Although The Donner Party of 1846-1847 is the most famous of the immigrant parties to cross the Sierra Nevada along the “Truckee Route,” they were not the first. Where the Stephens Party succeeded in crossing, in a very severe winter in 1844-1845, the Donner Party became stranded and met only tragedy two years later. The Stephens Party was led by experienced mountain men and included a physician among its members; the Donner Party was composed of farmers and a high proportion of women, elderly, and children. The Donner brothers, Jacob and George, along with James Reed, all from Illinois, organized the party.