Samuel Heath was born in Virginia about 1802. I have listed his father as William Heath but the evidence is circumstantial at present. His first appearance in official records is his marriage in 1824 in Indiana. There is a large group of Heaths li ving in Clark County in the 1820s. Several get married during this time and their ages suggest they may be siblings. An older Heath, William, gets remarried there and may be the father of the others. Samuel married Mary L. Rawalt who is the daught er of a War of 812 vet and granddaughter of a Revolutionary War vet. Her family and their friends have come from Yates County, NY for the opportunities here. When the elder Rawalt who remained in Yates County becomes ill and dies, the family retur ns to NY. Samuel and Mary go with them. They have 3 children in NY before the Rawalts, Heaths and others decide to go to Illinois where one of Mary's brothers has settled. In about 1835-36, the large group leaves on a six week wagon trip to Fult on County, IL. The family settles in Fulton and has 4 more children. Unfortunately Mary dies in 1857 at the age of 50. The family moves to neighboring McDonough County and Samuel remarries and has one more child. Samuel dies a few months before hi s 70th birthday. Descendants of Samuel still live in McDonough County.