the Johns[t]ons as described by Johnson Olive's son H. C. Olive
Clayton Mann
The following is from H.C. Olive's and Johnson Olive's book, One of the Wonders of the Age; OR THE LIFE AND TIMES
OF REV. JOHNSON OLIVE, that was published in Raleigh in 1886 —
James Olive was the first of this family to cross the Atlantic and plant the Olive branch in the United States; that he was a bound boy in England, and must have been born about 1720 or 1725. In early youth he became tired of the restraints placed upon him, and hearing of the new world the genial clime and the great liberty enjoyed by its citizens he resolved to come to the United States. He accordingly made terms with the captain of a vessel soon to sail for America and in a short time he was on board working his way to his intended new home.
On reaching the United States he made his way to what is now Wake County, N.C., landing here about 1740. He took up a portion of land and made a temporary settlement near where the city of Raleigh has since been located. The records of the county show that soon after its organization the names of some of his descendants appear as land owners on the waters of Crabtree creek. I cannot say however that these lands are part of those formerly owned by James Olive. His direct location is thought to have included a part of the present site of the city of Raleigh. After remaining here for awhile, he moved to the western part of the county and made a permanent settlement near the line dividing Wake and Chatham counties, some two miles west of the present village of New Hill.
During the early part of the nineteenth century Burrell Olive, the eldest son of
John, married a Miss [Mary] Polly Johns[t]on, daughter of John Johns[t]on, who had recently
moved from Northampton County, N.C. and settled in Chatham County only a short
distance from the settlement of the Olive family in Wake County.
Burrell Olive and wife settled upon a farm within a short distance of their parents, in the county of Chatham, about one mile from the Wake line. Their second child was a son to whom they gave the name Johnson, in honor of his mother's maiden name. Burrell Olive was a modest, unassuming man. He acquired a fair education for one of his day; specimens of his writing now in existence show him to have been a man of good intellect. He did not aspire to fame, but became a successful farmer and useful and substantial citizen. His height was about five feet ten inches, weight one hundred and forty-five pounds.
His wife, the mother of Johnson Olive, was a quiet, self possessed lady, industrious, sprightly and active, free from craft or cunning, yet moved about much without being observed. She was of small size, usually weighing from one hundred and ten to one hundred and fifteen pounds; possessed of much native intellect.
Johnson Olive inherited much of the characteristicsof his maternal ancestors. His head his nose, his cheeks resembled his paternal ancestors, and in other particulars he was like them.
The Johns[t]ons were a jovial, active people, full of life and fun, great talkers, and very much enjoyed a hearty laugh. Most of them were passionately fond of children, and often kept the child in a strait between teasing and caressing. They were quick-tempered, not ill, rather friendly but violent when aroused. As a family they were the greatest lovers of fish I ever saw. In this particular father was all Johnson.
We have sometimes attributed the love of the finny tribe in this family to the fact that they had emigrated from a county [Northampton] bordering upon splendid fisheries, and that this appetite had become to some extent constitutional.
