He treated her badly, but as a poor orphan she felt she had little choice. In the 1870s, an author researching the scandal found Keseberg living in destitution and dismay. As Donner party survivor, 12-year-old Patty Reed, wrote to her cousin in 1847: “Oh Mary, I have not wrote you half of the trouble we have had, but I have wrote you enough to let you know now that you don’t know what trouble is.”, She ominously added, “Thank God we have all got through…[we were] the only family that did not eat human flesh.”. His wife Margaret (Peggy), 40, was rescued by John Stark of the Third Relief after being abandoned by the Second Relief at Starved Camp. 77 Fantastical Illustrations Of The Natural World, From Deep-Sea Octopuses To Carnivorous Plants, Man Caught Stabbing Woman's Buttocks With Syringe Believed To Be Filled With Semen, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. James and Margaret Reed managed to survive the Donner Party disaster with their four children. The rescuers were reportedly forced to leave Keseberg and four other survivors of the Donner Party at the lake as they were unable to transport everyone to safety. Starving and driven to cannibalism after snows trapped their caravan in a snowy Sierra Nevada mountain pass, the survivors relayed to their rescuers the horrific stories of their ordeal. Her great-uncle was William McCutchen, a hero of the Donner Party, who rode ahead for supplies and returned with the Second Relief. Teamster Charles Berger (or Karl Burger), 30, died at the Lake cabins on December 29, 1846. The Party did not exist when its members crossed the Missouri River in May, 1846. The Breens’ friend and neighbor Patrick Dolan, 35, died on December 26, 1846, at the Snowshoe Party’s Camp of Death. Son John, 14, was rescued by John Stark of the Third Relief after being abandoned by the Second Relief at Starved Camp. According to one rescuer, there were human skeletons “in every variety of mutilation. Antonio, about 23, died at the Snowshoe Party’s Camp of Death on December 25, 1846. In 1859 she married Sherman O. Houghton. He died in 1910 at Marshall in Tomales Bay, Marin County. In June, 1847, Breen, Murphy and several other settlers returned to the Lake to salvage the Breens wagons and goods. In 1869 she married Thomas McMahon, brother of Catherine McMahon who was married to Isabella’s brother James. In 1856 Eddy married Miss. Athletes to retrace Sierra escape of Donner Party survivors 4 athletes from California are trying to put themselves in the shoes of the Donner Party. After her arrival in California, she was taken in by a Swiss couple at Sutter’s Fort, Christian and Mary Brunner. Then, they boiled hides and blankets to make a gelatinous soup. Friend Hiram Miller left the Reeds east of Fort Bernard, near present Douglas, Wyoming, on July 2, 1846 to accompany Edwin Bryant’s pack train. Survivors After News Websites Sources About Introduction. At just four years old, Eliza Donner was one of the last survivors of the Donner Party to be rescued from Donner Lake. Supplies dwindled and they were pushed to starvation. He became a Superior Court judge in San Benito County, and later an Assemblyman. He became a blacksmith in Calistoga, California, and was a valuable informant for McGlashan, locating the cabin sites. Sadly, she died shortly after arriving at Sutter’s Fort. They had no children, and James, Jr. died in 1901. ), died at the Alder Creek camp on March 27, 1847, His wife Tamsen, 45, stayed with her husband until he died, and then attempted to cross the mountains on her own. “It was blotted all over with the tears which the poor girl shed while describing the sufferings of her famish[ed] parents, their death, and the flesh of their dead bodies furnishing food for their starving children! He rejoined the Party the last week of October, 1846, along the Truckee River. (Reed, Margaret, Virginia and Martha streets in downtown San Jose are named for the Reed family.) When the final rescue party arrived at the Donner camp in April, 1847, Lewis Keseberg was the only survivor. Covillaud founded a town on his land, and called it Marysville. Donner Pass in the 1870s. It is not known if the quotations are accurate, exaggerated or fabricated. Houghton became mayor of San Jose and a U.S. Daughter Georgia, 4, was rescued by the Third Relief. Congressman and Donner went on to write a book about the Donner Party’s demise. Uncle George Donner was elected captain of the wagon train that would be known as the Donner Party, Mary Brunner, Georgia and Eliza Donner, photographed about 1850. “Who better than survivors knew the heart-rending circumstances of life and death in those mountain camps?” She reported. He was joined by McCutchen, who had been unable to return with Stanton, as well as some members of th… After their rescue, the Donner Party survivors became famous and then infamous. Jean Baptiste Trudeau, 18, was rescued by the Third Relief. At 13 years old, Mary Murphy became an orphan after her parents perished at the lakeside in that snowy Sierra