The Donner Party was a group of American pioneers who traveled to California in a wagon train for several months from 1846 to 1847. Several delays and poor planning caused them to be trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains during the winter. They set up camp near Truckee Lake (now Donner Lake) from November to March. They ran out of food and many of them succumbed to malnutrition and starvation, while others resorted to cannibalism. Historians generally recognize that the company consisted of 87 members, most of whom belonged to large families or were employed by them to drive wagons. Some were unaffiliated with any families. Only 45 of the original 87 members survived. Some attempted to escape their improvised camp on snowshoes, but they got lost and the excursion took 33 days. Rescuers arrived on February 18 and again on March 1, and March 14, 1847. Each relief party took whoever was strong enough to walk, escorting survivors on foot. Not all who were rescued survived to California.
During the second relief party, the rescuers, led by James Reed, had to abandon thirteen members of the Graves and Breen families because they were too weak to go further. The emigrants were deeply affected by prolonged starvation which made them weak and apathetic, thus choosing to wait for the next relief party to come with food. Reed and the relief party had cached provisions by hanging them in trees, but animals had destroyed the provisions and those who were rescued, already weakened by at least two months of living on oxhide tallow, were unable to rouse themselves to walk through the snow to safety. Reed and others described this location as "Starved Camp". Several days later, the Graves and Breen families were found by the third relief party and evacuated, although three of the emigrants had died.[1][2][3]
Most of the members of the Donner Party traveled in large family groups, which became a significant factor in the survival of many. Twenty of them were unrelated, most of them single men who had a high death rate. Women survived men two to one, and of the members of the party who died, women survived longer than men. The most significant factor in survival was age.[4][5]
Members
edit| Table key |
|---|
| Jacob Donner family |
| Graves family |
| Murphy family |
| People not related to larger family groups |
| Ages in italics are estimated |
| Name | Age | Deaths | 1st relief Feb 18, 1847 |
2nd relief Mar 1, 1847 |
3rd relief Mar 14, 1847 |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donner, George (Captain) | 62 | March 1847, Alder Creek | ||||
| Donner, Tamsen | 44 | March 1847, Truckee Lake (Breen cabin) | ||||
| Donner, Elitha | 14 | x | ||||
| Donner, Leanna | 12 | x | ||||
| Donner, Frances | 6 | x | ||||
| Donner, Georgia | 4 | x | ||||
| Donner, Eliza | 3 | x | ||||
| Donner, Jacob (George's brother) | 65 | December 1846 at Alder Creek | ||||
| Donner, Elizabeth | 45 | March 1847 at Alder Creek | ||||
| Donner, George, Jr. | 9 | x | ||||
| Donner, Mary | 7 | left at "Starved Camp" because of frostbitten feet; was unable to feel when she put her feet in campfire while sleeping, and got badly burned; came out with John Stark. | ||||
| Donner, Isaac | 5 | March 1847, "Starved camp" | ||||
| Donner, Samuel | 4 | March 1847 at Alder Creek | ||||
| Donner, Lewis | 3 | March 1847 at Alder Creek | ||||
| Hook, Solomon (Elizabeth's son by first husband) | 14 | x | ||||
| Hook, William (Elizabeth's son by first husband) | 12 | February 1847, after gorging himself while with first relief | ||||
| Reed, James F. | 46 | banished from company in October 1846; traveled to California with Walter Herron, participated in 2nd relief party, afterward settled in San Jose. | ||||
| Reed, Margaret | 32 | x | ||||
| Reed, Virginia | 12 | x | ||||
| Reed, Martha (Patty) | 9 | x | ||||
| Reed, James | 6 | x | ||||
| Reed, Thomas | 4 | x | ||||
| Breen, Patrick | 51 | left at "Starved Camp"; came out with John Stark. | ||||
| Breen, Margaret | 40 | left at "Starved Camp"; came out with John Stark. | ||||
| Breen, John | 14 | left at "Starved Camp"; came out with John Stark. | ||||
| Breen, Edward | 13 | x | ||||
| Breen, Patrick, Jr. | 9 | left at "Starved Camp"; came out with John Stark. | ||||
| Breen, Simon | 8 | x | ||||
| Breen, James | 5 | left at "Starved Camp"; came out with John Stark. | ||||
| Breen, Peter | 3 | left at "Starved Camp"; came out with John Stark. | ||||
| Breen, Margaret | 1 | left at "Starved Camp"; came out with John Stark. | ||||
| Graves, Franklin Ward ("Uncle Billy") | 57 | December 25, 1846 with snowshoe party | ||||
| Graves, Elizabeth | 45 | March 1847 en route to Bear Valley with the second relief | ||||
| Graves, Mary | 19 | Survived showshoe party | ||||
| Graves, William | 17 | x | ||||
| Graves, Eleanor | 14 | x | ||||
