The Bethel Party -- Wagon Train to the NW in 1852

Family lore has it that John Ross came west (for maybe the second time?) in 1852. He is said to have been one the bachelors accompanying the Bethel wagon train party which also included Daniel Bagley, Dextor Horton and his future neighbor on Salmon Bay (now Ballard), H.A. Smith.  Here is an account of the Bethel Train from a website about Dexter Horton:

"The Bethel Party
In the spring of 1852, Dexter Horton of Princeton, Illinois, with his wife Hannah Eliza (Shoudy) Horton (1828-1871) and daughter Rebecca, joined what became known as the Bethel Company on their journey across the plains to Oregon. Other members of this party who would, like Horton, help establish the city of Seattle, were: Thomas Mercer, his wife Nancy Brigham Mercer (d. 1852) and their four daughters; Rev. Daniel Bagley, his wife Susannah Whipple Bagley and their young son Clarence; Aaron Mercer and his wife Ellen Leonard Mercer; William F. West and his wife Jane Whipple West; Edna Whipple; and about 20 bachelors.
After unpacking and resting at The Dalles (the rapids and the town named after them where the Cascade Mountains cross the Columbia River) and after struggling through the Lower Cascades, the party arrived in Salem, capital of Oregon, on September 21, 1852. Several members of the party remained in Salem. In the spring of 1853, Dexter Horton -- after recovering from the infamous illness "ague" -- continued with Thomas Mercer to Seattle. At first Horton, who in later life became a millionaire banker and businessman, worked as a hand at Henry Yesler's mill."

http://www.dexterhortonbuilding.com/propertyinformation/historyofdexterhorton.axis


Aunt Win's account (a handwritten account that my mom gave me) says this:

"He came out across the plains as an Indian scout for the Bethel Train along with the Schwabackers, Dexter Horton and Rev. Daniel Bagley.  En route, they met the McMillan train which was headed by grandfather, the Rev. David Rice McMillan which was heading for Oregon. This is where John Ross first met grandmother, Mary Jane McMillan.  The McMillan train settled on the Rogue River near Medford. The train left Illinois in Spring 1852 and reached Oregon late in fall in 1852."

I have another account, from a McMillan grandson.  It says the following:

Grandfather David Rice McMillan was an ordained Methodist minister.  The family left Peoria, Illinois in 1853to cross the Plains to Oregon -- my grandfather being the captain of the company.  The group endured extreme hardship, losing quantities of their supplies in crossing some of the deep and swift rivers. After a journey of over six months, the party arrived in Salt Lake City, where they settled for the winter, having built dugouts for protection from the severe winter weather.....Sublimity, Oregon was their destination and it was reached the following summer.

I kind of like that Salt Lake City story (it goes on to talk about the Mormons wanting the girls in the train as wives!) but a book by Hubert Howe Bancroft (who was incredibly prolific in his history writing!) about the history of Oregon has the Rev. D.R. McMillan coming to Oregon in 1852 with Rev. Daniel Bagley which would better square with family history.