JWJeffery.com

Hello all:

I recently bugged my mother into finally finding our family genealogy book. After much prodding, she finally found it. My original intent was to try and update it… in our branch of the family tree, it stops at my Grandfather. The book was compiled in the 30’s, so it is obviously lacking much.

I’ve spent the last few days doing internet searches, and I’m amazed at what I’ve found. I figured I’d find snippets hear and there…and for a little bit, I did, until I figured out the right key words to use. Then I walked right into a gold mine.

My grandfather was born in a town called Mt. Olive, Arkansas. My parents had told me that there was a family homestead there at one time, and a family cemetery. Unfortunately, there are about five different “Mt. Olive” locations in Arkansas. My father could not remember the name of the county, but he did remember that Mt. Olive is located on the White River. Using that, I found that it is located in Izard County.

Online, I found that my great-great-great-great (4 greats) Grandfather was one of the original settlers of Izard County. In fact, he founded the town of Mt. Olive. He moved to Mt. Olive at the close of the War of 1812, which he fought in. Several of his brothers moved to the Mt. Olive areas as well, making the Jeffery family influential because of their numbers.

As with any history, I found something disappointing as well. That great-great-great-great Grandfather of mine also brought the first African slaves into Izard County. Apparently, he owned quite a few, which would mean that he was wealthy. Most folks in Northern Arkansas had no slaves. In fact, many people in Northern Arkansas sided with the union during the Civil War.

Great-Great-Great-Great Grandpa Jehoiada served as the county judge, the county sheriff, and as the county clerk at various times. He was influential in bringing the county seat to Mt. Olive, were it resided for almost 100 years. Several of his sons fought for the confederacy, and at least one family member joined a resistance movement against the grey coats.

Jehoiada also founded the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Mt. Olive, which is one of the few remaining and operating relics in Mt. Olive, which has become a ghost town now.

I showed my five year old the picture of Jehoiada shown at the top of this post, and he cried because he realized that any great-great-great-great-great grandfather of his must have died. I guess he’s not quite old enough yet to feel the joy of finding out about members of your family that long ago left this earth for a better place.

There is so much more waiting to be learned about this one man and his family. I’ll be spending (at least) the next several months digging, and I’ll try and post a little of what I find.