Below are a few highlights from the "family papers" and ancestors traced from the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Holland. My parents and most of my immediate family are from the state of Indiana. My brother and I are southern immigrants from the ages of 10 and 7, growing up in Tennessee.
Maternal Line
Extending from my grandmother's father Roy Warriner, my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great (10) grandfather was Tristam Coffin, born 1605 in Brixton, Devon, England, and immigrated in 1642 to Salisbury, Massachusetts. Tristam became Magistrate of Nantucket and Tuckernuck Islands in 1671, and together with his sons bought Tuckernuck Island. Tristam's great grandson William Coffin was born in 1720 (4th generation American). He had been the captain of a whale ship off Nantucket Island and a respected Quaker who moved to New Garden, North Carolina, in 1773, just north of Greensboro. At the Revolutionary Battle of Guildford Courthouse in 1781, William opened his home to care for wounded American officers, and as a trustee of the New Garden Quaker Meeting House, arranged for use of the building as a hospital for both American and British enlisted. William was recognized by the Continental Congress for services rendered, and his descendants may affiliate with the Sons/Daughters of the American Revolution. William died in New Garden on October 10, 1803, and his grave is in the historic New Garden Cemetery, Greensboro. William's grandson Levi, helped organize the Underground Railroad in NC, before moving to Indiana, where a state historic site marks his contributions to the anti-slavery movement, consistent with the Quaker testimony for equality. Extending from my grandmother's mother Martha Menaugh-Warriner, the genealogy is not well-researched, but my great-great-great-great-great (5) grandfather was Thomas Menaugh, born 1774 in Ireland and at some point immigrating to America. His son John Lemmon Menaugh was born in 1807 in Kentucky, thereafter descendants being born in southern Indiana. |
Paternal Line
On my grandfather's side of the family, my great-great grandfather was Thomas Oliver (1821-1898), married to Katherine Blote (1826-1889) who immigrated from Baden, Germany at the age of nine. Thomas and Katherine had five sons and two daughters. Thomas reportedly hired his children out until they turned 21, and collected checks on their behalf. This apparently did not go over well, as one son and one daughter moved to Texas and were not heard from again. One of Thomas' sons was my great grandfather Andrew Oliver (1871-1951), married to Mary Richards (1861-1942). Perhaps owing to his childhood of labor, Andrew could not read or write, but his wife read aloud the newspaper to him from cover to cover daily. Andrew also encouraged his children's education that he missed out on, and his son (my grandfather Levi), graduated high school and became a staunch supporter of public education for his own children. This inspired my father to earn several college degrees, which likewise inspired me to do the same. I've always found this an interesting transition across five generations who had very different encouragement and educational opportunities.
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Immediate Family
My father Jack Oliver (1938-2011) attended veterinary school at Purdue and spent 35 years on the faculty at the University of Tennessee, and my mother Martha Lou Boyd-Young (1941-2001) attended nursing school at the University of Louisville. My brother Jason (1965-) received his PhD from Auburn and works for an agricultural research station operated by Tennessee State University. My maternal grandparents Betty Warriner (1921-1993) and Lyndon Young (1918-1990) published a small-town newspaper in Salem, Indiana called the Clarion. Lyndon served in the Air Force during WWII. My mother's genetic father died early in her life with the last name "Boyd," and we never knew much about this side of the family. My paternal grandparents Levi Oliver (1905-2001) and Helen Stultz (1909-1998) operated a farm outside of Bloomington, IN. |