USA > Illinois > Sangamon County > History of the early settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois : "centennial record" > Part 97
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shanty and would not let her have them.
Feb. 16-Commenced to rain last even- ing, and turned to snow during the night, and continued until morning; weather changeable, sunshine, then light showers of hail, and wind at times. We all feel very unwell; the snow is not getting much less at present.
Feb. 19-Froze hard last night. Seven men arrived from California yesterday evening with provisions, but left the greater part on the way. To-day it is · clear and warm for this region; some of the men have gone to Donner's camp; they will start back on Monday.
Feb. 22-The Californians started this morning, twenty-four in number, some in a very weak state; Mrs. Kiesburg started with them, and left Kiesburg here, unable to go; buried Pike's child this morning in the snow; it died two days ago.
Feb. 23-Froze hard last night; to-day pleasant and thawy-has the appearance of spring, all but the deep snow; wind south-south-east; shot a dog to-day, and dressed his flesh.
Feb. 25-To-day Mrs. Murphy says the wolves are about to dig up the dead bodies around her shanty, and the nights are too cold to watch them, but we hear them howl.
Feb. 26-Hungry times in camp; plen- ty of hides, but the folks wont cat them; we eat them with tolerable good appetite, thanks be to the Almighty God. Mrs. Murphy said here yesterday, that she thought she would commence on Milton and eat him; I do not think she has done so yet; it is distressing. The Donner's told the California folks, four days ago, that they would commence on the dead people, if they did not succeed that day or the next in finding their cattle, then ten or twelve feet under the snow, and did not know the spot or any where near it; they have done it ere this.
Feb. 28-One solitary Indian passed by yesterday; came from the lake; had a heavy pack on his back; gave me five or six roots, resembling onions . in shape; tasted some like a sweet potato, full of tough little fibres.
Feb. 29-Ten men arrived this morn- ing from Bear Valley, with provisions. We all leave in two or three days, and cache our goods here. They say the snow will remain until June.
The above mentioned ten men started for the Valley with seventeen of the suf- ferers; they traveled fifteen miles and a severe snow storm came on; they left fourteen of the emigrants, the writer of the above journal and his family, and suc- ceeded in getting in but three children. Lieut. Woodworth immediately went to their assistance, but before he reached them they had eaten three of their num- ber, who had died from hunger and fatigue; the remainder Lieut. Wood- worth's party brought in. April, 1847, the last member of the party was brought to Cap't Sutter's Fort. It is utterly im- possible to give any description of the sufferings of the company. Your readers can form some idea of them by perusing the above diary.
Yours, etc., GEORGE MCKINSTRY, JR. FORT SACRAMENTO, April 27, 1847.
The emigrants thus caught in the moun- tains died, one by one, until thirty-six of the eighty-one who left Independence in the spring with such high hopes, literally starved to death. To make it more in- telligible than the journal would indicate, I give the names of those from Sangamon county :-
George Donner and his wife, Mrs. Tamsen Donner; Jacob Donner and his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Donner; her son, William Ilook, sometimes called William Donner; the three sons of Jacob Don- ner and wife, Isaac, Lewis and Samuel; four unmarried men, Bayless Williams, Milford Elliott, James Smith and John Denton, making a total of twelve from Sangamon county who perished from exposure and want of food. For Mr. Elliott's family history, see page 285. For the Donner family history, see page 257.
I do not think it will be agreeable to the surviving members of the bereaved families, neither is it congenial to my feelings, to dwell on the horrors of that dreary winter among the inhospitable mountains. Those who could have given most in detail, were always reticent on that subject. They doubtless would have regarded it as the greatest boon that could have been conferred upon themselves if every recollection of it could have been erased from their memories. With the
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exception of the glimpse into the abyss of woe given in the preceding journal, I think it best, now, in this centennial year, after the lapse of the lifetime of one generation, to draw a veil over the horrors of the scene, and only extract such lessons from it as will tend to elevate our common humanity.
