Once upon a time, a Mr. Lovell Rousseau met a beautiful and extraordinarily talented musician in Michigan… but his younger cousin and trusted wingman fell in love with her on that very same day.
Article Abstract:
Rousseau family historian, Janelle Molony, explores a series of relationships and connections tied to former European immigrants who settled in Michigan during the 1830s. Molony is a descendant of Miss Sarah Jane Daglish (1815-1872). Her genealogical research has produced a unique connection between the Daglish family and 1864 President Abraham Lincoln and his successor. She traces Miss Daglish’s storyline from her music teaching career in Kalamazoo, Michigan to her newlywed life on the Rousseau’s Kentucky plantation that had been used as a Confederate stronghold during the Battle of Mill Springs. Sarah’s one-time Michigan beau, Major General Lovell Rousseau, fought for the Union and proudly ran in the vice-presidential election in 1864 against Andrew Jackson. In this essay, Molony considers the hypothetical question, “What if the military elite, Lovell, and society lady, Sarah, had stayed together?”
See Molony’s live interview and family history discussion with genealogist Kathleen Rousseau on YouTube.
Article Access:
Read all about it in the Spring 2022 Michigan Historical Review, published by the Historical Society of Michigan with the support of Central Michigan University.
The scholarly publication is distributed to supporting members of the Historical Society twice yearly.
Public copies and a preview are available through Project MUSE (authentication required).
Author and Historian
Author Information:
Janelle Molony, M.S.L. is the g-g-g-granddaughter of Dr. James and Sarah Rousseau (sur. Daglish). She is the authoritative family historian, an award-winning novelist, and freelance journalist. Molony is currently authoring From Where I Sat, a fictional novel based on the Pella Company, with the generous support of fellow wagon train descendants and several historical societies stretching from Pella, Iowa to San Bernardino, California.
More info on Molony and the upcoming book can be found at www.JanelleMolony.com/Rousseau or on Facebook and Instagram @RousseauProject.
Explore the people and events in Rousseau diary even further in month-by-month stories. Click here to start reading “A Day In The Life…”
Other Historical Publications in the Works:
Molony contributes major find to Wyatt Earp’s legendary life with new research. (Click here to read/learn more.)
Mother-Daughter research team explores the life and community of Martha Nasch – the St. Paul woman who claimed she never ate or drank for seven years. (Click here to read/learn more.)
Available now, is an excerpt from the Southern California Genealogical Society’s 2021 anthology of short stories, The Stars In Your Family, featuring Sarah Rousseau and Martha Nasch. To read, please click the link. (Click here to read/learn more.)
For more on Janelle Molony’s writing, see her list of current publications.
To follow up with Janelle Molony about the research, speaking engagements, or for general inquiries, please use the Contact page.
*Photo mash-up credits: BW Lovell Rousseau face (public domain/family collection). BW General’s body from Gen. George Meade, circa 1863 (public domain). BW drawing of Sarah Rousseau’s face (family collection). BW pianist by Suzy Hazelwood, via Pexels (copyright free).