52 Ancestors: #26 George Holzlider, Stowaway from Luxembourg

Port of Havre, France, in 1841.

My 3 times great-grandfather, George Holzlider, had to flee for his life because he accidentally killed a rabbit.  His job was to flush out game for noblemen to hunt on the King's grounds in Luxembourg. In those days it was a crime to kill animals belonging to nobility.  After hiding in a dry well for a few days, George ventured his way to the French coast.  He stowed away on a ship that set sail from Havre, France bound for America.

According to George's granddaughter, Stella McCammon,  George became friends with the ship's young cook, who secretly gave him food.  Her name was Mary Gertrude. On August 13, 1850, George married her in Hamilton County, Ohio.  They were both 29.  He was a devout Protestant, and she was a Catholic.

George and Gertrude had two children while they lived in Ohio: Anna Mary and William (my great-great grandfather.)  Three more, Edward, Julia, and Lena, were born after the Holzliders moved to Jennings County, Indiana.  Lena, the youngest, was just six months old when her father enlisted in Co. D, 7th Decatur County Indiana Infantry on September 13, 1861.  He was discharged on September 20, 1864, after being wounded in the leg.  As a Civil War veteran, he received a pension of fourteen dollars a month.

After his wife died, George went to live with his granddaughter, Stella Holzlider McCammon, in Pierceville, Indiana. Sometime soon after, he fell out of a haymow and broke his hip.  George lived for two more weeks, then died on September 6, 1897 and was buried at St. Denis Cemetery in Zenas, Jennings County, Indiana.