Few details remain of the life of Louisa (sometimes recorded as Loise) Rosenthall Millhiser. She was born in Manchester, England, in 1828. By 1847, she had moved to Richmond, where, that year, she married Joseph Millhiser, a businessman, immigrant from Bavaria and part of a very prominent family in Richmond’s Jewish community. The couple had three children, Charles, Jeanette, and Amelia, and the family was involved with Congregation Beth Ahabah.