Hundreds of men, women, and children of diverse backgrounds and life experiences are buried here. It is believed that most if not all burials of white settlers in Sanpete Valley between November 1849 and the early 1850's occurred here. The earliest death notices were recorded in a letter from Isaac Morley to Brigham Young on February 20, 1850: "Four deaths have occurred in the Camp since we arrived, namely Nelson Higgins' youngest child, Mr. Shomaker's son (about 17 years old), John Warner's child (which died at birth), and Bro. Cable's daughter (about one year and three months old)." Those buried here include an original pioneer to northern California who arrived on board the ship Brooklyn; an individual among the party to discover gold at Sutter's Mill; veterans of every major U.S. military campaign beginning with the War of 1812 through the 20th Century, including five soldiers and two female laundresses among the Mormon Battalion; explorers, including one from the Standsbury Expedition and another with Captain John W. Gunnison's ill-fated party; two individuals who played key roles in early translations of the Book of Mormon from English, one into Danish and another into Samoan; frontier doctors and midwives; preachers of the gospel, including a Protestant minister and wife; many Native Americans; an African-American cowboy; skilled artisans and craftsmen; and musicians and composers, including some whose hymns are sung on every continent up to the present day.