Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party
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The Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party consisted of ten families who migrated from
Journey
The 50-member Stephens group left near present-day
Dr. John Townsend, his wife Elizabeth, and her younger brother Moses Schallenberger, were also going west. A man of vision, Townsend wanted a chance at grand adventure and opportunity in California. He would become the first licensed physician in California.
The largest family group in the party was headed by Martin Murphy, Sr. His family had 23 members. As Irish
The party was guided by
In the Sierra Nevada they encountered snow and on November 14, 1844, the party split. Six of the party, Elizabeth Townsend, her servant Francis, Oliver Magnan, and the siblings, Ellen (or Helen), John, and Daniel Murphy, set off on horseback following the Truckee River southward with the goal of reaching Sutter's Fort quickly and sending back help. They became the first European-Americans to set foot on the shore of Lake Tahoe on November 16 (John C. Frémont had been the first European-American to only view it the previous February). They arrived at the fort on December 10.[4][3]
The rest of the party continued until reaching Truckey's (or Truckee) Lake (now Donner Lake). Here, they left six of their eleven wagons because of difficulties getting the wagons over the pass and carried on with the remaining five. At one point they had to unhitch the wagons and haul them up a cliff with makeshift pulleys while the oxen were led through a narrow slot. On November 25 they managed to reach the top of the pass. Three men, Joseph Foster, Allan Montgomery, and Moses Schallenberger, returned to the abandoned wagons with the intent of watching over them until the snow melted. They quickly built a cabin (later used by the Donner Party), but soon realized that it would be very difficult for them to survive the winter. They set out after the party ahead of them on makeshift snowshoes, but after the first day, the youngest, eighteen-year-old Moses Schallenberger realized he could not press on and returned to the wagons. He survived only by trapping High Sierra foxes for food.[4]
The rest of the party, after crossing the pass, continued until snow made it impossible to travel with wagons on the upper
Afterwards
Elisha Stephens settled in the
John Townsend was California's first licensed physician and was, for a short time in 1848, alcade or mayor of San Francisco; Townsend Street in San Francisco is named for him.[7] He and his wife, Elizabeth, treated the victims of the 1850 cholera epidemic in San Jose until they died of it in December 1850.[8] Elizabeth's younger brother, Moses Schallenberger, settled in Santa Clara county and died in 1909. Schallenberger Elementary School in the San José Unified School District and Schallenberger Ridge just south of Donner Lake are named for him[9][10]
In 1846,
Dennis Martin also struck gold in the Sierra and purchased ranch properties from the grantees of
References
- ISBN 9780940134614. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "Murphy, Hill and Miller Were Interesting Marin Pioneers". San Anselmo, California: The San Anselmo Herald. July 19, 1934. p. 4.
- ^ a b Foote, Horace S. (1888). Pen Pictures from the Garden of the World, Or Santa Clara County, California. Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 38–58.
- ^ a b "The First Pioneer Wagons Crossed the Sierra Over 160 Years Ago". Truckee-Donner Historical Society. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ a b Dorothy Regnery (September 1983). "Dennis Martin once owned Stanford's backlands, including SLAC, Jasper Ridge, and Webb Ranch" (PDF). Stanford Historical Society Newsletter. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
- ^ Moses Schallenberger (2007). Charles H. Todd (ed.). Moses Schallenberger at Truckey's Lake, 1844-1845. Winters, California: 19th Century Publications.
- ^ "The First Pioneer Wagons Crossed the Sierra Over 160 Years Ago". Truckee-Donner Historical Society. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ Kirkpatrick, Jane. "One More River To Cross". jkbooks.com. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ McLaughlin, Mark (19 November 2014). "Moses Schallenberger: Alone at Donner Lake, Part II". Tahoe Weekly. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "Contact and Directions | School Information | Who We Are | Schallenberger Elementary". schallenberger.sjusd.org. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "About". St. Denis Parish. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
Sources
- Pages 100–108, 118, 126, 327–28, "Old Greenwood", Revised edition, by co-authors Charles Kelly and Dale L. Morgan, The Talisman Press 1965, Georgetown, California.
- Appendix to "First And Last Consul" by author John A. Hawgood, page 113 (re: Isaac Hitchcock in CA in 1832) and page 118 (re: Joseph Walker in CA in 1833).
- Re: Newly discovered Elisha Stephens' gravesite....Kern Gen Vol 47 No 1 March 2010, published by the Kern County Genealogical Society.
- "The Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party", Truckee-Donner Historical Society, Inc.
- "Emigrants and extinction: Wildlife impacted by settlement", Sierra Sun
- "Caleb Greenwood", Sacramento Bee
- Rose, James J. Sierra Trailblazers: First Pioneer Wagons Over the Sierra Nevada
- video Forgotten Journey, California Trail, Forgotten Journey Productions, 2004.
- "Finding the Way", USDA Forest Service, Tahoe National Forest, Big Bend Visitor Center, 1999
- "Sublette Greenwood Cutoff" Archived 2012-04-14 at the Wayback Machine, Wyoming Emigrant Trails, Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
Further reading
- Stewart, George R. The Opening of the California Trail: The Story of the Stevens Party from the Reminiscences of Moses Schallenberger as Set down for H. H. Bancroft about 1885, Edited and Expanded by Horace S. Foote in 1888.
- George R. Stewart, The California Trail, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1962