Age: 43
Host, supplier

b. 15 Feb 1803 Kandern, Baden, Switzerland
m. 24 Oct 1826 to Annette D’bold
d. 18 Jun 1880 Washington, D.C.

       Sutter’s name was actually Suter, pronounced “Sooter.” This spelling and “Suitor” often appear in emigrant diaries and other early documents.
       The Swiss-born proprietor of Sutter’s Fort is a well known figure in California history. For details about his life and career, see John Augustus Sutter.
       When Charles Stanton and William McCutchen arrived asking for food for the Donner Party, Sutter supplied dried meat, flour, mules to carry them, and detailed two of his vaqueros, Luis and Salvador, to help. Among the Reed Papers at Sutter’s Fort is a document showing the calculations of how much each family owed Sutter for their share of the provisions.
       Sutter’s generosity to overland emigrants was legendary, and many others in addition to the Donner Party had reason to be grateful to him. The gold rush destroyed him, however, and he ended his life in obscurity and poverty, two days after Congress awarded him compensation for his losses.

Sources:

New Light on the Donner Party, Kristin Johnson

Ordeal By Hunger, George Stewart