To think that some of them survived into the 1930s is pretty amazing. By that time people could drive over the top of Donner Pass in less than 2 hours any time of the year. Something I'm sure the Donner Party could have never imagined in 1847. Another great video. 😎👍☮️
Yeah if you look little Naomi Pike was the one who survived the latest but I believe she was three years old at the time this happened. Thank you very much for washing and leaving us a comment.
Hey Jeff great video you and Sara go to some neat places that's a great story about the donner party there's still 2 old stage coach stops here one in nebo ky and one outside Madisonville ky sharing a little Kentucky history you and sara are awesome Randy from Kentucky.
Sherman Otis Houghton (April 10, 1828 - August 31, 1914) was an American politician from California. He also married, in succession, two survivors of the Donner Party. Eliza Poor Donner (m. 1861) Mary Martha Donner (m. 1859) . The Houghton’s retired and lived on a small farm in North Long Beach ca. Their children donated the land for a park, Houghton park. The photo in your video of the lady’s standing in front of a house is the their farm house that is where the park is today. Houghton’s life is a great California story. Thank You guys.
You, Really Did Your Reserch, This Was Wonderful, to Know The Faces Of These Brave Ancesters, Alot of them lived to an old age, These Were Tough Pioneers, Thank You So Much..
I can’t make that drive over the mountain without remembering the Donner Party. They were ill advised, very sad. To think there were survivors who went on with their lives, wow. Thank you for honoring that part of their stories.
Another great show, loved the Donner Party names at the end. My favorite book about the Donner Party is Ordeal By Hunger by George R. Stewart. What fortitude these pioneers had.
Yes, just finished watching another incredible video. I knew about the Donner party but were not familiar with the survivors! Thank you! Waiting for the next vid!
I am glad that you included the faces of some of the survivors. I know people did not smile for photos then but the look of hardship and tragedy is present on many of them and I doubt they smiled much in their lifetime. Thanks for video and the research.
For some reason it wasn’t fashionable to smile for photographs but initially it was because they had to hold still and remain stoic looking because of the long shutter opening. I still think the Donner people probably were haunted by such tremendous trauma and sadness.
Thank you, Jeff and Sarah... You ALWAYS bring us topnotch videos using a variety of methods.👏 The Donner Party has interested me for a long time. I guess we could say that so many of the survivors earned that *haunted look in their eyes, so tragic. Poor Elitha did encounter many heartbreaking' challenges in her life... I like the restored school and the replica of the stage stop. a super video
When that cemetery was established, I bet at that time it was out in the middle of nowhere. Who knew Hwy 99 would some day be next to it. As always, we enjoy the history you dig up in the area. Just like the Mossdale bridge, I never knew that was the last link on the railroad, and I used to drive by it all the time. Nice job as always Jeff and Sarah!
I think the railroad may have been close by at the time this cemetery was founded but back in those days 99 was just a dirt road running alongside the railroad. I often wonder what those people in the cemetery would think if they were to be brought back to life and take a look at their town today.
Such a pretty little cemetery. So many beautiful old trees and so historic. It's such a shame that in recent times it's being surrounded and disrespected. Thanks so much for keeping history alive...
More great California history. Recently went through some photo albums and found my great-great Aunt Gertie's photos from a picnic on the American River near Sacramento (1919)..all dirt roads and nobody around. The travel clothes for a picnic back then are surreal.
You can never go wrong with a donner party story. Have you guys check out the cemetery in Woodbridge or harmony church in lockeford? They're both from the 1850's. Great episode guys. I wonder if an of the Donner party descendent blood line made it to today. How cool would it be to get an interview with them and maybe they have some old photos and items from them too.
I'm glad we can allow you to escape if only for a little bit. Sorry to hear you don't like your job though. Part of our reward is hearing such nice comments from good folks like yourself! Help us spread the word about our channel if you could! Thanks!
As Mr. Earpp below pointed out, a cup of Joe and History Hunters, the ideal way to start a Sunday morning. Jeff, it's great to see Sarah with you this morning. It's been a while and, she adds a lot to the channel. She makes me smile. I never knew about the Consumnes Cemetery in Elk Grove. My wife has a brother that lives in Elk Grove and on our next visit, we will definitely check it out. Thanks for sharing another fascinating article about early California. Stan in Ceres.
Other than Patty Reed, I didn't know anything about the Donner Party survivors. Thank you so much for sharing the stories and photographs of the survivors.
