A member of the Donner/Reed Party.
Sarah Graves was the daughter of Franklin Ward & Elizabeth Cooper Graves. She was married to Jay Fosdick just before they set out from Illinois, in the Spring of 1846. She agonized over the decision to stay in Illinois with Jay, who was then her fiance, or to emigrate to California with her parents and siblings. Jay's parents were reluctant to let him go to California, as they needed him to help run their farm. At the last minute, Jay's parents relented & the marriage occurred just before the Graves family left. Jay & Sarah spent their honeymoon crossing the plains, and according to family lore, Sarah would stay up with Jay when it was his turn for night guard duty. It was their only chance of spending time alone.
During the entrapment at Donner Lake in the winter of 1846, Jay and Sarah both left with the group, "The Forlorn Hope", in mid-December with the hopes of bringing back help for the stranded emigrants. Jay Fosdick did not survive the journey and died of hypothermia and starvation along the trail. Sarah survived.
In 1848 she married William Dill Ritchie, who had assisted with the Donner relief. A few years later, Ritchie was found in possession of some stolen mules and was hanged as a horse thief near Sonoma, despite his claims of innocence. William and Sarah had 3 sons, one that died in infancy, George Gus & Alonzo Perry. In 1856 she married Samuel Spires and bore him four children; Lloyd, William, Eleanor & Alice Barton. She died suddenly at age 46 of heart disease.
Note: Find a Grave contributor, J.D. Larimore, has done extensive research on Corralitos Cemetery and the Graves family and has discovered that Sarah Graves Spires was probably buried in the Corralitos Cemetery first, and then removed to the Pioneer Cemetery when Corralitos Cemetery was turned into an orchard. She has also been unable to find a record or a headstone for Sarah, but believes that she is among the more than 100 unidentified graves in Pioneer Cemetery.
Sarah Graves was the daughter of Franklin Ward & Elizabeth Cooper Graves. She was married to Jay Fosdick just before they set out from Illinois, in the Spring of 1846. She agonized over the decision to stay in Illinois with Jay, who was then her fiance, or to emigrate to California with her parents and siblings. Jay's parents were reluctant to let him go to California, as they needed him to help run their farm. At the last minute, Jay's parents relented & the marriage occurred just before the Graves family left. Jay & Sarah spent their honeymoon crossing the plains, and according to family lore, Sarah would stay up with Jay when it was his turn for night guard duty. It was their only chance of spending time alone.
During the entrapment at Donner Lake in the winter of 1846, Jay and Sarah both left with the group, "The Forlorn Hope", in mid-December with the hopes of bringing back help for the stranded emigrants. Jay Fosdick did not survive the journey and died of hypothermia and starvation along the trail. Sarah survived.
In 1848 she married William Dill Ritchie, who had assisted with the Donner relief. A few years later, Ritchie was found in possession of some stolen mules and was hanged as a horse thief near Sonoma, despite his claims of innocence. William and Sarah had 3 sons, one that died in infancy, George Gus & Alonzo Perry. In 1856 she married Samuel Spires and bore him four children; Lloyd, William, Eleanor & Alice Barton. She died suddenly at age 46 of heart disease.
Note: Find a Grave contributor, J.D. Larimore, has done extensive research on Corralitos Cemetery and the Graves family and has discovered that Sarah Graves Spires was probably buried in the Corralitos Cemetery first, and then removed to the Pioneer Cemetery when Corralitos Cemetery was turned into an orchard. She has also been unable to find a record or a headstone for Sarah, but believes that she is among the more than 100 unidentified graves in Pioneer Cemetery.
A member of the Donner/Reed Party.
Sarah Graves was the daughter of Franklin Ward & Elizabeth Cooper Graves. She was married to Jay Fosdick just before they set out from Illinois, in the Spring of 1846. She agonized over the decision to stay in Illinois with Jay, who was then her fiance, or to emigrate to California with her parents and siblings. Jay's parents were reluctant to let him go to California, as they needed him to help run their farm. At the last minute, Jay's parents relented & the marriage occurred just before the Graves family left. Jay & Sarah spent their honeymoon crossing the plains, and according to family lore, Sarah would stay up with Jay when it was his turn for night guard duty. It was their only chance of spending time alone.
During the entrapment at Donner Lake in the winter of 1846, Jay and Sarah both left with the group, "The Forlorn Hope", in mid-December with the hopes of bringing back help for the stranded emigrants. Jay Fosdick did not survive the journey and died of hypothermia and starvation along the trail. Sarah survived.
In 1848 she married William Dill Ritchie, who had assisted with the Donner relief. A few years later, Ritchie was found in possession of some stolen mules and was hanged as a horse thief near Sonoma, despite his claims of innocence. William and Sarah had 3 sons, one that died in infancy, George Gus & Alonzo Perry. In 1856 she married Samuel Spires and bore him four children; Lloyd, William, Eleanor & Alice Barton. She died suddenly at age 46 of heart disease.
Note: Find a Grave contributor, J.D. Larimore, has done extensive research on Corralitos Cemetery and the Graves family and has discovered that Sarah Graves Spires was probably buried in the Corralitos Cemetery first, and then removed to the Pioneer Cemetery when Corralitos Cemetery was turned into an orchard. She has also been unable to find a record or a headstone for Sarah, but believes that she is among the more than 100 unidentified graves in Pioneer Cemetery.
Sarah Graves was the daughter of Franklin Ward & Elizabeth Cooper Graves. She was married to Jay Fosdick just before they set out from Illinois, in the Spring of 1846. She agonized over the decision to stay in Illinois with Jay, who was then her fiance, or to emigrate to California with her parents and siblings. Jay's parents were reluctant to let him go to California, as they needed him to help run their farm. At the last minute, Jay's parents relented & the marriage occurred just before the Graves family left. Jay & Sarah spent their honeymoon crossing the plains, and according to family lore, Sarah would stay up with Jay when it was his turn for night guard duty. It was their only chance of spending time alone.
During the entrapment at Donner Lake in the winter of 1846, Jay and Sarah both left with the group, "The Forlorn Hope", in mid-December with the hopes of bringing back help for the stranded emigrants. Jay Fosdick did not survive the journey and died of hypothermia and starvation along the trail. Sarah survived.
In 1848 she married William Dill Ritchie, who had assisted with the Donner relief. A few years later, Ritchie was found in possession of some stolen mules and was hanged as a horse thief near Sonoma, despite his claims of innocence. William and Sarah had 3 sons, one that died in infancy, George Gus & Alonzo Perry. In 1856 she married Samuel Spires and bore him four children; Lloyd, William, Eleanor & Alice Barton. She died suddenly at age 46 of heart disease.
Note: Find a Grave contributor, J.D. Larimore, has done extensive research on Corralitos Cemetery and the Graves family and has discovered that Sarah Graves Spires was probably buried in the Corralitos Cemetery first, and then removed to the Pioneer Cemetery when Corralitos Cemetery was turned into an orchard. She has also been unable to find a record or a headstone for Sarah, but believes that she is among the more than 100 unidentified graves in Pioneer Cemetery.
Gravesite Details
Daniel James Brown, the author of "Indifferent Stars Above", a story of Sarah Graves' journey in 1846, searched for Sarah's grave in recent years and was unable to locate a headstone for her.
Family Members
Siblings
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Records on Ancestry
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