Elizabeth townsend pioneer biography

Elizabeth John Dunn Townsend was born July 4, and died March 14, Arrived in Utah Spouse, Frank Townsend.!

Biography.

Elizabeth John Dunn Townsend was born July 4, and died March 14, Arrived in Utah Spouse, Frank Townsend.

John and Elizabeth Townsend are most known for their pioneering expedition from Missouri to California as members of the Murphy party in , only three years.

This collection is arranged into one series, which includes the papers of Dr. John Townsend, Elizabeth Townsend, and John Henry Moses Townsend.

Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party

The Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party consisted of ten families who migrated from Iowa to California prior to the Mexican–American War and the California Gold Rush.

The Stephens Party is significant in California history because they were the first wagon train to cross the Sierra Nevada during the expansion of the American West. In 1844, they pioneered the first route at or near what was later named Donner Pass.

The crossing was a year before the third expedition of John Charles Frémont, two years before the Donner Party, 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.^{[citation needed]}

Journey

The 50-member Stephens group left near present-day Council Bluffs, Iowa, on May 22, 1844.

They departed with a larger group of Oregon-bound settle