Im glad I found u guys nobody appreciate California nowadays but I love your videos I never been to California beautiful state appreciate it u guys are the best savge 👍🙏
Interesting video.She was very beautiful.You can see a very haunted countenance in her photographs.Oh the circumstances she experienced were unfathomable.Humanity and all its commercialism is certainly encroaching on these sacred areas😔
I think Elitha was the prettiest of all Donner women. That cemetery contains people who would be floored by today’s conveniences and lack of appreciation for hardships. Iron sharpens iron!
Wow your comment blew me away! Thanks very much! We always appreciate your devotion to our channel. Let us know if you have any ideas for future visits as you seem to be very knowledgeable about this part of the country.
Thank you Jeff and Sarah for another great episode. A terrible time in history . Thank you for sharing this historic event. I learn something new with every video you show. Like I always say, I look forward to your next video in history. I like it when you share some facts and trivia about the subject in question at the time. You keep us entertained with bits of humor thrown in for good measure. Again thank you both for all that you do as we plug on through this sci-fi world , we call home. Stay safe.😷
I absolutely love your Videos! I love all the great information you dig up along your trips. They make it all so interesting. Also, I love seeing both of you being yourselves. In all the serious history related things, you make me laugh out loud sometimes too! :) Thanks and keep doing these great Videos! :)
Of particular interest to me, as an ancestor on my mother's father's side, Laura Stella Lenhart, married Peter Augustine Breen, the grandson of Patrick and Margaret Breen of the Donner Party. Thanks for what you do!
Great video. I visited my brother many years ago that lived in Sacramento. He showed me around & told me about the Donner Party. I had never heard of them before. Look forward to your next video. You two are still funny together!
Definitely an interesting and tragic piece of history and I’m glad you were able to tell us this little extension of that! Very cool guy’s! Thank you very much and catch ya on the next one! Frank from Philadelphia, PA.
This was amazing to see how many offspring were born to this lady after the fateful journey of the Donner Party. Research is again outstanding with photos to show!
I don’t think many of us wonder about what happened to the survivors ... but I am glad you are seeking them out because they are a major part of our history and it’s nice that someone like you have chosen so seek out the information that you can and share it with us! Thanks again Sara and Jeff for a wonderful job 👍👍
We also tried to get into the visitor center at the Donner State Memorial Park near Donner Lake but it was closed for the pandemic reasons. I’ll be so glad when this nightmare is over.
Yeah they did conceding no automobiles , airplanes or fast ships. Trains were starting to branch out. Rich people would travel back and forth to Hawaii and Europe often.
I never know which way things are going to go when I start these videos so I was amused by how this one started. I see that you were too. Thank you so much for watching and commenting.
Hi Jeff! Well you did it again, another excellent video ... You guys should come to montana . we have a lot of history here I live here for 31 years and I could learn more from your videos in a much shorter time ... I am 66 years old ..don't have 66 more years to learn..thank you Jeff &Sarah ..Frank from montana..
What a tragedy! I have watched every movie, every documentary I come across on The Donner Party, so now I can add this to the list. Wants me want to find all the others that survived and their children. Enjoyed thoroughly.
Hello! Just discovered your channel. I appreciate your passion and effort you put in, finding these lost but certainly not forgotten well-known folks, in such an honorable way. Well done sir.
Hi Jeff and Sarah! I enjoyed the additional tour and information on more of the Donner Party people. I still find that your short videos have more information presented in a fun learning atmosphere than the so called "History Channel" types on Cable TV. Nice work.....it's very much appreciated. Have a good day!
We do try to include as much research as possible without making it boring. So your feedback is very valuable to us. Thank you so much for watching and giving us that kind of feedback.
I always have mixed feelings when I see fast food restaurants or other businesses next to cemeteries. Time marches on, I guess. Nice visit Jeff and Sarah!
I suppose I should’ve said that those two features outside of the cemetery looked out of place. That certainly people have a right to develop their property. It just seems strange that there’s a modern Jack-in-the-Box outside of a historic cemetery. Thank you, as always. I was very touched by your tribute to your mother.
it looks all very stately, and well taken care of...that's just the up side, the down is like you said in the midst of all that modern progress, but what can you do, good vid!
Lovely Episode again! As entertaining as informative. Beautiful View at 1:48 And those Faces at the End. You don´t see such these Days anymore. Like completely other People. Wish you Guys a happy Sunday :)
To this day I still can’t believe you and Sara haven’t been snatched up by some studio to produce a show for TV. Your videos are better then most programs on TV and far more interesting in my opinion. One question I alway had was how did the Donner party get word out that they were stranded in the snow?
