Ellen Leah Valentine
b. July 1841
in New York, New York
d. March 24, 1906
Columbia, Richland Co.
South Carolina
William Dare Love
b. March 18, 1830
in Kilcar, County Donegal
Ireland
d. February 6, 1896 in
Columbia, Richland Co.
South Carolina
AN HONORED CITIZEN GONE.
The death of Mr. William D. Love, Sr., Yesterday Afternoon
  Mr. Love was born on March 18, 1830 at Roxborough Glebe, Parish Kilcar, County Donegal, Ireland, and left his native country at the age of 18 years.  He was educated at Trinity college, Dublin, with the purpose of, becoming an Episcopal minister, and, prior to coming to this country, was in charge of the government stores during the famous famine in Ireland.  Mr. Love on coming to this country went into the dry goods business in New York city, coming to Columbia and settling in 1869. 
  The funeral services will be held at the First Presbyterian church this afternoon at 4'o'clock, and the remains will be interred in the churchyard.
  It was with expressions of the sincerest regret that the people of Columbia yesterday afternoon heard of the death of one of their most honored and highly esteemed fellow citizens - Mr. William D. Love, Sr.  No man in Columbia was perhaps better known than Mr. Love.  For several years he was the leading merchant of the city.  He was a man of high character and noble traits, an upright Christian gentleman, a man loved by all who knew him.  For many years he has been a leading deacon of the First Presbyterian church.
  Mr. Love has been sick since last Christmas eve, when he was forced to take to his bed with a severe cold.  This later developed into a case of pneumonia, the ravages of which malady Mr Love was unable to resist, owing to his weak physical condition.  His family did not realize until several days ago, however, that the end was so near.  It came at 4:15 o'clock yesterday afternoon.  Mr. Love passing away calmly and peacefully, after bidding his loved ones, gathered at his bedside, a fond farewell.  He was always a most devoted parent and husband, and those left to mourn will feel his loss keenly.
When he first came here he conducted a large dry goods business under his own
name for some time; then he was the head of the firm of W.D. Love & Co., and then of the firm of McCreery, Love & Co.  After the dissolution of this firm, he continued business under his own name for a number of years, at the stand occupied at present by M.L. Kinard.  In the last few years, having met with reverses of fortune, Mr. Love has been connected with the firm of McCreery & Co. See the note below regarding the McCreery family*.
  Mr. Love was a second cousin of President Buchanan, and was related on his mother's side to Alexander Hamilton, as well as General Montgomery of Quebec.  He was the sixth child of his parents' 10 children, all of whom are still living save Mr. Love and one sister.  The youngest brother, Mr. Samuel Love of New York city, is now in the city.  Three, Mr. James H. Love, Mrs. Ann Dunleavy and Mrs. Margaret Young, live in Iowa; the others, Mr. Richard Love, Mrs. Andrew Crawford and Miss Ellen Love, now reside in San Francisco, Cal.
  Mr. Love was married on June 28, 1865, to Miss Ellen Leah Valentine of New York city, who survives him with seven children, Messrs. W.D. Love of Washington, D.C., who arrived in time to see his father, and Samuel B. Love of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York; Misses Jennie C., Nellie L. and Zetle Marguerite, and Masters James Hamilton and Walter Taylor Love.
*The following information was provided by Jordan Love (no relation to the Loves of Kilcar, Donegal County, Ireland), a distant ancestor of Thomas McCreery: Thomas McCreery was from County Londonderry, Ireland and was born about 1820. He immigrated to the US in the 1840's, arriving in Boston, MA. Thomas established a dry goods business in Columbia, South Carolina prior to 1860. On November 21, 1860 Thomas married Elizabeth Sherrerd in New York City. The outset of the Civil War forced the couple to stay in New York City during the 1860's which may have made it possible for Thomas McCreery and William Dare Love to meet. Their friendship, which spanned the rest of their lives, may have been the impetus for William to move his family to Columbia and launch his own dry-goods business.
