June 21, 2013

Jacob Bittinger Hollabaugh, Eighth Child of George and Elizabeth Hollabaugh

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.


The marriage of Jacob B. Hollabaugh of Biglerville and Clara Potterf of Cashtown was recorded in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church books of Bendersville, Adams County, PA.  The couple were married on January 1, 1885, and settled in Butler Township.
 In the 1900 census of Butler Township, Jacob, 48, and Clara, 44, had two children: Blanche (Myrtle Blanche), born June 1888, was 11, and J. Pierce (Jacob Pierce), born February 1893, was 8.  (The census gives 1892 as his birthdate, but on his draft registration, he, himself, wrote 1893.)  Clara reported that she had given birth to three children, but only two were living.  With the family lived Jacob Musser, a 16 year old hired man.

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."

www.findagrave.com
 Addition: 
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."

Pausing for Another Thank You


 


Well, it's been an exciting week for me since descendents of Eliza Jane Hollabaugh Fries (B. F. Fries) have contacted me and offered photos and newspaper clippings from their family.  They are descended from Eliza and Ben's daughter, Lydia Alice (called Alice) Erb.  

The photos of Jacob and Clara Hollabaugh in the blog were found in their collection, as were photos of Elizabeth Bittinger Hollabaugh and others. The newspaper clippings and letter were also so appreciated.  Because of these fine additions, I have placed an update on the posts about Eliza Jane -May 7, 2013- and her mother, Elizabeth -April 27, 2013.  

For those of you considering a genealogy blog, be aware that the blessing of connecting with others in your family is a real possibility.  Since I have started writing about this Hollabaugh family, descendents have offered photos and information about four of his siblings, once lost to history.  These items were things I would never have found online and likely not in any library.  
Thanks again, Robert and June, for your contributions to the Hollabaugh family research!

June 17, 2013

Book Review - Jennifer, An O'Malley Love Story by Dee Henderson

Jennifer
An O'Malley Love Story

by Dee Henderson

Dr. Jennifer O'Malley is a dedicated physician specializing in the treatment of the toughest pediatric cases.  Totally immersed in the lives and emotions of her small patients, she feels deeply when things are not going well for them and works hard at raising their spirits and giving them hope.  




Jennifer, orphaned when her parents died in a car accident, is the youngest of the O'Malley clan, a group of seven orphans who bonded together and legally made themselves a family.  When Jennifer meets Dr. Tom Peterson, a surgeon, she discovers a compassionate man who is also dedicated to his patients.  When Tom reveals he is a Christian and invites her to church, he opens Jennifer's heart to a relationship with God.  As their friendship grows, she is nervous about introducing him to her family, but before that can happen, tragedy strikes Jennifer.  Although Tom remains steadfastly beside her, the hope of a future together is now in jeopardy.

Jennifer is a small, easily read book, but in a short time, the reader becomes immersed in the emotions of the characters.  The book is an introduction to The Negotiator, Book One of The O'Malley Series. (The lives of the other O'Malleys have been covered in previous books, so be sure to check those out!)  Dee Henderson always delivers depth of character and situations that capture the reader's attention, and this book is no exception.  A very enjoyable read.

*This book was provided to me by Bethany House Publishers for my honest review.

Book Review - The World of Jesus by Dr. W. H. Marty



The World of Jesus
Dr. William H. Marty

Dr. Marty wrote this book to give the reader an historical summary of the history of Israel between the time at the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament, a period of about 400 years.  He discusses the times of the Persians, the Greeks, the Jews, and the Romans and provides a timeline at the beginning of each chapter with highlights of each period.  Many of these times were eras of brutality, power struggles, hostility, paranoia, and chaos.  His sources, for the most part, are Biblical, but much of the history is based on the writings of Flavius Josephus.

The cast of characters is huge – and at some points, very confusing to the reader.  I found myself wishing for a chart of family relationships to help me along.  Because this is a summary, the movement is fast paced from one historical event and ruler to another.  I appreciated the special notes that gave more details on certain characters or events that were mentioned along the way.

Perhaps the parts of the books I gained most from were the detailed chart comparing Sadducees and Pharisees and the clarification between the many generations of Herods.  The most confusing chapters were early on concerning the Persians and the Maccabees.

The author provides discussion questions at the end of each chapter so that this would be a fine study book for a group.  The comprehensive index was also quite helpful and would be a good reference tool for future studies.
This is definitely a slow read because of the historical nature of the book. 

(This book was provided to me by Bethany House Publishers for my honest review.)