Tragedy struck the Smith family when Alvin, the oldest child of Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith, passed away after a short illness. He died in the log home on Nov. 19, 1823.
Some believe that Alvin was engaged to be married, but the name of the young woman to whom he was engaged is not known. Joseph the Prophet was nearly 18 when his brother died, but he carried the shock of that night into his latest years.
After his burial in the Swift Cemetery, Alvin's gravesite was lost to the effects of erosion. His headstone was recovered by Willard Bean and Harold Stoner and subsequently placed at the site seen here.