2021 Eller Conference

We had a great Eller Family Association conference at the Hinton Center in Hayesville, NC, Thanks to Steve Eller organizing the events.

Additional pictures and conference details are available in the August 2021 Chronicles.

Highlights included a presentation on Ellers in Towns County, Georgia, from Jerry Taylor on Thursday, a visit to "Sukey" Eller's grave, our Saturday night banquet and the election of Steve as the new EFA president and Lauren Liggett as our new Secretary-Treasurer.

Plans for 2021 EFA Conference

The Association has booked the “Hinton Rural Life Center” in Hayesville, North Carolina, for the 2021 Biennial Conference scheduled for July 15-18, 2021. The Hinton Center is operated by the United Methodist Church and is located on Lake Chatuge in the Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina.

Details of the conference are being planned now. Booking of rooms will start in January.

The Great Philadelphia Wagon Road

The Great Philadelphia Wagon Road and the associated Wilderness Road were the most important frontier roads in western North Carolina during the eighteenth century. Here's where our Eller ancestors traveled to Rowan County, North Carolina.

New Eller Book: "My Eller Cousins"

Loveta Miller Schweers has produced a new book on the George Michael Eller line. She says it focuses primarily on his Ashe County, NC descendants through his son Peter Lenn Eller. She also includes the results of her research on Henry Eller of Frederick County, MD.

Ms. Schweers has donated a copy of her research to the Eller Family Association and given us permission to place the entire book on our website. It is here in our books section.

She has offered to make a limited number of CD's with the information from the book on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost will be $30 postpaid. A personal check can be sent to Loveta Schweers, 425 Pinehurst Avenue, Salisbury, MD 21801.

19th Century Eller Immigrants

Much of the information here stems from Eller immigrants who arrived in Colonial America in the mid-1700’s.  Most of them were Protestant and came through the Port of Philadelphia.  There was another wave of Eller immigrants who arrived in the mid-1800’s through the Port of New York.  They were mostly Catholic.

One was Emanuel Eller (photo-left) from Baden-Baden, Germany. He settled in Dearborn County, Indiana, where he ran a saloon. He also served in the Union Army during the Civil War.  

Another was Wilhelm Eller from Prussia who, with his wife and six children, settled in Dane County, Wisconsin. 

We’ve added them and some of their descendants to our database and there are narratives in our “research” section.

Do You Know These People?

Update:
Donna Mackay of Saint George, Utah, says she believes the photo is of the Abraham Lincoln and Rebecca (Crane) Eller family who lived in Cascade Montana in the early 1900’s. In total they had 14 children and homesteaded near Great Falls, Montana. Abraham was Ms. Mackay's fraternal grandfather. Her father, Donald D Eller, was their third youngest. She says there is an Eller family cemetery in Casner, Montana.ontana.

North Georgia Gathering

Ellers in the North Georgia area met October 19th in Nacoochee, GA They exchanged family information and shared dinner, door prizes and entertainment.

There were folks there that helpedp family members find their Eller family line back to John Jacob Eller.

2019 Conference - Wilkesboro, NC

Our 30+ year tradition continued in July with our bienial Eller Family Association conference in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Some 50 people attended all or part of the conference which featured presentations on a wide range of topics, tours and socializing. Special thanks to our hostess, Christine Eller Walker. More photos and conference highlights in the upcoming "Chronicles" and here on the EFA website. 

Wilkesboro was selected for the conference because of the large number of Eller families there.

It is believed that Peter Eller (1748-1799), son of George Michael Eller (1722-1778), the immigrant, setteled in Wilkes County. Peter is believed to be the only child by George Michael's first (unknown) wife.

There are also descendants of Conrad Eller (1784-before 1850), son of Melchior Eller (1735-1799), the immigrant, in an area along Germantown Road in Wilkes County. We are working now to doccument that line.

Our next conference wil be in 2021 in Georgia. Look for more details as we get closer to the date.

Old Smyrna Cemetery Update

We are another step closer to the full preservation of the Old Smyrna Cemetery. The Towns County (Georgia) contract surveyor has done a survey of the area.

He has turned in his findings to the Forest Service, which controls the area where the cemetery lies. Steve Eller, who has spearheaded the effort to preserve the area, hopes to hear back soon. He says it may be possible to have new headstone dedications around the first of April.