Jacob Donner died among the first, if not the first. He was a tender-hearted, conscientious man, and it is attested that his death was caused more by grief at the present and prospective sufferings of his family, than from disease or want of food. George and Jacob Donner were members of the German Prairie Christian church. Scc what Isaac Taylor says about it. The five surviving children of George Donner, and the three surviving children of Jacob Donner and wife, with their descendents, are among the most re- spected citizens of California. A few words more with reference to Mrs. George Donner. She was a native of New England-Maine, I believe-and was a lady in the highest sense of the word. Some of the citizens of Sanga- mon county remember her especially on account of her perfect self-control and power to govern. She taught school in the vicinity of Auburn when it was more unusual for a lady to teach than it is now. Some almost full grown, rough, uncouth young men were in her school, and yet she would govern them as thoroughly as though they were children. This self- control seems never to have left her. According to the testimony of Mr. Reed, who, after his own family had been rescued, vis.ted the two camps of the Donners, to find Mrs. Jacob Donner and and Mr. George Donner helpless, and no means of removing them. They were prepared to leave provisions, and a man at each eamp to care for the sick, and used every argument to induce Mrs. George Donner to go with them, but with the full knowledge of the probabilities that she would lose her own life. she utterly refused, prefering to meet death in the discharge of her duty to her husband rather than save her own life by seeming to abandon him in his hour of peril; and so she died, as truly a martyr as though she had been burned at the stake.
Other acts of heroisms are too numer- ous to mention all, but we will notice
some of them. Hiram O. Miller proved to be courageous and efficient through all. Milford Elliott could have saved his own life, and having neither wife, children, or any other blood relative among the suf- ferers, no blame could have been laid to his charge if he had saved himself by pushing through, but he would not aban- don helpless women and children, and his life paid the forfeit. The Eddy fami- ly, of Belleville, Illinois, was totally ob- literated.
All that is known of C. T. Stanton is that he was from Chicago, Illinois. In my opinion, history does not record the name of a greater hero. It does not appear that he was in any way related, or even acquainted, with one of the sufferers previous to their departure from the States. He aided many of them on their way, and after their calamities came upon them, pushed his way through the mountains and reached Sutter's fort, where he was absolutely safe; but he knew there were men, women and child- ren perishing with cold and hunger, and knowing this, there was no rest for him. He secured supplies of food and mules, enlisted the sympathies of two of the nn- lettered children of the forest, and all pushed on days and weeks, through storms and snow-drifts, until even the two savages, prompted by him, fell a sacrifice in the cause of humanity. Savages, did I say? I reverently with- draw the word. Their conduct would put to shame thousands who have been reared under the best of christian in- fluences. There can be no more exalted evidence of humanity than to give one life with the hope of rescuing others from impending death. Mr. Stanton was one of the party of fifteen who attempted to pass out of the mountains, starting Dec. 16, 1846. He was weak and emaciated, as all were, and on the twenty-first of December became snow blind, and that night failed to reach the camp. The whole party lay in camp the next day waiting for him, but he never came. A party of men who went in the mountains the next summer to bring out the goods belonging to the Donner and Graves children, found his bones at the very tree where they left him on the twenty-first of December. They were chewed and broken in small pieces. The only way they could recog-
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nize them to be Stanton's was by a letter from his sister in one of his pockets, with some tobacco, the latter having prevented the wild beasts from destroying every evi- dence of identity. There was also a pis- tol that had been loaned to Stanton by Mr. Fallen, the man who found his remains. No one of those who perished was more sincerely mourned by the survivors than Mr. Stanton. Mr. Reed left this testimony to his worth: "Poor Stanton, who had no relative in the caravan to draw him back, but from the noble disposition he had, and the kind feelings he entertained for myself and family, and another person who had befriended him, induced him to return with provisions, and he lost his life as a noble PHILANTHROPIST. * * * His kindness saved my little ones from starvation."
When we last mentioned James F. Reed, he had been baffled in his attempt to reach the camp of the suffering emi- grants, and had returned to Captain Sut- ter's, where he became satisfied that it would be utterly impossible to do any- thing more for them until spring. He was advised by Captain Sutter to proceed to Yerba Bueno-now San Francisco- and make his case known to the naval officer in command. Arriving at San Jose, he found the San Francisco side of the hay occupied by Mexicans. Here he joined a company of volunteers, and took part in the battle of Santa Clara; that opened the way to San Francisco. There he was enabled to raise, by voluntary contributions, $1,000 in the town and $300 from the sailors in port, with which he purchased supplies, which were placed on board a schooner, in command of midship- man Woodworth, who took all to the mouth of Feather river, where men and horses were procured for carrying relief to the emigrants. On their way to the camp they met a party coming out with women and children, among them Mr. Reed's wife and two children, his other two children, Martha and Thomas K., having been left in camp in charge of a Mr. Glover of the rescuing party, who volunteered to stay with and care for them, assuring Mrs. Reed that he was a Free Mason and knew her husband to be such, and that he would rescue her child- ren or die in the attempt. He was as good as his word, protected and cared for
the children until they were rescued by their father, and soon all the members of the family were re-united and rejoicing over their great deliverance. Mr. Reed's was the only entire family who left San- gamon county, all the members of which lived to reach their destination, and they did it without any one of them being driven to the necessity of eating human flesh. It seems the more wonderful that they should all have lived through, vhen their natural protector was separated from them so much of the time. Having in my possession sufficient material to make a more thrilling narrative of facts, than anything that could be drawn from the imagination, I feel how utterly futile this attempt to convey an idea of the sufferings of that company of emigrants has been, but want of space forbids that I should say more, and I am compelled to close.
