Scope and Contents This collection contains the personal papers of members of the Donner and Hill families of central Illinois. Materials include photographs, newspaper clippings, memorial books from funerals, correspondence, a scrapbook, and a diary, which document family relationships, reunions, vacations, and education. Additional subjects of the photographs and writings are late nineteenth century camping, train, and steamboat trips; recipes; the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois;...

Scope and Contents The Donner Family Collection consists of newspaper articles, artifacts, books, correspondence, photographs, articles, journals, newsletters, brochures, notes, photocopies, posters, land grants and deeds, videocassettes, cassette tapes and CD-ROMs. The material pertains to the family of George Donner, who left Sangamon County, Illinois in 1846 to emigrate to California. After a series of mishaps and delays, they and their emigrant party were trapped by heavy snow and faced starvation in the...