Donner Party timeline provides an almost day-to-day basic description of events directly associated with the 1846 Donner Party pioneers, covering the journey from Illinois to California—, over the Great Plains, two mountain ranges, and the deserts of the Great Basin. Following the timeline is a chronological list of deaths. Timeline April 15, 1846: The journey begins in Springfield, Illinois. The travelers are George Donner, his brother Jacob, and James Frazier Reed, with their families. Each man has three covered wagons and has hired teamsters to drive the oxen that pull them; Reed also has two servants, who are Eliza and Baylis Williams. The destination of the first leg is Independence, where the Oregon Trail begins; the distance from Springfield to Independence is about . The trip is timed to begin when the spring rains have subsided and grass for the draft animals is available, and to get there before the snow makes the Sierra Nevada impassable. May 1846 May 10, 1846: The Donners and Reeds arrive at Independence, Missouri, where they spend the next two days completing their outfits for the journey. May 12, 1846: The Donners and Reeds depart Independence, Missouri for California. May 19, 1846: At Indian Creek, about west of Independence, the Donners and Reeds join a larger wagon train, which is led by Colonel William Henry Russell. May 27, 1846: High water stops the Russell Train at the east bank of the Big Blue River in modern-day Kansas. The emigrants build a raft to carry their wagons across. May 29, 1846: While the emigrants are camped, Mrs. Reed's mother, Sarah Keyes, dies of old age and is buried under a tree near Alcove Spring. May 31, 1846: The last of the wagons are ferried across the river. At some point during the delay at the Big Blue, the Murphy family from Tennessee has joined the wagon train. June 1846 June 16, 1846: Tamsen Donner, George's Wife, writes that they are now at the Platte River, from Fort Laramie, in present-day Wyoming, and that the journey so far has been easier than expected. June 18, 1846: William Russell relinquishes his position as captain of the wagon train because he, Edwin Bryant, and others have decided to trade in their wagons and teams for mules in order to travel more quickly. They travel ahead to Fort Laramie to make the transaction. June 27, 1846: The party in which