Caroline Van Dusen was the daughter of Charles Van Deusen and Mary Huntington Cole. She was born at the family's home in New Albany, IN on December 29, 1846. New Albany is directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, KY, and some records list her birth there. As a young child she and her siblings, Charles K., Mary Huntington, and Henry Devol, spent their winters in New Orleans, LA near her mother's family, and she attended the St. Charles Institute. Her father Charles

Nancy Ruth was born in Stetson, ME on October 5, 1823 to Oliver Hartwell Jr. and Keisha (Matthews) (Chase) Hartwell. Her father had served during the Revolutionary War. Both of her parents had been married previously, and surprisingly she was not the youngest—she had a sister named Roxanna born in 1826. In 1840 Nancy married Robert Stetson. He died in 1850, and she married his younger brother Sherbourne in 1851. He died around 1861. She had six children, two with her first hu