The 1900 U.S. Census of Columbia, South Carolina showed several changes having taken place in the family since William's death in 1896.  Both William Dare, Jr. and Samuel B. were single and again living at home, having left their previous places of residence, Washington D.C. and New York City, respectively.  In addition, Samuel had been married, widowed and had a 4-year-old daughter, named Annie M. living with the family.  Jennie C. Love was listed as a widow and the mother of 1 living child; however, this was likely a clerical error. All were living with their mother, Ellen Valentine Love who, at age 58, stated she'd given birth to 10 children, 7 of whom were living.  The names of 3 additional children born since the 1880 census were also listed: Elizabeth M., aged 17, James Hamilton, aged 15, and Walter Taylor, aged 13.
Speculation concerning William Dare and Ellen Leah Love's children, taking William's obituary and the various census records into consideration:
"E.L. Love Jr.," a daughter, was born in 1877 per the 1880 U.S. Census, and was more than likely named after her mother, Ellen Leah.  William's obituary includes "Nellie L." as a daughter, but no child named Nellie is shown in any census record...until 1900 where she is shown living at home with the family.  Her age coincides with the birth year of Ellen Leah, Jr.; could it be that the younger Ellen Leah eventually went by the name "Nellie" to avoid confusion with her mother of the same name?
William's obituary includes a daughter, Zetle Marguerite, whose name does not appear in any of the available census records.  Daughter Elizabeth M. appears in the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 census with her other siblings who remained single throughout those years.  Could "Zetle" be a nickname given to Elizabeth M. by her family? Elizabeth's middle name confirmed as Marguerite 1/16/2010
Ellen Leah Valentine Love died March 24, 1896 in Columbia, South Carolina.
William Dare Love, Jr. was born in New York April 7, 1866.  His father's 1896 obituary references William Jr. was living in Washington, D.C. and was able to travel to Columbia to be with his father prior to his death.

William apparently relocated back to Columbia by 1900 as that year's U.S. Census shows 31 year-old William single, living at home, and working as a clerk in an insurance office there.

He married Cora Maude Jones (born January 14, 1871 in Georgia) November 15, 1905 in Columbia.  They became the parents of Leah Josephine Love on December 25, 1906 and Blanche Hamilton Love on October 17, 1910, both born in Columbia.

William (occupation: cashier in an insurance office), Cora and daughters were living in Columbia with Cora's sister, Blanche P. Jones, 47, and brother, Raphael O. Jones (occupation: farmer), 44, in 1910, according to the U.S. Census for that year.
The Children of William Dare and Ellen Leah Love
from data available in U.S. Census records
Below: James Hamilton Love's 1957 Death Certificate
(note that James' daughter, Grace's husband, Dr. John Schneider,
was the informant of the background information listed)
Photos courtesy Georgette Love
Grace Joan Love was born in Florida on June 25, 1920. Grace married Woodrow Rex Clevinger (b. October 25, 1914 in Morton, WA and died May 20, 1975 in Morton WA) on September 14, 1946 in Asheville, North Carolina but the couple divorced by 1950 as Mr. Clevinger remarried in 1950. Grace married Dr. John Jerome Schneider (b. January 28,
The epitaph on
Grace Joan Love's grave:
Our Mama Joanie
Beloved Godmother
June 25, 1920
May 28, 1999
1910 in Beideck, Russia and died November 21, 1992 in Asheville, North Carolina). Grace died May 28, 1999 in Asheville, North Carolina.
It is but going home
When shadows fall.
Life rises from the tomb
To heavens call.
With earthly life now gone
The sun breaks forth to dawn.