Thanks very much. You can thank James Reed for the rescue effort. He was a member of the party who was banished from the group after accidentally killing another member. He continued on to Sacramento on horseback and made it before the others. When his family and the party didn’t make it, he assumed accurately that they were trapped in the early snows. It took some time to get up there. There were no bridges over the rivers, etc. It was an ordeal just getting to the camps.
Cool video. In the early 90’s I attended Elitha Donner Elementary in Laguna, basically a part of greater Elk Grove back then. The school was just being built and I always wondered why it was named after Elitha specifically. Must be because she buried and lived so close by.
Read a couple of books on the Donner Party, some decisions were made that had devastating consequences. Good thing your “Side Kick,”is present to keep you in line. Is there a correlation between the Donner Party and Jack in the Box? Stay healthy and happiness is always a fabulous place to be!🚀❤️
Mr. Hastings published a report about a new route that he never tried. It was billed as a shortcut but added weeks of travel, putting them in the Sierras as early snows began to fall. Trapped! The rest is history.
Hi! Jeff & Sarah: I too have done some research on the Donner Party. I was going to tell you about Elitha Donner Wilder being buried in Elk Grove. But In looking for your other videos I wanted to comment on, I found you have been to Elk Grove since I was last there. When I was there in the 1970s the graves were crowded by trees, bushes and tall weeds. It looks a lot better in your video. But one thing is missing. Elitha's grandson was buried next to her. He had died in WWII as I recall. I can't now find the photo I took of his grave. And I don't find his name mentioned in any article about Elitha Donner Wilder. I watched your video on exploring Aurora. I was there in the 70s as well. I went in via Bodie. It was a much better road but not perfect. I saw the original road that turned off of the Bodie road, but it was impassible back then. And I doubt it has been opened up at all. I too, was disappointed in how little was left of Aurora. There were a few other people there, who seemed to be prospecting some. But the brush was not as tall back then, as it is in your video. You could make out more building sites than can be seen in your video. And as you found out, I don't recommend people go wandering around without watching where they step. There are a lot of open holes hidden in the bushes. I didn't have the old photos of Aurora that you have, in order for me to try to find particular building sites. When I left, I didn't want to go all the way back through Bodie. So I went further north on the road out in the flat Nevada desert. And headed to Bridgeport via the Masonic road. On your videos of the Donner Party sites in Alder Creek near Truckee, I would caution that there was a dig in the Alder Creek Donner camp area (2016 as I recall). They found very little in the way of remnants from the Donner's, or anyone else. They did claim to have found the real Donner camp site, but I don't see any talk of it today. In my research I would doubt much of anything could be found at any of the Donner sites today or in recent decades. From what I've read, everything pertaining to the Donner's and cannibalism was systematically gathered and placed in the cabins, or I assume assembled fires pits at the Donner Tent sites, and burned. Back then cannibalism was thought to be some wicked think, some disease you never wanted to catch. That is why everything was burned, to leave no trace. Decades later an effort was taken, involving survivors, trying to find any belongings or artifacts at all. A very few were found. Everything else had been thoroughly burned in the fires. So for anyone in current times to now think they might find any identifiable remnant of the Donner party at the cabin and tent sites, can't be much more than a pipe dream. You mention that tree with the great burn mark on one side, as if it might be the Donner tent site. It was thought to be at one point. But it was still alive in the 1970s when I was there, and much taller than what you see in your videos. But it has been proven not to be old enough to have been alive in the 1840s. Too, you mention that Tamsen Donner's and her husband's bodies were found. George Donner's body was found, and it has been cut open. But Tamsen's body was never found. A placard in one of your photos says just that. It was thought the fellow Keseberg, the lone survivor found by the last relief party, might have hidden Tamsen's body in the woods somewhere. But there was never enough evidence to convict him. I don't mean to be too nit picking with you, but most people who write about the Donner Tragedy, dwell on cannibalism. That is what Hollywood does. But the story isn't about cannibalism. It is about the hero's. James Reed was banned from the wagon train. All he had was the memory of his wife and children to keep him going. Read about his trouble trying to find food, provisions, and help to start a rescue mission to Truckee lake. There were no provisions at Sutter's Fort, and there were no available men to help in a rescue. California was at war! Read what James Reed had do to track down food and supplies for a rescue, and men to help. A lesser man would have given