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Updated John Jacob Eller Book Now Available

The 2023 Edition of the updated John Jacob Eller and His Descendants book (a three-volume set) is now available for purchase. More than 30,000 descendants are listed, nearly double the number in the original book.

We are also looking for sponsors who are willing to purchase the book for placement in a local library of their choosing. A sponsor list is already being maintained, please contact Steve Eller (ellerpop1@yahoo.com) to see if a sponsor for your local library has volunteered.

New Christian Emory Eller Book

During our Eller Conference in Salem, we were invited to visit the‘Oak Grove Church of the Brethren’ and were graciously allowed to go through their extensive archives.  Here we found a 46-page booklet entitled “This I Remember,” collected by Henry C. Eller.

This book contains photos andrecollections of Christian “Crist” Emory Eller (left) and his wife Rebecca “Becky” Martha (Henry) Eller (right). It includes memories from the children of Mr. & Mrs. Eller and by friends who remember them fondly.  It is a treasure-trove of personal history of a man who clearly left a lasting influence on his family and community.   

With permission from the Oak Grove Church, we have placed a PDF copy of the book on the EFA website

In addition, we have converted the PowerPoint presentation from the conference on the Crist Eller family to a video and it too is on the website:

RootsWeb to become "Read Only"

The online service RootsWeb, founded in 1996, is changing significantly.  They will no longer allow users to update information there.

There is still considerable Eller information on the RootsWeb site, and while they promise they will leave it there (for now), the handwriting is on the wall. We don’t think they will maintain it forever. We’ve already migrated much of that content to our EFA website and over the coming months we will try to move any of the remaining data. 

New Mary "Polly" Eller Information

Mary “Polly” Eller was born about 1833 in Wayne County, KY. She was the daughter of John Wesley Eller Sr. (1810-1880) and Cynthia Goodrick Eller (1810-1843). She is the great-granddaughter of the immigrant Christian “Crissy” Eller/Ohler (1724-1804) who was born in Germany and who emigrated to the American Colonies in 1747.

We can find no record of a marriage for Mary “Polly” Eller and all her children carry her maiden name. One researcher suggests a Daniel Zimmerman may be the father of some of the children but we can find no primary evidence. And it is not clear if all three sons share the same father. Mary “Polly” Eller has three sons (James M. Eller, Daniel Green Eller and William Eller) all born in Kentucky.

We believe this 300-person addition is the first in-depth look at this part of the Christian Eller line.

Eller's Company To Test COVID-19 Drug

Celltex, a biotechnology company, has received approval from FDA to proceed with a clinical trial using Stem Cells (MSCs) as a preventative against COVID-19.

"We didn't just come up on this all of a sudden. We've been doing something like this for (up to) nine years, in other areas, such as pneumonia and lung disease," explains David Eller, CEO of Celltex.

Eller is a board member of the Eller Family Association and a descendant in the George Michael Eller line.

New Henry Eller Information

Henry Eller (1822-1891) was the great grandson of immigrant George Michael Eller (George Michael – Leonard – Joseph – Henry). 

He is shown in James Hook’s 1957 book “George Michael Eller and Descendants of his in America” along with his wife and eight children (p.59).  Hook’s work goes no further other than to mention that “He [Henry] is said to have removed to Indian territory.”

A Facebook inquiry to the EFA by Barbara Spradlin regarding Henry’s daughter Hannah Ann Eller (sometimes called Polly) spurred us to look deeper. The “Henry-line” didn’t go any further in our online George Michael database.

So, with the help of Mary Boodt’s article “The Eller Farmer Story”  in the February 1996 issue of the Chronicles and with Ancestry.com information from Jo Ann Wagner, Jeremy Martin and others, we’ve added more than a hundred new, well-documented names to our website.

Eller Cemetery Workday

A half-dozen intrepid workers braved a chilly morning in North Georgia on November 9th to clear the underbrush and small trees on the “Old Smyrna Cemetery” in Hiawasse, Georgia.  The resting place for eleven people, the cemetery was neglected and, in the words of Steve Eller, in “pretty bad shape.”

Organized by Steve and accompanied by Korey Eller, Glen Dover, Larry Dover, Jimmy Berrong and Gerald Foster, the crew started with the lower section and the entrance road.  They plan to return November 23rd at 9AM to work on the upper section.

