879 at Parowan, Iron, Utah, USALIFE SKETCH ELIZABETH CONSTANCE (LIZZIE) HARRIMAN
Lizzie Harriman was born January 9, 1879 in Parowan, Utah to Henry Harrison Harriman and Sarah Elizabeth Hobbs Harriman. She was the 4th child and was only 3 months old when the family left Parowan for Fort Montezuma in the remote area of southeastern Utah. Her mother Sarah drove one of the light duty wagons and Lizzie likely rode on the seat next to her mother much of the way.
Lizzie was a remarkably beautiful child. With golden blond hair and blue eyes, she was easy to love. They say she was also very intelligent. Lizzie was almost worshipped by a Navajo family who had become very close friends to the family. They often begged Sarah for permission to take Lizzie a short distance to their camp. There must have been a close friendship with these Navajo people, because Sarah often let Lizzie go with them. They say Lizzie picked up some of the Navajo language, and when a little past 2-years old, she could speak more Navajo than English. At that young age, Lizzie was even known to correct her older siblings on their pronunciation of Navajo words. She had a pair of bright colored shoes, perhaps red. The Navajo friends thought Lizzie’s shoes were magnificent.
A story about 2 year old Lizzie and her love for creatures, tells about her repeatedly asking for bread and coming back for more. Her mother thought she was sharing with the cat, but decided to follow her. She discovered Lizzie had a pet rattlesnake she was feeding--One bite for Lizzie, one for the snake, and one for the cat. She was terribly upset when the family killed the snake, insisting it was her friend.
On February 5, 1881, Sarah Harriman delivered a child in her cabin and named him William Harrison Harriman. [The happiness of that occasion was short lived when] Lizzie Harriman became, and died on March 27, 1881. The agony and heartbreak of losing Lizzie cannot be fully understood by anyone but Henry and Sarah. All of their earlier trials seemed insignificant. They did not know the cause of her death. Ron McDonald, in his book, “Fort Montezuma, 1879-1884,” believes 2 possibilities exist, measles [or] snake bite.
Lizzie was laid to rest on high ground, in sandy soil a few hundred feet north of the cabin. Life had to go on: perhaps a lot of hard work would help take their minds off their sorrow. Their Navajo friends were surely anguishing also. A story passed down through the Harriman family tells of the Navajo friends offering to trade a quart jar full of rubies for Lizzie’s little red shoes. Sara refused the offer. The death of Lizzie saddened all the Montezuma settlers. She was the first casualty at Fort Montezuma, but not the last. The Harrimans were shown a lot of love and concern by their friends and neighbors. [In March 1883 Harrimans would lose a 2nd child, 6 year old John Alma Harriman to measles in March.]
The gravesite was likely the last stopping place for the Harriman family before leaving Montezuma in 1884. In 1918 Albert R. Lyman wrote of seeing a small wood picket fence around the gravesite. We have no knowledge of who placed the headstones or when they were placed. Henry and Sarah and their surviving children likely stood on the very spot and bade farewell to Lizzie and John before leaving Fort Montezuma forever. They said their close Indian friends assured them the plot would be watched and protected. Perhaps that promise has been kept, because after these many years, the burial spot is intact. There is a special feeling at this site. During 1976, a kind-hearted man named Don Kemner built a steel fence around the gravesites of Lizzie and John as a Lion’s Club Centennial project.
Sources: “Fort Montezuma 1879-1884” by Ron McDonald, and “Conquering Sagebrush and Sandstone, Sisters of the San Juan Mission,” (published by Daughters of Utah Pioneers).
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Lizzie Harriman gravemarker