52 Ancestors 2015: #5 William Holzlider, Plowing Through "Chunks"

William Holzlider, center.  On either side of him are his children, Stella and Russell.
Also pictured is Stella's husband, Mason McCammon, and their dog Fanny.
Photo taken about 1920, along Bear Creek in Jennings County, Indiana.

My great-great grandfather, William Holzlider, was born on January 26, 1855 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents, George and Mary Gertrude, were recent immigrants to America.  (Family tradition is that George was a stowaway from Luxembourg.)  William had one older sister, Anna Mary, and three younger siblings: Edward, Julia, and Lena.  I'm not sure when his family moved to Indiana, but the Holzliders were in Jennings County, Indiana by the time the Civil War broke out.  William was working as a farm laborer on someone else's farm in Decatur county when he was 15.

The Holzlider house in Pierceville, Jennings County, Indiana.

On January 30, 1887, William married Ella Dorothy Smith in Jennings County, Indiana. He was 32, and she was 20.  William and Ella lived in Sandcreek Township, Indiana.  They had a family of six children: three boys and three girls.

William purchased 40 acres of woodland for $700 in Pierceville, Indiana in 1902 or 1903. I'm sure it was quite a job to clear the land of trees.  According to a letter written by William's daughter Bertha, the ground was all in "chunks." William and his young sons, Omer and Clyde (my great grandfather), worked hard plowing the land to make it tillable.

William's grandaughter
Martha Holtzlider in 1937.

One day in 1907, William bought a supply of lumber so that he could expand his house. Somehow, the house caught on fire that very night.  The family Bible was destroyed.  The two youngest Holzlider children, Russell and Bertha, were placed outside on a mattress that was saved from the burning house. The following day, neighbors came over and helped rebuild the house.

Ella Holzlider died in 1917 at the age of 51.  In 1920, William was still running a farm at the age of 64, with Russell and Bertha living at home.  William had retired from farming by 1930 and was living with his son Russell and his wife in Indianapolis.

My grandmother, Martha Holtzlider (pictured at right), wrote a letter in 1985 to her uncle Russell Holzlider, describing her only memory of her grandfather William:

I do remember singing to Grandpa Holzlider during what I believe was his last illness.  I was about 6 years old and it was an awesome experience for one so young and I have never forgotten standing by his bed and singing.  I don't remember the name of the song. That is the only recollection I have of Grandpa Holzlider.

William died from heart disease on July 22, 1934, at the home of his son Clyde in Greensburg, Decatur County, Indiana.  He and Ella are buried at Brewersville, Jennings  County, in Bear Creek Cemetery.

52 Ancestors: #39 Mary Gertrude Resslein, the Ship's Cook

"Scene Between Decks", The Illustrated London News, July 6, 1850.

In the summer of 1850, my great-great-great grandmother, Mary Gertrude Resslein, left her homeland of Bavaria and boarded the ship Marathon at the Port of Le Havre, France.   Captain Henry S. Tyler commanded the 890-ton ship, which was built in 1849.  A thorough study of the ship manifest reveals that she was 28 years old and had brought 2 chests with her. A family story is that Gertrude worked as a ship's cook to earn her passage. There were 408 passengers listed on the ship manifest; two young women died from a fever during the voyage.

Gertrude's granddaughter, Stella McCammon, wrote a letter to her sister Bertha describing the
voyage. The wind blew the ship off course, and they ran out of drinking water. According to Stella, Gertrude slipped food to a stowaway from Luxembourg on the ship.  His name was George Holzlider.   Gertrude and George disembarked from the Marathon at New York on July 26, 1850. Less than a month later, they were married in Hamilton County, Ohio.

Hamilton County, Ohio Marriage Certificate

At some point, the Holzliders moved to Decatur County, Indiana and eventually to North Vernon, Jennings County, Indiana. They raised five children, including my great great grandfather, William. Gertrude died at North Vernon sometime between 1880 and 1897.   It is not known where she is buried, but she may have been buried at a Potters Field in North Vernon.

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. 

52 Ancestors: #21 Rebecca Annabel Fisher, "Aunt Annie"

Rebecca and three of her six sisters.
Clockwise, from top left: Eliza Jane, Mary Ellen,
Minerva C., and Rebecca Annabel Fisher.

Rebecca Annabel Fisher was born November 8, 1857 in Marion County, Indiana.  Her parents were Henry James Fisher and Nancy Elizabeth McLaughlin.  (The story is handed down that Henry and Nancy eloped to be married.) She grew up in a large household, being the eighth of ten children.  Her father was an entrepreneur in the tile making business in Jasper County, Indiana.

Rebecca's sister,  Eliza Jane, died in 1880 at the age of 19.  She left behind a newborn daughter, Mary Lillie Ellen.  Rebecca, unmarried and living with her parents, helped to raise her niece.

At the age of 36, Rebecca married Lewis Milburn Worland in Rensselaer, Indiana. He was ten years younger than her. They had two sons, Leonard and Luther, and one daughter, Dola (my great grandmother.)  The Worlands first settled in Jasper County then relocated to Shelby County, Indiana around 1900.

They moved to Jennings County, Indiana around 1915.  Soon after they moved, their daughter Dola met her future husband Clyde Holtzlider at the United Brethren Church in Pierceville.

Worlands, c. 1897: Lewis, Leonard, Rebecca, and Dola.

 Rebecca (right) and her niece Mary Lillie Ellen

Rebecca lived to be nearly 90 years old.  By the time she reached old age, she was completely blind. She died at her daughter's house in Greensburg on August 30, 1947 and was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Shelbyville, Indiana.  Her husband had died only a month before her.