The scene of the great suffering just described began west of the Great Salt Lake, in a salt desert, and extended hun- dreds of miles westward, over a succession of mountain ranges, running principally north and south, known as the Sierra Nevada mountains. Localities could not then be described, except by natural boundaries, such as mountains and valleys. The territory then belonged to Mexico, and the suffering and destitution that met the emigrants seemed only a realization of what might reasonably be expected in leaving the land of the Stars and Stripes to come under the sway of the benighted Mexican flag. But the old adage that " the darkest hour is just before the break of day," has been fully realized in this case to those who survived. The war they found in the Sacramento valley, waged by Mexico for the avowed pur- pose of exterminating the few scattered Americans on the Pacific coast, terminated in that whole region of country being ceded to our government. Then followed the discovery of gold, the influx of Americans, and the organization of the States of California and Oregon, and, a few years later, Nevada. The locality of the closing scene, the camp where the Donners died, is marked by a small body of water among the mountains, now known as Lake Donner, in the western part of the State of Nevada.
RENSHAW, WILEY P., was born Nov. 7, 1Soo, near Salisbury,
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Ga., and was taken by his parents to Dickson county, Tenn. In ISI7, the family moved to Madison county, Ill. Martha Nesbitt was born Nov. S, 1794, near Lexington, Ky., and was taken by her parents in 1797 to Sumner county, Tenn. In 1817 they moved to Madison county, and in 1818 to Bond county, Ill. W. P. Renshaw and Martha Nesbitt were married Dec. 31, 1SIS, in Bond county. They lived in Madison county until one child was born, and moved to San- gamon county, Ill., arriving Feb. 26, 1821, on the north side of Richland creek, in what is now Cartwright township, where they had seven children.
JANE, born Oct. 11, 1819, in Madi- son county, is unmarried, and lives with her mother.
MARY A., born Oct. 20, 1822, in Sangamon county, married May 11, 1845, to Simeon Q. Harrison. See his name. MARGARET E., born July 12, 1825, in Sangamon county, married Jan. 18, IS48, to Felix Butler, had one child, and Mrs. Butler died at Decatur in June, 1849. The child died in September fol- lowing.
GAMES N., born July 16, 1827, died Sept. 1, 1852.
BARBARA A. H., born Sept. 18, IS29, in Sangamon county, married April 17, 1856, to Andrew M. Houghton. They had two children. WILEY P. died in his fourth year. ANNIE M. lives with her parents, in Menard county, seven miles north of Pleasant Plains, Sangamon county, Illinois.
JOHN SINCLAIR, born Dcc. 28, IS31, in Sangamon county, married Nov. 17, 1858, to Elizabeth Ogden, who was born May 5, 1835, in Menard county. They have three children, MARTHA J., ABIGAIL L. and MARY A., and reside in Cartwright township, three miles west of Salisbury, Illinois.
WILLIAM P., born Dec. 28, 1833, died Oct. 7, 1852.
GEORGE M., born Aug. 7, 1839, in Sangamon county, married Oct. 22, 1866, to Matilda F. Parker, who was born Sept. 25, 1840, in Robertson county, Tenn. They live at the Renshaw family homestead, near Salisbury, Illinois.
Wiley P. Renshaw died Oct. 27, 1852, in Sangamon county, and his widow re- sides at the homestead where they settled
in Feb., 1821. She has. now-Sept., 1873-lived more than fifty-two years within less than two rods of the same spot. It is in Cartwright township, three miles west of Salisbury, Sangamon county, Illinois.
Mrs. Margaret Renshaw, mother of Wiley P. Renshaw, came to Sangamon county in 1823, bringing seven children. Her daughter, Margaret HI., married Michael Davis, has five children, and lives in Menard county. Delilah married Carroll Archer. See his name. Mrs. Margaret Renshaw died in August, 1842.
Mrs. Jane Nesbitt, the mother of Mrs. Wiley P. Renshaw, came to Sangamon county about 1826, bringing five children with her. Two years later she moved to Morgan county. In 1844 she came back to Sangamon, and died Feb. 14, 1846. Her daughter, Jane, and son, William, reside near Nemaha, Nebraska.
