OLIVER Family Early Detective Work

Oral histories are both enticing and treacherous. If my ancestors were anything like my father and my brothers (and myself as well), the version that has made its way down to me would have been embellished many times over to suit the needs of the audience of the day. So what about the story that the OLIVERs of Ulster [1] originally came to Ireland as Huguenots from France? This version comes from our g-g-g-grandmother, Eliza OLIVER (the mother of Sir Thomas JACKSON) who died in full possession of her mental faculties at the age of 88 in 1903. The fact that her version is at least three generations old lends it some credence, but only a little.

 

Her granddaughter, Amy Oliver JACKSON adds her bit on this version: They were of French Protestant origin, who took refuge in the Netherlands and came to Ireland with William of Orange's Army. If so, this emigration of an OLIVER ancestor would likely have tied into the time of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. According to her grandmother, the aforementioned Eliza OLIVER, They were all clever, tall, good-looking people with beautiful hands. As Grandmother once said: "We have often been called mad, but never stupid-.”

If our early OLIVERs were French Huguenots who emigrated directly to Northern Ireland, then it makes some sense to start looking for them shortly after 1685, (although there were OLIVERs in Ulster before then - some of whom are alleged to have come from Scotland [2] ). In 1685 a wave of Huguenots fled France after King Louis XIV overturned the protections of the Treaty of Nantes. Considerable violence was unleashed against these Huguenots, [3] many of whom would likely have been in the linen industry [4] and also have been people of some means – not noble class, but well heeled merchants. This makes a good fit with the OLIVERs that we have traced from the City of Armagh. Certainly, there are OLIVERS who resided in Armagh and were moderately successful in the linen trade by the late 1700s.

If we do choose to start with 1685, it is still quite a leap to get to our first linen-trade OLIVERs of Armagh in the early to mid 1700s. So, what happened in the intervening years? Who were these people? Where did they live? What did they do? The clues that connect them to the original OLIVER immigrants from France are less plentiful than the crumbs left by Hansel and Gretel. Although birds haven’t been pecking up the scattered clues to our past, there have been fires in archives, the usual tossing out of stuff at the end of a life, emigrations, bombings and repeated instances of loss of memory (both willed and inadvertent) – all these and more have been just as effective.

Let me give just one example of how impediments to research crop up in unexpected and dramatic ways. For years I looked for a stained glass window, allegedly in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh (Church of Ireland). The Olivers had commissioned it and of particular interest to me was the fact that it supposedly included the OLIVER family crest of three fish. Time and again, I returned to the Cathedral and couldn’t find it. I was convinced that I must be some sort of dolt – a very inattentive dolt. My sources were elderly people who had actually seen this window themselves. So where was it? Then, I noticed a small plaque on the south wall. Our window as well as all the others on that wall had been blown to smithereens by a bomb on September 29^th, 1957. Then I forgot about it - until I was emailed about the fact that there was indeed an OLIVER crest in the cathedral, but not the one that I had been hoping for. To see what if looks like, it is included in a page about my search for The OLIVER Family Crest

Early OLIVER sightings related to Co. Tyrone OLIVERs

In pursuing the ancestry of the OLIVER line that links up to Eliza OLIVER, we cannot ignore the narrative that comes from other branches of Ulster OLIVERS – the ones from Co. Tyrone. There are several, but I will start with just one for now because it is the most extensive – the history of the ancestors of Henry W. OLIVER (1840-1904) [5] . In the mid 1800s, this highly successful businessman emigrated from Dungannon, County Tyrone to Philadelphia and it was in honour of his life and his ancestry, that Henry Oliver REA assembled the history of these Tyrone OLIVERs [6] . It is hard to say what the connection between this branch of OLIVERs and ours might be but since Counties Tyrone & Armagh are cheek by jowl, it would not be far fetched to consider some sort of connection between them.

Henry Oliver Rea’s version starts with the notion of a French antecedent – in much the same way that our family narrative would have it:

The " Olier " or " D'Olier " family is characterised as an ancient, powerful, and noble family in the south of France. The oldest record of the name is on the roster of the 12 peers of Charlemagne (742-814 A.D.), king of the Franks and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The name is immortalized by the great French epic Chanson de Roland, based upon Charlemagne's expedition against the Spaniards in 778 A.D. Members of the family held high offices under the kings. For example a Bertrand Olier was Capitoul of Toulouse in 1364 A.D. It is believed that the surname is a derivative of " olive branch," the symbol of peace.

