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There were two Ollis families that arrived in Massachusetts sometime before 1849. The above John Henry Ollis and his brother Luke Ollis. Even though not recorded in the 1850 census, other records clearly show both families were in Massachusetts by 1848.
Both families were from Ireland and probably left sometime after 1845 which was the year the potato blight began in Ireland as well as the beginning of the big Irish migration to America.
Census records show John Ollis and family living in Bolton, Massachusetts in 1860 and Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1870.
Census records for the Luke Ollis family show them living in Bolton, Massachusetts in 1860 also. The 1870 census shows Luke's wife Ann and two children living in Clinton, Massachusetts. (Luke does not show on that 1870 census).
NOTE: The towns of Bolton, Clinton and Lancaster share common boundaries. (Hudson shares a boundary with Bolton.)
The evidence certainly suggests that Luke and John were brothers who probably came from Ireland together (with their families). They must have brought their families to American to escape the starvation resulting from the potato blight.
John Henry Ollis and Mary Noon's first three children were born in Ireland and must have accompanied their parents on the trip to American at very young ages. |
