Our Eversole Family
    Our ancestors came to America from Germany, but they were of Swiss Descent. In Switzerland in  the state of Saint Gall there is a village called "Ebersol." There is also an "Upper Ebersol" and  a "Lower Ebersol" in the Canton of Luzern.
    Our name is typically Swiss-German and means a place where men are hunting for wild boar. Eber- Wild Boar, and Sol- ground or place. There are many families carrying the name "Ebersol. There are  also families of Ebersolds living at Zaziwil, Burgdorf, Stalden, and in the Canton of Bern.     While living in Germany they spelled their name in German 'Ebersohl.  There are records of Jost  Ebersohl, on the Monsheim estate west of Worms. There is a record in 1738 of Peter Ebersohl from  Gönnheim, east of Washenheim indicating that he was a Mennonite.       Our ancestors were Protestant Mennonites. They escaped death from religious persecution in  Switzerland by fleeing to Wurttemberg and Baden, Germany, about 1690. Some years later they made  their way down the Rhine River in Germany and sailed from Holland, to Philadelphia. They came to  enjoy religious freedom in America, to escape persecution or to escape required military training  in Germany (Mennonites do not participate in the military or take oaths). They settled into a  colony of German Mennonites at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Both Peter and Jost are listed as land  owners in Pennsylvania during 1740-1782.
     Peter, Jost (Joseph) and Johannes arrived on the ship, "Robert and Alice", September 3, 1739,  from Rotterdam, Holland.  They all signed their names in German on the boat registers when they  landed in Philadelphia. They all spelled their names "Ebersohl;" except Jacob who wrote  his "Ebersoll." Most of our present various spellings of the name seem to have come from the custom  of writing names on Master Rolls by sound during the Revolutionary War. So, the name is spelled  over thirty ways in records and directories; such as Ebersohl, Ebersol, Ebbersol, Ebersold,  Ebersole, Ebersoll, Eversole, and Eversull.
     Jost’s grandson, Jacob was born about 1760 in Pennsylvania. He had at least two older borthers,  John and Peter.  During the Revolutionary War Jacob was a wagoner and contracted an ailment leaving  him with a halt in his walk.
     He met and married Mary Kessler, whose father was a weaver.  Jacob and Mary migrated, with a  German colony, to Ashe Co. North Carolina. Members of the colony made cotton and flaxen cloth. The  Ebersohls (early spelling), later joined a company of pioneers who were following Daniel Boone to  Ky. They settled near Krypton, and bought a farm on the north fork of the Kentucky River south of  Chavies in Perry Co. It was then called Kentucky County of Virginia.  Jacob built a large two-story  log house that featured a "dog trot" in the middle with living quarters on one side and kitchen and  work area on the other 1800-1810. It is still standing and is one of the oldest landmarks in  Kentucky. Two Civil War battles were fought there.  Their son Woolery, his wife Lucy and family  lived in the log house after their deaths, it is now owned by Denny Ray Noble.       Jacob and Mary spoke with a German accent (German was the language spoken by their parents).  Jacob was a Baptist Minister; his family organized the “Old Grapevine Baptist Church” where he  preached for many years. He also was a miller and had one of the first water mills in that area of  the country.  Mary and Jacob lived to be about 100 years old.