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With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush
“I wish I could cry but I cannot. If I could forget the tragedy perhaps I would know how to cry again.”
Mary Graves – Heroine of the Donner Party
Mary Graves, Heroine of the Donner Party
If Mary Graves had stayed in Marshall County, Illinois, she might have married the boy next door, taught students to read in a one-room schoolhouse, and lived out her days watching her children and grandchildren grow up on the family farm. Her life, however, took a different course when her family joined the Donner Party in 1846 and headed west.
Mary was eighteen when her father, Franklin made the decision to move his family to California. The wagon train the Graves joined was organized by George and Jacob Donner and James Reed and their families. The initial group set out from Springfield, Illinois, in April and was joined by additional members when it reached Independence, Missouri. Franklin and Elizabeth Graves and their nine children joined the Donner Party in August at Fort Bridger, Wyoming, with their belongings piled in three large wagons.
Mary was excited about the journey. She had no doubt heard stories of this golden land of opportunity and couldn’t wait to see its riches for herself. She knew her family might experience difficulties getting there but that had not put a damper on her gleeful spirit. She didn’t care that the trail was treacherous, and she wasn’t afraid of the Indians that guarded the way. She placed all her faith in God and her father to get her and her family to their new home safely.
To find out about the nightmare Mary and her family endured read
With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
