The Children of George and Elizabeth Bittinger Hollabaugh
(Great-Great Grandparents)
Sarah (1836-1918)
Eliza Jane (1838 - before 1918)
Mary Elizabeth (1840 - 1941)
George Washington (1844 - 1924)
David William (1847 - 1936)
Alice Catharine (1849 - 1916)
Jacob Bittinger (1852 - 1943)
Georgianna Hannah (1856 - 1944)
Jacob B. Hollabaugh, born April 1852 and the youngest son of George and Elizabeth, was given his mother's maiden name as his middle name. Jacob remained near his home in Butler Township, Adams County, PA, for his whole life. (Updated July 24, 2013 - His obituary states that when he was 20, he went out west and helped string telegraph lines across the Grand Canyon, coming back home when his father died.)
After his father died in 1877, Jacob lived with his mother and farmed the home farm. In the 1880 census, Jacob, 28 and single, and his mother, Elizabeth, 60 and a widow, were the only two at home.
Jacob and Clara lived on the Harrisburg Road leading to Biglerville, the 1910 census taker noted. Their children - M. Blanche, 21, and J. Pierce, 18, - were both single and still at home. Robert Cook, a hired man, lived with them. Later information in the 1920 census and his obituary would reveal that Robert was a nephew of Clara's who lived with his aunt and uncle his whole life.
In 1917, son J. Pierce Hollabaugh dutifully registered for the World War I draft
He gave his occupation as private secretary for the Musselman Company.
He described himself as short and slender with dark brown eyes and dark brown hair. I could not find evidence that he served in the military.
Robert Cook continued to help his Uncle Jacob, 67, and Aunt Clara, 54, according to the 1920 census. This time the road they lived on was called The Benders Church Road. Whether it is the same as the Harrisburg Road, I don't know.
In 1924, the Gettysburg Compiler newspaper of July 26 reported that Jacob had sold his farm.
"Jacob B. Hollabaugh has sold his 119 acres farm in Butler Township to C. L. Thomas, Gap, Pa., together with all stock and equipment. Possession will be given April 1, 1925."
A later clipping revealed that the couple moved to Biglerville. Jacob was in his early 70's.
In April of the next year, their daughter, Blanche, was married. The Gettysburg Compiler, April 23, 1925, reported the event:
"Local Man Wedded to Biglerville Girl
Miss Blanche Hollabaugh, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Hollabaugh, Biglerville, and James Howe, son of Mrs. Emma Howe, 243 York Street, were married by Rev. Mr. Rupp, Lutheran minister, at Frederick, Maryland, on Saturday, April 18, it was announced today. There were no attendants.
Mr. Howe, a veteran of the World War, is employed at the Gettysburg furniture company."
Why they married in Maryland is unknown. Blanche was in her late 30's by this time and as far as I could find, she and James never had children.
The marriage record of J. Pierce Hollabaugh has been elusive so far. I know he married Beulah M. Group, but that information is from the census. The marriage would have taken place sometime in the late 1920's.
In the 1930 census, Jacob B. Hollabaugh, 77, and his wife, Clara, 64, lived on West York Street in Biglerville. Jacob's real estate was worth $1500. One of them reported that they married when Jacob was 30 and Clara, 17. Robert M. Cook, 37, was now listed as a boarder, working as a laborer on the state road.
Living next door were son, J. Pierce, 38, and his wife Beaulah M., 30, and their children: George E., 11; Ruth B., 9; William R., 7; Martha J., 3; and Mary L., 8/12. J. Pierce was treasurer of a canning company and his real estate value was the same as his father's, $1500. Living with the family was the widow, Annie C. Group, his mother-in-law.
The 1940 census was the last counting for Jacob Hollabaugh, then 88, still living in the same home with Clara, 75, and Robert Cook, 57. Living next door still was Pierce and Beulah with a more expanded family which now included twins, Donald P. and Harold J., 7.
In May of 1942, the nephew, Robert M. Cook, preceded his elderly aunt and uncle in death. The Gettysburg Times, May 31, 1942:
"Bigler Resident 48 Years, Dies -
Robert M. Cook, 59, died at the home of his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Hollabaugh, Biglerville, Saturday evening at 11 o'clock from a complication of diseases. He had resided with the Hollabaughs for the last 48 years and was a laborer and a farmer.
He was born in Adams county, a son of John U. Cook, Cashtown, and the late Mary L. (Mertz) Cook. In addition to his father, he is survived by five brothers and sisters: E. Bright, Cashtown; Mrs. John Snyder, Chambersburg; John H., Littlestown; Mrs. Charles Stoner, Fairfield; and Mrs. Belva Cook,Orrtanna.