James Hamilton Love was born in South Carolina on November 18, 1883. As of the 1910 US Census, James was living at home with brother Walter T., and sisters Elizabeth M. and Ellen/Nellie; he listed his occupation as "a Bank Auditor;" James' 1917 draft registration shows him living with wife, Lillian Floyd Love, (born November 20, 1890 in South Carolina) on West 72nd Street in New York City and employed by Seaboard Oil Co. of NYC as a salesman. The couple became the parents of Grace Joan Love on June 25, 1920 in Florida.
The 1930 US Census shows James Hamilton Love as a guest in the home of Henry L. and Susan Wentworth Pierce in Miami Beach, Florida; both men listed their occupations as "Real Estate Broker" and James listed his marital status as "divorced." The 1940 US Census places James in a residential hotel in Tampa, Florida with no employment and no income. His marital status was shown as "divorced." The 1940 census asks where each individual lived in 1935. James reported he was living in Chicago, Illinois in 1935. His
1957 death certificate lists his "usual residence" as the Knox Hotel in Tampa, Florida.
Lillian Floyd Love is shown in the 1930 US Census living in a residential hotel in Denver, Colorado and working as a self employed magazine editor. Everett Phoenix Ketchum was also in Denver in 1930, living at the Brown Palace Hotel, single (actually divorced), and employed as an "organizer" by the "Liberal National Party." Everett Ketchum was listed in the 1940 US Census for St. Petersburg, Florida living at the Suwanee Hotel, divorced and working for "Government Services." A listing for Lillian Floyd Love has not been found in the 1940 US Census, but she and Everett P. Ketchum were married on November 29, 1941 in Tampa, Florida. The couple settled in Jacksonville, Florida where they became very politically active and eventually purchased a home in Asheville, North Carolina as a place "to get away from the Florida heat in the summer." Everett Phoenix Ketchum died in Asheville on July 20, 1957. Lillian's first husband, James Hamilton Love, died at Ft. Le Juene, North Carolina on August 8, 1957. Lillian arranged for a large granite grave marker that is shared by both deceased husbands. Lillian was a somewhat well known poet and wrote a poem for the grave marker. The marker and the poem are shown below:
Ellen Leah Love "Nellie?" Born September 6, 1876 and died October 4, 1952 in Columbia, SC; Ellen Leah Love is shown in the 1900 through 1930 U.S. Census records as single, living with family and with no occupation; no further information is available;
Elizabeth Marguerite Love  was born in South Carolina on October 11, 1880 and is shown
in the 1900 through 1930 U.S. Census records as single, living with family and with no occupation; Elizabeth died November 9, 1955 in Columbia, South Carolina; according to her death certificate (shown below), she'd suffered from heart disease for her last 20 years and died of pneumonia.
The following biography of Marshall Swain Wells was written by Mary Harding Sadler as part of a 2010 application to the National Register of Historic Places regarding the work of Mr. Wells.
Marshall Swain Wells died August 30, 1974. Dixie Selden Love Wells died November 27, 1999, both in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Marshall and Dixie Love Wells and family
Dixie Love Wells with daughter,
Alice, and granddaughter, Sarah
Dixie Love Wells and
daughter, Alice Wells
Dixie Love Wells with granddaughter, Sarah, and great-grandchildren, Alice and William
To the left:
 Dixie Selden Love
holding the reins
of the family mule
for her brother,
William Valentine Love
about 1909
THANK YOU!
to the descendants of
 Dixie Selden Love
for sharing their
family photos.
Dixie Selden Love was born September 28, 1904 in North Carolina. According to family history, she was named for the then popular artist, Dixie Selden. She married Marshall Swain Wells in Virginia in 1926. The 1930 U.S. Census for Charlottesville, Virginia shows Dixie and Marshall Wells living in Ivy, a small village just west of Charlottesville with their children, Sarah L. age 3, born in New York, and Alice S., 1 month old born in Virginia in March 1930. Their son was born in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1931.