| Graves, Lovina | 12 | x | ||||
| Graves, Nancy | 9 | left at "Starved Camp"; came out with John Stark. | ||||
| Graves, Jonathan | 7 | left at "Starved Camp"; came out with John Stark. | ||||
| Graves, Franklin Ward, Jr. | 5 | March 1847 en route to Bear Valley with the second relief | ||||
| Graves, Elizabeth | 1 | left at "Starved Camp"; came out with John Stark. | ||||
| Fosdick, Jay | 23 | January 1847 with snowshoe party | ||||
| Fosdick, Sarah (née Graves) | 21 | Survived showshoe party | ||||
| Murphy, Levinah | 36 | March 1847 following departure of the third relief | ||||
| Murphy, John | 16 | January 3, 1847 at Truckee Lake (Murphy cabin) | ||||
| Murphy, Mary | 14 | x | ||||
| Murphy, Lemuel | 12 | December 1846 with snowshoe party | ||||
| Murphy, William | 10 | x | ||||
| Murphy, Simon | 8 | x | ||||
| Foster, William | 30 | Survived showshoe party | ||||
| Foster, Sarah (née Murphy) | 19 | Survived showshoe party | ||||
| Foster, George | 4 | March 1847 following departure of second relief | ||||
| Pike, William | 25 | October, 1846; accidentally shot by William Foster | ||||
| Pike, Harriet (née Murphy) | 18 | Survived showshoe party | ||||
| Pike, Naomi | 2 | x | ||||
| Pike, Catherine | 1 | February 20, 1847 at Murphy cabin | ||||
| Eddy, William | 28 | Survived showshoe party | ||||
| Eddy, Eleanor | 25 | February 7, 1847 at Truckee Lake (Murphy cabin) | ||||
| Eddy, James | 3 | March 1847 at Truckee Lake (Murphy cabin) | ||||
| Eddy, Margaret | 1 | February 3, 1847 at Truckee Lake (Murphy cabin) | ||||
| Keseberg, Lewis | 32 | Last survivor rescued by salvage party | ||||
| Keseberg, Philippine | 23 | x | ||||
| Keseberg, Ada | 3 | February 1847 en route to Bear Valley with the first relief | ||||
| Keseberg, Lewis, Jr. | 1 | December 24, 1847 in Keseberg lean-to | ||||
| McCutcheon, William | 30 | Left party in October 1846 to ask John Sutter for provisions; arrived in California safely and participated in second relief | ||||
| McCutcheon, Amanda | 25 | Survived showshoe party | ||||
| McCutcheon, Harriet | 1 | February 2, 1847 at Truckee Lake (Graves cabin) | ||||
| Wolfinger, First name unknown (male) | unknown | October 1846 possibly killed by Reinhardt | ||||
| Wolfinger, Doris | 20 | x | ||||
| Antonio (Last name unknown) | 23 | December 1846 with snowshoe party | ||||
| Burger, Charles ("Dutch Charley") | 30 | December 29, 1846 in Keseberg's lean-to | Teamster for Donners | |||
| Denton, John | 28 | February 1847 en route to Bear Valley with first relief | Traveled with Donners | |||
| Dolan Patrick | 35 | December 1846 with snowshoe party | Traveled with Breens | |||
| Elliott, Milford (Milt) | 28 | February 9, 1847 | Teamster for Reeds | |||
| Luís | unknown | January 1847 with snowshoe party | Vaquero employed by John Sutter who joined the party in October 1846 | |||
| Halloran, Luke | 25 | September 25, 1846 of tuberculosis | Traveled alone until he became too ill and became passenger of the Donners | |||
| Hardkoop, First name unknown | 60+ | October 1846, last seen unable to walk | Traveled with Keseberg | |||
| Herron, Walter | 27 | Left with James Reed in October 1846, made it safely to Sutter's Fort | ||||
| James, Noah | 20 | x | Teamster for Donners | |||
| Reinhardt, Joseph | 30 | December 1846 at Alder Creek | Traveled with Spitzer | |||
| Salvador | unknown | January 1847 with snowshoe party | Vaquero employed by John Sutter who joined the party in October 1846 | |||
| Shoemaker, Samuel | 25 | December 1846 at Alder Creek | Teamster for Donners | |||
| Smith, James | 25 | December 1846 at Alder Creek | x | Teamster for Reeds | ||
| Snyder, John | 25 | October 1846, killed by James Reed | Teamster for Graves | |||
| Spitzer, Augustus | 30 | February 7, 1847 | Traveled with Reinhardt | |||
| Stanton, Charles | 30 | December 1846 with the snowshoe party | Traveled with Donners | |||
| Trudeau, Jean Baptiste | 16 | x | Teamster for Donners | |||
| Williams, Baylis (half-brother of Eliza) | 20 | December 14, 1846 at Reed cabin | Teamster for Reeds | |||
| Williams, Eliza (half-sister of Baylis) | 31 | x | Servant of Reeds | |||
| [6][7] | ||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Stewart, pp. 237–246.
- ^ King, pp. 92–93.
- ^ Rarick, pp. 214–215.
- ^ McMurphy, Stephen (1994). Epidemiology of Disaster The Donner Party (1846–1847), Western Journal of Medicine, 160, pp. 338–342.
- ^ Hardesty, pp. 131–132.
- ^ "Roster of the Donner Party" in Johnson, Kristin (ed.)(1996). Unfortunate Emigrants: Narratives of the Donner Party, Utah State University Press,. ISBN 0874212049, pp. 294–298.
- ^ "Roster of the Donner Party" in Stewart, George R. (1936). Ordeal by Hunger: The Story of the Donner Party: supplemented edition (1988), Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0395611598, pp. 363–364.