Funeral services were from the Bender funeral home Tuesday."
Then, in February 1943, Clara is dealt another blow as Jacob died just six months or so after Robert. Jacob, like his brothers, lived a long life, and the Gettysburg Times reported the death on February 22, 1943:
"Jacob Hollabaugh, 91, died at 1:45 o'clock this afternoon at his home in Biglerville after being stricken suddenly this morning about 10:30 o'clock. He was a former farmer, but had retired about 18 years ago. Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Clara (Potterf) Hollabaugh; a son, J. P. Hollabaugh, Biglerville, an official of the Musselman company; a daughter, Mrs. James Howe, York Street, and seven grandchildren. Funeral arrangements will be announced Tuesday."
(Added July 24, 2013)
The Gettysburg Times, February 26, 1943:
"HOLLABAUGH RITES THURSDAY AFTERNOON -
Funeral services for Jacob Hollabaugh, 91, who died suddenly at his home in Biglerville Monday afternoon, were held from the Bender funeral home Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock conducted by the Rev. H. W. Sternat. Interment in Evergreen cemetery.
Mr. Hollabaugh was a native of Gettysburg, a son of the late George and Elizabeth (Bittinger) Hollabaugh. At the age of 20 years, he went to Colorado as a telephone lineman and helped erect the first telegraph line across the Grand Canyon. He returned to Adams county at the age of 33 when his father died and took up farming at his old home. For the last 18 years, he resided in Biglerville.
He was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Biglerville, and the Men's Bible class.
In addition to survivors previously announced, one sister, Mrs. George Pensyl, Santa Cruze, California, survives."
(Note- He appeared in the 1870 census with his parents and two sisters and in the 1880 census with just his mother, so he could not have been gone 13 years. Most sources say the telegraph lines out west began in 1871-1872, so he could have been gone some years, beginning then. Like his three older brothers, it seemed western adventure was calling!
Yet, he felt an obligation, perhaps as the only son, still single and without land of his own, to go back home to help his mother and farm the home farm.)
A later article listed the pall bearers as Charles Myers, Robert Walter, Roy Diehl, Charles Yost, Carrol Carbaugh and John VanDyke. Clara moved to Gettysburg by March 1944,
"Mr and Mrs. John Thomas and two children have moved from Biglerville R. D. to the property of Mrs. Jacob Hollabaugh on West York Street, Biglervile. Mrs. Hollabaugh is now making her home in Gettysburg."
(The Gettysburg Times, March 15, 1944)
Clara died in 1948 and both she and Jacob are buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg, as are Blanche and J. Pierce.
Beulah also lost her husband, James, in March 1948. Both are buried at Evergreen Cemetery with his parents, Isaac and Emma Howe.
J. Pierce Hollabaugh continued to advance well in business. In 1954, his first wife, Beulah, died and later, he remarried. The wedding announcement in the Gettysburg Times, February 1, 1963, gives more information about his life.
"The marriage of Nellie Hammer Hintze, 112 Locust Street, Wrightsville, Pa., daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Hammer, to J. Pierce Hollabaugh, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Hollabaugh, was solemnized at a ceremony at the home of the bride Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m....
They will reside in Biglerville.
The bride resigned December as secretary-treasurer of the Wrightsville Savings and Loan Association after 26 years of service.
The groom is president of the Biglerville National Bank and served as treasurer of the C. H. Musselman Company, Biglerville for 30 years. Joining the latter company in 1910, three years after its founding, he was the oldest employee in point of service when he resigned on July 7, 1956. He has been a director of the National Canners Association and from 1937 - 1950 was vice-president and a director of the Pennsylvania Canners Association. He is a member of the Upper Adams Lions Club, the Masonic Lodge and the Elks."
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| www.findagrave.com |
Gettysburg Star and Sentinel, May 13, 1944
"If anyone in the service has a right to complain, it is Corporal George Hollabaugh, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Hollabaugh, waist gunner aboard a Liberator somewhere in the Pacific.
Corporal Hollabaugh, whose ship has bagged many a Zero on dangerous missions over Wake Island, in the Marshalls, Guadacanal, and other theatres of operation, has been in service for three years and has never had a furlough. He has not been home since he entered service, and he has jampacked his long service with many thrills. His breast glitters with campaign ribbons.
However, Corporal Hollabaugh accepts his fate with a grin. He tells his parents he's assigned to do a job and he's going to do it and keep on doing it until it is finished. He has no complaints about his three years service without a furlough."
