More than 300 Donner Party descendants revisited the scene of their ancestors' worst terrors Saturday to observe the 150th anniversary of their tragic westward trek.
Unlike the hard-luck pioneers, the descendants enjoyed good weather, abundant food and cordial relations at California Trail Days '96 and the Donner Party Sesquicentennial. It was the most Donner descendants ever assembled.Descendants insisted there's no bad blood between the families anymore. Descendants representing the party's Donner, Reed, Graves, Breen and Murphy families are attending the event, which ends Monday.
"I can't believe we're still at war," said Patricia Hillman of Tulare, a great-great granddaughter of party captain George Donner. "This happened 150 years ago. . . . Time is a healer."
"Maybe there were feuds in the early days, but I've seen no evidence of any now," added event organizer Frankye Craig.
Dozens of members of the dissension-racked party starved to death and others resorted to cannibalism to survive when stranded in the Sierra near Truckee over the winter of 1846-47. Forty-two of the 89 members died.
The party's woes stemmed from an untested shortcut in Utah and Nevada, and a storm that brought heavy snow to the Sierra a month earlier than usual. The group also was plagued by personality conflicts and a lack of leadership.
The only incident marring the sesquicentennial event was a confrontation Thursday night at a Reno casino between a Graves descendant and two Reed descendants.
It came during an intermission of a one-man show featuring a portrayal of party leader James Reed, who was banished from the group after stabbing John Snyder to death in Nevada. Snyder was a hired hand of the Graves family.
The Graves descendant "came up to us and said he was upset over the portrayal of Reed as a hero," said Cyndi Reed McBath of Woodinville, Wash., Reed's great-great-great granddaughter. "He said Reed was a murderer and then he said we were spoiled little Reed girls."
A Graves descendant who asked not to be identified acknowledged the incident and said the man's daughter escorted him away. The descendant said the man did not speak for other Graves descendants.
"It's ridiculous to still be harboring 150-year-old grudges," said the Graves descendant.
James Reed III of Edmonds, Wash., Cyndi Reed McBath's father, stressed that the confrontation was an isolated incident.
"There were hard feelings with that one man, but everybody else has been really friendly and interesting to listen to," Reed said. "The event has gone a long, long way toward improving relations between families."
James Reed III is a former mayor of San Anselmo. The post now is held by Peter Breen, great-great grandson of Donner Party member Patrick Breen.
The Breen and Graves families held reunions in conjunction with the event. Family historians praised their ancestors during programs, calling them heroes for their courage.
"We get tired of the focus on the cannibalism," said Joseph Williamson of Corte Madera, great-grandson of survivor Nancy Graves. "It's not a big part of the story.
"The strength it took to survive and the contributions they made to the settlement of California are more important."
Descendants from across the country used the event to share stories about their families and to learn more about their genealogy.
"They're interested in their own families and how their families fit into the history of the Donner Party," Craig said. "They're not interested in the other groups."