Harriet married Isaac Bird Emmons in 1843 and by June of 1845 they had moved west to Whiteside County, Illinois following older Emmons family members who had moved there in the 1830's. On June 19th, 1845 we know that Isaac was a resident of northern Illinois because he bought his first parcel of land in Whiteside County on that date. By 1847 records show that he was engaged in wagon making with his brothers Andrew and Lehman L. Emmons and, by 1850, he had purchased no fewer than 8 more parcels. Between 1850 and 1884, County records show that he bought an additional 16 parcels. But, I digress.

I believe that Harriet was a strong partner for Isaac who appears to have been a mover and a shaker. Harriet was the one who kept track of the family by maintaining records in the Emmons Family Bible. I have seen transcriptions of her records in "the Bible", but am not old enough to remember the original. She, however, did not leave a similar historical record of her own Walling family. Information about the Walling family is elusive. Several Walling families were residents of Whiteside County in that period, but I have been unable to develop a connection to them, or back to the Walling family in New York. I welcome your ideas and contributions to my family puzzle.