The ceremony in which Jack and Lulie were married was a double wedding; the other couple married in the same ceremony was Jack’s brother, Benjamin, and Lulie’s sister, Ella. Strangely, the older brother married the younger sister, and the younger brother married the older sister; Ben was 35 and Ella 19. The children of the marriage between two brothers and two sisters were “double first cousins,” the closest kin possible without being brothers or sisters. The Certificate of Marriage from the family Bible reads as follows:

T. A. J. Oliver and Elizabeth L. Riley were united by me in Holy Matrimony at Bride’s Residence on the 13th day of June in the year of our Lord 1880 In the presence of a large assembly. signed Wm. E. Wiatt Gloucester C. H., Va.

William E. Wiatt officiated at the weddings of Jack Oliver and Lulie Riley, Alexander Emerson and Julia Stafford, William H. Emerson and Sarah Hudgins, Joshua Emerson and Mary Olivia Mattox, Louise Emerson and Garry Groom, Ben Oliver and Elnora Riley, James Oliver and Martha Hogge. He was also T. A. J. Oliver and James Thomas Goode’s chaplain during their service in the Civil War.

 

In the 1880s the usual means of cooking was in a fireplace. Lulie Riley was reputed to be a pretty woman with a beautiful complexion. Jack said that he did not want his new bride standing before an open fire while cooking for that might spoil her complexion; therefore, he bought an ultramodern convenience, a wood burning iron range which was the first of its kind in Gloucester County. The following promissory note relating to the purchase of this stove was found in Morgan Oliver’s Bible:

 

Jack Oliver’s family Bible records
births of his children as follows:

Wm. H. F. Oliver, first son of T. A. J. & E. L. Oliver, was born on the 22nd day of October 1881.

Mary E. Oliver, daughter of the above, was born on the 16th day of October, 1883.

Samuel Jackson Oliver, son of the above, was born November 22cd 1885.

Caroline Zipporah Oliver, daughter of the above, was born Oct. 19, 1887.

Herbert Taylor, son of the above, was born August 1st 1890.

Rebecca Taylor daughter of the above was born May 29th 1892.

Edith Elenora daughter of the above was born Feb. 16, 1895.

John Washington Folkes Oliver, son of T. A. J. & E. L Oliver, was born February 22, 1897.

Laurance Puller Oliver, son of the above, was born Dec. 20, 1899.

Roland Hill Oliver, son of the above, was born August 11, 1902.

The family doctor who delivered all of the Oliver babies was Herbert Taylor; out of respect and appreciation, Jack and Lulie named their fifth child after the beloved doctor. Sadly, Herbert Taylor Oliver lived slightly less than one year; he died on July 29, 1891. The next child born was given the middle name, “Taylor,” in memorial to the deceased son. Many years later, Rebecca Taylor Oliver Emerson named her seventh son “Herbert Taylor.” The Taylor middle name has been carried on for several generations.

 

 

We often take modern conveniences for granted without considering how our forefathers managed without them. For example, toothpaste was first mass-produced in collapsible tubes in 1892, the same year in which Rebecca Oliver was born and when Jack Oliver was 59 years old. How did people clean their teeth before the age of toothpaste? Rebecca Oliver said that her father dug sassafras roots, selected one about the size of a pencil, and battered the end with a mallet to form bristles. Each morning, he went to the well located in the yard, drew a bucket of water, and using the battered sassafras root for a brush and baking soda for a cleanser, he brushed his teeth. When Jack Oliver died at the age of 84, he had a full set of 32 healthy teeth.

Jack Oliver was a very religious man. He was a member of Providence Baptist Church where he was a deacon for over fifty years. T. A. J. Oliver is listed as a trustee of Providence on a deed dated 1885. Rebecca Emerson recalls that her father often conducted prayer meetings at Providence. Sometimes the family crossed Cedar Bush Creek in a rowboat and then walked to Providence. At other times, they would go to church by buggy, going up Cedar Bush Road to Providence Road. Either way, it was quite a chore getting to church.

For many years, Jack Oliver saw a need for a church in the Coke area; he became one of the prime movers in the building of Beech Grove Baptist Church which was built on land that he donated. After the church became financially stable, Jack was paid $20 for the land. Beech Grove was constituted as a church in 1904. Although it never was a large church, it became an average size church for Gloucester County. More importantly, it met the spiritual needs of the community for many years. As overland transportation replaced river commerce and as convenient transportation became more accessible, Beech Grove did not grow as fast as some other churches.