Elizabeth Virginia Braden, 1829-1830

I don't usually do blog posts about infants who died, but Elizabeth Virginia Braden intrigues me.

Elizabeth was the first child born to Burr Braden and his wife, Mary Dulin (Jenners) Braden.  Burr and Mary were married on 29 March 1827, probably in Maryland, and started west from Virginia with Mary's family in the fall of 1828.

By the winter of 1828-1829, the travelers were in Dayton, Ohio.  Perhaps they decided to spend the winter in Dayton because of Mary's pregnancy.  Elizabeth Virginia Braden was born in Dayton, Ohio on 13 January 1829. 

In the spring of 1829, the family resumed their trip west, finally settling in Lafayette, Indiana.  They were certainly in Lafayette in July 1829 when Mary received a letter from her friend, Sarah Hough in Waterford, Virginia.  This letter indicates that the baby, Elizabeth, was ill.

Elizabeth was mentioned as "our dear little babe" in a letter written by her father, Burr, to her mother, Mary, in September 1829.  Burr had gone back to Virginia to settle some affairs there. 

In January 1830, Elizabeth's Aunt Nancy (Mary's sister) wrote a letter home to her friend, Elizabeth in Waterford, Virginia, in which she says this about the baby, Elizabeth Virginia:  "Mary is almost worn out with her little babe, which is still very poorly and does not think weighs more than six pounds.  It does not sleep any barely at night." 

At this time, Burr and Mary were still in Lafayette, Indiana, but Burr was planning on moving to "the country" in the spring.  This would be the move to the Jefferson area of Clinton Co., Indiana.

On 14 May 1830, Elizabeth Virginia Braden died, probably at Lafayette.  She was about 18 months old.  Her grave has not been found.  Hers would have been one of the early burials in the new town of Lafayette and many of those graves and their stones (if there ever was one) are no longer to be found.

Except for the references in the family letters (which do not actually name the baby), my information on this child comes from an old family document provided to me by another Braden descendant.  This handwritten document appears to be a copy of another earlier document, perhaps a family Bible record.  The handwriting may be that of a granddaughter of Burr and Mary, Mary Jane Braden, daughter of their son, William.  While I have found no primary evidence to prove the dates for Elizabeth Virginia found on that document, it should be noted that most of the other dates and information found there have been verified and are accurate.  This leads me to trust that the information on Elizabeth Virginia is also correct.

I hope someday to find something to verify the information on her, but realize it is probably unlikely.