Hello, Cheryl! My ggrandfather, John Gollaher, had a brother named George. James, John, George and Sam Gollaher were all sons of James Monroe Gollaher, Jr. of Tooele, Utah. James died as a young man, John became the town manager (mayor) for many years, George moved back East and folks lost track of him. Sam was a bit odd (but loveable) and lived out his life next door to his brother, John.

I'm not that familiar with the descendants of Benjamin Austin (he would have been my ancestor's cousin). I'd love to get a copy of the picture, and can probably tell as the Gollaher's usually shared some facial features in past generations.

If you're interested in the Kentucky connection this is how it goes:

William C. Gollaher and Benjamin Austin Gollaher were cousins. William was the son of James, and Benj. was the son of Thomas, brothers who left Georgia to settle Kentucky. For some reason they did not settle anywhere near each other in Kentucky, as James died about 1812 in Lexington if memory serves. Fanny Culbertson, James' wife, remarried (pronto, as was necessary in those frontier days) and moved up into Illinois ca 1814. There they met up with and joined the then new (and controversial) Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and ended up being chased about by unfriendly mobs in Missouri and Illinois until the Mormons left the United States for the untamed West, settling in the Salt Lake Valley of what is now Utah. Upon arrival, Brigham Young sent their pioneer company south of Salt Lake to found the town of Tooele, now about an hour's drive south of Salt Lake City.

The given name 'George' is not all that common in any Gollaher line I know of, but there may be a reason for it. I know of a George Galloher who was present in the vicinity of Maryland or Delaware in the colonial period and may have been Caleb Gollaher's father. Pure speculation at this point, but it may explain why the name 'George' crops up from time to time in these family lines through the 1800s at least.

Thanks!