Elizabeth Sanderson (maiden name: Shoemaker) was born around June 1832 in Pennsylvania. She married Thomas Wakefield Sanderson on December 19, 1854, and their daughter Louise was born around 1858. They lived in Youngstown, Ohio, and her husband worked as a lawyer. By 1860, they owned $500 of real estate and $500 of personal property, and they employed at least one white servant. A decade later, their wealth had grown to $4,000 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property. Her husband died on January 26, 1908. She applied for a widow’s pension in April 1908 and eventually secured one. She died sometime after 1908.