Melissa Ann Beller was the seventh daughter of William C. Beller and
Martha Lovina Wilburn, born abt. 1843 in Carroll County, Arkansas. Melissa Ann was one of
fifteen children. Her mother had died on 7 December 1849, and her father died
two months later on 26 February 1850 of smallpox, leaving the youngest of the orphaned
children to be cared for by members of the Beller family. Melissa Ann, and
her younger brother, David W. Beller, became the legal wards of their
older sister Minerva Ann (Beller), and
her husband, George Washington Baker. When Minerva Ann (Beller) Baker and
her husband made plans to move to California, it was decided that the two
Beller children would accompany them. Melissa Ann was part of "The Baker
Train" group that gathered, and made their preparations, in the open area
of Milum Spring (Caravan Spring) near her late father's store called
"Beller's Stand". Before their departure, Melissa Ann's
brother-in-law, Joseph Benjamin Baines, had paid George W. Baker $700 in
cash, as her guardian. These monies represented Melissa Ann's portion of
her father's estate. Baines also said that she had a bed, bedding, and
wearing apparel with her when she departed for California in April of
1857. Melissa Ann Beller died in the Mountain Meadows Massacre on 11
September 1857. She was 14 years old. Her brother
David W. Beller, and
sister Minerva Ann (Beller) Baker,
also died in the Massacre, along with her brother-in-law,
George Washington Baker, and her niece
Mary Lovina Baker. Two of her nieces,
Martha Elizabeth Baker, and Sarah Frances Baker, and her nephew William Twitty Baker, survived
the Massacre.
© 2008 A.C. Wallner for the
Mountain Meadows Association. All rights reserved
Inscription:
IN MEMORIAM
IN THE VALLEY
BELOW BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 7 AND 11, 1857, A COMPANY OF MORE THAN 120
ARKANSAS EMIGRANTS LED BY CAPT. JOHN T. BAKER AND CAPT. ALEXANDER
FANCHER WAS ATTACKED WHILE EN ROUTE TO CALIFORNIA. THIS EVENT IS
KNOWN IN HISTORY AS THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE
MELISSA ANN BELLER, 14
*Please note that the names of the victims of the 1857 Mountain Meadows
Massacre that appear here are those who we have personally researched and
verified as actual victims. In some cases this list will differ from the
names that were inscribed on the 1990 Monument on Dan Sill Hill.
 Leave
virtual flowers - MMA FIND A GRAVE
MEMORIAL
FOR
MELISSA ANN BELLER
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