52 Ancestors: #20 Clyde Ellison Holtzlider and "The Old Homestead"

Left to right: Stella, Clyde, Russell, Omar, and Gertie standing in front of their barn in Pierceville.

My great grandfather, Clyde Ellison Holtzlider, was born on March 3, 1895 in North Vernon, Jennings County, Indiana. His parents were William Holzlider and Ella Dorothy Smith.  Clyde's grandfathers, George Holzlider and Andrew Smith, were both immigrants and Civil War veterans.  They were even in the same regiment.  Clyde had five siblings: Mary Gertrude (Gertie), Stella, Omar, Russell, and Bertha.  Clyde was first of his family to add a "t" to their last name, changing it from "Holzlider" to "Holtzlider."

"The Old Homestead" in Pierceville.

The family bought a 40-acre farm in Pierceville, Indiana for $700. Clyde and Omar helped their father clear the land.   In Pierceville, there was a church, a store, and a blacksmith shop.  Clyde's sister Stella later married the blacksmith, Mason McCammon.

When Clyde was about 13 years old, the family's house in Pierceville caught on fire, and the family Bible was destroyed. The two youngest children, Russell and Bertha, were carried out of the house and placed on a featherbed in the yard.

Clyde met Dola Worland at the United Brethren Church (now known as the New Bethel Church) in Pierceville.  They were married on August, 30 1916. They had five sons and three daughters together.  Four of their children (Ellison, Garnet, Marian, and Milburn) served in World War II.  Milburn was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart after he was shot by a sniper at Iwo Jima.

Stella, Clyde, and Gertie at their childhood home in 1968.

In his later years, Clyde spent many hours playing pool and liked to take roadtrips with his siblings.  In 1963, he took a trip to Hollywood, California with Stella and Bertha.  Clyde, Stella, and Gertie revisited "the old homestead" in Pierceville on July 24, 1968.

Clyde died on December 26, 1980 in Greensburg, Indiana.  All of the Holzlider siblings lived to be at least 80 years old and remained in Indiana throughout their lives.

52 Ancestors: #18 Andrew Harmon Smith, a Resilient Soldier

My 3rd great-grandfather, Andrew Harmon Smith was born on April 11, 1838, in Hanover, Germany.  His father's name was John Henry Smith, but I don't know his mother's name.  At the age of seven, Andrew immigrated with his family to America.  Andrew had fourteen siblings; eight were born after the family came to America.  They all lived in Ripley County, Indiana.  By the time he was 22, Andrew was boarding with a family in Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana.

Pontoon Bridge over North Anna River, May 1864.

In 1861, Andrew enlisted as a private in the 7th Indiana Infantry, Company A. (Coincidentally, he was in the same regiment as George Holzlider, the father of his future son-in-law.)  At the Battle of Port Republic in Virginia on June 9, 1862, Andrew was seriously wounded in the right arm.  A note written by his granddaughter Stella Holzlider McCammon describes his injury:  "He didn't have any bone in his arm from the shoulder to the elbow; it was shot out in the war."

Andrew traveled back to Dearborn County and married Sophia B. Schroeder (whose family also came from Hanover) on March 17, 1864.  Soon after, he rejoined his regiment.

In mid May, 1864, Andrew was injured again at the Battle of North Anna in Virginia.  He sustained a wound in the left side.  Andrew was transferred to the 20th Indiana Infantry, Company G on September 20, 1864.  He was discharged on May 25, 1865, having fought in nine battles during his service.

Ella Dorothy Smith, Andrew and Sophia's first child, was born in 1866.  She was my great-great grandmother.  Sadly, Sophia died in childbirth in 1882, and Andrew was left a widower with eight children.  The newborn daughter, Ethel, lived only a year.  In March of 1884, Andrew, now 45, married again.  His new wife, 24 year-old Sarah Frances Baker, was just six years older than his oldest daughter, Ella.  Sarah and Andrew had three children together between 1885 and 1891.

Andrew Smith died December 27, 1921 at the age of 83.   Even though he was wounded twice during the war, he outlived both of his wives and six of his children.  Andrew was buried at Bear Creek Cemetery in Jennings County, Indiana.

52 Ancestors: #5 Dola M. Worland, Gold Star Mother

Dola and her cousin Ralph Worland, c. 1913
  

Clyde and Dola with their four youngest children in 1943

In 1943, Dola Worland Holtzlider had the distinction of having four children serving in the armed forces.  She became a Gold Star mother two years later when her 19 year-old son Milburn was shot by a sniper at Iwo Jima. Milburn was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Dola M. Worland was my great grandmother.  She was born July 29, 1897 in Jasper County, Indiana.  Her parents were Lewis Milburn Worland and Rebecca Annabel Fisher.  She had two brothers -- Leonard and Luther. For a while, the small family lived with her grandparents.  Eventually, they moved to their own farm in Shelby County, Indiana.

On August 30, 1916, Dola married Clyde Holtzlider.  They lived in Jennings County, where their first two children, Ellison and Reba,  were born.  Soon after Reba was born, the Holtzliders relocated to Decatur County.  Sadly, in April of 1920, six-month old Reba died from pneumonia.  The couple had six more children:  Garnet, Marian, Milburn, Martha (my grandmother), Fred, and Paul.   

Dola sewed clothing for her own family and as a way to make money.  She liked gardening and planted hollyhocks and peonies in her yard.  She enjoyed cooking.  I have made her banana bread recipe many times.

Dola died on December 27, 1979 in Greensburg, Indiana.