Nevada pass. Wolfinger, Spitzer and Reinhardt were involved in one of the most mysterious episodes of the Donner Party. Lewis Keseberg was the most infamous and vilified member of the Donner Party. They settled in Calistoga, and had five children. Around 87 emigrants (though sources differ on this exact number) banded together to take a supposedly shorter — albeit, untested — route to California. The two Indians who accompanied Stanton from Sutter’s Fort did not survive either. After James Reed stabbed and killed a fellow Donner Party member, the group banished him and he managed to make it through Donner Pass before the snows trapped his family and the rest of the pioneers. In 1863 she married W.A. Joseph Reinhardt, about 30, died at the Alder Creek camp in mid-December, 1846. When rescue expeditions finally reached the the Donner Party the next spring, they found evidence of murder and cannibalism. But a judge allowed the book’s publication. Unlike the Reeds, the Breen family crossed the plains without fanfare or fame. Among the group was Illinois businessman James Reed, the Murphy family, the Breen family, and the Donner family, also Illinois based. Lawrence & Houseworth/Library of CongressStumps cut by members of the Donner Party show how deep the snow had gotten. Eldest Murphy daughter Sarah, 23, survived the Snowshoe Party. A more revolting and appalling spectacle I never witnessed.”, In the years that followed, the Californa mountain settlement would become known as “Cannibal Camp” and the adjacent lake that was their final resting place renamed “Donner Lake.”. Teamster John Snyder, 25, was killed by James Reed in a fight at Pauta Pass, present Golconda Summit, Nevada, on October 5, 1846. RENO, Nev. (AP) — A pair of backcountry endurance athletes who became obsessed with the Donner Party spent the last seven years researching and exploring the Sierra on … By eating the fallen, many in the Donner Party managed to survive the winter—just barely—and were discovered by a series of staggered rescue parties stretching from February 16 to April 17. Like Murphy, 20-year-old Mary Graves was also left an orphan and forced to marry just three months after being rescued. This photo provided by Keith Sutter shows the 4 Forlorn Hope Expedition members from … Sarah’s husband William Foster, 28, survived the Snowshoe Party, and returned with the Third and Fourth Reliefs. The next year, Graves’s husband Edward Pyle was murdered. Son, Lewis, Jr., new born on the Trail, died at the Lake cabins on January 4, 1847. Then, read about the survivors of the Titanic. Son Simon, 10, was rescued by the Third Relief. Edward, 13, was rescued by the First Relief. She married John App on September 26, 1852, and had three children. Eliza’s half-brother Baylis Williams, 24, died on December 15, 1846 at the Lake cabins. In the spring of 1847, the last rescue party finally reached the desperate remains of the Donner Party. Some of the most substantial proof … In 1896 he presented a talk at Truckee, California, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Donner Party. Son Thomas, 3, was rescued by the Second Relief. The Reeds had two more children. In 1861, she married Sherman Houghton, widower of her cousin Mary. They settled in Knights Valley, Sonoma County, and had nine children. While a small number denied the tales of cannibalism, at least eight survivors personally admitted to eating human flesh. He then returned with Eddy and Foster on the Third Relief. A lot of the survivors spent the immediate aftermath recovering in present-day Sacramento at Sutter’s Fort. Her frostbitten and burned foot healed, and she was taken in by John and Priscilla Cottrell in Santa Clara County. His wife and children remained with the Party, many of whom blamed Reed for their predicament. Mary died in 1867. Survivors in the Spotlight As soldiers were burning the Donner Party’s dead up at Donner Lake, their family members who’d made it out alive were safe and warm miles away in the west. Jacob Donner, 56(? Both the pass and the lake were named after the Donner Party. Teamster Walter Herron, 25,accompanied James Reed after Reed was banished by the Party on October 5, 1846. His wife Eleanor, 25, died at the Lake cabins on February 7, 1847. You can read about the family at McCutchenNorthwest.com. Harriet’s husband William Pike, 25, died at Truckee Meadows, present Reno, Nevada, in late October, 1846, accidentally shot by his brother-in-law William Foster. The Donner family suffered more than most families. Number who perished ................................... Dif against males, and in favor of females.... George Donner, 60(? His wife Elizabeth, 45, died at the Alder Creek camp in early April, 1847. Isabella died in 1935, the last survivor of the Donner Party. After raising funds for, and leading the Second Relief, Reed settled his family in San Jose, where he farmed and was active in San Jose civic affairs. When C.F. Stanton returned with seven mules loaded with provisions, and two Indians from Sutter’s