Balsorah Indiana Weathersby was born on September 13, 1845, in Mississippi to Duncan and Elmira Weathersby. Her father was a farmer who owned $4,000 of real estate and $20,000 of personal property by 1860. She grew up and attended school in Lawrence County, Mississippi. She married Franklin Lafayette Riley around 1862, and they had at least nine children: Mary, born around 1864; Edward, born around 1866; Franklin, born on August 24, 1868; Jefferson, born around 1871; Balsorah, born around 1877; John, born around 1878; James, born around 1880; Ellen, born around 1884; and May, born around 1887.

 

They lived in Simpson County, Mississippi, and her husband worked as a farmer. By 1870, they owned $600 of real estate and $600 of personal property. They moved to Hebron, Mississippi, around 1871, and her husband operated a store. He died on February 19, 1907, and she remained in Lawrence County. She moved to Coahoma County, Mississippi, in the 1910s. She died on February 23, 1921.

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