George was described as a "big man, fully six feet tall, with black hair shot with silver. He was of cheerful disposition and easy temperament. Neighbors came to him for advice and sympathy."

At the same time, the diminutive schoolteacher was an incredible bundle of energy, "scarce five feet tall and less than one hundred pounds." One of her friends described Tamozine (Tamsen) Donner as the "perfect type of eastern lady, kind, sociable and exemplary, ever ready to assist neighbors and even strangers in distress."

Marriage and Three Daughters
On May 24, 1839, Tamsen and George were married. George had had many children by his first two wives, and over the next six years Tamsen gave birth to three girls, Frances, Georgia, and Eliza.

Tamsen loved her new life in Sangamon County, Illinois. George owned two large and profitable farms. The Donners lived on the smaller one. It had 80 acres of prime farm and grazing land as well as extensive orchards planted with apple, peach and pear trees. The Donners lived in a large five-room, two-story house. Their life was very comfortable. In a letter home, Tamsen wrote her sister: "I find my husband a kind friend, who does all in his power to promote my happiness and I have as fair a prospect for a pleasant old age as anyone."

But Tamsen's contentment did not diminish George's desire for economic opportunity. Despite George's advanced (at the time) age of 62 years and his professions of satisfaction with the warm comfort of their beautiful home and farm, the spring of 1846 found the Donner family on the overland trail to California. George's younger brother Jacob and his wife and family joined them in the bold move West.

Tamsen wrote from the boisterous frontier town of Independence, Missouri, a favorite jumping-off point for West-bound emigrants: "My dear sister, I commenced writing to you some months ago but the letter was laid aside to be finished the next day and was never touched. My three daughters are round me, one at my side trying to sew, Georgianna fixing herself up in an old India rubber cap and Eliza knocking on my paper and asking me ever so many questions."

[Authors Note: George's older children from his first marriage had refused to leave the luxurious lifestyles they were accustomed to; only two young girls from George's second marriage, 13-year-old Elitha and 11-year-old Leanna were brought along.]

"I can give you no idea of this place at this time. It is supposed there will be 7,000 wagons starting from this place this season. We go to California, to the bay of Francisco. It is a four months trip. We have three wagons furnished with food and clothing etc. drawn by three yoke of oxen each. I am willing to go and have no doubt it will be an advantage to our children and to us." Tamsen intended to open a school in California, for her children and others.

Tamsen Donner's last letter was written near the Platte River and sent back to the Sangamo Journal, Springfield's local newspaper: "We are now on the Platte, 200 miles from Fort Laramie. Our journey so far, has been pleasant. Wood is now very scarce, but buffalo chips are excellent; they kindle quick and retain heat surprisingly. We had this evening buffalo steaks broiled upon them that had the same flavor they would have had on hickory coals."

Their journey had gone well up to that point, but that would soon change. Their heavily-laden wagons slowed the oxen's pace, which forced them to risk an untried ("Hastings") shortcut that ultimately tested their strength and broke the group's cohesive spirit.





The struggling emigrants reached Truckee's Lake (Donner Lake) around Halloween 1846, but there were already several feet of snow on the summit. George Donner had injured his hand repairing a wagon six miles north of Truckee's Lake at a place called Alder Creek. After his hand was bandaged, George refused to go on, saying that he was too tired and worn out. He assumed that rescuers from Sutter's Fort in California would soon come and assist them in the final leg of their journey over the Sierra Nevada. Despite his boundless determination, George's age was sneaking up on him.

Sierra snowstorms came hard and fast that winter, trapping the pioneers without sufficient supplies. The two Donner families spent the winter at Alder Creek without cabins or much food. Ultimately, several relief parties came to help, but the first one did not arrive until February 19, 1847, about three and a half months after the Donners became snowbound. Tamsen repeatedly turned down the option to be rescued because she refused to leave her husband, George, who was dying from infection and starvation and could not travel. The rest is history.

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The Donner Party's epic story of starvation, cannibalism, and survival has been well documented, but through the many shadows of the tragedy gleams the ultimate success of one family's personal venture.

George and Tamsen Donner died in the deep Sierra snow, but they succeeded in getting all of their children into California. Those five girls, Elitha, Leanna, Frances, Georgia, and Eliza, gave birth to seventeen children among them. The Donner family paid a heavy price, but the survivors endowed California with an enduring legacy of pioneer determination.

The author thanks Ann Smith, Tamsen Donner's great-granddaughter for the use of these unpublished letters.

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Part 1 of 2 was published earlier on Tahoetopia. The photos and story are by Mark McLaughlin who is a weather historian living on the North Shore.