Eller Family Association

We seek to draw all Ellers and allied families into a cooperative effort.

Progress at Old Smyrna Cemetery

Two new headstones have been placed in the Old Smyrna Cemetery in eastern Towns County, Georgia.  This project by the Eller Family Association and its President, Steve Eller (pictured below), continues with hopes the recent survey of the land will lead to permission to improve the road access.  Steve reports simply getting the stones to the location was a major feat.  He thanks Jesse Cook and Greg Denton for their help in that effort.

 two headstones

The two stones are for Harden Washington Eller (1843-1908) and Jacob L. Eller (1859-1881).  Both are descendants of the immigrant John Jacob Eller.

Steve Eller at work

Work on the Old Smyrna Cemetery has been ongoing for almost four years. Recently the area was surveyed with the information provided to the Forest Service which controls the area. Steve hopes we will be able to dedicate the headstones in April.  [ Full story and more photos in the next issue of the Chronicles]

Welcome!

The purpose of the Eller Family Association is to draw all Ellers, regardless of their particular family line, and allied families into a cooperative effort. The EFA has already demonstrated that this approach is the quickest and most efficient mechanism for sharing family history and genealogical information.


About the Eller Family Association

The EFA exists to assist all Eller and associated family lines worldwide to: discover and preserve our historical past, report current events and ongoing contributions, develop and expand current family ties, provide ongoing biennial meetings to summarize accomplishments and to socialize and provide inspired direction as we focus on the future.

For more information on the Eller Family Association, its officers, publications, DNA project, membership, news and conferences, click on the "EFA Info" tab in the horizontal menu above.

[ Membership Information | Members Only Section ]


About this Website

Our Eller Family Association website includes searchable information gathered from members across the country. As of 2024 we have:

You can start by looking for a specific person using the search feature. Or you can review what's been added to the site recently by clicking on "What's New." We also try to respond to inquiries posted on our Facebook page.

All of this information is available without charge to the hundreds of Eller genealogists who visit our site regularly. But we need your help. While those of us working with the EFA are volunteers, there are costs that we must cover. Please consider joining our organization.





Facebook Link

Recent Eller Obituaries

A full list of 2019 to 2024 Obituaries is on our Obituaries Webpage.
To add to, or correct obituaries Please contact the Editor of the Chronicles and/or the EFA Webmaster.

Donald R. Eller|
1934-2024

Mr. EllerDonald Eller, Sr., 89, of Royal Center went to Heaven at 3:49 p.m., Friday, March 22, 2024 at Chase Center surrounded by his loving family. Born on June 28, 1934 in Rossville, he was the son of the late Lucian A. Eller and Mary Irene (Flora) Eller. He was from the Jacob Eller (Roanoke Branch) line.

On June 5, 1976 he married Sandra Roller. Don was a lifelong mechanic who retired in 1996.  He was also a former bus driver for Pioneer School Corporation.  

[ Obituary | Donald R. Eller in the EFA database ]

 

Clovis Gregory Eller
1934-2024

Mrs. EllerClovis Gregory Eller, 89, of Martinsville, Virgina passed away on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at her home with her family at her bedside. She was born in Martinsville, VA on September 9, 1934, to the late Roy and Doris Thomasson Gregory of Martinsville.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 64 years, Myron Edward “Edd” Eller, Sr. He was from the George Michael Eller line.

[ Obituary | Clovis Gregory Eller in the EFA database ]

 

Millard Ronald "Ron" Eller
1947-2024

Mr. EllerMillard Ronald Eller “Ron”, age 77 of Troutman, NC passed away March 19, 2024 at S. Mitchell Mack Hospice House in Mooresville, NC. He was born February 28, 1947 to the late Millard Fillmore Eller and Annie McGuire Eller Bowlin. He was from the Conrad Eller line.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Allena Roberts Eller; son, Troy David Eller and Yanira of Wake Forest, NC; and daughter, Rebecca Eller Byrd of Charleston, SC.

Ron was a member of Union Grove Baptist Church.