Hardy Washington's memorial is readable but, it is broken in two places and has been placed in an aluminum pan that was formed in the shape of the memorial. There are 11 people that have been identified as having been laid to rest at this cemetery. Only about 8 of the memorials are readable.

A James B Goddard was buried at Old Smryna in 1887. His stone indicates that he left this world by being murdered. Tilman C Justice/Justis took Goddard’s life because he thought Goddard had been telling the government about his corn whiskey operation. A shotgun was used and Goddard was beat with the stock of the shotgun after being shot in the face. Justice was caught, convicted and hung on the square in Hiawassee.

Jacob Eller Booklet

We’ve recently received a 24-page booklet on the Jacob Eller family of Roanoke County.

This booklet was prepared in 1953 by Henry Cline Eller (1900-2000)(pictured left), a Baptist Brethren minister and descendant of that Eller line.

The booklet is in the library of the History Museum of Western Virginia. Their Curator of Collections, Ashley Webb, made a copy for the EFA.  The booklet is now posted in the “Books” section of the EFA website. 

Wilkes County "Bushwhackers"

“Bushwhackers” was a term used to describe guerilla soldiers, often just thieves, who prayed on families in rural areas of “divided” states in the Civil War.  The mountain-areas of North Carolina, including Wilkes County, saw several such bands who terrorized the families of Confederate soldiers.

One such band of “bushwhackers,” Union deserters, set up in a log home on the Yadkin River in what was called Fort Hamby.  From that location in 1864 and 1865, they conducted raids on homes in and around Wilkes County.  One such home was that of James Eller.

James Eller’s grandson, Paul Hubbell, was able to pull together family stories to tell of what his mother called “"some very exciting and trying experiences that were forced upon my parents, kindred and friends, in Wilkes County and not far distant from where these gangs operated."

“The Bushwhackers of Wilkes County” shines a light on a often-forgotten aspect of a war that terrorized families and neighbors.

James McCarty Eller

James McCarty Eller (center with hat and walking stick) moved from Buncombe County, NC to Round Rock, TX. He was a pioneer in early Texas while indians were a problem.

On one wagon trip back to Missouri, he was attacked by indians. He killed one and managed to escape without injury or loss of the wagon load of supplies he was hauling back to Texas.

Cemetery Images

In a continued effort to update our website with data to help our genelogical research, we have started to add cemetery information and photos. As you know, the birth/death information of grave stones can be of immense help in documenting our ancestors.

We've entered 567 grave stones in more than 25 counties. We know we've just gotten started and so, we seek your help.

If you'd like to add a cemetery, click here for what we need and how to submit the information. We'll do the data entry. Just email it to the webmaster.

[ What to Provide | Eller Cemeteries & Headstones ]

The Eller Family Association has received its shipment of the 2023 Edition of “John Jacob Eller and his Descendants.” We are in the process of getting this set of three books delivered to those who placed advance orders. Steve Eller, EFA President and the principal author of the new edition, made the first deliveries to Brenda Galloway Franklin and Dr. Ketron Moss, both Eller descendants.

This three-volume, 2023 update of the original book, contains the names of more than 30,000 descendants of John Jacob Eller (1715- 1782), one of the original Eller immigrants who arrived in the new world and settled first in Pennsylvania and then in Rowan County, North Carolina.

The Eller Family Association sponsored publication of the books and will continue to offer them for sale as long as the limited supply lasts. The original book, with about half the descendants listed in the new edition, was sold out.

Volume one of this new printing contains some early Eller history and starts with the descendant listings. Volume two and three are devoted nly to descendant listings. An Index in the back of volume three will help you find the page number for any listed descendant

Youngblood signs Nashville recording, writing deal

Hiawassee 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.

VMI's Evan Eller transferring to Wyoming

Evan Eller is heading to FBS football and the Mountain West Conference.

The Lord Botetourt graduate announced Monday on Twitter that he will be transferring from VMI to Wyoming. He will be joining Wyoming as a graduate transfer.

On To Oklahoma in 2025 

The EFA Board has voted to hold the 2025 Conference in Eastern Oklahoma. It will be our first conference west of the Mississippi in more than two decades. We are looking at the area north and east of Tulsa.

