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Oregon-California Trails Association

8 hours ago

On this date in history, May 29, 1846, Sarah Keyes of the Donner-Reed Party dies and is buried at Alcove Spring, Kansas. In the winter of 1845-46, Mrs. Keyes, now 70 years old, was not surprised when doctors told her that her health was such that she had only a few months to live. Instead of sitting back and waiting for the end, Mr. Keyes vowed she would use whatever strength remained in her in an effort see her son one more time — a son who had emigrated to Oregon several years earlier.Her son-in-law James F. Reed agreed to let her accompany him and his family; word was sent to the son in Oregon to meet his mother at Fort Hall in Idaho. But the reunion was not to be. Mrs. Keyes died only a matter of weeks after the wagon train left Independence. During the early morning hours of May 29, 1846, Mrs. Keyes was buried near the Big Blue River in present-day Kansas.The death of Mrs. Keyes was written about by other members of the wagon train, and under other circumstances might have become part of the folk lore of the trail. Sadly, the name of Mrs. Sarah Keyes is all but lost to history when the party with which she had commenced the trip west subsequently encountered one of the most fearsome experiences in trail history — a tragedy that forever attached the name of the train’s leaders to Donner Pass, California.On July 12, 1846, Virginia Reed (the 12-year-old granddaughter of Sarah Keyes) wrote to her cousin Mary C. Keyes :"we came to the blue--the water was so hye we had to stay thare 4 days--in the mean time gramma died, she became speechless the day before she died. We buried her verry decent. We made a nete coffin and buried her under a tree we had a head stone and had her name cut on it and the date and yere verry nice, and at the head of the grave was a tree we cut some letters on it the young men soded it all ofer and put Flores on it We miss her verry much every time we come into the Wagon we look at the bed for her."In 1891, Virginia wrote about the event again in her memoirs:"Grandma Keyes improved in health and spirits every day until we came to the Big Blue River, which was so swollen that we could not cross, but had to lie by and make rafts on which to take the wagons over. As soon as we stopped traveling, grandma began to fail, and on the 29th day of May she died. It seemed hard to bury her in the wilderness, and travel on, and we were afraid that the Indians would destroy her grave, but her death here, before our troubles began, was providential, and nowhere on the whole road could we have found so beautiful a resting place. By this time many emigrants had joined our company, and all turned out to assist at the funeral. A coffin was hewn out of a cottonwood tree, and John Denton, a young man from Springfield, found a large grey stone on which he carved with deep letters the name Sarah Keyes; born in Virginia giving age and date of birth. She was buried under the shade of an oak, the slab being placed at the foot of the grave, on which were planted wild flowers growing in the sod. A minister in our party, the Rev. J. A. Cornwall, tried to give words of comfort as we stood about this lonely grave. Strange to say, that grave has never been disturbed."Edwin Bryant noted in his diary of May 29:"Last night Mrs. Sarah Keyes, a lady aged seventy, a member of the family of Mr. J. H. Reed, of Illinois, and his mother-in-law, died. Mr. Reed, with his family, is emigrating to California. The deceased Mrs. Keyes, however, did not intend to accompany him farther than Fort Hall, where she expected to meet her son who emigrated to Oregon two or three years since. Her health, from disease and the debility of age, was so feeble, that when she left her home she entertained but faint hopes of being able to endure the hardships of the journey. Her physicians had announced to her that she could live but a short time, and this time she determined to devote to an effort to see her only son once more on earth. Such is a mother's affection! The effort, however, was vain. She expired without seeing her child."The event. . . cast a shade of gloom over our whole encampment. . . All recreations were suspended, out of respect for the dead, and to make preparations for the funeral. A cottonwood tree was felled, and the trunk of it split into planks, which being first hewn with an axe and then planed, were constructed into a coffin, in which the remains of the deceased were deposited. A grave was excavated a short distance from the camp, under an oak tree on the right hand side of the trail. A stone was procured, the surface of which being smoothed, it was fashioned into the shape of a tombstone, and the name and age, and the date of the death of the deceased were graved upon it."At 2 o'clock P.M., a funeral procession was formed, in which nearly every man, woman and child of the company united, and the corpse of the deceased lady was conveyed to its last resting place in this desolate but beautiful wilderness. Her coffin was lowered into the grave. A prayer was offered to the Throne of Grace by the Rev. Mr. Cornwall. An appropriate hymn was sung by the congregation with much pathos and expression. A funeral discourse was then pronounced by the officiating clergyman, and the services were concluded by another hymn and a benediction. The grave was then closed and carefully sodded with the green turf of the prairie, from whence annually will spring and bloom its brilliant and many-colored flowers. The inscription on the tombstone, and on the tree beneath which is the grave, is as follows: "Mrs. Sarah Keyes, Died May 29, 1846; Aged 70.""The night is perfectly calm. The crescent moon sheds her pale rays over the dim landscape; the whippoorwill is chanting its lamentations in the neighboring grove; the low and mournful hooting of the owl is heard at a far off distance, and altogether the scene, with its adjuncts around us, is one of peace, beauty and enjoyment."George McKinstry wrote: "Mrs Keyes the mother of the wife of Mr Reed of Illinois died of consumption aged 70 had been sick for a long time .... The funeral took place this evening at 2 O’clock which was attended by every member of our CompanyVirginia was also right about the grave not being disturbed."On June 2, former Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs, who was traveling with the party, wrote a letter to the "St. Louis Weekly American." The letter was carried back by a Shawnee Indian, with the newspaper reporting: "Two deaths had taken place among the California emigrants - one a small child, the child of Judge Morin, and the other a Mrs. Keys, from Springfield, Ill., quite an aged lady and, had been laboring under consumption"Katherine Wakeman Cooper wrote the article "Patty Reed" for the journal "Overland Monthly" in January-June 1917:"Patty Reed says it was the greatest grief to her to have her grandmother resting alone in that wilderness, and that night she prayed most earnestly: Dear God, watch over and protect dear Grandmother, and don’t let the Indians dig her up."William E. Smith wrote in the May 1936 (Vol. 5, No. 2, pages 208 to 212) of the Kansas Historical Society's publication:"On March 16, 1930, the writer visited Independence crossing. The river was normal and the crossing was about fifty yards wide, with a gravelly bottom on the east side. Numerous floods had left a high bank on the west side. I am informed that this crossing was used a great deal up to the flood of 1903. The small stream emptying into the river just above the ford is still there, although at the time I visited it, it was dry. I followed the little creek up to Alcove Springs, which is about one half mile from the crossing, practically due east. No doubt the spring has changed considerably since Mr. Bryant saw it in 1846. No water was running over the ledge. The stones upon which the names were graven had broken from the ledge and had been washed down the stream a short distance. There were two very fine springs coming out of the ground on the east side."Today, the location of the grave of Sarah Keyes is unknown but Alcove Spring remains a crown jewel along the Oregon-California Trail. ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