Fort. Daughter Eliza, 3, was rescued by the Third Relief, and remained with her sister Georgia at the Brunners and at her half-sister Elitha’s. He died in 1873. Because many of the survivors were children and thus orphaned, the young women and teens were forced to marry in order to survive. Of the 83 members of the Donner Party who were trapped in the mountains, only 45 survived to reach California. That author arranged for two survivors of the Donner Party to reconnect. The first rescue party left Sutter's Fort on Jan. 31 and found the survivors at Donner Lake on Feb. 18, 1847. Daughter Mary, 7, was rescued by the Third Relief, after being abandoned at Starved Camp by the Second Relief. Margaret’s mother Sarah Keyes, 75, died on May 29, 1846 at Alcove Springs, near present Marysville, Kansas. One returned with supplies and was trapped--Charles Stanton--and he brought two more with him: Luis and Salvadore. Patrick, Jr. died in 1899. Starving and driven to cannibalism after snows trapped their caravan in a snowy Sierra Nevada mountain pass, the survivors relayed to their rescuers the horrific … Wise recounting some very lurid tales of cannibalism. An exact accounting of the Donner Party is made difficult by deciding exactly when the Donner Party formed. Yet, the Reeds were one of only two families to survive without loss. Elizabeth’s son from a previous marriage, Solomon Hook, 14, was rescued by the Second Relief. Patrick, Jr., 11, was rescued by John Stark of the Third Relief after being abandoned by the Second Relief at Starved Camp. In return Reed promised to join Frémont's forces and fight in the Mexican–American War. George’s daughter from a previous marriage, Elitha Cumi, 14, was rescued by the First Relief. T. H. O’Sullivan/United States Geological Survey. Last survivor of the Donner Party: 29 April 1847 James Stephens Brown: 25 … Both the pass and the lake were named after the Donner Party. Son Lemuel, 12, died on December 27, 1846, at the Snowshoe Party’s Camp of Death. Just three months after her rescue, she married William Johnson, co-owner of Johnson’s Ranch. Their son George, 9, was rescued by the First Relief. RENO, Nev. (AP) — A pair of backcountry endurance athletes who became obsessed with the Donner Party spent the last seven years researching and exploring the Sierra on foot to try to pinpoint the final … They first ate their pack animals and dogs. The employees who accompanied the Reeds fared no better than the Donner employees. In 1911, she published her book. She died in 1874. She died in 1891. Twenty years after the tragedy, Gold Hill Daily News reprinted the account of another one of the Donner Party survivors as she told it in 1847. It was Eliza Donner, who was four years old when her mother Tamsen sent her away with a rescue party, and Keseberg, the man accused of murdering her mother. Unknown/Wikimedia CommonsJean Baptiste Trudeau, a teenager on the Donner expedition, later denied reports of cannibalism. Unknown/Wikimedia CommonsAccused of cannibalism, murder, and stealing, German immigrant Lewis Keseberg became the villain of the Donner Party. “If I could forget the tragedy, perhaps I would know how to cry again.”. George Donner was elected Captain of the Party at the Little Sandy River on July 20, 1846, but several people joined the Party later, at Fort Bridger and in the Wasatch Mountains. Pyle was killed a few years later, and in 1851 Mary married J.T. The survivors of the Donner Party settled throughout California, and some became quite well known with numerous descendants. William McCutchen was a hero of the Donner Party. Many gossiped that Keseberg bragged about having eaten human flesh, and told some that Tamsen Donner’s liver “was the sweetest morsel he’d ever tasted.”. About December 21, 1846, he failed to come up to the Snowshoe Party’s camp near Sixmile Valley. Their daughter Martha (called Patty), 8, was rescued by her father’s Second Relief. He married and had three sons. Lavinia Jackson Murphy, 50, died at the Murphy cabin at the Lake in late March, 1847. In 1847 he was quoted by a US Navy Lt. Teamster: Milford (Milt) Elliott, 28, died on February 9, 1847, at the Murphy cabin by the Lake. Sarah’s husband Jay Fosdick, 23, tried to escape with the Snowshoe Party. Georgia moved to Sonoma with the Brunners. Daughter Mary, 20, survived the Snowshoe Party. Wolfinger, 26, never returned after abandoning his wagon at the Humboldt Sink about October 15, 1846. R.W. RENO, Nev. – Two backcountry endurance athletes who became obsessed with the Donner Party spent the past seven years researching and … James, 5, was rescued by John Stark of the Third Relief after being abandoned by the Second Relief at Starved Camp. He died in 1870 after a fall from a horse. Genevieve Carlton is a freelance writer with a Ph.D in history. He was safe and recovering at Sutter's Fort, but each day he became more concerned for the fate of his family and friends. The court found for Keseberg, but awarded him only one dollar in damages. Teamster Noah James, 20, was rescued