REISCH, FRANK, was born Jan. 24, 18og, in Baden, Germany. He came to America, landing at New Orleans in the winter of 1832, and traveled over the country until 1836, when he made his home in Beardstown, Illinois. The next year he returned to Germany, and was married Nov., 1837, to Susan Maurer, who was born Feb. 11, 1817, in Germany. In the spring of 1838 Mr. Reisch brought his wife to Beardstown, and from there to Richland creek, in Sangamon county, the same year. They had five children there, and moved to Springfield in 1850, where they had two children. Mr. Reisch en- gaged in the business of brewing, which he continued until May, 1875, when he sold his brewery to his sons. Of the seven children --
FRANK, Jun., born Jan. 19, 1842, in Sangamon county, married in Spring- field, Oct. 15, 1865, to Anna Hammon, who was born Jan. 1, 1845, in Winchester, . Scott county, Ill. They have three child- ren, CHRISTINA, SUSAN and MARY, and reside in Springfield. Mr. Reisch was elected to represent his ward in the Sangamon county Board of Super- visors for 1871 and '72. He was elected alderman in April, 1873, for three years. He is associated in the brewery business with his brothers George and Joseph, un- der the firm name of F. Reisch & Bros.,
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since May, 1875, at which time they bought out the interest of their father.
JOSEPH, born in Cartwright town- ship, Sangamon county, was married in Springfield, April 25, 1876, to Mary Stehlin. They immediately left on a tour to Europe. Joseph Reisch is a member of the firm of Reisch & Bros., brewers.
MARY, GEORGE and ELIZA- BETH were all born in Cartwright township, Sangamon county, Illinois.
SUSIE and LEONARD, born in Springfield. The five latter reside with their mother, George being associated with his brothers, Frank and Joseph, in business.
Mr. Frank Reisch, Sen., was instantly killed by a fall from an upper window, August 18, 1875. He was in the act of pitching a piece of scantling from the window, when a spike in the timber, un- observed by him, caught in his clothing and drew him out. His widow and child- ren reside in Springfield, Illinois.
RENN, HENRY, was born April 8, 1805, in Franklin county, Penn- sylvania, came to Sangamon county in the spring of 1840, and bought a farm half a mile east of where Woodside Sta- tion now stands. A few years later he returned to Pennsylvania, and married Nancy Smith, who was born August 20, 1 So7. Their son-
JOHN WESLEY, born Oct. 15, 1847, in Sangamon county, married Jan. 20, 1869, to Laura J. Jones, daughter of Joshua W. Jones. See his name. Mr. and Mrs. Renn have three children, JESSIE A., LAURA S. and EDNA, and now-1876-reside on the farm pur- chased by his father in 1840. It is half a mile east of Woodside, Sangamon coun- ty, Illinois.
RHEA, JAMES, was born June 3, 17So, in Greenbrier county, Va., and when a young man, went to Barren coun- ty, Ky., where he was married, Nov. 20, ISO1, to Rachel Joliff, who was born Oct. 16, 1783. They had ten children in Ken- tucky, and the family moved to Jefferson county, Ill., where one child was born, and moved to Sangamon county, arriving in 1827, in what is now Island Grove township. Of their eleven children-
ELIZABETH, born Sept. 25, 1802, in Kentucky, married there to George
May. They came with her parents to Sangamon county, had several children, and moved to Mason county, where she died. Mr. May married again, and took their living children to Gentry county, Missouri.
JAMES, Fun., born August 27, 1804, in Kentucky, married in Jefferson county, Ill., to Susan Mattix, moved to the vicinity of Little Rock, Ark., and died there in 1840, leaving a widow and three children.
WILLIAM, born March 10, 1807, in Kentucky, married in Sangamon county, Dec. 11, IS28, to Susan Foutch, and had twelve children, three of whom died in infancy. William Rhea died Feb. S, 1860, and his widow lives three miles southwest of Berlin, Illinois.
RICHARD, born Jan. 14, 1809, in Kentucky, married Eliza Rhea. They had three children, and Mr. Rhea died. His widow married William Ethridge, and moved to Iowa.
NANCY, born Dec. 24, IS11, in Ken- tucky, married Hugh Foutch. See his name. He died, and she married and moved to Iowa.
JEHOIDA, born Oct. 11, 1813, in Kentucky, was married in Sangamon county to John Foutch. See his name.
RACHEL, born Sept. S, 1815, died, aged ten years.
