Strong Roots, Beautiful Leaves

While working on my husband’s genealogy, I found myself at another brick wall. Emily Danforth Rhoads was born June 10, 1815. She married Benjamin Talbert Rhoads on April 28, 1838 in Warrick County, IN. She died January 10, 1869 in Warrick County, IN. Emily and Benjamin are buried in Bethany Cemetery in Warrick County. This information was supported with tombstone inscriptions and marriage index records from the county. My research goal was to first confirm the location of birth for Emily. Despite many searches, I wasn’t having any luck. When I’m needing inspiration and ideas, I turn to other researcher’s family trees (only to look for ideas, not to use as ‘facts’). While doing this, I found a post from a man who (I’ll call him John) was struggling with the same problem I was. He was a descendant of the Danforth family, and he just could not find any records before Emily’s marriage to Benjamin. This man submitted his DNA, hoping for some answers. Boy, was he in for a shock…. Emily Danfo...

Manlove Walls and Celia (Hazzard) Walls were born and raised in Sussex County, Delaware. They married in the same area. Manlove was named after his mother's maiden name. When Celia was a teenager, she molded bullets for the Revolutionary Soldiers. By 1797 the couple were living in Virginia. By the 1810 census, they were living in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. Around 1814 they moved to Indiana. Manlove had moved to a plot of 160 acres of land, granted to him through delayed payment from federal legislation. This land was in Greenfield Township, Orange County. They appeared in Orange County, Indiana on the 1820 census.  Per census and burial records, this is where they spent the remainder of their lives. The couple had at least four children: Levin Derby, Thomas, William Conway, and Jemima. Their oldest child was Levin Derby Walls, named after his paternal grandfather. Levin was born October 19, 1795. As mentioned above, the family was living in Breckinridge County, Kentucky by 1810...

Louisa AKA Minnie was my 3x great grandma. She was born November 23, 1863 in Indiana. She married Wilhelm Frederick Kuhlenschmidt on September 4, 1880 at Zoar Evangelical Church in Elberfeld, Warrick County, Indiana. Wilhelm later 'Americanized' his name to William. They had 12 children, only one not surviving to reach adulthood. Minnie died suddenly on June 15, 1927 from a cerebral hemorrhage in Campbell, Warrick County, Indiana. She is buried at Zoar Evangelical Church Cemetery in Elberfeld. "This is the story of Louisa Kuhlenschmidt's death, based on the recollections of the stories told by Edgar and Raymond Kuhlenschmidt. When her son William's wife was due to give birth to a new grandchild, Louisa went to his home. According to Edgar, Louisa had some skill as a midwife and was called upon to help with the births of grandchildren. When Doris June was born, Louisa came out of the bedroom, asked for her pills, sat down, and died immediately." I have tried th...