Sarah Ireland is my 4th great grandmother.  She was born in Cincinnati, OH in 1810 and married Joseph Reeve (son of Joseph & Martha Richardson Reeve) in 1829 in Brownstown, IN.  They had 10 children, 7 of which lived to be adults, including my 3rd great grandmother Louisa Reeve (who married Isaac DeMoss).  By 1850 the Reeves had moved west to Daviess County, then across the river to Knox County the following decade.

Sarah’s parents were James Ireland and Sarah Bunnell.  They were originally from the Philadelphia area, but moved to western Ohio and then into Indiana.  They, too, had several children who scattered over the years–one son eventually settling in Oregon.

The Ireland line can be traced back two more generations with limited information.  The Bunnell line, however, has been traced back five additional generations, as illustrated by the pedigree charts of Sarah Ireland and Benjamin Bonnell.  Vital records for the 1600’s and 1700’s tend to be minimal, however, the Bunnell/Bonnell line seems to be rather well documented.  The earliest couple in the line, Nathaniel Bunnell & Susanna Whitehead were born circa 1640-1650 in New Haven Colony.  Since New Haven was established in 1638 as a British Colony, it makes them some of the earliest born settlers in the New World.  The next step is to find rosters of those who settled in New Haven during those early years.