3 days ago

OCTA E-News for Friday, May 26, 2023 - ... See MoreSee Less

OCTA E-News for Friday, May 26, 2023

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See below under "Events" for National Trails Day happenings in both St. Joseph and Independence, Missouri. Learn how to register your own event here: Event registration is free!

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Oregon-California Trails Association

4 days ago

It's #FlashbackFriday! Did you know the National Frontier Trails Museum is home to the Merrill J. Mattes Research Library which is believed to be the largest public research library in the nation focused on the overland trails, and the acquisition and settlement of the American West? You can read digital versions of some of these journals here - octa-journals.org/category/merrill-mattes-collection ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

4 days ago

In 1843 Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez needed a new line of employment as the fur trade was finished. Seeing an opportunity to outfit the western bound emigrants on the Oregon and California Trails - they founded Fort Bridger. This location has gone through a vast amount of history and regeneration over the years. Come with the Oregon California Trails Association to Southwest Wyoming to Discover Fort Bridger. ... See MoreSee Less

The Fort Jim Bridger built

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In 1843 Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez needed a new line of employment as the fur trade was finished. Seeing an opportunity to outfit the western bound emigr...

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Oregon-California Trails Association

5 days ago

On this day in history, May 24, 1846, Edwin Bryant wrote in his journal:"I am beginning to feel alarmed at the tardiness of our movements, and fearful that winter will find us in the snowy mountains of California, or that we shall suffer from the exhaustion of our supply of provisions. I do not fear for myself, but for the women and children of the emigrants. Singular as it may seem, there are many of our present party who have no just conceptions of the extent and labor of the journey before them."Bryant was, of course, with the Donner-Reed Party. They were camped this night near what is now Blaine, Kansas and would cross the Black Vermillion River the next day around noon, taking about four hours to cross. ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association is feeling excited.

