Olive (Dixon) Stover (abt. 1800 - aft. 1850)

Born about 1800 in Talcott, Monroe, Virginia, United States [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of Jacob Stover Jr — married about 1819 in Monroe Co., Virginia [uncertain]

Descendants

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Biography

Olive Dixon was born to George and Sophronia (Van Bibber) Dixon in Talcott, WV, in 1800, evidently the last of their five children [source needed].

George Dixon and his family moved from Monroe County to Kanawha County in the early 1800s, on to Gallia County, Ohio, sometime later, and eventually around 1832 to Madison County, Indiana. At some point during these relocations Olive married Jacob Stover, Jr., but no record of this marriage has surfaced, so we don't yet know where and when this happened. Given that all of their children were born in Virginia, it seems likely that they were also married there. ^[1]

Olive does not appear in many records during her lifetime, so not much is known about her from primary sources.

We do know that Jacob and Olive had at least 10 children and all were born in Virginia during the period 1820-1847. Sometime in the late 1840s Jacob and Olive moved with their family to Madison County, Indiana. The Census shows that all of their children were born in Virginia, so the move must have happened after the birth of their last child, Eunice, in 1847. ^[2][3]

Olive died sometime after 1850. She does not appear in subsequent Census records, so her death may have happened in the 1850s. Subsequent marriage and death records for her children cite Jacob and Olive as parents. ^{[4] [5] [6]} A FamilySearch profile contains some of the same data given in the sources cited below.^[7]

Research Notes

Excerpts from two of the sources cited in the Biography are given in this Research Notes section along with an evaluation of the information contained therein.

Descendants of George Dixon ...

An excerpt from Descendants of George Dixon, Virginia frontiersman, Revolutionary War soldier and spy, Warren County, Indiana pioneer by Glenn V. Ramsey published in 1955 gives the following information about Olive Dixon and her family that the author had gathered at that time. Some of this information is now known to be incorrect and information that was missing at the time has surfaced to give more details about their lives. In general, the book is well-sourced and reliable.

"Olive (Ollive) Dixon was born in 1800 in Monroe County, Virginia. She married Jack Stover, but no record has been found of the place or date of the marriage. The next bit of information about her comes in the 1850 U.S. Census for Madison County, Indiana. In this census survey it shows Olive, her husband Jack Stover, and six children living in Madison County. The children were Elijah 27, Gorsay 16, Henry 12, Olive 9, Mary 6, Eunice 3. The close feeling she had for her one brother and two sisters is shown by the naming of her children - Henry, Olive, and Eunice. The U.S. Census shows that all the children of Jack and Olive were born in Virginia (now West Virginia) . Therefore, Olive and Jack apparently stayed in (W) Virginia until 1848 and then migrated to Madison County before 1850. The 1851 "Summitville, Indiana" letter shows she was living there at that time. What happened to all the children of Jack and Olive Stover is unknown, as no records have been found about them. Also the date of death of Jack and Olive and the place of their burial is unknown ...

Evaluation:

Birth. The excerpt states that she was born in Monroe County, Virginia in 1800. This is probably true as her parents lived in that area until about 1808. Probably no record of her birth exists.

Marriage. Olive married Jacob (Jack) Stover. Since their first (known) child was born in 1820 they likely married in the late 1810s. No record of their marriage has surfaced.

Residence. We don't know where Jacob and Olive lived most of their life (most likely in Raleigh County since most of their children lived there). They definitely lived in Indiana in 1850 with the 6 children listed in the excerpt. They had four other children who were already grown and married by that time. Since their daughter, Olive, married Wilson Williams in 1859, this suggests that they moved back to WV sometime between 1850-1859, or their daughter only moved back as a young woman to marry the widower, Wilson Williams.

Death. No record of her death has surfaced. She does not appear in any Census records after 1850, so she may have died in the 1850s.

