The Chapman brothers, John D. and Richard, with their families were about the earliest settlers, around 1826. The Chapman cemetery west of Mt. Olive was name after these brothers and their families who are buried there. An immigrant. Boy from Germany, by the name of John C. Nie mann, saw the rolling prairie land of this part of Macoupin County and decided that it would be his future home. In 1846, he purchased his first 40 acres from the government upon which Mt. Olive is now located. Niemann and his brothers, Fred and Henry, erected the first home of logs in Mt. Olive which stood on the northeast corner of the city. . . Read more in MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS HISTORY & FAMILIES available in our genealogy library or through this website.