Descendants of William Oliver of Henry County, Alabama
Descendants of William Oliver of Henry County, AlabamaUpdated February 26, 2011 | George W. Oliver [email protected] |
I began my family research several years ago to try and find out any and everything I could about my family tree. I had no knowledge of my ancestry past my grandparents on either side of my family.I wish I had started my research earlier when there were more of my older relatives still here to help fill in the gaps and add stories from the past.But, it has been a very heart warming and eye opening experience to say the least.I have come to a deadend on the Oliver Line with my GGrandfather William(Billy)Oliver.I do believe that the William Oliver in the 1860 AL Henry County census is William's father, he has 2 children listed, Mary and William.Family history has it that William, Sr. left home when the Civil War broke out and went to fight for the CSA and was killed during the Battle of Atlanta Campaign.I did find young Mary and William living in separate households in the 1870 AL census.I have also found a newspaper article at the Abbeville Courthouse concerning the death of my GGrandfather, William. According to the shooter, Loyd Lewis, he shot and killed William in self defense.Lewis stated in the article that he and William had been tipping a few and had depleted their supply.William said he had a bottle hidden in some trees by Blackwood Creek.He told Lewis that he would tell him where it was and Lewis could go get it for them.It apparently took Lewis longer to get back than William thought necessary and asked Lewis what had taken so long.Lewis said he couldn't find the bottle.William called him a liar and said that Lewis was trying to find his still so he could turn him in to the revenuers and that he was going to kill Lewis.Lewis claims that he tried to talk William out of this notion, but to no avail.William stepped toward Lewis' buggy with his shotgun raised, so Lewis grabbed his own shotgun and shot him in the chest. This is, of course, the confession of Loyd Lewis and as there were no witnesses to the actual shooting will have to stand on its own.Loyd Lewis was sentenced to five years and was released shortly before his full term. He was also allowed many paroles from prison to return home to care for his family. Incidently, Loyd Lewis is in this line as he married Josephine Hughes the daughter of George and Mary Peacock Hughes. William's son General married Minnie Hughes (my grandfather and grandmother), Josephine's sister. There is no record of the death of William with the state.There ends the tale of William Oliver to this point,but I shall trudge on until I have solved this puzzle. I would like to thank Lydia Grimes, Don Peacock, Sandy Thomas, Ray Strobo, Robert Fears, John J. Pierce, Uncle Robin Adams, and of course my father, Gene Oliver, for all their help in completing this tree.For without their help I would still be just beginning to find branches from this tree. All notes for people in the Hughes and Peacock Trees are from the book "The Children of Levi Peacock" by John J. Pierce @2002. |
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