Then there are various OLIVERs sightings in England, but we will ignore them for now and jump to the earliest record that we have of an Ulster-based OLIVER

In Ireland the surname[OLIVER] appears first in the province of Ulster, on the roster of an English garrison (1611-1616), which made tours of duty in the counties of Londonderry and Tyrone. “Of Brittish Birth and Descent” and “Brittish tenants” were phrases used by Nicholas Pynnar in 1618 and 1619 to describe the settlers at Tullyhogue Manor near Cookstown, County Tyrone. There is in existence strong circumstantial evidence that James Oliver whose name appears on the military roster of 1611-1616 did military duty in this region as early as 1606; and official records confirm that the same area was the ancestral paternal home of Henry Oliver (1807-1888).

More circumstantial evidence (which may or may not prove out) connects these OLIVERs to George OLIVER, who was a resident in Co. Tyrone in 1631. Even though these OLIVERs are resident in Ulster some 54 years before floods of Huguenots left France for Ireland, we cannot rule out a close connection to French ancestry. They may have come from after a short sojourn in Scotland or England – we really do not know at this stage.

How do these OLIVERs connect to the ancestors of Eliza OLIVER? Although there are a few leaps of faith needed, it seems quite possible that this George OLIVER of Tullyhogue, Co. Tyrone was actually the father of Stephen, Andrew & William OLIVER who are recorded as residing in Co. Armagh. This is complicated, so it is worth thinking back to some of the events in Ulster at the time. Henry Oliver REA’s theory (or the theory of his researcher) is that these OLIVERs from Tyrone may have fled to Armagh as a result of the sectarian violence surrounding the Siege of Derry in 1641 (and also the widespread torching of Protestant farms in Ulster at the time) [7] . It seems possible that these same Tyrone OLIVERs may have subsequently resided in Armagh on and off [8] . There is much more to say on this, but rather than posting more excerpts I would first like to get in touch with the family of Henry Oliver REA and see whether they might be willing to post the full story of their OLIVER ancestors on the web.

Three other researchers have also made significant contributions to my understanding of the OLIVERs from Co. Tyrone. I met Maria BEATTIE in London in the spring of 2006 and we have been in touch ever since. Many of the tables that are posted on my web site are the result of her work. In turn, her work would have been legless were it not for the meticulous research undertaken by Harry NICHOLSON. Then, there is the irrepressible Cec OLIVER of Saltspring Island, BC – almost a neighbour. I will return to their inter-connected work in the future, perhaps after my trip in the spring of 2007 – with regret  - but if I chase too many tangents at this stage, I will never get to writing the story of Eliza OLIVER – the key person who I need to always keep in my sights.)

OLIVERs and Emigration

There is a saying in Newfoundland, “There they are, gone.” When it comes to tracking down many of our elusive OLIVERs, it is useful to remember that many of them are in fact gone. In the early 1700s more than 100,000 people emigrated from Ulster to American – most of them Presbyterians. It was a result of a “perfect storm” of significantly rising rents, harvest failures and the indignity and the financial constraints that the sacramental test inflicted upon them. Some of these emigrants were OLIVERs and I have caught a mention of some who may have gone or were at least thinking of it.

In August of 1735, Thomas Cumming was sailing a ship bound for North Carolina and sent his agents to several parts of the counties of Monaghan, Cavan, and Meath, to get passengers. He followed several of them to “the public meeting-house, at Banbraghey, [9] ” and 

“assured David Wright, that he might earn 40. sterling a month by easy labour, and told Robert Oliver, who is a linen weaver, that he would get a guinea sterling for weaving a ten hundred piece of cloth, which according to the labour of a good workman in linen of that sort, would produce above £100 sterling a year.” [10]

Whether Robert OLIVER took the bait, I do not know. Nor do I know how he might fit into the story – but his connection to linen weaving hooks my interest.

