Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party consisted of ten families who migrated from
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
to
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
prior to the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
and the
California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...
. The Stephens Party is significant in California history because they were the first wagon train to cross the
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
during the expansion of the
American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...
. In 1844, they pioneered the first route at or near what was later named
Donner Pass Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake and Donner Memorial State Park about west of Truckee, California. Like the Sierra Nevada themselves, the pass has a steep approach from the east and a gradual a ...
. The crossing was a year before the third expedition of John Charles Frémont, two years before the
Donner Party The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California interim government, 1846-1850, California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent ...
, and five years before the 1848–49 Gold Rush. Three other known European exploration crossings of the Sierra Nevada had previously occurred at points south of this however, including Frémont's second expedition the previous winter, at Carson Pass.


Journey

The 50-member Stephens group left near present-day
Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...
, on May 22, 1844. They departed with a larger group of
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
-bound settlers in a train of 40 wagons. Fifty travelers left Iowa; 52 arrived at Sutter's Fort with the Stephens party, as there were two births along the way.
Elisha Stephens Elijah Stephens also spelled Elisha Stevens was a blacksmith and trapper who was born in South Carolina. In 1844, he left Council Bluffs, Iowa as the captain of the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party, the first wagon train to cross the Sierra Nevada ...
was elected captain of the wagon train because he had spent several years as a
mountain man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...
and
beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
hunter in the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
. He also had skills as a
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
. He had worked at the
Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...
Council Bluffs US Indian Subagency before resigning to go to California. Dr. John Townsend, his wife Elizabeth, and her younger brother Moses Schallenberger, were also going west. A man of vision, Townsend wanted a chance at grand adventure and opportunity in California. He would become the first licensed
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
in California. The largest family group in the party was headed by Martin Murphy, Sr. His family had 23 members. As Irish
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
s, the Murphy family, along with the Martin and Sullivan families, were seeking religious, economic, and political freedoms in the West. The group included James Miller (1814–1890), an Irishman, who would marry Martin Murphy, Sr.'s third daughter and settle at Rancho San Pedro, Santa Margarita y Las Gallinas near San Rafael. The party was guided by
mountain men A mountain man is an explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s (with a peak population in ...
Caleb Greenwood Caleb Greenwood () was a Western U.S. fur trapper and trail guide. Early years Born in Virginia, Greenwood took part in trapping expeditions organized by associates of John Jacob Astor in 1810 and by Manuel Lisa in 1812–1813. In 1815 he trap ...
and Isaac Hitchcock. In
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
, Hitchcock, who had been "trapping and trading" in California in 1832, led the party west from the Big Sandy River to the Green River on a bypass of
Fort Bridger Fort Bridger was originally a 19th-century fur trading outpost established in 1842, on Blacks Fork of the Green River, in what is now Uinta County, Wyoming, United States and was then part of Mexico. It became a vital resupply point for wagon ...
that came to be known as the Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff. This bypass covered a dangerous without water for livestock, but shortened the common route by and seven days. This cutoff, later popularized in a guide book, was used heavily by miners heading to the
California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...
. In the Sierra Nevada they encountered snow and on November 14, 1844, the party split. Six of the party, Elizabeth Townsend, her servant Francis, Oliver Magnan, and the siblings, Ellen (or Helen), John, and Daniel Murphy, set off on horseback following the
Truckee River The Truckee River is a river in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river flows northeasterly and is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 20, 2012 Th ...
southward with the goal of reaching
Sutter's Fort Sutter's Fort was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican ''Alta California'' province. Established in 1839, the site of the fort was originally part of a utopian colonial project called New Helvetia (''New Switzerland'') ...
quickly and sending back help. They became the first European-Americans to set foot on the shore of
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...
on November 16 (
John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...
had been the first European-American to only view it the previous February). They arrived at the fort on December 10. The rest of the party continued until reaching Truckey's (or Truckee) Lake (now
Donner Lake Donner Lake, formerly known as Truckee Lake, is a freshwater lake in Northeast California on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada and about northwest of the much larger Lake Tahoe. A moraine serves as a natural dam for th ...
). Here, they left six of their eleven wagons because of difficulties getting the wagons over the pass and carried on with the remaining five. At one point they had to unhitch the wagons and haul them up a cliff with makeshift pulleys while the oxen were led through a narrow slot. On November 25 they managed to reach the top of the pass. Three men, Joseph Foster, Allan Montgomery, and Moses Schallenberger, returned to the abandoned wagons with the intent of watching over them until the snow melted. They quickly built a cabin (later used by the Donner Party), but soon realized that it would be very difficult for them to survive the winter. They set out after the party ahead of them on makeshift snowshoes, but after the first day, the youngest, eighteen-year-old Moses Schallenberger realized he could not press on and returned to the wagons. He survived only by trapping High Sierra foxes for food. The rest of the party, after crossing the pass, continued until snow made it impossible to travel with wagons on the upper
Yuba River The Yuba River is a tributary of the Feather River in the Sierra Nevada and eastern Sacramento Valley, in the U.S. state of California. The main stem of the river is about long, and its headwaters are split into three major forks. The Yuba ...
valley. They set up camp, and, on December 6, seventeen of the adult men pushed on to find help, while the women, children, and two adult men remained in camp. Most of the men in the advance party were then enticed or coerced to fight with Captain John Sutter for Mexican California Governor
Manuel Micheltorena Joseph Manuel María Joaquin Micheltorena y Llano (8 June 1804 – 7 September 1853) was a brigadier general and adjutant-general of the Mexican Army, List_of_governors_of_California_before_1850#Mexican_governors_of_California_(1837–47), gover ...
in exchange for promises of land grants. Instead of joining Sutter, Dennis Martin returned to the upper Yuba with supplies for the women and children. Upon learning of the plight of Moses Schallenberger, twenty-three-year-old Martin set out to cross the snowbound
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
in mid-winter (February, 1845) to rescue Schallenberger at Donner Lake. Upon reaching the lake, Martin showed Schallenberger how to construct proper snowshoes and then the two crossed the Sierra successfully to the Central Valley.