Annie Margaret Love was born March 5, 1896 in Columbia, South Carolina and married John Swan Moore (born July 27, 1893 in Bessemer, Alabama) September 12, 1918 in Richmond, Virginia. John Moore was an Army officer in World War I then was shown in the 1920 US census working as a manager of a steel mill in Birmingham, Alabama. He later received a college degree then became a Professor of Military Science for the U.S. Army. Annie also received a college degree. The couple were the parents of Margaret Moore, born in 1920 in Alabama, Dorothy Moore, born in 1923 in Georgia, and Jean Love Moore, born in 1924 at Ft. Benning, Georgia. Jean married John Marriott Fowler (born March 29, 1917 in Pennsylvania). John Swan Moore died July 7, 1945 in Chatham, Georgia. Annie Margaret Love Moore died February 20, 1973 in Knoxville, Tennessee. John Fowler died February 27, 1995 in Alameda, California. Jean Moore Fowler died December 15, 1997 in Stanislaus, California. Information regarding Margaret and Dorothy Moore has not been found.
To the right: the home of
Samuel and Sarah Love in 1942,
"The Chesterfield" located at
900 West Franklin
in Richmond, Virginia;
Below: the home of
Samuel B. Love in 1948,
"Preston Court Apartments" located at 1600 Grady Avenue in Charlottesville, VA
Below:
 the death records of
Samuel Buchanan Love
and
Sarah Martha Stevenson Love
Samuel Buchanan Love was born in Columbia, South Carolina on January 24, 1873. He married Mrs. Annie Murchison Martin January 23, 1895 at the home of J.R. Minter esq. by Rev. Samuel M. Smith in Newberry, SC; Annie was born September 20, 1864 in South Carolina; on June 15, 1893 she became a 3rd grade teacher in Newberry but resigned by October 1894 (from various articles in the Newberry Observer).  She died March 13, 1896 probably in childbirth, as daughter Annie was born in March 1896.
The 1900 U.S. Census shows Samuel, age 27, living at his parental home with daughter Annie Margaret Love, age 4; occupation: cashier in an insurance office in Columbia, S.C.,

He married Sarah Stevenson (born 1871 in Philadelphia, PA) on an unknown date. The couple's first child, Samuel Stevenson Love, was born April 18, 1902 but died the same day according to an infant death notice in a Columbia, SC newspaper. Daughter Dixie Selden Love, was born September 28, 1904 in North Carolina.
1917: the family was living in Richmond, Virginia according to Samuel's draft registration, shown to the left;
1920: Samuel was the manager of an insurance agency and still living in Richmond, Virginia with wife Sarah and daughter Dixie;
1930: Samuel and Sarah were still living in Richmond, Virginia with Sarah's sister-in-law, Virginia G. Stevenson, and nephew, John C. Stevenson as house guests.  Samuel's occupation was manager of an insurance agency and John Stevenson was working as an insurance agent.
Sarah Stevenson Love died February 5, 1942 in Richmond, Va. Samuel Buchanan Love died December 9, 1948 in Charlottesville, VA.
According to City Directory listings, the family had relocated to Memphis, Tennessee by 1907.  The 1910 U.S. Census for Memphis indicates Samuel's and Sarah's marriage was her first and his second. His daughter, Annie, was 14, daughter Dixie was 5, and a son, William Valentine Love, was 13 months old.  William died sometime prior to 1920. Samuel is listed as being the manager of the New York Life Insurance agency in all the directories, the listings of which continue until 1912 when the entry states: Saml B. Love removed to Richmond, VA.

The home of the Samuel and Sarah Love family in 1911   1709 Forest Avenue    Memphis Tennessee
William Dare Love married Ellen Leah Valentine in her native New York City on June 28, 1865.  While living in New York, the couple became parents to 2 children, William Dare, Jr., born in April 7, 1866, and Cora Christiana, born March 13, 1868.  The family relocated to Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina in 1869.  The U.S. Census of 1870 lists William as a "retail dry goods merchant."