 

Three years later, in 1738, Andrew OLIVER, a weaver [11] from Armagh, along with his brother Thomas OLIVER and two unnamed brothers (at least, unnamed to me) were four of the 100,000 or so Irish and Scots-Irish who emigrated to North America. A year later, he married a local woman. It seems that he was successful as he had a high profile as a signatory of the Articles of Association on April 29^th, 1775. This meant that he had thrown in his hat with the Continental Congress [12] , which meant that he was decidedly on the side of American Independence (as were most other Ulster Presbyterians at the time). Close to six months later, on October 15, 1775, the Council of Safety (which essentially ran things after the Legislature of New York had adjourned and delegated its powers) moved their meeting to Andrew OLIVER’s home. The Council had been meeting at the Tavern of Coenrandt at Kingston when British troops were discovered “a few miles away on the Hudson River”. Since much of the town of Kingston was in flames, Andrew OLIVER’s home was obviously a much safer refuge. Unfortunately, Andrew OLIVER himself was killed in the winter of 1777, but at least he left descendants. Their lives led to a Bible (including a couple of obituaries and a family genealogy) being kept for a few generations and this same Bible was recently offered on a sale on eBay which in turn led me to his story. It turns out that his son, James OLIVER, was the surgeon for the Ulster County Regiment of the New York Militia and that Andrew OLIVER’s house where the historically significant events occurred, is still preserved as an historic landmark.

While we are keeping track of possible relatives and/or ancestors who may have emigrated there was also a Robert OLIVER who became a successful businessman in Baltimore [13] and then died there in 1835 at age 74 (therefore he was born abt. 1751). Originally, he was from Trooperfield, near Lisburn (the son of Robert OLIVER & Mary WATERWORTH) and had emigrated with two brothers, John and Thomas [14] . I mention him not only because he was obviously a member of the business class, but also because Lisburn was such a vibrant linen town, and this seems to be a common thread in our story (pardon the pun). He is soon to be included in an upcoming book on Scots-Irish merchants in 18^th century North America currently being written by Richard MacMaster.

Another brief glimpse of an OLIVER of Scots-Irish descent who emigrated from Northern Ireland is of a William OLIVER who was born about 1700 [15] . He became the father of John, Robert, William and James OLIVER who also settled in Athol, Massachusetts in either the fall of 1735 or the spring of 1836. They were of Scotch-Irish descent, and came to America directly from the north of Ireland. They are said to have been healthy, robust, stout men, who had the strength and will to build for themselves homes among the forests of old Athol [16] . William may also have been a brother of Lancelot b. 1804 who emigrated with the CALDWELL family in 1718..

The last group of OLIVER emigrants that I have found from Co. Tyrone were Presbyterians and emigrated in 1833. This family group included John OLIVER (b. abt 1765) and his three sons William (b. abt 1811), John (b. abt 1817) and Andrew (b. abt 1819). (The youngest son has the letters “doa” after his occupation of “labourer” and he does not show up in subsequent records.) The family sailed on the “Edward Reid” from the port of Londonderry and seem to have settled in New Brunswick [17] Fourteen years later in 1837, a Sarah Maria OLIVER, b. abt 1836, father John OLIVER also emigrated from Co. Tyrone and settled in the same place.

Early OLIVER sightings related to Co. Armagh OLIVERs

 

So enough of these tantalizing side trips. What about the Armagh and Tyrone and Monaghan OLIVERs who didn’t emigrate? On August 1670, Thomas OLIVER was a witness to a document recorded in The Brownlow Leasebook [18] . It is tempting and not unreasonable to suspect that there may be some continuity between him and later OLIVERs from the same region. Other records from the area of the Brownlow estate [19] but more than a hundred years later include:

 

Oliver, Benjamin, residence Lislooney, Freehold: Lislooney/ ₤50
Oliver, James, residence Lislooney, Freehold: Lislooney/ ₤50

Oliver, Benjamin. Killinure. Freehold Knockagraphy ₤20 15 January 1819

Oliver, Benjamin. Killinure. Freehold Knockagraphy ₤20 1829.

Close to the same time frame as this aforementioned Thomas OLIVER, there is mention of a William OLIVER who resided within easy riding distance. With the name William, he may also be related to the aforementioned William OLIVER of Co. Tyrone. Regardless, this is the first OLIVER that I feel some confidence in regarding as one of the ancestors of Eliza OLIVER (although there are still several broken links to bridge before this can be said conclusively). In 1703, Thomas Ashe wrote in a memoir: 

“COUNTY OF ARMAGH: MULLINTUR. It contains 80^r 3^p Irish plantation measure. It is very good land. William, Mary and Jane Oliver  are tenants and have a farm house [___]. This is Lyme-Stone-Land and bears good Corne.” [20]  

It is significant to note that these OLIVERS were described as tenants at Mullintur, not owners. This would suggest that they were middleclass and because of faith-based restrictions on land ownership at the time, they were quite possibly Presbyterian (or some other version of “dissenting” faith, which could also include Quaker).