JOHN, born July 14, 1817, in Barren county, Ky., married Nov. 14, 1839, in Sangamon county, to Julia A. Stark, who was born June 21, 1823, in Rut- land, Vermont. They had seven child- ren in Sangamon county. JAMES B., born Nov. 2, 1841, married America Montague, in Sangamon county, and lives near Hamburg, Fremont county, Iowa. STEPHEN E., horn Nov. 4, 1843, married Lucy Wilcox, have one child, and live near Berlin, Ill. MARY A., born Jan. 6, 1846, married John F. Wilcox. See his name. THOMAS T., born June 10, 1848, married Sallie Williams. They have one child, JOHN W., and live near Berlin, Ill. JOHN H. died in infancy. MATHA E., born May 10, 1852, married R. Smith, and resides near Berlin. ABIGAIL R. died in infancy. John Rhea and his wife live two and one half miles northwest of Berlin, Sangamon county, Illinois .- 1874.
MAHALA, born April 25, 1820, in
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Kentucky, was married in Sangamon county, Ill., to Joseph Pulsifer. They had twins, and Mrs. Pulsifer died. Mr. Pulsifer is believed to have been murdered while on a business trip to St. Louis, as he was never heard of. Their two sons, NEVO and NEVI, are married, and live in Gentry county, Missouri.
MARY A., born Oct. 27, IS22, in Kentucky, was married in Sangamon county, Ill., to E. R. Alsbury, had one child, LUCINDA, who married James Shuff. Sce his name. Mrs. Alsbury died April 28, 1851.
THOMAS F., born July 27, IS24, in Jefferson county, Ill., married in Sanga- mon county, Oct. 3, 1844, to Lucinda Wilcox. They have five children, ELIZA E. and REBECCA, the third and fourth, died young. A'INA L., KATE and LOU live with their parents in New Berlin, Illinois.
James Rhea died Feb. 12, 1843, and his widow died Oct. 28, 1851, both in Sanga- mon county. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, from Kentucky, under Gen. Harrison; was on Lake Erie, and saw the British vessels brought in after Perry's victory.
RHODES, RANDOLPH, was born about 1791, in North Carolina, and when he was a young man, went to Barren county, Ky. He was married in the adjoining county of Greene, in Oct., IS20, to Elizabeth Short. They had three children in Kentucky, and moved to Sangamon county, Ill., arriving in the fall of IS26 on Sugar creek, east of Springfield, where four children were born. In the spring of 1838 Mr. Rhodes moved to southwest Missouri, where two children were born, and returned to San- gamon county in the spring of 1845. In 1849 or '50, he moved to Macoupin coun- ty, and die l there, Dec. 25, 1851, leaving a family near Macoupin station. Of their children-
WILLIAM, born about 1821, in Ken- tucky, married in Sangamon county to Jemima Center, had three children, and all the family died in Sangamon county ..
JOHN T., born Nov. 10, 1825, in Kentucky, married in Sangamon county, March 2, IS48, to Telitha M. Vice. They had six living children, MARY E., married Levi King. See his name. LAURA A., CHARLES I., JULIUS
W., ANNIE B. and LUCINDA A. live with their parents, four miles northwest of Springfield, Illinois .- 1874.
MARY A., born Jan., 1831, in Sanga- mon county, married, in IS51, to Wm. R. Hammonds. They had six children, and Mr. Hammonds died, leaving his family in Crawford county, Kansas. Two of the children were killed, and two others severely wounded by a tornado, May 22, 1873.
JAMES f., born May, 1837, in San- gamon county, married Mary M. Tibbs, have two children, and live near Cremona, Allen county, Kansas.
RICHARDSON, LEWIS B., came to Sangamon county in IS24, has been twice married, raised a large family, and lives in Auburn township.
RIGG, SAMUEL, was born in Rutherford county, North Carolina, mar- ried there to Nancy Vawters. They had two children, and moved in 1816 to Greenup county, Ky., where six children were born; and moved to Sangamon county, Ill., arriving in 1827. Of their children, the eldest daughter married in Kentucky to Wm. Robinson, came to Sangamon county with her parents, and raised a family of seven daughters.
EWELL, born in North Carolina, married in Sangamon county to Sarah Kelly. They had nine children, and Mrs. Rigg died. Their daughter, NAN- CY E., married John G. Park. See his name. Ewell Rigg married Mrs. Sarah Darden, whose maiden name was Brad- ley. They reside at Macomb, Illinois.
FOHN E., born in Kentucky, mar- ried Alice Cox, and raised a family in McDonough county, Illinois.
JOSEPH R., born in Kentucky, married Julia A. Park, had fifteen child- ren, four of whom died young. JAMES S. married and lives in Moultrie county. The ten, THOMAS E., JOHN E., WILLIAM Z., ROBERT R., LEON- ARD M., NANCY M., HENRY S., SARAH E., BENJAMIN B. and HARRIET O., live with their parents, near Macomb, Illinois.
MARY died, aged twenty-three or twenty-four years.
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