Eliza Simpson

For other uses, see Eliza (disambiguation).

Eliza Simpson
Gender/Sex
Status
Hair Color	Yellow
Relations	Father: Hiram Simpson Mother: Mabel Simpson Stepfather: Virgil Simpson Half brother: Abraham Simpson Sr. Husband: Milford Van Houten Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandson: Milhouse Van Houten Great-Great-Great-Great Grandson: Kirk and Norbert Van Houten Great-Great-Great-Grandson: Grandpa Van Houten Uncles: Howland, Zeke and Floyd Simpson Aunt: Pippa Simpson 'Grandfather: Garwood Simpson Great Grandfather: Rupert Simpson Great Great Grandfather: Sven Simpson
First episode appearance	"The Color Yellow"
Portrayed by	Yeardley Smith

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.

Eliza at age 100.

          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
                                     ,

Notes

• There is also a character named Eliza Simpson in the episode "Treehouse of Horror XV", though they are not the same character.
• In "Holidays of Future Passed", Lisa and Milhouse, distant relatives of each other, are shown to be married 30 years in the future, much like how Eliza and Milford married. However, it should be noted that the episode's events are non-canon, so it is unknown if the fact should be confirmed as true as of now.
• Since Virgil's position in the family is the great-great-great-great grandfather, it is possible that she and Hiram are related to the generations from The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album that came before the Hiram-Virgil cutoff. According to Abe, his family kept Virgil's existence a secret to avoid racist remarks at the time, which they may have also tampered with the family tree (such as removing Hiram, Mabel and Eliza from the tree) to deny any affiliation with Virgil.
• Coincidentally, Eliza looks very similar to Lisa Simpson.

Appearances

• Episode – "The Color Yellow"

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