So, where is Mullintur? Just to keep us on our toes, there are two Armagh townlands that approximate this name in the usual townland indices. These multiple appearances of similarly named townlands are part of what keeps us cautious. I am going with the first Mullintur (there are variant spellings including “Mullinteer”) in the parish of Eglish. I include the location of the second Mullantur - just in case I am wrong:

My reason for choosing the first of the two is that Tullysaren borders it on the east. This is a townland where many other OLIVERs resided at the time and in later years. On the other hand, the parish of Ballymore doesn’t seem to contain any geographically proximate OLIVERs (at least not so far!). It is also compelling that there are also fistfuls of OLIVERS in the Church of Ireland records many of whom are recorded as being from Eglish Parish. In matters such as this, I say that coincidence rules – but I may be wrong.

It seems that Mullintur and the OLIVERs were a good fit. A couple of decades later in 1726, a will was probated for a William OLIVER of Mullintur [21] and also for another William OLIVER of Mullintur in 1779. Father and son is a good bet here, but not certain. What is more, the will abstract includes the information that the second William was a linen draper. (The links between OLIVERs and the linen industry will be dealt with further on.) In the meantime, I find it encouraging that in the late 1700s there were still OLIVERs at Mullintur. Having a fixed point is potentially useful for amateur researchers such as myself. That being said, I still need to see if I can find wills or other such documentary leads to take me through to my g-g-grandmother Eliza (but she would be pleased to know that I am still working on it!).

Bearing in mind that Tullysaren and Mullintur are next to each other, it is also likely that the William OLIVER of Tullysaren who shows up in the Rent Book of Armagh Estates of the Earl of Charlemount as paying ₤19.1.11.5 on 1^st May 1765 is connected to the OLIVERs of Mullintur.

The name Arthur OLIVER is also a name to pay attention to. He shows up as a witness on April 26, 1770 and later on July 30^th, 1770 where he is described as a linen draper of Balinahonebeg, Co. Armagh. The townland, Balinahonebeg is also significant as it crops up with increased frequency in the various leases concerning OLIVERs in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Arthur OLIVER also appears on the Petition of Protestant Dissenters from October & November 1775 (as do Andrew, Josh & William OLIVER). He is also likely the same Arthur OLIVER who paid ₤1.2.9 towards a reward for catching whoever “burglariously broke into” the cellar of James McMULLAN of Blackwatertown from which “15 rolls of tobacco [were] feloniously taken” belonging to John MARSHALL and the said James McMULLAN.

Although graveyards are often a good bet for finding out more about our ancestors, many of our OLIVERs from the Parish of Lisnadill were buried in a family plot that has been used as a cow pasture for years. Not surprisingly, the hooves of the cows have taken their toll and there is nothing left to be read. Fortunately, the internments that were affiliated with churches have stood a better chance. Not only is there an absence of cows, but also there are sometimes internment records. Here we hit pay dirt, or at least find another crumb. According to the internment records for St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland, Co. Armagh (St. Marks Internment records [22] ) an Elinor OLIVER of Mullintur was buried on May 10, 1753. The Armagh Church of Ireland deserves full marks (and your donations) for cataloguing and making these records accessible.

Will probates have also proved to be fruitful ground. As mentioned earlier, two William OLIVERs show up at Mullintur in probates for 1726 and 1779. Regrettably, most of the actual wills were burned in 1922 in a politically provoked fire at the records office in Dublin, but a smattering of abstracts still survive. I have posted them on my website in table form: Probate Reords of OLIVERs from Armagh.  In these records of probates for the 1700s, the names of Andrew, Arthur, Benjamin, John and William OLIVER crop up. Also in this timeframe, the townlands of Ballynahonebeg, Glenmore, Mullaghghrive, Mullintur appear, sometimes more than once. In the 1800s, the names Andrew, Benjamin, David, Esther, Frances, James, John, Joseph, Mark, Martha and William OLIVER appear. Townland names in this later timeframe include: Armagh, Aughnasallagh, Ballynahonebeg, Ballyrea, Benburb, Brootally, Enagh, Killynure, Lishiny, Tullymore and Tullysaren. By now, many of these names and places click in solidly and their place in the family tree is well known to me. As they say, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” (another bad pun!).

