In 1843, Henry developed gangrene in his leg. There is no indication of the cause. He was still listed as an agricultural laborer, so it may have resulted from a farm accident. Without sterile dressings and drugs to combat infection, gangrene caused many deaths. Henry fought his infection for four months before passing away on April 23, 1843 at the age of 74 years. John Lambe was present at his death. Was he a doctor who had come to ease his pain? Or even amputate his leg? Morphine was available to ease pain and for use as a sedative. Henry was buried April 30, 1843.

Sarah, left bereaved and a widow, had yet another sorrow to pass through—she sat by her son, Richard, and watched him die from intemperance on November 8, 1848, leaving five orphaned sons. The following spring Sarah was at the home of Richard’s son, Charles Richins when she passed away on April 1, 1849. She was buried April 8, 1849.

It is interesting that both Henry and Sarah were buried one week after their deaths. There was no means to keep a body that long without deterioration. I wonder if the delay in providing for their burial was because of the Mormon missionaries teaching the Richins family. In many parishes, the ministers refused to bury a member of a Mormon’s family in the churchyard. I wonder if this was the situation, that they hesitated because the Richins were being taught the gospel by the Mormon missionaries.