by the First Relief. They had ten children. Upon his arrival in California, he befriended fellow Irish emigrant Martin Murphy, Jr., who had a ranch on the Cosumnes River, south of present Elk Grove, California. Salvadore died, or was killed by the Snowshoe Party, on about January 9, 1847, in the foothills above Bear River. Athletes to retrace Sierra escape of Donner Party survivors AssociatedPress 1 min ago. "Little Patty Reed" was 8 years old when her parents, James Frazier Reed and Margret Wilson Keyes left Springfield, Illinois as members of the ill fated Donner Party. Babcock. William Eddy, 28, survived the Snowshoe Party, and returned leading the Third Relief. In March 1847 when the third rescue team reached Donner Lake, rescuers discovered that German immigrant Lewis Keseberg, who’d been traveling with his own family, had eaten two children. Daughter Harriet, 1, died at the Lake cabins on February 2, 1847. James F. Reed made it out of the Sierra Nevada to Rancho Johnson in late October. In 1879 he married Sarah Adams in San Jose. In 1847, she wrote, according to The Indifferent Stars Above: “I hope I shall not live long for I am tired of this troublesome world and I want to go to my mother.”. Trudeau visited the Donner girls periodically over the next forty years, and continued to assure them and newspapers that cannibalism had not occurred at Alder Creek. William Eddy died in 1859. Only two families survived the Donner Party without losing a single member: the Breens, who refused to share their supplies with others, and the Reeds. RENO, Nev. (AP) — A pair of backcountry endurance athletes who became obsessed with the Donner Party spent the last seven years researching and exploring the Sierra on foot to try to pinpoint the final 90-mile (145-kilometer) route survivors of the infamous tale of cannibalism finally cut through mountain snow drifts to safety in the winter of 1846-47. James Reed, who was the leader of the Donner Party in fact if not in name, arrived in California ahead of the Party, and mounted two rescue attempts. Here’s What Happened To The Surviving Members Of The Donner Party. Eldest daughter, Sarah, 22, survived the Snowshoe Party. In 1849 he struck it rich in the Gold Rush, bringing home $12,000 in gold. Direct descendants of the party's Donner, Reed, Breen, Graves and Murphy families will attend the event. A deadly combination of travel delays and difficult terrain stranded the caravan of now 79 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains — where snowfalls reached 22 feet high. Franklin Graves, 57, died at the Snowshoe Party’s Camp of Death on December 25, 1846. The Donner Party’s Survivors. He and his wife had seven children. But when they returned on April 17, Keseberg was alone, having eaten his remaining companions. Isabella, 1, was rescued by John Stark of the Third Relief after being abandoned by the Second Relief at Starved Camp. James Frazier Reed and Margaret Keyes Reed, survivors of the Donner party. His body was found by the Third Relief. The Donners’ friend John Denton, 28, died after being left behind by the First Relief on February 24, 1847. He stayed with the Donner girls after their rescue. Herron was a day’s ride ahead with the Donners. In 1849 she married William McDonnell. Upon his arrival at Sutter’s Fort, he filed an action for defamation against Ned Coffeemeyer. In 1862 he married Margaret J. Watson. Sarah’s son George Foster, 4, died at the Murphy cabin at the Lake in mid-March, 1847. At their reunion, Keseberg fell to his knees and swore he did not kill Tamsen – though he wouldn’t deny eating her remains. His wife Amanda, 30, survived the Snowshoe Party. Horrible, horrible!”. Reed died in 1874. He piloted the Snowshoe Party until he became too weak to keep up. They rode ahead from Relief Springs, Nevada, to Sutter’s Fort for supplies. Edward married Mary Jane Burns and they had three children. His wife Doriss, 19, was rescued by the First Relief. Simon died in 1899. But rumors swirled that Keseberg had murdered her in order to eat her. In 1848 he married Mrs. P. Alfred, but they divorced in 1854 after having two children. Williamston and settled near Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, where they had at least four children. In 1855 she married Rev. In 1852 he married Leah Margaret Smith. Daughter Margaret, 5, died at the Lake cabins about the same time as her mother. She died in 1861. He never married. He died the first week of January, 1847, in the foothills above the Bear River. Margaret’s daughter from a previous marriage, Virginia Backenstoe Reed, 13, was rescued by the First Relief. Most of the Donner Party consisted of children and adolescents. Son James Jr., 5, was rescued by the First Relief. He arrived safely at Sutter’s Fort, and attempted a rescue in November, 1846. Reinhardt and Spitzer, who accompanied Wolfinger, reported that Wolfinger was killed by Indians, but many of the Donner Party suspected Reinhardt and Spitzer of killing Wolfinger. Clarke. He pleaded with Colonel John