up, with all the problems he ran into. He even failed on his first rescue attempt, forced back by heavy rains and snow. But he kept trying. In the end James Reed crossed what is called Donner Pass today, more times, in both directions, than anyone else. He alone helped rescued more survivors than anyone else. His endless effort brought him the greatest reward he could have hoped for. His wife and children all survived! Read the Donner story again. And find all of the hero's. That is the real story. None did as much as Reed did. Yet some of the other hero's gave their lives in trying to help others survive. Stanton is one name that stands out to me. He was among the first to come back from Sutter's Fort with food and supplies. The cold was getting to him. Yet he was with the Forlorn Hope. When they would stop to rest at night, Stanton wouldn't make it to camp until late, or in time he would be missing. But by morning he would be in camp. And he would start out again with the others, helping those who needed It. But then one morning Stanton couldn't be found in camp. A later relief party found him sitting at the base of a tree, frozen to death. He gave his all to those who needed it. You look for the other hero's, and write another book, the Hero's Of The Donner Party. Young people today don't know what a hero is. They have never heard of one. They don't know what it is to give another person your every effort. But they all know what cannibalism is. That is rather sad isn't it? Bob Woodson Bishop, CA
I did some work on the Pike Line of the Donner Party around 2011. The Pike male in the Donner Party was William Pike. I believe his ancestors were from Va though it was stated he was from Tenn. William Pike was the father of the Pike children. He didn't make it to Donner Pass. He accidentally shot himself with a Pepper Box and died along the trail.
I grew up in Elk Grove , moved there in 1986. I pass by this cemetery all the time . Back in the 90s there was a pizza place next to the cemetery where we would have parties at and was always creeped out it was next to a cemetery . That went away in the 2000s and was pretty much empty until the Dutch bros , then the jack and the box and car wash place was built . Otherwise before that , the surrounding area of the cemetery was just dirt land . I remember some of the graves would have flowers but I do not see that any more these days .
I grew up in Jamestown and as youngsters when over to the the house of one of the Donners. She talked a bit about it then sent us off. Its cool she is at rest in Jamestown
Last Summer, I visited the Donner memorial after watching your video. I also visited Genoa after watching your videos. My school year ends on June 10th. Do you have any cool ideas or upcoming videos for recommendations? I prefer EAST of the Sierras.
Jeff & Sarah: I found the photo of Elitha Cumi Donner Wilder's grandson. He was Benjamin W. Wilder. I said he died in WWII. I was wrong. He was in WWII but died in 1967. Too, I wanted to comment on you two speaking of eating human flesh. When I visited the Donner Memorial Park in Truckee in the 70s, it was for a snowshoe tour led by a Park Ranger. Do note, there was not enough snow to need snowshoes, but a visit to the park with snow on the ground is much more striking. When we got to the Donner Tent sites, the ranger got rather dramatic. One family on the tour had brought their dog. The ranger pointed to the dog, and asked - think of how bad it would have to be before you would eat the family dog? But then think - what would you do when there was no dog left? That is how bad it got for the survivors of the Donner Party. But not all of the survivors ate human flesh. And of those who did - none partook of flesh from their own kin. They were not crazed people. They only did what was needed to hopefully survive. For comparison the Reed family did not eat human flesh. Think what James Reed's wife and children had to go through without that, and yet they survived. I tracked down a few of the survivors to Napa County. One survivor, Lovina Cyrus (I don't have her maiden name at present) and her husband, John Çyrus' graves I found in the town of Calistoga. I found it said that the Reed family ended up settling in San Jose. But I never got that far in my search. Bob Woodson Bishop, CA
Coincidentally I happened on your video... I just watched a presentation about the Donners on Huell Howser California Gold... Also coincidentally seeing Daniel Rhoads being part of the rescue reminded me that he settled in Lemoore CA ... my boyhood town... Do a Wikipedia search... brief but very interesting... there is a private abandoned family cemetery and Adobe structure linked to him ... just outside of Lemoore...
@@jbenziggy It’s funny 🤔... as a young kid...sixty plus years ago... we would pass there on the highway 41... It scared me !!! I recall that you could see a mausoleum from afar... Really admired your video... Well done presentation... Got a kick out of your wife correcting you !!! Enjoy!!!
Hello I live near Elk Grove and drive by this cemetery often. I had no idea that a member of the Donner party is buried there. Our family has traveled up near Donner Lake and gone to the Donner memorial up there. I would love to go visit this grave and I will try to do that soon. Did Elitha’s family live in Elk Grove or near here? Thank you for your video. I love history.
