| the family of kelly oliver |

genealogy project

1998-2003

    | welcome |

This web site includes my research on several American families. None of the families are particularly noteworthy -- you won't find American presidents or movie stars or millionaires in my family. But you will find some of the people who helped shape this country into what it is today: ordinary people just like you and me. Some teachers, lots of farmers, miners, hotelkeepers, store owners, church members... the type of people who help shape communities in small and subtle ways.

The most recent immigrants in my family came to the United States in the 1860s. There were also members of my family in the States in the 1750s. They came to America from Germany, England, Ireland, France, and Switzerland. My ancestors were some of the early settlers of Shenandoah County, VA; Defiance Co., OH; Harrison Co., IN; Daviess Co., IN; Claiborne Co., TN; and Shelby Co., KY. They were pioneers, traveling by covered wagon and moving their families to new parts of the country.


    | most common surnames |

The most common surnames on this web site are usually the names of my own direct ancestors. They are listed here:

Maternal
Batt	Bihler	Boff	Brenner
Deatrick/Deitrick	Froelich	Hoeffner	Jungmann
Kolb	Lang	Mack	Mohr
Pahl	Roop/Raub	Shondal/Shondel	Shulz/Shutz
Singer	Weber
Paternal
Bagby	Billups	Bline/Blind	Breeding
Casey	Crutchfield	Cupp/Copp/Capp	Denbo
Duley	Edmondson	Funkhouser	Gander
Glassock	Hudson	Jordan	Lawson
Lilly	Meyers/Myers	Moore	Mitchell
Oliver	Pauley	Poteet	Powell
Rice	Robertson	Sturgeon	Underhill
Webster	Whitacar/Whiteacre	Woodfield	Wynkold

If you're interested in knowing exactly who I'm descended from, please click here.

    | main surname index page |

I have a long list of all the names that are currently in my family tree. Some are directly related, some are distant cousins, and some are families of people who married into my family. So when you're looking at the surname index, please keep in mind that I probably don't have a lot of information about many of the people listed.

PLEASE NOTE: I have decided to disable this section of my website for the time being. I am revising my site so that I do not provide information for anyone who was born or who died after 1930 (in keeping with the current census). I don't want to infringe on anyone's privacy. Until I can get the pages edited to omit people who were born or died after 1930, this link will be disabled.


    | legal |

The information on these pages MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED FOR PROFIT. Although anyone can walk into a courthouse or a library or go to a cemetery and look up this information himself or herself, it has taken me a LOT of time to put it all together. If you use any of the information from this web site in your own family tree, I would definitely appreciate it if you cite me as a source. I created this web site so that people who can't get to courthouses, libraries, and cemeteries can still benefit from some of the information found in those places. All I ask is that you remember how hard I've worked to bring it to you.

My name is Kelly Oliver, and my email address is .

Please feel free to email me if your family is connected so that I can send you updated information as I find it. Also, if you see any mistakes or would like to make any additions, don't be shy about letting me know.

    | documents |

I have copies (lots of them are certified copies) of many documents and would be happy to share them with family.

I used to have a long list here of the documents I have, but I've decided to disable the list because I don't want to put any sensitive information on the web. I've included a list of documents here that apply to people who died before 1930. I have a lot for people who were born and died later than that, but I don't want to put them on the Internet. Please write to me if you're related, and I'll tell you what I have.

• Marriage Certificate - James Edmonson & Mary Sturgeon
• Marriage Certificate - Anthony Kolb & Theresia Mack
• Death Certificate - Julia Eva Batt
• Death Record - Francis Bline
• Death Record - Sarah Elizabeth Blines
• Death Record - Valentine M. Blines
• Death Certificate - Catherine Ellen Boff
• Death Certificate - Clara Agnes Boff
• Death Record - Ferdinand Boff
• Death Certificate - Infant of Mr. and Mrs. William Boff
• Death Certificate - Henry Deitrick
• Death Certificate - Philomena Deitrick
• Death Record - Albert Edmonson
• Death Record - Charles Lee Edmondson
• Death Record - James Edmondson
• Death Record - Mary Edmondson
• Death Record - Roy Edmonson
• Death Record - Anthony Kolb
• Death Record - Anthony Kolb, Jr.
• Death Certificate - Theresia Kolb
• Death Record - Jonas Mack
• Death Record - Sarah Myers
• Death Record - Valentine Myers
• Death Certificate - Infant of Jacob and Sarah Schira
• Death Certificate - Valentine Shondel
• Death Certificate - Infant of Mr. and Mrs. George Singer
• Death Certificate - Katherine T. Singer
• Death Certificate - Phillip Singer
• Death Record - Isaac Sturgeon
• Death Record - Jeremiah Sturgeon
• Obituary - Francis Marion Bline
• Obituary - Sarah Elizabeth (Duley) Bline
• Obituary - Ella (Sturgeon) Edmondson
• Obituary - James Edmondson
• Obituary - Sarah Jane (Crutchfield) Meyers
• Obituary - Valentine Myers
• Obituary - Isaac Sturgeon
• Obituary - Jerry Sturgeon
• Abstract of Will - Michael Blind
• Abstract of Will - Jacob Funkhouser, Sr.
• Will - Joseph Batt
• Will - Julia Batt
• Will - Clara A. Boff
• Will - Ferdinand Boff
• Will - Anthony J. Kolb