[ Obituary | Millard Ronald "Ron" Eller in the EFA database ]

Updated John Jacob Eller Books Now Available

Copies of the three-volume updated book, “John Jacob Eller and His Descendants” arrived in January and dozens of copies have been delivered to those who pre-ordered.

books

This 2023 update includes 30,000 names including thousands not in the original edition.

[ Order form here ].

Individual EFA members have purchased copies for libraries where significant numbers of John Jacob’s descendants settled.


New DNA Coordinator

The Eller Family Association has been looking for a new DNA Coordinator. Corinne Casper has accepted this position and will be looking to learn more about the wonders of DNA.

For an article from the New York Times about DNA testing including "key terms" and a review of the top DNA test kits, Click Here


 

Youngblood signs Nashville recording, writing deal

Mr YoungbloodHiawassee native True Youngblood is a well-known musician around these parts, and soon, he could be a household name everywhere after inking a Nashville recording and writing contract.

He is featured in a front-page article in the January 10th issue of the Towns County Herald.

True Youngblood goes back to the Jacob Eller line five ways: three by Sukey Eller's son Joseph, one by her daughter Malinda, and one by her son Jacob.

[ Full Story from the Towns County Herald ]


Oklahoma Here We Come

The 2025 conference of the Eller Family Association is now set for the Tulsa area of Oklahoma. The EFA board voted for the location in an October phone-meeting.

A survey suggested, and the board agreed, that the conference should move from July to the third week in October and be three days, rather than four. The board hopes the change of date would find more agreeable weather and the shorter convention, lower hotel costs.

The specific location and agenda will be chosen as we get closer to the event.

The board picked the area around Skiatook and Tulsa, Oklahoma, because several Eller families live in the area. Many have never been to an Eller Conference. It will also be the first conference west of the Mississippi River in more than two decades.

Many Ellers in northeastern Oklahoma can trace their ancestry back to three brothers: Davis Bogard Eller (1859-1942) (photo of his family below), John Corn Eller (1857-1930) and Samuel Jefferson Eller (1833-1922). They were sons of William “Bill” Eller (1816-after 1900). All three moved to Oklahoma from north Georgia.

Davis Eller Family

The area in Georgia from which the Ellers moved had been home to thousands of Cherokee Indians. But from 1831 to about 1850 many were forced from their homes and “relocated” to Northeast Oklahoma, in the area where we found the Ellers.

Some say as many as 100,000 Native Americans were part of this ethnic cleansing by the U.S. government. Many died along the way. It was known as the “Trail of Tears.”

So, what does the Cherokee relocation have to do with the Ellers move to Oklahoma? It is possible the two Eller wives, Salena Maney and Harriett Maney, along with the two women’s parents, were Cherokee or Cherokee descendants. Davis Eller filed an application (see below) on 29 Jul 1896 in an effort to certify his children as Cherokee citizens. The application was denied for lack of evidence.

[ Read More ]


 

Eller Descendant Defeated in Bid For Congress

Mr EllerCharles Eller ran unsuccessfully for Congress in North Carolina in 2024. He lost in the March 5th Republican primary in the heavily red 10th district.

[ Election Results ].

Charles Eller is from the George Michael Eller line through Peter Lenn Eller.

When you get to Charles’s  great-great grandfather Jesse Franklin Eller you may recognize the picture there since it came from the cover of the May 1991 Eller Chronicles.

Charles is a 6th great grandson of immigrant  George Michael Eller.


 


Eller Descendants Honored in Towns County

Mr. Eller & Mr. KendallDion Eller (left) and Jerry Kendall (right), both 1963 graduates of Towns County High School, were honored at halftime during a basketball game at Towns County High School on December 28th, 2023. They were recognized for seven decades of service to Towns County Student Athletes.

Both of these gentlemen are Eller Descendants from the John Jacob Eller, Sr. line. 

Coach Eller became the head coach of the Towns County Lady Indians Basketball Team in 1969. His teams compiled a 272-216 record during a period of just over nineteen years at the helm.

Jerry Kendall was honored for his many years of service as a Historian, as a Coach, a Media Reporter, as an Official Scorekeeper, and as a Friend on behalf of the Student-Athletes, Coaches and Administration of Towns County High School.

[ Full Story ]