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THE LOLLARS and THE LAND Chapter 2 Phoebe Dunham Lollar McChristy - 1770-1838 Phoebe Dunham Lollar was thirty-seven years old when her husband, David, died on the fourth of April, 1807. She had seven living children, the oldest being Elizabeth, who was eleven years old, the youngest, Phoebe, who was just nine months. In between were Moses, Nancy, Joseph, Elisha and Polly. Records indicate that Phoebe and the children continued to live at the homestead on Bee Run which she and David established southeast of Lebanon, Ohio, and which, for the purposes of this continuing story of two hundred years of the history of one branch of the Lollar family, we are calling "David's Land." In May, 1807, Phoebe and her brother, Joseph Dunham, were appointed guardian of the seven children and remained so until the twenty-first day of April, 1832, at which time all the children, and their spouses, signed a paper attesting that they were fully satisfied with the conduct and management of their guardianship and releasing Phoebe and Joseph from accountability. The name of Phoebe Lollar appears on the 1810 tax list of Turtle Creek Township, Warren County, and also in 1812. The question arises, "How did Phoebe survive?" How did she hold onto the 100 acres, pay the taxes, farm the land, house and feed and clothe seven children? Certainly the Dunhams were a substantial family. Besides her brother Joseph, Phoebe had at least one other brother, David, who came from New Jersey with the family group. Also she had her uncle Jacob Tremble, who was executor of David's will. In those families there were certainly young sons coming up who could help with the farming. And perhaps Phoebe, herself, has some sort of inheritance from the Dunham family in New Jersey, divided when she left for Ohio. As to David, little has been documented about his life and background before he came to Ohio. In the 1790 Maryland census (the first U.S. national census) there is a David Lollar listed as head of household with a child. Also listed as head of household, is Francis Lollar (female) with children. Also in the Maryland records is the fact that Francis inherited, along with Charles Cavalier "land in Queen Anne's County, which descended to them from Elizabeth Maynor, called and known by the name of Maynors Addition with all the houses, buildings, gardens, orchards, improvements." It is possible that Francis was David's mother and that David, himself, might have had an inheritance before coming to Ohio. There were two David Lollars in the Revolutionary War records of Maryland - one a captain, one a private. Although David would have been very young at the beginning of the War, by the time it was over he would have been well within the years when youngsters went in, especially in company with an older relative. In case David did serve in the Revolutionary War there would have been an amount of money given to him at the end of the war, as well as a possible pension. However, as yet no documents have been found to support this conjecture. In any event, it seems that David may have had a wife and child in Maryland, both of whom he lost before he married Phoebe in 1792 in New Jersey at the age of 25. By the time he died at age 40 his goods and chattels were valued at $243.18, attested to by Peter Drake, Joseph Hatfield, and Jacob Riffle in Warren County, Ohio, Court records. And it was from this amount that monies were drawn by Phoebe and her brother to pay expenses for the children. The land was not mentioned in this accounting, seemingly it went to Phoebe to be held in trust for the children. On February 13, 1813, after six years of being a widow, Phoebe married Charles McChristy. As is the case with so many families in those early days, there are several versions of the spelling of this name - McChristy, McCristy, McCristie. I have chosen to use McChristy (with the "h") because it was so listed in the court records of their marriage, although I have seen it spelled both ways in two consecutive lines of a single document. Where I quote from a document I use the spelling therein. The McChristy family originated in Pennsylvania. Entry Volume II F-M, p. 2246 says: 1823 - James McCristy applied for a Revolutionary War Pension on 23 October, 1823. Enlisted from Westmoreland County (now Fayette County). In 1827 his brothers were Charles McCristy and William McCristy of Ohio. Charles, before he married Phoebe Dunham Lollar, was married and had at least two children, his sons Jesse and John, from that previous marriage. In Land Record No. l, Warren County, page 387 is a contract wherein Charles Mcristy purchased on December 16, 1806 (with promised to pay on the first day of May $110) from Levi Ertle for "a tract of land situated lying and being adjoining the Town of Lebanon in the County of Warren and State of Ohio, which tract Levi Ertel purchased of John Thorp and on which the saw mill now is." He also purchased, with deed recorded June 5, 1809, from the same Levi Ertel for $500 7 whole lots in Lebanon, being Nos. 173/176, 181, 182, 184 and the West l/2 of l69 and 170. On that same day, he