Jesse Toliver -
Bible Records

In 1842, four years after Jesse Toliver's death, his widow Franky applied for benefits as a Revolutionary War veteran's widow. On May 31, 1847, Franky's son Solomon Toliver filed a declaration in support of her application stating, "he has the Bible in his possession contains the family Record which was made more than 25 years ago by the Request of Jesse TOLIVER, Sr." He provided a list of the names and birthdates of the ten Toliver children, and also enclosed four actual pages from the family Bible. This important document, which is preserved in Jesse's pension file in the National Archives, identifies Jesse's wife as Franky STAMPER (born Feb. 14, 1767) and gives the names and birthdates of Jesse and Franky's ten children, as well as numerous grandchildren.

Children of Jesse and Franky Toliver, from the Bible record:

1. Jane TOLIVER, born July 6, 1783
2. Susanah TOLIVER, born Feb. 14, 1785
3. Sarah TOLIVER, born May 9, 1786
4. John TOLIVER, born June 20, 1788
5. Martha TOLIVER, born Mar. 13, 1797
6. Jacob TOLIVER, born July 26, 1799
7. Allen TOLIVER, born July 18, 1802
8. Solomon TOLIVER, born May 13, 1804
9. Starling TOLIVER, born Mar. 13, 1806
10. Hiram TOLIVER, born Mar. 10, 1808

It's interesting to note that three different individuals listed on these Bible pages have a birthdate of March 13th: Martha Toliver (March 13, 1797), Starling Toliver (March 13, 1806), and John Fender (husband of Martha Toliver) (March 13, 1794). This may just be a coincidence, but it could mean that the actual birth dates weren't known and March 13th was used as an estimate. Solomon Toliver states in his declaration in 1847 that the Bible record "was made more than 25 years ago by the Request of Jesse TOLIVER, Sr.," which indicates two things: Jesse Toliver probably did not make the record himself (in fact he was probably illiterate, because he always signed his deeds with a mark), and the record was made around 1822 or earlier, but perhaps some years after the births of Toliver children who were born from 1783 to 1808.

Page 1. On what appears to be the first page in the sequence, the name "John Toliver J" is written at the very top above the Bible page number 679. "Jesse Tolivers" is written in the same handwriting before the pre-printed words, "Family Record." The left-hand column lists the births of Jesse and Franky Toliver's children. The right-hand column, in different handwriting, lists the births of nine of the children of Solomon and Margaret Toliver. Note that the pre-printed heading says "Deaths", but the dates listed are births.

Page 2. The second page in the sequence gives the birthdate of Jesse Toliver's wife Franky Stamper and their youngest child (Hiram Toliver b. 1808), followed by the first nine children of John Fender and Martha Toliver. Three other miscellaneous grandchildren are listed in the right-hand column. Franky Toliver (b. 1829) may be the daughter of Allen Toliver and Susan Finger.  Jacob Toliver (b. 1831) was the son of Starling Toliver and Millie Ann Spurlin.  Allen Toliver (b. 1837?) may be a son of Hiram Toliver.

Page 3. The third page contains another list of Solomon and Margaret Toliver's children. The image is very faint. In the left-hand column, someone, perhaps Solomon Toliver, calculated the ages of the children in 1838, which was the year Jesse Toliver died. The reason for this calculation is unknown.

Page 4. The last page has only two entries. Jacob Toliver (b. 1831) was a child of Starling Toliver and Millie Ann Spurlin.  Jesse Toliver (b.1832) may have been child of Allen Toliver and Susan Finger.