William & Maria Elwood Headstone Memorial

Thanks to all who have supported this project. We have reached our fundraising goal and have ordered the headstones. We hope to have them installed before winter sets in.

William Elwood and his wife Maria Page Elwood were early Utah pioneers and settlers in Hyde Park, Utah. Natives of Suffolk, England, they married and raised a family of 13! In 1851/52 they joined the Mormon Church and soon desired to join others of their new-found faith in the mountains of Utah. They sacrificed to send their children, a few at a time, to Utah to be with friends. Eventually, William and Maria were able to immigrate and join their children. They settled in Hyde Park where they lived and died. Their lives exemplified sacrifice and faith.

Today, their headstone markers are deteriorating and in disrepair. They consist of temporary metal plaques placed in cement, but they have deteriorated with some of the metal letters in the plaques scattered and missing. If left unattended, the graves will become unidentified.

It is time to install headstones that appropriately memorialize their lives. Other family members have joined me in a project to replace those deteriorating markers with permanent headstones. We would also like to replace the markers, with smaller stones, of two other graves in the plot — graves of Sampson Elwood (William and Maria’s son) and Solomon Page (Maria’s brother).

Cost estimates for modest markers are $3,500-$4,000 for the four headstones, and we are asking you to please donate to this cause. Please donate $20 or $50, $100, $200 — or whatever you can — toward this family project. Your donation will be appreciated.