Emma is the oldest and only daughter of Martin Luther and Isabel Hartford (Lamb) Dunavain. She has two brothers Thomas Marion and William Henry Dunavain. On 21 June 1887 Emma married William H. Boman in Macomb, McDonough, Illinois. They resided in McDonough county until around 1900 at which time they were living in Plymouth Village, Hancock, Illinois. To this marriage three children were born. A baby of unknown sex, a daughter Elizabeth and a son Frank W. Boman. Sometime between 1904 and 1906 Elizabeth and Emma were nowhere to be found. A search of the Catholic Diocese records of deaths or burial in Hancock county revealed nothing. William never married again. Their son Frank married and had three sons of his own. The search for Emma and Elizabeth continue as the family wold like to honor their resting place.