Eller Family Association

We seek to draw all Ellers and allied families into a cooperative effort.

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Progress at Old Smyrna Cemetery

Two new headstones have been placed in the Old Smyrna Cemetery in eastern Towns County, Georgia.  This project by the Eller Family Association and its President, Steve Eller (pictured below), continues with hopes the recent survey of the land will lead to permission to improve the road access.  Steve reports simply getting the stones to the location was a major feat.  He thanks Jesse Cook and Greg Denton for their help in that effort.

 two headstones

The two stones are for Harden Washington Eller (1843-1908) and Jacob L. Eller (1859-1881).  Both are descendants of the immigrant John Jacob Eller.

Steve Eller at work

Work on the Old Smyrna Cemetery has been ongoing for almost four years. Recently the area was surveyed with the information provided to the Forest Service which controls the area. Steve hopes we will be able to dedicate the headstones in April.  [ Full story and more photos in the next issue of the Chronicles]

Welcome!

The purpose of the Eller Family Association is to draw all Ellers, regardless of their particular family line, and allied families into a cooperative effort. The EFA has already demonstrated that this approach is the quickest and most efficient mechanism for sharing family history and genealogical information.

About the Eller Family Association

The EFA exists to assist all Eller and associated family lines worldwide to: discover and preserve our historical past, report current events and ongoing contributions, develop and expand current family ties, provide ongoing biennial meetings to summarize accomplishments and to socialize and provide inspired direction as we focus on the future.

For more information on the Eller Family Association, its officers, publications, DNA project, membership, news and conferences, click on the "EFA Info" tab in the horizontal menu above.

[ Membership Information | Members Only Section ]

About this Website

Our Eller Family Association website includes searchable information gathered from members across the country. As of 2024 we have:

You can start by looking for a specific person using the search feature. Or you can review what's been added to the site recently by clicking on "What's New." We also try to respond to inquiries posted on our Facebook page.

All of this information is available without charge to the hundreds of Eller genealogists who visit our site regularly. But we need your help. While those of us working with the EFA are volunteers, there are costs that we must cover. Please consider joining our organization.




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Recent Eller Obituaries

A full list of 2019 to 2024 Obituaries is on our Obituaries Webpage.
To add to, or correct obituaries Please contact the Editor of the Chronicles and/or the EFA Webmaster.

Ronald Avery Eller
1957-2024

Mr. EllerRonald Avery Eller, age 67 passed away on Sunday, April 7, 2024. Ronald was born in Catawba County on January 29. 1957 to the late J. C. Eller and Christeen Eckard Eller.He was from the George Michael Eller line.

He is survived by his twin brother Donald Adrian Eller, brother MIchael "Mick" Eller, and two sisters Peggy Lynn Craven and Teresa Vivian Eckard.

He worked for Fairfield Furniture for seventeen years as an upholsterer.

[ Obituary | Ronald Avery Eller in the EFA database ]

Barbars Jean (Key) Eller
1943-2024

Mrs. EllerOn Wednesday, April 3, 2024, Barbara Jean Eller, 80, of Greensboro, went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.Everyone knew her as “Mawmaw Eller.” She was born in Guilford County, North Carolina on July 2, 1943. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. 

Barbara is survived by her husband, the love of her life for 65 years; John James Eller. He is from the George Michael Eller line.

[ Obituary | Barbara Jean Key in the EFA database ]

 

Jerry Robert Bradshaw
1947-2024

Mr. BradshawJerry Robert Bradshaw, 77, of Hiawassee, GA, passed away on Monday, April 1, 2024, in Blairsville, GA. Jerry was born February 5, 1947, to Decatur Thurmond Bradshaw and Clara Arlene Henson Bradshaw.He was from the John Jacob Eller line.

He enjoyed spending time in God's created nature, fishing, gardening, and rabbit hunting with his beagles. He had a strong work ethic and raised Black Angus cattle in addition to his job at the Towns County Water Authority. He was a lover of Blue Grass Gospel Music.

[ Obituary | Jerry Robert Bradshaw in the EFA database ]

Joyce Faye Eller
1954-2024

Mrs EllerJoyce left this earthly life on March 30th at the age of 69 after years of battling the devastating effects of liver and kidney disease. She is survived by her husband David. He is from the John Jacob Eller line.

