Their wagons loaded with household goods, they blazed a trail westward, settling in Benton, Arkansas.

Andrew, his son Daniel, and son-in-law Benjamin Wills, traveled by river boat from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to New Orleans and then took a ship to the Isthmus of Panama.

In Panama, they boarded a ship bound for San Francisco; from there they caught a stage overland to Indian Gulch in Mariposa County.

The Cathey-Wills, Rowland, and Hammond families organized a wagon train to California.

Some of the families were those who had come from North Carolina earlier, leaving the Hammonds to start from Collegeville, Arkansas.

When they reached the Rio Grande, the wagon beds had to be taken apart and all bolt holes were tightly plugged with wooden pegs.

Together, they formed a ferry-like raft to transport their families, their livestock, and household goods across the river.

Upon seeing the burned wagons and recognizing Mrs. Oatman's clothing, Mrs Geary was overcome with grief.

After they had almost given up hope of finding water, one of the teamsmen suddenly noticed his oxen raised their heads and sniffed the air.

They immediately left the trail, and on top of a knoll, under a large rock was a basin full of fresh water.

It was a long, arduous journey of living in tents and wagons for two years and enduring countless hardships.

Evans drove a hard bargain and Andrew finally agreed to pay him $1,500 for a quit-claim.

Her sons lived at home for about ten years before they all became larger independent landowners.

Andrew and his wife, Mary, very devout Christians, helped build a church, school and cemetery on land they donated.

[5] The Cathay post office opened in 1882, closed in 1918, re-opened in 1919, and changed its name to Catheys Valley in 1964.

[1] Catheys Valley is categorized as being within the 9a USDA hardiness zone, meaning temperatures can get as low as 20 to 25 °F (−7 to −4 °C).

There were 381 housing units at an average density of 16.2 per square mile (6.3/km2), of which 224 (70.9%) were owner-occupied, and 92 (29.1%) were occupied by renters.