Sarah Graves
Sarah Graves was born in Dearborn County, IN on January 25th, 1825, the Daughter of Franklin Ward Graves and Elizabeth Cooper. Sarah originally did not plan to accompany her parents on their emigration to…
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December 6, 2020
More on Gear
Since many have been asking, a bit more about our gear. Below are photos of a typical "set up" for an Expedition member's gear for our journey. Although each team…
December 4, 2020
Luis and Salvador
Luis and Salvador, were two Indian vaqueros whom John Sutter detailed to assist Charles Stanton in taking supplies to the Donner Party. Nothing is known about them for certain, but they…
December 3, 2020
Gearing Up for the Expedition
Yeah, so that's a photo of my "organization" of stuff I'll need to get ready for the Forlorn Hope ExpeditionTruthfully, it's only half, but I'm too embarrassed to showy the…
December 3, 2020
Lessons Learned in Person and on the Ground
What can the Forlorn Hope Expedition teach us? There are differences between the Forlorn Hope Expedition of 2020 and the Forlorn Hope of the Donner Party in 1846. The four…
November 27, 2020
Franklin Graves
Franklin Graves was born in the Green Mountains near Wells, Rutland County, Vermont abt 1789. He was raised an authentic backswoodsman, hearty New Englander. He married Elizabeth Cooper abt 1820…
November 25, 2020
Q&A Expedition Team
Lead by Bill Oudegeest Q1: Examples of inconsistencies among sources? A: Example #1 - Sun December 20th: Sinclair (Eddy’s journal) reports 8 miles travelled this day. Reed’s diary reports 4…
November 9, 2020
Greatest Endurance Feat in History
By Bill Oudegeest, Donner Summit Historical Society On December 16th, presuming the weather cooperates, four extreme athletes will leave Donner Lake on snowshoes to cross the Sierra in a reprise…
November 6, 2020
The Snowshoe Party Becomes the Forlorn Hope
By Bill Oudegeest, Donner Summit Historical Society Life was clearly untenable at Donner Lake for the Donner Party in the winter of 1846-47. They were trapped in the snow. They…
November 3, 2020
Our “Why”
2020 will be remembered as the most pivotal year in our lives. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought worldwide disruption, it opened new paths otherwise not journeyed. I shall be…
November 2, 2020