John OLIVER
and Ann WEATHERLY
PARENTS
| FATHER: John OLIVER | ||
| Birth | 28 Nov 1844 | Fatfield, Durham, England |
| Marriage | 15 February 1863 | Chester le St, Durham, England |
| Death | after 5 August 1900 | U.S.A. |
| Parents: Thomas OLIVER and Esther DAWSON | ||
| MOTHER: Ann WEATHERLY | ||
| Birth | circa 1844 | ? |
| Death | after 1903 | Durham, England |
| Parents: James WEATHERLY and ? | ||
CHILDREN
| No. | Sex | Name | Born | Place |
| 1 | M | James OLIVER | 19 February 1865 | Sunnybrow, Durham, England |
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
John OLIVER was a coal miner like his forebears. Unlike them, however, he went to the United States of America in search of a new life. As a twist, he left his wife and young son behind. The family story, given to me by my grandmother, Minnie CASEY, nee OLIVER, the second youngest of James OLIVER, the son left behind, was: "My grandfather said to my grandmother one day "Just off to the pub for a drink, dear". He never came back. When next heard of, he was in America."
Letters held in the family, and United States army records, give the following story:
John OLIVER left England for the U.S.A in approximately 1866, in the company of a man called McDONALD (his uncle, also John OLIVER, had a wife named Alice McDONALD; perhaps it was one of her nephews). He joined the 7th U.S. Cavalry on 14 September 1868, giving his birthplace as Monoghan, Ireland. In response to a letter from his mother, Esther OLIVER, nee DAWSON, the army said on 30 June 1871, her son, John OLIVER, was present with Company S, 7th U.S. Cavalry at Bagdad, Kentucky.
He stayed with the cavalry for thirty years, re-enlisting every five years, and rising to the rank of Commissary Sergeant.
In detail:
| 14 SEP 1868 | 14 SEP 1873 | 7th U.S. Cavalry |
| 06 OCT 1873 | 10 OCT 1878 | 1st U.S. Cavalry |
| 10 MAY 1879 | 09 MAY 1884 | 3rd U.S. Cavalry |
| 04 JUN 1884 | 03 JUN 1889 | 6th U.S. Cavalry |
| 04 JUN 1889 | 03 JUN 1894 | 6th U.S. Cavalry |
| 04 JUN 1894 | 03 JUN 1899 | 6th U.S. Cavalry |
He was discharged with rank of Commissary Sergeant and awarded certificate of merit # 147103
But the army still beckoned, so he enlisted again on 5 July 1899 at Washington, D.C. in the U.S. Volunteer Infantry Regiment with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He fought in the Phillipines, then was honourably discharged with medical problems on 5 August 1900. That's where we lose track of him.
The only information on Ann OLIVER, nee WEATHERLY, is her marriage certificate. We are still looking for her birth and baptism, any appearance on a census, and her death. Her son, aged 6, is listed on the 1871 census as living with his grandparents, Thomas and Esther OLIVER, as well as aged 16 on the 1881 census. By the 1891 census, aged 26, he was in Australia.
My grandmother, Minnie CASEY, nee OLIVER, born 1903, remembers her grandmother, Ann OLIVER, nee WEATHERLY, as an old, bed-ridden woman who had fallen down steps and injured her back.
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Please contact Kerry Casey at kcasey@bom.gov.au
if you think you have a connection. Genuine enquiries only please,
junk e-mail will be ignored.
Last updated: 23 May 2000
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