The 1880 U.S. Census for Columbia, South Carolina lists William's occupation simply as "merchant" and shows the younger William Dare, Jr., aged 14, sister Cora is no longer listed with the family as she died September 29, 1877, but 3 additional children are: Jennie Carolina, aged 9, Samuel B., aged 7, and "E.L. Jr." (Ellen Leah), aged 3.
William died following a short illness, on February 6, 1896.  His obituary follows.
The next two documents show that William Dare Love and his brother operated dry goods businesses together in New York City. The first is an IRS record indicating a balance was owed for the 1865 tax year.
The document to the left is the cover of the City Directory for New York City as of May 1868. Below are the listings from the directory for Louisa E. Love (the wife of Samuel Love) who was apparently working out of the couple's home. Louisa Elvira Flue Love was born in Canada about 1846 and died in New York City November 20, 1873, the listings for
William D. and Samuel Love appear to indicate the two were in business together at 201 and 361 6th Avenue while William D. also lived at the 201 6th Avenue location.
William Dare Love left his native Ireland for the United States at the age of 18, (1848) according to his 1896 obituary (shown below).  Several men named "William Love" are shown in currently available immigration/emigration records but they contain little personal information and none, therefore, appear to conclusively document William Dare's emigration.
The 1860 United States census shows William living with brothers Samuel, Richard, and John, and sister Ellen in New York City, and lists his occupation as "clerk."  In a letter written to William in March 1860, his father applauds the siblings' living arrangement: I am happy to know that you still continue your housekeeping establishment as I am certain you are more comfortable than you would be otherwise.  It may be more expensive but comfort should be more esteemed than a few shillings. Besides, you are not exposed to the villains and treachery going on in the City."
Left: copy of a letter sent to William in March 1854 advising him of the departure of his brother Samuel, sister Ellen, and cousin Elleanor Buchanan for New York. (Note: the ship's manifest, submitted upon arrival in New York, is dated May 2, 1855.)
Jennie Carolina Love born in Columbia, South Carolina on June 22, 1870
1900: living at her parental home at age 27, occupation: clerk in an insurance office in Columbia, S.C.;
1910: married John Caldwell Robertson April 29, 1908;  J.C. Robertson was born in South Carolina July 19, 1854 and was first married to Fannie McCreery (1864-1903) who was the daughter of Thomas A. McCreery and Elizabeth Sherrerd; J.C. Robertson had been a banker, but listed his occupation in 1910 as "own income."  He and Jennie lived at 1603 Pendleton Street in Columbia along with his adult daughters, Marjorie, Olive, and Elizabeth Robertson in Columbia. John Caldwell Robertson died September 23, 1914 in Columbia. After John Robertson's death, Jennie moved back to the Love family home on Senate Street in Columbia and spent her remaining years living there with her siblings.
Jennie Carolina Love Robertson died February 16, 1958 in Columbia.
Leah Josephine Love died April 5, 1913, and Blanche Hamilton Love died January 19, 1961, in Columbia, South Carolina.
Cora Maude Jones Love died October 20, 1913, in Columbia, SC. William Dare Love, Jr. then married Katherine (surname and other information not known) in about 1918 and died June 11, 1922 in Columbia, SC (death certificate below; year of birth is shown as 1856 in error;).
Walter Taylor Love was born in Columbia, South Carolina December 30, 1886 and appears to have lived in the family home with his siblings at 1522 Senate Street in Columbia as "head of the household" all his life. Walter was a successful Real Estate Broker and agent for the sale of stocks and bonds. He died in Columbia, South Carolina on July 6, 1954.
William Dare Love family members
buried in the cemetery on the grounds of
the First Presbyterian Church
in Columbia, South Carolina

William Dare Love
Ellen Valentine Love
William Dare Love, Jr.
Cora Christiana Love
Ellen Leah Love
Elizabeth M. Love
Walter Taylor Love
Annie Murchison Love