By the time we move up to the early 1770s, we find a will for a Benjamin OLIVER of Ballynahonebegg, Co. Armagh in 1770 and one for a John OLIVER of Tullymore in 1772. Given the slew of leases that surround these lands and other in the vicinity and which a few decades later connect up with our known family, I would suggest that these two OLIVERs – Benjamin and John - are both related to us in ways that are yet to be determined. Not that I can tell you more at this stage, except to note that Eglish Parish includes Mullintur, Knockagrahy & Tullymore  & Tullysaren – all townlands of interest in deeds that mention the name OLIVER. In a less serious citation, Benjamin OLIVER is mentioned as a judge in Caledon ploughing contest [23] .

Recurring family names also have me mulling about connections, although this line of inquiry is more in the nature of long shots. Still, long shots can and do pay off from time to time. For example, there is an Esther OLIVER, an Armagh widow whose will was probated in 1819. Was she a widow of William OLIVER of Mullintur? A generation or two later, Griffiths Valuations show an Esther OLIVER at Mullintur. It does make me wonder. There are also family stories of the OLIVER-DOBBIN connections, and there was an Esther DOBBIN living close to this time and place [24] so it is possible that the naming pattern here bears a second look. Interestingly, the Andrew OLIVER who died in 1777 in Marbletown also had a descendant named “Esther” and for all we know may have had a daughter named Esther (women fare less well in remembered history).

It is also helpful not to get too locked down with respect to the faith divide. For example, one branch of the Armagh OLIVERs converted to Catholicism in the mid-1800s, if not earlier. These days many of the OLIVER descendants still living in the townlands of the earlier Presbyterian OLIVERs are in fact Catholic. This probably says as much about the effects of interfaith marriages, politics and economics as it says about any commitment to faith itself – one way or the other.

OLIVER family in linen and related trades

 

At the outset, I mentioned the Huguenots and their connection to the linen trade. The earliest French Protestant OLIVER connected to the weaving trades is a framework knitter (whatever that is) in Dublin in 1701 [25] Next is in 1721 when William OLIVER (a weaver) leases land from Sir Robert ADAIR [26] . Then we have our two weaver emigrants, Robert & Andrew OLIVER in the 1730s (at least Andrew emigrated for sure). All these are names that don’t connect with our family, except by the fact of their last name and their trade. Once we hit the mid-1700s, we are on firmer ground. I will examine many of them in the context of their family trees since most of them are verified members of Eliza OLIVER’s family tree. As for the rest of them, I need to follow up on more leases as well as newspaper records such as the Belfast Newsletter until I speak with any authority on how they might (or might not) fit in.

Several OLIVER men from Caledon, Co. Tyrone are also affiliated with the weaving trades. In fact, a working linen mill where they may have worked can still be seen at Wellbrook Beetling Mill outside Cookstown (beetling is the process used to smooth and polish linen after weaving) [27] .This occupational convergence of OLIVERs and weaving may be a coincidence, or it may be meaningful. In time, I will knit the story of the linen and wool industries and their various ups and downs into the story of the specific family members who were all part of it. Again, that will likely amount to enough material that it will be worth a web page all on its own [28] .

Also, worth a story in its own right will be the story of the mills at Laragh, Co. Monaghan. These mills were amongst several that were covered by leases owned by the grandfather of Eliza OLIVER and her uncles. It will also be productive to follow up on how the story of the Laragh Mills connects up to the various OLIVER family members living nearby, some of who are most likely to be part to the OLIVER family tree whose beginnings are in Co. Monaghan. This is the tree which is currently being researched by Richard OLIVER of England and which goes back to Thomas (or John) OLIVER of Augnamullen - an uncle of Eliza OLIVER. Given that Eliza was married in a nearby church at Ballybay and that she was an orphan, it is not impossible to imagine that she may have been staying with the family of this particular uncle.

Miscellaneous: 1910 Armagh  “Belfast & Ulster Towns Directory shows a Joseph OLIVER resident at Navan Street, Armagh.