Oliver Harper “Harp” Wiley was born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina November 30, 1807.
“Harp” Wiley married Matilda Krantz (1808 – 1891), daughter of Thomas Krantz and Elizabeth Kent. Matilda was a teen-aged orphan when she and her sister, Sarah, came from Cheatham County, Tenn. to Franklin County, Illinois with a Sanders family in an oxcart. Her sister, Sarah married Wiley Berry Chamness (1811-1882), founder of the Chamness settlement, now in the Wildlife Refuge.
In 1832, Wiley served in the Black Hawk War. He enlisted on June 15, 1832 as Sergeant, 2nd Regt, 1st Brigade, Illinois Volunteers and was discharged August 2, 1832. The Black Hawk War was a brief 1832 conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. American officials convinced that the British Band was hostile, mobilized a frontier militia and opened fire on a delegation from the Native Americans on May 14, 1832. On August 2, American soldiers attacked the remnants of the British Band at the Battle of Bad Axe, killing many or capturing most of who remained alive. Black Hawk and other leaders escaped, but later surrendered and were imprisoned for a year. The Black Hawk War resulted in the deaths of 77 white settlers, militiamen, and regular soldiers. This figure does not include the deaths from cholera suffered by the relief force under General Winfield Scott. Estimates of how many members of the British Band died during the conflict range from about 450 to 600, or about half of the 1,100 people who entered Illinois with Black Hawk in 1832.
In 1834 Harp bought his first 80 acres of land near Sayersville (Sarahville). Later he bought two more parcels in this section.
As early as 1839, court records mentioned “the old mill near Oliver H. Wiley’s on Grassy.”
In 1840, Harp and Matilda were still living in Williamson County with two children. In 1850 they had only one child at home. By 1860, in their early 50s, he and Matilda were living with a domestic, P.A. Dunn and her daughter, and R. Roland, 78, a farmer. During this period Harp bought and sold many parcels of land in the eastern part of Williamson and Johnson Counties. A list of federal land sales shows that he bought 23 separate parcels of land of various acreages, most of them in 1855. In the 1860’s and 1870’s he was involved in many property lawsuits involving foreclosures, ejectments, etc.
It is known from an 1855 pioneer’s accounting that Wiley had at least two businesses on the square. One account placed him in the Western Exchange hotel building on the north side of the square where the Bank of Marion is now and another somewhere on the east side of the square. Since Wiley was known to be a whiskey dealer these were undoubtedly saloons.
It is also likely that during this period of time, he moved into Marion and took up residence in a home east of the square on what would become E. College Street.
From 1865 through 1873, Wiley served as trustee for nine terms under several different presidents of the town of Marion and then served again in 1876 under Mayor George W. Goddard as an alderman.
Both the Marion Monitor and Egyptian Press reported the death of Oliver Harper Wiley. He suffered a severe attack of smothering on February 9th and died February 24, 1877 at the age of 69 years 2 months 4 days. He was survived by his aged wife and daughter, Mrs. A. Marion Askew.
Zach Hudson was his administrator. As his administrator he brought suit against Wm. N. and Emily Mitchell for mortgage foreclosure.
The Leader reported on Thursday, 31 Dec 1891 that Mrs. Matilda Wiley, 83, died last Thursday at her residence here. O. H. and Matilda were buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Marion.
On September 15, 1941, an article by Mrs. Nannie Gray Parks printed in the Marion Daily Republican, recounted the history of a two story home located at 306 E. College Street where the Wiley family once lived. One of Marion’s oldest residences, it was located on part of the original 20 acres of the town.
In 1854, James M. Campbell purchased the land, selling out a year later to Oliver H. Wiley. Wiley, better known as “Uncle Harp,” was a whiskey dealer and trader who owned considerable land. He and his brother, James, came to Williamson County from North Carolina in 1829, when the former was 22 years old. Both “Uncle Harp” and his wife, “Aunt Tilda,” are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.
Marion was incorporated in 1865 and Wiley became one of the trustees. In 1868, he was elected alderman. During the Black Hawk War in 1832, when a call was issued for 230 men from Williamson County, Wiley volunteered. When the first grand jury was selected in 1840, he was one of the members.
On October 1, 1852, Mary Ann Wiley, daughter of “Uncle Harp” and “Aunt Tilda,” was married to John McIntosh and at some time preceding the wedding, Wiley built the front part of what is now known as the old Sutherland home for the bride and groom. John Davenport, John Reynolds and Samuel Ireland all worked as carpenters on the original house. Heavy timbers were used in the construction and the foundation was bolted together.
Following the death of Mr. McIntosh, Mary Ann built on to the back of the house and kept roomers. Several years later, she married Marion Askew and for years the home was known as “the old Askew place.” When Mr. Wiley died in 1877, Mrs. Wiley moved in with her daughter.
In 1879, Mary Ann Askew and her son Ollie visited in Nashville, Tennessee and pulled up a tulip tree, then four or five inches high, at the foot of a Cumberland Mt., near Chattanooga. Bringing it home in her apron, she planted it in the yard where it remains today.
A romantic story which has persisted thru the years is that when O.H. Wiley died he left his daughter Mary Ann between $75,000 and $100,000 in gold hidden somewhere on the property. Some say the gold was collected in a bushel basket and presented to her. As workmen began to tear down the residence, there was mild speculation among the neighbors as to whether or not their tools would uncover a lot of gleaming gold.
Notes: It turned out that the romantic story of gold was more than a story. A follow up story in the Marion Daily indicated that about $80,000 worth of gold coins was actually found in the home, making his daughter very wealthy. See the footnote to the post, 306 E. College St., Historic Home Razed in 1941
O.H. and Matilda Wiley had three sons that died young. They are buried in Ogden-Wiley Cemetery, Section 2, Grassy Precinct, which is now the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge:
William A. Wiley son of O.H. and M. born 11 Nov 1843 died 4 Aug 1848.
James M. Wiley son of O.H. and M. born 6 Sep 1837 died 22 Sep 1838.
Infant son of O.H. and M. Wiley died 1832.
(Extracted from the Marion Daily Republican, September 15 & 16, 1941; Wikipedia; Find a Grave Index; U.S. Census records; Nannie Gray Parks files; Events in Egypt, Volume I by Helen Sutt Lind; compiled by Colleen Norman and Sam Lattuca)