Joyce was a 1972 graduate of Lewis County High School and a 1974 graduate of Columbia State Community College. Thereafter, she began her ministry of comfort, caring, and healing, working tirelessly as a nurse for 50 years to bring peace to the bodies of the aged and ailing.

[ Obituary | Joyce Eller in the EFA database ]

 

Updated John Jacob Eller Books Now Available

Copies of the three-volume updated book, “John Jacob Eller and His Descendants” arrived in January and dozens of copies have been delivered to those who pre-ordered.

books

This 2023 update includes 30,000 names including thousands not in the original edition.

[ Order form here ].

Individual EFA members have purchased copies for libraries where significant numbers of John Jacob’s descendants settled.

 

Youngblood signs Nashville recording, writing deal

Mr YoungbloodHiawassee native True Youngblood is a well-known musician around these parts, and soon, he could be a household name everywhere after inking a Nashville recording and writing contract.

He is featured in a front-page article in the January 10th issue of the Towns County Herald.

True Youngblood goes back to the Jacob Eller line five ways: three by Sukey Eller's son Joseph, one by her daughter Malinda, and one by her son Jacob.

[ Full Story from the Towns County Herald ]

Oklahoma Here We Come

The 2025 conference of the Eller Family Association is now set for the Tulsa area of Oklahoma. The EFA board voted for the location in an October phone-meeting.

A survey suggested, and the board agreed, that the conference should move from July to the third week in October and be three days, rather than four. The board hopes the change of date would find more agreeable weather and the shorter convention, lower hotel costs.

The specific location and agenda will be chosen as we get closer to the event.

The board picked the area around Skiatook and Tulsa, Oklahoma, because several Eller families live in the area. Many have never been to an Eller Conference. It will also be the first conference west of the Mississippi River in more than two decades.

Many Ellers in northeastern Oklahoma can trace their ancestry back to three brothers: Davis Bogard Eller (1859-1942) (photo of his family below), John Corn Eller (1857-1930) and Samuel Jefferson Eller (1833-1922). They were sons of William “Bill” Eller (1816-after 1900). All three moved to Oklahoma from north Georgia.

Davis Eller Family

The area in Georgia from which the Ellers moved had been home to thousands of Cherokee Indians. But from 1831 to about 1850 many were forced from their homes and “relocated” to Northeast Oklahoma, in the area where we found the Ellers.

Some say as many as 100,000 Native Americans were part of this ethnic cleansing by the U.S. government. Many died along the way. It was known as the “Trail of Tears.”

So, what does the Cherokee relocation have to do with the Ellers move to Oklahoma? It is possible the two Eller wives, Salena Maney and Harriett Maney, along with the two women’s parents, were Cherokee or Cherokee descendants. Davis Eller filed an application (see below) on 29 Jul 1896 in an effort to certify his children as Cherokee citizens. The application was denied for lack of evidence.

[ Read More ]

 

Eller Wins Mississippi Congressional Runoff

Mr. EllerRon Eller has won the Republican nomination in the second district Mississippi Congressional race.  He received about 77% of the vote on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.  The runoff was required because no candidate won 50% of the earlier, multi-candidate primary.

Eller is a military veteran and physician assistant. He says he supports construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall and expansion of domestic energy production.

The district covers much of Western Mississippi and includes most of Jackson.

Eller will face longtime Democratic Representative Bernie Thompson in the November 5th general election. Thompson has represented the majority-Black district since 1993.  

[ News Story ] News Story ]


Eller Defeated in Bid For Congress

Mr EllerCharles Eller ran unsuccessfully for Congress in North Carolina in 2024. He lost in the March 5th Republican primary in the heavily red 10th district.

[ Election Results ].

Charles Eller is from the George Michael Eller line through Peter Lenn Eller.

When you get to Charles’s  great-great grandfather Jesse Franklin Eller you may recognize the picture there since it came from the cover of the May 1991 Eller Chronicles.

Charles is a 6th great grandson of immigrant  George Michael Eller.

 

New DNA Coordinator

The Eller Family Association has been looking for a new DNA Coordinator. Corinne Casper has accepted this position and will be looking to learn more about the wonders of DNA.

For an article from the New York Times about DNA testing including "key terms" and a review of the top DNA test kits, Click Here


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