6 days ago

Ready for another exciting adventure on the trails? Check out the 41st Annual OCTA Convention in beautiful Gering, NE! Join us on the trails and 📣 share this event with other interested trail enthusiasts. Scottsbluff National Monument Gering Civic Center Gering, Nebraska#WilliamHenryJackson #artexhibit #hike #tours #SpeakersBureau #conference #convention #sightseeing #museum #westwardexpansion #trails ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

7 days ago

Travel the trail with Margaret Frink in 1850.Mrs. Margaret Frink:"...there was great excitement over a buffalo chase.... As far as we could see, everyone that was on horseback went flying in the direction of the buffalo. ... The animation and excitement of the moment beat anything I ever saw...."Emigrants would often show great excitement when they encountered bison. They had heard the rumors and descriptions of them but to see them for the first time meant something special. The migration would greatly impact the herds and Mrs. Frink would be one of the few emigrants to note the impact in her diary."There are hundreds of thousands of them on these plains; but the emigration has frightened them to the right and to the left, away from the road, so that they are seldom seen."#FindYourPark #MidwestNPS #CaliforniaTrail Painting by William Henry Jackson called "Fort Kearny" depicting an emigrant buffalo hunt from Scotts Bluff National Monument's William Henry Jackson Collection.EG2 ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

7 days ago

Quilting Stories of the Oregon Trail - Oregon Trail Genealogy

oregontrailgenealogy.com

In 1864, 8 yr. old Ersula Goddard left Missouri by ox and wagon to cross the plains. Traveling the Oregon Trail with her father, Blin Carlos Goddard, her mother, Demaris (McClain) Goddard, and three s...

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Oregon-California Trails Association

7 days ago

Episode 4 - Bikepacking the Pony Express Trail "The Plains–Part 2”*Scott Alumbaugh bikepacked the Pony Express Trail from St Joseph to Salt Lake City in 2021. This episode is about the third section of the ride, from Sidney, Nebraska to Fort Laramie, Wyoming. This section is about 150 miles long and crosses the western section of the Great Plains along the North Platte River.Scott created and produced these videos for the Oregon-California Trails Association in support of its project to use videos such as these to encourage viewers to participate in trail exploration, preservation, and discovery. ... See MoreSee Less

Bikepacking the Pony Express Trail: Episode 04: "The Plains-Part 2"

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*Bikepacking the Pony Express Trail: Episode 04—"The Plains–Part 2”*This episode is about the third section of my ride, from Sidney, Nebraska to Fort Laramie...

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Oregon-California Trails Association

1 week ago

Today in 1843, the first wagon train of 1,000 emigrants departed from a site known as Elm Grove, located just west of the Missouri state line in what was then Indian territory. Peter Burnett of Weston, Missouri organized this wagon train. He left Oregon for California after the discovery of gold in 1848 and made most of his money from selling land for the Sutter family. He would be governor of California from 1849-51. Here is an excerpt from his diary about his reason for emigrating to Oregon:"The health of Mrs. Burnett had been delicate for some three years, and it was all we could do to keep her alive through the winter in that cold climate. Her physicians said the trip would either kill or cure her. I was also largely indebted to my old partners in the mercantile business. I had sold all my property, had lived in a plain style, had worked hard, and paid all I could spare each year; and still the amount of my indebtedness seemed to be reduced very little......... Putting all these considerations together, I determined, with the consent of my old partners, to move to Oregon. I therefore laid all my plans and calculations before them. I said that, if Doctor Linn's bill should pass, the land would ultimately enable me to pay up. There was at least a chance. In staying where I was, I saw no reasonable probability of every being able to pay my debts.......They all most willingly gave their consent, and said to me, "Take what may be necessary for the trip, leave us what you can spare, and pay us the balance when you can do so..... I followed their advice, and set to work most vigorously to organize a wagon company. I visited the surrounding counties, making speeches wherever I could find a sufficient audience, and succeeded even beyond my expectations. Having completed my arrangements, I left my house in Weston on the 8th day of May, 1843, with two ox wagons, and one small two-horse wagon, four yoke of oxen, two mules, and a fair supply of provisions; and arrived at the rendezvous, some twelve miles west of Independence, and just beyond the line of the State, on the 17th of May."While Governor, Burnett signed into law the "Act for the Government and Protection of Indians." The law allowed the enslavement of the American Indian population of California, which led to their genocide. In 1851, he gave a speech and said that "a war of extermination will continue to be waged between the races until the Indian race becomes extinct must be expected. While we cannot anticipate the result with but painful regret, the inevitable destiny of the race is beyond the power and wisdom of man to avert." ... See MoreSee Less

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Featured Products

Bruff's Wake: J. Goldsborough Bruff & the California Gold Rush, by H. L James $24.95
The Oregon Trail Revisited, by Gregory M. Franzwa $24.95
In Pursuit of a Dream (DVD) $20.00
Reading, Writing and Riding Along the Oregon-California Trails (An Educational Activity Book), by William E. Hill $8.95

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