 After reaching Nebraska City, the Association divided itself into two exploratory parties, one of which went directly westward and the other southwest.The latter party located the site of Beatrice, at the point where the DeRoin Trail crossed the Big Blue River, and the whole Association decided to settle there.The settlement was named after Julia Beatrice Kinney, the 17-year-old daughter of Judge John F. Kinney, a member of the Association.