Margaret Olinger’s ancestors are generations of Germans who, as I previously mentioned, have been in America since at least the Revolutionary War. While I have done some of the initial verification work, I am still working on most of this – use this line at your own risk. I am working on the verification and getting my own copies of the sources this summer. I have provided the sources I currently have and been clear about what is not sourced.
In order to tie the line together there needs to be some documentation that provides a parent/child relationship. Family stories are nice, but paperwork is best! So here’s what I started.
First and foremost, we need to remember that spelling is optional. Don’t think that a will or census records will provide the correct spelling. Wills and census records were recorded by individuals who may or may not have asked how something was spelled. They may have been asking people who could not read or write how to spell their names. Most of the entries were accomplished either based on the experience of the person doing the writing, or their best guess based on how the name sounded. Men who clerked or “scribed” had no special grasp of spelling. I have seen the same name spelled three different ways in a single document. Most names did not reach a finalized form until Social Security began. Once you spelled it a certain way with the federal government – that was pretty close to how it remained. Our family uses the spelling of Olinger, but there are many Ohlingers in the tree. So when searching for Olinger you need to flexible and search for Olinger, Ollinger, and Ohlinger, and try substituting an e for an i and the letter j for g. The Yount line is often found as Yont, Yunt, and Yundt. I have also seen it spelled Jundt in some trees.
I am sure of whom Margaret Olinger’s parents are for two reasons. First – Viola Lawton Scott gathered the initial information directly from Margaret Olinger when she was alive. This is why I’m comfortable with using the date of births that I have. Second – I have Margaret Olinger’s 1932 death certificate which names her parents are Daniel Olinger and Hannah Yount.1 This could get confusing as we work are way back since there are several Olingers who have married Younts.
Daniel Olinger was born 20 September 1811 in Armstrong County, the youngest known son of Adam and Anna Maria (Yount) Olinger. (Yes, Yount again. Daniel and Hannah are first cousins.) I have seen various locations listed for his birth including Kittanning and Elderton. Daniel’s family was enumerated on the 1820 census in Kittanning Twp., Armstrong, Pennsylvania. Elderton was not incorporated as a borough until 1859.
Daniel married Hannah Yount on 10 April 1830 in Kittanning Twp. The newspaper notice of their marriage reads “Mr. Daniel Ohlinger, to Miss Hannah Yundt, dau. of Jonathan Yundt all of Kittanning Twp.”2 Hannah is the fifth child of Jonathan and Maria Margaret (Riscinger) Yount. Jonathan is the brother of Daniel’s mother Anna Maria. More on Daniel and Hannah in the next post.
1. Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certificate 73280 (1932), Margaret Scott; Division of Vital Records, New Castle, Pennsylvania.
2. Constance Louise (Leinweber) Mateer, Early Deaths & Marriages in Armstrong County, Pennsylavania (Kittanning, Pennsylvania: n.p., 1994), Kittanning Gazette Vol #V I.