Despite the lack of
a birth record there is over-whelming evidence that George Oyler was the third
son of Samuel and Elizabeth Oyler of Hawkhurst. Their first two sons Thomas Pettit Oyler
(1792) and Samuel Oyler (1793) were born in Winchelsea, Sussex where their parents
owned some property which was sold in Feb 1795, just 6 months before the birth
of George.
Their next child
Hannah Oyler, was not born until 1797, in Hawkhurst. It would be unusual, in that
era, to have a four year gap between children so it is probable that George was
born to this couple in 1795. Although his
birth date is on his gravestone in the Old Baptist Cemetry in Harrison
Township, Hamilton Co. Ohio as 16 Aug 1795 there is no record of his birth in
the Parish Registers of either Hawkhurst, Cranbrook or nearby Kent communities,
nor in Sussex Parish Records.
The first official record of George Oyler is his marriage to Sarah Goeble 27 Jun 1815 at Benenden, Kent. George and Sarah Oyler had 5 sons while living in England:
- George Gobel Oyler Born 27 Jun. 1815 in Benenden, Kent. m. 1st 1838 Elizabeth Gerrard, who d.1876; m. 2nd Honor J. Minor.
- William G. Oyler Born: 22 AUG 1817 Died 1886
- Daniel Oyler Born: 29 Jul
1819 Marriage: 09 Sep 1847 in Tippecanoe City, Ohio, USA Death : 29 Nov 1900 Dewitt, Saline City,
Nebraska, USA
- Samuel Oyler Born 1822
- Alfred
Oyler Born 1824
On May 26, 1828 the family sailed from Rye on
the Schooner Fame for the USA. George (33), Sarah (34), children: George (12),
William (10), Daniel (8), Samuel (6), Alfred (4). Accompanying them were John
Oyler (23, George’s younger brother) and Elizabeth Oyler (25, John’s wife). (Source:Immigration Records)
After their arrival in the USA George and
Sarah had two more sons:
- George Washington Oyler born June 1828 at Butler City, Ohio,
- John Oyler, b. 1831 also in Ohio
George and Sarah Oyler settled in Harrison Township, Hamilton Co., Ohio. Sarah Oyler died June 27, 1841 and is buried in Hamilton Co. Ohio.
Ohio records show that George then married a second time in 1841 to Sophia Rabson, born Oct. 10, 1806, died 10 Oct., 1864 aged 58 years.
I can find no record of a Sophia Rabson born 1806 in England or America but it is possible that she was related to the Rabsons of Ticehurst, Kent
US CENSUS:
1828 George Oyler and Sarah (Goeble) Oyler emigrated to the USA arriving in the Port of New York. What route
the Oyler family took from New York to Ohio is not known, other than in the obituary
of Daniel Oyler, it stated they came via the Ohio River.
1840 census
of Crosby Township in Hamilton County, Ohio mentions George Oyler
1850 census of Crosby Township in Hamilton County,
Ohio all family members, for the first time, were named. George's wife's name
was given as "Sofia".
George Oyler had two wives. The first was
Sarah Goeble, the mother of his children. She died in 1841. The second wife was
Sophia Rabson who died in 1864.
1870 George Oyler Sr. appears as
head-of-household with daughter-in-law Mary Ann Haise Oyler (Samuel’s
widow) and her children
Ellen, Fanny and Samuel. Charles John Oyler, son of Mary Ann Haise
Oyler and Samuel Oyler had been sent to live in Clarkshill, Indiana with
Charles
and Elizabeth Wright at this time .
1880 US Census, George Oyler Sr. appears in Harrison Township, Hamilton County,Ohio. He was listed as age 84, a widower and retired.
George Oyler died on 24 April 1883. He was
buried in the Baptist Cemetery in Harrison Township, Hamilton County, Ohio. The cemetery is located on the southwest
corner of the Harrison-new Haven Road and Edgewood Road. It is still being used
and is well cared for. The tombstone which is made of granite and measures over
five feet in height is located over the fence from the cemetery surrounded by
weeds. In an old atlas of Hamilton County, one that prints property owner’s
names and the acres they own, show George Oyler's property abutted the
cemetery, so he was buried on his own property next to the fence surrounding
the cemetery. On the base of the large monument on one of the four faces was
engraved in large letters, "GEO. OYLER". The four faces of the
monument each have a different inscription.
Side One |
Side Two |
Side Three |
Side Four |
George Oyler born August 16, 1795 Died April 24, 1883 |
Sarah, wife of Geo Oyler Died in June 1841 aged 46 years |
Sophia, wife of Geo Oyler Died Oct.10, 1864 Aged 58 years |
Sarah, daughter of Geo & Sarah Died in 1845 aged 15 days. John, son of Geo & Sarah Died in 1832 aged 7 months |
There is a discrepancy regarding the inscription
for Sarah, Daughter of George and Sarah. Either the year of her birth is incorrect,
or she was not the daughter of George and Sarah, since Sarah died in 1841. Also,
the obituary for George Oyler stated that he had nine sons, five dead; it did
not mention a daughter. However, since the child lived only 15 days, they may
not have thought about her forty years later when the obituary was written. If
such were the case then the date of her birth on the monument is incorrect.
In the Hamilton County Library in Harrison,
Ohio, is an original copy of the newspaper which gave George's obituary. The
following is an exact wording of that obituary:
"George Oyler was born in Hawkhurst, England, August 16, 1795 and died April 24, 1883 aged eighty-seven years eight months and nine days. He was one of a family of nine children, leaving one brother, who survives him. This brother lives in Clarks Hill, Indiana, and he being seventy-nine years old was present at his brother's funeral. The deceased was married to Sara Goeble, June 15, 1815, and sailed from England to America April 6, 1828, arriving in New York May twenty-fourth, and settling on a farm in Hamilton County near Harrison, which was then Crosby Township, but is now Harrison township, where he spent his last days with his second son, W.G. Oyler.
It is interesting to note that the obituary
does not mention his second wife, Sophia, but only his marriage to Sarah, the mother of his
sons. Note also that the obituary gives the death of Sarah as 1839. The
tombstone gives 1841. Family "hearsay" records state that George was
in his nineties when he died; he was eighty-seven.
Just prior to and during the early years of
the Civil War, that is from 1857-1862, George Oyler financed a college preparatory school,
The Oyler Institute, in Harrison, Ohio. His son, George Washington (G.W.) Oyler
was the head of this school. George W. Was a graduate of Old Farmer's College. Later, this G.W. Oyler was a well-known principal
and supervisor in the Cincinnati school system. He was the principal of the Twenty-First
District School in 1888 where he supervised thirty-two teachers and 1,600 pupils
in four buildings. An elementary school in Cincinnati was named for him. Samuel
Oyler, son of George Oyler Sr., died in 1863 in Harrison, Ohio.
Thanks to Patrick Jones for his contribution to the information on Charles John Oyler.