One hundred and sixty-plus years ago in April, 1847 the saga of the Donner Party was over. Of the 81 pioneers who were trapped in the Sierra during the winter of 1846-47, nearly half had died of cold and starvation.

The rest had made it to central California. The riveting story remains popular today because it chronicles how humans cope with severe hardship and seemingly insurmountable odds.

Gold Rush Storms
The Donner tragedy was not lost on California's civilian population or on its government. Three years after the Donner survivors were rescued, early winter storms once again battered the Sierra. They came in October and November 1849, the first year of the gold rush. California's military governor, Major General Persifer F. Smith, authorized $100,000 in emergency funding to finance relief teams to help emigrants struggling along the Truckee and Carson trails, as well as the Lassen cutoff in the north.

In early 1849, a new map of the California Trail was published. Instructions on the map warned:

"The most difficult portion of the whole journey is the passage of the California Mountains. Those who expect to cross in safety must reach the Truckee (Donner) Pass by October 1st. If you arrive late and encounter snow, do not attempt to cross the mountain, but scatter into small parties and retreat to the Truckee Meadows (Reno). Stay there and cross at the Truckee Pass when the snow is gone in the spring."

Men & Women
The mortality rates among the members of the Donner party represent the physiological and sociological differences between men and women, the strength of family groups, and the age factor. For example, women survived better than the men. Only 27% of the men survived the ordeal, while 67% of the adult women and 87% of the adolescents lived. Family groups and children also faired better than singles and older people.

What Happened to the Survivors?
Most of the Donner party who lived through the ordeal enjoyed long and productive lives. Teenager Mary Murphy had lost her mother and five other family members, but within one month of reaching Johnson's Ranch, she married William Johnson, co-owner of the ranch. She later divorced Johnson and married Charles Covillaud, who named the city of Marysville, California, for her.

The Breen family survived intact and settled in San Juan Bautista, where they operated an inn. Patrick Breen became a rancher, school trustee, postmaster, and Monterey County supervisor. Teenager John Breen struck it rich in the gold rush and brought home $12,000. When Patrick Breen died in 1868 at age 73, he left an estate worth $110,000.

William Eddy, who lost his wife, two children, and all of his material possessions, settled in Gilroy, CA where he married and had three children. He has relatives living at Lake Tahoe today.

Franklin and Elizabeth Graves died in the mountains, but six of their eight children survived. They married and had children of their own. William Foster and his wife Sarah settled along the Yuba River where the village of Foster's Bar is named for him. Because the killing of American Indians was not a crime at that time, William was never tried for the deaths of Luis and Salvador.

The two Donner families suffered greatly; all four of the parents perished. The surviving children reached Sutter's Fort as orphans, but they all found good homes.

Like the Breens, all of the Reed family members escaped the disaster alive. They moved to San Jose where James Reed became a miner, rancher, and land developer. He made a fortune in real estate speculation. Reed was active in civic affairs and served as sheriff and San Jose's chief of police. Virginia and Patty Reed both later married and each had nine children. James Reed, who died at age 74 in 1874, never publicly mentioned killing John Snyder in the argument on the California Trail.

Editor's Note: This final installment is #40 in an exclusive series by Tahoe historian, Mark McLaughlin, tracing the actual experiences of the Donner Party as it worked its way into American history. Copies of all 40 installments can be found here on Tahoetopia. Simply click on Donner Party.