Age: 25
First Relief
b.7 Dec 1821
m. 8 Oct 1843 to Amanda Esery
d. 4 Dec 1895
Overland emigrant of 1846 and son of Thomas Foster and Elizabeth Forster Rhoads. Daniel and his brother John were living in the vicinity of Johnson’s Ranch when the Forlorn Hope arrived with news of the Donner Party’s dire situation. They joined the First Relief; see Daniel’s 1873 account, which he dictated for historian H. H. Bancroft.
Daniel was a rancher in central California; he abandoned his Mormon roots and became a member of the Methodist Church. His adobe home in Kings County is California State Historic Landmark 206. See the Rhoades Genealogy Page for more information about the family.
Sources:
New Light on the Donner Party, Kristin Johnson
Ordeal By Hunger, George Stewart