Seeking Martha Olive “Ollie” Johnson McCall (1874-1916)
With my recent success of hunting down the parents and family of my 2nd Great Grandfather’s second wife, I thought I’d spend a little more time documenting what I do and don’t know about his first wife. Sometimes thinking through the process and making a checklist is helpful for me.
What I do know:
1. Family record: Family record transcribed by my mother in the 1970′s from a source labeled “Family Bible” says that John Keener’s first wife and the mother of my Great Grandfather Robert Lee McCall was named Martha Olive “Ollie” Johnson. The rough chart says:
OLIVE ? JOHNSON
BORN 1872? MESSOUR?
WHERE Stark City (Newton) <-- Monet, Missouri?
Misouri
DIED ? 1916
WHERE gravelly (yell) ARKANSAS
and for her parents are listed:
Father: Van(?) Johnson - Misouri Greene Springfield
Mother: SHEPARD Missouri
This is the image:
Family Pedigree focused on Olive Johnson and missing parents. Record says Family Bible as source.
2. Marriage record: In a marriage index for Yell County included in the Yell County Historical & Genealogical Association Bulletin by Mary V. Humphrey it shows her as Johnson, Olive – age 19.
(Husband) McCall, J. K. (age) 21 Yell (County, AR)
(Wife) Johnson, Olive (age) 19 Yell (County, AR)
(Marriage Date) 11-30-1893
This is the record:
Marriage Index record for J.K. McCall and Olive Johnson dated 11-30-1893. Also notice in the index is his marriage with his second wife Azle Mercer.
3. Census Records: After marrying J.K. McCall they lived in Yell County, Arkansas and the couple was included in 2 census before Olive died.
In the 1900 Census they are located in Danville, Yell County, Arkansas.
Name: Ollie
Relationship: Wife
Color: White
Gender: Female
Birthdate: Apr 1874
Age: 26
Status: Married, 6 years
How many living children? 2 out of 2 born are living
Birthplace: Missouri
Father’s Birthplace: Tennessee
Mother’s Birthplace: Tennessee
This is the record:
J.K. McCall and Ollie (Johnson) McCall in the 1900 U.S. Census.
In the 1910 Census they are located in Herring, Yell County, Arkansas.
Name: Olive
Relationship: Wife
Gender: Female
Color: White
Age: 35
Status: 1st Marriage, 16 years
How many living children? 6 out of 7 born are living
Birthplace: Arkansas
Father’s Birthplace: Georgia
Mother’s Birthplace: Georgia
This is the record:
J.K. McCall and Olive (Johnson) McCall in the 1910 U.S. Census.
4. Death Records: I found and index of from the Arkansas Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, Certificates of Death. The dates covered are 1914-1923. There are 29 McCalls listed, and none of them are in Yell County, none of them died in December of 1916 and none of them are Olive.
5. Facts: Olive McCall could have not been born in Stark City, Missouri. It didn’t exist until after the year she died. Wikipedia article on Stark City. Family memory could place her there at a later date, so Newton County is a reasonable option to still explore.
6. Photographic Evidence: I have a picture of her and J.K. McCall taken after her first two children were born. It is located on another post entitles John Keener “J.K.” & Martha Olive “Ollie” McCall – A Family Photo
So what’s next?
I’ve done many searches through Ancestry.com on many combinations of names for Olive with different locations. I’ve looked through all of Newton County Johnson families to see if there was some names that were similar. None. I don’t quite know where “Martha” came from, as it wasn’t included in any of my records that I listed above. J.K.’s second wife was Martha, but went by Azle her whole life. Perhaps that was a mistake as well?
I’m a bit stumped at where to look next on this one. I had hoped to find her with her parents in the 1880 census, but “Van?” born in either Georgia or Tennessee is much less than what I’d like to go on. She would be 6 in the census, and probably called Ollie or Olive. I did follow one path where a grandmother was named Olive and perhaps it was passed down, but I found another dead end.
Her parents are my only 3rd Great Grandparents I do not know the information for, and so I’m going to try a few other things. I keep going back to those original notes of my mothers thinking that there is a clue there that I’m missing. I’ll keep you updated on what I find.
If you’re related to this family or have more information about them including stories, pictures and dates and family member names, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or email me directly from the About Us page.