That part of Oklahoma is home to a number of Eller families from the John Jacob Eller line, whose ancestors moved there from North Georgia about 1900. There is even an Ellerville in Cherokee County, Oklahoma.

The exact location and dates for the conference will be be selected soon.

Ashe County Outlaws: The 'Eller Gang'

In the wake of the Civil War, Linville Eller and three of his brothers organized a gang that struck stores and farmhouses in Ashe County, NC. The gang initially avoided capture but eventually Linville and Henry were killed and the others sent to jail.

Unlike Jesse James, the name Linville Eller has faded from the memories of most of Ashe County. Linville, along with his brother Henry, are buried in unmarked graves in the Barker-Eller-McNeil Cemetery on Parker Eller Road in Lansing.

Can you Help Identify?

Updating Jacob Eller Book

The Eller Family Association is working to update the book “John Jacob Eller and His Descendants” that was published in 1998 and authored by J. Gerald Eller, Edward K. Eller and Janie Eller Porter. 

Steve Eller (ellerpop1@yahoo.com) is spearheading the effort. Steve’s been working on the project for about three months. He’s looking for help. 

A photocopy of the existing book is available online (See link below).

You’re invited to review what’s there, offer corrections and – most important – provide updates.  

"Bud" Eller Visits WWII Memorial

Nesbert "Bud" Eller was in the Army during World War II. He served 14 months on the Pacific Island of Leyte.

In September 2009, he and other veterans of that conflict were flown to Washington to visit the World War Two Memorial.

His son, Stephen Eller, presented this memoir of his father's service and his visit to the memorial.

[ "Bud" Eller Article | "Bud" Eller in EFA Database ]

Ellers in the Civil War

Hundreds of Eller men took part in the American Civil War. There were Ellers on both sides of the conflict. The Eller Family Association is proud to present here information on more than 130 "Ellers Who Served in the Civil War," a collection of stories researched by Byron H. Eller.

Dr. Eller has done extensive research and his articles are well documented and offer much to the annals of Eller family history and will serve future generations of Eller historians in their studies.

Clarification of Conrad Eller

There are two Conrad Ellers born in Rowan County, NC. The elder Conrad is the one who came to Wilkes County and died there before 1850.

The President of the Wilkes County Genealogical Society, Wilma Jean Church Reynolds, presented her finding on the two Conrad Ellers to our 2019 Conference in Wilkesboro in July.

The Ellers in the Germantown Road area of Wilkes County appear to be separate from other Ellers in Wilkes Co. NC, and are thought to be children of Conrad and his first 2 wives. It is noted that Conrad was related to many of the other Ellers settled in Ashe and Wilkes Co. NC.

Dutch Pine Meeting House

We believe some of the early Eller ancestors were Lutheran and worshiped at the “Dutch Pine Meeting House” about five miles east of Salisbury in Rowan County, North Carolina. That church existed in 1771 and may have been there much earlier.

The successor church is Union Evangelical Lutheran Church, located on Bringle Ferry Road. There is a large marker in the Church cemetery that says ” Pine Church. Built prior to 1771 and located in this area. Services held here led to organization of the N.C. Synod in 1803.“

[ "Dutch Pine Meeting House" Article | Hisatory of Union Evangelical Lutheran Church ]

Journey to the Absalom Eller Family Cemetery

During the 2019 Eller Family Conference in Wilkesboro, Dan Liggett (left) and Harvey Powers (Right)decided to try and find the Absalom Eller family cemetery.

The most recent recording, over 25 years old, had it located off Parsonville Road. It wasn't possible to get to it that way.

So, Dan and Harvey hiked through the woods off Boone Trail Road, where they met the property owner who graciously took them to the cemetery.

The full story of the search and photos of the 11 stones that were found are linked below.

James Madison & Nancy Eller

The place hosting the 2019 Eller Family Association meeting is Wilkesboro, North Carolina. We believe George Michael Eller's son, Peter B. Eller died there before 1799.

The February 1993 issue of the "Chronicles" contains an article "The Ellers of Wilkes County" by Nora Robinette Eller. It details a few of the Eller families starting with James Madison Eller and his wife Nancy Louise Vannoy (above). James Madison Eller was from the immigrant George Michael Eller's line.

[ The Ellers of Wilkes County | James Madison Eller in the EFA Database | George Michael Eller Book ]