Sarah Elizabeth (Hawkins) Alderson
Verde Valley Pioneer
12-25-1854 to 1-26-1879
Sarah Hawkins was one of ten children born to William Henry Hawkins Sr. and Harriet “Hattie” Melissa (Stayton) Hawkins. On September 25, 1873, she married James Minter Alderson in Cass County, Missouri. At about twenty years old, she joined her husband and several other families on a wagon train departing from Independence, Missouri, bound for the Verde Valley in 1875.
She became part of the first generation of pioneer settlers who were born in Missouri and ultimately laid to rest in the Verde Valley of Arizona. Sarah’s life was cut tragically short in 1879. She is buried in the pioneer section of the City of Cottonwood Cemetery, resting beside her brother, John S. Hawkins. Her grave remained unmarked for nearly a century and a half, until a marker was finally placed in April 2026.
Sarah Elizabeth. (Hawkins) Alderson
Born: 12/25/1854 Independence, MO
Died: 12/26/1879 Cottonwood, AZ
Parents:
William Henry Hawkins Sr 1820–1883
Harriet Melissa Stayton Hawkins 1827–1895
Spouse: James Minter Alderson
Children:
Harriet Lou Alderson
James William Alderson
Sarah's brother and sister-in-law include Constable James Gabriel Hawkins and Mariah May (Dickinson) Hawkins
If it was not for Sarah's untimely death, she would have been the aunt of James' and Mariah's children, Charles Thomas Hawkins
1883–1936 and Minnie Lee Hawkins Smith 1886–1974.
Additional information about Sarah and her family can be found in the book
Jennie's Journal: 1875 True Story of a Verde Valley Pioneer
by Wyona Holmes Jaffe July 12, 2019
Available on Amazon
Find A Grave Memorial
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211370980/sarah_e-alderson
Verde Independent News Article 3/7/2026
Sarah's father, William Henry Hawkins Sr. was born on 28 February 1820, in Paris, Henry, Tennessee, his father, Williamson Hawkins, was 26 and his mother, Rebecca Ann Littleton Butts, was 20. He married Harriet Melissa Stayton on 17 October 1850, in Independence, Jackson, Missouri. They were the parents of at least 7 sons and 6 daughters.
In 1870 William Hawkins, aged 50 and working as a farmer with his wife Harriet M, aged 43 and keeping house at Mount Pleasant township, Missouri, with their children: David E, aged 18; Sarah E, aged 15; William H., aged 13; John, aged 11; James, aged 9, Laura Bell, aged 7; Louisa J., aged 6, Leander, aged 3 and Emery E., aged 1.
In 1875, the Hawkins family, along with many other families, took a trek from Missouri to Yavapai County, Arizona. That part of Arizona was filled with beautiful green trees and mineral rich soil for growing food. They and the other families decided to call it home. In October 1876 William was on the election board of the Upper Verde Valley.