purchased from Silas Hurin 7-l/5 acres of land adjoining the town of Lebanon. At one time Silas Hurin had a tannery on his land which was next to Turtle Creek. The other McChristy brother, William, on March 29, 1809, bought for $300 from Ralph W. Hunt, 100 acres in Salem Township, adjoining the property of Phoebe Dunham's family thereby accounting for a note written on one plat that "Phoebe married her neighbor," as was so often the case in those early days. Charles and Phoebe McCristy sold his lots and land in and near the town of Lebanon to Levi Estell (Ertel?) on February 6, 1818, for $600 in an indenture witnessed by Partrick Meloy and Nancy Loller. It would seem that the combined McChristy/Lollars families went to live on David's Land for a number of years. During those years, (on December 31, 1818) Phoebe's daughter, Nancy, married Charles' son, Jesse. About this same time, the two McChristy couples, Charles and Phoebe, and Jesse and Nancy, bought property in the small village of Bellbrook, in Greene County, southeast of Dayton, and operated a tannery. Perhaps the intricacies of these transactions can be best explained by quoting from a letter I wrote in 1996, to Mrs. Joanne Caffrey, historian for the Bellbrook Museum. The lovely old house about which I asked was still standing, in good shape, in 1996. Dear Mrs. McCaffrey: "Do you have information about the first house now standing on the west side of Main Street, just north of Walnut? This background information may be helpful: "Charles and Phoebe McChristy and their son and daughter, Jesse and Nancy McChristy bought property in Bellbrook, according to copies of deeds I got from the Greene County Court House in Xenia the following: Oct. 13, 1818, Vol. 6, page 345 - purchased Lot #78 Jan. 10, 1826, Vol. 10, page 88 - purchased Lot #74 Oct. 12, 1829, Vol. 12, page 151, sold Lot #74 Nov. 7, 1829, Vol. 14, page 146, sold lots #70 and #78 (I don't know when they acquired #70, perhaps before the county records start). "The Historical Society's 1816 book, page 15, states: 'Charles and Jesse McChristy operated a tannery at the north end of the present Bellbrook Park for a few years around 1820.' "The Bellbrook Moon, Vol. 1, page 26, Biographical Sketches 1893, says, 'Jesse McChristy was a tanner by trade and established a tannery near where the Magnetic Springs Hotel now stands in about the year 1818 or 1820.'" Mrs. Caffrey replied on March 3, 1997: "The house you asked about, just north of Walnut St., on Lot #74 is one of our oldest dwellings. The brick part was built around the 1820s. A Jonas Dunham (shoemaker) lived here from 1827 to 1870" We do not know if Jonas was one of Phoebe's Dunham relatives. We do know that at least two of her sons, Joseph and Moses, were somewhat involved in the activities in Bellbrook because their signatures appear as witnesses to deeds. About 1825, Jesse sold out of the tannery business and he and Nancy moved north to new frontiers in Mercer County. Charles and Phoebe continued to live on David's Land south of Lebanon. The name of Charles McChristie appears on the 1832 tax roll for that property. In the 1830 census of Turtle Creek Township, the name Charles McCristy appears as Head of Family. Also, in the next item in the 1830 census appears the name of Moses Lollar, also as Head of Family. Moses, Phoebe's oldest living son, would be the one to take over the homestead in later years. Phoebe Dunham Lollar McChristy died on May 21, 1838. It is not known when Charles McChristy died, neither it is it known where David, Phoebe, or Charles is buried. It might seem logical to think that Phoebe might have been buried in the Christian Church burial ground east of Lebanon. Beers History of Warren County , page 500, quotes from a copy of a document dated December 15, 1821, "what seems to be the original constitution of this church" and lists thirty persons as the original subscribers. Among them were "Phoebe McCristy; her brother Joseph Dunham; and her daughter Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's husband Cyrus Simonton. Cyrus was the brother of Elder Richard Simonton, the first pastor of the church. Numerous members of Phoebe's family were later buried at this church but there is no record of Phoebe or David or Charles. Or, another possibility might have been that Phoebe was buried near David, her first husband, even though when she died in 1838, she was by then married to Charles McChristy. In 1807, when David died, settlement in the area was so new that there were few designated burial grounds. A search of records of the ones that did exist does not reveal any mention of David Lollar. Leaving us with a final conclusion that he was buried on David's Land, and that Phoebe and Charles were also placed in a small family plot there. David's Land remained in the hands of Lollar descendants until 1869, when the place was sold in the midst of some dissension among the offspring of Moses, David and Phoebe's son. Note: For further information about the McChristy family, see website: katherinelollarrowland.com link to OhGenWeb -Katherine Lollar Rowland, ph 513-932-4975 katherinelollarrowland.com |