OLIN FAMILY HISTORY

This page of Olin Family History was gleaned from many sources. If you are a descendant, please consider joining the Olin Family Society. In addition to genealogy the website provides many links of interest including reunions, bibliographies, resources and by-laws.

The Original Ancestor-

There is an abundance of family oral/written history claiming that the original progenitor of the family was a boy named Llewellyn who was born about 1664 in Wales. At age 14 he was pressed onboard an English ship (Man of War) as either a cabin boy or powder monkey. Having been forced to serve on this vessel he took the first opportunity to jump ship in Boston Harbor in 1678. It is said that he lived among the Naragansett Indians for some time and during this period his name changed to John Olin. Family legend claims a connection to Llewellyn the Great. On a plaque positioned over the tomb of Llewellyn the Great is the true Welsh name of Llewellyn "LeOLINus Magnus". Intriguing. Supposedly, Llewellyn the Great had no documented descendants but there were illegitimate children.

John Olin moved on to Rhode Island (East and West Greenwich) and married Susannah Spencer. It has been said that the Spencers and John Olin knew each other in England. The Spencer name is originally French (De Spencer). It is believed that the Olin name was also French. (Olinville, Rouen, France). Please check out the Spencer Family site. The Olin name is also known to be Swedish. My opinion is that it is possible that the Olins came from France originally and were forced out with the Huegenots into England. Many times the title "welshman" was given to anyone from a foreign country. New information has come to light that strongly indicates that John Olin was his original name and that he may have come from France. I have attempted to organize the many sources and discussions regarding John Olin's origins on a separate page, please check it out.

John and Susannah lived peacefully in Rhode Island and had four known children: Joseph,John II, Henry and Eleanor. Eleanor married Benjamin Carpenter.

My sources

Other Olin Resources

Olin Family DAR Entries

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A Swedish Olin

A terrific Olin website

A Waukesha editor recalls the underground railroad

Reminiscences of the Busy Life of Chauncey C. Olin

View My Guestbook
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Olin Family Society

Olin Family Society Facebook Site

MacGillivray Facebook Site

Thank you for checking out my site! I hope you found it helpful. My goal is to collect and share as much information about my ancestry as possible. I believe that family information belongs to the family, not individuals. Anything on this site is free for you to reference or use in your own research. Almost everything I have collected over the years is already on my website and what isn't, will be soon. If you do contact me with questions, reference the family name and some dates. Throw me a bone! Be mindful that some of my family names stopped 300 years ago. So, I probably won't have any information on your grandfather. The exception is the Olin family which is heavily documented. Finally, please feel free to sign my guestbook. It's always fun to see who is checking out my site.

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ERRORS: I am not perfect. Please let me know if you notice any spelling or grammatical errors, missing links, etc. Also, I fully expect my information to be challenged. I do not take this personally. I am grateful for your diligence! Please contact me with whatever information you have and reference the URL and provide some proof of your change.

SHARING: If you are a family member, or if you would like to put a query on regarding a shared surname, please contact me. I would be happy to put your information on my site and will credit you as well as provide a contact link to you.

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Last updated: 10/28/11