My great-great-grandfather, Henry (Harry) Darville b. 1845 and his wife, Emily Llewellyn, immigrated to the US between 1871 and 1877. They were married in 1865 in Harrow Weald, Middlesex, England, but had no children. In December 1877, Harriett Watts and her son, Robert, immigrated to the US in New Orleans, LA. They left immediately and went to McComb, MS, where she left her son with Harry and Emily Darville while she returned to New Orleans for employment. She worked for a doctor on Rampart Street. In August 1878, Harriett died in the yellow fever epidemic. The Darvilles adopted Robert and changed his name to Robert Henry Darville.
I have spent lots of money and time trying to determine how she knew Harry and Emily since McComb was not founded until 1871, and Harry and Emily had one of 18 houses there at the time. I have done DNA, which has not revealed any DNA connection to the Darville line. Harry and Emily had their first child in the late 1880s. Emily died in 1895. Of interest is the fact that pictures of other Darville family members who are blood-related to Harry bear a striking similarity to my grandfather.
If anyone can shed any light on any of this, I would be so grateful. My dad is 92 and has wondered about this his entire life. There are no immigration papers or passenger lists that contain Henry and Emily, but I am quite certain they did not swim! Henry worked for the Illinois Central Railroad.
