Deborah Emmons is something of an enigma. Since her husband, Thomas was a Friends minister, we would expect a record of their marriage to be found in Friends records. However, the marriage records of Sandy Spring meeting are missing for the period during which they were wed. Adding to the mystery is the fact that her age and birthplace seem to vary from census to census. Judging from the 1860 census, she would appear to have been born about 1781, in Ohio, but this is surely not right as Ohio was not yet settled then. Was she both step mother and mother in law to Thomas' son Cyrenus, or were these two Deborahs of about the same age? It seems that Deborah (Schooley) Stratton, mother-in-law of Cyrenus Emmons, did become his stepmother as well. This is confirmed by the birth date listed on her gravestone, which matches the birth date given for Deborah Schooley to the day.