C. Frémont to gather a team of men to cross the pass and help the company. Son Jonathan, 7, was rescued by John Stark of the Third Relief after being abandoned by the Second Relief at Starved Camp. Upon his rescue in April, Keseberg also allegedly admitted to having cannibalized the body of Tamsen Donner, the wife of George Donner, even though she was relatively healthy and had stayed behind with her husband who was too ill to travel. Like the Reeds, all of the Breen family survived the winter. Son William, 18, was rescued by the First Relief. The man’s reputation had tormented and ostracized him, leaving him widowed and caring for two mentally-disabled daughters. He lived to old age in San Jose. In the late 1870’s, prompted by C.F. He married Catherine McMahon and had a son who died young, and two daughters. SANTA ROSA, May 17.—Robert Crooks, a negro, who was one of the survivors of the Donner party, passed away this afternoon at the County Hospital, where he had been spending his remaining days. Unknown/Wikimedia Commons James and Margaret Reed managed to survive the Donner Party disaster with their four children. Several streets in San Jose are named for the members of the Reed family. Despite the infamy of their ordeal, many … In 1856 she married John Cyrus. Son Franklin, Jr., 5, was taken out by the Second Relief, and abandoned at Starved Camp where he died about March 11, 1847. Daughter Lovina, 13, was rescued by the First Relief. “We shall never forget the manuscript of that letter,” the editor recalled. The Donner Party was the most famous tragedy during the westward migration.Almost ninety wagon train emigrants were unable to cross the Sierra Nevada before winter, and almost one-half starved to death. Daughter Elizabeth, 1, was rescued by John Stark of the Third Relief after being abandoned by the Second Relief at Starved Camp. In 1880 he was the City Attorney of Marysville, California. Luke Halloran, 25, died at the Lower Wells, present Grantsville, Utah, on August 25, 1846. Son James, 3, died at the Lake cabins in early March, 1847. James Reed was the only adult survivor of the Donner Party to publish an extensive account, beginning with J. Merryman’s newspaper article based on Reed’s notes in the December 9, 1847 Illinois Journal, and Reed’s own article The Snow-Bound, Starved Emigrants of 1846 published in the Pacific Rural Press in 1871. The Breens settled in San Juan Bautista, on a ranch on the San Andreas fault. About the day after George died, Tamsen died at the Lake cabin of Lewis Keseberg. Teamster Samuel Shoemaker, 25, died at the Alder Creek camp in mid-December, 1846. Fifteen members of the party tried to cross the pass in December of 1846 to get help, but 12 days later, they turned to cannibalism to survive. They rode ahead from Relief Springs, Nevada, to Sutter’s Fort for supplies. In the next few months, half of the party died. Survivors went on to carry the scars of their experience for the rest of their lives, constantly reminded of their tragedy by the media, and their own nightmares. Daniel A. Jenks/Library of CongressPioneers crossing the Humboldt River in Western Nevada. His wife Elizabeth, 47, was taken out by the Second Relief, but abandoned at Starved Camp, where she died during the first week of March, 1847. He left about $1,500 in coin to George Donner, which was probably the $500 per child offered by Tamsen Donner to the members of the Second Relief to carry out her three daughters. Second eldest Murphy daughter Harriet, 21, survived the Snowshoe Party. After this look at the Donner Party survivors, check out this gallery of infamous frontiersmen in full color. She died in 1877. They had a daughter, but Mary died in 1860. She married John L. Schenck, and lived until 1934, the second-to-last survivor of the Donner Party. Caught by the sudden storm the first week of November, and hampered by a shortage of large trees and strong men to cut them, The Donners did not construct cabins. Simon, 9, was rescued by the First Relief. Peter, 7, was rescued by John Stark of the Third Relief after being abandoned by the Second Relief at Starved Camp. Just three months after her escape, she married Edward Pyle. In 1849, Patrick and Peggy had another son, William. If you are searching for genealogical information about your family, the US Gen Web Project is an excellent place to start. The statistics were first analyzed by J. Quinn Thornton in his 1849 book Oregon and California in 1848. Top: Painting of Donner Party by Vincent Decourt.Bottom: Statue at the Donner Party Memorial State Park in Truckee, Calif. Photo courtesy of user Noah_Loverbear on Wikimedia Commons. Athletes to retrace Sierra escape of Donner Party survivors. After surviving an abusive first marriage, Murphy married Charles Covillaud, a miner who established the city of Marysville, California, which he had named for her. The 1870s Elitha and her husband survive, members of the Donner Party who were trapped in the foothills Bear! 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