Eliza Simpson

For other uses, see Eliza (disambiguation).

Eliza Van Houten (née Simpson) was an ancestor of Homer Simpson, (his great-great-great half aunt) Bart Simpson (his great-great-great-great half aunt) Lisa Simpson (her great-great-great-great half aunt) and Maggie Simpson (her great-great-great-great half aunt) who helped a man named Virgil get on the Underground Railroad.

Biography
During the era of the Civil War, Eliza helped a black slave named Virgil escape from Colonel Burns, his owner. She sheltered him in her house and forced her parents, Hiram and Mabel, into promising that they won't tell anyone about Virgil's presence. However, Colonel Burns deduced where Virgil had gone and arrived at the Simpson home, forcing Hiram into revealing the slave's location by offering shoes as gifts. Eliza tried to stop Burns, but Burns told him that little girls should be "seen, not heard", to which she sadly agrees. However, Mabel runs off with Virgil to Canada and eventually marries him, and divorcing Hiram.

In a 1952 interview, there is a wedding photo in the background showing that Eliza ended up marrying Milford Van Houten, making Lisa Simpson and Milhouse Van Houten distantly related, as they are both descended from Eliza's mother Mabel. In the interview, she tells that she only regrets not stopping Burns in finding Virgil, implying that she never found out about Virgil's successful escape.



Hiram Simpson--+---Mabel Simpson---+---Virgil Simpson |                                      |      Milford Van Houten--+---Eliza Simpson  Abraham Simpson I                                                                          |                                     |                                       | A few generations                      A few generations |                                      |                        Kirk--+--Luann          Homer-+-Marge |                            |         |         |                                Milhouse                    Bart  Lisa  Maggie ,

Appearances


'