This post is number 35 in the series of the #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
Recycling Names
My Kentucky kinfolk liked to reuse names frequently within generations and successive generations. One such trend was using Oliver Cromwell. It was used as a first and middle name then add the family’s last name. If the name sounds familiar it is because Oliver Cromwell was the Lord Protector of England who helped overthrow King Charles I of England. Historically considered a dictator in the mid-1650’s.
The use of Oliver Cromwell starts with Elizabeth Oliver Brumley and Ezekiel Vanlandingham naming their son, Oliver Cromwell Vanlandingham, Sr, in 1784. Some researchers state that that Elizabeth mother’s maiden name was Oliver. I have no source citations to verify that information.
Oliver Cromwell Vanlandingham (1784-1856)
Oliver C. Vanlandingham, Sr; was a successful merchant in Paradise, KY and Baton Rouge, LA. He married Mary A. Drake of Louisiana and they had several children. One was Oliver C. Vanlandingham, Jr.; who in turned named one of his sons, Oliver C. Vanlandingham, III.
Ezekiel’s sister, Elizabeth, married Samuel Weir. Another prominent family in Paradise, KY. Her daughter, Elizabeth Weir, married Isaac Roll. They named one of their sons, Oliver Cromwell Roll (1848-1926). Their other son, David Roll, used the same name for one of his sons, my great-grandfather, Ollie C Roll (1894-1917).
The name was passed forward by Flora Roll who married Edward Yonts. They named their first son, Oliver Cromwell Yonts (1915-1952). Other cousins in the family tree have used Oliver or Olive for the girls.
Photo Credit
This photo appears in “A History of Muhlenberg County” by Otto Arthur Rothert.
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