Descendants of Jacob Stover

A RootsWeb site entitled Descendants of Jacob Stover contains a detailed and exhaustive descendant chart for Jacob Stover, Sr., which includes Jacob Stover, Jr., and Olive Dixon and their children. While full of details which are corroborated by other sources, the chart also contains more than a few errors. The section of the chart which gives information about Jacob and Olive provides the following information:

"5. Jacob Stover Jr was born about 1795 in Franklin Co, VA and died after 1850. Jacob married Olive Dixon, daughter of George Dixon and Sophronia (Veronica) Van Bibber. Children from this marriage were:

1. Jesse Stover was born in 1820 and died in Oak Hill, Jackson Co, OH.
2. Lucinda "Lucy" Stover was born in Aug 1825 and died in Sep 1874 in Fayette CO, WV, at age 49. Lucy married John Wesley Scarbrough about 1845 in Fayette Co., WV
3. Mary Ann Stover was born in 1843.
4. Jacob Stover III was born before 1850. Jacob married Frances 'Fannie' Stover , daughter of Obediah Stover and Mary 'Massea' Stanley , on 3 Jun 1840 in Raleigh Co , VA/WV. Frances was born in 1813.
5. Fanny Stover was born in 1831.
6. Olivia married Wilson 'Uncle Wils" Williams, son of David 'Lonesome Dave' Williams and Mary Elizabeth McGriff , on 5 Apr 1859 in Raleigh Co , VA/WV. Wilson was born in 1828 in Kanawha Co, VA/WV.
7. Elijah Stover was born in 1820 and died on 19 Nov 1862 in Grant Co, IN, at age 42.
8. Ginsey Stover was born about 1822, died on 31 Jan 1928 in Pike Co, KY, about age 106, and was buried in Cow Pen, Pike Co, KY.
9. Henry Stover was born in 1838.
10. Eunice Stover was born in 1847."

Evaluation:

General reliability of the chart. The chart is a great point for guiding research into this line, but the researcher needs to treat each entry as hypothetical until proven by other sources. Some of the profiles and relationships do not match primary sources.

Name. The chart gives her name as "Olivia". Her name almost always appeared as "Olive" or "Ollie". Evidently, "Olivia" is an error.

Marriage of the daughter Olive to Wilson Williams. The name and lineage of daughter Olive's husband agrees with known sources. He may have been born in 1828 as Census records often give an age that would agree with that birth year, but not always. No source for the birth year of 1828 is given. In addition, the chart says that Wilson was born in Kanawha County. Again, no source given. No census records show that Wilson's father, David Williams, lived in Kanawha County, although he moved around a bit and it is possible.

Sources

1. ↑ Ramsey, Glenn V. Descendants of George Dixon, Virginia frontiersman, Revolutionary War soldier and spy, Warren County, Indiana pioneer. [Peoria, Ill.?], 1955. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89066049206
2. ↑ Descendants of Jacob Stover. http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ggracie/genealogy/library/stover/jstover/index.htm
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MHJ5-HZD : 12 April 2016), Olive Stover in household of Jacob Stover, Van Buren, Madison, Indiana, United States; citing family 54, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).[1]
4. ↑ "West Virginia Marriages, 1854-1932," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XR84-SJP : 10 February 2018), Olive in entry for Wilson Williams and Olive Stover, 05 Apr 1859; citing Raleigh, West Virginia, reference ; FHL microfilm 34,491.[2]
5. ↑ *"West Virginia Marriages, 1854-1932," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XR4C-XN6 : 10 February 2018), Olive in entry for Wilson Williams and Olive Stover, 05 Apr 1859; citing Raleigh, West Virginia, reference n11; FHL microfilm 34,491.[3]
6. ↑ *"West Virginia Deaths, 1804-1999," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NMTX-Y5Q : 11 February 2018), Olive Stover in entry for Lucinda Scarbrough, Sep 1874; citing Paint Creek, Fayette, West Virginia, County Records, v 1 p 22, county courthouses, West Virginia; FHL microfilm 584,755.[4]
7. ↑ "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 21 March 2018, 01:02), entry for Olive Dixon (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:KLLT-JN2); contributed by various users.