Eliza Grimes (maiden name: Barrow) was born around 1823 in Kentucky. She married Joshua Brummet, and they had at least two children: Mary, born around 1841; and Nancy, born around 1845. They lived in Jackson, Indiana, and her husband died sometime in the 1840s. She married John Grimes on September 26, 1850, and they had at least six children: Emily, born around 1851; James, born around 1853; John, born around 1855; Ellen, born around 1857; and Walter, born around 1860. They moved to Whitebreast, Iowa, in the 1850s, and her husband worked as a farmer. By 1860, they owned $1,800 of real estate and $780 of personal property. Eliza died sometime in the 1860s.