    | gravestone photos |

I have taken photos of lots of gravestones. I used to have a list of them here, but the list was getting too long, and in keeping with my new policy of not showing information for people who were born or died after 1930, I had to remove several photos from the lists.

Use the following links to find the photos:

• Gravestone Photos from Marysdale Immaculate Conception Church in Ney, OH (These are photos of relatives on my mom's side.)
• Photos from Washington, IN (These are photos of relatives on my dad's side.)
• Miscellaneous photos (These are from cemeteries that are not covered by the previous categories.)

    | in search of... |

I'm always searching for new information about the people in my family, but there are a few questions that are at the top of my "To Do" list. If you see anything on this list that you can answer, please let me know!

• EDMONDSON . This family is a real problem for me. I have finally discovered, through looking at census records, death records, and the obituary of William F. Edmondson, that my great-great-grandfather, James A. Edmonson/Edmondson was very likely the son of William Edmondson of Boyd Co., KY, who came to Daviess Co., IN, with his family. James A. Edmonson and William F. Edmondson have death records that list the same parents' names. I found a census entry for a family of William Edmonson, born KY, living in Daviess Co., IN, with sons named William and James (among others). I am almost completely convinced that the two were, in fact, brothers. If so, that means that James A. Edmondson was probably born in KY, as the census states, rather than in Washington, IN, as other records indicate. Of course then the problem then becomes whether someone gave the wrong age for James A. Edmonson at the time of his death, because according to that 1880 census, James would have been born in 1870. James A. Edmondson married Mary Ellen "Ella" Sturgeon in Daviess Co., IN. They were extremely poor people. At one point, according to James' obituary, the house they were living in was condemned, and they were sent to the poor farm. James and Ella both died in their 30s, and at least 3 of their children died as babies. It is possible that James and Ella could not care for all their children and had to put some of them in the orphan's home. One of their baby boys died in the orphan's home, according to his death certificate. Also, both James and Ella's obituaries state that they have two children. That isn't true -- they had George, Clifford, Frank, and Della. However, family history says that my great-grandfather, Louis Bline "got" Della from the orphanage to marry her. So did James and Ella give up two of their children who survived to the orphanage? And if so, which two did they keep with them? I have yet to discover if there are records at the poor farm or the orphanage. I would really like to know what happened with this family. They are very confusing to me.
• BLIND . No Blind/Bline researchers that I'm aware of have been able to discover where and when Michael Blind was born. We know he died in 1831 in Shenandoah Co., VA, because he left a will. But we don't know if he crossed the ocean himself (and if so, from what country?) or if he was born in the States. I'd like to discover that, some day.

    | links of interest to family members |

• Leon's Web Spot: This is Leon Meyers' web site -- it's very good and has a lot of information about the Meyers family of Claiborne Co., TN. My Valentine Meyers/Myers and Sarah Jane Crutchfield Meyers/Myers are mentioned in Leon's web site. He has LOTS of information about Valentine's family, so I'll just refer you there. The only thing I have from TN is a census record showing Valentine and his family in 1860.
• Daviess Co., IN: The Bline, Edmondson, Sturgeon, Underhill, Duley, and Myers families all have connections in Daviess Co., IN.
• Harrison Co., IN: The Bline/Blind and Duley families have connections in Harrison Co., IN.
• Shenandoah Co., VA: The Blind and Funkhouser families are from Shenandoah Co., VA.
• Defiance Co., OH: The Singer, Boff, Kolb, Deatrick, Mack, Batt, Weber, Pahl, Hoeffner, and Froelich families have connections in Defiance Co., OH.
• Putnam Co., WV: The Lawson and Billups families have connections in Putnam Co., WV.
• Claiborne Co., TN: The Myers/Meyers and Crutchfield families have connections in Claiborne Co., TN.
• Knox Co., IN: The Bline and Oliver families have connections in Knox Co., IN.
• Logan Co., AR: The Neumeier family has connections in Logan Co., AR.
• Blines in Floyd Co., IN: There were (and ARE) several Bline families in Floyd Co., IN, and this person's web site has information about some of them.
• Jacob W. Bline's Site: He doesn't have much here, but he's a distant relative of mine, so I'm including a link to his site.
• Pam's Genealogy Page: Pam has some information about the Funkhouser family of Shenandoah Co., VA.