Afterwards

Elisha Stephens settled in the San Jose/
Cupertino Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 60,38 ...
area, where Stevens Creek icis named for him. In 1862, he left the area, heading to
Kern County Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County compris ...
in central California. He was the first non-native settler in what is today the city of
Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...
. A state historic plaque in that city marks the approximate site of his homestead. Stephens died in Bakersfield in 1887. He was buried in Union Cemetery. His gravesite was discovered in 2009 by members of the
Kern County Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County compris ...
Genealogical Society. On May 1, 2010, the
Oregon-California Trails Association The Oregon-California Trails Association is an interdisciplinary organization based at Independence, Missouri, United States. OCTA is dedicated to the preservation and protection of overland emigrant trails and the emigrant experience. OCTA Chapter ...
(OCTA) California/Nevada Chapter in cooperation with the Kern County Historical Society (KCHS) installed a historical plaque at the gravesite of Elisha Stephens. John Townsend was California's first licensed physician and was, for a short time in 1848, alcalde or mayor of
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
; Townsend Street in San Francisco is named for him. He and his wife, Elizabeth, treated the victims of the 1850
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
epidemic in San Jose until they died of it in December 1850. Elizabeth's younger brother, Moses Schallenberger, settled in Santa Clara county and died in 1909. Schallenberger Elementary School in the
San José Unified School District San José Unified School District (abbreviated SJUSD) is a TK-12 unified school district in Santa Clara County, California, that covers a large portion of the city of San Jose, California, San Jose. The district has more than 3,000 full-time em ...
and Schallenberger Ridge just south of Donner Lake are named for him In 1846, Martin Murphy Sr. purchased the ''
Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Figueroa to Juan María Hernandez. The name means "pig's spring". The grant extended south from Rancho Lagun ...
''. Son Martin Murphy Jr. was the founder of the city of
Sunnyvale Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the north, ...
. Sons John and Daniel struck gold in the Sierra, then made a fortune selling dry goods to local miners and Native Americans. The town they established in the Sierra foothills still bears the family name of Murphys. Helen Murphy, the youngest daughter of Martin Sr., married
Charles Maria Weber Weber Point Home is a historical site in Stockton, California in San Joaquin County. The site of the former Weber Point Home is a California Historical Landmark No. 165, listed on January 11, 1935. The Weber Point Home was a built by Captain Ch ...
, the founder of the city of Stockton. Dennis Martin also struck gold in the Sierra and purchased ranch properties from the grantees of Rancho Cañada de Raymundo and Rancho Corte de Madera which include much of the modern day back lands of
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, including the
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Menlo Park, California, Menlo Park, Ca ...
,
Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve The Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve is a nature preserve and biological field station formally established as a reserve in 1973. The biological preserve is owned by Stanford University, and is part of the Stanford School of Humanities and Scie ...
, the Ladera subdivision and the Webb Ranch. After financial misfortune and land disputes typical of the era, his lands were bought by
Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American attorney, industrialist, philanthropist, and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from Watervliet, New York. He served as the eighth governor of Calif ...
in November, 1882. Dennis Martin died in June 1890 and was buried at the St. Denis Cemetery (Martin had built his own church) on his former property (then Stanford's). Woodside's Dennis Martin Creek is named for him.


References


Sources

* Pages 100–108, 118, 126, 327–28, "Old Greenwood", Revised edition, by co-authors Charles Kelly and Dale L. Morgan, The Talisman Press 1965, Georgetown, California. * Appendix to "First And Last Consul" by author John A. Hawgood, page 113 (re: Isaac Hitchcock in CA in 1832) and page 118 (re: Joseph Walker in CA in 1833). * Re: Newly discovered Elisha Stephens' gravesite....Kern Gen Vol 47 No 1 March 2010, published by the Kern County Genealogical Society.
"The Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party"
Truckee-Donner Historical Society, Inc.
"Emigrants and extinction: Wildlife impacted by settlement"
''Sierra Sun''
"Caleb Greenwood"
''Sacramento Bee'' * Rose, James J. ''Sierra Trailblazers: First Pioneer Wagons Over the Sierra Nevada''
video ''Forgotten Journey''
California Trail, Forgotten Journey Productions, 2004.

USDA Forest Service, Tahoe National Forest, Big Bend Visitor Center, 1999

, ''Wyoming Emigrant Trails'', Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office


Further reading

* *George R. Stewart, ''The California Trail'', New York: McGraw-Hill, 1962 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party 1844 in Alta California History of the Sierra Nevada (United States) History of the Great Basin Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party