# @sachistorymuseum on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C54Eaxly4ps
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/76084596-sachistorymuseum-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/17603460fa.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-04-17T20:31:01.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Sacramento History Museum (@sachistorymuseum) — https://gondola.cc/sachistorymuseum

## Caption

April 17, 1847

On this day in 1847, the Fourth Relief Party, sent to rescue any remaining survivors of the Donner Party and scavenge any of their belongings arrived at the camps at Truckee Lake (now known as Donner Lake). The only survivor left was Lewis Keseberg, who was found in a cabin reported to be in the middle of cooking human flesh. He arrived at Sutter’s Fort on April 29th and filed a defamation suit against Ned Coffeemeyer for spreading rumors that he murdered Tamsen Donner and stole her money. The court found in favor of Keseberg and he was awarded one dollar.

On May 27, 1847, John Sutter hired Keseberg to be in charge of one of Sutter’s schooners that travelled regularly between Sutter’s Fort, Hock Farm (just south of Yuba City), and Monterey. According to William Grimshaw, the bookkeeper for Sam Brannan’s trade store just east of Sutter’s Fort, Keseberg was hired as a cook in the spring of 1848 by Brannan and “came to our rescue in a dietetic sense.” In 1851, he was the proprietor of the Lady Adams Hotel until the great fire of November 1852 damaged the building.

From 1853-1861, Keseberg operated the Phœnix Brewery located at the corner of 28th and M Streets, until a flood destroyed the brewery on December 10, 1861. He is credited with producing the first locally made lager beer in Sacramento. Lewis Keseberg was the most controversial survivor of the Donner Party and was often referred to in local newspapers as the “man eater” throughout his life in California. 

Contemporaries wrote they were afraid to fall asleep with Keseberg around. His wife, Philippine, is the only Donner Party survivor buried in the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery. Lewis died in 1895 and was buried in an unmarked grave.

Portrait of Louis Keseberg, courtesy of the Bancroft Library. Advertisement of the Phœnix Brewery courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library (top right). Advertisement of the Phœnix Brewery from the Sacramento Daily Union on January 21, 1858 (bottom).
•
•
•
#TodayInHistory #OnThisDay #DonnerParty #donner #sacramentohistory #beerhistory #sacramentobeer #sacramento #sachistorymuseum

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 192
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 3

## Credits

No public credits are recorded here. This does not identify who made the post.

## Tags

sacramentohistory, sacramento, todayinhistory, onthisday, donner, donnerparty, sachistorymuseum, sacramentobeer, beerhistory

---
Copyright (c) Gondola