    | my current genealogy projects |

It seems like I always have some sort of project going on in addition to my regular family research. I am currently working on the following:

• OHGenExchange Defiance County Coordinator. Recently, I was accepted as the County Coordinator for Defiance County, Ohio, for the GenExchange.org project. The GenExchange project is in favor of keeping genealogy free. Please visit the website: http://www.genexchange.org/county.cfm?State=oh&County=defiance

• Defiance County, Ohio -- Towns Past and Present. I've been working on compiling a list of current and historical towns and place names from Defiance county. The work in progress is currently here.

• Index to 1900 Census for Daviess Co., IN. So far I've managed to index only Veale twp. I started out thinking it would be a very worthwhile and fun project, but it turns out that it's extremely difficult. The handwriting is illegible in many places, and my eyes get tired easily from all the squinting. Doing this has really given me a lot of respect for the people who have transcribed the census for USGenWeb! I'm not even trying to transcribe the whole thing -- I was just trying to put together an index. I'm hoping to at least get Veale Twp. proofread soon so that I can make it available on the web. If I never get to the other townships, well... at least I finished Veale twp.

• Index to Surnames in the Daviess County Democrat, 1884. I'm very excited about this project. I think that newspapers are one of the most under-utilized resources for most people simply because they do not have access to the appropriate newspapers and they don't have time to sit down and sift through them. So I ordered a few reels of the Daviess County Democrat (from Washington, IN) on microfilm, and I've decided to read the paper. At first I was just hoping to find mentions of my family members (obscure or otherwise), but as I have been reading through 1884, I have been completely taken in by the political goings-on of the time. In some ways, this was a small-town newspaper; they reported who renewed their subscriptions, which townsperson had gone on a trip, who had been arrested for getting in a brawl, etc. But the editor of this paper was incredible! He was witty and intelligent and sarcastic -- I wasn't expecting that at ALL from the editor of a small-town newspaper in the 1880s. I've really enjoyed reading the articles in the newspaper, and I'm also enjoying creating an index of all the surnames listed in each edition of the paper (it was a weekly at that time). Mind you, this takes a long time. So far I've managed to get through only January. But I hope to have the whole newspaper indexed inside a year.

    | acknowledgments and thanks |

When I first started working on my family history, I was just trying to collect information to tell my grandmother. Citing sources and looking at census records didn't interest me. To be honest, I just wanted to dig up as much as I could (read: take other people's research). But as I got more and more involved, I began to realize that being a keeper of the family history is not an easy job, and it's not a job in which making mistakes is okay. Keeping a proper record is difficult, but it's quite rewarding.

There were a few people who helped me get started in the right direction with genealogy, and they were very patient with me. I'd like to thank them.

• Judy Byars (Bline) -- She provided the very first answer I was looking for.
• Virginia Perry (Poteet/Rice)
• Michael Blines (Bline)
• Autumn (Edmondson/Sturgeon/Underhill)
• Martha Daniels (Various Defiance Co. families)
• Lynn Thomas (Mack/Kolb)
• Lynn Lee (Bline)
• Donna Heinz (Cardinal/Bline)
• Bobbie Bray (Weber)
• Carol Murray (Brenner/Weber)
• Barb Hurst (Singer)
• Pat Hery (Boff)
• Merlene Evans (Deitrick/Shondel)
• The DooleyCousins mailing list
• Jim Ellis (Bline/Cissel) -- I didn't know how all-encompasing genealogy could be until I saw his office!

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This page was last updated on 11 November 2002 by Kelly J. Oliver.

No part of this web site may be reproduced, for profit or otherwise, without express written consent of the author.
© 1999-2002 by Kelly J. Oliver.