In 1841, the Bartleson–Bidwell Party, led by Captain John Bartleson and

John Bidwell John Bidwell (August 5, 1819 – April 4, 1900), known in Spanish as Don Juan Bidwell, was a Californian pioneer, politician, and soldier. Bidwell is known as the founder the city of Chico, California. Born in New York, he emigrated at the age of ...

, became the first American emigrants to attempt a wagon crossing from

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Beginnings

In the winter of 1840, the Western Emigration Society was founded in Missouri, with 500 pledging to trek west into Mexican California. Members included Baldridge, Barnett, Bartleson, Bidwell and Nye. Organized on 18 May 1841, Talbot H. Green was elected president, John Bidwell secretary, and John Bartleson captain. The group joined Father Pierre Jean De Smet's Jesuit missionary group, led by Thomas F. Fitzpatrick, westward across South Pass along the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

. That trail took them past Courthouse and Jail Rocks, Chimney Rock,

Scotts Bluff Scotts Bluff National Monument is located west of the City of Gering in western Nebraska, United States. This National Park Service site protects over 3,000 acres of historic overland trail remnants, mixed-grass prairie, rugged badlands, toweri ...

Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading-post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte rivers. They joined ...

, and Independence Rock. The Bartleson-Bidwell party separated from Fitzpatrick, and the missionary group, at Soda Springs on 11 Aug.

The Trail

The western Emigration Society had resolved to follow the route suggested by

Dr. John Marsh John Marsh (June 5, 1799 – September 24, 1856), later known in Spanish as Don Juan Marsh, was a physician, ranchero, and linguist in California when it was still part of the Republic of Mexico. Born in Massachusetts, Marsh immigrated to Califo ...

. As early as 1837, Marsh realized that owning a great rancho was problematic if he could not hold it. The corrupt and unpredictable rulings by courts in California (then part of Mexico) made this questionable. With evidence that the Russians, French and English were preparing to seize the province, he determined to make it a part of the United States. He felt that the best way to go about this was to encourage emigration by Americans to California, and in this way the history of Texas would be repeated. Marsh conducted a letter-writing campaign espousing the California climate, soil and other reasons to settle there, as well as the best route to follow, which became known as "Marsh's route." His letters were read, reread, passed around, and printed in newspapers throughout the country, and started the first significant immigration to California. He invited immigrants to stay on his ranch until they could get settled, and assisted in their obtaining passports. Marsh's recommended route, the California Trail, was based on the prior experiences of Jedediah Smith, Peter Skene Ogden, and Joseph R. Walker. That route led southwest from Soda Springs along the Bear River and the Cache Valley. On August 24, 1841 the party headed west and north around the Great Salt Lake, camping in the vicinity of the Hansel Mountains until September 9 while they scouted the route to Mary's River (known today as the

Humboldt River The Humboldt River is an extensive river drainage system located in north-central Nevada. It extends in a general east-to-west direction from its headwaters in the Jarbidge, Independence, and Ruby Mountains in Elko County, to its terminus in th ...

). By September 12 wagons and possessions were beginning to be abandoned. By October 9 they crossed Mary's River and headed west to Lake Humboldt,

Humboldt Sink The Humboldt Sink is an intermittent dry lake bed, approximately 11 mi (18 km) long, and 4 mi (6 km) across, in northwestern Nevada in the United States. The body of water in the sink is known as Humboldt Lake. The sink and it ...

, and

Carson Sink Carson Sink is a playa in the northeastern portion of the Carson Desert in present-day Nevada, United States of America, that was formerly the terminus of the Carson River. Today the sink is fed by drainage canals of the Truckee-Carson Irrigat ...

. On October 30 they passed through the Stanislaus River canyon into the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

. On November 4, 1841 the party made it to Marsh's ranch.Stone, Irving. ''Men to Match my Mountains,'' pp 32-37, Berkley Books, New York, New York, 1956, 1982. . According to Doyce Nunis, "...the Bidwell-Bartleson party had successfully made the first planned overland emigrant journey to California, bearing with courage and great fortitude the vicissitudes of their ordeal. These hardy pioneers were the harbingers of many thousands to come."

Roster

Missionary Party * Captain: Thomas "Broken Hand" Fitzpatrick * Jesuit Fathers:

Pierre-Jean De Smet Pierre-Jean De Smet, SJ ( ; 30 January 1801 – 23 May 1873), also known as Pieter-Jan De Smet, was a Flemish Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He is known primarily for his widespread missionary work in the mid-19th ...

Nicholas Point Nicholas Point; (10 April 1799 – 4 July 1868), was a French Catholic priest, artist, and member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He is known primarily for the drawings and watercolors he created during his missionary work in the mid-19th cen ...

, Gregory Mengarini * Jesuit Brothers: William Claessens, Charles Huet, Joseph Specht *

Teamster A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada. Origi ...

s: L. Boileau, E. Chaussie, L.L. Coving * Trappers: Jim Baker, John Grey, William Mast, Piga * Others: Amos E. Frye, Rogers, W.G. Romaine, Reverend Joseph Williams The Bidwell-Bartleson who arrived in California * John Bartleson * Elias Barnett * Josiah Belden * William Belty * John Bidwell * Henry L. Brolaski * David W. Chandler * Joseph Chiles * Grove C. Cook * Nicholas Dawson * V.W. Dawson * Paul Geddes * George Henshaw * Charles Hopper * Henry Huber * James John * Thomas Jones * Andrew Kelsey * Benjamin Kelsey * Nancy Kelsey and daughter * John McDowell * Nelson McMahan * Samuel Green McMahan * Michael C. Nye * Andrew Gwinn Patton * Robert Rickman * John Roland * John L. Schwartz * James P. Springer * Robert H. Thomas * Ambrose Walton * Major Walton * Charles M. Weber The Bidwell-Bartleson who arrived in Oregon * Carroll * Augustus Fifer * Richard Fillan with wife and child * William Fowler * Charles W. Flügge * David F. Hill * J.W. Jones * Samuel Kelsey with wife and five children * Zedidiah Kelsey and wife * Edward Rogers * James Ross * Richard Williams and wife

References

* Charles Hopper, "Narrative of Charles Hopper, A California Pioneer of 1841", ''Utah Historical Quarterly'' 3 (1930) * Charles Kelly, Salt Desert Trails (1930) * Roderick J. Korns, "West from Fort Bridger", ''Utah Historical Quarterly'' 19 (1951) * David E. Miller, First Wagon Train to Cross Utah, 1841", ''Utah Historical Quarterly'' 30 (1962) * Benjamin Kelsey, "Man of Adventurous Disposition" * Dale L. Morgan, The Great Salt Lake (1947) fro
Pioneers and Cowboys
at historytogo.utah.gov

External links

"The First Emigrant Train to California" by John Bidwell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartleson-Bidwell Party American frontier Mexican California Pre-statehood history of Utah Pre-statehood history of Nevada Humboldt River California Trail

Beginnings

The Trail

Roster

See also

References

External links