No one knows how many babies were rocked in this handmade walnut cradle. Philip Adkins bought it at the Beahm farm auction in 2023 and donated it to the Botetourt Museum of History and Culture. It has Germanic influence and is circa 1780-1820. After researching with his family, Botetourt Historical Society Board Member Michael Beahm is confident that the cradle was used in the home of Eliza A. Trout (1837-1918) and Caleb Gish Nininger (1829-1915). They married in 1856 and established their home in Cloverdale.
Caleb was the son of Peter (1804-1890) and Lydia Gish Nininger (1806-1845). Caleb and Eliza had four daughters, who all married. Daughter Lelia Virginia Nininger (1869-1946) married Rufus Layman(1866-1956) in 1892 and lived in the home of Caleb and Eliza. Lelia and Rufus had two sons and a daughter. The daughter, Myra Dove Layman (1894-1983) married John W. Sanderson (1888-1961).
They had two daughters. Myra Irene Sanderson (1922-2014) married Charles Michael Beahm (1913-2007) in 1949 and they lived with Rufus Layman, her grandfather, in the family home until his death. The cradle remained in the Beahm family until the auction in 2023. Genealogy is important, but not for the faint of heart.
~ Botetourt County Museum of History & Culture
