on paper. After all of this, I am still convinced that my interpretive model is defensible. I
believe that between August 5, 1846 and July 1848 there were three places of settlement in the area
(although one was never inhabited) and three cemeteries (all of which were used).

I think our differences in interpretation stem primarily from the sources available. Because of
your distance from the Church Archives, you have had to rely primarily on Andrew Jenson’s
compilations and other secondary sources. The primary sources which are available, such as the
Minutes of the Municipal High Council and the diary of Willard Richards, add a great deal to our
understanding of the development of Winter Quarters—including some aspects which Andrew J
enson and others have missed.

In regard to your continuing efforts to convince people that there were not 600 Latter-day Saint
burials in the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery between 1846 and 1848, I wholeheartedly agree with
you. In fact, a claim of 600 burials in all three cemeteries plus Summer Quarters is still grossly
exaggerated. I feel that the following estimates for burials are reasonable: 47 at Cutler’s Park,
65 at the second cemetery associated with the proposed settlement, 323 at the Mormon Pioneer
Cemetery, and 18 at Summer Quarters. That brings the total to 453 for the whole region (with
plenty of room for unrecorded burials)—still a far cry from 600. Of course, even at this smaller
number, the death rate was still at epidemic proportions. Another consideration, as you know, is
the burial of Latter-day Saints in the cemetery during the years that the Church used Florence as
an outfitting station. I am completely supportive of your efforts to get rid of the “600” number,
particularly when it is applied only to the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery for the 1846-1848 period.

Thank you so much for your great attention to detail and your willingness to prod me with
questions. We both have the same goal in mind—to accurately tell the story of Winter Quarters—
and I have benefitted immensely from your insight, your scholarship, and your devotion to the
cause of history.

I also appreciated your comments on the paper which I submitted to BYU Studies. Thanks to you
and other readers, I have made major changes and the article, containing some of the information
I have outlined here, will be published in the next issue.

Finally, I understand that congratulations are in order. I wish you and your new bride every happiness.

Sincerely,

[Signature]
Jennifer L. Lund
Curator of Education

cc: Glen M. Leonard, Director, Museum of Church History and Art
Carlyle B. Jensen, Mormon Trail Center
Arthur Taylor, President, Omaha Nebraska Stake