These families by far comprise the highest percentage of my data.They also are the most popular next to my Schenk/Conover & Cope families.I have the SWOPE ancestory back to the 1400's.MILLER only back to about 1717 when Jacob MILLER landed in Philadelphia.And the ELLISON family back to 1595 in Connecticut.I have a few contacts for each family that I will list below.There is a good homepage that tells the story of the SWOPE german ancestory,I will include that below.It's very good reading.
Charlene & I spent a day with Sue & Doug Boyer in West Virginia in early October,1996.They took us on a tour of Monroe County, which is about an hour drive from their home.Sue is a descendent of Joseph Swope,brother to Michael listed below. We visited the two Swope cemetaries,the one at Wolf Creek and the other south of Union.We also visited the Ellison Farm Cemetary on Hans Creek.It has been taken care of real well.We shared notes and met the current land & home owners of the old Swope land.To see a map of this area,click here.
Yost SWOPE came to America about 1720,settling in Lancaster County,Pennsylvania.He was the 7great-grandfather to my wife Charlene.His youngest child was given the name Hans Ulrich,however as an adult, he took the english equivelant if his fathers name,being Joseph.Joseph was an early explorer of the frontier area of what eventualy became West Virginia.There are a few stories about him escaping from indian attacks.One of his sons,Joseph,was captured by the Shawnee indians as a boy,but was later released after living with them for some time.Joseph SWOPE,Sr settled in Monroe County(now in present day West Virginia) on Wolfs Creek.There is a story that he took a journey back to Pennsylvania,on the way,he fell off his horse and a few days later died from his injuries.There are no known dates for when this happened and it is unknown exactly where it took place.
Michael SWOPE was the third son of Joseph SWOPE,Sr.It is unknown who the wife of Joseph was.Michael was the first white child born in Monroe County.There is a monument in the Swope cemetary south of Union,West Virginia to him.He is not buried there,where he is buried is a mystery..Michael SWOPE and Mary ELLISON had at least 15 children.A few of these children later moved to new territory on southeastern Indiana,in particular Decatur County.One of these children was Joseph SWOPE,the 4great-grandfather tp Charlene.Michael eventualy moved to Indiana as well,but he died soon afterwards and is buried,with a marker, in a cemetary near Greensburg,IN along Interstate 74.Joseph SWOPE married Margaret MILLER in Monroe County, West Virginia,and after the birth of thier second child,they came to Decatur County,Indiana.Joseph died and Margaret remarried.Their second child,John SWOPE,married Catherine Jones.Except for her date of birth from her tombstone and the census records saying she was born in Kentucky,I don't have much information on her.
John SWOPE and Catherine his wife moved thier family to Orange Twp of Clark County,Illinois.They were one of the earliest settlers of this area,and John also helped in starting a church.Part of his original home was dismantled and rebuilt next to this church in about 1978.I believe the church name may be Olive Branch Baptist,since that is the name of the cemetary across the road from it.To see a map of this area,click here.
The first child of John and Catherine,James SWOPE,was paid to serve in the cival war for a KEENAN.He was killed in action in 1861 in Mississippi.John and his son Jefferson traveled there te bring his remains back to Illinois for burial.This caused problems between the SWOPE and KEENAN families,and it got worse in later years. Jefferson SWOPE married Harriett DART.After giving birth to their only child,Harriett SWOPE,the young mother died from complications from giving birth.Harriett E DART was the daughter of Chauncey DART,SR. and Elizabeth BABCOCK.
Chauncey Dart was born probably in Connecticut,he had at least one brother named Uriel DART.They migrated to Ontario Co,New York,where Chauncey married Elizabeth Babcock,daughter of Jonathon BABCOCK,a baptist minister from Rhode Island.Chauncey & Elizabeth migrated to Ohio,settling near the town of Ashley.Chauncey.Sr. died before 1840 in Delaware Co,Ohio.I have no death date for Elizabeth.Harriet's older brothers Russell & Chauncey,Jr migrated to Illinois,Chauncey settling near Oblong in Crawford Co,Illinois.This is how Harriett made it to Illinois.I am currently working on finding more on what happened to her siblings.
Jefferson SWOPE remarried to Alvira BAKER.On a visit to Clark County in the mid-1980's,I visited with Ben Nave,who married into the SWOPE family.Ben is now deceased,as is his wife.At the time of my visit,he was about 80 years old.He told me some stories about the Swope family,in particular Jeffersons' family,since his wife was descended from him through his second wife.According to him,it seems that Harriett SWOPE and her step-mother Alvira did not get along in the least. There were always problems,including an incedent where Alvira accused her step-daughter of stealing money from her. When Harriett became an adult,she married Frankiln KEENAN,from the KEENAN family mentioned above,This did not help matters.Unfortunatly,Franklin died a few months after Harriett gave birth to there only child,Chester KEENAN.Harriett,being near destitute,sued her father for her mothers estate....and she won.She left Illinois for Ohio,where she met Leroy KEMERLY.Leroy helped raised Chester as his own,and Chester took his surname, becoming Chester KEMERLY.Harriett and Leroy eventualy moved from Paulding County,Ohio and settled in Hobart, Indiana,where they both are now buried.
Now,more about Franklin Keenan.Seems I came across some other cousins with some more information.They were told that Chaster Kemerly(born Chester Keenan,son of Franklin)was the son of a full-blooded Chickasaw that was adopted,and that he was born in Darke Co,Ohio.So Franklin is the Native American in the line of Charlene.Unfortunatly,there is no way to prove this at this time...but I'll work on it.I'm not sure about the birth in Ohio part,as the Chickasaw were not that far to the northeast,they being in western Kentucky and Tennessee.I can't recall where the census records placed his birth,but I'll check on it.
Chester KEMERLY worked for the railroad,living in Payne,Ohio.He married Sarah Margaret GIBSON ,of Payne.Sarah died young,and Chester never remarried.
Franklin KEENAN was the son of Andrew KEENAN and Mary SNIDER. He actually was probablyu adopted by them, and it has been said that he was Chickasaw. All I have on this family is that they came to Annapolis,Illinois in Crawford county from Perry County,Ohio sometime around 1857.The birth and death dates that I have came from tombstone inscriptions when I visited thier grave in the mid-1980's.Andrew was born in Ohio and Mary was born in New Jersey.
Jacob MILLER came to america about 1715,arriving in Philadelphia.He first settled in Rockingham County,Virginia,then moved on to Monroe County in what is now West Virginia.Two of his sons stayed in Rockingham County.Another son went to Kentucky.Jacob MILLER,Jr. went to Monroe County.Jacob,Jr was married twice,he had 8 children from his first marriage to Elizabeth FUDGE,and 6 more children in his second marriage to Margaret Sullivan,the ancestor to Charlene. Margaret was the daughter of Timothy SULLIVAN,who was born in Ireland.I have made a good contact on the MILLER line,she will be below.
The ELLISON family is one that I am just starting to really get into,I have been recently communicating and sharing information with a few other ELLISON descendents listed below.Don't really have much other information, other that waht I have in my Ancestral Records.On our trip mentioned above,we found the Ellison homestead, still in the family.The cemetery had grave markers for two Ellison men that were veterans of the revolution.Would like to make a return trip to visit with the families of the area,may be able to find more information from them.