10 FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2019W
hen Lauren Peightel’s surrogate grandmother
gave her a book, she unknowingly gave Peightel
part of her family history—and the identity of a
mysterious treasure in the family archive.
The book, Indian Eve and Her Descendants, was writ-
ten in 1911, and features a woman from Bedford County,
Pa. Peightel, of Indianapolis, Ind., received the book
because of her interest in genealogy and Native Ameri-
can history. She started reading, but got sidetracked and
didn’t fi nish it.
Several months later, an online tree connection led
to a woman who was reportedly Shawnee. Peightel was
skeptical, but followed up with research. “I found a
record or two and thought one name sounded familiar,”
she says. “So I opened Indian Eve [again] and realized
this random book is my family history.”
Though not Peightel’s direct ancestor, “Indian Eve”
linked up to Peightel’s tree. The book documents
how her homestead was attacked, and she and her
two sons were taken captive. After years in captiv-
ity, they returned. (Despite her name, “Indian Eve”
was not actually indigenous.) Peightel shared the
story while visiting her parents in Pennsylvania. Her LA
UREN
PEIGHTEL“A lightbulb went oė. I knew exactly where this family Bible was!”
Reading the Good Book
STORIES TO TELL
father confi rmed hearing Indian Eve’s stories from his
grandfather.
The book also described a family Bible, beautifully
bound with metal clasps and written in partially leg-
ible German and Old English. The Bible contained fam-
ily histories separate from the rest of the book, plus an
acknowledgment thanking German professors for help
transcribing pages.
“I read the fl owery biblical inscriptions, names and
dates, and a light bulb went off ,” Peightel says. “I knew
exactly where this family Bible was! It was literally 20
feet away from me in our family library.”
As her parents slept, Peightel crept into the library.
Sure enough, the Bible matched the book’s description.
On a previous visit, she’d seen and photographed it, but
her father hadn’t known how it was connected to their
family. Soon after, she fi gured out which family the Bible
belongs to.
Joyful with the discovery, Peightel visited the Bedford
County Historical Society to share. A digital copy of the
Bible has already helped other researchers solve their
own family mysteries.
Sunny Jane Mortoneverythingggs’ relative