In 1855, Eilley married a Mormon, Alexander Cowen. During the fall of 1855, Alex was sent on his mission. As evidence of her strength, practicality, and commitment to the marriage, she went on the mission with Alex. Alex's nephew, Robert Henderson, aged 11, was taken with them on the mission. Upon completion of the mission, they returned to become the first settlers and ranchers of Washoe Valley.
In September of 1857, when the Mormons recalled their following to Salt Lake City, Alex returned leaving Robert in Eilley's care. At that point some accounts have her remaining on the ranch. Yet, there are records of Eilley and Robert moving to Johntown where she could earn a respectable living in 1857. There she ran a boarding house for miners. From various accounts, she cooked and laundered for her boarders. She was known to occasionally provide entertainment during the evening hours with her crystal ball. Her operation had to have been considered one of the higher class boarding houses in Johntown since Eilley had a real building in the midst of a tent city.
Eilley was a hard worker. She is also known to have run a boarding house in Gold Hill. Again, that was one of the first structures in Gold Hill. Eilley obviously made a fair living. There are records of her ownership of various properties. One of those properties was 10' on the Comstock Lode for which she paid $100 per foot.
She married Lemuel S. "Sandy" Bowers in August 1859. As luck would have it, her 10' adjoined the property of Sandy Bowers. Their combined holdings meant the couple was financially stable at this point in their marriage. In fact, they were considered to be among the first millionaires in the region. The lived in Gold Hill and worked the mines together between 1859-1864. Undoubtedly, this contributed to her husky voice and deafness in her later years.
