- Born: 14 January 1853 | Dayton, Oregon
- Died: 1 January 1863 | Dayton, Oregon
- Parents: Abram & Martha Ann Odell Coovert
- Siblings:
- John Quincy Coovert (1846 – 1850);
- Sarah Catherine Coovert Nichols (1847 – 1914);
- Mary Ellen Coovert Lambert (1850 – 1949);
- Wilbur Lee Coovert (1855 – 1882);
- Ida Elizabeth Coovert Harris (1858 – 1906);
- Ora M Coovert (1860 – 1863)
Henrietta Coovert was the fourth child of Abram and Martha Odell Coovert, born in 1853 in Dayton, Oregon. Sadly, she passed away just shy of her 10th birthday. Her younger sister, Ora, died only a few months later.
Both Henrietta and Ora succumbed to diphtheria, a highly contagious bacterial infection that was once one of the most feared childhood diseases. The infection spreads through respiratory droplets or contact with contaminated surfaces (Mayo Clinic, n.d.). Before the development of vaccines and effective treatments, diphtheria had a fatality rate of approximately 30% in unvaccinated cases (World Health Organization, n.d.). While the disease could affect adults, it was particularly deadly for children under 10.
Due to diphtheria’s highly infectious nature, outbreaks were common in close-knit communities like Webfoot before the development of vaccines. Although no records have been found confirming a diphtheria outbreak in the area at the time, the deaths of two sisters within months of each other strongly suggest they were part of the same outbreak.
Tombstone inscription:
HENRIETTA R.
Dau. of A. & M.A. Coovert
DIED
Jan. 1 1863;
AGED
9y’s 11m’s 18d’s
REFERENCE
Coovert, Henrietta. Early Oregonians Database Index. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved from https://secure.sos.state.or.us/prs/profile.do?ancRecordNumber=46026
Lockley, Fred. (1932, November 11). Observations of the Journal Man. Oregon Journal. Doris Huffman Papers, Fred Lockley Collection, MSS 1864. Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Find A Grave. Henrietta Coovert. Findagrave.com. Retrieved from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11919466/henrietta-r-coovert
Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Diphtheria – Symptoms & causes. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved March 18, 2025, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diphtheria/symptoms-causes/syc-20351897
U.S. Census Bureau. (1860). 1860 United States Federal Census. Dayton, Oregon, 664, Abram household. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) microfilm publication M653, Roll 1056. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from Ancestry.com.
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Diphtheria. Retrieved March 18, 2025, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diphtheria